Oh, here we go. I watch a lot more TV than I go to the
movies and I agree with the argument that TV is better quality than the movies
these days since there are shows I will not miss but very few movies that I
have to see immediately. Here’s the best of what I saw in 2013. (There are a
few shows that would score high on this list, such as Mad Men and Veep but I’m
still catching up and didn’t see a 2013 episode of either.)
9. The Goldbergs. I find The Goldbergs to be delightful with the
great touch of ending every episode with the actual ‘80s home videos from the
show’s creator that portray what the episode recalled. The show is more than
just a greatest hits parade of ‘80s kitsch since the family dynamics have an emotional
truth that transcends the decade. At first the anachronisms bothered me as the
show mixed up cultural touchstones from different points in the decade but I
realized they don’t matter because that’s how families remember things: We
don’t always remember what year something happened and events get all mixed up
in time.
8. American Horror Story: Coven. I will
have to wait until the series ends to see what point it might be trying to get
at. The show is worth it to watch Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates
chew scenery.
7. The Walking Dead. I finally gave in
and started watching, despite my disinterest in zombies. We just finished
season 3, which notably improved on season 2’s torpor at the farm. I was happy
to see the season end with Rick realizing how cold he’d become to strangers and
letting some Woodbury people stay at the prison. When the world is overrun with
zombies, humans can’t afford to go killing (or not trying to save) what few
humans are left, not without a really compelling reason.
6. House of Cards. This show was a fun,
campy potboiler. I don’t know enough about the inner workings of politics to
know if it’s realistic but one thing I do question is why Kevin Spacey would
leave the gorgeous, commanding Robin Wright to have an affair with annoying,
ferret-faced Kate Mara. I assume season 2 will be about Spacey’s fragile power
falling like the titular house of cards, given the awful thing he did in season
1, which I’m sure won’t stay a secret for long.
5. Parks and Recreation. I guess NBC
will just show this sporadically whenever it wants between reruns of Ow! My Balls! or whatever’s on that
network now. Parks and Rec, despite
not quite being able to hit the delirious high notes of seasons 3 and 4, is
still a riot. I am happy to see the characters’ situations evolving, with
Leslie being recalled from council and Ann and Chris leaving Pawnee.
4. The Middle. This show is criminally
underrated and gives me the loudest laughs of any sitcoms on TV. Not since Roseanne has a sitcom taking such a
bracing look at what the lower middle class has to go through to survive. The
cast is absolutely stellar.
3. Orange Is the New Black. Speaking of
a stellar cast, I’ve never seen one like this incredibly diverse group of women
prisoners. This show was a little picaresque for me at first and didn’t lead to
urgent viewing until the last few episodes really moved the plot along. The
best part of this show is the sympathetic back stories that so many of the
women get and I need many more of these back stories, including for characters
like Taystee, Poussey and the nun. The characters are much more than easy
caricatures, which I saw clearly in the heartbreaking scene when bug-eyed
Suzanne asked Piper why everyone calls her Crazy Eyes.
2. The Americans. Oh God I can’t wait until this show returns in
February. It is an absolutely riveting, pulpy look at Soviet spies in America
in the early ‘80s. The spies not only go on thrilling missions but also have to
deal with their ambivalence toward their marriage and ostensible American citizenship.
The most thrilling moment all season was a rightfully enraged Keri Russell
beating the hell out of Margo Martindale, waterboarding her and screaming “Show
them your face!” Then there are all the ‘80s wigs, costumes and music. Tusk!
1. Breaking Bad. People who know me are
probably sick of hearing me proselytize about this show but Breaking Bad is one of those rare
cultural phenomena that deserves the universal, sometimes hysterical praise it
gets. I thought the series kept getting better and by season 5, it had earned
its title as my favorite show of all time. The series climaxed with the perfect
episode of television, “Ozymandias,” and wound down with two hours of
denouement that actually did tie up most of the loose ends and gave Walter
White a poetic ending. This show was a rare combination of staggering levels of
acting, writing and direction.
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