The Ten Best TV Shows of 2010, NFL Comebacks and Cash 4 Gold (a.k.a. Blog #237)

In case you haven't read Thursday's edition of "Random Thoughts" or the last edition of "End of the Week," I'm taking a break from my regularly scheduled programming. One of the main reasons why is because starting this week I will begin preparing for the now second annual installment of my "End of the Year" series for 2010. For those of you new to this site, "End of the Year" was a four part series that I did at the end of 2009 where I dedicated one part to a little recap of 2009's top stories and moments followed by three posts where I dedicate it to some of the year's best, including the year's top viral videos and my votes for the year's top people. I really enjoyed working on it, and I hope that doing it again this year will be just as fun.

But before I do just that, I've decided on giving you a little taste of what is to come, by writing about the year's best in one of my favorite topics to talk about: television. 2010 in the TV medium featured a year of many ups and downs. On one hand, you had a year that began with the ugly second coming of the Late Night War that featured an ugly yet brilliant end to the Conan O'Brien era of "The Tonight Show," along with the NBC and Jay Leno backlash that followed. 2010 also featured the end of a number of notable shows, from the game changing "Lost" to the once-beloved shows like "24" and "Law and Order" to shows that were either good or are supposedly good yet failed to garner any decent ratings like "Terriers," "Party Down," and "Rubicon." 2010 also featured the decline of shows that were once one of the best shows in America but has now become a caricature of itself (I'm looking at you, "The Office"!).

Yet, despite all of the bad things that occurred in TV land during these past 365 days, it was mostly shadowed by the good. We saw the debut of fantastic shows like "The Walking Dead," "Boardwalk Empire," "Treme," and "Louie." Meanwhile, already good shows like "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad," "30 Rock," "Community," and more continued to improve, with some of them ending the year by having one of their best seasons yet. But out of all of the shows, scripted or unscripted, canceled or uncanceled, the question remains: which of these shows were the best of the best? There are many opinions on this matter. The following are mine.

So, without further do and without any explanations of my criteria that helped make up this list, here are my picks for the ten best shows of 2010 week in and week out, followed by a list of honorable mentions. All of these ten scripted shows range from workplace comedies to a comedian spending thirty minutes focusing on random topics to a miniseries about WWII to even a show about a meth dealer in the southwest United States. If you have any thoughts on this list, feel free to write it down in the comments section or e-mailing me. Here we go...

(Note: the following ten shows even though some are better than others, are not ranked. I'm kind of like AFI in that regards, in that I want to give my thoughts on the best shows of the year but am too afraid and too lazy to compare dramas and comedies)















Mad Men (AMC)
As you may have guessed, I watched a lot of scripted television programs over these past 365 days, from the good and the bad to the outstanding and the just plain awful. Eight episodes in 2010 stood out to me above all else. The first is Breaking Bad's "One Minute." That episode was riveting from beginning to end with a thrilling as hell ending that will leave any fan of the dramatics impressed. Plus, I felt that it really captured the moral consequence of what the main character, Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) was doing by turning from chemistry teacher to drug dealer. The second is Fringe's season two episode "White Tulip." That episode stood out because of the supreme acting job by John Noble and some very well textured moments.

The third was part six of HBO's thrilling miniseries, "The Pacific." Not only was it very harrowing, but it featured some great "Saving Private Ryan"-esque battle scenes and wonderful visual storytelling. The next two are from the comedy department. One of them is the "Modern Warfare" episode of "Community" for how it was the only time that I can recall laughing my ass off during the entire thirty minutes that it aired. The other, predictably, was the final episode of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" just because of how great of a send-off it was to both O'Brien's twenty years on NBC as well as the entertaining and tumultuous Late Night War Redux. The next two were two of my favorite pilot episodes of the year, the pilot episode of "Boardwalk Empire" directed by Martin Scorsese and the pilot episode of "The Walking Dead" (my favorite episode of the series thus far).

