Favourite TV Shows 2010 - Favourite Episodes 10-1

So here we are, my list of my 10(11) favourite episodes of television from 2010. Ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours, these were, in my opinion the finest episodes that the medium of television produced between 1/1/2010 and 31/12/2010.

10. Sons of Anarchy - 'NS'

Despite the unevenness of the third season of Sons of Anarchy the finale was an absolutely superb way to end the season. 'NS' was a culmination of three seasons worth of story-lines, most notably all the drama involving Stahl and Jimmy O'Phelan. Yes the central drama to the show surrounding Clay and Jax still remains but the outside forces which had plagued the show for three years were wiped out in one tremendously suspenseful episode. When the club finds out that Jax has turned snitch you being to legitimately wonder how on earth SAMCRO is going to get out of it and then the double bluff is revealed. Maybe it was a little too neat an end, with SAMCRO ultimately taking very little fallout (beyond the 14 months in prison) but this episode makes the list purely for the scene where Opie shoots a weeping Stahl in the back of the head to avenge his dead wife Donna. Beautiful scene and a perfect way to end a season which was plagued by disappointments.

9. Adventure Time - 'What is Life?'
'What is Life?' was the first episode of Adventure Time that I ever watched and from that a magical friendship was born. Think Spongebob Squarepants but instead of being underwater it's set in a post apocalyptic world where quite literally ANYTHING can happen. The world of Adventure Time is wonderfully surreal and despite what could just be a funny concept the characters are legitimately well written and relate-able. 'What is Life?' focuses on Finn the Human trying to out prank his friend Jake the Dog by building a Never Ending Pie Throwing Robot (NEPTR for short) and here things go off the walls. What kind of kids show would have a robot where only one of his wheels works causing him to go round in circles and then ask his master 'Why do you forsake me?'. Or the pies which contain boysenberry....and poison. Or the balloons who fulfill their BLOOD OATH, cheer and then happily float up to the mesosphere in order TO DIE. Yes Adventure Time has enough jokes for adults to appreciate it but it's also wonderfully colourful so that kids don't get bored. Whilst there are many other episodes of Adventure Time I'd recommend to people ('The Eyes' is fantastic, as is 'Tree Trunks') 'What is Life?' is a fantastic place to start.

8. Parks & Recreation - 'Sweetums'
There were many episodes that I could have chosen from the second half of Parks & Recreation's second season such as 'Telethon', 'Freddy Spaghetti' and 'Park Safety' but I went with 'Sweetums' for two reasons. One being the fact that we got an amazing public forum, where once more we get to spend time with the amazingly insanely stupid residents of Pawnee (hell and Ron's face when he looks under his chair expecting to find a prize is golden as well) but the second reason is of course DJ ROOMBA. This ingenious idea takes an already great episode and raises it to amazing levels. It might not be a very Ron heavy episode, but it's an episode that uses all of the ensemble well, which lead to some of the very best episodes of Parks & Recreation. It's also helpful that we get to see the entire Parks department suffering from a sugar rush, because sometimes people being stupid is just funny dammit!

7. Terriers - 'Change Partners'
Whilst the pilot episode of Terriers was fantastic, it took until 'Change Partners' for me to realise was going to be something special. The episode starts quite low key with Hank looking for a bank loan to pay for his new house which then spins off into him being offered a job into looking into the bank manager's wife and whether or not she is cheating on him. And this is where the episode kind of gets fucked up. Particular needs to be made of Olivia Williams' fantastic guest role as the wife and playing her exasperation at the weird fetish her husband has of making her live out this faux-lifestyle of infidelity. By the end of the episode we realise that Olivia Williams' character Miriam has never actually been unfaithful but is driven to actually sleep with Hank by the end of the episode. This sets off the chain of events causing the bank manager to commit suicide and Hank to, instead of helping, forging his signature so that he can pay for his house. It's a fantastically dark moment and one that could have made the lead character seem unlikable but Donal Logue's performance just makes him so damn likable as Hank. Then as a cap to an already fantastic episode, we end with a shadowy figure crawling into Hank's attic whilst he's not looking. Utterly gripping stuff.

6. Doctor Who - 'The Time of Angels'/'Flesh and Stone'
Steven Moffat might just be my favourite TV writer currently still making TV shows. Whilst I quite often find the standalone episodes of Doctor Who to be somewhat lacking, a Steven Moffat script is almost always guaranteed to be fantastic. and the same can be said of this two-parter. Whilst maybe not scaling the same heights as 2007's fantastic episode 'Blink', 'The Time of Angels' and 'Flesh and Stone' serve as a fantastic reminder that the Weeping Angels are probably the best creature that Doctor Who has introduced since it came back in 2005. Along with the Weeping Angels, Moffat also brings back another of his fantastic creations with River Song from his own 2008 two-parter. Over the course 90 minutes Moffat slowly ratchets up the tension and questions and whilst some were disappointment I thought it was fantastic. With story beats that wouldn't pay-off until 'The Big Bang', Moffat showed all the writers of Doctor Who how to conceive a two part story and that he is quite definitely a genius that everyone should pay attention to.

5. Party Down - 'Steve Guttenberg's Birthday'
Party Down ran for two terrific seasons and this episode might just be it's crowing achievement. Maybe it's just because I've always been fascinated by the work that goes into screen writing but Martin Starr and Christopher Mintz-Plasse working together on an horrific screenplay was a fantastic idea. The two completely different read througha were hysterical in their own ways. From the over the top scientific vocabulary that littered the first draft to Henry's amazing overacting during the second, there was almost always something to love about this episode. And that's discounting how weirdly lovable Steve Guttenberg's house is. Filled with crazy memorabilia, thousands of DVDs, a home cinema, a fountain filled entirely with water from a iceburg and of course the picture of a guy fucking a porcupine. Party Down shall be missed, but I'm glad that it lasted long enough to give us the comic genius of this episode.

4. Lost - 'The End'
I've written far too much about Lost over the years so I'm going to make this a short one. Have all the issues with the final season you want. Have all the issues with the final 20 minutes as you wish. But those first two hours of the Lost finale were pretty incredible. Everything that came to represent Lost over it's six years came crashing together in one hell of a satisfying way to way to send of the Island in style. From the sentimentally moments of bringing back nearly every single significant character that appeared over those six years, to Jack Bender's fantastic direction or Michael Giacchino's award worthy score. 'The End' was a microcosm of pretty much everything that made Lost so great. Maybe the trip into theology at the end rubbed people the wrong way, but it was an apt ending to a show which was so much about the characters and their relationships. It might not be the best finale for a TV show ever, but it's a damn good one.

