THE BEST OF 2006 - Part 1 - THE BEST TV SHOWS of 2006

And I'm back, as yet another year comes to a close. I will save my personal retrospective for the next installment, but for now it's time to focus on some of the best that the world of pop-culture had to offer in this landmark year ...

BEFORE I GET TO TV, A QUICK NOTE ON MOVIES:

So ... I am being driven crazy by all these top-tier films being released in such extremely limited rollouts in these last few weeks of the year! Look at many critics' 2006 Top 10 lists, and you'll find movies like Children of Men, Letters From Iwo Jima, The Good German, Curse of the Golden Flower, and Pan's Labrynth which are all but impossible to find outside of NYC at this moment (forget about even trying to see an even less-promoted oddity like David Lynch's Inland Empire). And that includes LA -- right now, Children of Men, possibly my most anticipated movie of the winter season, is playing in exactly TWO theaters in all of greater Los Angeles. What the hell? So yesterday, a friend and I go to one of those two theaters (at the Grove), and of course the movie is sold out way in advance - since I assume many others caught onto the fact that this inevitably amazing flick is playing virtually nowhere else in the country. Oh well, at least I saw David Spade and G4's Adam Sessler at the theater ... some consolation ... I want to see Children of Men, dammit - it's one of those movies that I just KNOW will be a huge favorite and surely a candidate for my 2006 Best Of list. So come on Universal, what is going on here - this was supposed to get a WIDE release on the 25th, and it's a long-hyped, critically-acclaimed movie with stars like Clive Owen and Michael Caine. Give me my movie! As for Pan's Labrynth, I was lucky to see it at a special screening, but most won't be able to see it until '07. And anyways, what's with so many movies being crammed into the holiday release schedule? It's no wonder that films like The Good Shephard and even Rocky Balboa (still need to see both of those, too) get lost in the shuffle. Oh, that's right, Oscar doesn't seem to remember you unless you were released in November or December - so yeah, V For Vendetta's chances of being nominated for anything? Remember, Remember ... sorry, can't remember that far back, sez the Acadamy. So yeah, this is just a preamble to my upcoming Best Movies of 2006 post: basically, I am going to try to squeeze in one or two more flicks before I write it, but the fact is that the list will have to be somewhat incomplete, as so many "2006" releases are in fact barely out there for our viewing pleasure, rather they are jammed into release to be eligible for Oscar buzz and critics' Best-Of lists while remaining maddeningly elusive to the average viewer.

Anyways ...

DANNY BARAM'S BEST TELEVISION OF 2006:

- Well, this is the second year now that I've spent not only watching the ol' tube as a plain old fanboy, but watching it as a card-carrying member of "the industry," as those of us in the biz like to say ... So I feel like now more than ever, I am grateful for the great shows out there that allow me to shut off the analytical part of my brain that is naturally prone to pick apart and critique, and get back into that fanboy zone that has me glued to the screen like a braindead chimp, drooling and muttering phrases from the 50's like "Gee Whiz!" and "Gangbusters!" Okay, so that's not exactly what happens when I watch good TV, but my point is that this was a yeat that had some very hyped-up shows that were kind of, sort of good, but just wouldn't allow that nagging quality-control monitor in my brain to stop its darn beeping. What the bleep am I talking about? Well, the big trend this year was for the nets to roll out pseudo-intense, 24-esque serial thrillers. But man, watching tired, bland shows like Kidnapped (sorry, NBC) just made me re-appreciate how fun and well-made of a show the beast known as 24 really is. Similarly, as much as I've whined and complained about Lost 'round these parts, seeing a show like Heroes give it the ol' college try, but fail to captivate in may of the areas (character, scope, scale) that Lost has always excelled in, well, it kind of rekindled my admiration for what Lost is able to accomplish on a weekly basis, as frustrating a show as it might sometimes be. This was a year that saw the end of some of the classics - the short-lived but legendary-in-its-own-time comedic masterpiece that was Arrested Development, as well as the long-running but sometime underappreciated trend-setter, Malcolm in the Middle. As sad as it was to see those two shows head off into the great land beyond (aka channel 999), the big story of the year for me was probably the emergence of The Office as a true creative force in the world of comedy. I don't think there's ever been a show that had this effect on me - where I was so down on it at first, mildly warmed up to it, and then became a full-blown Dwight Schrute-worshipping fan. Honestly, the first season of The Office wasn't that great - it had moments, but it was really struggling to break away from the UK version and establish its own identity. As the second season progressed though, there was a gradual escalation of quality, until suddenly the show was turning out one classic episode after another. I was lukewarm towards the overly sappy season 2 finale, but so far, Season 3 has been spectacular, with the addition of great supporting actors like Ed Helms, and a level of humor that far surpasses previous seasons in terms of consistency. I'm not sure when or how exactly it happened, but with a huge post-Arrested comedy void to fill, The Office stepped up. The other big news in the comedy world is the utter brilliance that is Stephen Colbert. At first, I felt like the guy was kind of a one-joke gimmick, and doubted that he could support his own show. But somehow, the real Stephen Colbert has made the fictional Stephen Colbert into one of the greatest faux TV personalities out there - not only a constant source of hilarity, but a walking political satire that just hits home mercillessly. The apex of Colbert-mania had to be his address to President Bush, done completely in character, at the White House Correspondents' Dinner - just an unbelievable show of ballsy humor, I have never seen a president so ruthlessly yet brilliantly mocked to his face. While Jon Stewart is kind of the jaded everyman of our pop cultural landscape, Colbert is the harsher, more relevant response to our current political climate.

