End-Of-Year: Favorite 2012 TV Shows, Part 1

I watch a lot of TV. A lot. I can't even tell you the number of shows I regularly watch, because you will probably think I need to see a specialist. All of this is just to say that coming up with a top 30 list of my favorite shows is not at all easy. Ranking them is even more impossible to the point that most of the rankings are quite truly arbitrary. This year, I've decided not to include any reality TV shows so I can make room for scripted shows. My top 10 post will come tomorrow, but for now without further a due...

30. Suburgatory - This should've been included in last year's list, but I guess I didn't realize how much I would like the show until the end of its first season making me super anxious for their sophomore season, which thankfully has kept up with the quality of its first.

29. Castle - Clearly I love the show since I'm still watching and it perhaps doesn't deserve a relatively low rank. But it's that kind of show that while I'm watching it I love it, but seem to forget when I'm not watching it. This is not a knock though on the actors as Fillion and Katic are great together, even more so now that they are officially a couple.

28. Political Animals - In some ways this show could've been much higher on my list or not at all. It was that kind of show that really felt like it was going in a bunch of directions. What truly set the show apart though was the glittering cast and while plotlines could get too insane, I just kept wanting to see what happened next.

27. How I Met Your Mother - I began this latest season with much apprehension and unfortunately nothing they've really done have allayed my fears save for Barney's proposal. But I will always be an apologist for this show, because I still truly love these characters and will stick with them through thick and thin.

26. Girls - The voice of a generation? Well, I don't know about that, but Lena Dunham did create a show with a unique voice that slowly, but surely sucked me right in. These girls' lives are a mess and I can't help but watch it all unfold.

25. 30 Rock - For me the show lost some of its freshness a couple of seasons back, but it has truly found itself again the past year especially as the show does its victory lap towards the end of the series. This show, like Jenna's whole life, is thunder.

24. Last Resort - This show had my second favorite pilot this year offering a real adrenaline rush so rare for TV that I immediately knew they would never be able to sustain it and also it would be cancelled after this season. Fortunately, they were able to sustain some of it mostly due to the cast, but unfortunately they still got cancelled.

23. Ben and Kate - I was a little lukewarm to the pilot (though I still liked it), but the more episodes I watched, the more I realized I'm going to really miss the fun sincerity these characters brought. I'm a sucker for sibling relationships also, so this hit all the spots. Plus, best theme song ever or best theme song ever?

22. The Walking Dead - Last season, spent mostly in Hershel's farm, wasn't great, but the latter half of that season ramped up the drama and stakes and kept it going through the first half of the third season that has given us a rawer, visceral experience to this zombie-filled world. Leading man Lincoln has never been better.

21. Dexter - Talk about a much improved show! Who knew all they had to do was pull the wool over Deb's eyes? The way they handled her arc this season was pretty great with Carpenter selling every "fuck" that came out of her mouth. Couple that with Dexter forcing to do some real soul-searching about his dark passenger, LaGuerta's chilling quest, and a three-dimensional villain made for a damn good season.

20. Once Upon a Time - Last year, this show barely made my Top 30, but the end of the first season focused on more interesting characters (Ruby, Mad Hatter) then orchestrated a magnificent reboot of sorts to start the second season giving more meat to previously one-dimensional characters and a much-needed urgency to the plot.

19. Revenge - This show's relative high placement is mostly due to the extreme goodwill the show built up in its freshman season with its addictive soapy drama and excellent use of Stowe and Mann. This second season has been more perplexing and just a bit underwhelming at parts even if I still enjoy the heck of it.

18. Cougar Town - How thankful am I that last season wasn't its last? I wasn't at all prepared to say goodbye to those lovable idiots most especially during the beach wedding finale that make me laugh and cry simultaneously. I just can't help but love these crazy drunks.

17. Happy Endings - I'm just going to repeat what I said last year. This show is "a piñata filled with candy and crack" and while some of the material and relationships seem a little less fresh this time around, it's all still damn addictive. Plus Hip Hop Santa end tag was too awesome for words.

16. Mad Men - Don't ask me why this isn't ranked higher, because unlike what some people seem to think, this wasn't a "weak" season of the show. It wasn't perfect, of course, but off the top of my head I could name so many great moments, episodes, character development that happened. Hendricks and Moss continue to be the series' MVPs.

15. New Girl - Not sure when it happened, but I suddenly fell head over heels in love with this show. It's weird since for most of its freshman season, I felt like I was watching it more from obligation than desire. But then the show became much more of an ensemble and the writers suddenly figured out how to write each characters better. And voila!

14. Awake - Even though this just missed out being my favorite new show of the season, it does get the honor of being my favorite pilot of the year. I was immediately hooked on its brilliant concept of a man experiencing two realities, one in which either his wife or son lived after a car accident, and each subsequent episodes let me fall into the rabbit hole of obsession.

13. Game of Thrones - My favorite new show last year fell a bit in the rankings this year mostly because while I still love the show's world building, you can already feel things spreading too thin. It's still a gorgeous show though with some powerhouse performances from such actors like Dinklage, Headey, and Williams.

