Two Tivos To Paradise 12.23.11: The Best Shows of 2011

Posted by Al Norton on 12.23.2011

From Community, The Daily Show and Breaking Bad to Modern Family, Friday Night Lights, Sons of Anarchy and more, 411's Al Norton gives his lists for the top TV shows of 2011!



Hello friends. We're several days into Hanukkah and a couple of days from Christmas, so this is what we call "full swing into the holiday season!" Hope everyone has taken care of all that needs taking care of and can enjoy the next few days the way they should be, relaxed and surrounded by loved ones.

Great giveaway this week – we have TWO copies of season two of Archer on DVD!!! Post "I'm in the danger zone with TTTP" on the wall of our Facebook page (yes, we do all our giveaways via the FB page – why haven't you joined us there yet?!?!) and as long as you have a US mailing address and haven't won anything in six months, you'll be entered to win. We'll choose a winner at random next Thursday. Here's a little more info about the DVD set, courtesy of our friends at Think Jam…

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FX's ARCHER Season 2 with Never-Before-Seen Footage on Blu-ray and DVD December 27
Sterling Archer, the world's most dangerous spy, and his snarky ISIS cohorts are back for another outrageously raunchy season when ARCHER The Complete Second Season comes to Blu-ray and DVD on December 27th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Loaded with three exclusive top-secret animated shorts, ARCHER The Complete Second Season features all 13 episodes plus hilarious never-before-seen extras!

When he's not busy foiling eco-terrorist threats, tracking down mysterious killers, or having sex in x-ray machines, the suave master-spy has his hands full with bikini-clad ninjas, Swiss nymphomaniacs, and paternity suits. Archer searches for the true identity of his father, battles breast cancer, and brings a sexy, ex-KGB agent home to meet his domineering mother. It's all in a day's work for the international man of mystery in this uproariously edgy animated farce.

ARCHER features the voice talents of H. Jon Benjamin ("Bob's Burgers," "Family Guy"), Jessica Walter ("Arrested Development"), Aisha Tyler ("24," "Friends"), George Coe, Chris Parnell ("30 Rock," "Suburgatory"), Judy Greer (27 Dresses, Marmaduke), and Amber Nash.
Blu-ray and DVD Special Features: Ask Archer, Archersaurus - Self Extinction, Semper Fi, L'espoin Mal Fait, Isis Invades Comic-con

ARCHER was created by Adam Reed and Floyd County Productions and is executive produced by Reed and Matthew Thompson. The show is produced by FX Productions.
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As a reminder, we'll be back next Friday with our annual Two Tivos to Paradise TV Entertainers of the Year list, and on Friday, January 6th you'll get the first full news column of the new year.

I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my news.

TOP 10 SHEER ENTERTAINMENT VALUE PROGRAMS OF 2011
(This is a brand new category this year and is met to highlight shows that aren't necessarily at a quality level to be considered the Best-of-the-Best but still bring the entertainment week in, week out.)

Honorable Mention: Being Human (Syfy)

10) Chuck (NBC)
Even non-prime Chuck is still good Chuck, and the cast knows these characters inside and out, so even when the scripts are not the best, they still find ways to get more out of it than you'd expect. The producers also line up guest stars each week who seem to be thrilled with the chance to have so much fun.

9) Revenge (ABC)
Finally, a real live nighttime soap. Not a dramedy like Desperate Housewives, not a drama with soap opera-esque storytelling devices like Grey's Anatomy, but an honest-to-goodness nighttime soap, harkening back to the days of Dynasty and Dallas and the like. The show hasn't gotten anywhere near that level of guilty pleasure quality yet but it's how seriously it takes itself that makes Revenge so much fun. There's no camp here at all, and that's what works. Well, there's some camp in that the show's lead is Emily VanCamp, who has been on my radar screen since her role as Amy Abbott on Everwood but has found a star marking role as the orphaned girl out to reclaim her family's good name while ruining those who sullied it in the process.

