Favourite TV Shows 2011 - Top 11 Shows, #11 - 2

So here we are, to take a look back at what exactly my favourite TV shows of 2011 actually were. Whilst the vast majority of the new series were absolutely terrible (here's looking at you Whitney) but there were major bright spots thanks to the debuts of both Game of Thrones and Homeland. But as always, it's the returning shows where the best stuff was coming from, even in a year that didn't have a new season of Mad Men. So first are the honourable mentions followed by the full list down bellow.

Honourable Mentions

Archer

Bob's Burgers

Black Mirror

Cougar Town

Shameless US

Sons of Anarchy*

Wilfred

*for the vast majority of its fourth season, 'Sons of Anarchy' was actually enjoying a place within the Top 10. But then that finale aired, and it was pretty terrible, so sadly it gets relegated to an honourable mention thanks to a mostly good season.

11. United States of Tara

I came to United States of Tara late. However, because of people talking about the leap in quality the show had made in it's third and ultimately final season, I decided to give it a go. The first two seasons of United States of Tara were fairly lighthearted with occasionally forays into darkness out of necessity it's very hard to avoid the fact the main chracter is suffering from dissociative identity disorder (DID). But the shows third season dives into the deep end of this darkness and begins tackling what actually caused her DID. What follows is a 12 part psychological thriller built around the family drama, where even though no one actually dies there's a very real, palpable sense of tension and dread. This is only made possible because of the fantastic performance that Toni Collette gives, jumping with ease between each of the different personalities, as well as the other fantastic cast members, including a brilliant guest role from Eddie Izzard. Whilst it is sad that Tara ended when it did, the final episodes hopeful note, even after the terror of the previous episodes, was the perfect end to what had become a great series.

10. Boardwalk Empire

Boardwalk Empire made it onto this list for one reason, and one reason only, that finale. The second season of HBO's gangster series was gripping, gorgeous and filled with many fantastic performances, including the brilliant Jack Huston and Michael Kenneth Williams, however it lacked cohesion from episode to episode. It felt like episodes alternated between being fantastic and slightly underwhelming, Jimmy's attempts at overthrowing Nucky felt like they played out in the background much of the time, and the lack of some of the stronger members of the supporting cast in some episodes was sorely felt. Then the finale pulled all of these seemingly disparate strands to make the season worth it, culminating in one of the most visually striking scenes of the season as Jimmy and Nucky have their final stand-off in the rain by the war memorial. It was a gutsy move to end their second season on, that I hope pays off in a big way in season three.

9. Doctor Who

If you've read this blog in the past, I've been quite critical of Doctor Who in years past. I thought Season four ended on a dreadful note, some of specials that aired in 2009 had some fantastic moments but that 'The End of Time' didn't truly come to life until David Tennant was saying goodbye and then Steven Moffat's first season as show runner was marked by the fact that almost no one, apart from Moffat himself, could write a compelling episode. Season six they fixed that. Yes the less said about the clone two-parter the better, but that led to the fantastic ending moment where the Amy we've been with most of the season is revealed to be a fake. All five of Moffat's episode were superb, but unlike every other season of Doctor Who they weren't the best; Neil Gaiman's 'The Doctor's Wife' which celebrated the Doctor's relationship with the TARDIS and was terrific, but perhaps the best episode was Tom MacRae's 'The Girl Who Waited', the episode that proved beyond a shadow a doubt that Amy Pond is easily the best of all the modern companions.

8. Adventure Time

The production schedule for Adventure Time makes it very difficult to tell what seasons actually aired in 2011, and it's even difficult to say if there has been a marked improvement from season to season. All I know is that in terms of what each episode actually achieves  there's no show that is as creative as Adventure Time. From 'The Real You' to  'Death in Bloom' to 'Mortal Folly & Mortal Recoil' the episodes of Adventure Time season two that aired in 2011 would have earned it a place on this list, but then season three had 'Still', 'Memory of a Memory', 'Too Young', 'Fionna and Cake', 'What Was Missing', 'Thank You' AND 'Holly Jolly Secrets'. It's a stellar run of episodes for what is sure to become a children's TV classic in the years to come.

7. Homeland

There weren't many great new shows in 2012, there were some very good ones, which I have mentioned above in my honourable mentions, but in terms of great new shows? There were only two, Game of Thrones (which makes an appearance later) and Homeland. Homeland was a show that could have gone wrong at any second, the fact that it came from the creative team behind 24, a show known to go off the rails on occasion, meant that it was always a worry that Homeland could as well. Luckily Homeland didn't, in fact it just got better, particularly when it came to the episode 'The Weekend' wherein Carrie and Brody, both played masterfully by Claire Danes and Damien Lewis laid out almost every single secret that the two of them had in one of the best episodes of TV from the entirety of 2011. Whilst occasionally the flaws in the shows logic would show, particularly in the bunker scenes in an otherwise fantastic season finale, the performances by Danes, Lewis and Mandy Patinkin and the fact that the viewers expectations were frequently subverted, made Homeland's debut season one of the best in recent memory.