In the end, was this a good year for TV? I think so, but even as I enjoy the nail-biting intensity of 24 or the subversive wit of Veronica Mars, I get nervous that the days of smart TV are quickly fading. When a totally moronic show like Jericho is pulling in decent numbers, while a brilliant show like Mars continually struggles to stay on the air, it just makes me wonder what's going on here. It's like the networks have decided, to some extent, "well, let's leave the good stuff to HBO, we'll settle for the one where Luke Perry wins the lottery ...". However, I do see hope. This year I've been immersed in the world of iTunes and electronic sell-through, and I see niche shows like Battlestar Galactica, South Park, Veronica Mars, and The Colbert Report competing on a level playing field with the likes of Grey's Anatomy, Lost, and Prison Break. In a world absent of networks and bad / inconvenient scheduling, the best stuff often really does rise to the top. Okay, that's not entirely true, as as of right now, "Rob & Big" is mysteriously a top-seller, but still ... it's very exciting to see these new platforms emerge, not to mention video-sharing sights like YouTube, where CBS and ABC-produced content competes directly with Adult Swim, unaired pilots like Nobody's Watching, and that video of the kid getting a Nintendo 64 for Christmas (hilarious ...). It's no wonder that Time Magazine named "You" the Time Person of the Year, largely due to the user-generated functionality of sites like YouTube. It's a sign that power is going back to the people. Let's just hope this power is used for more than watching clips of some kid singing along to Gunther.

On a final note of precursory preambling, please note that I am but one man, albeit one who watches a lot of TV. Still, I can't watch everything, and don't watch some stuff out of inclination ot just lack of time, and, also, I still don't get HBO, though I do catch up on some of their stuff via DVD.

But anyways, without further ado ...

THE TOP 10 TV SHOWS OF 2006:

1.) 24

- 24 once again reigned supreme in '06, with one of its most memorable seasons to date. 24: Season 5 was a pure adrenaline rush from start to finish, aided by a tremendous supporting cast. As much rightful acclaim as Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart got as the first couple, the biggest joy of 24 this season may have been seeing the legendary Peter Weller kick ass like it was 1987 all over again, playing perhaps the best and most vicious nemesis for Jack Bauer yet. My one complaint about the season was the all too abrupt death of fan-favorite character, the soul-patch bearer Tony Almeda, but aside from that one issue Season 5 was a rollercoaster ride that gets me pumped up just thinking about its sheer awesomeness, and yes, GRAVITAS. Bring on 2007 and 24: Season 6!

2.) The Office

- As I said in my intro, The Office slowly grew on me in Season 2 and has just full-on caught fire thus far in Season 3, consistently providing hilarity each week as the cast continues to gel and the writing continues to improve. The show finally found its own unique voice, and found the right balance of offbeat humor and crowd-pleasing romantic tension. I still can't place it in the same "legendary" tier as I do the original British Office, but I am amazed that I am liking this show as much as I do. Dwight Shrute is the funniest character on TV now that the Bluth family is gone, and the great work of all involved on this show, from Rann Wilson to Steve Carell to Ed Helms, has made this underdog show the best comedy on TV.

