I’m overall pretty disappointed with this television season. I got spoiled last year with the final season of many of my favorite shows as well as with plenty of breakout hits. This year didn’t have that. I struggled to watched some of the more “acclaimed” series and a few of my old favorites really struggled to stay creative. Minus Raising Hope I don’t think I really grew attached to any other network shows and this year, more than ever, I found myself looking at cable and international broadcasts. It isn’t a surprise that the cable networks are becoming increasingly more popular, they are allowed a lot more freedom than their network counterparts. But it is the same old story every year and isn’t that interesting to write about…in how many articles do I need to write that network television is dying and at a faster rate?  Next year and even this summer promise bigger and better things but first we have to get through this spring television.

Note: I’m doing away with individual network discussion. I already talk about them as much as I can in the network upfronts. It is just too tiring writing the same things about NBC, ABC, FOX, and CBS all while ignoring the CW again and again. I’m trying to find a new way to do things and make these more articles more fun for me to write.

Downton Abbey Series 1

This show is brilliant. I’m fascinated and obsessed with it. I never thought I would be but it completely captivated me. I’ve found myself listening to the soundtrack, tracking the Blu Ray price, and trying to introduce people to it on Netflix. It is that amazing. I will have to rewatch the first series before the second one debuts just to refresh myself. Again I never thought I would get into this. It is a period piece set in early 1900s England. Doesn’t really sound that fascinating right? Well it is clever and smart and the characters are extremely well developed. Everyone has their role and every storyline is intriguing. Before I go on I have to talk about Maggie Smith. I know she is a tremendous actress but I have even more respect for her now. She is a brilliant actor and something out of our time. We really need to enjoy her work before she leaves us. They give her all of the good one liners. The rest of the cast is just as fascinating and add their own bit to the series. Hugh Bonneville plays Robert Crawley and is just trying to keep the Abbey in his families possession all while dealing with his wife and daughters who all have their own ideas on how to save the Abbey or how to live their own life. On top of that most Downton’s staff have their own lives. If we aren’t with the Crawley’s we are watching the cruel Thomas cause havoc in the house or O’Brien trying to secure her place in the house. It is also hard not to fall in love with Daisy the kitchen maid or the struggles of Mrs. Hughes. It is hard not to like the entire cast. I’m hooked on Downton Abbey and any fan of British television will enjoy it. Any fan of serialized dramas should definitely watch it.

Portlandia Season 1

Portlandia started out extremely strong and I fell in love with the world that Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein were creating. It was clever and original and definitely this great little obscure show. It was filled with guest stars and just seemed like something that hadn’t quite been done on television. I liked how it was edited and I like how it referred to sketches in previous episodes. I was also extremely happy it was renewed for a longer second season. But the last two episodes got really weird and were devoid of laugh out loud moments. It was a little jarring and I didn’t enjoy them as much. It was still Portlandia with the same crazy characters but it was missing the charm of the first four episodes. There weren’t any “Dream of the 90’s” moments and that was too bad. When the show continues I would love it if they focused what made the show so great in the first four episodes. I fear that a longer season will actually hurt the show. Some of their ideas were stretched pretty thin by the end of it. But I think it is doable. Just while writing this I got a little excited for a second season and desperately want to go back and visit the first season again…and put a decorative little bird on it.

Episodes Season 1

I didn’t care much for Episodes until the final three episodes. It wasn’t coming together for me and I wasn’t to fond of Sean or Beverly. I didn’t like how it was plot out. It didn’t seem aimless but it just felt under developed. At the time I felt like there were other shows that had the same premise but did a much better job at it. I was disappointed in myself for not liking it at first. It just wasn’t going to work out and I thought about dropping it completely. But things kind of started coming together in the fifth episode and the first season had a great little ending that left me wanting more. Beverly gets upset with Sean thinking that he had feelings for Pucks! star Morning. So she ends up sleeping with Matt LeBlanc. Sean finds out and he gets pissed off. All three of them are arguing when they find out that Pucks! was picked up for a first season. It was an interesting little love triangle that showed up at the ending and I felt like it finally gave the characters something to do besides complain about Los Angeles (because it is so easy to complain about Los Angeles). I was surprised it got picked up at for a second series but the last few episodes left me intrigued.

