Best Shows of 2015

Man, the competition was CUTTHROAT this year. While pretty much anything I liked made it onto the other lists, there's so much good TV from 2015 that didn't make it to the top 10. The Jinx, Show Me a Hero, Broad City, Daredevil, Inside Amy Schumer, the ends of Key & Peele, Parks and Recreation, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force... by limiting this list to ten, there's a ton of great stuff I don't get to talk about. Which tells you how much I liked what did make the list.

Best of 2015

10. Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (Netflix)


As I mentioned in the movie post, there were a lot of sequels after long gaps last year, though Wet Hot American Summer may be the only one that moved from film to television. Well, not television exactly, since it was on Netflix... which you can watch on your television... what is television anymore? Anyway First Day of Camp tackles multiple things that are really hard to pull off. Comedy sequels are tough, and so are prequels in general, and so is waiting this long to return to a simple idea. But having pretty much the entire cast back works great, all the new faces mesh in perfectly, and the way the show plays with expectations, works in the prequel format, and develops its own running jokes while returning to existing ones all works much better than could be expected.

9. Jessica Jones (Netflix)


Of the four shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe last year, Jessica Jones had the most going for it. The cast is really good, particularly Krysten Ritter as the troubled but resourceful title character and David Tennant as Kilgrave, who is perfectly horrible and menacing even when he's giving you serious Doctor Who vibes. I've heard people describe Jessica Jones as barely or reluctantly a super hero show, which is a bit odd when it's much more open about its various super powered characters actually having powers when Daredevil kind of danced around it. My point is that there's a lot of variation possible within the story space of having super powered characters, and Jessica Jones finds an interesting angle, with Jessica finding that she's better at snooping on people than helping the downtrodden. There were a few moments that didn't work for me, but the cat and mouse game between the hero and the villain provides for several huge twists and thrills, and create one of the most bingeable shows this year.

8. Review (Comedy Central)


Review is plenty funny, but the comedy isn't exactly why it makes this list. Despite the premise (Andy Daly's Forrest MacNeil tries various viewer-submitted life activities and rates them on a five-star scale) sounding every bit like it would result in one of the most episodic shows imaginable, it's actually the long-term storytelling that causes it to really shine. The first season ended with Forrest divorced and depressed, punching his boss and going into hiding. The second season begins with him back in the fold, but it isn't long before the crazy things his audience asks him to try out cause his life to once again spiral out of control and deeply affect his relationships with loved ones. It's really a show where you have to see every episode, because mistakes in the past always find ways to come back and bite him again, and the darkly funny miseries he gets put through work best when you understand exactly how he gets to where he is. I'm not sure if there will be a third season, but I hope so, as much as I wonder how Forrest could possibly handle it.

7. The Knick (Cinemax)


The second season of The Knick isn't quite as great as the first, but it's still one of the most compelling dramas that aired last year. This is another one where I'm not sure if it will come back, but if it does I'll be sure to watch it. It stars Clive Owen as a cocaine-addicted genius surgeon at the Knickerbocker Hospital in New York City at the turn of the century, and explores the struggles of the personal lives of he and several others at the hospital as they try to advance medicine in various ways, some of which we know will work, and some of which we know are disastrously wrong. Historical hindsight is a real bastard on this show. Every episode is directed by Steven Soderbergh, so it's one of the most cinematic shows on TV, and the great writing and cast make sure the quality of the show goes beyond the visuals. If you don't mind something that basically jumps between horrible people being horrible and horrible things happening to the couple decent folks around, or the amazingly gruesome surgery scenes, it's definitely worth watching.

6. Rick and Morty (Adult Swim)


Being a returning show rather than a new one, it was a little easier to see where Rick and Morty relied too heavily on returning to the same dramatic constructs it keeps using or excessive violence for easy laughs, and the experience of watching it wasn't quite as magical as it was before. Still, there were six or seven episodes that were as perfect as anything else I watched in 2015, and there are bits in even the weaker ones that will stick with me for a long time. Being a great comedy and great science fiction at the same time is tough, but Rick and Morty pulls it off.

