6 Great Shows That Had The Revolution Pass Them By

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.

The 14 Best TV Shows of 2014

Television programs and programming is in a weird place right now. The Golden Age of Television is long gone (although its official death came when Breaking Bad ended last year) and in its wake we're seeing a huge crop of quality TV shows from a variety of different sources. Yet despite the gross number of quality programming, there isn't a show like The Sopranos or Breaking Bad anymore. Hell, there isn't even a Lost anymore. You'd think with more traditional and non-traditional service providers cropping up that at least one of them would give us The Next Big Thing, but it hasn't happened yet. Instead, what we're left with is a shit ton of really-good-but-not-Holy-Shit-amazing shows. While the "Top 14 of 14" sounds like a gimmick, it's sort of not. There's just that much good television shows to talk about that I need to expand my list beyond a Top 10, but I had a difficult time going past 14. So without further ado, here is my list of The 14 Best TV Shows of 2014:

5 Biggest 2014 Primetime Emmy Snubs

I recently wrote a post for the 2014 MLB All Star Game and who was snubbed. In that post, I mentioned my definition for a snub and how there's two parts to being considered a true snub. I'm going to borrow that definition and tweak it for this particular post. The first part to being considered an Emmy snub is that you have to have done incredible work to deserve being nominated in this first place. This first part of the definition is obvious, but it is not the only criteria. While The Internet may believe it to be so, there's one more aspect to being considered an Emmy snub. The second part of the definition, is that the Emmy's needed to have been aware of the show/performance, and reasonable minds needed to have predicted that a nomination was evident. In the aftermath of the nominations being announced, many articles were written about how Keri Russell from The Americans should have gotten a nomination. However, Keri Russell is not a snub. While she may fit the first part of the definition, she absolutely does not fit the second part of the definition. You may enjoy The Americans and believed its second season was Emmy worthy, but it was a show that Emmy voters were not even remotely aware of as evidenced by the fact that the show only received one nomination- and that was for Emmy darling Margo Martindale's guest performance. In a world dominated by a litany of great TV, Emmy voters just can't watch it all, and The Americans was just a show they missed. So now that you know the definition of what makes up a snub, here is the list for the 6 Biggest 2014 Primetime Emmy Snubs:

Rian Johnson (Breaking Bad)
Outstanding Direction in a Comedy Series

Rian Johnson is a decently well known film director (Looper, Brick) who is now in charge of Star Wars Episodes 8 & 9. He is also the director of many Breaking Bad episodes including Fifty-One and Fly. Johnson is also the director of probably the greatest Breaking Bad episode ever made: "Ozymandias". The final 8 Breaking Bad episodes are eligible this Emmy period, and "Ozymandias" was episode 6 of 8, and in my mind, the true season finale with Episodes 7 & 8 being the epilogue to the show. It included two of the greatest scenes ever these past 12 months including the aftermath of the Nazi shoot out in the desert, and the scene where Jesse and Flynn fight back against Walt. In fact, the latter was so good, that Entertainment Weekly named it as The Single Greatest Television Scene of 2013.

Breaking Bad is clearly a show that Emmy voters watch. It's currently the reigning champion of the Outstanding Drama Series category, Bryan Cranston has three Emmy's, Aaron Paul had two, and Anna Gunn, has one. Even worse, the writer of "Ozymandias", Moira Walley-Beckett, earned an Emmy nomination for writing the episode. While that nomination was extremely well-deserved, it's astonishing that the director wasn't rewarded as well. Even worse, Downton Abbey and House of Cards each earned a directing nomination this year. I don't know how any rational human being can suggest that an episode of House of Cards or Downton Abbey is better than Breaking Bad's "Ozymandias".

