Television right now is in a
vastly different space than it was when the 1990’s ended. Thanks to
shows like Oz and The Sopranos on HBO to House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black on Netflix, T.V. has gone through a drastic
revolution. The Golden Age of Television and the spark and cause of this
revolution is detailed in the incredible book The Revolution Was Televised
by Hitfix.com’s TV critic Alan Sepinwall. I recently wrote about the shows responsible for television’s second revolution in this current Silver Age of Television. However, during the past 16-20 years or so, television has given us
some incredible shows that haven’t risen to the level of transcendent. Mr.
Sepinwall discusses shows like Lost, The Shield, and Deadwood and I discussed shows like Game of Thrones and True
Detective. Shows that are both incredible on their own and helped define a
generation of programs. But in a tier underneath those programs are a handful of shows
that are excellent in their own right, but didn’t quite rise to the level of
revolutionary. These are the shows that we would be speaking more about if it
weren’t for the Golden and Silver Age shows. These shows deserve a lot more respect
than they’ve gotten so far, and I’m going to give them their just due.
Showing posts with label Justified. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justified. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Grading The Best TV Shows of the Year (So Far)
Community (NBC)Season: 5
Created By: Dan Harmon
Original Start Date: January 2, 2014
Grade: A
Brief Description: While I was in the minority feeling that Dan Harmon deserved to get kicked off of his own show after the atrocious Season 3, I'm glad he was brought back for Season 5. Season 4 show runners Moses Port & David Guarascio did their best Dan Harmon impression, but easily came up short creating a soulless monster. Harmon dialed back the insane extremes he took his characters to in Season 3 (mainly Abed) in this new season, and in turn created one of the smartest and funniest sitcoms around. #RIPCommunity.
Season: 1b
Created By: Dan Goor & Michael Schur
Original Start Date: January 7, 2014
Grade: A
Brief Description: Brooklyn Nine-Nine was one of the smartest and funniest sitcoms of 2014 and is competing against Community for the best comedy of the year. Like most sitcoms, it took a little bit to get its bearings and its voice straightened out, but those stumbling blocks came in 2013. What the FOX sitcom aired in 2014 was a well-defined and hilarious work of art filled with three-dimensional characters. Based upon how strong Season 1 was, I have no qualms with the rookie comedy wining the Golden Globe last year for Best Comedy Show, and I hope it gets a handful of Emmy nominations in a few weeks.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
The Best Television Episodes Of 2013
We now live in an age of television where it's more about seasons as a whole as opposed to individual episodes. That's why I had no trouble writing my top 10 list of the best television shows in 2013, but had a little bit more trouble with this list. That being said, there were some pretty great episodes in 2013- including 2 series finales to some of the all time great sitcoms. Here's my list:
Monday, December 2, 2013
The Best Television Shows of 2013
Created by: Terrence Winter
I'm a huge supporter of Boardwalk Empire, and was screaming until I was blue in the face about how excellent Season 3 of the show was. Since its inception, Boardwalk Empire has just gotten better and better. At least for the first 3 seasons. I thought Season 4 was a huge step back for the show. For starters, there was no big bad for the show's "lead" Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). Sure, Dr. Valentin Narcisse (Jeffrey Wright) was a great big bad for the show in general, however he mainly was the villain for Chalky White (Michael Kenneth Williams). And as much as I love Chalky (aka Omar from The Wire), I realized this season that I really enjoy him as a supporting player to Nucky, and I'm not a huge fan of him as a co-lead.