3.) Veronica Mars

- It's true, I admitted as much - Veronica faltered badly in the first half of its third season. It wasn't that the show was bad, just that it was missing that extra something that made it so very great in seasons 1 and 2. But then that outstanding fall finale aired, and I was totally blown away, and reminded of how good this show can be, reminded of the superlative writing, style, and film-noir mood that carried Season 2 through so many heart-pounding twists and turns. I was reminded of how well this show weaves a mystery, of how great the supporting cast is, how witty the dialogue is, and how Kristen Bell continues to be the most interesting and talented leading lady on television. Can't wait for the rest of s3 in '07, and hope that the show continues into '08.

4.) The Colbert Report

- The on-air persona of Stephen Colbert has to be one of the greatest comic creations in recent memory, and it's been a joy to watch the man gradually refine his character each day and grow increasingly comfortable in the role. Colbert is the perfect antidote to the mass of loudmouth pundits and O'Reilly-esque blowhards who populate cable news - he is a spot-on satire of the conservative media - he is to political egotism and Bush-era chest-puffing what Borat is to social ignorance. In an era when the old standbys of social commentary like SNL tend to be more focused on producing the next big viral video than providing intelligent political satire, Colbert day in and day out fights a one-man culture war, and, oh yeah, is freaking hilarious to boot.

5.) Arrested Development

- I know, I know, all you Best of the Year purists out there will rag on me since this show barely aired in '06. But guess what, it DID air in '06, and it aired some of the most brilliant episodes of TV comedy ever aired, with its epic, multi-part series finale that contained some of the most hialrious stuff I've seen. Years and years from now, people will still be talking about this show and rediscovering it on DVD or HD-DVD or whatever, and wondering why it wasn't on longer than it was. All I know is, this hilarious show made kissing cousins, the blue-man group, the word "hermano," one-armed men, and magicians funnier than I ever thought they could be, with some of the best writing and one of the best casts we're likely ever to see.

6.) Prison Break

- To me, as good as this show has been, I've always kind of looked at it as 24's slightly hoakier little brother or something. But this year, with the amazingly intense start to Season 2, I suddenly found Prison Break turning into my "must-watch" show of the week. This was the one that I HAD to watch on Mondays at 8pm, that I immediately called my brother about to see if he had seen that night's episode yet. Prison Break is like the pulpy lovechild of Frank Miller and John Carpenter, and it's a pleasure each week to get caught up in its cheesy goodness. The addition of William Fichtner to the cast this season, as a mentally unstable FBI agent in pursuit of the escapees, has been a brilliant bonus. In a world where balls-to-the-wall action entertainment is being confined to the likes of (sigh ...) Spike TV, it's great to have a true, old-school testosterone-fest like Prison Break kick my ass each and every week.

7.) Malcolm in the Middle

- Here's another one where I can already here the comments from the peanut gallery: "It had its day! Get over it!" Well, the amazing thing to me about this show was that it really was consistently great. Despite FOX's usual innane time-slot shuffling, where the show got cast away to the purgatory of Friday night's post-Bernie Mac, this show, to the surprise of many, never actually stopped being a great show. And it's funny, because though I enjoy My Name is Earl, for example, and agree with some of that show's popular and critical praise, I don't think it measures up to the single-camera quality of Malcolm, which for years was one of the most brilliantly-written and flat-out hilarious shows ever made, with a unique point of view that always remained consistent even as the child cast got older. This is another show that will live on in syndication for years, and I think will continue to garner new fans as the years go by. I just think about the great series finale though, and how it reaffirmed for me how great this show had always been, and FOX has yet to replace it with a comedy anywhere near its quality.

8.) Justice League Unlimited

- In a year where many comic book heroes were given less than stellar treatment on the big screen, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, the geniuses behind Batman: The Animated Series, capped off a decade and a half of animated excellence with their swan song on JLU, which brought Superman, Batman, and a cast of hundreds to glorious animated life. The stories were action-packed, but unlike say Superman Returns, they mixed nostalgic tributes to the source material with a real sense of poignancy and wonder. Call it kids' stuff if you will, but classic animation like this is the kind of stuff that is magical precisely because it appeals to young and old alike. In a world of animation increasingly dominated by haphhazardly-Americanized Japanese imports, this was a final hurrah to the brand of Dini/Timm classical animation that will always be synonomous with greatness.