Dean Norris (Breaking Bad)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Speaking of Breaking Bad, let's move right along to Dean Norris. For the past two years, Breaking Bad has had two actors nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category, Aaron Paul and someone else. Two years ago it was Paul and Giancarlo Esposito for his incredible work as Gus Fring. Last year, it was Paul and the stoically brilliant Jonathan Banks for his work as Mike Ehrmantrout. This year, it seemed inevitable that Aaron Paul's Breaking Bad Emmy buddy was going to be Dean Norris. Not only did Norris' Hank Schaeder have a more prominent role in the final 8 episodes of Breaking Bad, but he's been so damn good throughout the series' run, including the eligible episodes, that his nomination seemed inevitable. I predicted he was going to earn a nomination, GoldDerby predicted he was going to earn a nomination, and Hitfix's Daniel Feinberg had Norris ranked 5th on his Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series power rankings. Yet come nomination time, we have the likes of Downton Abbey's Jim Carter (who was barely in the terrible 4th season of the show) and Josh Charles from The Good Wife earn nominations over Dean Norris.

10 "Quick" Reactions to the 2014 Primetime Emmy Nominations

1) Modern Family

Holy cow, I don't think anyone saw this coming as Modern Family took a huge blow this year (or at least a huge blow according to its expectations). Again, two-time winner Eric Stonestreet fails to earn a nomination, but Sophia Vergara and Ed O'Neill join him. Only Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Julie Bowen earn a main acting nomination for their work on the show. The show also only earned one Outstanding Direction nomination (see, high standards, it normally gets at least two), and failed to earn any writing nominations. While the show itself was still nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, it lost a lot of nominations in 2014, and I suspect Modern Family is going to come up lame come award time.

2) Game of Thrones

While Modern Family is trending downwards, Game of Thrones is trending upwards. For those who said the Emmy's hate Game of Thrones is just absurd, considering the show had three Outstanding Drama Series nominations and Peter Dinklage is a former winner from the show. Not only does the show itself and Peter Dinklage earn another nomination this year, but this time they're joined by Lena Headly. Last year, Emilia Clarke earned a nomination in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category, and this time it's Headley. It's nice to see other actors other than Dinklage get rewarded for their work on the show. Game of Thrones also earned an Outstanding Direction nomination for Neil Marshall for his work on the penultimate episode "The Watchers on the Wall" (although I would have preferred if it went to Alex Graves) and creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss earned a writing nomination for their work on the finale "The Children" (although I suspect it's for their work on the show as a whole).

2014 Weekly TV Recap (June 29 - July 5)

CURRENT SHOWS AIRING

Tuesday July 1

Tyrant (FX), Episode 2 "State of Emergency"

GRADE: C-

Brief Description: There is absolutely nothing compelling about "Tyrant"- which just goes to show you what poor writing this show has considering a dude got his dick bit off and a terrorist attack happened during this young season. Tyrant should be awesome and a man's man show; I mean what guy doesn't love "The Godfather"? Yet, I went through all of "State of Emergency" searching the internet on my phone and not paying attention to the episode. I've seen a lot of posts on the internet (from some very credible critics) hating on lead Adam Raynor's acting, and I don't think he's terrible in the least, but he's certainly not doing anything to draw me in either, and he's certainly no Al Pacino as Michael Corleone. I think the real problem with the show is that there isn't a single well-developed character, and everybody is just a two-dimensional stereotype. That means you don't care about any plot points, and you certainly don't care about any political message the show tries to deliver. Tyrant is produced by Howard Gordon who also produces Homeland, and Tyrant feels like another poor, terrible extension of what Homeland is now.

2014 Emmy Predictions and Hopefuls: Outstanding Drama Series

Recently, the Emmy's released every person and show eligible in all of their categories for the 2014 Primetime Emmy's for their nomination ballot. This post is dedicated to everything related to Outstanding Drama Series category. It will be both who I think will actually earn a nomination as well as who I think deserves to earn a nomination. However, there is one main ground rule- I have to go off of the actual Emmy nomination ballot. Which means that if the series isn't actually eligible to earn a nomination in real life, then it's not eligible to be mentioned in this post. Makes sense, doesn't it? Let's begin!