Boardwalk Empire has always been a show that was carried not by its lead, but by its more entertaining co-stars. And there's nothing wrong with that. Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother made excellent careers out of that dynamic. But now that many of the sub-players are in different states with little to no connection to Nucky Thompson, this show felt like more of a jumbled mess than Game of Thrones. Nucky Thompson is a pretty boring character by himself (as Season 4 has really brought to our attention), but the plot still needs to run through him for the show to work. It's still really good, but it didn't live up to its full potential in 2013.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Putting The Odds On Outstanding Drama Series Nominations For The 2013 Emmys
Before you know it, the 2013 Primetime Emmy nominations will be released, and then we will be in full television swing. I decided to get the party started with my predictions for nominations. While there have always been great and amazing shows in recent years, it seems that now more than ever, the quantity of those great shows are increasing. That is why I decided to do my odds columns of who I think will and should earn a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2013 Emmys.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
The Best Television Shows Of 2012
Created By: Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele
Brief Description: It's easy to call this show the 2012 reincarnation of Chapelle's Show, but please do not. While there are many similarities, Key and Peele's humor is smarter and their skits are more well crafted. This is one of the smartest and funniest shows on television right now.
Created By: Aaron Korsh
Brief Description: The show started off amazing as a brewing war in the Pearson Mardman law firm between current firm partner/creator Jessica Pearson and the main character Harvey versus absent firm partner/creator Daniel Hardman but ended sourly because it ended up being the predictable USA show that it is.
Created By: Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa
Brief Description: What made Season 1 of Homeland great was that it was 24 except character driven instead of plot driven. However, Season 2 (especially the latter half of it) is now full on 24 with glaring plot holes which diminishes what was an incredible rookie season for Gordon and Gansa.
7) Justified (FX) Season 3
Created By: Graham Yost
Brief Description: The show was not going to live up to its incredible second season but it sure came close. They added two new villains in Season 3 (Quarles and Limehouse) and I thought that muddled the plot because there were too many moving pieces at once. Hopefully, they'll simplify that for Season 4
Created By: Matthew Weiner
Brief Description: Despite Season 5 being extremely boring for the vast majority of it and is easily the worst Mad Men series to date, it's still Mad Men. It's still doing things other shows wouldn't dare to do and pulling them off. Despite my constant knocking of the show, there were still many amazing moments like Roger's LSD trip and the Lane Pryce story line during the second half of the season.
Created By: Elizabeth Meriwether
Brief Description: While the show took a few episodes in 2011 to figure out its characters and where they wanted to take everybody and everything, by 2012 the show was rocking on all cylinders. The show started focusing more or Schmidt and Nick which made Meriwether's good idea great.
Created By: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Brief Description: The show aired the best episodes of the year ("Blackwater") and found a way to not only be completely fascinating and mesmerizing but also found a way to focus on character development this season. The one problem I had with Season 2 is that there are so many characters all over this world and some sub-points are getting tiresome (mainly Dany and Jon Snow). I know everyone will converge eventually but right now it feels like the show is dragging its feet at times.
Created By: Terence Winter
Brief Description: "You Can't Be Half A Gangster". Words uttered by the immortal Jimmy Darmody in the show's pilot. Nucky Thompson becomes a full gangster in Season 3 which in turn causes Boardwalk Empire to turn a corner into greatness. The show found a damn good balance between character arcs versus plot points to make this season of Boardwalk the best one to date.
Created By: Michael Schur and Greg Daniels
Brief Description: Parks and Recreation is simply the best comedy on television right now. I think it's surpassing The Office for one of the greatest and recent NBC comedies. Parks and Rec have been on an amazing roll since Season 3 and have not let up on the gas pedal since.
Created By: Vince Gilligan
Brief Description: While normally a Breaking Bad season is 13 episodes long, this "half" season of Breaking Bad was only 8. That in turn affected the storytelling. Gilligan and company are amazing at spending time articulating every detail of everything but they were forced to cut corners with 5 less episodes. That in turn created the worst Breaking Bad season to date since it's first season (which was shortened by the writer's strike). That being said, it's still the greatest show ever and the best show of the year. Even a "bad" season of Breaking Bad is better than anything currently on television.
Shows That Missed The Cut
- Archer (FX): A show that just missed the cut and is 11th on my list. I probably enjoy Archer more than I do Key and Peele but Archer will go through slumps (both mid episode and mid season) and has done so throughout its three year run. I'd like to see Archer be at a higher level more consistently before I throw it on a top ten list.