The final of these eight, and perhaps the best of them all, was "The Suitcase" episode of "Mad Men." The obvious reason has to do with the outstanding acting by both Elisabeth Moss and Jon Hamm, who were able to portray almost every emotion in this episode and executing them perfectly. Another great thing about it was how it was four seasons (and five years in the 1960s for that matter), the making. It featured two of the show's main characters and most dynamic (non sexual) couple, Don Draper (the mentor of the two, a recent divorcee and awaiting a phone call from California concerning news on the health of one of his best friends) and Peggy Olson (the protege of the two who is both rising in the ranks and is having more influence in the company) working together for one night in one surreal viewing experience. It was fantastic a fantastic hour of TV to watch from beginning to end as well as the highlight of what was arguably the best season that the show has ever had.

Now, to be fair, all of the first three seasons of "Mad Men" were great (as evidence by their critical acclaim and their three Golden Globes and three Emmys, all of them for best TV drama). But there was just something about season four that, in my opinion, stood above all else. Maybe its because of the downfall of Don Draper from revered ad pitchman with wonderful self confidence who can pick up any women that he wants to a drunk losing his touch in more ways than one and having his life spinning out of control following the divorce from his wife Betty. Maybe it was the change in setting from the offices of Sterling Cooper to the offices of the newly developed Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, which brought along some new storylines. Maybe it was the maturation of Peggy and SCDP's head accountant Pete Campbell, or the increase in comedic moments provided by Don's secretary, Miss Ida Blankenship (My favorite quote from her? "If I ever wanted to see two black men fight each other, I'd throw a dollar bill out of my window." Hilariously shocking, and RAYCESS). Whatever it was, it worked, as Matt Weiner and company proved once again which shows deserves to remain on top of the TV pantheon.















Parks and Recreations (NBC)
When P&R debuted its first six episodes in the spring of 2009, it was a show of great potential. For starters, it had Greg Daniels and Michael Schur behind the project, two men that are both very good comedy writers and made seasons two through four of "The Office" as good as it was. Second, it had Amy Poehler, one of the top female stars from "Saturday Night Live" playing the show's main character, Leslie Knope. Unfortunately, the six episode first season proved to be an underachieving one, as the show failed to find its stride while not performing well on a creative scale. But thanks to many changes overtime that worked for the better (most notably changing the character of Leslie Knope from a female Michael Scott to a much more mature, likable leader and creating more complex personalities for each characters), the show has quickly change from one of TV's most disappointing comedies into of the genre's bests.

To say that the show has great writing and great acting is putting it too simple. For starters, it has one of the best ensemble casts in all of television. Amy Poehler did a very impressive job as Leslie Knope 2.0; Nick Offerman was wonderful as Ron Swanson, arguably one of the best and most amazing characters in all of television; Aziz Ansari continues his rise to stardom as the sarcastic, underachieving Tom Haverford; Chris Pratt (playing Andy Dwyer) as the show's most pleasant surprise, and the rest of the cast that includes Aubrey Plaza and Rashida Jones were great as well. The show has also done a great job portraying and even mocking the everyday lives of small town America. And the best part? It promises to be even better, now that Adam Scott ("Party Down") and Rob Lowe, having joined the cast at the end of last season, will have prominent roles in the new season starting this January. What more could you ask for in a comedy program?















Breaking Bad (AMC)
Like its AMC counterpart "Mad Men," this fantastic drama (from the mind of Vince Gilligan) also had its best season yet with episodes like "One Minute" and "The Fly" (two of their all-time bests) and with the Walter White story kicking into high gear. This season also featured some of the best work by both Bryan Cranston as Walter White and Aaron Paul as Jessee Pinkman, both of which received Emmys for their performances, amazing antagonists (in this case, The Cousins), a great mix of shocking and heart pounding suspenseful moments and episodes that made you question your morality. Let's also not forget the great unpredictability factor of the show. On most lesser dramas on TV, storylines such as the divorce of Walter and Skyler and the Cousins quest for vengeance would have lasted through the entire season. But "Breaking Bad"? Those ended before the eight episode of the season began! Now that, my children, is a show with a plan!