9. Gilmore Girls

- I am in partial agreement with the critics that Gilmore has lost some of its bite so far this season, but I disagree that the show has completely gone down the tubes. So far this season, there have been plenty of memorable moments that made for flat-out great TV - just recently, Luke and Chris' Christmas-tree brawl in the Stars Hollow town square was one of the highlights of the fall season to date. In any case, even if this season is still finding its post-Palladino legs to some degree, the tail-end of last season had so many great moments. Lane's wedding was a completely classic episode, for example, the kind of story that exemplifies how an abundance of wit and humor can elevate this show to something far greater than what it seems on the surface to the non-fan. And how about Edward Herrmann and Kelly Bishop as Richard and Emily Gilmore - two amazing actors who consistently turn in some of my favorite performances on TV. It's almost enough to make one nostalgic for living in small-town Connecticut. Almost ...

10.) Lost

- As Season 2 of Lost finished up last summer, I was really, really beginning to have my doubts about the show. I've talked about some of those issues extensively before, so I won't go into detail now. But like I said in my intro, as much as Lost can frustrate me, the first six episodes of Season 3 proved to me just how good this show can be when it plays to its strengths. True, as I watched Jack, Sawyer, and Kate held captive by the Others, somewhere every logical instinct in my head was dying to finally get some answers about this show's ridiculous and ever-growing list of unsolved mysteries. At the same time, however, the intensity was cranked up so high, the inter-character drama ratcheted up to such an extent, that depite my lingering doubts I was constantly on the edge of my seat during each episode, biting my nails, IM'ing friends, and totally wrapped up in every line of dialogue, every camera shot, every musical cue. There is something to be said for any show that can be that involving, despite so many head-scratching aspects of the plot that at some point need to be addressed lest the collective heads of thousands of fans simultaneously explode.

MORE BEST OF TV '06:

THE TOP TEN EPISODES OF 2006 (Drama):

1.) 24 - Day 5: 6 am - 7 am (season 5 finale)
2.) Veronica Mars - Not Pictured (season 2 finale)
3.) 24 - Day 5: 7 am - 8 am (season 5 premiere)
4.) Gilmore Girls - Friday Night's Alright For Fighting
5.) Lost - The Long Con
6.) 24 - Day 5 - 6 pm - 7 pm (death of Edgar)
7.) Veronica Mars - Spit and Eggs (fall season 3 finale)
8.) Prison Break - The Killing Box (fall season finale)
9.) Gilmore Girls - I Get A Sidekick Out of You (Lane's wedding)
10.) Lost - I Do (fall season finale)

Honorable Mention: Studio 60 - Pilot

THE TOP 10 EPISODES OF 2006 (Comedy):

1.) Arrested Development - Fakin' It / Family Ties / Exit Strategy / Development Arrested (4-part series finale)
2.) The Office - The Merger
3.) The Office - The Convict
4.) The Office - Initiation
5.) The Simpsons - Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife (Ricky Gervais-written ep)
6.) King of the Hill - Church Hopping
7.) King of the Hill - 24 Hour Propane People
8. ) The Office - Dwight's Speech
9.) The Office - The Carpet
10.) Tie: Malcolm in the Middle - Graduation (series finale), Malcolm in the Middle: Stevie in the Hospital

MORE TV STUFF:

The Shows to Watch Out For in 2007:

1.) Heroes - Heroes has had a slow but steady start thus far, and the unlikely breakout has been Masi Oka as the lovable Hiro. But after a decent but underwhelming pilot, the show has slowly but surely begun to remedy some of its flaws and work around some of the weaknesses in its cast by upping the ante in terms of plot twists and pacing. Adding a few go-to, veteran actors like Christopher Ecclestion can only help things in '07, and the added contributions of talents like Jeph Loeb should hopefully add to the intelligence of the scripts.

2.) 30 Rock - I felt it was too early to add this show to my Best Of list, and truthfully it's not quite at the level of quality of say, The Office yet. But so far, it has been pretty darn funny, and both Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan have been hilarious. With a little more smoothing-out, this could be a real breakout.