- 30 Rock (NBC): I have come to grips that 30 Rock will never be as good as it was in Seasons 1-3 but it's sixth season in 2012 was excellent and easily made an argument that it deserved to make my top 10.
- Modern Family (ABC): I know I'm alone on an island on this one but I don't like Modern Family anymore. The characters and the beats of the show have become repetitive and I feel like I'm watching the same episode over and over again.
- The League (FX): Holy cow is Season 4 of The League bad. It was never a great show because it sacrificed both plot and characters for a laugh (which used to work) but now it's not even generating laughs.
- It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX): It's still great but the season is too young for me to properly judge it.
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) / The Office (NBC): One of my favorite comedies of all time and now have become completely unwatchable (I have stopped watching). Please die already.
- Glee (FOX): it was never that good of a show to begin with but with more worse plot lines (which I didn't think were possible), crappier songs, and poor handling of important teen issues, the bloom is officially off of the Glee rose.
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Sunday, March 18, 2012
My Mount Rushmore Of Television Shows
What are the four greatest seasons television programs according to me? Well I'm glad you asked.
Mad Men (AMC)- SEASON ONE
(created by Matthew Weiner)
The first season of Mad Men is like George Washington. I got into the show very early on (admittedly my mother watched the pilot episode when it originally aired, told me about it a few episodes in, I stared to get hooked, and then I realized the critics were loving it as well) and Mad Men was one of the first real dramas I watched. I know the show is very young (and due to the advent of DVD players and the internet I have been able to watch other great and classic TV shows) but Mad Man is one of my first.
What makes the first season of Mad Men so great is that you get the full complexity of Don Draper throughout the entire season. The show introduces the mystery about Dick Wittman and then actually addresses and answers it by the seasons end. Normally with a secret as deep as Dick Wittman, shows will let it linger for three or so seasons before really releasing it. Not Mad Men. The end felt so fulfilling and exhilarating (probably because show creator Matthew Weiner didn't know if he would be able to make more seasons) that the season felt complete and was great.
The reason why I think Season One is the best is because the show lets Don Draper be Don Draper. The guy's a dick and a philanderer but he's so smooth and charming and just everything you want to be as a man. Yet there's a sad and troubled undertone to him. As the show progresses- I don't want to say a different Don Draper because "different" has a false connotation that I do not wish to use- you see a more evolved Don Draper. I like the "new" Don Draper and Season Four- which shows a completely different Don than the first three seasons- is my second favorite season of Mad Men but the character that I saw Jon Hamm play in the shows first season will always be my favorite and what makes the first season of Mad Men so great.
Breaking Bad (AMC)- SEASON THREE
(created by Vince Gilligan)
Breaking Bad is like Abraham Lincoln. I just saw the show within the past four weeks (like how Lincoln came later than some other presidents on the monument) and it was amazing. Season 3 of Breaking Bad is probably my favorite single season of television ever (just like many consider Lincoln to be the greatest president ever).
Choosing my favorite season of Breaking Bad was tough. Season One is out because it was only seven episodes and we really just see the beginning of Walter White (Gilligan said he wanted to turn Mr. Chips into Scarface). Well we really don't see a whole lot of Scarface in Season 1. Season Two is out because the beginning of the season was so tough and so hard for me to get through that I almost stopped watching the series. While the end of Season Two is amazing, I have to judge seasons in their entirety. Plus, the mystery of the flashforward and the burning purple doll in the pool and such was a left turn and a bold and daring choice by Gilligan and crew but the reveal was ultimately kind of upsetting.
Therefore it came down to (obviously) Seasons 3 and 4 and what it really came down to was Jesse Pinkman. The first half of Pinkman in Season 4 was not that fun to watch. I understand why the show took the character there (they had to after what Jesse did in the finale of Season 3) but I have to judge seasons as a whole and I enjoyed Jesse throughout ALL of Season 3 versus only part of him in Season 4.
Season Three of Breaking Bad follows former Chemistry genius-turned high school Chemistry teacher-turned meth cook Walter White and his former student-turned dropout-turned meth dealer protoge Jesse Pinkman. While Walter White cooks the best meth in all of the Southwest he and Jesse have problems finding a distributor. The two man cook team struggled to find one throughout the first two seasons but their search to find one in Season Three is the most entertaining.