DRAMA

WHO I THINK WILL GET A NOMINATION:

- Breaking Bad (AMC)
- Downton Abbey (PBS)
- Game of Thrones (HBO)
- House of Cards (Netflix)
- Mad Men (AMC)
- True Detective (HBO)

2014 Emmy Power Rankings (Drama)

Last Monday, the Emmy's released their nomination ballot for their voters to vote on. It's a comprehensive list of every single person and show that is eligible in each particular category. This list right here is a Power Rankings of the top contenders in each particular category and how I believe the nominations will play out in a month. Who do I think will get a nomination? Who do I think is in the running but will come up just short? How many major nominations will your favorite show get? Find out when you check out our 2014 Emmy Power Rankings for Drama Series:


OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

1) Breaking Bad (AMC)
2) True Detective (HBO)
3) Mad Men (AMC)
4) Downton Abbey (PBS)
5) Game of Thrones (HBO)
6) House of Cards (Netflix)
_______________

7) Masters of Sex (Showtime)
8) The Good Wife (CBS)
9) Homeland (Showtime)
10) Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR

1) Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
2) Matthew McConaughey (True Detective)
3) Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom)
4) Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
5) Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey)
6) Kevin Spacey (House of Cards)
_____________________

7) Woody Harrelson (True Detective)
8) Martin Sheen (Masters of Sex)
9) Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire)
10) James Spader (The Blacklist)
11) Damien Lewis (Homeland)


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS

1) Claire Danes (Homeland)
2) Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men)
3) Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey)
4) Connie Britton (Nashville)
5) Kerry Washington (Scandal)
6) Robin Wright (House of Cards)
7) Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex)
_________________________

8) Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
9) Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel)
10) Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black)

2014 TV Weekly Recap (May 25 - May 31)

CURRENT SHOWS AIRING

Sunday May 25

Mad Men (AMC), Episode 7 "Waterloo"

EPISODE GRADE: A

SEASON GRADE: B

Brief Description: HBO has consistently refused to air episodes during the Memorial Day break, so there's no Game of Thrones or Silicon Valley this week. That's perfect, because it will give me more time to discuss Mad Men, both Sunday's episode and the season as a whole. First, the good with "Waterloo"

"No man has ever come back from leave, not even Napoleon. He staged a coup, but he still ended back on that island." -Bert Cooper-

For some reason other TV critics have been using "Bravo" as the Bert Cooper line to describe "Waterloo." While Bertram Cooper's last Mad Men was an excellent episode with some lovely parting words (and a weird as hell song in the end. I don't care what everyone else says, that song was out of place and not right), this show has always been about Don Draper. As much as we want to make it about Peggy Olson, we still compare her amazing Burger Chef speech to the one Don Draper gave during "The Wheel". Don's marriage has officially ended (although we all know that wouldn't last. "Does she know you only like the beginnings of things!") but his professional career in New York is thriving, alive, and well. For now. This will only end one way for Don Draper, and it won't be good. Whether you want to Sunday's episode a "mid season finale" or the end of Mad Men in 2014, we'll just have to wait one more year to see how this incredible show ends and how the 1960's officially has affected everyone we love.

However, as great as "Waterloo" was, that doesn't make up for just a sub par season Mad Mad has had this year. The show ended on two excellent episodes, but that doesn't make up for the other average episodes in aired earlier in the year. The reason "Waterloo" and "The Strategy" worked so well was because it gave us character moments from the characters we actually wanted to see. Now Matthew Weiner has said the first half of every season is just meant to set up the second half, so maybe this first season will be good in the sense that Season 7b in 2015 will be amazing. However, you have to call a spade "a spade", and Season 7a was fine, but boring and dull at most points.