5. Justified (FX)


This might be the show I'm saddest about ending last year, because its combination of gritty crime drama with highly amusing, wonderfully-styled dialogue seems hard to replace. Being the final season, it had to stop dancing around and tie off its ongoing plot threads, and that means bringing the story of Raylan and Boyd to a close. It doesn't go quite where you expect, because it's written in the style of Elmore Leonard and there's a bunch of other interests at play so of course it doesn't, but it still works out in a way that is dramatically satisfying and fun to watch. Sam Elliott is a strong presence as the driving force behind the season's main elements, and Jonathan Tucker is remarkable as the one last hot shot villain that Raylan has to contend with. I'm glad that the last season cements Justified as one of the great modern crime dramas on TV.

4. Game of Thrones (HBO)


There was some understandable controversy over the way Game of Thrones continued to use sex, particularly sexual violence, for dramatic effect in its fifth season. At some point your audience understands that being a woman in this world is no picnic, and it stops having a purpose being shock value. It ultimately seemed small to me though, in a season that had so many good things going for it, from big fantasy action on a scale that TV basically never has, to great success at moving the story forward in important ways, and for the first time, massive surprises for people who had read the books already. Since the next one won't be out before season six airs, book fans and TV-only fans are on the same level, and it feels exciting, not know what's going to happen and waiting to see how the cast of dozens handles what comes at them with seemingly anything being possible.

3. Better Call Saul (AMC)


I wasn't even sure if I was going to watch this, with my general distaste for spin-offs, but I gave it a shot since Vince Gilligan was involved. It was much better than I expected, telling the surprisingly earnest story of Jimmy McGill, a man who tries his hardest to put aside his dishonest past and find his way as a real lawyer, but is stymied repeatedly by circumstances beyond his control. Eventually he reaches a decision, which is not unavoidable but certainly understandable, and puts himself on a path that will lead to him becoming Saul Goodman. We haven't seen that transformation yet, but it's coming, and I'm definitely excited to see how it happens. It should also be mentioned that coming from a lot of the same people as Breaking Bad, Saul maintains that show's incredible cinematography and sense of style while shifting to a notably more mundane central plot.

2. The Leftovers (HBO)


I watched the first season of The Leftovers last year and enjoyed it, but I guess it didn't really stick with me. That changed with its brilliant second season, which I loved enough to question whether I had paid enough attention the last time it was on. They shifted location from New York to Texas but kept the core cast and general tone of the show intact, which explores grief and loss through the prism of a mysterious event that caused about 2% of the people on Earth to disappear at once. A few years have passed since that happened, but things are still far from normal, and the show's exploration of its characters' reactions and inner lives delivers poignancy and "oh shit" moments at an incredible pace. It's not easy to explain why it works so well, but if you watch it knowing that the point of the show is not to answer its own mysteries but examine how they affect people, it's powerful and mesmerizing with every single episode.

1. Mad Men (AMC)


Mad Men's final season aired in two chunks over the last two years, bringing its cast out of the 60s and into 1970, as their efforts to keep Sterling Cooper as its own entity finally run their course and their lives begin to permanently alter irrevocably. Since the plot is basically driven by the decisions and personalities of the main characters rather than something more direct like an inevitable violent confrontation, it's not as easy to know what the conclusion will be or to reach it in a fulfilling way, but Matthew Weiner and his team of writers understand these people and the world they live in, and managed to find a perfect ending for pretty much everyone. There are multiple ways to interpret the final scene, but they all have the same general dramatic meaning, and its one that works as a way of summing up the whole series. I look forward to revisiting the show somewhere down the road, and I expect that to be as worthwhile as watching it all for the first time.

Delayed Entry

This is the best show that didn't air in 2015 but I didn't watch until then.

The Simpsons (FOX)

While I'm not actually done watching the show, I plan to stop well before I catch up to the current season - I just finished the 11th, and I'm really feeling the decline everyone who kept up with it experienced years ago. If you can ignore the fact that The Simpsons has been bad for longer than it was good, you can find a show that holds up as one of the best and most influential series ever made, casting a shadow over the 90s just as big as Seinfeld or anything else. The fact that it couldn't keep up after it reached double digits in years shouldn't count too much against it, since almost nothing else even gets a chance to. There's a period there, probably the 3rd through 8th seasons, where it's just unbelievable, where every joke is laugh out loud funny or at least undeniably well constructed, and where it's coining words or phrases constantly that still get used today. I'm glad I finally took the time to see why people love this show so much.

Best Shows of 2013

The list of shows I watch has slowly dwindled in size as many series have been ending while I've been slower to add new ones. Combine that with a few previously excellent series taking dips in quality, and 2013 wasn't the best year for TV in a while. Still, everything on this list kept me thoroughly entertained and engrossed.