So to conclude, yes "Breaking Bad" was easily one of the best dramas to air in 2010. But was it the best drama on TV overall? Many critics will ultimately agree with that assessment. After all, it is pretty much the consensus #1 pick throughout the Internet and in the news media. Me? Well, I just thought that "Mad Men" was slightly better. However, it is a close #2, and with these two shows expecting to run new episodes back to back in the summer of 2011, it should make Sunday nights on AMC a great battleground for the title of the king of all TV dramas next year.















Community (NBC)
The show premiered in September of 2009 with an interesting, "Breakfast Club" type premise: what happens when you have six people of different backgrounds (in their case an ex-lawyer, a jock, a single mother, a film student with Aspergers, an elderly bigot, a straight-laced teenager, and a stereotypical liberal female), put them together in a study group and see how each of them live amongst one another. But overtime, "Community" became more than just that. Along with these seven characters becoming friends and continually interacting one another, you have a show that becomes one of the funniest and most well-written comedies on television. You also have a show that slowly becomes one of the most versatile on television. At one moment, they make an episode entirely devoted to pop culture, such as the zombie apocalypse Halloween episode that aired back in October to the hilarious "Contemporary American Poultry" which parodies some of the all-time great gangster movies to May's unbelievable from top to bottom "Modern Warfare." At another, you have an episode devoted to an in-depth analysis of one of the show's characters, from this past November's "Cooperative Calligraphy" and one that is a mix of both (like in "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" which was an episode done entirely stop motion animated that was mostly used to look more deep into the character of Abed).

Another thing that was great about "Community" in 2010 was its terrific cast. From Joel McHale as Jeff Winger to the surprisingly talented Donald Glover (surprise in that I had little idea who he was before the show started) as Troy Barnes to the always reliable Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne, everyone uses their comedic and acting talents to good use. Finally, the thing that was great about "Community" in 2010 above all else was just how plain fun it was to watch it. Outside of "Parks and Recreations" and perhaps "30 Rock" there hasn't been another show that I can recall having a good time watching it on a week to week basis like "Community." According to TV by the Numbers, the show is a toss-up to get renewed for the 2011-2012 TV season, with the show battling to get a 2.0 rating on a weekly basis and with ratings giants like "The Big Bang Theory" and "American Idol" airing during their timeslot starting this January. If the worst case scenario does happen and "Community" does end up getting canceled, then let it be known that, in the short time that it was on air, was one of the best comedies on television as well as one of the most under appreciated.














Louie (FX)
The best new show of 2010 was not the heavily promoted "Boardwalk Empire," nor the cable ratings magnet "The Walking Dead." No, the best new show of 2010, in my opinion, was "Louie," the very low-budget thirty minute comedy from outstanding comedian Louis C.K. that ran every Tuesday nights at 11 p.m./ET. By having a show in which C.K. was able to received full creative control by FX, he was able to create thirteen wonderful short films (I call them short films because Louis C.K. said so himself, and there were many inconsistencies about the characters throughout the season along with the fact that each episode seemed completely different from other in terms of style and direction) that ranged from many different topics. These topics ranged from religion to aging to hecklers to domestic abuse. Some episodes were heavy on the comedy, some were dramedys, all were fun and interesting to watch. Overall, it was a well-done job by Louis C.K. (especially compared to his previous TV show "Lucky Louie") and a show that I can't wait to watch when it returns sometime next summer.















Rubicon (AMC)
Every year features a large list of TV show either canceled or wrapping up its final season. 2010 was no exception. Yet, I cannot remember a year that had quite the amount of great or once great shows that ended there runs like this one, from groundbreaking shows like "Lost," "24" and "Law and Order" (still don't understand the cancellation of the last one) to not watched but still critically acclaimed ones like "Party Down," "Terriers" and "Better off Ted." In fact, if you don't believe me, just go to TIME TV critic's Joe Posnaski list of the ten best shows of 2010. 40% of these shows (that's 4 out of 10 in case you don't know) ended up getting canceled. One of these canceled shows on the list, as well as one of my favorites from the year, was "Rubicon," the slow moving political conspiracy thriller starring James Badge Dale, the only actor to appear on my top ten for more than one show (the other show is the one that I'm mentioning below).

