best, tv

critics’ picks – top tv of 2012

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louieTime to get started on our year end lists! While the tv shows aren’t currently fresh, the critics’ best and award noms give you something to get ready to tune back into. I can’t personally recommend all of these shows (stay tuned for my top ten list) and as most readers know I don’t catch most of the real cable on first run (HBO, Show, Starz), but from the breadth of shows there is a little something out there for everyone. So without further ado here’s a sampling of top tv picks:

  • 2 Broke Girls (CBS) – E
  • 2012 Election  – JP
  • 30 for 30 (ESPN) – DF
  • 30 Rock (NBC) – AS, PGA, TG
  • American Horror Story: Asylum (Fx) – AFI, GG, JP, MoR, MZS
  • Archer (Fx) – MZS, TG
  • Ben and Kate (Fox) – TG
  • The Big Bang Theory (CBS) – E, MR, PGA
  • Boardwalk Empire (HBO) – GG, TG
  • Boss (Starz) – GG, TG
  • Breaking Bad (AMC) – AFI, AS, DF, JP, KT, MR, MoR,  MZS,  PGA, TG
  • Call the Midwife (PBS) – MR
  • Castle (ABC) – E
  • The Colbert Report (Com) – KT, MM
  • Coma (A&E) – MZS
  • Community (NBC) – E, MZS, TG
  • Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) – PGA
  • Dexter (Show) – MR, TG
  • Don’t Trust the B- In Apartment 23 (ABC) – TG
  • Downton Abbey (PBS) – MR, PGA
  • Enlightened (HBO) – GG
  • Episodes (Show) – GG
  • Game Change (HBO) – AFI
  • Game of Thrones (HBO) – AFI, DF, E, GG, JP, MoR, PGA, TG
  • Girls (HBO) – AFI, AS, DF, JP, KT, MR, MoR, TG
  • Glee (Fox) – E, GG
  • The Good Wife (CBS) – KT, MR
  • Gossip Girl (CW) – E
  • Happy Endings (ABC) – E, MoR
  • Hatfields & McCoys (Hist) – MZS
  • Homeland (Show) – AFI, AS, E, GG, JP, KT, MM, MR, MoR, MZS, PGA, TG
  • The Hour (BBCA) – DF, TG
  • House of Lies (Show) – TG
  • How I Met Your Mother (CBS) – E
  • It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Fx) – TG
  • Justified (Fx) – KT, TG
  • Louie (Fx) – AFI, AS, DF, JP, KT, MM, MR, MoR, MZS, PGA, TG
  • Luck (HBO) – AS, MM, MZS
  • Mad Men (AMC) – AFI, AS, DF, JP, KT, MR, MoR, MZS, PGA, TG
  • Magic City (Starz) – TG
  • The Middle (ABC) – MR
  • The Mindy Project (Fox) – E
  • Modern Family (ABC) – AFI, E, GG, PGA, TG
  • Nashville (ABC) – KT
  • New Girl (Fox) – E, GG, MoR, TG
  • On Freddie Roach (HBO) – DF
  • Once Upon a Time (ABC) – E
  • Parenthood (NBC) – AS, JP
  • Parks and Recreation (NBC) – AS, DF, E, JP, KT, MoR, TG
  • Raising Hope (Fox) – TG
  • Revenge (ABC) – E
  • Scandal (ABC) – E
  • Shameless (Show) – TG
  • Sherlock (PBS) – MM, TG
  • Sons of Anarchy (Fx) – MR, TG
  • Supernatural (CW) – E
  • Treme (HBO) – AS, DF, MZS, TG
  • The Vampire Diaries (CW) – E
  • Veep (HBO) – TG
  • The Walking Dead (AMC) – AFI, E, MM, MR, TG
  • Wilfred (Fx) – TG

AFI – AFI Television Programs of the Year, AS – Alan Sepinwall for Hitfix, DF – Dan Fienberg for Hitfix, E – E! Best Comedies and E! Best Dramas, GG – Golden Globe nomination, JP – James Poniewozik for Time, KT – Ken Tucker for Ew, MM* – Mary McNamara for LA Times, MR* – Matt Roush for TV Guide, MoR – Maureen Ryan for Huffington Post, MZS – Matt Zoller Seitz on Vulture, PGA – Producer’s Guild, TG – Tim Goodman’s Best Comedies and Dramas

* Some top votes were for categories of shows or notations to things like Clint’s chair speech and referee strike.

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dropped

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I’ve mentioned some of the shows that I’m looking forward to, but fall is also the time to make some cuts. There have been a few shows that have been dropped over the years, I can’t wait for them all to get canceled… Sometimes it’s because I can’t keep up with more than two shows per time slot but typically I just can’t take it anymore. For these I’ve only included shows that I’ve stuck with for a bit, and admittedly these aren’t all recent drops.

  • American Idol (Fox) – I keep trying, and tune back in to catch the new competitors as well as the new judges but I just find myself with not enough to keep me tuning back in, I’m out.
  • The Apprentice (NBC) – I tried some of the early seasons of these but just can’t get on board with watching the ‘celebrities’ fight and fight their way through challenges.
  • Criminal Minds (CBS) – This gruesome case of the week got a little monotonous for me though I do still tune back into reruns now and again.
  • Glee (Fox) – I loved the moments where they got the mix of humor and heart and music just right but those got fewer and farther apart, I’m slightly intrigued about life after high school but history tells us that it won’t improve things.
  • Gossip Girl (CW) – I loved a few seasons of this but again post high school shenanigans and re-pairings lost my interest much like every other teen drama.
  • Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – I was still hanging on to this when a triple booking last season meant I would have to take an extra step like watching online, after I missed a couple eps… no more Meredith for me.
  • Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) – Though the show did make me want to visit Hawaii again, and I liked the banter between the boring and the funny leads, one character of interest in a case of the week wasn’t enough.
  • The LA Complex (CW) – It was so bad it was good but then this Canadian kids trying to make it big in LA just got plain bad.
  • Once Upon a Time (ABC) – I love a fairy tale remake but though I was engaged in some of the retold tales the present day town didn’t have much to offer.
  • Person of Interest (CBS) – If two men who don’t emote go around trying to save people does anyone care?
  • Private Practice (ABC) – Who would have thought that you could get cheesier than Grey’s?
  • Scandal (ABC) – The thing that may have kept me tuned into this was the fact that the lead wore some beautiful outfits, but the scandalous items and their resolutions are a little too preposterous.
  • Survivor (CBS) – Reality shows are the easiest for me to drop, I’m not engaged in the new set of characters and though new each season, it’s somewhat repetitive.

As noted on a couple shows are also probation: ANTM (CW), L&O: SVU (NBC), The Voice (NBC). What’s no longer in your queue?

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