Best of 2013

8. Treme (HBO)


There were multiple shows that ended in 2013 in ways that drove home their themes and big ideas gracefully, like 30 Rock and Spartacus, and Treme was one of the better ones. The show has never gotten a fair chance from a lot of people because it wasn't and never could be as propulsive as The Wire, but it's still a completely effective drama that shows how a city stuck in a horrible situation worked to pull itself together, and that there's still a lot of work to be done. There's only five episodes to this fourth and final season, but they're among the best five in the show's whole run.

7. The Venture Bros. (Adult Swim)


Even including last Halloween's special episode, the fifth season of The Venture Bros. was only around for five hours. Still, Doc and Jackson once again proved they're making the best animated series on television. I just know there will be enough of it. Every new direction they go in reveals even more history and interesting new characters, and there just isn't enough time in the world for two guys to get every last drop of fun they could out of it. All this while it's amazing how much they usually manage to cram into about 22 minutes of air time. The hour-long premiere essentially feels wasteful for not getting its story across in half that time. I like The Venture Bros., is what I'm saying.

6. Parks and Recreation (NBC)


It might be because I don't watch enough new shows, but I think Parks is still the best comedy on TV right now. The entire cast is full to the brim with talent and clearly enjoys working with each other, as they constantly find new spins on old relationships and hidden details that delight when discovered. "Leslie works in the council" might not be quite as compelling a throughline as "Leslie runs for council", but they still find a lot of ways to poke fun at modern politics and get some solid bits of comedy and real meaning out of the concept. I'm still not sure when the show's ending, and I have the feeling it might be soon. If that's true, I'm glad to keep watching it while it lasts.

5. Mad Men (AMC)


It's only through association with the dazzling fifth season that the sixth seems a little disappointing in comparison. But while I'm glad the show is finding out where it wants to go and extremely perturbed by the decision to chop its final season into two halves, I'm still really enjoying it while it's on. Great writing, great acting, great humor, and plenty of surprises still left with unexpected plot shifts and an unending supply of new layers to discover in the characters.

4. Justified (FX)


I like how each season of Justified is able to develop its own unique little personality while still fitting into the grander ideas at work in developing one of the most fascinating depictions of crime and law in modern television. Justified was more subdued in 2013 than it was in 2012, slowly building a D. B. Cooper-esque mystery while a web of danger and suspicion wraps tighter and tighter around those in the center. It's the kind of season you can only get after a few years of buildup, as all the pain in these characters pasts comes back even stronger for some of the show's very finest moments. It might be the show's best, when all is said and done.

3. Boardwalk Empire (HBO)


While Nucky is still Boardwalk's closest thing to a central figure, season 4 was definitely all about the supporting cast. Chalky White, Richard Harrow, and the entire Chicago subplot got a lot of focus this time around, and it was generally to tremendous effect. The Al Capone scenes have always had a certain weight behind them because he's probably the show's best known real-life figure, and there was a lot of strong moments as his life as one of America's most infamous criminals began to really get going. It looks like we won't be seeing a lot of that though, because HBO's announced that the fifth season later this year will be the show's last. It's surprising, because the show is still so good and there's a lot from the period they haven't gotten bored with. And a lot of what happened this year was among the most gripping and tragic stuff I've seen in crime television. They've still got it, and they want to end things when they're still riding high.

2. Game of Thrones (HBO)


I mentioned before that this season would be adapting (a large part of) my favorite book in the series, and I was excited to see them depicted on screen. And good lord did they ever pull it off. One scene in particular made history with the impact it had on unfamiliar viewers, especially on social media, and besides it being one of my favorite moments in the pop meta-culture of the year, it was just a damn good scene, getting everything right it needed to to match the feeling of reading it for the first time. And while it's great that they're nailing the big plot points that every fan of the books knows, it's also great that the show totally works on its own too, looking at the continuing warm reception from almost everyone who sees it. Not everything was great - the Theon scenes kind of went nowhere a lot, and the very end of the season finale was dull after the exciting cliffhangers in the first two seasons. But it was still one of my favorite things to watch last year.

1. Breaking Bad (AMC)


Well of course this was going to be at the top of my list. How could it not be? It's the final fucking season of Breaking fucking Bad. Possibly the best final season of a great show ever made. The writers wrote! The directors directed! The actors acted! The cinematographers cinematographied! I actually wouldn't have minded an ending that was a bit more daring and unexpected, but once in a great while, what a story needs and what the audience wants to see actually kind of line up, and it works out for everyone. I'll always remember Breaking Bad for its dark humor, its electric cast, its razor-sharp tension, and the utterly human drama at the heart of it all. One of the all-time greats.

