2011's Best in Television: The Shows, the Episodes, the Performances

Top Ten TV Shows

1-Parks and Recreation-Rarely do these lists name a comedy as the best show of the year (that's not why I am picking it), but this show was flawless this year.  Season 3 which took place entirely in 2011 was a perfect season of a comedy.  With cast additions like Rob Lowe and Adam Scott the tone of the show has never faltered.  I love Leslie Knope and I am glad they moved away from creating Michael Scott part two.  This is one of the best ensembles.  I could go on an on about Leslie, April, Andy, Tom, Jerry, Donna and of course Ron freaking Swanson, but that would fill up a huge amount of space.

2-Breaking Bad-The best show everyone is starting to watch now.  This show is like a fine wine, it gets better with age.  When I watched the third season of this show I thought, this is the best season of this show, then came the fourth season.  This show continues to get better and better.  Vince Gilligan is a genius, and has made this one of the best dramas on television ever!

3-Homeland-The best new show of the year!  This taught cat and mouse game centered around the CIA, a soldier returning home being missing for eight years, and terrorism is one of the best thrillers.  Claire Danes and Damien Lewis have amazing chemistry and have given phenomenal performances.  I just finished this series, and from beginning to end with so many twists and turns I am ready for season two to start.

4-Game of Thrones-Another show with a great first year. While there were moments were the pacing of this show is quick, and I had to re-wind to make sure I got every detail this show is amazing.  You better not get attached to any character though because they will kill him or her off with the snap of your fingers.  The show is not afraid to push boundaries, and bring a fantastical world to life.

5-Louie-This show is beyond sarcasm.  Louis CK has made his dark twisted life into a brilliant comedy series.  While the first season provided some great awkwardly funny moments, the second season of this show kicked it up a notch.  The show provided even more awkwardly funny moments, and showed depth to Louis CK while interacting with his children.

6-The Good Wife-This show is the onion of television shows. Of course the show does not stink, but like Shrek says "onions have layers."  This is one of the best shows because it peals away revealing the layers of the different characters while intermixing a procedural court case.  The show is also not afraid to shuck those layers and start new.  This is one of the best shows on television and CBS made a huge mistake moving this against Monday night football.

7-The Walking Dead-While season two followed the hunt for a young girl, this show took the context of the zombie analogy to a whole new level.  Are these "walkers" people?  I thought this season was strong, and provided not only new directions but showed that even in a show about the walking dead there is life.

8-Curb Your Enthusiasm-I have never seen a show where is season 8 the quality has not remotely decreased.  CYE was at the top of this game in a post divorce world for Larry and a change in location to New York.  I have two words for everyone, Palestinian Chicken.  "Palestinian Chicken" is the funniest episode I have seen in a long time.  Watching Larry easily giving up on his faith and his people to eat chicken from a Palestinian restaurant is hilarious.

9-Modern Family-There is not much to say but that this show still remains steady with the laughs.  Whether the kids are catching Claire and Phill having sex or we watch Mitchell and Cam in their search to get another baby this show while not at as great as its first year still is one of the best shows on television.

10-Revenge-As much as you may laugh, this is one of the most entertaining shows of the year.  The show provides a soapy/exciting experience for viewers.  This show reminds me of the days of Dallas, Knotts Landing, and Dynasty.  Those show were never taken as serious as they could/should have been.  Revenge tells the story of basic human emotions in fabulous clothes in the Hamptons.  Emily Van Camp and Madeline Stowe work together flawlessly.

Top Five Episodes (In Alpha Order)


Each of these episodes were not only quintessential to the show, but were classic television episodes that will have a lasting impact on television.

Game of Thrones-"Baelor"
Wait what just happened? No, I mean did that just happen?  This episode was a game changer for the series, and made this show turn a corner few other shows have turned.  This episode defines this show.

The Good Wife-"Closing Arguments"


The moment fans have been waiting for!  An episode with a compelling court case, and where Alicia finally moves on from Peter and kisses Will.

Friday Night Lights-"Always"
One of the best series finales.  The show always had heart, and made a show about football more than a show about football.  This episode won an Emmy for directing, and provided a perfect emotional ending for Coach Taylor and crew.

