Best TV Shows of the Year
TV is hard to do, as watching every good show is essentially impossible. So don’t take this list as conclusive in any way. I still haven’t checked out Terriers, which I hear was incredible, not to mention a ton of other shows. That said, I have a general policy of TV watching. I try to watch the pilot of almost every show that comes out. If it is decent in any way, will watch the next three episodes. This three episode rule proves to be pretty successful as I narrow down what I watch. However, sometimes I just stop watching because I dont have time. Both Boardwalk Empire and Treme are probably great, but after 3 episodes, they simply didnt captivate me in the way that made me force them into my schedule.
This year has been incredible for TV. It is also clear to me, after the past few years, that TV is where the best writing and storytelling is taking place; we are in the golden age of TV. Anyone who is interested in filmmaking, is wasting their time if they are not watching TV. It is a writer-centric medium, where the storytellers have the most power. Comedy writing has been best on TV for quite some years, however, I would stand by the stance that drama on TV is better than what Hollywood is producing on average – and its not by a slim margin.
Below are what I consider the 10 best shows of the year. Like the best games of the year, it is alphabetical, with the very best show being rewarded last.
Community
The TV comedy has evolved into something special. Community is keenly aware of this, and is some what a meta love letter to the medium. However it’s the ability to balance the parody with a touching and lovable cast of characters that makes Community special. Community is rapid fire, changing tone and attitude almost every episode, and it takes big risks. With an incredible ensemble cast, and strong production values (Justin Lin directed a few great episodes) the show is one of the best American comedies since Arrested Development.
Best Episode: Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas
This was an inventive episode with a surprising undercurrent of sadness. The episode understood that holidays are an incredibly personal time for people. Instead of a general holiday story, the episode used the holiday to explore each of the characters most intimate weaknesses wrapped in claymation homage with an interesting conceit.
Doctor Who
One of the best aspects of TV is that it is a medium that not only allows but embraces big risks. Doctor Who seems to risk everything almost every week. The renewal of Doctor Who by RTD has been mostly a series of hits and misses. Though when Doctor Who hits, it hits big – best TV out there, big. Season 5 saw a new show runner, Steven Moffat of Coupling and Jekyll fame. Moffat brought a certain level of cohesion and momentum through out the season that took the show to the next level. Matt Smith’s turn as the doctor is one of the single finest performances on screen today. I will flat-out say, this is my personal favorite show on the air.
Best Episode: Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang
Of all the risks the show took, the incredible 2 part finale was the biggest. At every moment it threatened too lose the audience in the sheer audacity of the timey wimey events taking place. After a universe ending cliffhanger the show takes another risk and makes the final episode an intimate 4 person show with almost no action. It all concludes with an emotional recon of almost the entire show as well as setting the stage for season 6.
East Bound and Down
Another show I got up with this year. I have been somewhat fascinated with the career of David Gordon Green, who has moved from obscure indie films which are more concentrated on observation than story, to mainstream comedies like Pineapple Express and the upcoming Your Highness. I got turned onto Jody Hill with his brilliant, but misunderstood Observe and Report. However, the real star is Danny McBride who turned Kenny Powers into a protagonist so despicable and awful that you cannot help but love him. A balancing act only a genius can pull off, Kenny Powers is a new American treasure.
Best Episode: Chapter 12
The conclusion of the Mexico storyline, Chapter 12 is East Bound and Down at its best. This is the only show that can make us feel as though our hero has learned something while giving away a stolen car, confessing to a woman that indeed he is a tit man, not a butt man, and being kind enough to “let” his assistant marry his newfound Mexican love. The show is outrageous, hilarious, and oddly touching at times. A true insightful look at a heroic loser.
Fringe
I am very late to the party with Fringe, but having finally caught up with the show, count me as a big fan. What starts as a X-files clone with more humor, and a slighty more macabre slant, turns into a thrilling multi-season arc full of puzzles, multiple dimensions and conspiracies. However what I like most about the show is that despite that the stakes are literally the universe, the show is as personal and intimate as any show on TV. We get to know these three characters, and even the biggest plot developments are usually concerned with the human tragedy that is at the center of everything.