3. Community - 'Modern Warfare'
During it's first season was a very funny show about about the lives of a group of people who went to a Community college. Occasionally it would dip into meta references of the larger plot at hand (mostly given to the audience by Abed) but I don't think anyone expected something as amazing as this. In it's first season on the air Community brought to the table a pantheon level episode of television. Something that will through the ages as one of the greatest episodes of television ever. 'Modern Warfare' was a quite literally a perfect pastiche of so many fantastic action movies. With overt references to films such as 'Die Hard', '28 Days Later', 'The Matrix', 'Hard Boiled', 'Scarface' and 'The Warriors' this episode was a smorgus board of geeky references. It managed to nail the cheesy lines of dialogue ("Check mate bitches" whilst shooting a member of the chess club in the back) and overall feel of action movies with aplomb (thanks to the sterling work of director Justin Lin). 'Modern Warfare' is an episode for the ages, and the fact that it's only number 3 on my list shows just how strong the remaining episodes truly were.

2. Breaking Bad - 'One Minute'
Another series which could have had so many different episodes on this list, from 'Fly', 'Half Measures' and 'Full Measures', Breaking Bad Season 3 was one of the best seasons of television that I have ever seen. But if everything I saw on television over the last 12 months stuck me it was the titular One Minute of this episode. I have never been so tense whilst watching a television series than when I was watching Hank fight for his life against the cousins. Not only did it come as a surprise that such a big moment was coming so early in the season but also the fact that there is legitimately no way to know who is going to make it out of the shoot out alive. Of course one scene does not a great episode make, but the ever brilliant Aaron Paul gave one of his best monologues on the show to date (a feat in itself) and Dean Norris proved that he was more than ready to take on the increased role that was being demanded of him. Topped off by fantastic direction by Michelle MacLaren and beautiful cinematography by Michael Slovis and you have yet another pantheon episode of television.

1. Mad Men - 'The Suitcase'
Despite Breaking Bad having the (marginally) better season, it wasn't going to go down without a fight. 'The Suitcase' is the kind of episode that only a serialised show can do. Working off of three and a half years worth storylines and plot threads, 'The Suitcase' ties everything together seamlessly within one night of the lives of Don Draper and Peggy Olson. Anger is vented, truths are revealed and tears are shed. With quite possibly the performance of both Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss' lives, 'The Suitcase' is a absolutely stunning episode. After the death of Don Draper's closest friend, the only person in the world who the knows the whole truth behind Dick Whitman, he has no one left to turn apart from Peggy, the girl who all those years ago thought that she would have to sleep with her boss as a natural part of her job. The only man who knows the whole truth about her own hidden pregnancy, the man who gave her such a high placing job in Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Almost four years worth of angst came rushing out over the course of one 40 minute episode and it's amazing in the level of catharsis it is able to give. Maybe Mad Men reached its peak in this episode, but it's not a peak that much else on television will ever be able to reach.

Favourite TV Shows 2010 - Top 5 Dramas

This is where things get really interesting. If you read my blog regularly, then you'll know that most of passion towards TV is directed towards the more dramatic serialised shows, and it should come as no surprise that all of these shows are exactly that. Whilst I do sincerely love Community and Parks & Recreation, the passion I have for these shows far exceeds them. I might not have seen shows like Treme and Boardwalk Empire and The Pacific may have been fantastic, but the 5 shows I have selected here were my favourite dramatic shows of 2010.

Onwards with the list!

5. Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy was a show that I actually watched in its entirety this year, so technically this ranking is all 3 seasons of the show (I know, I promised I wouldn't do that again). So whilst if I had ranked this based purely on Season 3 it might not have made it on to this list at all (it wasn't awful, just very deeply flawed) but looking at all 3 shows as a whole, it's utterly fantastic. The show focuses on a biker gang in the Californian town of Charming. It might look from adverts as just an excuse for some guys to get all testosterone-y at each other but it's actually more interesting than that. The show has a lot of similarities with Hamlet, what with the show focusing on Jax Teller, who's father was murdered (?) and now his father's best friend is married to his mother and ruling the Sons of Anarchy, so of course there's a lot of tension between those two. The show touches on themes of family and duty and all kinds of morality themes that make it more interesting to watch. But that's not all, Sons of Anarchy has a sense of "shit is going down" that almost no other sh ow on TV (apart from maybe Breaking Bad) can even match, over three seasons shit ranges from the death of Donna, Gemma being raped and the Irish stealing Jax's baby. Whilst the Jax baby arc in Season 3 was handled badly (mostly because of artificial roadblocks in the story and the fact that the new characters had almost no time to grow), Sons of Anarchy still has the power to punch you gut as you watch these things happen to the characters. Whilst Season 3 wasn't all that great a season, Season 2 was absolutely superb and I regret not having watched it then. Don't be turned off by the fact that Sons of Anarchy looks like a homoerotic mess, it's an incredibly compelling and often fantastic TV show that finished with a terrific finale this year and will hopefully recover in Season 4.

4. Lost

If you've been reading my blog or actually know me, then I think you know what my feelings are towards Lost. It will foreve r be my favourite television show ever, it's the show that got me hooked on TV in the first place, the inspiration behind this very list. Without Lost I have no clue what I'd be like today. Maybe less nerdy? Probably not to be honest, just nerdy about different things. But Lost was a special show for me and 2010 was the year that it's last ever episode aired and it's final remembrance might be here (although probably not). I'm going to miss Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Ben, Hurley, Jin, Sun, Desmond, et al. for years to come. It feels weird to me now being in January and not having any new episodes to look forward to. It's been 7 months since the last (fantastic) episode of the show aired and still the emotional resonance of that episode is with me. I was sat ther e at stupid 5 o'clock in the morning crying my eyes out as I said goodbye to some of my favourite fictional characters ever. No, Season 6 of Lost wasn't the greatest season of television ever (hence why it's at 4), the flashsideways won't play as well on second viewing and there were a few narrative dead-ends, but that's Lost in a nutshell. Not every question was answered, but when it came down to it, the focus on the characters was all anyone really watched for and the sixth season delivered on little character moments throughout, making Lost one of the finest shows of the year, but one of the finest shows ever.