12. Veep - *BEST NEW SHOW* As a huge fan of creator Armando Iannucci's film In the Loop, I knew this show, which borrows a lot of its tone and sentiments from the film, would quickly be one of my favorites. A great lead turn from Dreyfus and a hilarious ensemble make it all work and I can't help but laugh uncomfortably at every other scene.

11. Doctor Who - There were only 6 episodes this year, including the super enjoyable Christmas special. The other 5 episodes saw the last adventures of the Doctor with beloved companions Rory and Amy and like many things this show does, they were all sufficiently epic and even heartbreaking especially Rory and Amy's final episode. Smith, Darvill, and Gillan had real chemistry I will sorely miss. But from the looks of things, Coleman will be just fine.

So there they are! As for my top 10, as I said before, they'll be posted tomorrow sometime, but looking at my nominations and using a process of elimination will make it easy to figure it all out. But the key question is... which show will be #1? Any guesses?

Sunday TV Catch Up

Last Sunday I watched approximately 100 hours of television. Okay, it was really only five hours plus a few more hours spent on other days catching up on the Sunday shows I didn't get to watch. I already talked about my thoughts on 666 Park Avenue, but before another epic Sunday, here are my brief thoughts on the rest...

Once Upon A Time - I grew to love this show last season especially when it suffered serious growing pains early on. Bringing everyone's memories back at the end could've been risky, but instead with this premiere they somewhat pulled it off especially the emotional reunions of all of these people who were living half-lives. It was also a smart premiere in that it does a pretty amazing job in taking the show in many new directions. I did not at all see the twist coming of the Mulan/Phillip/Aurore story happening in present time telling us that there are still life in fairy tale land. Putting Snow and especially Emma in that land in the end will also give the show new material with Emma being the fish out of water. Their absence in the real world should also prove worthwhile storyline-wise for the people they left behind. Finally, opening the show with a mysterious guy living in NYC? Genius. I'm so excited.

Revenge - This show is super ridiculous and I can't help but love it. Most of the reason I watch is because I just love, love the relationship between Emily and Nolan so their reunion at the boxing ring (with Nolan sweaty, shirtless and sporting a new sexier haircut) was the highlight of the episode for me. Or perhaps it was the final scene with them sitting in Emily's living room wearing bathrobes while spying on Victoria? Seriously, making Nolan Emily's roommate is brilliant on so many levels. I hope it lasts at least a few more episodes. Victoria's surprise resurrection was wholly expected, but I still liked that she was forced to interact with Emily. I was hoping they would work together more this season to bring down Conrad et. al, but I guess that'd be a little too convenient? Not much else to say about the other characters. Jack and Daniel are both depressed. Amanda and Ashley are crazy. Declan is still as inconsequential as ever. Welcome back, show.

The Good Wife - Other than Kalinda confronting her ex-husband, this episode really didn't wow me in its fourth season premiere, but then again the bar has been set SO HIGH previously, it was bound to come up short. First, Archie Panjabi was just fantastically sexy and fierce throughout as she figures out how to deal with Nick being back, not only in her personal life, but also her work life. My one fear is that they isolate this storyline from the rest of the happenings this season, but hopefully someone close to Kalinda (Alicia? Cary? Will?) will find out what's happening sooner rather than later. The rest of the episode is just setting up the main drama arcs for the season. Alicia is dealing anew with yet another campaign for Peter and how it effects their kids while Diane and Will are figuring out how to save their business. It's all deftly acted and beautifully written as per usual, but I'm hoping for a "wow" that I didn't get. Maybe tonight!

Dexter - More and more I have been watching this show more out of obligation rather than because I actually enjoy it. Last season, for example, started out pretty well, but quickly became less engaging. But I kept watching because of Hall and Carpenter's performances. But if this most recent premiere is any indication I am going to LOVE this upcoming season. Making Deb finally find out about Dexter's misadventures gives this season real direction and much-needed tension and urgency. And the episode went from good to perfect in the end when we and Dexter find out that Deb now knows more than what Dexter had wanted her to know. Shit is about to get real and it's fabulous. Here's hoping that Carpenter gets her due this season.

Homeland - When I marathoned the first season a few months ago, I really didn't realized how much I would truly love to see its return. It was such an adrenaline rush the first time through that I feared they couldn't possibly carry that over to the new season, but they really did. Yes, they would have to do their awkward best in bringing Carrie back into the field, but I think the show did it the best way they could. Plus seeing Danes channel the crazy early on and then the fierceness towards the end was something to behold. As for Lewis, he shows why he won the Emmy a couple of weeks ago. As a new congressman being vetted by the current VP to be his possible running mate, he and his family are well connected in Washington. His new connections means Abu Nazir wants him to do more, specifically (for this episode) he has to steal something from the safe in David's office giving us the episode's tensest moment. Another is the big confrontation he has with his wife about him being a Muslim. It's amazing to see Morena Baccarin do more dramatically, but I fear she'll end up dead sooner rather than later. But the best scene is the end with father and daughter burying the Koran. It's these quiet moments, like Carrie's smile, that make this show really work.

Thoughts on Dexter and Terra Nova Finales

Right around this time of year I usually post my year-end Best of TV lists, but since I'm finding myself behind on a few shows, I'm delaying a bit until after Christmas when hopefully I would have had time to catch up. With that said, I do want to briefly talk about two shows that had their season finales this past week.

