BUT FIRST: Shows I didn't watch that are probably awesome:
-Breaking Bad
-Justified
-Louie
-Parks and Recreation
-Fringe
-Dexter
-Sons of Anarchy
10. Archer (FX)
A nice little show that ended up being better than I expected. It doesn't hurt that one of my favorite voice actor/comedian's H. John Benjamin does the voice of lead character Sterling Archer. While the humor is somewhat juvenile, it works because the show is animated.
9. Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)
Yeah, it's a kids show. It's a totally rad kids show. It is an animated web comic in the spirit of Hark! a Vagrant and Nedroid. The humor is childish, but like a pixar movie, a lot of it is aimed at older viewers. Plus the guy that voices Bender on Futurama does the voice of Jake the dog. Mathematical!
8. Community (NBC) (Allison Brie)
Community, while only in it's second season, is easily the funniest show on broadcast TV. It's got a great ensemble cast and it's writing team isn't afraid to break the fourth wall or use meta humor. While the second season has been a little bit of a disappointment compared to the first, it is still a great show.
Oh, and Allison Brie is in it.
7. Eastbound and Down (HBO)
Kenny Powers is back! Eastbound and Down managed to have a pretty damn amazing season. Which is surprising considering the only returning character from the first season at the start of the season was Kenny Powers himself. The show has always been about perception versus reality, and this season played it up in spades. Stevie Fuckin' Janowski
6. Bored To Death (HBO)
So. Who would have thunk it. This show was just a throwaway in it's first season on HBO. The second season took it to a completely different level. The character stories they told in the second season were much more interesting. The dynamic between the three main characters worked fluidly. The dialog was realistic but still funny. The over-arching story-lines this season felt much more important and worth following. If it wasn't for Terriers this would be my surprise of the year.
5. The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead was something I was excited for for a long time, having read Robert Kirkman's spectacular comic series by the same name. While the show was amazing at times, there was a lot of things that didn't work. Characters would go missing both literally and figuratively in episodes. The cast was much too large. I understand that they only had six episodes to try and introduce everyone, but even the core characters seem poorly fleshed out at this point. It does do a lot of things right though. It is a smart zombie series, more about the strain of surviving in an apocalypse and how it affects relationships than just simply shooting zombies in the face.
But when they do shoot zombies in the face it's pretty awesome.
4. The Venture Brothers (Cartoon Network)
If Seinfeld was a show about nothing, than The Venture Brothers is a s how about failure. The fourth season of The Venture Brothers saw a lot of change. Some of which didn't work. The show's writing is still spot on though. The references and allusions Doc Hammer and Jackson Public fit into this show is a nerd's wet dream. Adult Swim split the season in to two and aired them almost a year apart, which was frustrating. The show is still the best original program on Cartoon Network, and it doesn't seem like that will change any time soon.
3. Boardwalk Empire
So maybe Boardwalk Empire wasn't the world beater we all expected it to be. Maybe Steve Buschemi really shouldn't carry a TV show. While Nucky Thompson was the most boring character on the screen in most situations, the supporting characters made this show worthwhile for me. Michael Pitt's Jimmy Darmody was possibly my favorite character on TV this year. A great cast and the name power of such historical gangsters and Lucky Luciano, Johnny Torio, Arnold Rothstein, and Al Capone made this show worth watching just to see how they were portrayed. Finally, Michael K. William(Omar from the Wire)'s Chalky White, and John Huston's Richard Harrow were amazing original characters who sadly didn't see a lot of screen time. Hopefully that will be rectified next season. A great season that will probably seam disappointing just because it couldn't live up to its meteoric expectations.
2. Terriers (FX)
The surprise of the year. Too bad no one watched it. It's already been cancelled, meaning we will only get this one season. And it was a great season. I'm not sure if I have ever seen a show with characters that were this real. There was no black or white in this show, just grey. Each character struggled with his own personal and emotional demons. Even the heroes were prone to doing horrible, selfish things that have huge consequences. Everything from the writing, cinematography, the on-screen chemistry, etc was nearly perfect. Pretty much the only problem with this show was the way it was marketed, which probably caused its downfall.
1. Mad Men
The reigning champ is back for another round. There was a lot of changes to the shows dynamic in between season three and four, and I for one was worried if they would be able to sort it all out. Not only did they manage it with aplomb, they made the show even more deeper and intricate. Don Draper's downward spiral into alcoholism and debauchery was an amazing thing to watch. Jon Hamm is hands down the best actor on TV right now. The supporting cast is strong as ever and each have their parts to play. This season also had my favorite episode in the series so far. It was a make or break year for the show, and it came through with flying colors.
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