3. Terriers

Terriers will go down as one of the most damning cancellation of any show on TV in 2010, in a year we lost fantastic new shows like Rubicon, Party Down and old favourites like 24 and Lost, Terriers still hurts the most. In a single season, that is sure to go down as one of the greatest 'one and done' series ever (a pantheon also hosting Freaks & Geeks and Firefly), Terriers did what so many shows strive for over their entire runs. It created an entire world, it created a stable ensemble of likeable and memorable characters, it was written to perfection and just worked in a way most shows don't. Luckily Terriers tells a complete story, so in years to come people will be able to pick up the box-set and just enjoy what exists of the show. This isn't a Firefly where once you reach the end you want to know more, Terri ers ends on a logical point and whilst you'd love to spend more time with Hank and Britt, it still feels like an end for the show, even if it's not the end that you or the showrunners would have wanted. If Terriers did come back, who know's if it would have been able to maintain that lightning in a bottle, which I guess is the only consolation that fans of the show can hold onto. Terriers wasn't the flashiest show on TV in 2010, it was about scruffy looking people who aren't necessarily leading man material but are just damn likeable. It was funny, light-hearted but it also knew how to punch its audience in the emotional gut, like the culmination of the third episodes 'Change Partners' or Hank consoling Katie after she cheated on Britt. The show was just superb, a show I'm going to try and force onto as many people as I can (if it ever gets aired in the UK) because it's just that good.

2. Mad Men

Mad Men, 2009's best show, aired it's best season in 2010, and yet somehow finds itself at the 2nd spot in my list. Season 4 of Mad Men was a very different season for Mad Men, most noticeably for what the show was doing the charact er of Don Draper. This year he was a wreck, nothing was coming easy to him (not once did the show have one of the famous Don Draper pitches of the past) and he was falling more and more heavily onto drinking. He was sleeping with the wrong people, making the wrong decision and was just an all round wreck. Season 4 of Mad Men essentially became a character study into the mind of Don Draper. It takes a lot for a show to put it's leading man into such a low place but Mad Men Season 4 did it so well. The character of Don Draper was completely broken down, ever single element including Dick Whitman. In the end we don't know whether Don marrying Megan in the last episode will actually be a good decision in the long but knowing Matthew Weiner, it's sure to be interesting. But away from Don the show was still doing interesting things, Betty was no longer such a huge character because of the divorce and Kiernan Shipka as Sally Draper really stepped her game up in Season 4 to fa ntastic levels. Then of course the normal fantastic performances from the entire cast (shout out to Elisabeth Moss and John Slattery). Mad Men is still one of the best shows on TV, and Season 4 was easily the show's best season so far. If you haven't been watching, do yourself a favour, Mad Men is nuanced and just an all round fantastic show, but still was not the best show of 2010.

1. Breaking Bad

HOLY FUCK. That is the reaction I had to entirety of Season 3 of Breaking Bad, last year Breaking Bad was the show that came closest to taking the crown from Mad Men with a fantastic second season I didn't think it could top, of course I was wrong. Creator Vince Gilligan came back in 2010 and delivered with one of the greatest television seasons ever, the season that finally allows Breaking Bad to throw it's hat into the ring of all time greats. Most of the praise for the show probably comes off as hyperbole, but believe me when I saw this show is fantastic in every single way. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are two of the best actors working on television currently, the show proves that television really is a visual medium with Michael Slovis's photography and the writing is of the highest calibre. The show constantly leaves the audience guessing where exactly it's going to go, which helps when the show is written with almost no long overarching plan, creating a sense of spontaneity that just drips from the show. This is a show that could just list reams and reams of moments off, the end to 'One Minute' and every single monologue for instance, but that's not experiencing the show. This is a show that should be watched by as many people as possible, Breaking Bad (along with Mad Men) is the current benchmark for what can be done with the medium of television. It allows for far more interesting and nuanced characters and performances than films can ever dream, long form narratives to progress over time rather than be wrapped up in 2 hours. Breaking Bad wasn't just the finest achievement that the world of television had to offer in 2010, it's also fast becoming one of the finest offerings the medium has ever given us.

Of Mad Men Season 4

I know that Mad Men Season 4 has been finished for nearly 2 months now, but I've finally decided to get round to reviewing it. Spoilers ahead obviously.

Mad Men Season 3 was fantastic, but Season 4 absolutely blew it out of the water. After the game changing finale to Season 3, the big question was what was going to become of the new law firm that Don, Roger, Burt and Lane started. Season 4 began almost a year after the firm had started and found them located in a far more luxurious location than the hotel room they were forced into at season's end, but still far small than the old Sterling Cooper offices.

Donald Draper was in a bad place for most of Season 4. Drinking heavily and attempted womanising. Of course Don was a womaniser in the old days, even when married to Betty, the key difference here was that he was failing, spectacularly at it. Whilst it would be easy to get annoyed at watching our hero fail at something he used to be good, it still led to a fantastic character study. With an early trip to California to see Anna, we were once again brought back to the Dick Whitman character and which version of Don was the real Don.

Which leads us on the to the fantastic episode The Suitcase. It's hard to describe just how good this episode was. Focusing almost exclusively on Don and Peggy and their relationship, Mad Men created one of the best single hours of television this year. Don hit rock bottom, drinking to excess in front of Peggy, getting into a drunken brawl with Duck Phillips, which he lost. Then of course in the background to all this was the presence of the death of Anna, and Don's reason for self destruction. Anna was the only person that knew Dick Whitman, the only who knew what Don was really like. With Anna's death, the torch of this knowledge was passed onto Peggy and Don was able to make an upward climb to his old self.

This led to Don Draper courting for a lot of the season, many potential love interests were introduced with Faye being the most likely. Faye was Don's equal, someone who knew what made him tick, someone he actually revealed some of his past to (obviously not all of it). Someone who looked to be a far better match than Betty. A true intellectual equal. But Don didn't choose Faye, he chose his secretary Megan. We the audience know just how bad a decision this is going to be in the long run, but the fascinating thing about Mad Men is that it is willing to let it's characters make mistakes. This marriage almost certainly work out, or at least won't make Done happy. Season 5 will obviously spend a lot of time analysing this new relationship and it's ups and downs which just makes me all the more excited.

Of course Don's relationship and life woes weren't the only story in Season 4. Roger losing Lucky Strike at the end of Season 4 which sent Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce into a tailspin as they lost their main financial backing. Not only did it place Roger's position within the company in question but gave us another key moment for Don Draper to shine (alright it is almost impossible t0 discuss the show without talking Don). His letter to the tobacco business was just awesome. Peggy manages to get a new client towards the end of Season 4, which might solve some of SCDP's worries but probably not. Whenever we come back it seems more than likely that they'll be hanging on by the skin of their teeth.

Then we have Joan now being pregnant with Roger's baby. Of course this will pose huge problems for both their marriages, although we should be more scared for Joan. After her husband raped her in Don's office, we know just how evil her husband can be, even if she is love with him. Hopefully whatever he does to (if he ever finds out) won't be too heinous because Mad Men can't lose Joan, the sheer amount of chemistry that she shares with Roger is mind boggling. Whilst at this point it would be counter intuitive to have those two end up together, as long as we get one scene with them together an episode I'll be satiated.