Delayed Entry

This is the best show that didn't air in 2013 but I didn't watch until then.

The Thick of It (BBC)

The Thick of It is probably the most realistic depiction of modern politics ever seen on television while being devastatingly funny the entire time. The casts rotates a bit but is generally pretty solid, and they play a group of people who hate each other, hate the government opposition, hate the citizens of Britain, and basically hate everything else while they're at it. Almost every episode is about some stupid crisis about nothing that shouldn't be happening snowballing into even worse scandal as their sorry attempts to cover it up or apologize get ruined by even stupider mistakes. It's like a symphony of human garbage. I watched it because one of the regulars, Peter Capaldi, is the new star of Doctor Who. I think it's brilliant casting - just replace the caustic Scottish foulmouthed wit with caustic Scottish sci-fi gibbering and you're pretty much there.

Best Shows of 2012

Since I only consider shows that complete a season in a given year, and Breaking Bad only aired the first half of its final run, this will be the first year since it started that it won't be on my list. What show will take its three years running top slot?

Best of 2012

10. Homeland (Showtime)


People sure can turn on a show quickly. I wasn't as disappointed by the quicker pace and bigger action of Homeland's second season as some others, but I did find it to be a step down in quality. Still, the acting is great, the dramatic scenes are played with a lot of effective tension, and those guys still know how to spin an exciting yarn of terrorism and the people who counter it.

9. Luck (HBO)


Based on the fact that they were reportedly already filming the second season, I believe that Luck really was canceled because of the unfortunate death of horses they were using, and that wasn't just a cover-up of the fact that the show hadn't succeeded financially yet. It's a shame, because David Milch created a really interesting environment for a much longer series. The intricate dialogue was handled with skill by a great cast led by Dustin Hoffman, and the scenes of the actual races were absolutely breathtaking. I'll always wonder what could have been.

8. Sons of Anarchy (FX)


There are lots of dramas, and even crime dramas about bad guys specifically, that are more graceful, classier, subtler, more emotionally meaningful, and a lot of other words you can think of than Sons of Anarchy. Few of them though ever approach this show's ability to put together a plot. Characters are always hiding things, discovering secrets, getting into and out of trouble, and the shit just seems to never stop piling up against them. Yet it never totally breaks. I was highly disappointed by the finale of the last season, but not only did they manage to earn back my trust this year, they actually made those seemingly bad decisions look like good ones. I don't know how much more there'll be, but I'm on board.

7. Louie (FX)


This season was definitely less consistent than the second, with a few episodes that weren't particularly funny, which would usually be fine with this show, but in this case failed to have significant merits elsewhere at the same time. When the show's like that, it's still good enough to watch, but you know Louis C.K. can do better. Luckily , some of the season was really, really good, notably the appearances by Parker Posey and Chloë Sevigny as brilliant takes on the problems with a typical "manic pixie dream girl" character (I kind of hated typing that) and an arc where Louie tries to win Letterman's hosting job with the help of a strange mentor played by David Lynch. The show won't be back until next year, and I'm going to miss it.

6. Justified (FX)


It's probably a good idea that Justified didn't try to top the pure, unnerving menace of Margo Martindale's Mags Bennett from season two, instead aiming for a bit more color with its new characters who end up trading threats with Raylan Givens. It might be taking the easy way out, but the show is already more colorful than others of the same type, which is part of what makes it stand above the rest. Justified's version of Harlan county and the surrounding areas is becoming as well developed and entertaining as any fictional place I can think of, and it's one of the few shows where I don't care if what's happening ties into a larger story or not. It's fun to watch regardless.

5. Community (NBC)


Season three of Community was not without its share of problems. Some of the supporting characters continued to be used to less than their potential, larger story elements lurched at times, and it could not quite be counted on to be brilliant every single week. But I simply cannot pretend that a show that made episodes like "Remedial Chaos Theory", "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux", "Regional Holiday Music", "Pillows and Blankets", "Basic Lupine Urology", and "Introduction to Finality" is not one of my favorites.