Law and Order UK Series 3 and 4

Unfortunately this kind of lost my interest and I watched it just to watch it. I felt like the show got stronger and became intriguing but I found my interest waning. Don’t get me wrong it was really solid and everyone from Jamie Bamber to Freema Agyeman are fantastic actors and a few of the episodes captivated my attention. But if you frequently read this blog you know me. I like the serialized dramas much more than the case of the week (unless there is a sci fi aspect). So I would highly recommend this show to anyone who likes the Law and Order Franchise. The UK version has a fresh take on old Law and Order scripts and there are some phenomenal moments from Ben Daniels. Usually if I lost interest in an episode Ben Daniels drew me back in with a riveting monologue to end his case. However I probably won’t be watching the fifth series which is set to debut in August. I just don’t put enough time into it and it isn’t something I’ll feel like I’m missing but I’m glad I got to see these first four series. Again a solid show just “not my cup of tea.”

Top Shot Season 2

Clearly Top Shot Season 2 was to Top Shot 1 as Survivor Australia was to Survivor Borneo. The players were learning how to play the strategic part of the game but it still hasn’t quite reached its full potential. Top Shot is still the dark horse of reality tv and one of the stronger reality competitions currently on television. I wasn’t too impressed with the cast but they were definitely more developed than the first season. I feel like I have a clearer picture about these guys as oppose to what went down at the end of the first Top Shot. I also appreciated some of the changes made to the formula of the show. First of all, the merge was a lot better than the original series. Players won immunity and people were still nominated for elimination as opposed to the first series that had the worst performing contestant eliminated after a challenge. Like I said we also got a clearer picture about how the game went down and it was interesting to see underdogs like Jamie and Jay forced to fight all of the military players.  The finale was a little bit of a let down. George had been talking and bringing up shit for most of the season and basically engineered his own elimination so that Chris R. could go to the finals. It was a really disappointing way for such a big character to go. He gave such a hard time to everyone he didn’t like and then didn’t even go all the way through with the game. I’m glad that Chris R. won the game but it was a very disappointing end to the series. Season Three is supposed to air sometime this summer and I’ll be curious if strategy is taken to the next level. Much like Survivor each team stayed together after the merge. I would hope some of the newer players would take some chances

Parenthood Season 2

I really do love this show, I don’t always say or show how much I appreciate it but it is one of my favorite things to watch every week. At points certain characters get on my nerves and I don’t really understand why they go certain ways with these characters but at the end of the day I still appreciate it. I wish they did more with Drew, Camille, and Joel (something I’ve said before) but I can look past that if the show still promises to deliver week after week. I am tired of the whole Haddie and Alex storyline. It got really tiresome and I didn’t care much for it. I feel like none of the characters were listening to each other and their separation seemed really drawn out just for them to fall back in love and for Adam and Kristina to be ok with it. Dare I say I was looking forward to a Max storyline? I really like where they left Adam at the end of the season. I loved that things were falling apart for him and just getting worse and worse. He lost his job and Kristina got pregnant and though he is happy I’m sure there will be some serious consequences. By the way Adam getting high off of the edible lollipop was a highlight of the season. Sarah’s storyline kind of spiraled out of control. Having estranged Seth show up to hang out with Drew was interesting for a while but I felt like her playwriting was more of a miss. Plus I kind of felt Amber’s spiral out of control at the end was very reminiscent of last year’s season finale. Crosby’s storyline centered around the repercussions sleeping with Max’s therapist. It got very repetitive and even though Jasmine had every right to be angry I wish she would’ve just let it go so the plot could develop. And while Juliet and Joel are interesting they never seem to have a really important story and kind of are always off to the side dealing with Sydney. I kind of wish they would take center stage a bit more. At the end of the day though, despite my complaints this is one of my favorite shows on tv right now.