Best Episode: Peter
Peter is the true emotional core of the show. After all the hints and clues about what Walter’s motivations and mistakes actually were, we finally get told the story. It is not exactly what we understood it to be, and instead we see a series of unfortunate events and good intentions lead to true tragedy that tears apart two families across two universes.
Mad Men
What more can be said about Mad Men; it is one of the single best shows to ever air. It will be placed in the ranks of The Sopranos and The Wire. Season 4 was also the best season. The cast of Mad Men restarted much of their life after season 3, and watching them build their new fortune and careers has revealed an incredible amount of insight, as well as spiced up a show before it had a chance to go stale.
Best Episode: The Suitcase
I would place this episode as one of the single finest 45 minutes of drama in the past few years. For over three seasons, the relationship between Peggy and Drapper has been incredibly complex. The two of them are similar souls who share similar loves and views, but are in completely different stages of their life. Everything unsaid between them comes to light in a devastating hour of drama with writing and acting so good that even the best movie of the year isn’t as effective as a whole, as some individual moments are of this episode.
Parks and Recreation
From much of the creative team behind the US version of The Office, Parks and Recreation had a similarly abbreviated and rough first season. Actually, “rough” is being rather kind to the unfunny freshman year. That said, the second season didn’t simply improve the show, but shot it into the stratosphere of one of the best American comedies in recent memory. Leslie Knope’s move from idiot to competent, but socially unaware do-gooder is marvelous, and played to comedic perfection by Amy Phoehler. The whole cast is great, and Ron Swanson has become one of the best punch-lines on TV. With Party Down’s Adam Scott showing up next season, it should continue its golden trend.
Best Episode: Hunting Trip
If there is any doubt of Ron Swanson’s epic hilarity, than simply watch him get shot in the head in “Hunter Trip”. The episode that turned me from casual fan, to rabid viewer, is a spitfire episode of comedy. Everyone is at the top of their game, and the show starts embracing their cast’s improv abilities. One sequence shows Phoelher spouting off a list of hilarious reasons why women can’t hunt and are inferior to men. It’s edited without continuity, and is clearly a “goof” reel of all her best bits.
The Pacific
The same reason The Pacific is destined to be less loved than Band of Brothers, is the same reason it is such a wonderful companion piece. While BoB was a linear journey from Normandy to Berlin that the audience took with a single group of men that you grow to love, The Pacific is a spiral into madness of three characters. Almost arbitrary in structure, The Pacific jumps from island to island, intense action to entire episodes wihtout action with seemingly no reason. However, that is exactly the point. The pacific campaign was sheer madness. The purpose of the show is the effects of combat on the human soul. With production values and spectacle that surpasses any film this year, The Pacific is an authentic and devastating portrayal of the lesser known campaign of WW2. The Pacific and Band of Brothers are the peak of all war cinema.
Best Episode: Peleliu Airfield
This is a tough call, but “Peleliu Airflield” is probably the best balanced episode. It is also the first true descent into horror. We had seen combat and atrocities through out show, but Peleliu Airfield begins the series of three episodes that show us the most awful aspects of the campaign. A quarter mile run across a completely empty airfield being covered by thousands of soldiers and artillery is the epitome of waste of life and terror.
Party Down
The first season of Party Down was a wonderful comedy about losers who have given up. It had a unique structure – a single catered party every episode – and an incredible ensemble cast. It was the closest an American show has gotten to the awkwardness, sincerity and pathos of Ricky Gervais’ Office (my favorite comedy of all time). Season 2 somehow improved on it in every way. Many episodes were ridiculous Rube Goldberg Machines of human interaction. While cancelled (the ratings were literally 0.0 for the core market), the show’s simple ending is fitting for its theme. In a show where everyone has given up, a simple act of trying again is a wonderful conclusion.