One of the key elements that made fantastic was Kiernan Shipka as Sally Draper. Easily one of the best child actors I've ever seen. Whatever they have her do, from the oh so creepy masturbation scene, arguing with her mother, running away to her dads is fantastic. The show keeps asking her to do more and more complex things and it just amazes me how easily she handles it. I just hope that next season she keeps up having such a large role, although with her now being with mother further away this may be difficult.

My only down issue on Mad Men Season 4 was the lack of presence of Lane Pryce. Whenever he had a fair amount of screentime, be it when he and Don went out drinking and then slept with the prostitutes or his father coming over Britain and ordering to come back with him. Not only did we find out what made Lane tick, with his father smacking him around the head with a cane, but also that he is so much happier here in America than at home in the far more domineering world. Jared Harris is an absolutely superb actor and I desperately want to see more of him next season, of course that is difficult when there are 5 other actors who are far more pressing to the ongoing narrative of the show.

Overall, Mad Men Season 4 was the best seasons of television I've ever seen, much like all other seasons of Mad Men. It's hard to fault with it. The writing and acting continue to be exemplary and engrossing and the direction and art direction is pretty much faultless. The game changing end of Season 3 wasn't so much a kick in the rear for Mad Men, but more an interesting new narrative with so many potentials. Mad Men Season 5 can't come soon enough, and the fact that it will more than likely be airing alongside Breaking Bad Season 4 makes me more excited. Right now AMC have put out the two best shows of 2010 with Breaking Bad and Mad Men, the only hard part will trying to figure out which show was better this year....

10/10

Favourite TV Shows 2009 - Episodes

Well we are at the end of 2009 in television. I know this is a bit late but I've been busy or lazy, but it's here. I aim to post two other posts this week, a review of The End of Time and Daybreakers, so I'm going to build up my blog count. Finally I won't do anything till late January/early February where I'll be going Lost centric with my top 10 episodes and 10 characters. It's going to be fun! (I'm also toying with the idea of doing individual episode reviews for each episode of Lost, but because it'll be going on until exams, I'm not sure that that will happen)

But here we go, my favourite episodes of television from the preceding 12 months, in alphabetical order.

Breaking Bad - Peekaboo
Ironically, this might actually be my favourite episode of television from last year and I get to write about it first. Well for starters it's Breaking Bad, and if you don't watch then something is clearly wrong with you. 'Peekaboo' might not the best example of what an episode of Breaking Bad is but it's one that got to me the most. For starters this is not Bryan Cranston's episode but Aaron Paul's (Jesse). Jesse is sent to get some money back from drug addicts armed with a gun he's never fired before. When he gets to their shack he finds a small child and what follows is on the of the most heartbreaking hours of television I've ever seen. Plus then of course there's that scene with the ATM Machine (similar to the bed+drugs scene later on in the season)

Chuck - Chuck Versus The Colonel/The Ring
Whilst technically not a two parter, it definitely felt like it with the events of one episode directly setting up the next. What we got were two of the most satisfying hours that Chuck has produced. Whilst I don't think they were as brilliant as the Chuck Versus Santa Claus, they made up a brilliant finale. There were twists, deaths and of course plenty of awesome music and action scenes. Oh and Jeffster, and Jeffster make anything about 500% more awesome (and that's a fact)

Dexter - Hungry Man
Ahhh Thanksgiving, that American holiday which we do not get in the UK, what would the Morgan's be doing for Thanksgiving I wonder? Well considering Dexter is a serial killer it wasn't going to be without some blood shed. Of course there were the events going on in the Morgan household, the affair, the breakthroughs in Lundy's shooting. But we were all there to see John Lithgow own the room as Trinity. There's the scene where he breaks his sons fingers which is absolutely brutal, but of course we have Michael C. Hall wrapping a belt around his neck dragging him to the kitchen and telling him he should have killed him when he had the chance. All in all it made for a near perfect episode of Dexter.

Dollhouse - Epitaph One
Dollhouse Season 1 had its ups and down. It definitely picked up towards the end but sadly the best episode didn't air on television. Instead 'Epitaph One' was kept for the DVD. Whilst episodes like 'Belonging' and 'The Attic' were great in Season 2, 'Epitaph One' was the first true taste of what the show could be and the main cast barely featured. Set 10 years in the future, with very little exposition, all we know is that technology is bad and the world is ripping itself apart. It makes for a riveting episode of television and whilst later episodes through some events into doubt, it doesn't take away any of the effect that is left upon the viewer with this brief and oh so brilliant look at what Dollhouse could have become if it weren't for network meddling, higher ratings and a better lead actress.

Lost - The Incident
It's a Lost season finale. There was action, romance, heartbreak, time travel and deaths. Plus of course mind blowing twists (the reveal of what was in the luggage trunk) and we followed Jacob around for two hours, the mysterious patriarch of the island. I'm keeping this one short because Lost ends in a few months and I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say about the show in the near future.

Glee - Sectionals
Probably the most feel good episode of any television last year. It could have wrapped up the first Season of Glee and it would still be as good. Stories came to an end and we got some great conclusions as well as hints for potential future stories. We find out if the Glee club make it to regionals (hint they do) and of course Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) is her normal evil brilliance. The show is still airing in the UK but suffice to say, Sectionals was the perfect wrap up for the shows first 13 episodes and I can't wait for the back 9 to come in April.

Mad Men - The Gypsy and the Hobo
I could have chosen pretty much any episode of Mad Men, 'Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency' for the punchline to that joke (it involves a lawnmower) but I chose 'The Gypsy and the Hobo' for the scene where Betty confronts Don on his past. It's the moment that's been 3 Seasons in the making and it was just as good as we thought it was going to be. It was the start of the end of their marriage and you know what made the scene so tense between Betty and Don? Knowing that he had his kids teacher in the car outside who could come and make what was already a bad situation even worse. Master class entertainment.

Mad Men - Shut the Door. Have a Seat.
I did say I could chose any episode of Mad Men, so I chose two. The finale of Season 3 was perfect. From top to bottom, nothing was wrong with it. It paid of entire seasons worth of stories and was just an overall very fun hour of television. It wasn't as bleak as other episodes of Mad Men, instead we got a classic caper of building together a team of experts. From the witty dialogue (which at many points is downright hilarious) and playing with audience expectations (for a second you actually think they might call Sal). Mad Men is the best show on television for a reason, and this episode is the perfect example of that.

