Today on the docket are television shows. Unfortunately, I've had trouble keeping up with some shows this fall due to work and school, but I've tried my best. There's plenty of new shows I'd like to watch as well, but I have enough trouble keeping up with the ones I'm already familiar with. I'm going to try to use Winter Break to catch up on shows such as FlashForward, Community, Glee, etc., but for now, I'm going with what I know. This list is based purely off of what I watch, so while other shows may certainly be fantastic, I'm not familiar with them. Anyway, here we go:
10. House, M.D. (Fox)
I admit, I never really watched the first three seasons of House, and I only watched the fourth season sparingly. But what I saw during this show's fifth season really impressed me. I was particularly impressed with Hugh Laurie's acting in the latter half of the season. Starting with the episode in which Kal Penn's Dr. Laurence Kutner commits suicide, Laurie's titular character shows such a wide range of emotions, and you real feel for the character as he spirals into hallucinations and madness. The supporting cast is still exceptionally strong, especially Robert Sean Leonard. Olivia Wilde's Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley gets a lot of crap, but I see nothing wrong with the character or the acting. Maybe it's just because she's such great eye candy... Anyway, House was very strong in 2009, and I can only hope it lives up to it's great fifth season and the very strong first two episodes of Season Six.
Recommended episodes: "Simple Explanation," "Both Sides Now," "Broken," and "Epic Fail"
9. The Office (NBC)
Not many shows have been getting as much crap lately as The Office. People complain that too much is being made of the Jim/Pam relationship, and there's not enough emphasis on the everyday mundane office work as the first few seasons. I say screw 'em. The Office has never been funnier or stronger than it was last season, or has been so far during Season 6. Steve Carell is still on his game, as are Ed Helms, John Krasinski's, and Jenna Fischer. The only person I wish to complain about is Rainn Wilson's Dwight Shrute. Dwight's becoming too much of an asshole for my liking. He's constantly trying to undermine management and get Jim fired. Enough already. I'm tired of it, and it needs to be toned down. Meanwhile, I'd like to see more of the background characters, like Phyllis, Stanley, Creed, and Oscar. And more of Helm's "Nard-Dog" is always appreciated. Let's hope this show can stay consistently funny, because when it's funny, it's DAMN funny.
Recommended episodes: "Niagara," "Mafia," "Koi Pond," "Michael Scott Paper Company," and "Cafe Disco"
8. 30 Rock (NBC)
Honestly, this should be higher, but after #8, it gets extremely hard to put these shows in order. 30 Rock is hilarious and extremely quirky, and I love it. The only reason this is rated so low is because it was slightly inconsistent this year. I loved the guest spots by Salma Hayek and Jon Hamm, but there were too many "meh" episodes. There needs to be more Tracy Morgan one-liners, more Alec Baldwin, waaaay less Jane Krakowski (annoying), and more of the supporting players (Kenneth, Grizz, Dotcom, Pete, Frank, and Toofer). And of course, any scene with Tina Fey is awesome - she's just fantastic. So far, I'm absolutely loving the fourth season of the show, and haven't found an unfunny episode in the bunch. Let's hope 30 Rock keeps it up.
Recommended Episodes: "Generalissimo," "Larry King," Goodbye, My Friend," "The Ones," "Kidney Now!" "Season 4"
7. How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
I love this show. I don't think there's a more perfect group of characters than the five principal cast members of this show. Everyone is unique and funny in their own quirky, yet believable, way. Neil Patrick Harris consistently steals the show, but don't count out Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders, Josh Radnor, and of course Jason Segal. Everyone is, to borrow a well-used word from Barney, "awesome" and the episodes in 2009 were legen -- wait for it -- dary! I'm really digging the Barney-Robin relationship and am always happy to see a good chemistry between Marshall and Lily. My one question is how much longer this show can last. It's got to end soon -- there are only so many more storylines they can use before it starts becoming bad writing that's clearly just prolonging the life of the show for money and ratings. I say, find Ted's wife by the end of this, or next season, and that's it. I'll be sad to see it go, but it will have been one hell of a show that ended before I started hating it.
6. 24 (Fox)
It's back, baby! Season 7 was 24's redemption, for sure. With the aptly titled two-hour movie prequel, "24: Redemption," we were back in business. 24 changed locales from the traditional Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., and the notorious Counter Terrorist Unit was no more. Jack instead teamed up with the FBI to help with, among other things, a raid on the White House, Jon Voigt, the return of Tony Almeida, and debilitating neuro-virus which infect Jack near the end of the season. I loved every minute of this season, especially the return of Tony, Kurtwood Smith (Red Foreman of That 70s Show) as a US Senator, and the gripping finale in which Jack's daughter (Elisha Cuthbert) decides to undergo an untested procedure to save her father, who is comatose at the end of the season, from dying from the effects of the pathogen. Judging from the trailer for Season 8, Jack pulls through, but it was still a great ending, and 24 looks like it's going to be just as strong in 2010, this time in New York City.
Recommended episodes: Hard to pinpoint. Watch them all.
5. The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
What's not to love about this show. Without a doubt my favorite traditional sitcom of 2009, The Big Theory took awhile to grow on me. I watched reruns of it over breaks at home during my freshmen year, and slowly my mom and I really began to enjoy it (it took my dad a bit longer, but he came around). Now, I can't miss an episode. I own the first season on DVD, and still need to get Season 2. Everything about this show is hilarious. Leonard, and his awkwardly hilarious interactions with Penny, their lovely next-door neighbor. Howard and Raj, in one of the best bromances on television today. And of course, Sheldon Cooper, the most neurotically hilarious person to ever grace a sitcom stage. Jim Parsons was robbed of his Emmy this year (although kudos to Alec Baldwin), but I'm sure he'll have one before TBBT has run its course. I hope it sticks around for many years to come. It's a delight to watch, and one of the most original sitcoms in years.