Best Episode: Steve Guttenberg’s Birthday
Guttenberg’s party was cancelled, and no one told Party Down. However, the Gutt is such a cool dude, he lets the Party Down crew stay and have a party of their own. We see Henry’s original acting career, and we get our first taste of Roman’s script writing. An episode that is both meta, and very personal, also manages to contain some of the shows most clever twists and gags – including a brilliant use of an AA sponser.
Rubicon
Oh Rubicon, how you will be missed by those who actually watched you. When this show comes out on DVD, it is a must watch, not only for those who want to experience one of the smartest shows of the decade, but for those who want insight into TV production, and how small shifts in focus and tone can change a show.
The show began as an intoxicating conspiracy theory, focusing on Will’s investigation. The show’s creator – Jason Horwitch left soon after the pilot, and was succeeded by Homicide and Brotherhood producer Henry Bromwell. Bromwell turned an interesting 70’s style paranoid drama into a brilliant examination of a workplace. The secondary characters became the most fascinating aspect of the show, and the toll of working in an intelligence agency takes on the personal life of those who work in it became the show’s focus. It became the show I looked forward to the most every week.
Best Episode: Wayward Sons
The best episode of the show is one of the best of the year. The good guys lose; the emotional weight of everything that has happened finally crushes our protagonists; a plan in motion comes to fruition. It is also an episode that cements Michael Cristofer’s Truxton Spangler as one of the greatest villains in recent memory. I cannot praise his performance enough. Senile and brilliant. Goofy and sinister. Ignorant and all-knowing. Spangler is a complex character that you never know whether he is worried about his cereal being soggy, or if he is leading you to your death. He wins in this episode, and his moment of satisfaction is terrifying and ambiguous.
Best Show of the Year:
Breaking Bad
Mad Men gets all the AMC love. While it is one of the finest shows ever made – Breaking Bad is even better. Breaking Bad has found a way to balance the insight, atmosphere, and sophistication of a drama like Mad Men, with the sheer soap opera audacity that makes TV the addictive medium it is. The first two seasons of Breaking Bad had some minor issues with knowing how to use its side characters, but not so with the third season: the side characters shine brightly and are the key to some of the shows most important moments. However it is the two leads that make the show. Walter and Jesse are perhaps the best characters on the air, and are brought to life by the two best performances on TV – scratch that – the two best performances anywhere. Bryan Cranston has long been rewarded for his performance, but this year, Aaron Paul gave just as incredible of one. Season 3 of Breaking Bad took risks no TV show would, and sent its characters to such heartbreaking and soul wrenching places, it was often unwatchable. Breaking Bad is one of the finest dramas to ever air, and I cannot wait to see where the go in season 4.
Best Episode: Full Measure
The finale of Season 3 features one of the best cliffhangers I have seen since Shield Season 5. I thought for sure, Walt had had it. He was going to die, or go to prison. There seemed to be no way for him to get out of it. I however, never expected that if he did get out of it, it would be in a way that destroyed the tiny remaining pieces of Jesse’s humanity. True to its name, this is an episode about people finally going all in. There is a surprisingly monologue by a hitman mid episode that sums up everything about the final two episodes. It is also moments like those that make this the best episode of the best show of the year.
5 other awesome shows
It was tough to pick 10 shows, so here are 5 more that are well worth your time.
Modern Family
I love this show, and is probably the best attempt at modernizing the family sitcom that has been put on the air. The cast is incredible, and Phil may be the best “GOB” character since Arrested Development went off the air.
Cougar Town
Stop laughing, I am serious about his show. As man who still watches Scrubs every month, I of course tried Bill Lawrence’s Cougar Town when it first aired, despite how bad the premise felt. I stopped watching 3 episodes in, not enjoying it at all. However, I heard it had changed, and so I returned, and now I love it. About half way through season 1 they ignore their original premise of a 40 year old woman banging young dudes to it being a show about… nothing. I guess its about drunk middle age people who hang out. Don’t know how else to explain it. They even change the title screen every week from “Welcome to Cougar Town” to titles such as “Poorly Titled Cougar Town” and “Its Ok to Watch a Show Called Cougar Town”. It has one of the most charming casts on TV, the show hinges on season long gags, wild comedic skits, and breathless pacing. Pitch perfect sitcom.