6. Justified

Like the second season of Sons of Anarchy, Justified took a leap in its second season and ascended to greatness. Of course Sons of Anarchy wasn't able to maintain that level of quality into it's third of fourth season, but for one glorious moment it was as good as any other drama on TV. I'm not saying that Justified's third season is going to follow the same trajectory, but it's going to be tough to find a villain who will be able to compete with Mags Bennett, played to perfection by Margo Martindale a character actress who finally got to prove just how good she could be given the right role. Justified's flaws are still it's flaws, the green screen in driving scenes is still awful and the other Marshals, Tim and Rachel are woefully under utilised  but everything else about season two made up for that. The supporting cast featuring fantastic performances by Jeremy Davies and Kaitlyn Dever as well as Walton Goggins' Boyd Crowder getting to be a little bit more villainous than he was in season one and then there's Timothy Olyphant as Raylan, who might not be as flashy as the other actors on the show, but is the necessary anchor to it all. But at the end of the day, Season two of Justified gets this high for Margo Martindale alone because that's just how fantastic she was.

5. Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation season three was an all time great season of television, and I'm going to be saying that for a lot of the shows that will be appearing on the rest of this list. If Parks and Recreation had only aired it's 16 episode third season in 2011, then it would have probably placed a little higher on this list. Not that the episodes from season four were bad, but they lacked the cohesion and sheer brilliance that season three had. The whole cast wass utilised as well as any ensemble that I can think of on television, particularly thanks to amazing work from Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza and Adam Scott and classic episodes such as 'Flu Season', 'April and Andy's Fancy Party' and 'Li'l Sebastian'. Season three was a triumph in terms of pretty much everything, that I can't help but look at season four in a less light, even with fantastic moments such as April and Andy visiting the Grand Canyon in 'End of the World'. However, even if Parks and Recreation maintained it's season four level of quality for the rest of it's run, then I can almost guarantee it a top 5 placement next year, I just don't see them topping season three.

4. Louie

Louie season two took the foundation of what Louis C.K. did with the first season and just ran with it to all kinds of weird and wonderful places. The unpredictability of what exactly could happen on any given episode of Louie was ratcheted up a hundred fold. The premiere of season two was a 20 minute fart gag, 'Country Drive' had Louie singing the entirety of The Who's 'Who Are You', there was meditations on suicide, and a double length episode set in the Middle East. Maybe not everything in this second season hit its mark (I was not a fan of the episode 'Joan') but when Louie was working, which it was 95% of the time, it was one of the most hypnotically fascinating shows on television. Sometimes hysterical, other times deeply poignant, it's hard to say if a balance was hit between these emotions, only that each moment felt right and they felt earned. Louis C.K. proved himself to be something special with this season of Louie and I can honestly say that I have no clue what season three is going to hold, but that's perhaps the most exciting thing about it.

3. Game of Thrones

Many people would argue that Homeland had the stronger debut season in 2011, however in my opinion, almost no show on television this year was able to compete with how much excitement I had to watch a new episode of Game of Thrones each week. Yes, it took at least two viewings of the first episode and then about two further episodes until I was able to remember names and characters, but that didn't stop The Wire from being engrossing, and it also helped the George R. R. Martin's Westeros feels like a real place with a rich history. Of course, the vast majority of the praise for what makes Game of Thrones work should go to David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for their fantastic work adapting the novel to the small screen, but also knowing what to add and to take away. The fact that their additional scenes fit seamlessly into the narrative shows just how well they understand this series. Everything about Game of Thrones seemed to click, from great performances by Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke et al, to the stellar direction, particular by Alan Taylor for the penultimate episode of the season, 'Baelor'. That episode was the perfect culmination of the season and also the strongest example of what Weiss and Benioff had an almost uncanny ability to do, chose end of episode cliffhangers, because if you weren't going to come back after that ending, then there's something seriously wrong with you.

2. Breaking Bad

I am going to say something completely hyperbolic right now. I think that season four of Breaking Bad is about as good as a season of serialised dramatic TV can get. I would put it on the level as The Wire season three/four, which is about as good as television can get in my opinion. And yet, it only just misses out on the top spot of this list, but for lack of trying. Season four built on all of the foundations that Breaking Bad laid out for itself it's also seminal third season. Giancarlo Esposito completely dominates the entire season as Gustavo Fring, creating one of the greatest villains to ever grace the small screen and possibly one of the greatest villains ever. Of course Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn and Dean Norris are all fantastic and should really go without saying, particularly with Cranston's being a three time Emmy winner for this show. Where season four really exceeded though was in the building of tension, from the superb use of silence in the season premiere 'Box Cutter', the meeting with the Cartel in 'Salud', Walt's laugh at the end of 'Crawl Space' or the eponymous moment from the finale 'Face-Off', Breaking Bad  season four was a master class in making your audience sit on the edge of their seat. Now with three straight seasons of near perfection, it's hard not to wonder what the final 16 episodes are going to hold for Walt and Jesse, all I do know is they probably won't disappoint.

1. ???
And my number 1 show of 2011, will be revealed in a post dedicated entirely to it, and why it was the best TV show to air in this calendar year

Favourite TV Shows 2011 - Top 11 Episodes of 2011

So this year I'm doing this list in a slightly different order. Instead of the normal music list first, followed by TV, followed by episodes, we're jumping straight into episodes. And don't expect to be able to guess the TV list from these episodes, considering about half of them won't be on my overall list at all. Onward to the honourable mentions! (Oh and spoilers for any of these shows that you haven't watched but will want to in the future).