Modern Family "Caught in the Act"

Who thought walking in on someone else's parents having sex would be so hilarious.  This is by far one of my favorite episodes of this show.  Thinking about how horrifying this moment actually would be, and then watching it in a TV show, is the reason why this show is still one of the best. (no clip)

Parks and Recreation "Flu Season" and "The Fight" (tie)

I could not pick, it was my Sophie's choice of this year.  "Flu Season" was Poehler's "Vitameatavegamin" when she comes down with the flu and in the eleventh hour convinces people to invest in the harvest fest.  Then there is of course Leslie and Ann's big fight while everyone gets drunk on Tom's Snake Juice in "The Fight"  Two pitch perfect episodes.

Outstanding Performances

Damien Lewis as Sergent Nicholas Brody and Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in Homeland-The cat and mouse game of the year! But who is who?  These two have so much chemistry, and whether they are sparring in the the interrogation room or the bedroom there is no stopping this dynamic duo.  Picking just one person would be a tough thing to do, both of these actors are at the top of their game in this show.

Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister on Game of Thrones-Tyrion is not only a great character but he provides so much more than the serious context of the other characters.  Tyrion is constantly referred as the the "halfling" but his character is the most redeemable in the entire Lannister family, and is has some pretty funny moments.

Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt and Amy Poehler Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation- These two have amazing chemistry.  This is dork love at its finest.  Leslie lives on waffles, and Ben dresses up in a Batman costume.  Of course these two are meant to be.  While many love Ron Swanson (I do too) these two are just great, and make me laugh, cry, and make me proud to be a dork.

Giancarlo Espostio as Gustavo 'Gus' Fring on Breaking Bad-The man mixes his dark and "good" side effortlessly.  Esposito brought Gus to life earlier as a more one dimensional character, but as this show continues to become more, characters like Gus become phenomenal.  I think most of the credit has to go to Esposito, and his brilliant performance.

2011 Entertainer(s) of the Year: Adele is Entertainer of the Year

1-Adele-My entertainer of the year was a no brainer, Adele.  Adele's tunes simply put are some of the best music produced this year.  Adele's album has been certified gold, and sold 4 million plus copies, and her single "Rolling in the Deep" is the number one single of the year in the US.  Adele is from the UK and her album sales make her the most successful artist within the last ten years.  This woman is an unstoppable force, with a soulful voice.  Adele's "Someone Like You," is also doing well on the singles charts, and i imagine her third single "Set Fire to the Rain" will be another huge hit!  I first heard Adele back in 2004 when she was the free itunes single of the week with her song "Hometown Glory."  I have been hooked ever since, and am proud to make Adele my entertainer of the year.

2-Ryan Gosling-Why him?  This guy is much more than his looks.  Gosling has consistently moved beyond his good looks (should have been named People Magazine's sexiest man alive this year) and moved towards being a strong leading male; he has also taken roles in more off beat films.  Gosling starred in three different films this year and was amazing in each film.  Crazy Stupid Love showed how witty, sarcastic, and funny he can be,  give this man more roles like this!  In Drive Gosling did more with his facial expression than with the actual dialogue.  Drive is one of the more unique films of the year, and Gosling was spell binding in this film.  Neither of those films provided his best performance; his best performance was in Ides of March.  Ides of March has Gosling hitting every range of emotion, and never missing a beat; he provided strong performances in each of these films, and made these movies even better than they could have been!

3-Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Rose Byrne-These women rock!  Melissa McCarthy is hilarious, while she was great in the Gilmore Girls, 2011 was her year!  McCarthy has Mike and Molly on CBS sitcom.  At this past year's Emmy Awards she won Outstanding Lead Actress in Comedy Series (a huge surprise); her star power is making this show a hit.   Rose Byrne continued her work on the television series Damages and she starred in X-Men: First Class as Moira McTaggert.  Maya Rudolph is a scene stealing talk show host on the NBC sitcom Up All Night. Wiig is the star of Saturday Night Live;she is one the few females on the show and she makes this still a relevant funny variety series.  Then Wiig writes a screenplay for a film and when all four women's powers combine you get the funniest film of the year, Bridesmaids.  These four women are amazing and have provided some incredible laughter, and with Byrne a little bit of drama for 2011.