The show had problems from the beginning. For starters, the show's creator, Jason Horwitch, left the show after the pilot episode after creative differences by AMC. This left new showrunner Henry Brommel with this concept and characters, but little idea of what Horwitch was planning to do with them (as evidenced in the season finale with the killing of a certain female character). Second, despite the show receiving the highest first episode ratings in AMC's history at the time that it premiered (it would soon be surpassed by "The Walking Dead"), the show struggled to find ratings, at one point receiving less than 750,000 viewers per episode. Third, its a show that doesn't really appeal to the common man as it was both very slow moving for much of the season, then picked up in the final four episodes whereas most people would rather like some type of fast-paced, shoot the bad guy type show.

Still, for all of those problems, "Rubicon" did the best they could to get past those problems by making thirteen in-depth episodes that featured both fascinating characters (one of the few dramas on TV that I cared more about the characters than the plot), wonderful cinematography and an interesting world for the viewer to delve into. The finale was a bit disappointing, and since it was canceled we will never know what will happen next in the world of API. Still, at least it gave its fans a good hour of TV to watch on a weekly basis, and that's all that matters. me a good hour of TV to watch on a weekly basis, and that's all that matters.
















The Pacific (HBO)
While million of young American males were out in Europe fighting the fascists in Germany and Italy, there was another side of World War II, one that took place in the Pacific theatre. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks (the same men behind "Band of Brothers") and starring mostly actors with little previous accolades or recognition, "The Pacific," which were mostly based on the the books With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge and Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie, tried to explore that other theater of the war. However, unlike "Band of Brothers," which spends much time showing both the toll of the war as well as the romantic aspect of it, "The Pacific" simply spent that time just looking at the hell that war against Imperial Japan was as well as the effects that it had on the soldiers and the civilians involved in it. The show featured its mix of intense moments, such as the battles in Peleliu and Iwo Jima, its gory moments, as seen in Okinawa, to its mix of quiet moments, as seen in the episode where Robert Leckie spends time in a hospital or the final episode where everyone comes back home. But no matter what kind of episodes were featured, the miniseries did a great job at driving in the main point: that war is hell for all sides involved. Its was also well acted (especially from James Badge Dale and Rami Malek) with wonderful battle scenes and overall the best miniseries that HBO has shown in many years.















Fringe (FOX)
"Fringe" has almost always been a great show in my opinions, mixing in a terrific blend of sci-fi with raw ambition, great writing, stellar acting and gentle soul. However, the thing that separated "Fringe"this year from the show's first two years on air (and why I included them in my top ten) was that the writers behind the show finally embraced what the fans wanted and what type of show they were destined to become, and not what the network heads wanted them to be. By realizing that there was no point anymore in trying to get viewers that never liked them in the first place since this was never a mass appeal type show, they abandoned their typical "monsters of the week" storylines amounting nothing to the actual ongoing plot in favor of a much more serialized sci-fi program focusing on their complicated and complex storyline of a battle between our world and a parallel universe on a week to week basis (instead of maybe once a month before). Add in great work this season by Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham and John Noble as Walter Bishop and you have yourselves a very enjoyable season of one of the most original shows on television.















Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
No show entered the fall TV season with as much hype and expectations as "Boardwalk Empire." With Steve Buscemi as the leading man, Terrence Winter (writer for "The Sopranos") as the show's creator, Martin Scorsese as the director of the show's pilot and a plot involving Prohibition in the 1920s, this show was promoted by HBO as the next great TV drama that promises to be the next greatest show on TV and "The Sopranos" set forty-seventy years in the past. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to that hype (how would it?). But despite all that, Terrence Winter's version of Atlantic City in 1920 still proved to be a very gorgeous show to watch on a weekly basis that had it share of charms.. For starters, it had some of the best damn acting in all of television. Steve Buscemi exceeded my expectations as Atlantic City treasurer Nucky Thompson, Michael Shannon portrayed the ultra pious and creepy Agent Nelson Van Alden to perfection, Kelly Macdonald was well deserved of her Golden Globe nomination, and Michael Pitt was exquisite as Jimmy Darmody.

Second, while there might be some people that complained about the show's contemplative tone and zero feelings of care for the main characters in the beginning, the show found ways to improve its self as the season continue, featuring their occasional bursts of violence and ending with a season finale that did a good job wrapping up the major story arcs for the first season while giving us the final prelude to what should be a very interesting second season to come. Third, its just a beautiful looking show with wonderful sets and very glossy images (just look at the final shot in the season finale if you want a great example of that). Fourth, the evolutions of Nucky Thompson and Jimmy Darmody were fascinating to watch, and well done by both Buscemi and Pitt. Finally, while the show is well-known for its focus on the early days of crime mobs, it was also a really good political drama as the show also explored the corruption and back-deals of Atlantic City politics. So it wasn't the best drama in the history of television? The show is still off to a great start, and I have a feeling that it should get better overtime.















The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
Did you really think that a show which I had listed as my favorite show in almost all of my TV top tens this year would be left out of this list? Please! Anyways, the past year of "The Daily Show" was filled once again with its memorable moments. Who can forget back in March when Stewart spent fifteen minutes destroying the philosophies of Glenn Beck? Or when Stewart finally got into that ChatRoulette craze? Or just last week when he spent much of the show making his case for giving health care to 9/11 responders? The point that I'm trying to say is that 2010 was another great year for this Comedy Central half hour program. Add that to October's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, and you've got yourself a highlight year in the career of Mr. Stewart.

Honorable Mentions:
Treme (HBO)
My #11 choice if there was such a thing in this list. Fantastic music, great acting (most notably by Khandi Alexander, who should have been nominated by an Emmy in my opinion) and a wonderful follow-up show to "The Wire" by MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient David Simon.
The Walking Dead (AMC)
A real breath of fresh air to a TV landscape with a wonderful pilot (one of the best first episodes that I have seen in years), glossy imagery and head shots that would give any Call of Duty fans wet dreams. Unfortunately, because the show was only six episodes and because it felt creatively weak at times with occasionally weak writing, I just couldn't include them into this year's list. Maybe next year.
30 Rock (NBC)
Wheras "Community" and "Parks and Recreations" received all of attention among all of the NBC comedies, "#0 Rock" quietly have had themselves their best string of episodes since season two over the gall. Unfortunately, the list was already packed with good shows that I was simply unable to fill my top ten list with it.
The Final Two Week of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (NBC)
For obvious reasons
30 for 30 (ESPN)
23 of the series' 30 documentaries debuted in 2010, including many of its bests ("The Two Escobars," "June 14, 1994," "No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson," etc.). Simply put, these were some 33 hours or so of quality television.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
The Paddy's Pub gang had themselves another great season of episodes, from "The Gang Buys a Boat" to "Who Got Dee Pregnant?" to "Charlie Kelly: King of the Rats." But much like "30 Rock," they just happened to have this great season in a year with a lot of other damn good shows running through the airwaves that I unfortunately could not put it on the list
The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
Because you have to at least give it up to the other half of October's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" for another stellar twelve months of comedy.