Honourable Mentions:
Black Mirror - '15 Million Credits'
Doctor Who - 'The Girl Who Waited'
Chuck - 'Chuck versus the Santa Suit'
How I Met Your Mother - 'Ducky Tie'
Justified - 'Bloody Harlan'
Supernatural - 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'

11. Adventure Time - 'Still'
Adventure Time is easily one of the weirdest shows currently airing on TV, and whilst it is definitely aimed at kids, there is still something for adults to appreciate. It might not be appearing on many critics lists for 2011 (although IGN did rank it their favourite Animated Show of the year), I'm going to be detailing probably my favourite episode Adventure Time aired all year. Ever since 2010's brilliant 'What is Life?' I fell in love with Gunter the Penguin, so having an episode which showcased how brilliant he is was always going to rank highly in my books. And that's not mentioning the brilliance of having the Ice King dress as a very creepy Finn or the fact that Finn's astral beast is just a whole load of butterflies. But it's Gunter that makes this episode, because who can't love the most evil thing in the world?

10. Homeland - 'The Weekend'
'The Weekend' was when Homeland proved it wasn't going to be like most shows on television. For a serialised show to essentially lay all of its cards out on the table halfway through its first season is a huge risk, that worked out wonderfully the show. Of course, being from the writers of 24, there was always the risk that the events of 'The Weekend' would be retconed in the future but that didn't happen. What makes 'The Weekend' such a great hour of television is the fact that it finally let us spend time with just Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) and Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes). The climax to this episode is just the two lead characters sat and discussing everything that has come before. It is wonderfully tense and beautifully acted scene that proves that tension can arise, even if the only thing happening on screen is a conversation.

9. Wilfred - 'Pride'
I'd enjoyed the episodes leading up to episode 7 of Wilfred. They were funny, dark and normally featured a cool guest star. But 'Pride' was when I decided I was in for the long run on this series. Reviewing an episode of comedy TV show pretty much comes down to whether that particular episode made you laugh, and 'Pride' did that. Whether it was the montage of Wilfred doing disgusting things to the stuffed giraffe Raffi or Jane Kaczmarek informing Elijah Wood when he goes down her that it was the "right rabbit, wrong hole" which elicited equal numbers of laughs and disgusted noises when it was uttered. Wilfred was one of my biggest surprises of 2011, and it's the episode that I keep going back to in my head as a signal to everything that the show does right.

8. Shameless US - 'But At Last Came a Knock'
I have to make the revelation that I've never actually seen a single episode of the UK version of Shameless, and seeing that I am from the UK, that is probably a huge travesty. But I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of the US version. What made Shameless US as good as it was were the fantastic performances by Emmy Rossum (seemingly making up for 'Dragonball Evolution' and 'The Day After Tomorrow'), Jeremy Allen White and Cameron Monaghan. The Gallagher kids story was easily one of the most engaging I saw in 2011, and whilst I thought that William H. Macy would sometimes drag the show down as Frank, 'But At Last Came a Knock' was an episode where he was used pretty much perfectly. The return of the kids mother was always going to be a big deal, and this episode handled the return perfectly. Emmy Rossum's impassioned speech at the hand being utterly superb. Whilst the follow-up episode fumbled the conclusion to this arc a little bit, it cannot take away from the sheer depth of emotion shown in this episode.

7. Boardwalk Empire - 'To The Lost'
After a season of pitting Boardwalk Empire's two leads, Nucky Thompson(Steve Buscemi) and Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) against each other, it seemed obvious that this war would have to end soon, presumably with some kind of truce. For a while, the finale seemed to play to audience expecations, with Nucky and Jimmy offering each other advice, and clearing up each others affairs, that is until the final scene. Boardwalk Empire's second season closed on what was surely pantheon level scene of television, with the climactic confrontation between Nucky and Jimmy, culminating with Nucky shooting Jimmy at point blank range in the head. Boardwalk Empire's second season may not be a truly great show just yet, but to take a chance as big as killing of the co-lead in only its second season, shows just how much potential there is for this show to reach the upper levels of television along with Breaking Bad and Mad Men.

6. Sons of Anarchy - 'Hands'
I'll leave my thoughts on the whole of Season 4 of Sons of Anarchy for another blog post (needless to say, they were mixed) but I do really need to highlight just how excellent 'Hands' really was. Airing just as the season was building to its climax, this felt like the watershed moment for the series as a whole. This was the beginning of the end, the moment that had been coming for almost four whole years. Clay finally went too far and Jax (or someone else in the club) was going to have to deal with the fact that he just beat Gemma. Maybe this wasn't as bad as other moments from previous seasons dealing with Clay, but we all knew that this was something that Jax could not forgive. And that's not even mentioning the permanent damage done to Tara by the kidnap/murder gone wrong (also orchestrated by Clay) which also led to a fantastic scene in the hospital as Jax and Tara realised that they'd never get out of Charming with the clubs blessing. The season stalled quite dramatically after this episode, but like Season 2's 'Balm' and Season 3's 'NS', 'Hands' proved that Sons of Anarchy is the more than capable of putting terrific episodes of television.