Recommended episodes: "The Financial Permeability," "The Cushion Saturation," "The Terminator Decoupling," "The Vegas Renormalization," "The Monopolar Expedition," "The Gothowitz Deviation"
4. Southland (TNT)
Go to hell, NBC. For all of your strengths (30 Rock, The Office, Chuck), you then make boneheaded decision after boneheaded decision, like canceling Southland, almost canceling Chuck, and not canceling Heroes. Just a heads up to the NBC brass -- Southland, along with Chuck, was probably your best show this year. It's gritty, realistic, and extremely engrossing. The characters are some of the most interesting and complex I've ever seen on a scripted drama series. Every episode is of that nail-biting and edge-of-your-seat quality that I love in a series. Ben McKenzie and Michael Cudlitz are the two principal cops on the show, but others such as Regina King and Shawn Hatosy round out a stunningly great cast of policemen and detectives. I'm so glad TNT picked up this show and is re-airing the first 7 episodes, along with the 6 new episodes that were produced before NBC axed it. I think Southland will thrive on cable, and I can only hope it outlasts the shit on NBC, namely Heroes, The Biggest Loser, and The Jay Leno Show.
Recommended episodes: "Unknown Trouble," "Mozambique," "See the Woman," "Sally in the Alley," "Derailed"
3. Chuck (NBC)
What can I say about this show? It's everything you could want in a television show. Action, adventure, humor, explosions, keytars, and extremely sexy secret agents. Chuck is absolutely fantastic, and has a great ensemble cast. Chuck Bartowski is the perfect blend of awkward, nerdy, and savvy. While his methods are a bit unconventional, he gets the job done, even if he doesn't stay in the car like he's told. Adam Baldwin is hilarious as Agent John Casey, and Joshua Gomez is great as Chuck's best friend Morgan. Everyone at the Buy More is awesome, as is Chuck's family -- Ellie, Captain Awesome, and his father, the creator of the Intersect computer in Chuck's head (awesome guest spots by Scott Bakula). And of course, there's the beautiful and stunning Yvonne Strahovski as Agent Sarah Walker, Chuck's on-again/off-again "girlfriend." Thank God people ate a crapload of Subway, or this show would be no more. I don't know what I'd do without Chuck. Can't wait for it to come back in 2010!
Recommended episodes: "Chuck Versus the Third Dimension," "Chuck Versus the Suburbs," "Chuck Versus the Broken Heart," "Chuck Versus the Dream Job," "Chuck Versus the Colonel," "Chuck Versus the Ring"
2. Lost (ABC)
It was a tough decision, but I had to put Lost at #2. Don't get me wrong -- I loved everything about Season 5 this year. It's just that there's one other show that I think just slightly edged it this year. Anyway, Lost this season was all about time travel. It's a hard concept to grasp even at its most basic level, but Lost took it about a million steps further. It got to the point where I stopped even trying to explain the story of Lost, because I was concerned I'd sound like Hurley trying to explain it to his mother in the second episode this season. Regardless, Lost was fascinating this year, finding new and creative ways to tell the stories of the Island and its many inhabitants throughout the years, including -- finally -- JACOB. We were presented with the mother of all cliffhangers in May, in which the survivors attempted to change the future, and I absolutely cannot wait to see how this story ends in 2010. It'll be extremely sad when May 2010 rolls around, but I can only assume that the series finale will knock my socks off.
Recommended episodes: "Jughead," "316," "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," "Namaste," "Dead is Dead," "Some Like It Hoth," "The Variable," "The Incident" although it's hard to miss a single episode without being entirely confused
1. Breaking Bad (AMC)
Yeah, that's right. A show in which an Albuquerque high school chemistry teacher starts cooking meth because he has terminal lung cancer, Breaking Bad is one hell of a show. Very serious, yet with sprinkles of dark humor, this show has, hands down, the best writing of any other show on television right now. There have only been 20 episodes of this show so far, and I only wish it can continue for at least 20-30 more. I don't think I've been this addicted to a show since the first couple seasons of Lost. Bryan Cranston (very deserving of his two consecutive Emmys) and Aaron Paul are absolutely awesome as Walter "Heisenberg" White and Jesse Pinkman. Clever humor and real science are around every corner of this show, and yet its central theme is dark and tragic. At the end of Season 2, Walt's wife has left him, two planes have collided over his house, and his cancer is actually in remission. And yet, he's so far into the meth business now, there seems to be no turning back. I cannot wait until March 2010. This show needs to be seen by everyone. It's a human story, with believable characters with interesting connections to one another. The drama and tension in this show is unmatched by any other. Although Lost is a worthy competitor, Breaking Bad is without a doubt my favorite show of 2009. It's unbelievably good. Watch it now.
Recommended episodes: "Seven Thirty-Seven," "Grilled," "Breakage," "Peekaboo," "Negro Y Azul," "Better Call Saul," "4 Days Out," "Over," "Phoenix," "ABQ"
I suppose that's it for my Best of 2009 Television List. I hope you enjoyed it, and will give some thought into watching some of these shows if you don't already. I'll be back in a week or so with another "Best Of" list. Until then, have a good one!
Video of the day: $200,000 Worth of Beer Destroyed (via Collegehumor)
Song of the day: Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun (mp3)
Must-see movie trailer: Invictus
Love, love, love Southland. I also really like Chuck but since I'm no longer watching NBC I quess I done with Chuck besides the finished at a good place last season for me to walk away.
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