8) Eureka (Syfy)
Aside from the writer's somehow finding ways to make the end-of-the-world-of-the-week seem dramatic on a regular basis, the biggest praise for the show falls with the Jack – Alison relationship; not many shows on TV have done a four season will-they-or-won't-they lead up (including a steady girlfriend for Jack and an ex-husband-turned-fiancé who died on his & Alison's wedding day) that was as believable, with as satisfying a "get together" as Eureka. The show's realizes its fans have been with them for the beginning and frequently reaches back for storytelling purposes.

7)Burn Notice (USA)
Burn Notice builds great, and even though the season finales are usually a bit underwhelming – they always wrap something up in a way that leaves you less than fulfilled and at the same time creating an ever deeper conspiracy – the week in, week out is what keeps you coming back for more. This past year they balanced their best long-term story arc (who killed Max/keeping the CIA from thinking it's Michael) with their client-of-the-week formula perfectly, plus in Jere Burns they had their best villain ever, too.

6)Warehouse 13 (Syfy)
Syfy shows usually have their niche but the longer Warehouse 13 goes on, the more I think it would have done well on The CW or USA as well as it's got legit sci-fi creed, a solid mythology it continues to build on, and is genuinely funny. The holiday episode earlier this month was icing on the cake of a very strong season.

5) White Collar (USA)
The season finale of White Collar really took it up a notch as the show finally seemed to find that recurring villain it needed in Ross McCall's Matthew Keller and an unexpected scenario with real long term consequences. This isn't to say the show was much fun before that point – I do loves me some Mozzie – but it was almost annoying how almost everything went their way every single week and the only long term story was really a "will he or won't he" about Neil and a silly treasure, so I am really looking forward to new episodes next month. I'd also really enjoy seeing more of Anna Chlumsky's character!

4) Hawaii 5-0 (CBS)
Filming on location in Hawaii has its advantages, namely that standard scenes needed for expository plot development are wonderfully dressed up because they take place in HAWAII. I was not a huge fan of Alex O'Laughlin on Moonlight (I wanted he and Jason Dohring to swap roles, actually, and still think O'Laughlin would make a GREAT villain at some point) but he's really won me over with his Steve McGarret. Season one was pretty solid but what show wouldn't be made better by the presence of Terry O'Quinn? Scott Caan's act has not gotten old, and that's a huge reason why the show is still so watchable.

3) Leverage (TNT)
I called Leverage "the thinking person's mindless entertainment" earlier in the year and I think that holds up; the formula is so set you could almost call the show a procedural, you've got guest stars who love playing baddies for an hour, and a cast that makes their roles seem effortless. Seriously, while Leverage is not the most well known show on TV nor the most critically acclaimed, you'd be hard pressed to find an opening credits cast that works better than this group.

2) Once Upon a Time (ABC)
I still am not sure exactly how good Once Upon a Time is but the emotional pull of the show is so strong that it just missed the top spot on this list. I wrote when the show premiered that it had been a while since you watched an ad for a series and went, "wow, cool", and OUAT took that ball and ran with it, with cool moments in each and every hour. Is there a show on network TV that features two stronger female lead characters than Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) and Regina Mills (the fabulous Lana Parrilla)?

1) Suits (USA)
To be honest, Suits came very close to making my Top 10 Dramas list but while it just isn't there yet, there is no question the show had the best first season ever for a USA series. While the show is quite funny, the comedy comes from the dramatic tension and that rapid fire dialogue that flows at the law firm is what the show does best. Patrick J Adams was recently honored with a SAG Award nomination but Gabriel Mecht's Harvey Specter is the show's real star and one of the more interesting new presences on TV in 2011. The supporting cast is also excellent, mixing some familiar faces with newcomers to make the show both familiar and fresh.

TOP 10 NON-FICTION PROGRAMS OF 2011

Honorable Mentions: Tosh.0 (Comedy Central), Top Chef (Bravo), Web Soup (G4), Outside the Lines (ESPN), Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

10) Iron Chef America/Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs (Food Network)
I am mixing two different series together but since they clearly are part of the same concept I think it's ok. Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs featured perhaps the best group of chefs cooking at the top of their games in TV history, and even though I was not happy with the winner (Jeffrey Z bores me to tears), there is no doubt anyone who made it through that competition truly deserved to win. Iron Chef America is a simple formula that always entertains because they never forget the food is the star; sure there is a host, two competitors, three judges, and of course the Chairman, but it's the food that is always front and center, with personality playing no part in who wins and who loses.