Sherlock
The first and third episodes are as good as TV gets. The second episode was a disappointment. Moffat – the same man behind Doctor Who – teamed up with Mark Gatiss to modernize Sherlock Holmes. They did with great success. The show is full of wit, and wonderful moments between Sherlock and Watson.
Sym-bionic Titan
Genndy Tartakovsky created one of my favorite shows of all time, Samurai Jack. His new show is a mash up of teen comedies and Japanese mecha animes. It was fun at first, but uneven. However, the last half of the short 11 episode season, took the show in a surprisingly adult direction. Real people die, the cities stay destroyed, and the arcs of the main characters are routed in deep sadness. Also, it has the best, most fluid animated action I have seen since Samurai Jack. Kick ass.
How I Met Your Mother
I literally have this show playing as I am writing this. The show started out well, and then turned brilliant. The backflash conceit has proven an endless well of inspiration. Rather than merely being a cute way to frame the story, it has turned into a device that allows jokes to be planted seasons in advance, and storylines to bend and turn inside out in the same way time travel episodes do. An unreliable narrator tells a story performed by a great cast. And of course, Barney Stinson played by Neil Patrick Harris is as good a comedic character as has been on TV. Consistent, reliable, and season 6 is proving better than the slight misstep of season 5.
Breaking Bad is awesome! I agree with you 100% that it’s the best show on television right now.
Freddie i know this great series i just have to recommend. Its called Spartacus and its really good if your into drama. Which apparently you are. here’s a link http://www.starz.com/originals/spartacus
Well, I (Matt) actually wrote this
As for Spartacus, we have heard of it. You might recall we did a youtube vid with Andy Whitfield – the star of Spartacus. I saw the pilot and the first few episodes. It definitely got better as it went. I have been meaning to pick up the DVD and check out the rest of the series based on the good things I have heard.
Its like people comment without even watching whats on the channel
PENIS!
Much agreed
I’ve never heard of Rubicon. I have to give it a try. Thanks !
And may I suggest you watch Misfits, a weird yet awesome show – a mix between Skins and X-Men, if you will
(Sorry if I made any mistakes, English isn’t my language)
Burn Notice.
interesting fact: I’m from Australia and I’ve only heard of ~50% of these shows!
I live in Australia; and iv’e heard of all of them.
Dude, i live in Darwin… Its on the map for how outback it is to live here
I really liked Doctor Who, and Breaking Bad, was just amazingly good.
Agree with you 100%.
Only show on here that I’ve watched more than 3 episodes of is Breaking Bad, which I agree is just amazing. I can not wait for season 4. Anyway, I tried watching Fringe a couple weeks ago, but everything just seemed too rushed and confusing. Of course, I’ve only watched a few episodes of it so it might get better, but I dunno.
Anyway, I really like reading your opinion on things. I’d like to know how you feel about Boardwalk Empire/House/Burn Notice as I feel those are also great shows (although BN has kinda dropped in how good it is) that I would like to hear your thoughts on =)
Boardwalk Empire was really good, and I look forward to watching it on DVD. When it came out, I was busy, and watching 10 shows already. For whatever reason, it didnt grip me. I respected it more than loved it. I heard it gets better as it goes on.
Burn Notice is a fun show, and I see an episode every now and then.
House is as good a network show as any. It incredibly well shot, acting is great. Its probably one of the best of its genre ever. Its just not a genre that interests me. My girlfriend and her roommates love the show so I see it pretty often. It is very good.
Fringe stars off ok, gets good, turns great, and then the third season as been one of the strongest seasons of TV I have seen in a long time. Stick with it.
