However, I find the personal challenge of list-making to be a fun task for myself (nerd alert). I also figured that since this blog is so new, with so little posts, it would be nice to offer a rough outline of my personal tastes and preferences. Lastly, I made a list last year and it would be a shame to break my streak.
Just keep in mind that I find rankings to be slightly arbitrary. It's more of a general list of top shows. The order could be rearranged in various ways (especially when it comes down to comparing dramas to comedies). And it goes without saying that I by no means have seen everything on television in the past year.
That being said, lets get down to business:
10. Honorable Mentions: Boardwalk Empire, American Horror Story: Asylum, Portlandia, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Colbert Report, Bob's Burgers, Veep, The Walking Dead
Okay...so maybe not business per say. And I guess I failed my own list making challenge. But honestly I enjoyed all of these shows. Some I've seen every episode of and others, not so much. Some have done complete 180s, and others have maintained a certain level of consistency. But they each have had their moments and I truly think each of them deserves a nod of recognition.
Many people find Happy Endings grating and the characters off-putting. And to be honest, the show is often hit or miss on a week-to-week basis. But when it hits, it hits SO good. The jokes come at a rapid fire pace. I'm constantly rewatching episodes or segments to make sure I caught everything. The performances are each hilarious in their own way and the cast is oozing with so much chemistry, its infectious. I honestly believe these people have been friends forever and have their own zany language, history, and outlook. The second half of the second season (including the lost kickball episode that only aired in the UK) and the first half of the third have had so many moments of pure hilarity and insanity. I love that they turn sitcom tropes on their heads, psyching out viewers in more subtle ways than a more blatant show like Community. Yes, the writing could be better, but it's ambitious and almost always hilarious. It's an underrated show and I just hope viewers, and ABC, continue to give it the chance it deserves.
I generally find the translation of fantasy to screen, whether large or small, hard to pull off well. When its a book series that takes place in a completely different universe--with a huge cast of characters, its own history, customs, and religions--that only adds to the difficulty of putting it in your living room every week. Yet somehow HBO's Game of Thrones pulls it off without any confusion or inadequacies. One thing in particular about the second season I enjoyed, was how it strayed from the source material. I know thats a controversial thing to say when it comes to a beloved fandom or series, but I find the show more enjoyable to watch that way (and the book more enjoyable to read). Some things don't translate well to screen and retreading word-for-word can be boring and too predictable. The showrunners keep series writer George RR Martin in the loop so when they take artistic license, I trust them. This season once again exhibited fantastic acting, beautiful scenery and art direction, as well as well placed humor. The scope of this show is immense and I'm regularly impressed. The story still finds ways to make my jaw drop in the best way possible. Character arcs and plot points that could have been boring or over-the-top are somehow stretched or confined to scale all in an incredibly well balanced season of genre-specific television.
Anyone who knows me knows I've been a huge Community fan since day one. Community is its own brand of hilarious, current, witty, zany, and self-referential humility. Although the Dan Harmon-less fourth season has been pushed back to 2013, this past spring still saw an extremely ambitious, creative, and comedic string of episodes. The Law & Order episode, the two part "Pillows and Blankets," "Digital Estate Planning," and the very emotional finale all immediately jump to mind. But besides the finale (which felt like a pseudo series finale), one episode that I found particularly poignant was "Virtual Systems Analysis": an entire episode that takes place inside the dreamatorium and Abed's head. This episode revealed the potential of the show, scratching away the comedic polish and genre-bending specificity it often hides behind, to reveal much more specific and affecting darker themes. Even the actors' performances in this episode were incredibly impressive and comedic. Actors playing a character playing a different character...it was Freaky Friday-esque but in the service of something much darker and emotional. Without Harmon I've been bracing myself for a drop in quality going forward, but I also find myself looking forward to spending more time with this hilarious community of characters.
I genuinely think Louis CK is singlehandedly changing the face of the television comedy. Each episode manages to be filled with humility and pathos while remaining hilarious and even zany. Every week is like a new short indie film that somehow doesn't take itself too seriously. Its a comedy that makes me FEEL on a base level. It doesn't just move me (like other comedy's on this list do), but it manages to make me reflect and relate (and laugh) on a level I never knew a half hour comedy was capable of. This past season's guest stars were enormous. The episodes involving Parker Posey were clear standouts to me. But moments with Chloë Sevigny, Robin Williams, Melissa Leo and others were some of the best work I've seen any of them do. The episode of Louie in Miami is another that sticks out to me (and which I find being overlooked). But honestly, every single episode is pure gold. Its only when I'm comparing the show to itself that I can find myself criticizing, critiquing, and nitpicking here and there. He deserves all the recognition and praise he has been getting lately. And I can't wait for when he finally gets behind the camera again.
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I still have no idea whether this summer's installment was its own season or the first half of one long dragged out final season (I personally like to consider them each separate seasons), but that's neither here nor there. Witnessing Walter White further descend into darkness, crime, and isolation, leaving him alone with nothing but a pile of money and his ego, is still one of the most riveting things on television. The deconstruction of this character from the pilot up until this point is genuinely fascinating. Furthermore, no one does tension like Breaking Bad, and this season was full of little moments of nothing but gut-wrenching, breathless intensity. Episodes revolving around the character of Mike were particular standouts to me, but as were the immoral acts of complete depravity we witnessed this season. One episode tied my stomach into knots. Others had me cheering on the people whose lives Walter has essentially destroyed over the course of a year. Although there were only eight episodes, Vince Gilligan managed to introduce new characters and give them moments to shock me in ways that are still sticking with me months later. One other thing that I have always loved about Breaking Bad is its cinematic eye for open skies, desert land, and especially the molecular process. We're five season in and I have yet to be bored by a meth cooking montage. The reveal in the final moments of the season had my eyes bug and forced me to sit up as I slapped my leg and realized, along with the character of Hank, exactly what this means in the months to come. I'm so looking forward to the upcoming final season. If anything, I hope Walter White finally gets whats coming to him.