9) Flipping Out (Bravo)
Sure Jeff Lewis is nuts, and there is no doubt he is always aware the camera is on him, but I truly believe that he and the rest of the gang at the office really don't act any differently because they are part of a TV show, and that's what makes Flipping Out so much fun. Well, that and the fact that Lewis is so good at what he does that you aren't left wondering why people want to work with him. This season had some genuinely surprising moments and in many ways was the best in the show's 5 year run.

8) The Voice (NBC)
Maybe it was just the spinning chairs but The Voice seemed different and fresh from the outset. Ok, part of it was that the judges were all people enjoying quite a bit of present day success in the world of music, some of it was that there was no age limit for contestants, and some of it was that everyone we saw trying to make the show was clearly talented (there were none of the duds purposely put through by producers a la American Idol), but most of it was the drama in those spinning chairs and the gimmick of the judges having to make that initial decision based purely on, well, voices. The rest of the season was fun, too, for sure, and while things seemed a little rushed at the end, there is no doubt that The Voice was the best music competition show on TV in 2011.

7) Food Network Star (Food)
Top Chef obviously has a higher caliber of chef but because of my love of television, a show that requires its contestants to be both good in the kitchen and on-screen is aimed at a target demographic of me. This season in particular featured a strong group of competitors, most of whom went home in the right order. Another huge part of the show's success is the judges' panel, the best on TV in my opinion. There's no ego or agenda with these folks, they are simply trying to find the person who would make the best host and that shines through each week.

6) Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC)
My praise for Jimmy Fallon usually starts with a note about how happy he is to be there and what a nice change of pace that is from the standard talk show persona, with guys being cranky about the show and the network executives and such. Fallon is easily the most comedically talented of the current batch of hosts and it shows in the sketches they do, which are frequently quite good, and not just by late night TV standards. You'll read more about the chemistry between Fallon and sidekick Steve Higgins next week but there is no duo that works as well together in the late night game, that's for sure. And one cannot talk about the show without offering some thanks and praise up for The Roots, who can back ANY musical guest and sound good; their accompanying Air Supply this fall proved that in a big way.

5) Crave (Food)
My favorite new series that nowhere near enough people are watching, Crave is Troy Johnson's one man show about food obsession. Each week he picks a food (fried chicken, chocolate, bacon, to name just three) and then travels the country to find his ideal version of said food, all the while letting the audience in on some wonderfully interesting bits of history. Johnson is a foodie who knows how goofy foodies can be, and that works here big time. My fingers and toes are crossed that Food Network bring the show back for a second season.

4)The Glee Project (Oxygen)
Over the years I've found two things I really look for in reality competition series; have the prize be something other than cash (ideally an opportunity they couldn't get any other way) and have the judges making the decisions be the ones who are most impacted by the decision. In some cases, like Food Network Star, this works great, and in others, like, say, America's Next Great Restaurant, not so much, but they went a long way towards making The Glee Project as entertaining a series as it was. The group of kids competing for a 5 episode role on Glee weren't old or experienced enough to be jaded by the industry and while they weren't all perfect little angels, they were all honest representations of themselves, which is way more than you can say for most shows in this genre. The judges being folks who worked on Glee in casting and music went a long way towards making sure the winner was actually the best fit for the show, and Ryan Murphy having the final say was the icing on the cake.

3) The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)
I mentioned above that Jimmy Fallon was the most talented late night talk show host when it comes to comedy but Craig Ferguson is without peer when it comes to talking. His monologues are things of beauty and have made watching others do a standard straight line, punch line format almost painful to watch. It's very clear at all times that this is Ferguson's show and he's going to do with it what he wants, and thankfully for us viewers, what he wants is something that seeks to gently mock standard talk shows and at the same time rise above them in the quality of the discourse. There is no question that if someone I liked was going to be on any show, I'd want them to be on The Late Late Show as it would provide them the greatest opportunity to be themselves. We'll have more about Craig's sidekick Geoff Peterson in next week's column.