2014 Weekly TV Recap (May 18 - 24)

CURRENT SHOWS AIRING

Sunday May 18

Game of Thrones (HBO), Episode 7 "Mockingbird"

GRADE: B+

Brief Description: "Mockingbird" is the bridge between the excellent "The Laws of Gods and Men" (aka the Trial of Tyrion Lannister) and whatever bombshell the show decided to drop upon us soon during the Season 4 penultimate episode. So as a result, there was no reason to expect "Mockingbird" to be as great as it was. Was it as good as last week's episode? Not at all, but it doesn't have to be. While this episode mainly exists as a set up to the Trial By Combat between Oberyn Martell and The Mountain, we still get many fantastic moments like the two scenes where Jamie and Bronn visit Tyrion, the monologue why The Hound is afraid of fire, and, oh yeah, the scene where Mayor Carcetti drops Lysa out of the Moon Roof. 

Mad Men (AMC), Episode 6 "The Strategy"

GRADE: A

Brief Description: The very ending shot of "The Strategy" was just brilliant. Don and Peggy are sitting on one side of the table acting as the de facto Mother and Father while Pete Campbell sits on the other side of the table, getting sauce all over his face, acting as the de facto child. The camera then pans away from this "family" and the shot looks like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. This shot was so incredible because for all the talk about family in this episode and considering the nuclear family for each one of these characters is either failing (Don) or already dead (Pete) or non-existent (Peggy), these characters are a family. These characters are why we (or at least I) tune in every week. Peggy discusses (over drinks of course) about the idea of what exactly a family is and how it doesn't exist anymore. In 2014, we think back to this area and probably think about Leave It To Beaver. But the family that the advertising world portrays (both then and now) never truly existed. Each family is different and unique. That's what makes Mad Men so unique as well. The 1960's aren't a cliche and they certainly didn't happen the way we think it did to every single person. The counter culture certainly affected many people, but there's always been people like Don Draper who will never change as the culture does. By far and away "The Strategy" was the best episode Mad Men has done this season.

Silicon Valley (HBO), Episode 7 "Proof of Concept"
GRADE: C+

Brief Description: I have the firm belief that no matter how good a final episode is, it can't change the way I feel about the season as a whole. A great season can have a terrible finale (i.e. Season 1 of Homeland) and a terrible season can have a great finale (i.e. Season 2 of House of Cards). The last episode is irrelevant because you watch a television series as a whole, not just for one episode. It's about the journey, not the destination. With that in mind and having watched 7 of the first 8 episodes of Silicon Valley, I have decided that I will no longer be watching the show anymore. I have seen what the show is and how it works, and it's frankly not for me. I can't stand the main character and there's just not enough jokes to make me want to come back to it. I'll watch the finale of Silicon Valley, and it could be great (in fact, I hope it is), but that will be the last episode I watch.


Tuesday May 20

Fargo (FX), Episode 6 "Buridan's Ass"
GRADE: A

Brief Description: Buridan's Ass is a paradox about free will. In the paradox, a donkey is dying of both hunger and thirst. It is placed equidistant between a bundle of hey and a pale of water. Since the donkey can't rationally choose which foodstuff to go towards first, the donkey dies. While this week of Fargo doesn't even remotely make it clear how this scenario relates to the show, I'd like to think that there's just a greater force in this fictional universe that no matter what you think you can do, your fate is already decided for you and you're going to die anyway because of it. However, after thinking about it for four days, the only conclusion that I can come up with is that Molly is Buridan's Ass. She's the only character that has to choose between two needs, in her case, being a damn good cop and making sure Lester Nygaard gets brought to justice. Last week we saw Molly illegally break into Lester's place in an attempt to find the hammer Lester used to kill his wife, and I think that was the last straw. Therefore, with Molly's inability to choose between her two needs, she dies. In terms of storytelling, Molly needs to be the hero to bring both Lester and Molvo to justice. And actress Allison Tolman strongly insinuated to Grantland earlier this week that Molly lives, but I worry that my worst fear has come true, and Gus Grimly did kill Molly.

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.