Shows That I Sadly Didn't Watch in 2010 But Do Admit That I Probably Should Have:
Terriers (FX)
Party Down (Starz)
Sons of Anarchy (FX)
Dexter (Showtime)
Parenthood (NBC)
Friday Night Lights (Direct TV/NBC)
Lost (ABC)
Archer (FX)
Men of a Certain Age (TNT)
The Inbetweeners (BBC America)
Sherlock (PBS/BBC)
Justified (FX)

That's my list, and I'm sticking to it. Now, let's get to the real reason why I'm here, and that's to write my final "Random Thoughts" of 2010. The following were on my mind between Thursday, December 16th and Monday, December 20th:

- I love how Comedy Central is continuing to run the 26 episodes of "Chappelle's Show" that run back in 2003 and 2004 every Wednesday night, even though the show hasn't been on for four years. Either the network doesn't have a lot of other programming to fill that one hour time slot with, or the network is trying to send a message to Chappelle, saying that they're open to having him coming back for an extra season or two anytime that he wants. Overall, I'm pretty sure that its the latter.

- Nothing like spending Christmas morning at 2 a.m. watching watching nine year old Ralphie Parker shooting his eye out on TBS.

- I have a feeling that Facebook is just making all of their changes to the website simply to see how much they can make until people are ticked off (a.k.a. the MySpace plan).

- Cash 4 Gold is slowly becoming the new Starbucks. There's a new one opening at every block these days!

- If you had a choice to only keep five channels on your TV for the rest of your life, which five would those be? Here are my my five choices at the moment:
1. TCM (Turner Classic Movies)
What can I say, I love good movies, and that is exactly what this channel has it, from really old movies that are as old as the film industry itself to recent classic (which in their case is movies from the 1980s).
2. HBO
For obvious reasons
3. AMC
I already gave most of my love towards this show back in my special Thanksgiving day post. Just know that they are a network that is on a roll when it comes to original programming (4 for 4 by my count), so of course I have to choose them.
4. FX
Just like AMC, they too have had a great slate of original programming as of late. The only difference between them and AMC is that some of their great original programming are also terrific comedies including "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Louie" (mentioned above).
5. TBS
They're getting the NCAA tournament, they already have most of the MLB playoffs, they have "Conan" and I have a feeling that they will introduce some great new shows in the next few years with the additional of Conan O'Brien.
Honorable mentions: ESPN, FOX, Comedy Central, TNT, NFL Redzone

-Merrill Hoge has got to stop saying "factor back." Its starting to get on my nerves.

-Bill Hader's Julian Assange on "Saturday Night Live" has been a revelation. Not only have his three sketches as Assage been really funny, but he does a wonderful job making the Assage character into that creepy yet wonderful douchebag that the real Assage seems to be. Hopefully, Assage will still be in the news by January, so that we can see more of it.






- Wow, where to begin with the amazing comeback that the Philadelphia Eagles had yesterday against the Giants. For starters, it's good to see that an NFL team can reenact the football version of the Challenger explosion, so I have to credit the Giants for that. Second, you have to give credit where credit is due, and much of that comeback should be credited to Michael Vick. His performance in the fourth quarter, leading the Eagles to three touchdowns in the final eighth minute to tie the game at 31 apiece was just masterful, and one that may have just elevated him to Tom Brady's main competitor for NFL MVP. Third, if I were the Giants right now, I wouldn't get to worked up into this.
Sure, you gave up a big lead in a key divisional race. You just happened to face a QB who was playing out of their mind for most of the season. The best thing to do is realize that you aren't going to play a QB like Michael Vick for the rest of the season, and just focus on the Green Bay game next Sunday. After all, you may have lost a chance to win the division, but you still have to worry about getting into the playoffs. Finally, seeing that comeback by the Eagles and Michael Vick just made me even more amazed that my Chicago Bears were still able to stop that Eagles team from coming back and winning against them in week 12, especially since it looked for most of that 4th quarter that Chicago was going to choke that game, too.

Normally at this time, I would say something like "new random thoughts to come next Monday," or more recently "new random thoughts to come this Thursday." The only problem is that this will not be the case since the next time this column will return will be sometime in early January. So, instead, I'm just going to simply say goodbye, and that I hoped that you enjoyed this post. See you when I see you! Now play me out, Lonely Island!




Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.