Season Three also introduced the duo's lawyer Saul Goodman (played by the comic great Bob Odenkirk). Saul is meant to add comic levity and it is much needed to help ease the tension for the rest of the show. Part of the problem with Season Two was that it was TOO tense and hard for me to watch but Saul Goodman helped change that. Saul also helps Walter and Jesse navigate through uncharted waters of the meth game which turned into a nice change of pace from the other three seasons.
The Wire (HBO)- SEASON ONE
(created by David Simon)
The first season of The Wire is like Thomas Jefferson, it's the show I saw in between Mad Men (George Washington) and Breaking Bad (Abraham Lincoln) and while it's great (like Jefferson) it's also not the first season that comes to mind when asked "What's your favorite television series?" (like Jefferson- although substitute "television series" with "President")
Most people consider Season Four of The Wire not only The Wire's greatest season but one of the greatest seasons ever but I disagree with them. The reason is because I get invested in characters and while many consider Omar the best character on The Wire, my personal favorite has always been Avon's #2 man Stringer Bell.
The Wire follows around the city of Baltimore. Season One focuses on the gangs of Balitmore and the cops trying to catch the big men in charge of the gang. The show's "main" character is detective Jimmy McNulty and his "rag tag team" and trying not only to identity Avon (the head of the main gang in Baltimore) but take him down.
Season Two builds on Season One but Simon took a bold left turn and the main focus of the season turns to the docks of Baltimore (although you do find out the connection between the dock and the Baltimore gangs).
Season Three turns its focus back to the gangs versus the cops but it adds the political side of Baltimore- mainly up and comer Tommy Carcetti and adds a new gang to rival Avon- led by Marlo. I never liked Marlo. Mainly because he is (purposefully) a stark contradiction to Avon and especially my boy Stringer Bell. In Season One you see Bell go to business school at night. Stringer Bell takes the realistic approach to how to run the gang like what was shown in Freakonomics and Gang Leader For A Day. But Marlo is a pure street vicious S.O.B. Marlo is probably very realistic to how gangs operate but as a character I just disliked him. At least with Avon and Bell you loved to hate them. With Marlo I just hated him.
Season Four drew the focus back to the gangs but emphasized how kids were effected by gang culture. Most fans of the show loved Season Four because of this. As Hitfix.com's Alan Sepinwall stated, it's a whole 'nother game when you turn your attention to the kids (I'm paraphrasing). But as a man who got drawn into characters, mainly Stringer Bell, I was disappointed in Season Four with the de-emphasis on the adult leaders of the gang and I did not get to see as much of Bell as I would have liked to.
Season Five built upon ALL the characters and plot lines of the first three seasons but added how the news and media affects everything.
The choice for me came down to Season One or Season Three. I really liked the Hamsterdam plot line of Season Three (You just have to see the show to understand Hamsterdam) and the huge role Stringer Bell played but it's that damned Marlo kid and his whole plot line that made Season One of The Wire my favorite season of the show.
Justified (FX)- SEASON TWO
(created by Graham Yost)
Justified is like Teddy Roosevelt. You know it's technically eligible but you're not quite sure what it's doing among the others. However, Justified is one of my personal favorite shows, and its second season might be the most fun you'll have watching a television season.
Based upon the short story "Fire In The Hole", Justified was supposed to be a procedural show about U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and about how he chases a different outlaw bad guy ever week. The first season was pretty much that format, and it was fine, but it felt like a slicker version of a CBS show.
Then Justified took the leap in Season 2, both creatively and structurally. The show became more serialized and introduced one of the greatest Heavys in television history- Mags Bennett played by the incomparable character actress Margo Martindale. Martindale ended up winning an Emmy for her work on the show, and it is not difficult to see why. Similar to how The Joker made The Dark Knight the instant classic that it is, Mags Bennett did the same to season two of Justified. She was both dark and evil, yet full of charisma and charm. With her three sons, Coover, Doyle, and Dickie, Mags Bennett ruled Harlan County with an iron fist and warm bottle of her apple pie moonshine.