Fringe Season 3

I became backlogged on Fringe episodes when I thought it wasn’t going to get renewed for a final season. I really thought it had no chance at all and I was just going to be getting question after question with no resolution. Fortunately it was renewed and Fringe ended on a high note. The finale was an interesting turn of events with Peter planning on changing the past but disappeared at the last second, without anyone remembering him. I’m really curious to see where this goes in the fourth season and what will happen with both Walters and both of the Olivias finally seeing each other face to face. I grew to like the alternate universe episodes in the second half of the season. I had a hard time getting into them at first but the more they developed Charlie, Fauxlivia, and Lincoln the more I liked it. They also tried to give Walternate a compassionate side but still made him incredibly dark and evil, destined on saving his side of the universe. Even though this season of Fringe was just as solid as the previous seasons I’m having a hard time picking stand out episodes. The action ramped up in the last few weeks and we started getting answers but the episodes weren’t as memorable as previous seasons. I’m hoping Fringe can tie everything up in its most likely last season. It is probably the best science fiction show currently on television right now and needs to end on a high note.

Check out my Fringe Archive for complete episode reviews on all of the episodes this season.

Amazing Race 18

What a miserable boring season of the show. I don’t usually have that high of expectations because the show follows a similar format but this one was rough. It never really felt like we were getting anywhere. I like the familiarity to the format and watching these people argue with each other but the season but things need to change. This season promised to be bigger and better than ever. The show looked amazing in High Defintion and it promised to be more challenging than the last few seasons. But the cast was extremely disappointing and they weren’t holding my attention. They were all really nice to the each other and their was barely any drama. Kent and Vyxsin provided most of it but this once somewhat likable team became one of the worst on the show. They fought and bickered every episode yet still promised on being each others friend. It was awful watching those two as they became more and more annoying. Also this season was stacked with a lot of teams I really didn’t like to begin with. About half of them were from season 14, a season I really didn’t enjoy. Plus we had the awful Globetrotters and Cowboys who were exactly the same as last time. They hadn’t changed and they were just as awful to me as they were in their original season. Luckily there was some weird season 14 curse at the beginning of the season and all of the teams were eliminated except for Kisha and Jen who ended up winning the entire race. I ended up rooting for Gary and Mallory who were likable in the previous season but overshadowed by the superior Brooke and Claire. So I’m currently watching the fantastic Amazing Race Australia. There are so many likable teams and they actually have some hard and “amazing” tasks they have to complete. I hope the producers took a few notes and hopefully fix some of the issues that are currently plaguing our version.

30 Rock Season 5

Did anyone else really miss Tracey Morgan when he left? I didn’t. I don’t think anyone else would really either. So yea NBC and Tina Fey it’s ok if Tracey Jordan kind of disappears after season 6 due to his recent scandal in the news. He adds the least amount to the show. Of course Tracey has occasional good moment and the flow was notably different to the show with him gone but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. I think I judge 30 Rock a little to critically sometimes because memorable episodes are few and far between but as usual I found this season to just be ok without anything to really write about. This season experimented a little bit with the show. I enjoyed “Queen of Jordan” but I didn’t find it that funny and I was really missing the main characters. I also thought the 100^th episode fell flat and was really long. It definitely showed us why 30 Rock should always be a half hour. I did enjoy the brief return of Rachel Dratch but that was pretty much it. I actually really liked Liz and Carol’s breakup in “Double-Edged Sword.” Tina Fey and Matt Damon had pretty good chemistry and their scenes were hilarious. “It’s Never Too Late For Now” was probably the highlight of the second half of the season but I think it was everything else was just ok. I still like 30 Rock but it just isn’t what it used to be and I don’t think it will ever be as good as the first two seasons again.

Community Season 2

I love this show. Like I said after the first half, Community is one of the more original comedies on television and even though not every episode is great I’m always left wanting more and more. It has turned into a really solid show and I really enjoy it. I cannot wait for the second season to come out on DVD. What other show has a character say they were an extra on Cougar Town and then with the help of Cougar Town gets that character on that show? It was brilliant and amazing. I don’t watch Cougar Town but you have to hand it to the producers of that show for putting Abed in it. That was just one of the more brilliant moments from the second half of the season and it wasn’t even on the actual show. There were so many highlights and amazing episodes. The dungeons and dragons inspired “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” was great and really developed Pierce’s issues with the group. “Intermediate Documentary Filmaking” was another highlight. The whole episode was an Abed documentary as Pierce bequeathed each member of the group something. Also I absolutely loved “Paradigms of Human Memory” which was the anti-clip show pretending to show scenes from previous episodes and events that we had actually never seen before. I do think that the paintball extravaganza was a little blown out of proportion but who wasn’t excited to see the finale after the ending to “A Fistful of Paintballs.” It also left us with a semi decent cliff hanger with Pierce possibly leaving the group. I definitely can’t wait for the third season. Community is currently one of the highlights of network tv, why does nobody watch this?

