Best Anti-Hero
Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), Sons of Anarchy
Consider him the quintessential tragic anti-hero that embodies us all. In a word, Jax Teller’s (Charlie Hunnam) family life is “screwed.” The mother of his child was an addict. His son Abel was kidnapped and taken to Belfast, then held hostage as a pawn in an internal IRA civil war. Inside, he wars with becoming the upstanding citizen his dead father wanted him to be and the SAMCRO leader his mom and surrogate father expect him to be. And, then there’s the woman he loves, Tara (Maggie Siff) who he pushes away to save her from his life. Sons of Anarchy season 3 took Jax to a darker place, complete with curb-stomped skulls, a moment of near incest and vengeful uzi assassinations. Forget, “hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn.” Hell wouldn’t stand a chance if it had kidnapped Jax’s baby. What makes Jax the leading anti-hero is that his story makes you question what you would do given the same situation. He’s faced with opposition from all sides, yet with each decision he only gets smarter – thereby outwitting and overcoming every obstacle.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), Dexter
Best Sidekick
Mozzie (Willie Garson), White Collar
There are few right-hand men as smart, loyal and trustworthy as Mozzie (Willie Garson) is to Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer). Whether he’s serving as a decoy or delivering crucial intel, Moz never fails as a dependable sidekick. Season 2 of White Collar expanded on his character with the “By The Book” episode, which focused solely on him. The results were great; it was one of the best the show has had to date. When we last saw him, he had just cracked the music box code and was slumped over from being shot on a park bench. Don’t expect him to be dead; this is just a minor setback for Moz.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Mozzie, White Collar
Best Villain
Russell Edgington (Denis O’Hare), True Blood
Let’s face it, topping Maryann Forrester (Michelle Forbes) as a villain was damn near an impossible task after True Blood’s second season. But that was before we met Russell Edgington, the Vampire King of Mississippi. His evil ways seemed to know no end and it was commonplace for him to flex his bad guy status at every possible turn. Whether it was ripping an anchor’s heart out on live television or beheading the Magister, Russell made sure that we all knew who was in charge. That is, until Bill and Eric conspired to bury him alive in concrete.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Russell Edgington, True Blood
Best Guest Star
Jesse Porter (Coby Bell), Burn Notice
There was a silver lining to the cancellation of The CW’s The Game; Burn Notice recruited the show’s star Coby Bell to play burned spy Jesse Porter (Note: The Game has since been picked up by BET). This hot-headed agent added a great dynamic to the show, often butting heads with Michael Western (Jeffrey Donovan) and flirting with Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar). At the same time, he provided the main point of conflict for Season 4 as the trio struggled to tell him the truth about his being burned, intel that he eventually discovered by himself.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Jesse Porter, Burn Notice
Best Action Hero
Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), 24
Fact: Chuck Norris wears Jack Bauer pajamas. After personally saving America’s butt seven times, Jack Bauer wasted no time springing into action in Day 8, this time saving New York from a major terrorist attack. And just when he was ready to retire for good, he lost yet another love, Renee Walker (Annie Wersching). The result? Bauer went absolutely berserk and singlehandedly saved the day…again. And he gets a special helping of props for putting Dana Walsh out of her misery. When it was all said and done, he was able to escape and disappear into the shadows, presumably until Fox approves on a viable movie script.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Michael Western (Jeffrey Donovan), Burn Notice
Best Dynamic Duo
Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), Supernatural
Even with the forces of heaven and hell conspiring against them, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) decided to spit in the eye of a predetermined armageddon and save the world. The two tested fate and realized that together, they were stronger than any Supernatural power. What makes this duo stand apart from the rest is that either brother was willing to sacrifice both life and soul to save the other and thereby save humanity – for now.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) and Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), White Collar
Best Season Ending Cliffhanger
Entourage Season 7
Entourage had been plagued by several ho-hum seasons prior to the stellar seventh season. As Vince continued to self-implode right in front of his friends, everyone seemed to be concerned with their own issues. When the gang finally realized that an intervention was necessary, it was too late. Vince got himself into a fight with Eminem and then was thrown in the slammer. Upon being released, police found cocaine amongst his possessions. Now will Vince catch the heat for drug possession or will Drama step to the plate and claim that it’s his? We’ll have to wait until this summer to find out.
