The Top Five TV Shows of the Past Decade and One Year

Last year at decade’s end, I compiled a few best of and worst of lists to commemorate the first 10 years of the new millennium. However, when doing this, for some reason I neglected to compile any sort of list for my favorite entertainment medium; television.

And seeing as how I am without question the most reputable voice of opinion on the internet, it doesn’t seem fair to the masses who suckle at my every word not to put something together regarding my opinion on TV. So with that, here are the shows that wielded through the cluttered reality TV mess of the past several years and showed there will always be a place for quality, scripted television.

Honorable Mentions:

The Office (US Version, NBC), Modern Family (ABC) Extras (HBO/BBC), Arrested Development before it became unbearably smug and entirely self-referential (ie, Season One)

5. Flight of the Conchords (HBO)

Sure, this import from New Zealand only ran for two seasons. And sure, only one of them was truly good. But if there was any one season that yielded a spot on this list on its own individual merits, it’s the first season of Flight of the Conchords.

From the quirky songs, hilariously bizarre dialogue and situations and a nearly perfect cast, FOTC was one of the great comedy creations when it hit the airwaves in 2007, and even though it petered out surprisingly quickly, it still left a lasting impression on me and dozens of others.

4. Mad Men (AMC)

Perhaps the most critically acclaimed series of the past few years, it took me a few seasons to truly embrace this series about sexy people and their sexy adventures in the sexy world of 1960’s Madison Avenue Advertising. While I’ve enjoyed it from the get-go, for some reason it just didn’t make an overwhelming impact right away.

However, over the past few years, series creator Matthew Weiner (allegedly pronounced “why-ner.” Yeah, fucking right!) and the rest of the cast and crew have pulled me in with some of the most intricately plotted dramatic television today. And while it did create one of the most shockingly bizarre scenes in recent memory, Mad Men is arguably the least flashy great show of its time, and must be credited for being compelling without feeling as if it needs to constantly dazzle its audience.

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[TV Review] Breaking Bad: Season Three Finale

Overview:

I’ve grown tired of reviewing Breaking Bad because doing so brings in no traffic and ultimately proves to be a waste of my time. With that in mind, I vowed I would only review Sunday’s season finale if I found the episode to be so engaging, my overwhelming sense of self-importance wouldn’t allow me to keep my opinions to myself.

Oh, well. It’s not as if I have anything better to do

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[TV Review] Breaking Bad: Season Three Premier

Overview:

Last week I reviewed the second season DVD of Breaking Bad and promised I would follow it up with a review of Sunday’s Season Three premier assuming people cared enough about the initial review to warrant a follow-up.

Well, they didn’t, but I’m gonna review it anyway.

Review:

I will assume anyone reading this is familiar with what has transpired in previous episodes so I won’t go into too great of detail with a series recap. It is, however, quite apparent with this episode that the show clearly seems to be headed in a new direction. While I have openly stated my skepticism that such a shift would work while simultaneously maintaining true with the series’ original premise, I must say Sunday’s episode was very effective in getting me excited to see what Bad will pull off next. Continue reading

[DVD Review] Breaking Bad: The Complete Second Season

Overview:

I’ve already detailed my love of the AMC series Breaking Bad in previous posts, so I’ll stop the whole backstory schpeal and just state that the Complete Second Season is now on DVD and it’s awesome.

Review:

Season two begins at the exact location season one ended, as chemist turned meth dealer Walt (Bryan Cranston) and his partner Jesse (Aaron Paul), have witnessed a brutal and meaningless attack orchestrated by their new distributor Tuco (Raymond Cruz) on one of his associates. This sets in motion the overlapping theme from the end of season one that Walt and Jesse have gotten in way over their heads. Continue reading

[TV Review] “Breaking Bad” Season Two Finale

walt-and-jesse

Overview:

This is the third time I have written about the AMC series “Breaking Bad,” a show about a chemistry teacher who turns to making crystal meth after discovering he has lung cancer. In my humble opinion, it is the best show on television right now.

After weeks of teasers hinted at some wild shit going down in the season finale, my anticipation level was at an all time high when the season finale aired Sunday. After lifting my expectations, would the series be able to meet them? Continue reading

This Is Why You Should Be Watching “Breaking Bad.”

About a month-and-a-half back, I reviewed the DVD “Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season” and praised it as the best and most original new show on television. Well, it turns out  Season One was only the launching point, as Season Two, which airs on the AMC network at 10 on Sundays, is taking the  insanity of the first go-around and pushing to even further degrees of twisted brilliance.

To enhance my argument, I have included a YouTube clip from the show’s most recent episode. When watching it, you will likely either share in the awe I felt while watching, or feel I am some sort of sadist who made you watch one of the most unpleasantly demented things you have ever seen. Regardless, I guarantee that you have never seen anything like this before, and if it helps get more people into the show, fantastic. Enjoy.

Review: “Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season”

breaking-badOpening Remark:

The best (though in the interest of fairness, the only) new dramatic series I came across last year has arrived on DVD with the release of “Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season.”

Overview:

Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is a brilliant mind in the field of chemistry, whose accomplishments include contributing research to a Nobel Prize winning project. However, he has since fallen into a life of complacency, teaching chemistry at the high school level and with each passing year is growing more and more apathetic towards his career. Then Walter finds out devastating news. He has terminal lung cancer and is given two years to live. Not wanting to leave his pregnant wife and special needs son burdened with financial implosion, Walt finds an insane solution; he decides to start cooking crystal meth with a burnout former student of his named Jesse (Aaron Paul).

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