Are you kidding? Where are walking dead and dexter?
Yeah i was wondering the same thing. The Walking Dead made huge headlines this year with it’s huge numbers and even this website reviewed every episode of the season. I was very surprised to see it excluded from this list. Dexter is a phenominal show as well. But thank you for keeping out Glee. I don’t believe it is as good of show as people rave about. At least you included 2 other AMC shows. It is the leading channel in exceptional TV shows
I reviewed every episode of Walking Dead
Great Show – but uneven. Only 6 episodes were not enough to put it beyond a lot of shows this year. I however, would be shocked if it wasn’t one of the best of next year.
As for Dexter. I have seen seasons 1-4. I liked the show a lot, though always thought it was slicker and cooler than it was ever smart or really all that interesting. It did have brilliant moments, and the performance by Michael C Hall is obviously to die for.
Didn’t particularly care for the first episode of season 5, and I heard a lot of people saying it was a pretty bad season. Only having so much time, I didnt watch it.
Wow, Community above Modern Family? Really? I love Community, and I agree that it is an excellent show with great characters, but in my opinion it is no contest that Modern Family is better. Modern Family’s characters are written even stronger than Community’s, they are more consistent with their episodes, and they address serious, but common relationship conflicts with such deft comedic skill that it makes Glee look like the pedantic and haughty disappointment it has truly become. Below, I go on a bit of tirade by juxtaposing Modern Family to Glee, not just to demonstrate Glee’s utter failure, but to highlight Modern Family’s glory as a show with astounding talent (because your 2 sentences on it is not enough to do it justice…).
Part of the magic of Modern Family is that you relate to aspects of all the lovable characters. Unlike Glee, characters are not defined by their demographics. Glee labels their characters as homosexual, disabled, etc. by focusing only on these aspects of extremely two-dimensional characters (a flaw of many shows that become overwhelmed with a plethora of characters…and then try to compensate by adding even more characters…how does this make sense??). But Modern Family, also with a large primary cast of almost a dozen, instills life into their characters. First, let’s look at Glee’s writing of characters. Kurt from Glee is a teenage homosexual. That is how the writers define him. And when they attempt to add depth in the form of his relationship with his father and Finn (sorta step-brother last I saw), they make him into a selfish little snot that is so wholly unlikable that you completely give up on a show that initially displayed great potential. And then when the writers use his homosexuality to generate sympathy in the most pathetic and lamest of attempts imaginable, you truly vow never to watch again.
But Modern Family is less concerned with flat labels and forcing lectures about homosexuality down their audience’s throat (no pun intended). Even if you’re not a 30-year-old homosexual who adopted a Vietnamese child with his lawyer partner, you love and relate Cam because the writers make him real. He is a father who loves his family. Cam likes dancing, and shopping, and thrives on attention. When Cam and Mitch argue over PDA, it is not because they are gay. It is because one person in the relationship is less comfortable with PDA than the other. This is significant to a more global audience of people because it is relevant to people who are in relationships, not just to people who are in homosexual relationships. This is one of the many, many reasons why Cam is infinitely a better character than Kurt.
Fans of Glee may argue that Modern Family takes the “easy way out” by not drawing attention to the controversy of homosexuality. And this is blatantly false, because this is part of the magic of Modern Family. The writers have cleverly not ignored homosexuality, but made it a normal and acceptable part of contemporary society. Yes, raising awareness is important for change to occur. But constantly drawing attention to a controversial topic only annoys the audience and contributes to flat, unlikable characters (i.e., Kurt). By making these controversies as part of life, the writers of Modern Family quietly, but effectively instill feelings of acceptance and change in the audience. It is so easy to become focus on the problems of anyone who is segregated against, whether based on disability, gender, race, sexual preference, etc., that we forget to simply understand individuals as complex human beings who are not simply defined by what makes them a minority. This is one of the many areas where Glee fails and Modern Family shines.