2) The Soup (E!)
Ahh, our beloved Soup. You did nothing to lose the top spot on this list; you were just as funny, as biting, and as clever as always, so don't go taking it personally. If anything the show's teeth were even sharper this year, with no seeming end to Joel McHale's venom at the stupidity of many of the citizens of Pop Culture, USA. 2011 was a great year for Soup sketches and especially guest stars, with the highlights of each being The Walking Soup short and the episode that found most of the cast of Community along with Parks and Recreation's Adam Scott stopping in for almost the full half hour.

1) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
Simply put, no other show provided as many minutes of quality television as did The Daily Show, and it wasn't even close. Yes, I am a liberal person, politically and otherwise, so the show certain matches up with many of my sensibilities, but part of what makes it so good is that it does go after the left as well. One of the things I enjoy so much is how their crack team of editors finds clips to point out hypocrisy, from individuals, political parties, businesses, and most importantly from the media. Another key part of the show's success is that Stewart, unlike other hosts, isn't interested in showing off or even proving that he's r right during interviews; his goal is a good conversation and to ask the questions he thinks people would like to hear answered. Because I view part of being smart is recognizing there are people smarter than you, I find Stewart to be the smartest host on TV right now.

Fans of the show have their favorite contributors and mine is John Hodgeman, and not just because we went to high school together; no one has as much fun while staying in character as Hodgeman does in his Money Talks segments, which are pure comedy gold with plenty of truth to be found. Come to think of it, those last 10 words are pretty much a perfect description of the show itself.

TOP 10 COMEDIES OF 2011

Honorable Mentions: New Girl (Fox), Suburgatory (ABC), The Middle (ABC), Cougar Town (ABC), Breaking In (Fox)

10) Glee (Fox)
Yes, the show's second season was erratic, and the musical aspects of the show are not for everyone, but the episodes this fall have been quite good, with a much more balanced story focus. There's also never been a show on TV that's dealt with gay and lesbian teenagers with as much sensitivity and awareness as Glee, which is important considering how many teenagers are watching. Some may think the show was a little Broadway heavy with its music so far in season three but there have been quite a few standout numbers. The Christmas special within the Christmas episode earlier this month was a dead-on homage to specials of years gone by.

9) How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Perhaps the most erratic show on this list, HIMYM can produce some pretty pedestrian episodes but when it's on its game it's tough to beat. We know these characters so well know that we are happy when they are happy, sad when they are sad, and frustrated when they make bad decisions. Seeing Robin walk in to the bar with Kevin while Barney stood there waiting for her was among the more heartbreaking moments of the TV season, and Ted decorating the apartment to look like the North Pole on steroids in order to cheer up Robin was one of the more heartwarming. Yes, some of the long term storytelling devices can be annoying but we kind of knew going in that we wouldn't be meeting the Mom until the end, right?

8) PSYCH (USA)
This fall presented what was clearly PSYCH's strongest batch of episodes in some time, perhaps the best half season ever for the long running show. While the show is still laugh out loud funny, what has made the show pick up so much is that the mysteries have been much better, which gives the comedy more to work with. Their version of The Hangover was a riot and I felt The Amazing Psych-Man & Tap Man, Issue 2 was the best episode in series history; add in strong use of guest stars (Shatner was Shatner, and that's a good thing) and you've got an already good show taking it up a notch.

7) Happy Endings (ABC)
The little comedy that could; thrown out in the spring of 2011 in what seemed like ABC simply deciding, "hey, we made the show, we might as well run the episodes", Happy Endings is perhaps the biggest surprise of 2011 in that in almost no time it established itself as a laugh out loud funny show with interesting and distinct characters that were not in any way cookie cutter. The cast is excellent – you really do feel like you know these people, or at least want to hang out with them – and the joking and brutal honesty amongst the friends never seems forced.

6) Archer (FX)
Sadly, Archer once again gets the label of "best comedy the fewest people know about" but the lack of huge main stream audience hasn't hurt quality level in the slightest. The three episode arc about Sterling's breast cancer was funny and legitimately ground breaking at the same time, including a HUGE Magnum P.I. shout out that I totally geeked out for. I am not sure if it's the animation or being on FX that has kept folks away but Archer is like combining a James Bond parody with The Office and having it written by the folks who did Moonlighting in its prime, and who the frak wouldn't want to watch THAT show?!?!

5) Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
As far as I am concerned Larry David can take as much time as he wants in between seasons as long as he comes back with this level of quality. I had thought the previous season would have been a great one to go out on but yet by the end of the first half hour I was mad at myself for even for a second entertaining the idea that the show could end. Some episodes are always going to be funnier than others but this may have been the strongest overall season in Curb's history.

4) Parks and Recreation (NBC)
What a difference a year makes; Parks and Recreation has been funny from the get go but in season two they made a jump to upper echelon status and then in season three (and so far in season four) they upped the ante again, adding romantic comedy to the many, many things they do well. Seriously, there is no way I would have imagined during the show's freshman run that I'd be pulling for Leslie Knope in a relationship as much as I am for pretty much any character on TV, and yet here I am loving every moment of Leslie and Ben. Adam Scott and Rob Lowe were amazing additions to the cast, and the group of recurring Pawnee residents is approaching Simpson's level of quality.

3) Modern Family (ABC)
While Modern Family may suffer from a case of unfair expectations – no show can be brilliant every week – there is no doubt that even this fall's batch of solid episodes were some of the best half hours of comedy TV had to offer. The characters are obviously all fully established but each week they find ways to explore different parts of them; I would never have guessed after week one that Ty Burrell's Phil would still be as funny or as fresh, and that goes for pretty much the entire cast. I watch Modern Family because I want to laugh but also because I am genuinely interested in what the Dunphy and Pritchett families are up to.

2) Louie (FX)
The single most surprising comedy of the year; the first season was certainly funny enough but there was simply no way I was expecting the jump that Louie made, with some of the episodes approaching instant classic status. The humanity, for lack of a better word, that became a part of the show's world this past summer transformed the show from standard comedy to really being about something, a show that looked at the human condition but did so in such a way as to never make you feel like you were watching a "very special episode" or that broke the reality they had created for themselves (no "shark jumping" here).

1) Community (NBC)
Regular readers know just how much I love Community and I've sung its praises just about every week there has been a new episode, but it really is a remarkable show. To mix all the traditional sitcom ingredients and then both mock and embrace them without seeming too cool for school is a pretty incredible high wire act, and yet that's exactly what they do every Thursday. Or at least did every Thursday; we'll see where the show ends up. Community is funny even if you ignore all the background stuff (the "meta" comedy, the Beetlejuice appearance, the alternate reality theories going around the web) and focus on a group of interesting and amusing characters and the issues they get into. The cast is excellent and the writing super sharp, with huge rewards to regular viewers through call backs in dialogue, but again their done in a way where if you pick them up, you don't feel like you missed anything.

And for those of us who do pay attention to all the background stuff and/or are students of television, what they have done to the sitcom is similar to the deconstruction challenges you see on Top Chef where they have to take a dish everyone knows and turn it into something very different while still making its origins clearly recognizable. The flashback episode from last spring would be a great example of this.

Of any comedy on TV right now, I think Community is the one most likely to have a college class taught about it years from now (non-animated comedy, at least); that how much the show has going on, and that's just how good it is. And yes, it would of course be a community college.

Accepting the top spot on our list on behalf of Community is one of the stars of the show, Joel McHale…

Wow, I feel like Tom Hanks. I can't believe I have once again won this award(?) or awards(I can't remember) from Two Tivos to Paradise. It leads me to ask a question: Why did I give Al Norton my email address?

For Community to receive the award for Best Comedy 2011 is the greatest honor we could have ever hoped for ever ever ever. So great we've decided to go off the air until vaguely March or April to allow proper time to celebrate. Thank you Hollywood Foreign Press and thank you Al Newman

TOP 10 DRAMAS OF 2011

Honorable Mentions: The Closer (TNT), Rescue Me (FX)

10) Game of Thrones (HBO)
To be honest, Game of Thrones is not a show I love but, my personal taste aside, there is no denying how well written, acted, directed, and edit a show this is and it makes the list because I can appreciate something that's well done even if it doesn't do it for me. The commitment to long term storytelling is to be admired, as is the work of Peter Dinklage in particular. Every second of every episode of Thrones is exactly as they show's creative staff imagined it would be, and that's pretty impressive.