Dexter

The last words of the season was "Oh God" and it's pretty appropriate since all season we were hammered by religion and God. It didn't really work for me especially after Brother Sam was killed since he provided a grounding presence for Dexter and for the audience. Of course, those words was said by Dexter reacting to getting caught killing Travis by sister Deb. It's a moment that fans of the show have been waiting for and as far as cliffhangers go, there's nothing bigger for this show than that. They slightly telegraphed the ending, but maybe it was just me looking for something exciting to happen since the finale itself, like the season, had been subpar. Colin Hanks (and Edward J. Olmos) were fairly game this whole season and some of the apocalyptic imagery was gruesome and exciting, but in general the season felt weaker than most. The finale was especially boring as the big drama was whether or not something would happen with Jamie and even though the show is known for their twists and shocks, they weren't going to kill Dexter's child.

With that said, I was impressed by what Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall had to do, not just in the finale, but in the entire season as well. I was initially worried that their rocky real-life relationship would mean less scenes between the two siblings or scenes that lacked any chemistry. It turned out it was the complete opposite this season with Deb examining her relationship with Dexter and her feelings for him all season giving us plenty of scenes between the two with lots of nuance and emotional charge. I do question the incestuous arc though especially since it doesn't really add anything to the dynamics. Deb already loved Dexter (as a brother) and her reaction to Dexter killing would probably not have changed that much even if she wasn't in love with him. I also question it from the point of view of the writers torturing these two recently divorced actors by putting them in an awkward romantic storyline together. As for the rest of the season, I've already forgotten about it. Here's to hoping a stronger season next year!

Dexter Finale: C+ (B+ for the last 15 seconds!)
Dexter Season 6: B-

Terra Nova

The two-hour finale made me sad, because it offered us a glimpse of what the show could've been this season. It wasn't fantastic, but it was a solid two hours of great energy, good plotting, and thrilling action. If you remember all the way back to the pilot, I was actually high on the show. The show had lots of potential and other than my general annoyance of the Shannon family, I tried to be optimistic. Unfortunately the Shannons became the focal point of the show which would have been okay if we had gotten to learn about other characters, but not really. The finale didn't really change my mind about the family, mostly because I was really disappointed they all managed to come out of it alive, but I was impressed by Elizabeth pretending to inject the guy with dangerous larvae to help Jim escape.

Part of the finale was great. I love that within minutes of the beginning the whole compound was already taken over. Seeing the citizens of Terra Nova (who we should know more of by now) come together was a nice touch. Jim running away from a T-rex who was trying to outrun a fire was a fantastic scene (need more of this please!). And yet still more things to nitpick such as the decision to make Lucas and the rest of the bad guys so one-dimensional. Though I guess in Lucas' case he has more than one dimension but they all hate daddy. And I'm not sure how I feel about The Badlands which is like this show's version of Rambaldi or The Numbers. Now, I'm down on this show because despite the crappy first season it has squandered it's still about a show about a group of people from the future going back in time 85 millions to live with the dinosaurs. THAT IS COOL. They just need to make me care about the characters AND NOT JUST THE SHANNONS. They need to give us more danger, more awe, more of everything really. Well not the Shannons. Less of them would be nice.

Terra Nova Finale: B
Terra Nova Season 1: C+

Bloody Premieres of Walking Dead, Dexter, & American Horror Story

With Halloween less than two weeks away, it's as good a time as any to take stock at some of the bloodier offerings on TV right now, more specifically AMC's smash hit The Walking Dead, FX's new buzzy Ryan Murphy show American Horror Story, and Showtime staple Dexter. Ratings-wise they've all started just great this season. The Walking Dead's second season premiere over this past weekend scored 7.3 million total viewers breaking ratings records for basic cable drama in key demos. Meanwhile the pilot for American Horror Story ranked as the most-watched original series premiere in its network's history. Not to be outdone, Dexter had its highest-rated premiere ever, in its sixth season. Not too shabby.

Quality-wise they've all started pretty solidly as well, at least based on just the premiere episodes I've seen. Due to time constraints I haven't seen any follow-up episodes for Dexter and American Horror Story so things might have drastically changed especially for the latter show since it's a) brand new and b) a Ryan Murphy show.

The Walking Dead had the best premiere of the three effortlessly putting its audience right back into the post-apocalyptic zombie-infested world they so successfully introduced last season. The episode started with the group deciding to leave Atlanta in search of something new. Abandoned cars blocking the highway and the group's own mechanical troubles left them momentarily stranded and subsequently exposed to a herd of zombies. What followed was one of the episode's more breathlessly tense moments as they all had to take shelter underneath the cars as they watched the feet of zombies pass them by. The rest of the 90-minute (more like 63 minutes without commercials) offered plenty of gore (that zombie gutting scene was vomit-inducing), more suspense, and palpable human drama. Even expecting a cliffhanger, I was caught by surprise by the ending--with a young girl still lost in the woods somewhere and a young boy shot in the stomach. Kids in danger off-the-bat... brutal. A-

