The Best and Worst of TV in 2010

Best guest spot: Gwyneth Paltrow on 'Glee.' Look, it's easy to be annoyed at Gwyneth, as it seems like she makes everything about her life look so effortless. But you've got to give her credit for coming on a show that was so hyped up and so stuffed full of guest stars already and creating a character that will likely be welcomed back as many times as she feels like doing it.

Paltrow not only infused substitute teacher Holly Holiday with a quirky charm, but she held her own singing and dancing with the cast. Even Cee-Lo Green enjoyed her cover of his monster hit 'F**k You' (she covered the radio-friendly version, 'Forget You'), and her showmanship came through in the 'Singin' in the Rain / Umbrella' mash-up that ended the episode.

Worst example of avoiding a sophomore slump: If you really think about it, the sophomore slump of 'Glee' really started during the spring semester of its freshman year. When it went on a four-month hiatus after the holdays last year, the hype machine almost blew a sprocket, with the kids in the cast going on a tour, singing at the White House, and pretty much making fans frothing with anticipation of the show's return. But it came back in the spring as a different show; what started as a quirky musical about some misunderstood high school kids and their super-earnest teacher turned into a musical revue show that squeezed story in the cracks between song and dance numbers.

The second season has been better, with episodes that have given viewers some good stories, especially revolving around Chris Colfer's character Kurt Hummel. But the show is still wildly inconsistent, the characters being reshaped weekly in order to service a particular plot. And it also feels like that, besides Colfer, most of the kids have suffered from the show's more musical direction. Given Ryan Muphy's history -- 'Nip/Tuck' kept getting more absurd with every season -- there doesn't seem to be any reason to think the show will go back to its fall 2009 state ever again (I mean... Katie Couric? Is she going to be singing 'Candy Man' or something?).

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