5. Louie - 'Eddie'
Before this episode of Louie, my only knowledge of Doug Stanhope had come from the little pieces that he does for Charlie Brooker's Newswipe series. These on the whole were a mixed bag. Because of this, I was little nervous about whether or not I'd enjoy an entire episode of Louie wherein Louis CK had to deal with Stanhope. I should not have worried in the slightest. Louis CK is one of the sharpest minds in comedy right, but he also has an innate ability to write a compelling dramatic piece as well. 'Eddie' deals almost exclusively with Louis coming to terms with the fact that one of his fellow comedians from his early days on the stand-up circuit has essentially told him that he plans to commit suicide that evening. The highlight of this episode comes near the end where Louis confronts Eddie after a night of drinking as they stand next to the car about he really shouldn't commit suicide. It's not something that you'd expect to come from a show advertised as a comedy, but it's handled with such grace that's hard not to just stand back and watch in awe as the scene plays out on the screen, without ever contradicting any of the previous moments of comedy in the episode.

4. Parks and Recreation - 'Andy and April's Fancy Party'
There were so many episodes that I could have chosen from Parks and Recreation in 2011. Season 3 was such a fantastic season, that an argument could be made for almost any episode (such as 'Flu Season', 'Lil' Sebastian' etc.) but I finally settled for 'Fancy Party', not only because it came as a complete surprise but also because it was pretty everything you could possibly want from an episode of Parks and Recreation, a mixture of sheer hilarity and a general sweetness and sense of positivity that is sometimes lacking in comedy. The wedding of Andy and April came out nowhere, but it made perfect sense for these two characters to do something this random and impulsive, and it was the perfect counter to the wedding of Jim and Pam on the Office. But it's the little things that will make a Parks and Recreation stand above the others such as the first appearance of Orin, Jean-Ralphio or the moment where the dead dove is released after the ceremony. Maybe other things did things better, such as have more Ron or were maybe funnier all the way through, but in 2011 no episode summed up why I watch Parks and Recreation more than 'Andy and April's Fancy Party'.

3. Game of Thrones - 'Baelor'
Before I even touch on the obvious big moment that closes out this episode, it needs to be said that 'Baelor' was absolutely packed to the brim with awesome moments. Whether or not it was the revelation that Robb Stark had managed to kidnap Jamie Lannister right from under Lord Tywin's eyes. Then there's the absolutely hysterical scene as Tyrion, Shae and Bronn stay up late drinking and trading stories. Tyrion easily became the closest thing to a break out character on Game of Thrones, and it was scenes like that proved why, incredibly charismatic and hilarious to match. Then across the Narrow Sea we had Daenerys dealing with the impending death of Khal Drogo from his infected wound from the previous episode, and her ultimate decision to use the forces of magic to try and keep him alive, even if it cost her the life of her child. But of course, the big part of this episode has to do with the killing of Ned Stark (Sean Bean). Sean Bean was obviously the big name draw to Game of Thrones, as well as the apparent lead in its first season. Of course the joke that Sean Bean dies in every movie was around, but they couldn't kill him off when he's the lead of TV series that is supposed to last many years? But that's what they did, and the writers of Game of Thrones proved that they had the balls to follow through entirely with the template left for them with George R. R. Martin's books, even if many people felt betrayed by the (necessary) death of Ned Stark.

2. The Office - 'Goodbye, Michael'
'Goodbye Michael' might not be the best episode that The Office ever produced, but it was the perfect send off for the character for the character Michael Scott and Steven Carell. Yes the show probably should have ended with this episode, and yes the parts of the season that weren't really dealing with it being Steve Carell's last year were just as flat as any moment from The Office's worst points. But the departure of Michael Scott was everything that a fan of this show could hope for. Every single fair well to all the characters on the show were pretty much perfect, and the moment that Jim walked into Michael's office once he realised that Michael wouldn't actually be showing up for his 'last day' tomorrow, the tears started to come. Sometimes emotions can make something seem better than it probably is (see the Lost finale), but if something makes you feel an emotion, then screw the tiny insignificant faults, you've been made to care about fictional people, and that's all that really matters in the end. And of course, Steve Carell's final words on the show were going to be 'that's what she said'.

1. Breaking Bad - 'Salud'
Every year I sit down to write this list, there are always one or two shows that could fill the entire lists with absolutely fantastic episodes, and for the past three years, Breaking Bad has been one of those shows. Narrowing down just one of the thirteen episodes from Breaking Bad Season 4 was so difficult, it could have easily been 'Box Cutter', 'Hermanos', 'Crawl Space' or 'Face-Off' but I have decided that 'Salud' is the episode that was probably the clearest example of what Breaking Bad so effortlessly good in its fourth year. Season 4 is the year that Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring) stepped up and proved that someone in the acting world could stand up to the immensity of Bryan Cranston (Walter White) and Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman), and this episode played to all three of their strengths. From Walt's tearful admission of guilt to his son, to the intensity of the final few minutes as Gus put his plan into motion to poison Don Eladio and all of his capos. Director Michelle MacLaren (Season 3's 'One Minute') continues to prove that she is one of the best directors currently working in television, as she directs the best episode of the year two years in a row.

