Feature / Music
2008: A Year In Review

Posted pre-2010

ARTICLE JUMP

Top Five Things To Look Forward To On TV In 2009

Despite many peoples' feeling that there is nothing good on television, we beg to differ. There are plenty of great shows to watch outside of the horrible reality shows - like another seasons of "Rock of Love" - that seem to plague the channels. Here are some suggestions on shows to check out this year.

  1. Lost
  2. The best show on television returns with new episodes in 2009. The hype and theories swirling the Internet are beyond belief, but all expectations will be met and exceeded. I have no doubt about it. I don't need to write anything more.

  3. Scrubs
  4. Scrubs is back with a brand-new season, switching to ABC... but that really doesn't matter. Apparently this will be Zach Braff's last season though, or so the rumor goes. I'll be sad to see him go, but I'm ready... ready to "get Braffed." (Copyright Sean Kinchy 2007)

  5. Iron Chef America
  6. Top Chef is cool to watch, but Iron Chef America is a whole other beast. When you have culinary giants dueling with secret ingredients, anything can happen. New episodes are currently airing and I can't get enough. I'm currently trying to find a way to be a guest judge so that I can savor some deliciousness.

  7. No Reservations
  8. Anthony Bourdain has one of the top jobs in the world. He travels around the world to all sorts of exotic and remote locales - and sometimes spots in your backyard - eating the locale cuisine and immersing himself in the culture of the people that live there. If that isn't a great job I don't know what is. I envy you Mr. Bourdain.

  9. Leverage / Trust Me (tie)
  10. Leverage is my current holdover, as Lost hasn't come back just yet. I caught it on a whim and have been hooked. It's like Oceans 11, but funnier and less cliché. Trust Me is a new show that I have not seen yet, but the previews and interviews with the cast make it look good. These shows give me something new to watch after eight hours of Law & Order re-runs on TNT.

Honorable Mention: Sons of Anarchy

The first season of this show wrapped up in 2008 but the second season is already in the works. If you missed it, catch re-runs on FX now and be ready for the new season when it hits.

(Michael)

— words by the SPB team

Related features

Commerce or Amusement?

Regular Columns / Commerce or Amusement? • January 26, 2026

Howdy out there! Welcome to the introduction for a new interview series I’ll be helming. Thanks to SPB for having me. My interviews are going to revolve around “music biz” kinds of things. Before I keep going, I need to tell you something…I am not actually in the music business. … Read more

The Rousers

Interviews • January 26, 2026

A dripping handful of Brylcreem and a well-used black comb situated in the pack pocket of the rolled up Levis, the clicking rhythm of bubble gum and fast cars, fast girls and twangy guitars while engines from a Ford Thunderbird rev in the sunset. Enter The Rousers blasting out energy … Read more

Greg Soden

One Question Interviews • January 22, 2026

Greg Soden (Unscripted Moments: Conversations with Propagandhi) SPB: You’ve obviously followed Propagandhi for many years – what was the biggest surprise or revelation to you about the band as pieced the book together? Soden: To me, the greatest joy in interviewing members of Propagandhi for five years was the mutual … Read more

Hooch

One Question Interviews • January 21, 2026

Scott O’Brien (Hooch, Smut Peddlers) SPB: How is the approach to your solo work different than with Smut Peddlers? O'Brien: My solo work, which has actually turned into a new collaborative band called Hooch, was a way to work on music I wrote that was somewhat stylistically different from Smut … Read more

Storm Boy

One Question Interviews • January 20, 2026

Storm Boy What is your favorite 1990s artist? God there’s so much to draw from in so many different scene: much of which we consciously incorporate into our creative process -- like Fugazi, Jesus Lizard, the Cure, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, but also bands that influenced us simply by … Read more

More from this section

Demos You Want To Check #2

Music / New Kids On The Block • January 12, 2026

The musical landscape is ever changing. New genres are popping up, new hypes burst out of nowhere and then die out, and new bands present themselves to the world. How on earth are you expected to keep up, right? Well, a little help never hurts! So here we are, your … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: Year End (2025)

Music / Year End 2025 • December 23, 2025

Every year we diligently assemble a list of our favorite albums of the year. Each SPB staff member enters the large arena we nickname THE DOJO, and yells out the name of their top album of the year. Rival staffers quickly assemble and shout out their own highly-favored record, and … Read more

Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2025

Music / Year End 2025 • December 23, 2025

For many years now, Scene Point Blank has taken the opportunity as the year ends to formally "pass the mic" to our friends on the other side of the mostly-imaginary divide between listeners and artists. This year is no exception as we ask a bunch of bands, artists and labels … Read more