Survivor 22: Redemption Island

Anybody who regularly reads my Survivor reviews knows how I feel about this season. At first Redemption Island seemed like an exciting new format to the show. But then I found out that Rob and Russell were being brought back and that kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. We had just seen the two of them compete and this was Russell’s third season in two years. But things started off strong. Redemption Island was interesting and Matt’s story surviving duel after duel seemed to be building up to a huge pay off. Russell also got eliminated early and things seemed to be turning around for the show. But then the merge happened and though it was entertaining to watch Matt get eliminated a second time, I think a lot of people felt like we were wasting time on a twist that didn’t pay off. Then it became inevitable that Rob wasn’t going to lose and the Redemption Island twist continued to take up a lot of time and ultimately didn’t pay off a second time. We didn’t get awesome reward trips and challenges and about 90% of the episode revolved around Rob and Phillip. The season became a chore to watch and I know I was quickly losing interest. Rob definitely should’ve won but is it that impressive that it took him four tries? Unfortunately it is going to be more of the same next season. Redemption Island is back along with two returning contestants. Only this time we know what we are getting into and the two returning contestants are random and odd choices. I’m not really surprised who they picked but it doesn’t make that much sense to me. I haven’t been this down about a season in a long time and I hope that “Survivor 23: The Return to Samoa” will change my thoughts on the show. Survivor is growing older and is getting more desperate but hopefully it is growing pains and not signs of cancellation.

Check out my Survivor Archive for complete episode reviews on all of the episodes this season.

The Cleveland Show Season 2

When I write these articles a month or so after a show finishes airing I need to refresh my memory by going online and looking up episodes. I want to be able to fact check myself and reference the right things. So is it bad that I had to spend more time refreshing my memory with 30 Rock than The Cleveland Show? 30 Rock is miles and miles better than The Cleveland Show but this second season seemed to be much more memorable to me. I still think it has a lot of issues but from what I gathered this season was a step in the right direction. This show excels when a plot involves two or three family members and fails when Cleveland reminisces about high school. It also usually fails when Cleveland has some hair brained scheme so stupid that even Peter Griffin wouldn’t attempt it. It’s tough to keep watching this show sometimes but ever so often there is a hilarious moment that keeps me coming back for another episode. But then there are moments like the Justin Timberlake booger eating song in “Terry Unmarried” which makes me question my own sanity when watching this show. I think it deserves its new 7:30 pm timeslot and I’ll keep recording it but I think its days are numbered. At least it was more memorable this year than last year.

Desperate Housewives Season 7

This season started off really strong. The shows longest storyline was back front and center as this season’s mystery. But by the end of the season it was pretty obvious the writers didn’t know how to wrap it up and we got this really lame and quick ending that was pretty much swept under the rug before the next mystery began. I was just really disappointed. I had been waiting years to see the return of Felicia and Paul. It was such a nice surprise to see both of them back. But the penultimate episode of the season was really underwhelming. Felicia had been poisoning Paul and then finally captures him only for Susan to come and save the day. Felicia flees but gets hit by a car while Paul goes back into custody for finally admitting to killing Mrs. Huber…and that’s it. So we went through this whole season of Paul trying to revenge on Wisteria Lane and Felicia trying to get revenge on Paul and it just sort of ends. I’m not sure what I was looking for but something more than that. I’ll give some praise to the show. I like that they kept Susan off of the lane for pretty much the entire season and that was somewhat interesting despite Susan’s ridiculous plots. Did anybody think that Susan wasn’t going to get a kidney? However, Bree’s plotlines this season were really boring. Bree has basically become a completely different character from the first season. I really feel like Keith made her character really bland and I was glad to see him go. At least next year Bree will be in an interesting position with police boyfriend Chuck, while covering up the murder of Gabi’s stepfather. By the way why do they have to keep that a secret? Carlos was just defending his house from an intruder. It doesn’t make that much sense to me. But I do like the role reversal with the four main housewives keeping a secret this time. Definitely makes me intrigued. I am really glad that Carlos finally found out what happened to his mother and learned that Andrew was the one that hit Mama Solis in the first season. That resolution was so much better than anything with Paul. Plus there was one really funny episode with Gabi sneaking off to hang out with Bree during the day. It paid off. I’m glad they finally did something with Lynette and Tom but it just makes every relationship on the show look ridiculous. I mean if Lynette and Tom can’t stay together what’s the point of any relationship on the show?But it’s season seven and season eight only so much more you can do with these characters right?