Many critics eviscerated American Horror Story before it premiered citing the show's tendency to be completely over-the-top, outrageous, and incoherently messy. Color me surprised then when I watched the pilot and, while not completely disagreeing with the critics, still finding myself enjoying it a bit. Yes, it's weird and fucked up and the characters were kind of despicable and it's all over the place, but I really appreciated how it wasn't like anything I've seen before on TV. With that said, I'm curious as to how they'll be able to sustain this. It seems like this show would be more suitable as mini-series, but I guess time will tell to see how they can make it work (or not work). Still the cast is pretty good, the concept is intriguing as hell, and at worst I can drop it without feeling too guilty since it's seems like the kind of show where I don't have to worry about developing attachment to its characters (I like how that's a pro for this show). B-

Finally, I have to say the sixth season premiere of Dexter, while good for the most part, gave me a few apprehensions. First some of the things I liked. Whoever idea it was to put Dexter in a situation where he had to dance to "Hammer Time" deserves a raise. I also quite liked seeing Dexter having to interact with some of his high school classmates giving Michael C. Hall much to do. I also have high hopes for the addition of Angel's cousin as a supporting character. Everything else, meh. Never really connected with the Deb/Quinn and Laguerta/Angel relationships and since most of the rest of the episode was about them it left me unimpressed. There was also the heavy heavy heavy religious undertones throughout the episode hinting at the possible overarching theme of the season which, at the moment, doesn't really interest me. It could certainly be good, especially with Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks as the possible Big Bads, but I worry that religion would make the show a bit more cumbersome that it's capable of handling. B

Are you watching any of these shows? Can The Walking Dead keep its premiere momentum or like last year have a lull in the middle? Is American Horror Story too weird? What do you think about the religious overtones on Dexter?

My Emmy Ballot: TV Series

Tomorrow the Emmy Award nominations will surely break my heart as they've done so many times in years' past. Now I've come to accept this and instead learned to channel my disappointments to cheering on the shows I do like and would love to be nominated i.e. why I'm filling out my own ballot. Andrew and I talked about which shows we thought would get nominated so click here to see our chat and our predictions.

Disclaimer: Even though they only nominate 5-6 shows, voters are asked to pick "no more than 10" shows they "feel worthy of nomination." So I'll be picking 10, but making sure to highlight the 6 shows making up my top choices.


COMEDY SERIES
Community
Cougar Town
How I Met Your Mother
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation
United States of Tara
Big Bang Theory
Greek
Happy Endings
Raising Hope

It's crazy that even from this list of ten shows, only one show is sure to be nominated tomorrow (Modern Family). It's even crazier to think that one of the best shows on TV, drama or comedy, will have to breakthrough to get a nomination it should be getting automatically (Parks and Recreation). The rest of the list consists of hip, wacky shows the Emmys won't even watch (Community, Cougar Town, Happy Endings) or old favorites (How I Met Your Mother, Greek, Big Bang Theory). But really all of my energy is focused on getting Parks and Recreation the nomination and the WIN it deserves.


DRAMA SERIES
Dexter
Fringe
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men
Shameless
Castle
Friday Night Lights
The Walking Dead
White Collar

This drama list is a bit more Emmy-friendly than my comedy one, but it also contains a show that they would most certainly ignore despite of its superbly high quality (Fringe). The rest of my top tier nominees I can actually see getting nominated, even Shameless with the shows on the bottom tier having very little chance. With that said, this probably means that I'm going to be just fine come nomination morning regarding this category. If only I had watched Boardwalk Empire (or they would watch Fringe), then we'd probably match up pretty well.

And that's it for my ballots! I'll surely post my reactions to the actual nominations tomorrow. In the meantime, to read my ballots for the acting awards, click the following: Guest / Supporting / Leading.

Critics' Choice Television Awards Nominees

The Broadcast Television Journalists Association have decided that we need more precursor award shows leading up to the Emmy Awards and thus presenting the Critics' Choice Television Awards! I say bring it on especially if this helps in any way Emmy voters pick more interesting and generally better nominations. And for the most part, this group definitely gave us a wonderful array of shows and actors for its inaugural award show. The nominees are below...

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Fringe
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Justified
The Killing
Mad Men
The Walking Dead

Not much to complain here as they included two of my favorite shows of the year, The Good Wife and Fringe. The latter is especially welcome as it doesn't get nearly enough mainstream praise that it deserves. I'm rooting for either one to win, but critics will probably opt for some on cable or premium channels. Can Mad Men hold off some of the new favorites?

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
William H. Macy, Shameless
Timothy Olyphant, Justified

Interesting to see Hugh Laurie snubbed, but since I don't watch House, I don't really care. There aren't really any bad choices here, but I think I'll root for Kyle Chandler or Michael C. Hall, the former because he's a sentimental favorite and the latter because he went through some crazy acting acrobatics this year.

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy
Anna Torv, Fringe

Oh, how I wish this would be the exact same lineup at the Emmys! Look how glorious each and every character and actress listed! I'm so happy Anna Torv was recognized, because as I said before her show and everyone involved deserve all the kudos and awards thrown at them. I'd probably pick her if I was voting, but with Marguilies and Moss in the line-up, it's IMPOSSIBLE to choose. Don't even know who they'd pick to win.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Walton Goggins, Justified
Shawn Hatosy, Southland
John Noble, Fringe
Michael Pitt, Boardwalk Empire
John Slattery, Mad Men

Good solid choices here as well and I'm especially tickled by Alan Cumming's nomination since in a cast full of insanely talented people, he really does stand out. Go John Noble, who is probably a slight favorite, but I'm not really sure!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Michelle Forbes, The Killing
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Margo Martindale, Justified
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Chloë Sevigny, Big Love

I sound like a broken record already, but I love these nominations. I'm a bit sad that they didn't have room for Julia Stiles' amazing work on Dexter, but I wouldn't know who to kick out from this line-up. Christina Hendricks aka YoSaffBridge is a sentimental favorite, but Forbes, Sevigny, or Panjabi will probably win.