4. Game of Thrones (HBO)


Game of Thrones' second season took a lot more risks than the first, intentionally changing the story from the books more often and attempting things like showing a large siege battle that most shows wouldn't even think doing. It mostly paid off, and continued to be a bloody, sexy cable show that managed to have a good story and good acting anyway. The third book in the series has some of the story's most infamous scenes, and I can't wait for the show to get to them.

3. Boardwalk Empire (HBO)


You always wonder what will happen to a show when one of its central characters is no longer around (Game of Thrones fits this too), and it's a bit surprising how much better Boardwalk Empire seemed with Michael Pitt gone. The other characters got to have their own stories a bit more, and they ended up with the best buildup and climax to an arc yet, one that focused on the war between Nucky and a competitor for his illegal goods played by Bobby Cannavale. The 1920s setting is still pretty fascinating, and it's interesting to watch how Terence Winter weaves his gangster tale with the truths of history.

2. Parks and Recreation (NBC)


Some things are growers. They can be albums, foods, people, and in this case, a TV show. Was Parks and Recreation markedly, demonstrably better in 2012 than it was before? Probably not. But the more I see it, the more I just like spending time watching it, and seeing what will happen to the characters, who I can't help but feel attached to, whether things are going fine for them or they're struggling. I hope it stays on the air for years to come.

1. Mad Men (AMC)


Like Parks and Recreation, Mad Men has been a grower for me. I can't rightly say that there's an objective reason that it was my favorite show of 2012 and not one of my top 10 in 2007, I just know that it was, and it would take a second watch of the whole series to dig deeper into the question. It does seem less focused on social commentary and reliving the 60s, and more focused on the character relationships and memorable scenes, which are things I tend to prefer. There was a period of time when the show was just absolutely on fire in season five, every episode absolutely stuffed with brilliant writing, directing, and acting, and even though there's no ticking time bombs or unexpected gun fights, it was the show I anticipated most from week to week.

Delayed Entry

This is the best show that didn't air in 2012 but I didn't watch until then.

Veronica Mars (UPN/CW)

I'm surprised I didn't notice the parallels between this and Buffy the Vampire Slayer a bit sooner. A show on UPN about a plucky and beautiful but dangerous and talented blond girl (Kristen Bell instead of Sarah Michelle Gellar) in high school, that plays with genre conventions (mystery instead of supernatural horror), and gets a bit worse when she moves on to high school? It's kind of scary, actually. The first two seasons of Veronica Mars have her solving both basic but inventive cases week to week and bigger, season-spanning conspiracies in the long term, and the way they balance humor, drama, and intrigue is remarkable. The third season is disjointed and lighter in tone, which definitely hurts it, but it's still worth seeing. It's a show that's easy to gorge on, and it's too bad that there aren't more than 64 episodes to enjoy.

Best Shows of 2010

While the last three lists were compromised by not being able to pay for stuff, this one was actually probably enhanced - there's a lot of time to sit around watching television when you don't have a job. The last couple of years for TV have seemed a bit dry in comparison to what we had before that, but 2010 was another one for the ages. There were are a couple shows that I unfortunately had to cut to trim this list to ten, although a few will get recognized tomorrow. But these shows in particular entertained me an amazing amount this year. Remember, this is recognizing these shows for the seasons which ended in 2010.

Best of 2010

10. The Venture Bros. (Adult Swim)


The Venture Bros. fourth season was its biggest ever, and while maybe not the best, it was still pretty excellent. After some felt the third season strayed too far into building up its own world and just wasn't funny enough, the fourth struck a nice balance between comedy and mythology, developing further one of the most interesting and detailed science fiction universes to come around in a long time. It's a cartoon so consistently well-written and presented that almost every new episodes feels like it could be a contender for the best one ever, although the hour-long finale had the best case of all.

9. The Pacific (HBO)


Major Dick Winters, former leader of Easy Company and the man Band of Brothers spent the most time focusing on, died last week. Not only was he a great man, but he provided a central character around which possibly the best miniseries ever could build. The Pacific lacked that sort of central figure that the whole thing could be tied back to, but it still managed to match and even exceed its spiritual predecessor in some areas, from the scale and intensity of the battles to the harrowing way the horrors of war are portrayed. It wasn't as great as Brothers, but that's quite a lofty goal, and it was still quite good for most of its run.