And on another topic, I don’t love House – it’s more of a guilty pleasure. It has many flaws, one of which is its predictable, formulaic approach to every single episode. Another is the unbelievable, but dramatic necessity of the incompetence of the doctors in finding solutions. Any team of doctors that made that many mistakes with that many patients would be fired. I don’t care how amazingly genius Dr. House or his staff is – they would not have jobs in any sort of real world hospital. But it makes for a more interesting and dramatic show. So you have to ignore the show’s basic flaws to enjoy it.
Girlfriend is spot on concerning Glee.
That said, I still like Community more than Modern Family. Modern Family is incredible, and I should see more of the 2nd season. I think it is essentially the best you could possibly do the family sitcom – where as Community strives to be more, and takes many more risks.
Modern Family plays it safe, not that there is anything wrong with that. It just means there hasn’t been an episode of Modern Family I can tout as being incredible. The whole show is. However, Community uses the TV format to do crazy things every episode, and still somehow has a way to make the characters genuine, and have moments of real empathy and emotion. Abed’s Christmas for one, but that is not all. Even in a ridiculous scene like the stand-off at the end of Conspiracy Theory, you can have Annie say a line like “Because I love you”, and its hilarious, but also rather sad; because you know she actually does love him.
Modern Family is probably a bit more “perfect”, it rarely ever missteps. Its probably personal taste. There is a reason why Modern Family is a ratings giant, and Community is near cancellation. Community is as much for TV/Film buffs as it is for the casual viewer. Modern Family is pretty universal.
i agree with brandon. burn notice has been tremendously epic this season.
I am the biggest doctor who fan. absolutely love it, even the old ones. But to be honest, the writing in the matt smith episodes were just not really the same as with david tennant, who was probably the best doctor imho. BUT it was still awesome, so who cares?!
I clicked on this, hoping to see Community somewhere. Thankfully, it was the first thing I saw! I’m not that much of a TV buff, but all of these shows are shows that I always hear about, and now since I’m hearing even MORE about them, I think I’ll go check out these shows. Breaking Bad especially. Recently, I heard that Hal from Malcolm in the Middle is on it, and that he plays a completely different kind of character. Time to check out hulu/Netflix!
The Hard Times of RJ Berger should have been on this list >.<
What about Lost? That was the best show I had ever seen on TV!
It lost me in Season 3. I kept up with it on and off, read the synopsis, saw the ending. I appreciate it what it did. I don’t think it was consistently stellar anytime after season 2.
what about bones?
haha, well I actually do like Bones. Fan of Boreanaz since Angel. And I have a huge crush on Dr. Bones herself. However, I don’t think you will find many people putting it on any top list.
Its fun, slickly produced, with writing that ranges from good to very mediocre. It is a pretty fun show, not much more than that.
That said, I own 4 seasons of it.
Prison break!!!!!
you really inspired me freddie!
that was matt
what did you think of SGU?
Rubicon is a topic fruit drink this side of the pond, Guava and Lychee are particularly good flavours.
I adore Dr Who and this latest series has been excellent. I much prefer Matt Smith to Tennant, he’s still quirky but not in such an exaggerated way I find him annoying. Karen Gillan, I could watch all day.
I also can’t wait for more from Sherlock, simply brilliant.
I heard a lot of hype about Mad Men but after watching the first episode I shelved it as it really didn’t pull me in.
American sitcoms in general don’t really appeal to me, maybe because the humour is very different to typical English show, maybe my hatred for Friends and 2 & 1/2 Men makes me a bit prejudice. However I was shown a few random episodes of How I Met Your Mother last week and I have already plowed through three series, it’s very funny and I actually like the characters and don’t end up wanting them to crash and burn.
I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for some of the shows you’ve mentioned, hopefully they’ll be aired here in England to.
Thanks “Freddie”! ;D
this was matt
How I Met Your Mother is becoming one of the strongest sitcoms in history. It had a little dip in season 5, and now in season 6 is better than ever. It has been renewed for 2 seasons. It will definitely build to its 8th and final season very well.