BEST COMEDY SERIES
Archer
The Big Bang Theory
Community
Glee
Louie
The Middle
Modern Family
The Office
Parks and Recreation
30 Rock

Hm. Now I know How I Met Your Mother wasn't perfect this season, but it's definitely better than the increasingly tired 30 Rock, the mess that is Glee, and the an aging The Office. Same deal with Castle. Where is it?! But with all that said, I'm not too butthurt over it, especially since Parks & Rec, Community, and Modern Family all deserve their nominations. I'm pulling for one of those shows to win (Parks & Rec!).

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Louis C.K., Louie
Charlie Day, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Joel McHale, Community
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

A list without Nathan Fillion is not a good list even though I appreciate the inclusion of McHale and Parsons. I'd probably vote for Carell to get it since he was damn good at his final season of the show and he's probably the sentimental favorite for this very reason.

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
Courteney Cox, Cougar Town
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Patricia Heaton, The Middle
Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Was Tina Collette not considered? Was her show not qualified? I'm generally okay with these nominations and especially happy that Courtney Cox was recognized (fuck you Emmys!). I'm rooting for Amy Poehler here, but I can see any of these ladies take home the prize to be honest.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Danny Pudi, Community
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

This category is STACKED and I'm sure they could've included a few more worhty names. Chris Colfer probably should've been included, but really I wouldn't know who to remove from the list. I'd also add Adam Scott, Danny Glover, and Jason Segal. Offerman could just steal this award from the Modern men. He definitely can.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Jane Lynch, Glee
Busy Philipps, Cougar Town
Eden Sher, The Middle
Sofía Vergara, Modern Family

Since I wasn't such a fan of Lynch's Sue this year, I'd actually wish she would be replaced by Naya Rivera or Heather Morris. Or even Alyson Hannigan or any of the ladies from Community or Big Bang Theory. But I'm generally fine of these nominees and happy to see Busy Philipps recognized. I'm sure one of the Modern ladies will win.

BEST REALITY SERIES
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Hoarders
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Sister Wives
Undercover Boss

I watch a total of ZERO from this list. So... yeah good luck to all.

BEST REALITY SERIES — COMPETITION
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Top Chef

The only show I watched this season was The Amazing Race, but God knows it's no longer the most hip show out there. I wouldn't mind seeing it lose to Top Chef.

BEST REALITY SHOW HOST
Tom Bergeron, Dancing with the Stars
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Ty Pennington, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

Cat Deeley is the best host here. There is no competition. Also where is Phil Keoghan? I demand a recount!

BEST TALK SHOW
Chelsea Lately
The Daily Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The Oprah Winfrey Show

Will they give it to Oprah since this is the last time they'll be able to do it? Or will they actually give it to a show that deserves it like The Daily Show or Ellen? We'll see.

End-Of-Year: 2010 TV Winners

Hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas!

In any case, this past Wednesday, I posted a list of some of my favorite performances from the past TV year. Now, I present to you the winners...

Best Ensemble: Community, The Good Wife, Lost, Modern Family, Mad Men, Misfits

This was an impossible decision because the casts of each of these shows are just so damn perfect. And together, they work like a well-oiled machine. I could literally roll a die to pick a winner and probably be okay with the results. In the end I chose The Good Wife, mostly because I had to pick one. But I stress again how you really can't go wrong with any of these shows.

Best Actor, Drama
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
Matthew Fox, Lost
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Kiefer Sutherland, 24

Sutherland and Fox have played their roles for years now and in the final season of both, they stepped up their games. Meanwhile, Hamm probably had his best season yet as Don Draper and Cumberbatch personified the modern Sherlock Holmes with brilliant ease. This year though, I'm giving it to Hall who somehow found it within himself to portray week in, week out such a complicated character as Dexter Morgan. From dealing with Rita's death to getting himself involve with Lumen, it was yet another roller coaster season of emotions which Hall delivered pitch perfectly.

Best Actress, Drama
Morena Baccarin, V
Julianna Marguilies, The Good Wife
Elizabeth Mitchell, V
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Anna Torv, Fringe

One of the best things about V is the palpable intensity that occurs when Baccarin and Mitchell are in a scene together. Separately, they also kick ass. One of the reasons I watch Marguilies and Moss in their shows is so I can go "YOU GO GIRL!" whenever they do something awesome, which they both do in a regular basis and Moss especially just continues to grow every season. I'd be remiss however not to award this to the amazing work that Torv did this season playing two characters--Olivia and Olivia from the alt-universe. The different make-up and hair helped, but it was Torv who made us believe these two characters. Such a long way from being dubbed "the weakest link" during earlier seasons.

