TV was great last year. I never truly understood the pretentious argument that television rots the brain, but film and books are stuff of true artistry. There are some superb television shows that rank higher, I would say, then some of the best films of last year. The way television portrays character and story arcs across a multi-episode season can allow for a greater in depth look at all the nuances and subtleties that inform the character development. Some of my favourite stories come from television shows–so suck it books and film!
10. Big Love
What a ride it was. Who could have guessed that a show about a super-religious polygamous marriage with one husband and three wives could be so riveting. What elevated this show above the occasional triteness of the first season was how these women bonded with each other and in relation to their mutual husband. Chloë Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin and Jeanne Tripplehorn were the real stars of this show negotiating their own significance against the drama that their husband was going through. The show ended on a controversial note, but a necessary one. The show was always about the wives and in the end that main mission statement was fulfilled.
9. Revenge
So much trashy fun. I don’t exactly know when I fell in love with Revenge. My first impression was that it was a CW teen soap throwaway, until about the third episode when I realized just how much fun Emily had kicking ass against the demise of her father at the hands of the upper-class elite from her childhood. This show is not about wonderful performances and intelligent writing. It’s good ‘ole trashy fun done with a wink and a smile.
8. American Dad!
The underrated middle child of grossly obscene Seth MacFarlane. “American Dad!” isn’t as crass as “Family Guy” or as boring as “The Cleveland Show”. It’s an incredibly funny depiction of a family and a crazy nihilistic and narcissistic gay alien (which can be argued is the basis of the much more loveable Abed from “Community”). Often times overlooked because it doesn’t pack the same obvious and crude-for-crude’s-sake joke structure that made “Family Guy” such a household name, “American Dad!” is intelligent, outrageous and always hysterical.
7. Being Erica
Give it up for Canada finally producing a drama that isn’t so self-conscious that it tries to be all things to everything. Instead, it figured out a premise and stuck to it. It’s definitely a feely show about therapy and self-discovery. It’s not apologetic, always charming, and often times touching. The cast is great, and it’s refreshing to have a show filmed in Toronto that doesn’t hide the fact that it’s set in Toronto. Erin Karpluk does an excellent job of carrying the show–a lead that will be hard to replace once the American redux begins its production.
6. Community
Community is a show unlike any other. It’s self-referential, playful, and meta, almost all the time. The entire cast is brilliant and hilarious and every combination of cast pairings or groupings results in nuanced story and character development. The most impressive cast member is little Annie (played lovingly and hilariously by the surprisingly diverse Alison Brie), who manages to hit so many beats of hilarity it’s insane–sometimes upstaging the show’s more popular Troy and Abed pairing. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Joel McHale is the sexiest man on TV right now.
5. Damages
When this show first started it’s superb (and as of now unsurpassed) first season, I knew that eventually the series would culminate into a show down between Patty and Ellen. I was right…just saying. Although Season 4 didn’t pack the same punch as the preceding three seasons of this magnificent legal drama that barely sees the inside of a court room, it did center in on the development of Ellen, who has always been the lead character of the show. Glenn Close is in top form in every scene, naturally, but it’s been the underrated Rose Byrne, who is often times overlooked as nothing more than a throwaway character who gets in the way of Patty being Patty, who stands as the central protagonist of the show. It’s her who I root for as she tries her best to stick to her defining principles and morals surrounding her passion for practicing law, and by the fourth season’s end we see exactly how these idealistic morals of hers will match up against Patty in season 5. Can’t wait!
4. American Horror Story
This frenetic show started to level out around episode 4, and thank god! It turned into a pretty amazing thrill ride that wouldn’t quit, and was never dull. The most impressive aspect of the show was how the maid Moira, played both by Frances Conroy and Alexandra Breckenridge shifted appearances based on the gender or intention of the beholder. Beyond that this show is jam-packed with characters running around rampant in that house, which in and of itself is a wonderful set piece. Jessica Lange chews the scenery in every scene she’s in and was completely deserving of that Golden Globe. The showrunner has revealed that every season of the show will be an entirely new set with entirely new characters and storyline, an anthology if you will. It’ll be hard to top this first season, but I’m interested in seeing them try.
3. Parks and Recreation
It’s a show about probably the most boring aspect of government–the parks and recreation department in small town Pawnee, Indiana–and yet is consistently hilarious. Although the show got off to a rocky start in its first season, looking to make Amy Poehler’s lead character Leslie Knope as an oblivious airhead who is loathed by her fellow coworkers, instead it switched gears and made the rest of the supporting looney toon characters respect and admire her for her hard work and dedication–even if they themselves have no interest in work. And even though the writers keep Knope’s character an overachieving neurotic dork at times, they’ve rounded her out well enough that she transcends a mere caricature.
2. Happy Endings
This show took me completely by surprise. I had no intention of wanting to watch it (let alone love it) because it took the place of my beloved “Modern Family”/”Cougar Town” one-two punch. I was offended that ABC had the audacity to replace “Cougar Town” with a “Friends” wannabe. Until I watched the first episode and kind of liked it. Then I watched the second episode, followed by the third and fourth and fifth and sixth–I had downloaded the entire season after its initial run. I fell fast and hard. I’ve almost completely forgotten about that other show who’s place it took. The show is smart and funny and brilliant and funny and unexpected. Stand out moment of last year: Penny and her mom (played by Megan Mullaly) sing their anger and frustration at each other.
1. The Good Wife
I’m sorry, but “Mad Men” has nothing on this show. I knew from episode 1 where a demure Julianna Marguiles contemplates her position as wife to a cheating and embezzling states attorney, that I would love this show. And I have. It consistently one-ups itself with every episode never overplaying its hand or over-stating its intention. The dynamic between Alicia and the absolutely fantastic deserves-every-acting-award-known-to-man Archie Panjabi’s Kalinda is the best relationship ever written for television, at times besting the friendship which blossomed between Buffy and Willow so many years ago. The show is intelligent, sophisticated, and expertly crafted.