9) Parenthood (NBC)
Finding quality drama on network TV is hard, finding any drama on network TV not about catching crooks or life-or-death medical scenarios is hard, so finding the combination is damn near impossible, which makes just how great – and grounded – Parenthood is on a weekly basis that much more remarkable. Who would have thought a show set in reality would provide such a great escape but that's exactly what it does as the Braverman clan feel so much like real people you feel like you know them, which, thanks to the strong writing and wonderfully underplayed performances, you actually do.

8) The Walking Dead (AMC)
I know some thought the first half of the second season dragged a bit but to me the episodes that had a slower pace were about letting the audience to digest what had happened (no zombie brain eating pun intended) and also, by getting to know the characters more and seeing them doing some of the more mundane things, it better allowed viewers to put themselves in their shoes, so that when those freaky moments did occur they were that much more jarring. Jon Bernthal was a standout this season, with a lot more of Shane's personality – and rage – coming through. The final 5 minutes of the mid-season finale are still with me and probably will be for some time.

7) Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
As you read through this list you'll see several recurring themes in my picks, none more prominent than praise for long term storytelling, and Boardwalk Empire was unsurpassed this year in laying out the season long arc from the outset and then sticking with it, the conclusion of which was the truly shocking end of the season finale. Part of the brilliance was that the conclusion was inevitable yet still surprised you, and part of it was the way they used all of their stories as ways to further the wonderful character sketches that began in season one. With how colorful and well written even the smallest of roles is, I can't imagine a show an actor would be happier to be cast on.

6) Justified (FX)
Authenticity is a big part of what makes a show great as opposed to just good and while Justified has had it in spades since the pilot, the addition of the Bennett clan to the show took it up a notch, with a brilliant performance from Margo Martindale as the family matriarch and great work from Jeremy Davies, Joseph Lyle Taylor, and Brad William Henke as her sons. We also got to see a lot more of Boyd Crowder, and with an actor as talented as Walton Goggins, that's always a good thing. I'd say that Timothy Olyphant continued to excel in a role as perfect for him as any mix of actor and character on TV right now but I think everyone knows it already.

5) Men of a Certain Age (TNT)
Men of a Certain Age's cancellation stands out as one of television's low points of 2011. A brilliantly acted drama, TNT killed any chance the show had of finding an audience by breaking an already short season up into two runs, months apart. Their poor scheduling decisions had no effect on the quality of the show, however, and Scott Bakula, Andre Braugher, and Ray Romano were as good a trio as TV had to offer.

4) Homeland (Showtime)
I'd have to go back a few years to find a show that came out of the gates as strong as Homeland. Part political thriller, part emotional family drama, the show zigged when you expected it to zag but never at the expense of character development. The entire cast is excellent, with award worthy supporting turns from a Morena Baccarin and a never better Mandy Patinkin, but there really aren't enough superlatives available for the work of Claire Danes and Damian Lewis; each plays a character fully committed to doing why they feel in their heart of hearts is the right thing and each feels that because they are right in what they are doing, the rules don't apply to them. No wonder each felt such a strong connection to the other.

3) Sons of Anarchy (FX)
It pains me how many people still don't watch, or haven't even heard of, Sons of Anarchy, because it really is an amazing achievement in long term story arcs; there is no drama on TV right now that makes sure every little moment counts, with callbacks to scenes from 2 or 3 seasons back that make all the pieces fit into shape. I certainly would not have guessed I'd end up being such a huge fan of a show about a motorcycle gang but that's because that's not really what the show is about; Sons is about identity, about breaking free from the chains of other people's expectations to be your own person, about those who will stop at nothing to claim what they feel is rightfully theirs, and about a group of people who don't know how to live any other way than what they've been doing for the last 25 – 40 years. There's also the complexities of the relationships between the various gangs, a lot of which work back into the long term arcs I mentioned above.

All that phenomenal story telling would be for naught if it weren't delivered by a top notch cast. This was clearly Charlie Hunnam's best season, and Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman, Dayton Callie, Ryan Hurst, and Maggie Siff continued to shine. New cast members Rockmond Dunbar and the wonderfully odd Ray McKinnon were welcomed additions.