The second half of the show's second season was a pure adrenaline rush as the show pit Raylan vs. the Bennett family vs. the show's main antagonist Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins). It was a white-knuckle roller coaster ride that you never wanted to end. Ultimately, you knew the protagonist U.S. Marshall was going to win out, but you just didn't know how. It was that thrill factor that made the show so entertaining that why the second season of Justified is one the greatest seasons of television of all time. According to me.
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(created by Matthew Weiner)
The first season of Mad Men is like George Washington. I got into the show very early on (admittedly my mother watched the pilot episode when it originally aired, told me about it a few episodes in, I stared to get hooked, and then I realized the critics were loving it as well) and Mad Men was one of the first real dramas I watched. I know the show is very young (and due to the advent of DVD players and the internet I have been able to watch other great and classic TV shows) but Mad Man is one of my first.
What makes the first season of Mad Men so great is that you get the full complexity of Don Draper throughout the entire season. The show introduces the mystery about Dick Wittman and then actually addresses and answers it by the seasons end. Normally with a secret as deep as Dick Wittman, shows will let it linger for three or so seasons before really releasing it. Not Mad Men. The end felt so fulfilling and exhilarating (probably because show creator Matthew Weiner didn't know if he would be able to make more seasons) that the season felt complete and was great.
The reason why I think Season One is the best is because the show lets Don Draper be Don Draper. The guy's a dick and a philanderer but he's so smooth and charming and just everything you want to be as a man. Yet there's a sad and troubled undertone to him. As the show progresses- I don't want to say a different Don Draper because "different" has a false connotation that I do not wish to use- you see a more evolved Don Draper. I like the "new" Don Draper and Season Four- which shows a completely different Don than the first three seasons- is my second favorite season of Mad Men but the character that I saw Jon Hamm play in the shows first season will always be my favorite and what makes the first season of Mad Men so great.
(created by Vince Gilligan)
Breaking Bad is like Abraham Lincoln. I just saw the show within the past four weeks (like how Lincoln came later than some other presidents on the monument) and it was amazing. Season 3 of Breaking Bad is probably my favorite single season of television ever (just like many consider Lincoln to be the greatest president ever).
Choosing my favorite season of Breaking Bad was tough. Season One is out because it was only seven episodes and we really just see the beginning of Walter White (Gilligan said he wanted to turn Mr. Chips into Scarface). Well we really don't see a whole lot of Scarface in Season 1. Season Two is out because the beginning of the season was so tough and so hard for me to get through that I almost stopped watching the series. While the end of Season Two is amazing, I have to judge seasons in their entirety. Plus, the mystery of the flashforward and the burning purple doll in the pool and such was a left turn and a bold and daring choice by Gilligan and crew but the reveal was ultimately kind of upsetting.
Therefore it came down to (obviously) Seasons 3 and 4 and what it really came down to was Jesse Pinkman. The first half of Pinkman in Season 4 was not that fun to watch. I understand why the show took the character there (they had to after what Jesse did in the finale of Season 3) but I have to judge seasons as a whole and I enjoyed Jesse throughout ALL of Season 3 versus only part of him in Season 4.
Season Three of Breaking Bad follows former Chemistry genius-turned high school Chemistry teacher-turned meth cook Walter White and his former student-turned dropout-turned meth dealer protoge Jesse Pinkman. While Walter White cooks the best meth in all of the Southwest he and Jesse have problems finding a distributor. The two man cook team struggled to find one throughout the first two seasons but their search to find one in Season Three is the most entertaining.
Season Three also introduced the duo's lawyer Saul Goodman (played by the comic great Bob Odenkirk). Saul is meant to add comic levity and it is much needed to help ease the tension for the rest of the show. Part of the problem with Season Two was that it was TOO tense and hard for me to watch but Saul Goodman helped change that. Saul also helps Walter and Jesse navigate through uncharted waters of the meth game which turned into a nice change of pace from the other three seasons.
