POINT PLEASANT’s Elisabeth Harnois. Now that 2005 has officially come to a close, we’re jumping on the year-in-review, award season bandwagon. All the cool kids are doing it.

BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY FILM:

SERENITY. Did you see it in theaters? No? Shame on you. The superb (and quickly-axed) FIREFLY on the big screen - a miracle in itself - made for a fantastic film that far too many people missed. How rare is it to have a science-fiction film with interesting characters and a great plot? Pretty damn rare. Go forth and buy the DVD.

BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY FILMS (IF SERENITY WASN’T ON THE LIST):

BATMAN BEGINS. Now THAT was Batman, perfectly executed. Everything was spot-on, and the nightmare of the last two movie attempts can now fade into well-deserved obscurity.

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE. The best Potter movie yet. I was especially impressed with how effectively the book translated to screen, despite the necessary cuts needed to keep the length under control.

HONORABLE MENTION:

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, for creating a movie that faithfully reproduced a childhood favorite, bringing it to the big screen with grace and charm.

MOST IMPRESSIVE MOVIE THAT I’LL NEVER WATCH AGAIN:

SIN CITY. This was an amazing visual experience, but although I emerged from the theater with enormous respect for all involved, the film didn’t entertain me. Still, I was very impressed.

“CLOSER BUT STILL NO CIGAR” MOVIE AWARD:

REVENGE OF THE SITH. It was the best film of the prequel trilogy, but it still missed the mark, lacking the character development and heart of the original three films. I’ve been a die-hard STAR WARS fan since I was eight, but the fact that I shrugged off Amidala’s death and Anakin’s turn to the dark side with a yawn is proof enough.

“TOO MUCH! TOO MUCH!” AWARD:

KING KONG. The first hour was fantastic, but then we watched monster battle after monster battle after monster battle, and the battles all went on for far too long. By the time they got to the giant bugs, I was done, and when the bats attacked, I felt like yelling "GET ON WITH IT!" a la MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL. I’d completely disassociated myself with the film by the time they’d left the island, and nary a tear was shed when Kong died, and I’m usually the biggest softie in the vicinity. Technically, it was amazing, and the cast was impressive, but the emotional ties were destroyed by the end of the second hour.

THE MOVIE THAT LEFT THEATERS TOO QUICKLY AND I’M BITTER ABOUT IT SINCE I DIDN’T GET THERE IN TIME:

MIRRORMASK. A combination of Neil Gaiman and The Jim Henson Company, I was excited to see this movie which continued the tradition of films such as LABYRINTH and THE DARK CRYSTAL, but I missed its all-too-short theatrical run. Dang it! Now, I’m counting the days until its DVD release (February 7, if you’re wondering).

BEST RETURNING TELEVISION SHOW:

DOCTOR WHO. Thank the Time Lords that it will finally be available to Americans (officially, and many thanks to my computer-savvy friends who supply me with it in the interim) on February 14, 2006 on DVD. You British and Canadian folks out there hopefully know that the show is back and as good as it has ever been (and if you don’t, get with the program!), but in America and similarly less-fortunate places, DOCTOR WHO is not yet readily available. It’s sad, really. So, to my fellow Americans: whether you watched this show’s prior incarnation (which ran from 1963 to 1989 in Great Britain) when it aired on PBS, happened across that disappointing television movie on FOX, or have never been exposed to the show before, do give it a try. It’s worth your time.

BEST AVAILABLE-IN-AMERICA RETURNING TELEVISION SHOW:

Those of you who stop by this site on a regular basis know all about the quality of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’s new incarnation. New episodes of its second season return Friday, January 6, and I can’t wait. I have to rank it slightly lower than DOCTOR WHO as the first half of this new season dragged more than the left-us-breathless first season, but I now expect extraordinary things from this show. It raised its own bar very high, and it has a lovely habit of meeting and exceeding that bar. This is a great show, one of the best you’ll find on American television (up there with VERONICA MARS, which I would laud as well here, were it science-fiction or fantasy, and LOST, which I would rank just behind those two).

BEST NEW TELEVISION SHOW:

Thanks to the successes of shows like LOST and THE MEDIUM, the major networks gave a few paranormal and science-fiction shows a green light. The only one I find myself still watching avidly is SUPERNATURAL. The premise is simple: two brothers go from town to town battling ghosts, demons, and other various urban legends, with dialogue sprinkled liberally with pop culture references to lighten the tone. SUPERNATURAL gives us primarily stand-alone episodes, so it’s easy to jump in late, but the story arcs of the search for their father and the developing bond between the brothers are what make the show interesting. The street-smart/book-smart duo is an often-used device, but it works well here, and their brotherly banter keeps this extra-creepy show enjoyable.

“WOW, WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?” EPISODE AWARD:

ALIAS is nowhere near the superb program that it was during its first two seasons, but the closing episode of 2005, THE HORIZON, almost made me forget that. It’s a brilliant episode that traces back through ALIAS history with the dearly departed (we think) Michael Vaughn, and it also includes the revelation of the individual behind Prophet 5. Between that and the introduction of a few interesting new heroes and villains this year (notably, Rachel Nichols as Rachel Gibson and Amy Acker as Kelly Peyton), I’m excited for the series finale, and I hope it does justice to the series as a whole.

MOST DESERVED HIGH-PROFILE AWARD GIVEN IN 2005:

The Emmy for Best Drama never goes to a freshman show; that is, until this year. LOST deserved its Emmy win for many reasons: original concept, brilliant writing, strong performances by an ensemble cast, and, perhaps most importantly, how it captured the imaginations of an large audience, most of whom would never normally touch a genre show.

BEST USE OF A SCI-FI/FANTASY SOURCE IN A TELEVISION SHOW:

COLD CASE, one of the superior crime dramas out there, used the cult sci-fi staple THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and its music as its framing device for an unforgettable episode, CREATURES OF THE NIGHT. In the midst of its murder investigation, it honored the history of the continuing phenomenon (yes, RHPS may very well be in a theater near you) with respect and delight. Honorable Mention to SMALLVILLE’s Buffy the Vampire in the episode THIRST (penned by former BUFFY and ANGEL writer Steven S. DeKnight).

THE “FOX” AWARD - BEST CANCELED SHOW:

Guess what show got very interesting by the end, an end we can only see on DVD? POINT PLEASANT. I was hard on it in my reviews, I know, but Marti Noxon’s post-BUFFY effort found its legs by the end, and the final episode surprised the heck out of me.

BEST CASTING DECISION:

Whoever said, “Hey, let’s get some of those FARSCAPE folks on STARGATE SG-1” deserves a medal. Ben Browder has filled the leadership vacancy left by Richard Dean Anderson with wit and humor reminiscent of his predecessor, while also bringing his own John Crichton-esque style. Claudia Black’s recurring role as Vala lets her show off her comedic talents as FARSCAPE rarely could, and she’s a joy to watch. The STARGATE folks get extra points for landing talents like Beau Bridges, Louis Gossett Jr., and (on STARGATE: ATLANTIS) Mitch Pileggi of X-FILES fame. The STARGATE franchise continues to delight, and I’m thrilled that it will be back for the tenth season.

BEST BOOK TO RUSH OUT TO BUY THE MOMENT IT HIT SHELVES:

George R. R. Martin’s A FEAST FOR CROWS. This fourth volume of the brilliant A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE series continues one of the best high fantasy stories that I’ve ever encountered.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, by the way, comes in a close second, an excellent installment to the series - in fact, one of the best yet, as good as GOBLET OF FIRE and PRISONER OF AZKABAN.