3.) Lost - Okay, I have been kind of discouraged reading recent interviews with the likes of Damon Lindeloff and some of his Lost colleagues, in which there seems to be a kind of submissive attitude like "well, we have to do what the network wants when it comes to pacing our stories." So why am I putting this on my watch-list for '07? Two words: Brian K. Vaughn. Perhaps my favorite current fiction writer has joined the writing team of Lost! Sure, there's only so much one man can do in a crowded TV writer's room, but I mean, the writer of Y: The Last Man and Pride of Baghdad writing dialogue for Locke and Sayid? Sounds too good to be true, but it is fo' real.

4.) King of the Hill - FOX dubbed this show finito, but in a rare show of good judgement, the network gave it the nod to come back for one mo' round of down-home hilarity. If this is truly it, I hope the show can go out with a bang, as I think it's truly an underrated gem and one of the most consistently good comedies of the last decade.

5.) Smallville - After a decent season premiere, Smallville has really been struggling to not suck thus far in its latest season. Nevertheless, the "coming in '07" promos for the show look badass, and the promise of Lex going ever darker, while Clark pulls together a protoype Justice League, is enough to keep me watching. But if the show continues to focus on lame villains-of-the-week and the neverending, angsty trust issues of Lana Lang, well then, as the themesong says: "somebody saaaaaaave me!"

What Fizzled in 2006:

1.) Bleak, humorless, serialized crime dramas - Hello, network execs. 24 works because it is fun and over-the-top, and yet here we were in the fall season at a time when America clearly wants ESCAPISM, and we get depressingly angst-filled shows about kidnapping (Kidnapped), hostage trauma (The Nine), skeevy lawyers (Shark, Justice), and unlikable criminals (Smith, Heist). Why is this so hard to figure out? America wants heroes (and Heroes!), not TV that makes stabbing oneself with a pencil look like fun in comparison. A classic film noit murder mystery a la Veronica Mars = good times. A season-long mystery asking us to guess at what unspoken terrors might have occured to nine post-traumatic hostages? Not so good times. But do you really need me to tell you this?

2.) Preachy Politics in Primetime vs. Brainless Trash - Okay, I'm mostly talking about Studio 60, which frankly had one of the best pilots I've seen based off one of the best TV scripts I've read. But the show quickly devolved into a platform for Aaron Sorkin to weave heavy-handed political discussion into a show about SKETCH COMEDY, with every piece of dialogue delivered with the same level of implied gravity as if the characters were standing in the Pentagon rather than in a television studio. The pilot, helped by a great cameo by Judd Hirsch, somehow held all of these threads together and delivered an amazing piece of TV, but it all began to unravel as the show-within-a-show never seemed good or important enough (let alone funny enough) to warrant the weight that Sorkin was giving it. The show has had its moments, with some great performances by Matthew Perry, Ed Asner, Steven Webber, and others - but, overall, it's no big mystery to me why people were tuning out - a show about showbiz that fancies itself to be about politics and the culture wars is a hard sell, especially when the show seems to wear its own smugness and self-importance on its sleeve. Still, Studio 60's failure to live up to the hype is much less disturbing than a show like Jericho, whose premise actually WARRANTS some political meat with the plot, yet basically plays out like The OC gone nuclear. I fear for a new trend where all high-concept shows will simply be soap-operas stitched together with pop-music montages under the loose pretense of being "about" something other than who is hooking up with who. I mean, who cares who nuked America when (gasp!) the prom queen is making out with the president of the chess club!

3.) The CW launch - The CW seemed to have great promise - the best of the WB and UPN, in a new net that would give a boost to under the radar shows like VM and provide a great platform to launch new hits. Well, with a flimsy development slate and an overreliance on aging shows like Smallville and Gilmore (not to mention 7th Heaven), the CW seems to have missed a huge opportunity to make an impact. Sad that it's most buzzed-about show was the never-aired Aquaman pilot, which became an internet hit when it became available for download on iTunes.

4.) Network Comedies - As funny as The Office is, it isn't enough. With Arrested gone, there is still a huge void in the world of TV comedy. I know, I have friends who rave about shows like How I Met Your Mother and Old Christine, but where is the true innovation in primetime? Where is the next great animated primetime comedy? (American Dad ain't it ... no wonder they're bringing back Futurama ...). Where is the next show to push comedy to its creative limits like Arrested Development did? As of now, these shows are mostly on cable - The Colbert Report, Adult Swim (Metalpocalypse, anyone?), so there is hope if you channel-surf past the single-digits. But when the nets turn out retro-grade lameness like 20 Good Years and 'Till Death, it makes you wonder ...