One of the most talked about and debated series on television, even before the pilot ever aired, is Lena Dunham's debut series, Girls. I completely understand why many people find this series off-putting and the characters unsympathetic, but I also don't think it deserves all the hate and pretention its been getting. Not by any means. Personally, I love this show. Being the same age as Lena Dunham and her cast of characters, as well as living in New York, I find myself relating to this show more than any other on television. I won't go as far as to say Dunham is the voice of her generation, but she's most definitely a voice for me and the people I know. I have a friend that worked at Cafe Grumpy for years, I've been to huge random parties in the outer boroughs, I've seen friends run into old friends from camp, and I've had almost every conversation and disagreement these characters have. These are my friends and the people I grew up with. Yes many of them are sort of awful, entitled people, but there's just so much potential for character there. I realize this critique of the show is more about how I personally relate, and not so much an actual critique, but I just don't think I would feel right judging this show without being upfront. Aside from how I personally feel, I must mention that I am continually impressed by Lena Dunham as a writer and director. The shots, the music, the character development, the pace, the voice, all of it regularly impresses me. (I know we owe much of that to Judd Apatow as well, but I really do feel it is mostly Dunham's vision). This show has humor and a pathos in the vein of Louie (albiet it's much less zany and "indie"), and that is clearly something I respond to. These characters aren't easy to like, in fact they're easier to hate. But they each have a heart and a story and a journey ahead of them. And I genuinely believe you dont need to be a twenty-something female in New York to relate, laugh, or cringe along with me.
I have to say that this past year of Parks and Recreation may just be the series' strongest. Last spring's campaign and this fall's relationship development have all left me teary-eyed and emotional. And in an election year, Parks and Rec managed to remain unjaded about the state of politics in this country and the process itself. It never pokes fun at any one ideology or person, but finds a way to be all encompassing and relevant. As a politics-nerd I definitely appreciate this aspect of the show. And as a television-nerd, it only gets better. I love a comedy that isn't just jokes. That doesn't just hit the reset button every episode/season, but instead allows its characters to grow and progress. Parks and Rec knows when to end a story line or character arc and, more importantly, when to follow through and make logical, yet ballsy moves. Last season had hilarious guest stars in Paul Rudd and Kathryn Hahn, and stand-out episodes such as "The Debate" (written and directed by Amy Poehler) and the season finale, "Win, Lose, or Draw" (which brought me to tears multiple times; how Poehler didn't receive an Emmy is beyond me). But this current season also has its own run of hilarious and moving episodes, most notably "Halloween Surprise". But above all, Parks and Rec has a huge heart. For all the black-comedy shows on this list, for every example of crappy human behavior, and for all the shows that make jokes out of our darkest emotions (and for which I love them), Parks and Rec manages to be just as funny, poignant, and affecting...but with a smile on its face.
I obviously talk a LOT about Homeland on my blog. And I'm going to try not to get too into it right now. For my general thoughts on this past season, please see my previous post. But one thing I have to say is that much of the second season was just as good as anything in its first. Yes, it veered off course with a hit-and-run, (whose purpose appeared to purely serve relation disintegration, but in hindsight also served to give Dana a lesson in death and bring her closer to her father). And yes, there were plausibility issues. But I'm sorry, that season premiere, the reveal at the end of the second episode, the interrogation in "Q&A", the finale (and so many moments in between), is some of the best damn television I've ever seen. Period.
In terms of television, Mad Men is in a whole league of its own. No other program could even begin to match its level of craftsmanship, style, storytelling, performance, or writing/directing. Yes this past season was pretty heavy handed with the death symbolism and its preoccupation with mindless death/murder, but it still pulls it off way better than anything else on TV. Characters made major moves this season, particularly the females (but also, and obviously, one particular Englishman). If I start to list the standout episodes of the season, I'll end up talking about almost every single episode. Instead I'll talk about the moments that I responded to, that ripped my heart out or punched me in the gut or sent chills down my spine or just made me laugh endlessly: Peggy saying goodbye to Don, Don showing up a little too late to Joan's apartment, Lane giving Pete a well deserved whooping, "Tomorrow Never Knows", Sally Draper getting an eye full, fat Betty, Joan standing up to her rapist husband, Roger Sterling's LSD trip, Don looking into the abyss of an empty elevator shaft, Michael Ginsberg's origin tale, Lane fixing his new Jaguar, and probably so much more that I'm forgetting. Actually, to be honest, I'm not forgetting. Because all thats left are vague feelings and images that feel like memories. And beautiful shots of museums and windows and snow and fog and orange sherbet and Alex Mack and hare krishnas and gap-toothed smiles and...not Bobby Draper. There's just something about Mad Men that feels like nostalgia. It deserves all the hype, buzz, awards, and recognition it gets. And the show's fifth season was certainly no exception.