Favourite TV Shows 2010 - Favourite Episodes 25-11

This year's list of my favourite episodes is a little longer than it has been in previous years. Not only did I manage to find a fantastic episode in every show I featured on my list, but also a couple of shows which didn't feature also get their dues. So onward with the first 15 of my favourite episodes of 2010!

25. Charlie Brooker's Newswipe - Series 2, Episode 2
Newswipe isn't the kind of show which necessarily has perfect episodes, it's just a uniformly fantastic show with moments that stick out more so than actual entire episodes of sheer perfect. I love almost everything that Charlie Brooker has ever laid his hands (particularly the XXXwipe shows) but it's hard to pin point an individual episode as the best of a particular series. So I chose Episode 2 of the second series as a true example of the show at it's best. There was the fantastic 'How to Report the News' segment, the genuinely informative piece on British journalists and the complete ripping apart of the Wooton Bassett story from early last year. Yes I don't like every element of the show (*cough*TimKey*cough*) but the bits I like, I absolutely adore and this episode had that in spades.

24. Modern Family - 'Manny Get Your Gun'
The best episodes of Modern Family will normally have the entire cast in one place (see 2009's 'Fizbo') and whilst 'Manny Get Your Gun doesn't have the cast together for the majority of its run time, when everyone does meet it is literally a collision. Modern Family might not be the most hilarious comedy on TV but this episode was able to have enough funny moments (Phil, Claire and Alex breaking down in the car etc.) whilst holding together the sense of family that makes Modern Family so enjoyable.

23. 30 Rock - 'When It Rains, It Pours'
After the resurgence that the show had back in spring, this episode was the solidification that 30 Rock was back on top form. A fantastic, but not flashy guest appearance by Paul Giamatti, Jack making the video for his future son ("the secret to good hair is dove....blood") and of course Tracey playing Cash Cab in order to see the birth of his child. 'When It Rains, It Pours' played to the strengths of most of the cast proved how 30 Rock can still hit it out of the park.

22. South Park - '200'/'201'
South Park celebrated its 200th episode in 2010 and definitely pushed the show to the limit. '200' and '201' were celebrations of a show that has been on TV for almost 15 years. Almost every celebrity that South Park had taken the piss out of was back, we had Tom Cruise (and more gayjokes), Mecha-Streisand, Scott Tenorman and of course Muhammad. What followed over their combined 40 minute run time was a fantastically hilarious and even thoughtful look at the ideas of censorship. Of course the show ended up getting censored and the creators received death threats for trying to portray Muhammad on TV, showing just how right South Park was in the first place.

21. Futurama - 'The Prisoner of Benda'
Futurama came back to our screens after great anticipation. Whilst it maybe wasn't as consistent as it was back before it was cancelled, there's no denying that Season 7 had flashes of the Futurama we loved, and 'The Prisoner of Benda' was the clearest example of this. Everyone knows body swap episodes, pretty much every sci-fi TV show ever has done an episode about, but what made Futurama's take so great was to the lengths that they took it. By the end of the episode almost everyone was in someone else's body and always leading to hilarity (Scruffy & Wash-bucket Amy FTW). The episode was intricate and even proved how dedicated the writing staff of Futurama are by having the writer Ken Keeler actually create an entire mathematical theorem to have the episode work.

20. Justified - 'Fire in the Hole'
'Fire in the Hole' was a template for the Justified was going to succeed as the show went forward. Based on the short story by Elmore Leonard and developed for TV by Graham Yost (Band of Brothers, The Pacific), the pilot Justified turn out to be a fantastic piece of television. This first episode hinted at a larger plot to the show, but also showed how it could work within a self contained. The fact that the show was buoyed by a fantastic performance by leading man Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood) and a fantastic villainous portrayal by Walton Goggins (The Shield), made Justified's first episode one of the most rounded hours of television all year.

19. Rubicon - 'The Outsider'

Rubicon may have stumbled a little out of the gates, especially when compared against AMC's other fantastic shows Mad Men and Breaking Bad, but 'The Outsider' proved that Rubicon might have had what it took to actually compete with those two shows on a qualitative level (barring that godawful finale). This was the episode was the lose threads started to come together and the show became less interested in the central mystery behind the show and focusing on the characters jobs within API and the moral responsibilities it holds for them. It also Truxton Spangler's fantastic tie speech, one of the best scenes of television all last year.

18. Better Off Ted - 'The Impertinence of Communicationizing'

Sometimes a show is just so damn for funny for reasons that are quite simple to explain. A memo goes around the offices of Veridian Dynamics urging the employees to insult each other and hilarity ensues. Here is a series of hilarious outtakes from the episode. Enjoy.