Raising Hope Season 1

If I hadn’t picked up Bob’s Burgers and Happy Endings, Raising Hope would’ve been the only survivor of the 2010-2011 television season. Yes it was this year was that abysmal but Raising Hope was really the only shining light this year. And for good reason too. Lucas Neff, Martha Plimpton, and Greg Dillahunt all have really great chemistry and are hilarious. By the end of the season I had even grown fond of Cloris Leachman and Shannon Woodward. Not every episode of Raising Hope is good or original but there seems to always be a highlight or two. For instance “Baby Monitor” was an exact copy of a Modern Family storyline but Raising Hope put their own twist on it. Wasn’t the best episode but it was still enjoyable. This show also made a lot of really good decisions and really came together this year. First off I’m glad that got rid of Jimmy’s cousin. Yea it was great that they kept up with continuity and brought him back for an episode or two but he never really meshed well with the other three. They also made Maw Maw less annoying and a lot more lovable. She really irritated me quite a bit at the beginning. My only hope is that they keep Jimmy and Sabrina separate. Jimmy’s pining over her is a lot more interesting than if they ended up together. Raising Hope became a bright spot this year and I looked forward to almost every episode. Glad to have it around and I hope it has a few years in it.

The Office Season 7

There were a lot of highlights this second half of the season. How could you not love Michael’s proposal, Threat Level Midnight, and Pam’s goodbye to Michael at the airport? However this season also had a lot of low points and made it glaringly obvious that this show has some problems ahead of it. There were a few times when I found myself completely bored. I don’t always expect for The Office to be funny but I never expect myself to be extremely bored either. I am worried about next year. Though I’m glad James Spader is joining the cast as the CEO of Sabre it still doesn’t answer who is the new manager of the office. I thought that was something that was going to be answered this spring but it was left open-ended. “Search Committee” was an interesting tease but we all know none of those guest actors are getting the part. Catherine Tate was rumored to be the new boss but I don’t know if she has enough star power in the US to take over the show. So yea it was interesting seeing Deangelo, Creed, and Dwight take over the role but I’m ready for something a bit more solid. I hope this question is answered really quickly in the new season because I’m just getting tired of the whole thing. The rest of the ensemble was great this season but I don’t know if they can really lead a show without someone else in the managing position. So right now The Office has its work cut out for it but I’m trying to be fairly optimistic. I think it can all work out. I think.

Parks and Recreation Season 3

I don’t know what is wrong with me. This was a solid season of the show. I love the additions of Chris and Ben. They are so much better than Mark. I love that Ann is kind of with Chris and I loved Ben and Leslie’s secret relationship. Hell I loved that Andy and April got married in that hilarious surprise wedding and that Ben moved in as their other roommate. But I can’t help but feel underwhelmed by the season. I want to say this is my fault and not the show’s fault. I must have gotten bogged down by watching too many shows. I think that is why my enthusiasm for Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock isn’t so high this time around. By the time I got around to watching them I had already watched that week’s Community and The Office. I was just too tired to really pay attention and it hurt my loyalties to the show. Don’t get me wrong I do think it was a solid season and like I said I loved all of the changes and the storylines. There were so many good episodes. I loved everything with Li’l Sebastian and his memorial service. I really like Ron and Tammy getting back together again and again. I also loved the last few minutes of the season with all of the different cliffhangers. I’m just not as enthusiastic about it as I was at the end of season 2. I am glad that this is getting a full 22 episode season next year and not another truncated order like this year. It didn’t deserve that at all. Maybe I need to rewatch some of these episodes in order to renew my interest a little bit.

