Now, I feel the need to explain how I picked my list of the best 10 TV shows of 2012.
- First of all, I only included episodes from 2012. Simple enough. It puts new shows on unequal footing but that's sort of an inherent weakness with the timing of the new year and the television calendar. So be it.
- Secondly, this is my list. That makes it subjective. I have reasoning, although I understand that this list is only true through my own lense.
- Third, and somewhat related, most of my picking was done by asking myself a painfully simple question: "What do I want to watch?" I did a big list of every show I watch this year like that and it's remarkable how quickly it came together. So, Suburgatory is above Wilfred because if both are sitting in my DVR, I'm going to watch Suburgatory first. It's not until after I had that list that I asked "why?". Doing that keeps me honest and stops me from ranking shows that I'm "supposed to like" higher than my actual enjoyment dictates.
1. Parks and Reacreation
Favorite Episode: "Win, Lose, or Draw"
Consistency is sometimes the worst virtue since it's rarely noticed until it's gone. I can't remember the last episode I didn't mostly like. This is a strong and diverse [in talents] cast, mixing energetic (Leslie), sarcastic (April), slapstick (Andy), stoic (Ron), neurotic (Chris), and a bunch of other words I don't want to come up with into a potent comedic cocktail that always delivers. The fact that this year saw the conclusion of the Knope 2012 city council story cements this as the best show on TV in my book.
Favorite Episode: "Daddy's Girlfriend Part 2"
I am an admitted Louie CK disciple. He can't do wrong in my book. The helps this show's ranking. What puts it on the list at all though is the complete uniqueness of it. You never know what you are getting week-to-week except and that makes it exciting. The experimentation with story arching with Daddy's Girlfriend and the Late Show saga was an interesting new direction. Sure, there's nothing as epic as Duckies from season 2, but the beautiful Miami episode, all over the place Christmas episode, and somber day with Robin Williams are all strong in there own right. I hope more people give this weird little show a chance.
Favorite Episode: "Far Away Places"
No show on TV rewards it's audience's patience as well as Mad Men. The tone and quality has been there since the beginning, but the season keep getting better because of how well we know the characters. There were a few big moments (Lane's "resignation", Joan "making partner", Peggy's farewell), but as always, this year was more about all the little moments and touches of brilliance that build this complex and very real world. This season also saw more experimentation in the episode structure (namely, "Far Away Places") that kept it from starting to feel stale, five seasons in.
Favorite Episode: "Basic Lupine Urology"
This is too high. There simply weren't enough episodes to warrant such a high ranking on a year end list, especially considering the Chang taking over the school story produced the weakest string of episodes that I can think of. It is still such a strong, experimental show and you can sense the desperation of showrunner Dan Harmon trying to get as many ideas out there before cancellation (or, as it turned out, being fired). So, we got an excellent Law & Order homage, 8-bit video game episode, and Ocean's 11-style caper, that allowed me to justify putting Community high on my list even with such a small sample size.
Favorite Episode: "The Gang Recycles Their Trash"
This is the 8th season of this show. Eighth. Think about that. This show has a lot of history, which this season looked back on in the thematic equivalent of a season-long clip show. Just saying that makes me realize how risky a move that is. Episodes like "The Gang Recycles Their Trash" or "Charlie's Mom Has Cancer" are either lazy or brilliantly meta (a word I've come to hate using). It's no coincidence that Sunny and Community as so close in my rankings since both shows are the most experimental with the half-hour comedy form on TV. It's pretty undeniable the influence that two have had on one another (even if it's only goes as far as knowing someone else is doing this as well) as both have really attacked the high concept episodes ("hey, let's do a trial episode" or "it would be fun to have them all go to a psychiatrist"). This has been some of the most inspired later season work of any show in recent memory.
Favorite Episode: "Mazel Tov, Dummies!"
30 Rock is, hands down, the king of the joke machines. It has been that since it began and will continue to be until it ends next year (which I'm not looking forward to). There has been some excellent character development throughout it's run, but the first goal is always to get a laugh. In fact, I had a really hard time picking my favorite episode this year because I remember jokes, not episodes. I actually feel bad putting it this low on my list considering we got 30-freakin'-episodes in 2012. It's sad that this show has fallen out of favor (among critics. Ratings have always been shit) the past couple seasons, because it has been as good as ever.
Favorite Episode: "Fifty One"
Season 5.1 had to be a let down after the kinetic pace of season 3 and 4. This year was cleanup from that and setup for the second half of the season coming next year. There was still a plethora of great moments up to and including Hank's big discovery. While at times things felt rushed as the numbers of episodes before the end moved into single digits, I feel privileged to see Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and company do their thing.
Favorite Episode: "Pilot"
Probably the most delightful surprise of the year for me. I went in curious about the first Apatow produced TV series since Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared and essentially no other expectations. There's certainly been a ton of press going to the show, either loftily praising it or nit-picking some aspect of it and I largely ignored that. What this show is is the story of a few friends and it isn't concerned about making them likeable. Personally, I found Hanna constantly delightful because they showed her warts and all. I haven't been able to stew on this show quite as much as the others on my list, so I don't have a ton or reasoning for it being in my top ten other than that I really enjoyed watching it.
Favorite Episode: The Butterfly Effect Effect
When 30 Rock abdicates the joke machine throne in 2013, Happy Endings will be ready to take the seat. I've always been hesitant to love this show because there's not a "Tina Fey" behind it to ease my worries when I fear it might be losing it's focus. That's on me, not the show, which has been pretty constant in it's ability yo make me laugh with as much gusto as anything on the air.
Favorite Episode: "Q&A"
I really wanted a reason to take this out of my top ten. The unevenness of the last few episodes confirmed a lot of concerns I had about the show (burning through too much plot, too many logic holes, confusing the motivations of the characters) but dammit if the performances by Danes, Lewis, and Patinkin weren't some of the best you will see on TV. The highs certainly outweigh the lows and a lot of good feelings carried over from the first season. Season 3 won't have that luxury.
No comments:
Post a Comment