Parks and Recreation - Ron and Tammy
Not much has to be said about this episode other than it's absolutely hilarious. Ron Freaking Swanson is the man and any episode that focuses on him is bound to just be full of laughs. Honestly all I'm going to say is if you haven't seen this episode take a break from this and do so, no context is needed and it's only 20 minutes long. You just need to experience the awesomeness that is Ron Swanson and why he is quickly become one of my favourite comedy characters.

Party Down - Sin Say Shun Awards After Party
It's from the people that gave us Veronica Mars so you know it's going to be good. Whilst this episode seems quite a random one to choose I just remember laughing so much during it (perhaps revealing myself to have an extremely dirty mind). It's set after porn awards so of course everything is shaped like a penis. But there are also boobs! And the normal awkward hilarity from our Party Down crew. Ron's invitation to the porn industry and his massive penis (which just ends so badly and hilariously), Roman refusing to take dating advice Kyle trying to be so dirty and perveted that even porn stars run away and of course the woman who has people cum up her nose. Probably the most underrated comedy on TV at the moment (Season 2 beings April 23rd by the way)

Scrubs - My Finale
I felt My Finale was the perfect way to end Scrubs, whilst the jokes weren't always hitting, it spent time with the characters we know and love and said goodbye to them in such a meaningful way. JD and Turk acting like idiots with Eagle, the Janitor's name being resolved and Kelso finally leaving the hospital after being there ever since he was forced into retirement. But of course the big goodbye was to JD, he finally got that hug and acceptance from Dr. Cox, and that led us the perfect last 10 minutes. The walk through the hallway, the movie screen flashforward and then the quiet goodbye to a janitor (show creator Bill Lawrence) whilst an acoustic version of 'Superman' played in the background. Yes, I was in tears, so what?

Supernatural - On The Head Of A Pin
I had a tough time coming up with the perfect episode of Supernatural but ultimately I chose this one. Firstly it was just a superb episode, Alastair was a brilliant villain and got plenty of awesome moments. And we got great performances out of both Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. But I also chose it because it was written by Ben Edlund who has the incredible talent of being able to write many of the quirky funny episodes but also the best dramatic serious ones. This episode came with plenty of great reveals and shocking twists, so gets on as the best episode that Supernatural aired in 2009 (close 2nd goes to 'Changing Channels'

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Born to Run
The show may not have ended where it was supposed to but it ended perfectly. Whilst we'll never know what happens next, it still feels almost complete and I'm able to let go. Whilst earlier episodes in 2009 suffered from being to centric on Sarah Connor, this episode utilised the entire cast. I was still reeling by the scarily realistic death of Derek the week before (I was still sure it was a dream sequence) but 'Born to Run' still took us so many different places. Garret Dillahunt was, as always, brilliant (he's the one Deadwood star I'd kill to see on Lost this year) and the story took us to more thoughtful places than other Terminator movies have taken us whilst still providing us with action. But of course this is here for those last few minutes and the mindfuckery that went with it (time travel will do that to you).

Favourite TV Shows 2009 - Top 10

I know I've put the title top 10 up in the title, but it's actually a top 11, so already I'm lying, also apologies for not getting this up sooner but a mixture of snow (and not actually being too ill this year to take advantage of it) and jumping back into school right in the middle of mocks means that I'm really quite busy. I'll have more time come summer once exams and the television season are over, but really this being done quite disjointedly whenever I have a free moment and I'm not trying to maintain a social life and my education. Not easy to say the least.

But here we go, my favourite shows of 2009.

11. Scrubs
Scrubs hit its eighth season (and technically ninth) this year, and whilst the past few seasons had been disappointing, it’s hard to say that Season 8 wasn’t an overall success. Whilst some people began to experience ‘show fatigue’, overall this eighth season was a huge return to form. Gone was the cartoony buffoon that JD had become over the preceding few seasons. Also gone were the over long fantasy sequences that had plagued the past few season. Overall, Season 8 was just back to basics Scrubs which is what we wanted all along. With one of the best episodes that Scrubs has ever made in the form of ‘My Last Words’ and a perfect finale, Scrubs Season 8 was an absolute winner, even if it did come a couple of years too late.

10. Glee
People who know might have expected to see this one a bit higher, and whilst I do deeply love Glee, it's only had 13 episodes and there were better shows from 2009. Glee is kind of the spawn of High School Musical and Freaks & Geeks. It definitely errs more towards Freaks & Geeks which is definitely a positive, considering how well regarded those 18 episodes of F&G are. Glee takes popular and show tunes and then has them be covered by the outcasts of the Glee club. It sounds like a crap idea for a show, but a mixture of the talent and it being really quite cynical about high school life make it great. Jane Lynch is superb as Sue Sylvester, one of the best comedy characters produced this year (along with Ron 'freaking' Swanson) and the rest of the cast are just as enjoyable. The show might sound like a real hard sell but overall it just works, the songs are well done, the cast is great and it just exudes happiness. It might be camp as fuck, but I love Glee and cannot wait to see what's coming in the back 9 (with an episode directed by Joss Whedon!!!)

9. True Blood
The best vampire fiction to be debuted in the post Twilight fervor. It's more adult, funnier, sexier and more enjoyable. More events are crammed into one hour of True Blood than almost any other show on television. Whilst it's easy to say that True Blood is shit, that's mostly from people who can't see the camp and humourous side to the show. You're supposed to realise that none of this is supposed to be taken seriously. There are so many great moments within True Blood that can make you laugh or even occasionally cry. There are some great characters and the plot just moves at such an unbelievable pace. Whilst the show does occasionally slip up (look at the long and protracted Maenad arc in Season 2) pound for pound, it offers the most content and enjoyability a week for each episode.

8. Parks and Recreation
Easily the best show to debut in 2009, Parks and Recreation started out slow. However like the US Office, it quickly found it's feet and when it came back for its second season it was firing on all cylinders. The characters were meshing and the writing was tighter. Everything was just working now and what went from one more tepid shows from earlier on in the year has become one of my absolute favourites. It's easily the best out of NBC's Thursday Night comedy lineup (far better than Community which flits between good and bad episodes) and one I want to see survive for a while. Hopefully it won't become like The Office where it just seems to run out of ideas, but when you have a scene stealing character as Ron 'Freaking' Swanson, I don't really mind how long it stays on the air, just so long as it maintains it's current quality.

7. How I Met Your Mother
Still my favourite overall comedy on television. Mostly because of some incredibly inventive writing and Neil Patrick Harris' portrayal of Barney Stinson. It's not the most critically acclaimed comedy on television but for me, in terms of laughs, I will get a couple of good laughs an episode and that's honestly all I really want from a comedy. We're barreling into How I Met Your Mother episode 100 tomorrow and I can't wait to see what the show does to celebrate it's longevity. HIMYM is probably the best example of a classic sitcom still on television, especially compared to the other awful examples that still exist (apart from BBT). I don't really care if we never find out who the mother is, the show is always funnier when not focusing on that story and again, it's really only the humour that matters.