8. Sons of Anarchy (FX)


This is the most inconsistent show on the list this year, with a tendency to occasionally go too far with some of its plot threads and have its characters make questionable decisions. But besides #1, it was also the best show at producing exceptional individual moments that make all the hiccups seem totally worth it in the end. Sons of Anarchy's world is a tough place to live, and that's just as evident in this season as the first two, especially in the final episode, which had one of the best conclusions I've ever seen and really helped cement the show as one of my favorites. Best finale all year.

7. Parks and Recreation (NBC)


Parks and Recreation was definitely iffy in its brief first season, but the second was just about brilliant from beginning to end. It reminded people of what The Office was like when it was really cooking and not just the acceptable sitcom it is today, and in some ways it was even better. The central cast isn't as big, but in many respects it's stronger, and whatever wacky idea they were tackling, they just seemed to nail it every week. It's been away for way too long, and I can't wait for its return a week from today.

6. Lost (ABC)


Kind of a drop on this list compared to the last two years, but that's more due to the strength of the competition than anything Lost actually did wrong. Like the show's whole run, its final season wasn't perfect, but its strengths were great enough to overcome issues of unanswered questions or uneven pacing. We got some really great payoffs for all the best characters, and I personally thought the ending was perfectly fitting what they had built up. I'll miss seeing it this spring.

5. Community (NBC)


Technically I'm not including what the show has done so far in its sophomore season, although I will say it really helped cement Community as my favorite comedy currently running. The first was plenty excellent on its own, as it transitioned from a likable Joel McHale vehicle about community college into a stunningly brilliant ensemble comedy about anything and everything. The themed episodes get the most attention, but every week you're bound to see something you weren't expecting. The show is hilarious, but it also manages a lot of sentiment without ever seeming cloying. Just a great show.

4. Mad Men (AMC)


This was my favorite season of Mad Men, and it's slowly creeping up my list of the best stuff you can watch these days. It's not as careful and well considered as it used to be, but it's a lot more enjoyable, with a seemingly conscious effort to make the show quicker, funnier, and more dramatic. It was just a bit dry for me before, but I thought they struck a great balance between entertainment and intelligence this time. And yeah, that finale was pretty crazy. Looking forward to what's next.

3. Boardwalk Empire (HBO)


You could swap this and Mad Men and I'd probably hardly notice, but for now I'm taking Empire by a nose. I think some people find it a bit slow, and while I can tell why, I don't really care because I'm always glued to the screen regardless. The show looks great, it uses violence and sex effectively without seeming too trashy, and I love the way they slowly build up their own slightly fictionalized version of 1920 over the course of the season. It's not quite the powerhouse it might have been and still could be, but it's damn good just the same.

2. Dollhouse (FOX)


A lot of people probably forgot about this already, but Dollhouse's second and last season finished airing way back at the beginning of 2010, and so it goes on this list. Dollhouse had a lot of warts in its first year, but it still ended up as a pretty series by the end of the season, and while season two couldn't help but stumble a bit again, I thought it quickly rounded into the best thing Joss Whedon as been involved with since Firefly and one of the best pieces of science fiction TV period. They really did a lot with what little time they had, and I know for one I won't be forgetting about it for a while.

1. Breaking Bad (AMC)


After seeing the final season of The Shield, I decided it was actually better than Breaking Bad's first effort, which is why I can't really say Bad was my favorite thing on TV for three years in a row. But for a while there it was. They stepped up their game yet again in season three, which was both the show's most thrilling and funniest yet. You might be wondering how I could say Anarchy had the best finale all year after Bad's, but the truth is it honestly just felt like another good episode and solid cliffhanger after all the amazing stuff that came before. It seemed like every week they were topping themselves in terms of mind-blowing events that were going on, and they never let you catch your breath. We have to wait a bit longer than usual for season four, but I bet it will be worth it.

Mad Men - Season 4

Last season ended with a bold move forward by Don and his coworkers, bidding farewell to their British masters as they started fresh with a new company. It signaled a big change in the series' formula, and basically everyone thought it was great. This year ends with a similarly huge and unexpected event in the plot, but this time half the viewership liked it and the other half seemed to think it totally killed the show. I understand being completely thrown off by the scene in question, and get the multiple references to it even being dreamlike in how unbelievable it is. But doesn't it speak to the show's quality that we can be this shocked at the seeming stupidity of a character's decision? If they hadn't spent so much time these last four years and in this season in particular trying to show us who Don is without ever letting us really know, we wouldn't care nearly this much. And the fact is, it was all justified by what came before, with even some seemingly throwaway lines pointing towards this conclusion. And while some people might not think all publicity is good publicity, what do people remember more, the end of The Sopranos or The Wire? Just thinking about where season five is going to kick off is probably even more interesting a discussion point than the same question we had for season four.

