Sunday, December 11, 2011

TV time!

The critics awards are coming fast and furious for movies. And while I am tracking all of those intently, there are also a couple of fun tv precursors to the Golden Globes. The WGAs, PGAs, and AFIs all release separate tv awards or nominations.

First up, AFIs top 10:
Breaking Bad
Boardwalk Empire
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Homeland
Justified
Louie
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation

Hmmm. If I had to pick my own top 10 for 2011?
American Horror Story
Archer
Breaking Bad
Community
The Daily Show
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Justified
Parks and Recreation
Shameless
The Hour

Wow - it's been a little rough. I'm not digging the Colin Hanks storyline on Dexter quite the way I loved the Lumen season last year. Archer, the Daily Show and Always Sunny are reliably entertaining, but are in there mostly as place filler. Doctor Who keeps falling off the rails. The Walking Dead bored me enough that I quit watching. Glee is ridiculous. And even Jessica/Jason couldn't save the epic fail that was season 4 of True Blood (although I have high hopes for next year: Rev. Newlin, the King of Mississippi and Christopher Meloni. Yes please!) I liked about half of Sherlock, and am interested to see what they come up with next year, but don't think it warrants being in the top 10 (especially as it is shorter than even The Hour.) There are some notable things I should catch up on (Downton Abbey). I didn't get into the pilot of Game of Thrones, but maybe I should try again.

But really? I think Community is genius, Parks and Rec is a pretty perfect sitcom, Justified is so much fun (and I was so thrilled Margot Martindale won the emmy), Shameless does a great job of toeing the dramedy line, and I am OBSESSED with American Horror story. It and Breaking Bad are the two that I have to sit down and actually watch each week. And Breaking Bad? Well, I'll get to that in a minute.

Let's see what the WGA and PGA came up with:
Nominees of the 2012 WGA Awards
Drama Series:
Comedy Series:
New Series:
Episodic Drama:
Episodic Comedy:
Long Form - Original:
Long Form - Adapted:
Nominees of the 2012 PGA Awards

Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic TV, Comedy:
Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic TV, Drama:

I suppose I should catch up on The Good Wife - I like a lot of the actors in it. And possibly Boardwalk Empire, though I haven't heard anyone rave about it. And The Big Bang Theory - I would probably enjoy it, but I can't see it being brilliant, you know? (I do also need to see Cinema Verite and Mildred Pierce.)

So, yeah. Breaking Bad. Pretty much any episode rates up there with any of the films I have seen this year. I'll let a writer say it better than I can; Stephen King released his top 20 of 2011. Guess what was number 1?
"1. Breaking Bad, AMC. This season, Breaking Bad was more than a good thing; it was a great thing where performance, ­direction, concept, and ­hallucinatory New Mexico location photography all came together... Bryan ­Cranston and Aaron Paul turned in the best performances I've seen in years, and Giancarlo Esposito (as Gus Fring) is simply the best villain ever on a ­continuing TV show. The ultimate showdown between Gus and Walter is mythic, the outcome simultaneously satisfying and completely surprising. Breaking Bad has now surpassed The Sopranos, and, although I love Steve Buscemi, HBO's Boardwalk Empire isn't even in the running. Breaking Bad is an American classic."

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