Best Actor, Comedy
Matt Bomer, White Collar
Nathan Fillion, Castle
Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory
Adam Scott, Party Down
Matt Smith, Doctor Who

These men were nominated because they pretty much carried their respective shows. Even with the talented cast surrounding them, without their leading performances, their shows would fall flat. One need only see a scene to see how much charm both Bomer and Fillion bring to their roles playing the jovial foil to their more straight-edge partners. Scott excels as the straight-man to the wackiness around him while Parsons embodies Sheldon like no other. With that said, Smith just won me over for his spirited performance as The Doctor and to do it following someone as awesome as David Tennant is a great feat.

Best Actress, Comedy
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Courtney Cox, Cougar Town
Karen Gillan, Doctor Who
Stana Katic, Castle
Amy Poehler, Parks & Recreation

While I was a bit meh last year regarding the nominees, not so this year. Cox consistently delivered yet again which is why lack of awards attention just confuses me. Katic is greatly helped by her chemistry with Fillion, but she more than holds her own without him. Speaking of more than holding her own, Gillan is able to match the fierce energy of Smith making the new Doctor/Companion pair a match-made in heaven. Collette almost took the top award, because she was yet again brilliant with her various personalities, but I had to give it to Poehler who, along with her show, really found themselves in the second season.

Best Supporting Actor, Drama
Misha Collins, Supernatural
Alan Cummings, The Good Wife
Keir Gilchrist, United States of Tara
Denis O'Hare, True Blood
Iwan Rheon, Misfits

I totally watch Supernatural because of Collins' character Castiel and NOT because of the brothers, whic his crazy I know. And while I like Collette's Tara, most of the highlights from last season were due to storylines focused on Gilchrist's Marshall who was trying to figure out where he fit in as a gay teenager. This year, I also fell madly in love with Rheon and his show, but just in case it's just infatuation, I'm going to let it simmer a bit. Instead, I'll give it this year to a performance that I'm still thinking about. O'Hare's performance as Russell was one for the ages. It was visceral seeing how much he fused camp, horror, violence, and sadness all in one role.

Best Supporting Actress. Drama
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Cherry Jones, 24
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Mary Lynn Rajskub, 24
Julia Stiles, Dexter

Jones and Rajskub delivered great performances for the final season of their show highlighting some emotions we hadn't seen from either during earlier seasons. Hendricks, who so needed more material to work with, was magnificent as always. Panjabi had this award in the bag because her Kalinda is probably one of my favorite characters in network TV and she's just SO GOOD playing her. But then Stiles stupendously surprised me by her totally tour-de-force role as Lumen this season in Dexter. I'm actually speechless about what to say in order to convey how awesome she was. But that's all I have and everyone should just see it to make up their own minds.

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Chris Colfer, Glee
Donald Glover, Community
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Arthur Darvill, Doctor Who

Harris here isn't doing anything differently from what he has done in the past, so while it's getting a tad old, it's still great. Darvill may sometimes be the odd man out especially with the kind of chemistry Smith and Gillan have, but he holds his own and in fact does wonders with the little gets. Glover, too, could've been lost in such a talented ensemble, but instead he's way too engaging to forget. Colfer, is kind of like the diamond in the rough that is his show which is odd since I actually don't like his character most of the times. Colfer's performance as Kurt though, from his witty banter with Rachel to his harrowing emotions regarding getting bullied, is aces. But I'm giving it to Burrell who plays the doofy big-hearted Phil Dunphy with such wit, heart, and perfect timing. You can't help but love him.

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy
Alison Brie, Community
Alyson Hannigan, How I Met Your Mother
Jane Lynch, Glee
Heather Morris, Glee
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

I really should've made room somewhere here for Aubrey Plaza, because she rocks in Parks & Recreation. And the more I think about it, I could've even seen her winning this. But that's neither here nor there now. Last year, I gave it to Lynch and she still deserves it, but even her co-star Morris steals scenes from her, so moving on. Hannigan is great when given great material, but it hasn't been that consistent for her character, at least. Vergara is fantastic and hilarious always (though her co-star Bowen also deserves lots of kudos). And so we come to one last name that surprised me. Brie's character Annie could've been annoying and/or forgettable with the wrong actress. But to me she's slowly becoming the backbone of the show even more so than Jeff or Abed and if you've seen the show and its cast, that's really REALLY high praise.

I'm going to keep mum about which drama and comedy TV show I chose as the Best of 2010 until I post my list of my favorite TV shows of the past year in a day or two. Though it's probably not THAT difficult to suss out if you know me just a little bit.

To refresh your memories, the nominees were...
Best Drama: Being Human, Fringe, The Good Wife, Lost, Mad Men, Sherlock
Best Comedy: Castle, Community, Cougar Town, Doctor Who, Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother

Any predictions? Which actors gave your favorite performances in 2010?

Golden Globes: TV Nominations

Glee once again leads the way with five nominations with a couple of shows tying for second place with three nominations. It's a quirky list with more than a few oddball choices and snubs. As much grief as I give the TV Academy whenever they dole out their Emmy nominations, at least they have some cred. The HFPA? Not so much. So take that as you will.