17. Supernatural - 'Weekend At Bobby's'

I could have quite easily chosen the Season 5 finale 'Swan Song' as the best episode of Supernatural in 2010, but that episode would have worked on a whole other level if it had actually been the final episode of the show. Instead I decided to use this as a chance to speak of unsung heroes. Bobby has been the closest thing the boys have had to a functioning father figure since the beginning of Season 2, and whilst he's been a constant presence on the show since then, it took us until Season 6 to get an episode highlighting his awesomeness. Sometimes moves away from established format can prove to be messy and muddled, but Supernatural offer consistently offer up interesting ways of subverting their format, and 'Weekend At Bobby's' was one of the best.

16. Cougar Town - 'You Don't Know How It Feels'

Cougar Town magically transformed a few episodes into Season 1 and became one of the most consistently funny ensemble comedies on TV. Yes, Courtney Cox is still the obvious weak link and it's a shame the show has to built around her, but even she can't take away from the natural chemistry all the actors have together. Guest-starring Scrubs' Ken Jenkins as Jule's dad, Cougar Town finally strives for some more of the lofty emotional moments that Bill Lawrence's other show so often achieved. But even removed from the most emotional beats there was the fantastic Halloween themed hilarity, with a multitude of fantastic costumes. Ellie and Laurie going dressed as each other was the gift that kept on giving and Bobby's Windy Man is genius on so many levels. If you aren't watching Cougar Town, you are definitely missing out on a very worthy successor to Scrubs.

15. Chuck - 'Chuck versus The Beard'

Whilst Chuck Season 3 didn't quite reach the heights that the show was able to achieve in it's second season, 'Chuck versus the Beard' was an episode the fans had been waiting a long time for. Ever since Chuck gained the intersect, it was obvious it was only a matter of time until it bled more and more into his personal life and his family and friends would inevitably become privy to his life as a spy. First came Captain Awesome and then, finally, in this episode, Morgan found out. Of course this all took place during yet another assault on the BuyMore but what made the episode was Morgan's of sheer elation when his friend told him he was a secret agent. Chuck in 2010 had many great moments, in particular the first episode with Chuck and Sarah as a couple on the train, or Timothy Dalton's fantastic guest appearances, but it shall forever be remembered as the year Morgan found out about the Intersect.

14. The Pacific - 'Peleliu Airfields'/'Peleliu Hills'

Whilst some people don't hold The Pacific to the same lofty heights that they hold Band of Brothers (I cannot honestly say, seeing as I have only seen the first 4 episode of BoB) but I will say The Pacific is fantastic in its own right, dealing fair more with the emotional tole of warfare, rather than its visceral nature. But no episodes were as harrowing as the episodes that dealt with the assault on Peleliu. The men were completely out of their element and completely outmatched. Images from these episodes still float when I think back on the miniseries, from Sledgehammer finally breaking and trying to rip out the teeth of a dead Japanese soldier or Snafu throwing rocks into the blown apart skull of a corpse. They might not be pleasant images, but they came from some of the strongest hours of television I watched last year, and I'm grateful I saw them.

13. Louie - 'God'

It's very hard to describe Louie as a series. Louie takes the form of a series of vignettes, sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes 20 or 40. One of the standouts vignettes from it's first season was the episode which dealt with the idea of religion. What starts of seemingly innocently turns into one of the most downright terrifying lessons on Jesus' crucifixion I have ever heard, going into disgusting details of how much pain Jesus would have been on the cross with only the choice between the pain being in his legs or arms, for three days. Even that scene alone would have been enough to earn this episode a place on my list, but the later scene with Louie talking to his mother about religion and the expertly placed stand-up excerpt helped prove that Louie is definitely something very special.

12. Dollhouse - 'Getting Closer'

Dollhouse only aired 3 episodes in 2010 and whilst the final two episodes were a mixed bag in the way that concluded the series, 'Getting Closer' was an amazing penultimate episode from writer Tim Minear (Firefly and Terriers). We got an action packed 40 minutes filled with so many mind blowing twists and revelations that showed that even with only 3 episodes left it was going to be hugely enjoyable. The two big twists of course were Dr. Saunders coming back and then proceeding to shoot Bennett in the head immediately after she and Topher had a moment (a Whedonesque twist on so many levels). But of course the huge twist of the piece was that Boyd had in fact been the head of Rossum since the very beginning. Yes in context it doesn't make much sense, but that doesn't take away from the sheer amount of fun that this episode really was.

11. The Walking Dead - 'Days Gone Bye'

What a pilot episode this was. You can argue as to whether the rest of the show was able to reach the heights that this episode did (I'd say episodes 4&5 came closest) but there's no denying that Frank Darabont wrote and directed one hell of a pilot episode here. Capturing every single beat from the first issue of the comics, The Walking Dead proved that there was still life in the zombie genre. From Lennie James' fantastic portrayal of Morgan to Rick shooting the half Zombie in the face was filled with little moments of sheer brilliance. Compared to other works of Zombie fiction, the pace was positively sedate able to properly explore the toll of being alone in a world infected by zombies. To start a tale of ongoing survival, The Walking Dead couldn't have possibly hoped for a stronger episode than this one.

Favourite TV Shows 2010 - Honourable Mentions

2010 was yet another fantastic year for TV shows, it might not be the golden age that was occurring a few years ago with The Wire, Sopranos, Deadwood etc. but it was still a year that gave us fantastic seasons of shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Parks & Recreation. But those aren't the shows that I'm here to talk about, instead I want to focus upon the shows that haven't made it into my top 10. Instead this blog post will be almost an other top 10 (or 12) with shows which whilst more often than not fantastic for various reasons didn't quite make it into my overall top 10 of the year.