5.) Network News - While cable news thrives in its own, flag-waving niche, Katie Couric's much-heralded move to CBS did little to innovate, other than some additional leg-shots and those lame "In Their Own Words" segments. When is the news going to really adapt to a new era, and maintain integrity and impartiality without being tired and boring? When will a real newscast for the digital age emerge? Still waiting on that one ...

MORE BEST OF '06 AWARDS:

- Best Season Premiere: 24 Season 5
- Best Season Finale: 24 Season 5
- Best Series Finale: Arrested Development
- Best Lead Character (Drama): Jack Bauer (24)
- Best Supporting Character (Drama): Keith Mars (Veronica Mars)
- Best Lead Character (Comedy): Michael Scott (The Office)
- Best Supporting Character (Comedy): Dwight Schrute (The Office)
- Best New Character (Drama): Hiro (Heroes)
- Best New Character (Comedy): Alec Baldwin as Jack Doneghy (30 Rock)
- Best Villain: Peter Weller as Henderson on 24
- Most Shocking Moment: Michael shoots and kills Ana-Lucia and Libby in the span of 30 seconds on Lost
- Best Dramatic Speech: Jack Bauer to President Logan on 24 ("Right here, right now, you WILL face justice!")
- Best Comedic Speech: Dwight's Stalin-esque speech on The Office
- Best Late Night Guest Appearances: Borat's side-splitting spots on Conan and Leno (w/Martha Stewart!)
- Best Running Late Night gag - Tie: Conan O' Brien's Lord of the Rings: The Musical, and Conan O'Brien's Horny Manatee
- Biggest Plot Twist: Beaver revealed as the mastermind on Veronica Mars
- Best Death Scene: TIE - Edgar suffocates on 24, Jack Bauer shoots Henderson on 24, Abruze meets his maker on Prison Break, Fichtner executes escapee on Prison Break
- Lamest Death Scene - Tony Almeda abruptly bites it on 24 -- whyyyyyyy?!?!
- Fictional RIP: President David Palmer, Edgar Styles, Tony Almeda, Michelle, Alan Henderson (24), Abruze, Veronica, the Governor, that old dude (Prison Break), Mr. Eko, Ana-Lucia, Libby (Lost), Beaver (Veronica Mars), Pa Kent (Smallville), Marissa Cooper (The OC)

- Best Return to Form: Veronica Mars with it's Season 3 fall finale
- Best Guest Writer: Ricky Gervais (The Simpsons, The Office)
- Best Guest Star (Comedy) - Christian Slater, Rosanne Barr, and John Leguizamo on My Name is Earl
- Best Guest Star (Drama) - John Goodman on Studio 60
- Best Show I Watched on DVD: Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Best Animated Guest-Stars: Michael Chabon, Tom Wolfe, Jonathan Franzen, Gore Vidal on The Simpsons
- Best Marketing Campaign: Heroes
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Kevin Conroy for brilliantly voicing Batman for over a decade
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Malcolm in the Middle for a brilliant seven-year run as one of TV's most inventive comedies

- Biggest Jump-the-Shark Moment: Ryan Atwood cage-fighting on the season premiere of The OC
- Worst Theme Song Change: Veronica Mars' remixed opener
- It Took Them a Year, But they Did It: SNL finally repeats the success of Lazy Sunday a full year later with the viral sensation "$#%& in a box" digital short.
- Biggest WTF Moment: The four-toed statue on Lost
- Most annoying speech patterns: Desmond's constant use of "brother" on Lost - Hulk Hogan should sue
- Still not out on DVD, dammit all: The State (but it is on iTunes ...)
- Biggest Decline in Quality from a Year Ago: Family Guy, Smallville
- Biggest Sign of the Apocalypse: Dancing with the Stars #1 show in America

Alright, that's it for Part 1 - stay tuned for the rest and Happy Holidays! Tommorow I'm outta herrrrrrrrre and back home to CT, so I'll catch ya' later on the EAST SIDE.