Best Television Series, Drama

• Boardwalk Empire
• Dexter
• Good Wife
• Mad Men
• Walking Dead

Can't really disagree with the choices here, but the outright snub everywhere for LOST for its final season rubs me the wrong way. It's also odd to see Walking Dead get in over Breaking Bad. Though I'm very happy to see the low-rated Good Wife make it in.

Best Actor, Drama

• Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
• Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
• Michael C. Hall, Dexter
• Jon Hamm, Mad Men
• Hugh Laurie, House

Apart from Buscemi's nomination which was a given since HBO is so loved by the HFPA, the list is pretty standard fare. Emmy-winner Bryan Cranston actually gets his first nomination here, so good for him. Genre shows don't get any loving as Matthew Fox and John Noble aren't mentioned.

Best Actress, Drama

• Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
• Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
• Piper Perabo, Covert Affairs
• Katey Segal, Sons of Anarchy
• Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

This is actually a pretty good list until you see they've nominated Piper Perabo for a nice enough show in a nice enough role, but ugh. Are you kidding me? Over Anna Torv? Or anyone else? Props to Moss, Margulies, and Segal though. Well earned.

Best Television Series, Comedy

• 30 Rock
• Big Bang Theory
• The Big C
• Glee
• Modern Family
• Nurse Jackie

Community not being here means this list is worth shit. Also the fact that Covert Affairs is categorized as a Drama while Nurse Jackie and The Big C are categorized as Comedies hurt my brain. Great for Big Bang Theory to get its first nomination here. This is Modern Family's award to lose, sorry Glee.

Best Actor, Comedy

• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
• Steve Carrell, The Office
• Thomas Jane, Hung
• Matt Morrison, Glee
• Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory

Yay for Emmy-winner Jim Parsons for getting his first Globe nomination! Also good for Alec Baldwin and I suppose Steve Carrell. I still don't get why people keep nominating Matthew Morrison though. I just don't.

Best Actress, Comedy

• Toni Colette, United States of Tara
• Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
• Tina Fey, 30 Rock
• Laura Linney, The Big C
• Lea Michele, Glee

Same ol', same ol' from this group. Nothing too exciting or noteworthy to talk about. I'm not unhappy any of these are nominated, it's just the same people over and over again you know? Can't even muster up enthusiasm to root for anyone.

Best Mini-Series or TV Movie

• Carlos
• Pacific
• Pillars of Earth
• Temple Gardin
• You Don't Jack

I've only seen Temple Grandin and I'm guessing that's going to win since it swept at the Emmys.

Best Actor, Mini-Series or TV Movie

• Idris Elba, Luther
• Ian McShane, Pillars of the Earth
• Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack
• Dennis Quaid, The Special Relationship
• Edgar Ramirez, Carlos

Haven't seen any of these performances, but there's a few Hollywood names up there as per usual with the HFPA. With that said, great gets for Idris Elba and Edgar Ramirez.

Best Actress, Mini-Series or TV Movie

• Hayley Atwell, Pillars of the Earth
• Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
• Judi Dench, Return to Cranford
• Romola Garai, Emma
• Jennifer Love Hewitt, The Client List

As Nathaniel points out, Judi Dench vs. Jennifer Love Hewitt? What kind of fuckery is that? Claire Danes seem to be the easy win here to go along with her Emmy win a few months back.

Best Supporting Actor

• Scott Caan, Hawaii Five-0
• Chris Colfer, Glee
• Chris Noth, The Good Wife
• Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
• David Strathairn, Temple Grandin

No Neil Patrick Harris means this list is shit. They also missed Emmy-winner Aaron Paul. With that said, however, I actually don't hate this as I initially did? I mean Caan and Noth's nominations felt forced, but the other three totally deserved it. Go Kurt!

Best Supporting Actress

• Hope Davis, The Special Relationship
• Jane Lynch, Glee
• Kelly MacDonald, Boardwalk Empire
• Julia Stiles, Dexter
• Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Jane Lynch will probably walk away with the prize, but I'm so happy to see Julia Stiles and Sofia Vergara nominated. Odd to see Emmy-winner Archie Panjabi snubbed, but she's not an established name or anything. Oh well.

Dexter Renewed For Sixth Season

[Read only if you have seen the most recent episode of Dexter. No finale spoilers, but I speculate on what's to come...]

Now what?

Sure it's doing gangbusters in the ratings for Showtime and the quality has been top-notch especially following a phenomenal season last season. Michael C. Hall is especially wonderful day in, day out as the titular character Dexter Morgan more so this season as we see how Rita's shocking death affected his whole being. We see him as a father to not only Harrison, but Rita's other children. We see him organically and beautifully move on with kindred-spirit Lumen. All of this while he continues killing those bad guys!

But I repeat my initial question, now what?

Can anyone really expect this show to go on for much longer? And when, not if, it does end, will there be any ending that satisfies everyone? Doubtful. Will other people know about his secret? Will he ever get redemption/comeuppance? Will he die? Will he be happy? What DOES it mean to be happy for him?

All of these questions are there waiting to be answered, not just for next season or the eventual series finale, but also for the upcoming season finale in a couple of days. Already Lumen's fate is all anyone can ponder about ever since she entered his life and made it better. Her death seems logical, right? Everyone who has found out about Dexter in the past have died and a few more people he cared about have also died because of his secret. Lumen is both and thus she is doomed.