Grey’s Anatomy Season 7

The second half of season 7 was a bit muddy. First of all it was great to see the show taking some chances. Say what you will about “Song Beneath the Song” (it was horrible) but at least Grey’s Anatomy was trying something. I almost decided to write a whole review on that episode alone but I was so far behind in my writing at the time that it didn’t seem worth it. It was the most ridiculous episode the show has ever done but they at least tried something different. You also have to really appreciate “Golden Hour” which was basically the 24 version of Grey’s Anatomy. The entire episode took place in real time and it was an interesting format change to the show. I also found myself pretty engaged in Meredith’s role in the clinical trial. We haven’t had a good developed Meredith Grey storyline in years. I love that she was dishonest about it and I love that she did it for the chief and for Adele. I did find Derek’s reaction a bit over the top and ridiculous. I don’t know how you can compare Meredith’s deceit in the trial to her mothering skills. It just doesn’t really seem that related to me. Derek was the one that looked like the asshole at the end of the season leaving Meredith with a baby she didn’t really want. I also got really tired of Callie, Arizona, and Mark’s three way parent storyline. It seemed every episode was about them and they weren’t that interesting to watch. At one point all three were engaging characters but they couldn’t really hold their own as the front and center storyline. It does make me miss the days of the earlier seasons and makes me cringe a little bit thinking what a future season of the show will entail if or when Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey leave. Not that the show will suffer that much without the two but they were the initial reason to watch. Next season looks like more of the same. Derek and Meredith will reconcile and finally move into their new house (how long as Derek been building that?), Cristina will probably have another abortion, April won’t be able to handle being chief resident, while Arizona, Callie, and Sloane will awkwardly raise a kid together (and have issues). I don’t think anyone else really matters right now…

American Dad! Season 6

Last fall I sat down and decided to finally give American Dad! a chance. Before I just didn’t like the characters and couldn’t really watch it. I had decided that it wasn’t that funny. But I was really wrong and was disheartened when I saw another friend’s opinion. They were just like me and said that they didn’t like the show and said it wasn’t funny. Well they couldn’t be more wrong and though I didn’t correct them I wish I did. You really have to watch from the beginning and get through the first season. The first season of this show is pretty terrible but it pays off if you continue to watch it from the beginning. It continued to grow and get better and is honestly the funniest of Seth MacFarlene’s shows. This spring was no exception. Everything from “Fartbreak Hotel” to “School Lies” were hilarious and classic American Dad! episodes. The rest of the episodes were great and there were some highlights but that initial span of episodes earlier this year were really good. The writers totally know their characters here and they put them in some clever situations. Pretty much everyone interacts and has their own thoughts and developed opinions on each other. It makes the show seem more sophisticated but it is also funnier because it is more complicated. Family Guy and The Cleveland Show don’t have the same family dynamics and so they suffer a little bit. You can team up any character on this show and the writers would find something funny to write about. I think FOX realized that this show was much better than what Cleveland was offering and I’m glad they switched places on the schedule. Hopefully we will see many more season of American Dad! and more and more people will realize that they are missing out.