Before the finale though, this season was simply outstanding. I might have mentioned that the season three finale was easily one of my favorites in the series, and practically this entire run of thirteen episodes seemed to be at or at least near that level of quality. I don't think it's just me continuing to become more invested in the characters. The dialogue was consistently snappy and it was the funniest season by far. Pete didn't get as much screen time, but the diminished role helped sympathize the character. Peggy and Roger were both consistently great this year. While some of the better episodes used historic events to frame their stories, they didn't need to rely on it this time, just letting the show exist in its time. Betty was also better in a slightly limited capacity, still kind of crazy, but that's put in context a bit, and she was helped by some really good stuff from Francis and especially Sally, who's really coming into her own. And they really explored Don in a fascinating way. After three years in an ugly marriage, seeing him on his own was intriguing, if only for how miserable he usually seemed. He sort of breaks down before building himself back up, and I'd call it a redemption arc if he actually seemed redeemed by the end. We'll see where season five finds him, but I doubt it's living in a dream world.

Best Shows of 2009

Again, things get on this list by having a season end in the year in question. Even if all but one episode was shown in a different year. Causes some odd situations, but it makes it a bit easier. This was a good year for shows I like, with lots of them either maintaining high standards of quality or bouncing back from relatively sub-par seasons.

Best of 2009

8. Pushing Daisies (ABC)


This is one of those odd situations. ABC failed to renew Daisies for a full second season, so they waited until the middle of the year to unceremoniously air the last three episodes. The show's second run didn't have quite the verve of the first, but it was still a beautifully shot, fiendishly clever, and highly charming show while it lasted. Maybe too cute for some, but it never bothered me.

7. Mad Men (AMC)


I really thought this was the show's best run, showing just how much good stuff there was last year. It featured a few of the series' greatest moments so far, some of its best humor, and some truly game-changing upheaval of the status quo in the last couple episodes. Ultimately though, I want to know what happens now more than I want to revisit what already did.

6. Dexter (Showtime)


The show's best go-round since the first, it wasn't perfect but managed to recapture a lot of what was missing the last time and tell an exciting story again. John Lithgow was probably the best pure villain on TV last year, and there were a number of scenes as shocking, disturbing, and downright just as tense as what you can accomplish in the medium. Plus it was the only thing on this list to have a significant supporting character regularly show her tits, which doesn't hurt. Nah, if that actually mattered True Blood would be here.

5. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)


This year's best comedy, and I'd be tempted to name it the comedy of the decade if it weren't for Arrested Development. It's not as smart or subtle as some network shows, but it's just so damn laugh-out-loud funny all the damn time that you can't not love it. This was the year I feel Dennis overtook Charlie as the best character, but they're all so good that your personal pick doesn't really matter. I kind of wish the seasons were longer, but it might dilute the humor if they had to hire more writers.

4. Kings (NBC)


I kind of wish I had given it a shot when it was still airing. Not that it would have mattered, because I'm just one person and I don't have a Nielsen Box. Of all the shows I saw last year this one could be considered unique, with its own sense of pacing, dialogue, design, and themes. And Ian McShane played what was probably the year's best character. Just watching him pontificate while he shook hands with one arm and held a noose behind his back with the other was a treat every time he was on screen. Farewell Kings, I hardly knew ye.

3. Dollhouse (FOX)


It's really, really too bad FOX insisted on changing Joss Whedon's vision for the beginning of the series, because the consistently low ratings after just a few weak episodes show that it never really had a chance to recover, despite every nerd who kept with it shouting "No really, it's good now!" at everyone they come across. The show came to its own in the back half of season one, and the unaired (in America) finale was a big-time game changer.

2. Lost (ABC)


You can probably pencil this in for a similar place on the list for this year, as my anticipation for the show's final season is approaching a fever pitch and the creators have done nothing but prove they can do this sort of thing better than anything else on TV right now. Despite saying they weren't going to do time travel early on, they ended up instead creating one of the best long term time travel stories I've seen without coming close to overdoing it, and it ends with a few more shocking revelations while setting up what could be a truly special last run.