6. Dexter
Dexter came back for Season 4 far stronger than it left us at the end of Season 3. Whilst Season 3 wasn't bad, it certainly wasn't as good as Season 1 or 2. It moved at a far slower pace and whilst Michael C. Hall was fantastic, as well as the stellar performance from Jimmy Smitts, they were still the two main pulls. Luckily Season 4 not only had the stellar performance of Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow, the story was a lot more exciting and delivered some terrific twists (seriously that last scene was such a curveball and just changes how the show will be next season). I can't wait for Season 5 now with such a changed landscape. My only wish is that an end date gets announced because the concept of the show is one that begs for an endpoint, we can't keep following everyone's favourite serial killer for 6 years and not have any kind conclusion. So whilst I'm sure Season 5 will be just as good, the show needs to end within the next year or two if it wants to go out on top.

5. Supernatural
I started the year watching Supernatural Season thinking it was decent yet seriously flawed show. After a couple of months break and I kept seeing good things about the show. So I decided to get over my trepidation and watch Season 2, which blew my mind. It was such a solid season of television that perfected pretty much everything that was wrong with Season 1. It was the strength of this season that led me to watch all of Season 3 and 4 before Season 5 premiered. It was such a fun ride and whilst Season 3 has sooo many flaws it doesn't harm the overall feel of the show at all. Supernatural is just a great show from start to finish. It mixes standalone and mythology based episodes with such precision that it always feel like the show is continuing and now we're actually moving into the final 12 episodes of a story 5 years in the making. I couldn't be more excited to see Eric Kripke is taking us on the final stretch of episodes. The show is a superb mixture of humour and drama and the supernatural that just make it winner overall and also a sucess story when it comes to networks messing with their writers story in the fact that they promised a five year story and that's what we're getting (even if the show is renewed this year).

4. Chuck
Chuck is just fun, a hell of a lot of fun. I can't believe that last year I only ranked the show at 11. Chuck didn't really improve in 2009, it stayed true to what it was but somehow it just clicked and became one of the shows that I'd just want to watch over and over again. Season 2 was an amazing season of television and I'm so glad that we're getting a third season (which starts tonight). Chuck just wins on so many levels. It's abashedly geeky with so many film and game references, it has quite possibly the best guest cast on television with it being almost guaranteed that anybody in a one time guest role or even a recurring arc will be incredible and the fact that it has one of the best soundtracks on television. The show is never anything less than it what it aims for and it does so perfectly. The entire is cast is great and there are so many great moments throughout the season (JEFFSTER!!!). Chuck is action packed and hilarious and a show that wouldn't give up for anything, whilst my other favourite new show from 2007 might have died, I'm glad that Chuck is sticking around to give me one of the most pure fun hours of television that I can find each week.

3. Lost
Last year Lost was number 3 because there were 2 better shows. This year, Lost is number 3 because not only were there 2 better shows, but also Lost didn't actually have an amazing year in Season 5. Not that the show wasn't brilliant, Season 5 was still fantastic, it just wasn't as good as it has been in Season 3 or 4. Whilst we're still barreling along at an impressive pace. The show was setting up all the pieces for Season 6. We got the normal fantastic acting, great twists and great writing but overall it just seemed the show was hitting the normal stratospheric heights that it hit in Season 4 with episodes like 'The Constant'. Luckily when it comes to Lost, even an episode that can only be labeled 'good', it's just better than 95% of everything else on television. The show is going to have an incredible sixth season, I'm sure, and since it is one of my favourite shows ever, I'm sure it'll top my list next year. But before we move onto Season 6, let's focus on some great moments from Season 5. Episodes such as 'The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham', 'Dead is Dead' and 'The Variable' were all superb. And there was the finale, which I'll talk about in my next blog post based on top episodes.

2. Breaking Bad
If it hadn't been for the number 1 show, this would have been there with a bullet. But I think we all know what number 1 is. Breaking Bad is another show I regret putting so low last year (number 10? what on earth was thinking), it's just a phenomenal show. Everything about it just drips quality. The writing is darkly funny and the acting is incredible. Bryan Cranston is a revelation but in Season 2, Aaron Paul really stepped up the game and was going head to head with Cranston in so many scenes and just elevated the season above pretty much everything on television. The frequent foreshadowing used during the beginning of episodes, incredible set up as well as some genuinely disturbing scenes scattered throughout the season, really made it stick out in my head. When a show has only aired 20 episodes and already people can be asking whether or not it's deserving to be on not just end of the year lists but end of decade lists, you know you have a winner. Season 3 starts in March, which still feels so very long away.

1. Mad Men
Mad Men is the best show on television at the moment. No other show is anywhere near as good. At all. Lost on the whole might be and Breaking Bad is close, but Mad Men is just transcendent. Like The Wire it just feels like a perfect whole. Everything comes together in such a satisfying way. The performances, the writing, the set decoration and costumes. It might be a slow burn but when it gets to the end it just feels like so much has happened. The way show mixes in real life events over the top of the characters lives just seems amazing and...and...you know what I go into a massive long stream of hyperbole of what makes this show work. Essays can be written about it's tone and style, analysing the characters motives. But all you really need to know is that, yes it's as superb as you've heard and if you're not watching it you should be. It's one of the greatest televisions shows ever produced and should be seen a lot more outside of those people who actually take critics opinions seriously (they like stuff you've never heard of for a reason, it's just better than the shit you watch).

Of Mad Men Season 3

Well that marks the end of Mad Men Season 3 and this also marks the beginning of my third and final review of the show this year. Yup you read that right, I've reviewed all three seasons of Mad Men in these short 11 months. All I can really say is that Mad Men is without one of the best, if not the best, show that currently airs on television. Breaking Bad and Lost can both come close to reaching it's consistency but Mad Men just has that something that takes to a higher (and if you watch any of the shows I've just mentioned you know they're at a very high level to begin with).

So without further ado my review of the shows third season. If you have yet to watch the show then all I can really say is that there will be spoilers and that you should probably go out and watch it, it's just amazing.