But does that have to happen? Is Dexter unable to find real happiness? Of course, we have to get into the whole question "Is Dexter really happy right now with Lumen?" but I would like to believe he is. I personally feel that killing Lumen would be awfully redundant in terms of character development for Dexter and not just because I absolutely love the character and Julia Stiles. I mean how different would her death be to him especially after the deaths of Miguel Prado (partner in crime) and Rita (lover) from the last two season finales?

And then there's the issue of someone else finding out about Dexter aka his sister Debra. I can't be the only person who keeps seeing foreshadowing or even little nudges this season to point to Debra finally finding out about Dexter. If there's one person that needs to find out about his secret before the season (and definitely series) ends, it's her. Even if it doesn't happen in this year's season finale, she must find out and I'm looking forward to seeing how Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter act the HELL out of that scene.

Of course, Lumen could still survive into the next season and Debra could find out about his secret. What would that mean for Dexter and his elusive quest to fill the dark void within himself? We have at least one more season to find that out!

TV Report: Fringe, Chuck, Glee, Dexter, & Misfits

Just a couple of TV related things in my head at the moment. It includes me being excited about Fringe tonight, my thoughts on this week's episode of Glee and Chuck, my plea to the TV gods about Dexter, and my new TV obsession (Misfits).

Everyone Watch Fringe Tonight!

Every TV critic and non-critic alike who have somehow already seen tonight's episode of Fringe is freaking out about it saying how amazing it is. My level of excitement is already at an all-time high, but they better damn deliver. Not that I don't think they will since I have LOVED what they have done so far this season. But this upcoming episode seems to be the climactic resolution to the big arc started late last season, so it should be good. Apparently, it's also a good episode to jump into if you've never seen the show before, which frankly is making me freak out a bit. What does THAT mean? But if you're so inclined, it airs on FOX at the super competitive 9pm hour.

Chuck Vs. What Should They Do Now?

Just a quick note on the fall finale of Chuck. First the positives. I loved Tim Dalton and Linda Hamilton and can't wait to see them back in any capacity the show finds for them in the future. Dalton in particular flexing his comedic muscle once again (that charade scene) is probably the best thing about Chuck this season other than Morgan's character growth. With that said, I'm so over the Buy More shenanigans. Actually, I've been over them two seasons ago, so probably won't go anywhere anytime soon. Plus I found the whole "Chuck doesn't have the Intersect" storyline undeveloped, or at least a bit lacking. What did we learn from these 2-3 episodes? That he couldn't really be a spy without it because his girlfriend and everyone else had to rescue him. Yay? Plus was it just me or was the whole laptop deal a bit of a convoluted mess of a plot point?

Don't Kill Off Every Guest Star on Dexter

I haven't been talking about Dexter here, but I have been watching all season and I have been loving it. Granted the first few episodes started out slow and I'm actually hating anything that has to do with Quinn, Lindy, and LaGuerta which pretty much comprise of the B-storyline in every episode. And yet even with all of that crap, I am loving Lumen and Dexter together so much that I'm this close to declaring it my favorite season. Add in the insane Jordan Chase into the mix, and the past 2-3 episodes have just been amazing. Granted Johnny Lee Miller probably won't make it past this season, but I plead to the TV gods, DO NOT KILL LUMEN. I love Julia Stiles too much to see her go! I mean Dexter getting close to somebody and them getting killed? THAT WAS SO LAST SEASON (and the season before that and the season before that...)!

Are the Dog Days Really Over for Glee?

Not really sure what I thought about Glee's sectionals episode this year. Maybe after the Christmas episode/fall finale next week, I'll be able to take better stock on my feelings about this show. For now I want to say, that there was something missing from this episode. A certain magic, if you will, with the group. I get that the plot point was all of them being in discord with each other, but if it had cost them the win, it would make some sort of narrative sense. Instead they tied with the Warblers and even that reveal was a bit anticlimactic as even the show itself didn't dwell on the results at all. Huge props though for finally, finally putting Rachel and Kurt together as they should be, catty BFFs. They're both usually so insufferable as to be unwatchable, but together they are perfect. Rachel telling Kurt to smile from the audience is probably my favorite Rachel moment in the show's history. And speaking of favorite moments, Blaine subtly guiding Kurt on not to use hand movement during his Evita audition is one of those moments that's blink if you miss, but adds so much to the show. I'm starting to get slightly uncomfortable with how dumb the show is making Brittany to be, but her moments with Artie were still damn sweet. Then her dance moves with Mike Chang? HEAVENLY. Shuester annoyed me in the episode, but what else is new, right?

Finding Out about Misfits

I've already told you guys I have a tumblr right? Well, the people I follow there keep posting about this Brit show Misfits so I finally suck it up and COMPLETELY CAUGHT UP with it on Sunday. Not too difficult since they've only aired nine episodes. Anyway, it's kind of awesome. If you know both shows, then it's pretty much Skins meets Heroes. Quick synopsis: A group of juvenile delinquents forced together to do community service get hit by magical lightning and they now have superpowers. The cast is wonderful though I'm totally obsessing on one particular character, Simon played by Iwan Rheon. But pretty much in less than a week I went from not knowing anything about this show to feeling withdrawal symptoms about not having a new episode available RIGHT NOW. Oh the life of a TV addict.