The season finale perfectly set up where the show goes from here without in any way removing the conflict/tension that exists in the lives of those in and around Sam Crow, and I can't believe I have to wait until next fall for more episodes!!!

2) Breaking Bad (AMC)
Has there ever been a show that kept such a high level of tension for such an extended period of time as Breaking Bad? Literally every episode keeps you on the edge of your seat, and when the explosions do happen (both literal and figurative), they are never exactly what you were expecting.

I don't want to short change the brilliance we've come to expect from Bryan Cranston because he is as good as he ever was, and that good has made him a three time Norty winner, but this season was also about Anna Gunn's Skylar really coming into her own, Aaron Paul's Jesse going places you never thought he would, and especially about Giancarlo Esposito's Gus being one of the most interesting villains TV has had to offer as of late.

There is only one full season left of Breaking Bad (it may be broken into two different runs over two years) and after the last scene of the finale the real question is what will get Walter first, the cancer or Jesse. It says a tremendous amount about the world the writers and actors have created that I'd keep watching Breaking Bad even after Walter meets the demise that has been coming since the pilot; I can't think of many shows that I could make a similar statement about.

1) Friday Night Lights (FX)
I will admit that I went back and forth about the order in which to list these final four shows about a dozen times before settling on what you are now reading, and truth be told in a couple of weeks I might come up with a different mix, but when it comes down to it I am a deeply emotional person and I make my viewing choices based on the connection I feel with a show and its characters, and there's no show as strongly connected to as Friday Night Lights.

How much do I love FNL? I got the entire final season on DVD from NBC about three weeks before they started running it and I waited, choosing to watch the episodes when they aired as a way of making this last batch of episodes go on for as long as possible. Truly a Hall of Fame series that stuck to its style throughout its run and introduced (or in some cases re-introduced) the audience to some of the most talented actors around. When I make a list of the best series finales of all time you can bet Always will be near or even at the top. No crime, no medical mysteries, no gimmicks, just real people leading real lives, making the choices – good and bad – they we all make every day. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.


And there you have it, 40 shows on 16 different networks; you don't have to agree with me but you can't doubt my commitment to seeking out the best that television has to offer. Now it's your turn – use the comments section below to tell me what you think I got right, got wrong, and where you think I just plain screwed the pooch.

Two Tivos To Paradise
24 Hour Restaurant Battle, 30 Rock, After the Catch, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Archer, Auction Hunters, The Big C, Boardwalk Empire, Being Human, Bones, Bored To Death, Breaking Bad, Burn Notice, Celebrity Apprentice, Cake Boss, Chopped, Chuck, The Closer, Community, Cougar Town, Crave, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Entourage, Eureka, Fact or Faked, Falling Skies, Fairly Legal, Family Guy, Flipping Out, Food Feuds, Food Network Challenge, Food Network Star, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters Academy, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, Glee, Gossip Girl, Great Food Truck Race, Grey's Anatomy, Happy Endings, Haunted Treasure, Hawaii 5-0, Hell on Wheels, Hollywood Treasure, House, How I Met Your Mother, How To Make It In America, Hung, Iron Chef America, Justified, The Killing, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Louie, Mad Men, Man v. Food Nation, The Middle, Mike and Molly, Modern Family, Necessary Roughness, New Girl, Next Iron Chef, The Office, One Tree Hill, Outside the Lines, Parks & Recreation, Private Practice, Project Accessory, Project Runway, Psych, Raising Hope, Real Time With Bill Maher, Restaurant Impossible, Revenge, Ringer, Rocco's Dinner Party, Royal Pains, Rules Of Engagement, Sanctuary, Saturday Night Live, The Secret Circle, Shear Genius, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Suits, Suburgatory, Supernatural, Table For 12, Terra Nova, Top Chef, Top Chef Just Desserts, Top Chef: Masters, Top Design, Torchwood, Tosh.0, True Blood, Up All Night, The Vampire Diaries, The Voice, The Walking Dead, Warehouse 13, Web Soup, Wilfred, Worst Cooks In America,

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another Two Tivos To Paradise.





Next week will be our annual TTTP Entertainers of the Year column, with a few of the honorees stopping by to accept. Have a wonderful Christmas and/or Hanukkah, and for those of you not celebrating, enjoy the long weekend!