Family Guy Season 9

I can’t say I really enjoyed Family Guy this year. It was really bad. Like they’ve run out of ideas… that is how bad it is. For example, did we really need an episode that centered around Bonnie having an affair in Paris? Or that incredibly tedious “German Guy”old man fight? Did we need that? What about Bertram coming back again? “The Big Bang Theory” at first seemed like an interesting premise but turned into a terrible piece of crap. There were low points in the last few seasons of Family Guy but they always came back with a stretch of really good episodes. This season I can really only recall about three or four that I thought were genuinely good. I don’t think that is a great sign for the show. It has become really lazy. I offered the suggestion that they need to switch up the storylines a little bit. They need to partner up characters that normally don’t interact. I’m not talking about bringing in a third string character and give them a storyline I’m talking about the main family. How often to Meg and Stewie interact? Do we need another Brian and Stewie episode. Why not partner Brian up with Chris for a change? They just don’t do things like that anymore. It is either a story about Lois and Peter, Chris and Meg, or Brian and Stewie. I’m sure the season could’ve been helped if the hurricane episode had aired, it is unfortunate what happened because “Seashell Seahorse Party” looked pretty funny. At the end of the day this is Family Guy and it is kind of ridiculous to be that critical of it (and slightly embarrassing) but I just want to get better. That’s all I’m asking.

Celebrity Apprentice Season 4

I’ve had my issues with the gigantic 2 hour episodes of Celebrity Apprentice but…this season was amazing. It was the best reality show aired this spring. It was crazy, insane, fun, and unpredictable. Yea it sucked that John beat out Marlee at the end but since when did a winner ever really matter on The Apprentice? There are just so many good moments and so many train wreck television moments. The cast was amazing (who knew Dionne Warwick could be such a bitch?) There were so many fights and issues. You had Richard Hatch pushing David Cassidy, you had Meat Loaf accusing Gary Busey of stealing paint, and finally you had Nene Leakes tearing Star Jones to pieces. Throw in Marlee Matlin’s amazing interpreter Jack Jason and La Toya Jackson’s weird but amazing return to the show and you have amazing reality tv. In previous years I found it torturous to keep watching when I fell behind, but this year I couldn’t stop watching the show. Every episode was fantastic and the two hours seemed to fly by.  There were firings I disagreed  with and Donald Trump was more obnoxious than usual but you had to forget those things and really focus on the cast this year. The women’s team was just a mess. It was so interesting watching La Toya and NeNe fight with each other only to team up and go against Star Jones. That Star Jones and NeNe fight was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen on a reality show. I didn’t really know who NeNe was before the show but I found her character assassination of Star Jones to be absolutely thrilling. You could see that Star Jones didn’t know what to make of it. She was completely called out and NeNe wasn’t going to let anything stop her from telling Star what she thought of her. Of course NeNe had to cry and complain and ultimately quit but she did give us the best moment in the series. I don’t think any season of Celebrity Apprentice will be able to top this. Things just came together. Definitely one of my favorite reality shows of the year, not like it had that much competition.

The Middle Season 2

I cannot praise this show enough and I should probably tell more people about this. The Middle rivals any comedy on network television. It is a fairly tame affair but I laugh just as much with The Middle as I do with both Raising Hope and Modern Family. I think it is something a family could watch together. I wouldn’t be worried about watching this show with the younger set. This second half of the season was incredibly strong. Every episode of The Middle revolves around a simple premise where things just get worse and worse for the family. Then at the end of the day everyone learns their lesson. Pretty standard as sitcoms go but the show has its own brand of humor that I really enjoy. I think the standout episode this spring was “Mother’s Day II.” Frankie wants to have a quiet peaceful mother’s day at home but ends up throwing the day away trying to fix things around the house. When the rest of the Hecks return home they tell Frankie all about their amazing day away and how awesome it was. Well Frankie was extremely disappointed that the rest of her family had a great mother’s day and she didn’t and asks if they can do it all over again but with her. Well obviously it doesn’t go very well at all and the re-do makes the whole family miserable. I actually thought it was pretty clever. There were many stand out moments from the season but they were scattered around from episode to episode and those moments usually paid off to regular viewers. I especially enjoyed Sue revealing the large hole in the wall during her meltdown in “Friends, Lies, and Videotapes” that she and Brick made “The Big Chill.” It was also great to see who ended up as Axl’s prom date in “Prom Date” after Axl’s determination to get the right girl in the previous episode. Plus TimTom returned, which is always a highlight. This season ended with  “The Bridge” and “Back to Summer” were excellent endings to a great season. Makes me want to go out and get the DVDs!