Reader’s Choice Winner: White Collar
Best Couple
Clark Kent (Tom Welling) and Lois Lane (Erica Durance), Smallville
Much to the chagrin of CLana and CHlark hopefuls, Clark Kent (Tom Welling) and Lois Lane (Erica Durance) finally became the inseparable pair that they were destined to be. After countless will-they-won’t-they episodes, the two finally hooked up for good and never looked back. And now that Lois is in on the Blur’s secret, the two have become the dynamic duo that they were always meant to be.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley), The Vampire Diaries
Most Awkward Couple / Most Sexual Tension
Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) and Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) – aka Chair, Gossip Girl
When it comes to couples with sexual tension, no two couples can compare to Chair on Gossip Girl and Delena (Elena Gilbert, Nina Dobrev, and Damon Salvatore, Ian Somerhalder) on The Vampire Diaries. However, in 2010, Blair and Chuck won the crown. What other couple fights to not be together, knowing that they belong together? In 2010, Chuck and Blair were only moments away from getting engaged when a short flutter of the heart caused Blair to miss Chuck and subsequently led to Jenny Humphrey’s (Taylor Momsen) NYC banishment. A near death experience, Paris and a contract didn’t do much to keep the two together or apart. Sadly, the non-couple continues to coast in a perpetual state of limbo. They’ve even battled on how best to stay apart: abstinence versus sex’n each other’s brains out.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder), The Vampire Diaries
Best Undead Series
The Walking Dead
It only took six episodes for The Walking Dead to cement itself as one of the great television shows of 2010. With a Frank Darabont directed premiere episode that was nothing short of brilliant, the AMC show oscillated between character development and all out war with the zombies. The result was a chilling story of survival and the setup for what we hope is an even better second season.
Reader’s Choice Winner: The Vampire Diaries
Best Science Fiction
SGU Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe may have fallen victim to an early cancellation, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a well crafted and memorable science fiction series. SGU wins out for a stellar ensemble cast. Each character had his or her own unique story line worth following. Watching the fierce dynamic of Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) versus Col Young (Louis Ferreira) always left viewers with cliffhangers to salivate over. Add on to it a protege war of loyalty and love between Eli (David Blue) and 1st Lt. Scott (Brian J. Smith) and you were sure to have your weekly dose of drama aboard the Destiny. Hopefully, with 10 episodes left to air in Spring 2011, an outpouring of fan ratings can get Syfy to give SGU one more go. But, don’t hold your breath.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Supernatural
Best New Series
Sherlock
Three ninety-minute episodes was all it took for creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat to finally do Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes right. This series was undoubtedly the best Holmes telling in decades. Moffat and Gatiss re-imagined Sherlock Holmes in the present day, adding in smartphones, blogging and Wifi. Yet, not for a minute do you ever regret the creative team’s decision. Although his ego and boredom often gets in his way, Sherlock always stays several steps ahead of the police as he proves that the perfect crime has its share of imperfections. This is an intellectual series that doesn’t sacrifice integrity to get a laugh, yet there are plenty of laughs to be had. If you felt cheated by the Robert Downey Jr. film, consider this the tale that should have been told.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Sherlock
Best Season of an Ongoing Series
Breaking Bad
There’s something about Breaking Bad that makes you constantly say “WTF?!” The third season of AMC’s award winning series was its darkest, yet creator Vince Gilligan managed to keep the comedy flowing. Walt’s (Bryan Cranston) unholy journey from chemistry teacher to high volume drug manufacturer came with several costs to personal and “professional” relationships. What really surprised us was the intense character evolution of Jesse (Aaron Paul) and the often frightful performance of Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo ‘Gus’ Fring. The series continues to slowly pace itself, never jumping the shark for thrills and always taking us to a more destitute place for Walt and Jesse. Season three made us realize that while Jesse may have been born to bad, Walt is just better at it – even if he doesn’t admit it.
Reader’s Choice Winner: Lost
See the full rundown of nominations and Reader’s Choice polls now!