(created by David Simon)
The first season of The Wire is like Thomas Jefferson, it's the show I saw in between Mad Men (George Washington) and Breaking Bad (Abraham Lincoln) and while it's great (like Jefferson) it's also not the first season that comes to mind when asked "What's your favorite television series?" (like Jefferson- although substitute "television series" with "President")
Most people consider Season Four of The Wire not only The Wire's greatest season but one of the greatest seasons ever but I disagree with them. The reason is because I get invested in characters and while many consider Omar the best character on The Wire, my personal favorite has always been Avon's #2 man Stringer Bell.
The Wire follows around the city of Baltimore. Season One focuses on the gangs of Balitmore and the cops trying to catch the big men in charge of the gang. The show's "main" character is detective Jimmy McNulty and his "rag tag team" and trying not only to identity Avon (the head of the main gang in Baltimore) but take him down.
Season Two builds on Season One but Simon took a bold left turn and the main focus of the season turns to the docks of Baltimore (although you do find out the connection between the dock and the Baltimore gangs).
Season Three turns its focus back to the gangs versus the cops but it adds the political side of Baltimore- mainly up and comer Tommy Carcetti and adds a new gang to rival Avon- led by Marlo. I never liked Marlo. Mainly because he is (purposefully) a stark contradiction to Avon and especially my boy Stringer Bell. In Season One you see Bell go to business school at night. Stringer Bell takes the realistic approach to how to run the gang like what was shown in Freakonomics and Gang Leader For A Day. But Marlo is a pure street vicious S.O.B. Marlo is probably very realistic to how gangs operate but as a character I just disliked him. At least with Avon and Bell you loved to hate them. With Marlo I just hated him.
Season Four drew the focus back to the gangs but emphasized how kids were effected by gang culture. Most fans of the show loved Season Four because of this. As Hitfix.com's Alan Sepinwall stated, it's a whole 'nother game when you turn your attention to the kids (I'm paraphrasing). But as a man who got drawn into characters, mainly Stringer Bell, I was disappointed in Season Four with the de-emphasis on the adult leaders of the gang and I did not get to see as much of Bell as I would have liked to.
Season Five built upon ALL the characters and plot lines of the first three seasons but added how the news and media affects everything.
The choice for me came down to Season One or Season Three. I really liked the Hamsterdam plot line of Season Three (You just have to see the show to understand Hamsterdam) and the huge role Stringer Bell played but it's that damned Marlo kid and his whole plot line that made Season One of The Wire my favorite season of the show.
(created by Graham Yost)
Justified is like Teddy Roosevelt. You know it's technically eligible but you're not quite sure what it's doing among the others. However, Justified is one of my personal favorite shows, and its second season might be the most fun you'll have watching a television season.
Based upon the short story "Fire In The Hole", Justified was supposed to be a procedural show about U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and about how he chases a different outlaw bad guy ever week. The first season was pretty much that format, and it was fine, but it felt like a slicker version of a CBS show.
Then Justified took the leap in Season 2, both creatively and structurally. The show became more serialized and introduced one of the greatest Heavys in television history- Mags Bennett played by the incomparable character actress Margo Martindale. Martindale ended up winning an Emmy for her work on the show, and it is not difficult to see why. Similar to how The Joker made The Dark Knight the instant classic that it is, Mags Bennett did the same to season two of Justified. She was both dark and evil, yet full of charisma and charm. With her three sons, Coover, Doyle, and Dickie, Mags Bennett ruled Harlan County with an iron fist and warm bottle of her apple pie moonshine.
The second half of the show's second season was a pure adrenaline rush as the show pit Raylan vs. the Bennett family vs. the show's main antagonist Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins). It was a white-knuckle roller coaster ride that you never wanted to end. Ultimately, you knew the protagonist U.S. Marshall was going to win out, but you just didn't know how. It was that thrill factor that made the show so entertaining that why the second season of Justified is one the greatest seasons of television of all time. According to me.
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