4-The cast of Game of Thrones-This show was a phenomena.  I came to the game late and watched the entire first season around Thanksgiving, but I was blown away by the talented cast.  The cast does not have a lot of big names, the biggest during the first season are Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey, but together they have created a series that illuminates a mystical world.  Dinklage was honored with the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; he is great, but this ensemble works like a well oiled machine, and it's hard to single out one person that stands out.  Sure people will have their favorite character(s), but this ensemble provided some of the best acting this year, and made this show more than just a Fantasy show, it brought to life great literature.

5-Jessica Chastain and Viola Davis-These two are both twoof the stars of the hit film The Help, and within that film that are both polar opposites and at odds with each other.  Chastain plays a woman hell bent on creating seperate restrooms for "the help" while Davis plays Abileen of of the maids who works for white families and decides to tell her story.  Their performances in this film are great but both of them did not just take on these roles this year.  Davis has a supporting role in the film that will be released this month Extremely Loud and Incredibly Closewhich looks to provide her with more strong material.  Chastain seems to be in a lot of of films this year; she played the mother in Tree of Life, the wife to Michael Shannon in Taking Shelter (her best performance), and she was in The Debt and Coralanus.  These two women may have been at odds in The Help but they have proved to be two talented actresses.

6-Daniel Radcliffe-Daniel Radcliffe "The boy who lived come to die" was the star of this years highest grossing film (to date).  Radcliffe has been a part of the entire Harry Potter franchise, and as the series came to a close this year, he will ride off into a wonderful career.  Radcliffe started out an unknown more than ten years ago, and today he is one of the most recognizable faces.  Radcliffe not only starred in the most successful film of the year but he also made his way back to Broadway.  Radcliffe played J. Pierpont Finch in the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  While Daniel did not receive any award recognition his star power is a presence he and did a lot for the Harry Potter franchise and on the Great White Way this year.

7-Kanye West and Jay-Z-These two men not only put on the Watch the Throne tour, but they hold the throne as two of most influential musicians working.  The combination of their talent on a critically acclaimed album, and then a well attended tour has made this duo unstoppable this year.  Kanye West leads the pack at the Grammy Awards this year with seven nominations, and shares some of these nominations with the Jigga man.  Not only did these two put out one of the best albums of of the year, but their collaboration has spawned some of the best hip hop music in years, and should prove that this is the direction this genre should take.

8-AMC-This network continues to be a beacon for quality television programming.  In 2011 the network won Best Drama series award for Mad Men. This is the fourth year the series has won this prize.  Mad Men has not aired during the 2011 year but helped the network pick up this award.  During 2011 the network brought the first season of The Killing, which followed the murder of Rosie Larson in Seattle.  The Killing was a critical and ratings success, scoring a slew of Emmy nominations, and was picked up for a second season.  The mystery of Rosie Larson continues.  Breaking Bad returned for its fourth season getting continually better (as the show has done throughout its history), and has grown in popularity.  The Walking Dead returned for its second season and has remained the network highest rated show, scoring 6 million viewers on average.  This network has grown into one of the most reliable channels, and has provided some of the best television this year.


9-Michael Fassbender-This guy took 2011 by storm; he had a few relatively small roles but suddenly became a quality leading man this year.  Fassbender played Rochester in Jane Eyre, then played Eric Lensher aka Magneto in X-Men: First Class,  then one of the father's of psychoanalysis Carl Jung in A Dangerous Method, and finally a sex addict Brandon Sullivan in Shame.  Fassbender's four different roles provided him with a tremendous career change and served to be some of the best acting this year.  This man is a marvel, and every film he starred in provided people with something different from his dark action packed turn as Magneto to his exploration of sex addiction.  Fassbender provided some of the best film experiences this year.

10-The cast and crew from All My Children and One Life to 

Live-Laugh at me if you will, but these with both of these show ending this year they pulled together and produced some of the best television they had ever put on in years!  Saying goodbye to Susan Lucci's iconic Erica Kane, classic couple like Angie and Jesse Hubbard, and Tad the Cad Martin on All My Children was incredibly sad.  While One Life to Live is still on the air, its time is coming to an end soon too.  I started watching One Life to Live later than All My Children, but fell in love with some of the characters quickly.  Erika Slezak's Vicki and her multiple personalities, Bo and Nora reuniting finally, and of course Todd Manning and his evil ways.  Both of these shows provided some beautiful send offs, and worked towards providing satisfying endings.  I will be sad to see them off the air, but the provided some of the best entertainment during 2011.