So enough with the introductions, here were the great shows of 2010 which didn't make my top 10 (bearing in mind that I have yet to watch some shows like Treme and Boardwalk Empire) in alphabetical order:

30 Rock
30 Rock didn't have a fantastic 2009, there was still a lot to laugh at still but it wasn't as consistent as it was during it's 2nd Season. Then there was the fact that it was having to compete with the new 2009 comedies of Community and Parks & Recreation. But then 2010 gave the show a massive comeback. There were some fantastic guest stars with Elizabeth Banks, Matt Damon, Jon Hamm, Michael Sheen, James Franco and Paul Giamatti and outright hilarious gags. James Franco and his Japanese sex pillow, Tracy remembering his past and having a mental breakdown, Jack making the video to his future 'son' about how to live, Buzz Aldrin shouting at the moon, Tracy making the advert but continually flubbing his lines and of course every moment that Michael Sheen was on screen as Wesley Snipes. 30 Rock might not be my favourite or the most consistent comedy on TV, but when it's on form it rivals the very best the medium has to offer.

Adventure Time
Adventure Time is a show that you wouldn't expect to be on any other critical TV list for 2010, but personally I think that this show is fantastic. Adventure Time is a Cartoon Network (yes THAT Cartoon Network) animated series about Finn the Human and Jake the Dog and the adventures that they have. That description doesn't highlight just how insanely surreal this show is though. It's the kind of thing that just appeals to university students in the same that Spongebob Squarepants is so appealing. But Adventure Time is something special, every episode is only 10 minutes long but you'll get vignettes dealing with a zombie invasion, pie throwing robots, how Finn deals with being turned into a foot and the art of imagination during a knife storm. It's hard to describe what makes this show so wonderful but it is, quite definitely one of the best new shows of 2010, if only for Lumpy Space Princess.

Better Off Ted
Better Off Ted is the first show on this list that was cancelled in 2010 (and sadly not the last). Better Off Ted was a comedy show set inside the fictional multi-national corporation Veridian Dynamics and dealt with the work force who helped create the inventions that they use to shape the world, which also gave birth to some absolutely fantastic fake adverts for the company ("Friendship. It's the same as stealing"). Better Off Ted was a fantastic satire of large corporations and how they deal with people. The ideas ranged from sending out a corporate memo encouraging the employees to swear (the fantastic outtakes can be seen here) and turning an employee who died on the job into a Jesus figure. All of this is topped off with a great ensemble which also gave fresh work to the Arrested Development alum Portia De Rossi as well as Jay Harrington as the titual Ted andJohnathan Slavin and Malcom Barrett as the wonderful Phil and Lem.

Chuck
After the fantastic Season 2, I think that most fans were just thankful that Chuck managed to survive being cancelled, twice I might add. Chuck is still a great show, maybe not quite as good as it was in Season 2 (although it quite often gives episodes of that level) but still one of purest blasts of fun to be found on TV these days. In season 3 the show maybe got a little too dark for what it was but that's forgetting what was great about Season 3 and the first half of Season 4. We got more Jeffster, Brandon Routh (Superman) put in a great performance as the villain of Season 3, Chuck and Sarah finally consummating their relationship and Morgan and Ellie both finally found out that Chuck was a spy (as well as a great plot featuring Awesome being brought into the spying life). Then there was the continued fantastic guest casting the show does with the crown jewels at the moment being Timothy Dalton as Volkoff and Linda Hamilton as Chuck and Ellie's mother. Timothy Dalton, especially, has been fantastic as the possibly insane but increasingly scary Volkoff and I can't wait to see where this goes in the second half of Season 4.

Doctor Who
2010 and the fifth season of Doctor Who was possibly the most important year for the show since its rebirth in 2005. Not only David Tennant leaving the show after four years of inhabiting the role of The Doctor but so was Russell T Davies the man who had sheperherded the show into coming back. Luckily Steven Moffat and Matt Smith stuck the landing in what was one the better seasons of the show since it's return. There was the normal wavering quality between certain episodes but the charismatic Matt Smith and Karen Gillan were great throughout and finally the audience was getting more than one or two Moffat scripts a year. A lot of what made 2010 great for Doctor Who must be laid at Moffat's feet (not counting David Tennant's goodbye which January 1st 2010) with the terrific two parters of 'The Time of Angels'/'Flesh and Stone' and 'The Pandorica Opens'/'The Big Bang' as well as a superb Christmas special with 'A Christmas Carol' which closed out the year and left anticipating Season 6 even more.

Justified
Justified could have just turned out as just a show which let Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood) take out bad guys in a cowboy hat, but instead it became so much more than that. Whilst the pilot was based off of a Elmore Leonard story, the rest of the show expanded to the point where it existed on it's own away from that story. Whilst not every episode was great, Justified was a show that put out some fantastic stand-alone episodes such as the fantastic 'Long in the Tooth'. Eventually the show achieved that hard sought balance of procedural and serialised story telling putting a great compelling overarching narrative which was frequently backed-up by a series of very well done one and done plots. Justified might feature as strong an ensemble as other shows but Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens and Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder put in two of the best performances of any actors this year something which just makes the show that much more compelling. The final 'Bulletville' might not have been the best way to end the season, but the first season was more often than not great and I can't wait for Season 2 in February.