1. Breaking Bad (AMC)


Two straight years at the top of the hill. I don't know how much longer Vince Gilligan and company can keep it up, and it's going to take some doing with Dollhouse currently near the end of possibly the best season of science fiction I've ever seen. Still, I can see them doing it. The second season moved a bit beyond the first's angle, showing the meaning of the title as Bryan Cranston ably depicts a man who's lost sight of what's important and will do increasingly terrible things just to keep a leg up. Few shows manage its combination of genuinely good, intelligent drama and heart-wrenching, brutally intense moments. Just consistently brilliant.

Mad Men - Season 3

I'm not sure what to think of this season overall. The scenes in the office continued to be consistently fascinating looks into the rapidly changing business world of the early 60s. But I don't feel like I got enough of that, especially in the second half. At times it felt more like The Don and Betty Show than anything else. Important, life-changing decisions are being made by some of the supporting characters, and it's being overshadowed by the family drama going on at home. It's not that that stuff isn't interesting, I'm just not sure it's the reason most of the audience watches.

I'm not sure I liked the way that certain storylines were handled, either. Sal is a gay man, though only the people watching ever knew until this season. It seemed like they were building it up to be a big game changer, but there's a pretty abrupt interruption of the arc, and they made it seem like the little they did with it is all they're going to do, which would be disappointing. And scenes like the lawnmower were great, but made me wonder why they're so rare on this show. I understand that it's trying to be realistic, and insane things like that can't happen with regularity. But the fact that they were willing to go there once made me wonder why it's not shocking more often.

The last three episodes though were outstanding, with the finale being my favorite of the series. Something momentous finally happens with Draper marriage, and Don shows some actual vulnerability for once. We see one of the most infamous events in American history through the eyes of these characters we've grown to understand. And the biggest business uprising in Sterling Cooper history occurs, setting in motion some events that I am completely excited to watch unfold. On one hand it was the perfect way to shake things up before they shut down, on the other I'm going to totally hate waiting another year to see what happens next. I think I'd still give AMC's other show the nod for best on television, but the last few weeks have closed the gap.

Best Shows of 2008

I'm now up to date with enough series that I feel comfortable making a list like this. I don't watch a lot of the most popular series because they don't interest me, but I do see quite a bit. Shows qualify by having a season that ended during the year of 2008. Also, before I forget, I've added a bunch of new archive posts with lists of my favorite things from various years and decades, which unlike these posts, will be kept up to date. Not featured on this list were two products by David Simon and Ed Burns, The Wire's final season and Generation Kill, and the hilarious second run of The Whitest Kids U' Know.

Best of 2008

7. Mad Men (AMC)


I'm not a huge fan of the OMFG MAD MEN bandwagon, but it's still a very good drama with a great cast and production values. I can't tell if they're really going anywhere with the story, but just as far as being a well put together program, it succeeds admirably.

6. The Office (NBC)


One of many shows (pretty much all of them, sadly) that wasn't at its best in 2008, The Office still managed to provide a bunch of laughs and some of the best moments in the whole series. I'm not sure I ever wanted to punch someone in the throat as much as I did Andy when he proposed to Angela, but I only felt worse and worse for him as that subplot progressed. Still a darn good show.

5. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)


Again, not quite the peak of demented genius we saw before, but still pretty damn funny every week. It might just be that they're running out of sensitive topics to make light of, and I wonder what's still left in the tank. Despite that though, I don't think another show this year made me laugh out loud more.

4. The Venture Bros. (Adult Swim)


Few things compare to season two of the best thing Adult Swim's ever done, but season three was close enough. It might not have the same consistent humor as the series did previously, but I find the depth they're adding to the history of pretty much every character to be about as entertaining, and season four's thankfully coming faster than this one did.

3. 30 Rock (NBC)


Still in its creative prime, as Fey and Baldwin both won their second Golden Globes and the show overall won its first. Recalling the best aspects of Arrested Development and The Office, it's a great series that more people really should be watching.

2. Lost (ABC)


While most things seem to be regressing, Lost had its best season since the first, as things finally seem to be on a track heading towards a conclusion, even if we still have no idea what the hell that might be. Flash forwards really reinvigorated it creatively, and it was relatively short, which made every episode sure to count and move things forward.

1. Breaking Bad (AMC)


Held aloft by Bryan Cranston's great performance, Breaking Bad's brief (haha, that wasn't on purpose) first season was one of the most emotionally affecting things I've seen on the small screen in a long time, and it had plenty of wit and cool moments as well. The main character's condition make how long it can last a very good question, but it will be back soon for hopefully more greatness.