Angel

TV Gal Is Blown Away by These Performances

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Every season, there are performances that make me go "Wow!"

I’m not talking about people I’ve loved from the moment they hit the small screen (like Adam Brody, Jennifer Garner, Gregory Smith, Lauren Graham or Jason Bateman). This column is about the actors who took their game to the next level this season. These three brilliant performances left me in awe.

Amy Acker as Fred/Illyria on "Angel": I’ve always enjoyed Acker’s cute, giggly Fred. But as Simon Cowell would say, if I’m going to be perfectly honest, I never really gave her much thought. Her performance as Illyria has been chilling. I never once thought she had this in her. She changed her voice, her movements, the whole way she carries herself. Her entire body was transformed. If I didn’t know better, I honestly would have thought a different actress was playing the role. Seriously, they didn’t even have to dye her hair blue. The full breadth of Acker’s ability was demonstrated last week when she flip-flopped back and forth between Illyria and Illyria pretending to be Fred (it reminded me of the nuanced performance David Boreanaz gave when he was Angel pretending to be Angelus.) Of series creator’s Joss Whedon’s many talents, one may be his ability to recognize that this kind of greatness exist within his stars.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Detective John Clark on "NYPD Blue": You know, in many ways I credit Gosselaar for revitalizing "NYPD Blue." When he joined the series in the fall of 2001, the show had written itself into a corner with Rick Schroder’s inexplicably troubled Detective Danny Sorenson (it will always bug me that we never had closure with his character or found out what those blasted paper clips were about). Enter Detective John Clark, the epitome of a stand-up guy. He’s the kind of character who could be boring if the right actor wasn’t playing him. But Gosselaar was the right man for the job. And this was his season. Chris Pratt as Bright on "Everwood": Leave it to "Everwood" to make the stereotypical dumb-jock character so much more than that. Bright’s academic struggles this season, coupled with his burgeoning friendship with Ephram, gave Pratt a chance to really showcase his talents. The innate sweetness he brings to Bright adds depth to his character and makes viewers love him — even when he brings four dates to prom. Although Bright graduated from high school this season, I hope we have him in Everwood for seasons to come.

What performances have you loved this season? Talk about it on the TV Gal message board.

We Must Discuss ’24’

Look, I’m so steeped in my willing suspension of disbelief on "24" that I’m practically hanging from a trapeze, but at some point you have to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Since Saunders’ daughter is, you know, their only bargaining chip, shouldn’t she have been handcuffed or something? How many times did they leave her unattended, and why didn’t she run away?

2. Up until now Saunders has had surveillance on CTU’s every move. How come he wasn’t tailing Tony as he escaped with Jane? Wouldn’t he have seen Jack listening in on the pay phone as Tony talked to him?

3. Could someone please yawn?

4. So Chase is in the midst of thwarting an impending terrorist attack, but he needs to talk Kim about the future of their relationship. Um, hello, if the virus gets out, you won’t be alive to even have a relationship. And if you are going to take time out of your busy day to talk to Kim, the topic should be her bangs.

What do you think of "24"? Talk about it on the TV Gal message board.

More Quotes of the Week

"You know what they say, revenge is like serving cold cuts." Tony getting the cliche slightly wrong on "The Sopranos."

"I know where babies come from and they don’t come from kissing on the couch." Martin, being the first character on "7th Heaven" to make sense on the subject of sex.

"Just because you sacrificed your wife for this job doesn’t mean I’m going to sacrifice mine." Tony to Jack on "24."

"You’re no burden John. You’re family." Andy to John on "NYPD Blue."

Where Have I Seen Them Before?

Brittany was the first of many TV Gal readers to remind me that Steven Culp, whom we saw on "CSI" last week and currently plays Congressman Jeff Haffley on "The West Wing," is also busy playing one of the two men Dr. Corday is dating on "ER." He’s the father of one of Ella’s friends.

John Rubinstein helped deliver Monica and Chandler’s twins on "Friends." He played Wolfram & Hart lawyer Lindwood Murrow on "Angel" and a lawyer on "The Guardian." Remember both his characters died the same week?

Jason Kravitz, ADA Richard Bay on "The Practice," was the guy who tried to get into Phoebe’s cab on "Friends."

And so many of you wrote me about this one. Jay Kenneth Johnson was the guy trying to help Seth sell his boat on the season finale of "The O.C." TV Gal reader Linda was the first to let me know that he played Phillip Kiriakis on "Days of Our Lives."

Hmmm ... do we need to start tracking the "Party of Five"/"Without a Trace" connection? Two weeks ago, we had Michael Goorjian (Justin), and last week Tim Dekay, who played Kirsten’s husband, Paul, played the missing football coach.

Highlights of the Week Ahead All times listed are Eastern Time for May 13-16.

Good night, Seattle. Say goodbye to the good Dr. Crane Thursday night with the retrospective "Frasier: Analyzing the Laughter" (NBC, 8 p.m.) and series finale (8:55 p.m.). To read my thoughts on "Frasier," check out my column from Monday. By the way, what do we think about the rumor that there might be a Frasier spinoff next season with Laura Linney?

Now promise not to be mad, but who do you think I voted for in "Survivor: America’s Tribal Council?" (CBS, 8 p.m. Thursday). I’ll give you a hint — he played the game better than any Survivor ever.

It’s not the best episode of "That ’70s Show" (FOX, 8:30 p.m. Sunday), but I have to give those kids credit for making it to 150 episodes. If the award shows played fair, Topher Grace would have received an Emmy nomination a long time ago.

Those of you who have been reading my column since the beginning know how much I used to love "The Practice" (ABC, 10 p.m. Sunday). Once upon a time, in a David E. Kelley television world far, far away, "The Practice" was an excellent show. When the show was good, the series’ twists and turns took the viewer for one extended and exhilarating ride. Their cases were always perplexing, the innocent never who you thought they were, and the lawyers not always on the right side.

Somewhere along the way, things went from good to bad and then from bad to worse. Kelley’s distinctive voice became repetitive and ridiculous. He lost all perspective on what originally made this legal show an Emmy-winning drama. When and where did it go wrong? Was it when the lawyers became the clients and started murdering people? When everyone in the firm began to use shrieking as the primary form of communication? Or perhaps when Lindsay became a psycho magnet? (Can anyone remember how many times she’s been stalked?)

This season the show vastly improved, but it also wasn’t really "The Practice" anymore. I love James Spader, and I really think William Shatner has found a perfect role. It’s nice Dylan McDermott came back for the finale (but really, Dylan, what’s with the beard?), but "The Practice" ended for me a long time ago. One word of caution for Kelley and next season’s spinoff — I like Lake Bell as an actress, but her character represents all that is traditionally wrong with a David Kelley show. Get rid of her now. We’ve already had enough scantily clad women traipsing around law offices for one lifetime. Get this Ally McBeal wannabe off the show.