Louie
Louie is the reason why I haven't this blog post up sooner, because I wanted to watch the complete season to make sure I was right about putting it on here. Luckily it is and if I'm perfectly honest, probably completely worthy of making the top 10. Louie is the brainchild of the hilarious comedian Louis CK (Parks & Recreation) and is one of the most difficult shows to pigeon-hole. On face value it would appear to be a sitcom, but really it's more a collection of vignettes with a loose continuity between them all bookended by some stand-up from Louie himself. The fantastic thing about Louie is that in any given episodes it's almost impossible to guess what might happen. Some episodes have downright hilarious moments, such as Louie's trip down to the South or the heckler during one of his shows, others will poignant such as the poker episode which turned into a discussion of homosexuality or just intentionally unfunny such as the fantastic episodes 'God' and 'Bully'. Not every bit or episode will work but it never tries one thing for two long and it's nearly always refreshing to watch.

Modern Family
Modern Family also made the honourable mentions last year, and that isn't to say it isn't any worse than it was last year, it just isn't up to the level of the shows I selected for my top 10. The main problem with Modern Family is one that pervades many shows with ensembles, that some plot lines just might not work in some episodes, and the episodes that do work have a meeting of all the plot-lines. Luckily the cast for Modern Family is one of the most likeable on TV with great performances from Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet and Ed O'Neill. Modern Family is definitely not the most experimental or ambitious comedy on TV, it's just an incredibly reliable, often hilarious family sitcom which is more often than not just what you want.

The Pacific
Say what you will about The Pacific being "just another war show/movie" and you're probably right, but that doesn't stop it from being any less fantastic. At 10 hours long, The Pacific offered one of the most psychologically draining shows on all of TV last year. In it Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks offered yet another superb war drama on par with Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, and it was an entirely different beast. Instead of being based on the western front, The Pacific, as the name suggests, focus on the far less reported by far more gruesome Pacific front. What was a delivered was a 10 hour tour de force that looked into the psychological nature of being a soldier in the war and what exactly it puts you through without every shying away, which as a result meant that The Pacific had a far darker tone than Band of Brothers. Bolstered by amazing production values and fantastic performances by James Badge Dale, Jon Seda and Joseph Mazello, The Pacific was one of the best shows to air on TV in 2010 and only just missed out on the top 10.

Rubicon
Moving from one show that starred James Badge Dale to another one. Rubicon was an entirely different beast to The Pacific, but was just as great and despite numerous early problems a great addition to the AMC line-up. Sadly though Rubicon was cancelled after it's first season but that still doesn't make enjoyment of that season any less. Rubicon was a show that started out as in the same vein as 70s conspiracy thrillers but eventually found a far more comfortable setting focusing on the moral ambiguity that goes into researching terrorists and appropriate responses. It was fascinating to watch what was essentially four people in a room reading files, but it became compelling viewing. If only episode 12 'Wayward Sons' (Journey reference FTW) had been the finale, Rubicon would have been one of the best shows of the year, sadly the far more conspiracy centric 'You Never Can Win' served as the finale and sadly focused on the weaker elements of the show. Luckily the first 12 episodes of the show were still uniformly fantastic especially with great performances from the likes of Arliss Howard and Michael Cristofer.

Supernatural
It wasn't the best year for Supernatural mostly due to the fact that the show is never as good as when it was as focused as it was in the early parts of 2010 but it's still just a great show. Whilst I might have been happier if 'Swan Song' had indeed been the last episode of the show (I'm a sucker for when shows end when they feel like they should have ended) I'm still getting new episodes of one of my favourite shows. Season 6 at the moment is only half way through and therefore it's almost impossible to make any snap judgements so all I can say is that I have no fucking clue where it's all going, which is interesting if slightly worrying at the same time. Season 6 might be slightly muddled, but has still been made enjoyable by the occasional fantastic episode ('Weekend At Bobby's), the usual great performances from Jensen, Jared, Jim and Misha and the fact that the show week-in, week-out puts out a great and interesting take on the Supernatural.

The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead makes it onto this list almost entirely because of the potential it holds to become fantastic. Season 1 seems far more like a prologue to a far more fantastic second season than anything else. Because of it's incredibly short length (only 6 episodes) there wasn't any real room for the show to breathe, it was in those moments in Season 1 that the show was fantastic. Whilst the show does need to work on certain characterisations, overall it's found a very sturdy foundation, especially when it comes to the divergences that it has made from Robert Kirkman's graphic novel series. The Walking Dead has probably the most promise of all the returning shows this year to improve, and it when it does come back in October I know I'll be waiting with bated breathe to see what Frank Darabont and the rest of the team will deliver.

So those were the honourable mentions, feel free to weigh in with any of your own thoughts and be sure to check back over the next few days for Top 10 favourite shows, my favourite episodes and my biggest disappointments of 2010.