So first off I want to get the acting out of the way just due to the fact that if you watch the show then you already know the high calibre that they have on the show. Jon Hamm continues to be superb as Don Draper, the character is just magnetic and Hamm just owns the character and his multiple layers and the dark past that he hides underneath all the business suits. January Jones as Betty was again amazing this year, as was Elisabeth Moss as Peggy, who sadly was sidelined a little after two superb episodes kicked off the year. John Slattery continues to steal pretty much every scene he's in as Roger Sterling with the best lines of anyone on the show. Christian Hendricks as Joan and Bryan Batt as Sal both were spectacular but they two sadly were left early on (but for completely understandable reasons). Also I need to mention Vincent Kartheiser as Pete for also being fantastic.*

However those were the main characters who we know are fantastic, this year we had several new characters and one in particular stood out. Jared Harris as Lane Pryce was an utterly superb addition to the cast this year. Jared Harris can be recognised for his work as Mr. Jones last season Fringe (ie the villain) and whilst he was a very good part of Fringe, he really shows off some astounding talent on Mad Men. It does seem like the writers were doing something similar to what the writers of Lost were doing in Season 2 when they introduced the character of Henry Gale. In Lost they were looking for an actor to portray the leader of the Others and went looking for an actor, if that actor worked then he would stay around, if he didn't he'd be killed off and they'd look for someone else. In both cases it worked and Michael Emerson came into play Henry Gale and is currently one of the best things about Lost and is easily one of the best character actors working today. Jared Harris has done a similar thing. Of all the scenes this season, I found myself looking forward to his scenes the most. He was funny and just a joy to watch, and with how the season ended it does look like he may be bumped up to main cast next season.

Now for the main crux of the season. Of course the show is set in the 60s and we've been told we'd see the entire decade in about 5 seasons. However the first surprise of the season was that the season didn't open like last year with a jump of a year but instead only a few short weeks. Meaning we saw a lot of the pregnancy announced at the end of last season. This led to some very trippy scenes which signaled that Mad Men was going to play around with pre-concieved notions of how the show normally is. There were hallucinations, sojourns to Italy, firings of not one but two main characters and unlike most cable shows the major event of the season didn't take place in the second to last episode but in the third to last episode AND the last episode.

Then there was the lawnmower scene. Mad Men doesn't do violence or push the censors much. Of course the show is dark and there's lots of sex and occasional swearing but overall it's done in a tasteful and realistic way. However the lawnmower that runs over someones foot was completely unexpected, in much the same way as the vomit scene in season 1. It comes out of nowhere, or at least whilst it's obvious that something is going to happen, you don't think that THAT would happen. But it does and blood sprays everywhere and it was shocking. It shows that Mad Men isn't playing it safe and wants to mess around with the conventions that it's made for itself.

We of course have to mention that Sal and Joan both left Sterling Cooper this reason. Sal for reasons that amounted to black mail due to the fact that he wouldn't sleep with a male client. Sal is by far one of the most interesting characters. He's the only gay character in the cast and the 60s attitude to homosexuality is something that has only been lightly touched on and I just hope he comes back in Season 4, even if we don't see him get his job back. Then there is Joan who leaves for different reasons in the fact that it's due to the belief that her husband will be able to support them both. He doesn't and we get some awesome moments, particularly due to the fact that this was the guy that raped her in season 2. The best moment being hitting him around the head with a vase and of course the "Hell Yeah!!" moment in the finale when she shows up to help save the day. Whilst this did lead to the false hope Sal might come back to do something similar. Instead Don kicks in the door, which if anything was even awesomer.

Of course this being Mad Men, it isn't really a straightforward story. The show is more a random collection of events in the lives of the people at Sterling Cooper. When you begin a season, you have no clue how or where it will end up. At the beginning each episode will be very loosely connected to what preceded it and it isn't until about episode 7 or 8 that the landscape of the season becomes clear. Mad Men did that this year, adventures based on different characters. There were moments for both Peggy and Pete to shine. Sal's secret came out to Don, the episode where Betty gave birth and Betty's father, Gene dying (which led to Kiernan Shipka make me take back what I've said about child actors been incapable of acting unless they're on The Wire).

However then we saw where it was going.

This season is where it happened. Betty found out about Don's true past. How he stole the real Don Draper's identity. Of course she didn't take it well, although at first it did seem very strange. Divorce papers and photos of a man called Dick Whitman. Then we got the scene where it all comes out. It was played superbly and of course in the background we had the fact that Don was having an affair with his children's teacher who was sat in the car during the entire confrontation who could make this already tense scene blow up even more than it already had. She didn't but it was quite possibly the tensest thing the show has ever done. Betty forgave him after she heard the full story..at least until the next episode where she revealed her plan to divorce Don. Which is where we ended season 3, Don and Betty's marriage has come to end. Whilst it was inevitable due to Don's endless affairs and secrets it does change the landscape of the show significantly.

The other significant event? Nope it wasn't the assassination of JFK which occurred in the second to last episode. Nope it was the shocking turn of events which led to the entire collapse of Sterling Cooper and the formation of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. This is the game changer that the show unleashed on us in the finale episode. A pitch perfect episode from start to finish. Whilst it did contain some dark and emotional moments such as Don threatening to beat Betty when she announces the divorce and the reaction of their children to the news, the episode was actually amazing upbeat, hilarious and a hell of a lot of fun. The episode was built like an old fashion caper like Ocean's 11 where we got to see the building of the team over the episode, there was jazzy up beat music and of course some brilliant lines. We had the return of Joan where then she and Roger acted like an old married couple**, Peggy deadpanning a no when asked to coffee. The brilliant reaction of Pryce when he told his bosses how he'd fired everyone, got himself fired and then managed to wish the a merry Christmas. It was superbly well done and of course we got some beautiful moments such as the conversation between Don and Peggy and how he would spend the rest of his life trying to hire her if she didn't say yes to his offer. So by the end we'd lost a large proportion of the cast and I honestly have no clue where we're going in season 4.

Overall Season 3 was fantastic. It took Mad Men to unexpected and unusual places. It played with normal conventions and mixed in the normal fantastic writing and acting we've come to expect. I haven't even mentioned some of the mixing of real life events of the sixties and key figures. There was of course the matter of race where we found out about racially motivated murders, the fact that Conrad Hilton (yes Paris' grandfather) was a key character and then the murder of JFK. Mad Men is essential television. It is the best thing currently on the air, this season showed it doesn't go for the expected conclusion instead throwing frequent curve balls that constantly keep you guessing.

If you aren't watching Mad Men then honestly there is something wrong with you. The fact the show gets very ratings proves that the vast majority of people of idiots. Mad Men is one of the most unique and brilliant shows on the air. I have no clue what is going to happen in Season 4, how long will the time jump be? Will Don stay away from Betty for long? Will SCDP be succesfull? Will we still see all the old characters? When is Don going to have his next affair? All I do know is I can't wait till next August and the return of the best show on television. Especially with the scope of the show now being expanded beyond the confines of the Sterling Cooper offices.

9.5/10

*If the acting quality weren't so high on this show I may have focused a little more on or two specific actors but it is and I love it for that.

**Side note, get those two back together in a relationship!

Of Mad Men Season 2

Okay I'm weak. Mad Men Season 2 only started airing two weeks ago on BBC and I'm already done. I have so much crap that needed to be done but I got addicted to Mad Men. It really is one of the best shows on television at the moment and I binge watched Season 2 even with other stuff that desperately, desperately needed to be done. The fact that this is the second Mad Men review this year shows how much I'm in love. Plus it won't be the last. It's been confirmed that there are going to be two more seasons of this show, one airing over the summer and it's pure brilliance has made it a shoe-in for my Top Television Shows of 2009 list. In fact I would go as far as to say that Mad Men is currently tied for my favourite show still on the air (The Wire, sadly, finished). So expect Lost and Mad Men to be fighting it out for the top spot come years end.

This being the second Mad Men post this year means I'll just say this. It's set in the 1960s, there's drinking, smoking and all around many different attitudes to nowadays. The show has expanded upon its first year in so many ways. The characters are all known so we can focus some more on the supporting cast who are all extremely talented. However its the three main female characters, Betty, Peggy and Joan who deserve immense praise. They are three of the strongest female characters on television and provide some of the most compelling scenes of the entire show.

Overall this season is a little detached from the first season, or at least seems to be. At the start it feels like Season 1 has been forgotten and then we get slowly but surely introduced to all those lingering plot elements. It makes an extremely compelling story and the writers show their immense skill in pulling it all off without having to shout it from the rooftops that *removed* was *removed* and gave up *removed* or that by seasons end *removed* has *removed* someone in retaliation for *removed* doing the exact same thing.

Okay I wanted to make this one a short one. There will be no spoilers at all. This is necessary television viewing. There are only 26 episodes in existence and should be required viewing for anyone with a television set. Go and pick up the first season boxset and track down Season 2. The writing and acting are simply superb. Especially the way that they incorporate real moments from the sixties into the narrative of the show such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Everything is specific to the era, whilst the characters are fictional, the stories, events and opinions most certainly aren't. Racism, homophobia and sexism are all dealt with on the show and give an insight into how far we have come as a society.

Overall the show has proved it to be utterly superb. I know I gave season 1 a 9.5 and since this season arguably isn't as good (I think they're level pegging) I'm only going to go 9.5/10 again

Just read that as near to 10 as makes no difference.

Of Mad Men Season 1

Finally, I've finished Season 1 of Mad Men. I've still got Season 2 left to watch but that'll be on BBC4 soon. I just needed to get a load of shows out of the way in time for the dump that will be happening early next month. It also doesn't look like I'm going to get Damages finished in time. Dammit. Ahh well I'm done with Mad Men for the time being, yay. Although the show is utterly brilliant so I shouldn't act so happy, especially since Season 3 hasn't even been confirmed yet (however really it's an inevitably especially with the amount of awards it's won).

Alright so Mad Men is the latest critical darling of the US. However guess what? This show deserves it. Luckily unlike amazing shows like The Wire and Battlestar Galactica it isn't being snubbed by award shows and this year won the Emmy for Best Drama (which, whilst I'm bias towards Lost, it truly deserved). So what is Mad Men about? Some sort of drama set inside a mental institution? Nope it's actually a show in 60s America and deals with the advertising agencies on Madison Avenue (hence Mad Man). It's a bit like Life on Mars in how it portrays it's period. However there are a few differences. For starters it's not set in England, so no John Simm or Philip Glenister, secondly it doesn't have the same humour as Life on Mars and finally there's no sci-fi element, this is straight up drama. So Mad Men deals with the 60s exceedingly realistically. All the costumes and sets look right. All the props are from the 60s, political references and products that are being advertised are all real products from the era. Then there are also the 60s attitudes.

Mad Men focuses on a very Republican attitude which means we miss out on the liberal hippy movement. Instead we have straight up capitalism, everyone wants money or to save money especially in the advertising game. Then there's the sexism. Jesus Christ, men in the 60s were dicks. All the men are essentially served by the women, women who don't work stay at home, those that do are secretaries. Then there's the fact that they're all sex objects. The men just flirt and sleep with any women they want even if they're married (there are more affairs than I can count in the first season). What's even more shocking is that most of the women actually take it!! This chauvinism is just so blatant that its amazing to think how far we've come in 40 years (and also how little depressingly). The other two overly common things are smoking and drinking. EVERYONE in this show smokes and drinks. Of course this is before all the health warnings and in fact one of the first storylines of the show is how are they supposed to advertise cigarettes now that they can't pay off doctors to say they don't kill. People smoke everywhere and most of the male characters spend most of their work days drinking, when they aren't flirting with secretaries or actually doing work (and even then they've probably got a glass in hand). So it's unsurprising that one of the most memorable scenes shows the adverse affects of alcohol (think Mr. Creosote from Meaning of Life,except not played for as many laughs).

Right massive kudos have to go to Matthew Weiner for creating this show. He used to write for the Sopranos however once that finished he decided to get a script he'd had for seven years made. Thankfully AMC made it (and have no cemented themselves as one of the strongest channels at the moment with two amazing shows) and we got Mad Men. Unluckily I'm a little late however I can still praise Weiner for the adeptness of his writing and making the show feel like the 1960s (I've been regaled with many a tale from grandparents). This show, like the Wire, is a slow burner with overarching stories taking a few episodes to come to fruition however it is well worth the pay off as Season 1 ended with an incredibly strong finale that managed to throw a curve ball by revealing, what is now an obvious plot point, that one of the lead characters is *removed so as not to spoil awesome twist for the people who haven't seen the show*

Finally we need to talk about the acting. Jon Hamm as Donald Draper is incredible. One of those amazing performances where an actor is overshadowed by the character, it might not be Bryan Cranston or Michael C. Hall level of amazingness but it's still a powerful performance. However he is just one actor of an incredible ensemble. Every single actor on the show deserves boundless praise. I can think of only two ensembles on television that come close and they're The Wire and Lost. We have Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson, Don's secretary. Vincent Kartheiser as the immensely slimy Pete Campbell (trust me you'll hate and feel sorry for him at the same time). January Jones as Betty Draper, this is seriously one of the strongest female performances to come along in a while and doesn't get enough credit. Christina Hendricks of Firefly fame as Joan Holloway, the sort of office slut except shes smart as a whip. Finally John Slattery as Roger Sterling, another incredible performance (especially in the later portion of the season). Plus that's not even getting into the supporting cast which is just as strong.

So overall Mad Men is a fantastic. If you like you're dramas then you'll love this show. It might not be as perfect as The Wire or as fast paced as Lost but it's a fantastic drama series. 9.5/10