Modern Family Season 2

Though Modern Family wasn’t as strong in its second season it still had many classic episodes if not the funniest episode so far. “Caught in the Act” was brilliant television and proved that Modern Family is still going strong. The three Dunphy children accidentally walk in on Claire and Phil having sex after preparing them breakfast. The three kids are traumatized and leave. Claire and Phil don’t know what to do but things only get worse. Gloria and Jay show up trying to stop Claire from seeing a brutally honest email that Gloria accidentally sent. Claire and Phil think that the kids told Jay and Gloria what happened which results in the funniest misunderstanding the show has ever done. It was brilliant television. There were other great moments in the season as well and the show tried to capitalize on some of its first seasons best moments. Though it was unoriginal I enjoyed “Bixby’s Back” because the first season’s valentine episode was so clever. There were also a lot of sentimental moments that not everyone loves but to me they are great additions to the show. “Mother’s Day” was a highlight because it was both really funny with the kids not apologizing to Claire and for Jay’s heartfelt moment in the kitchen. I also liked Jay’s reaction to finding out his brother had cancer. There was a low moment with “Good Cop Bad Dog” which a terrible boring plot with Jay and Gloria helping out a dog trainer. But the show returned to form with the last two episodes. Watching Claire and Phil fall down the hill at Alex’s graduation was funny and I loved that we finished another season with Jay’s birthday. The clever recap video that Luke made alternate scenes from previous episodes was also a highlight. Fortunately Modern Family played it safe this year and was able to overcome that obstacle of becoming too self aware. I was worried that was happening in the first half of the season but everyone pulled back a little bit. I’m not to excited about baby Lily becoming a different baby Lily next year but that is pretty much my only concern right now as the show moves forward.

Shameless Season 1

I fell behind after the first few episodes of Shameless but I found it really easy to catch up and watch the whole season once it finished airing. Shameless became must see tv and extremely addicting. Definitely one of the best new shows this year. The cast is fantastic and the storylines were engaging. The characters were all extremely likable and you really rooted for the Gallaghers. Frank became more endearing as the show went along but he is really hard to like. I have a hard time hoping things work out for him when he continues to screw up things for the rest of the Gallaghers. They just seem to have such a dismal outlook on things and you hope with every venture things get a little better. You can see that this life pains Fiona. She desperately wants to leave it all behind but she couldn’t betray her family. Lip is really smart and wants to move on but he has a hard time taking a selfish approach to things. He deserves to go to college but it doesn’t look like it is in the picture. I also feel incredibly bad for Debbie, who became my favorite character. She is very protective of Frank and wants to care for him. It is sad seeing her get him beer and throwing a blanket over him when Frank doesn’t really return the favor. I think my favorite moment if not the saddest moment was just watching Debbie enjoy her time with sober Frank while eating candy. It was sad when she realized that it wasn’t going to last. The Gallaghers are the heart and soul of the series and really the best thing about it. I didn’t care that much for Steve, Veronica, and Kev. Steve never became that interesting to me and his whole reveal wasn’t that much fun to watch. I hope he is gone for a while. Veronica and Kev can be fun but they aren’t that developed. Though the introduction of Ethel was really funny and brought something new to their relationship. I also really enjoyed Joan Cusack in her role as agoraphobic Sheila Jackson. I hope everyone was cheering when she finally was able to get out of the house. Shameless was a wonderful series and I cannot wait for its return.

The Killing Season 1

I just sort of lost interest in the show as it went along. It was pretty much a new age version of Twin Peaks and made all of the same mistakes. We wasted episode after episode going after the wrong people and when we finally learned who murdered Rosie well we didn’t. So by the end of the season we were just left with more questions and really no resolution. I was really shocked by the fan outcry at the end. I didn’t realize this many people were invested in the show but I’m not surprised they were angry. It was a cheap way to go and it was exactly the same problem with Twin Peaks. We didn’t get an answer until we didn’t really care anymore. I’ve heard a little bit about how the second season of The Killing will work and I’m a bit dismayed. I think the show is going to introduce a new mystery that will work in tandem with the Rosie Larson murder. I would assume that the Rosie murder will be solved in the middle of the season and then nobody will really care what happens next and most like The Killing will be canceled. Sounds a lot like Twin Peaks where the writers didn’t know what to do after the Laura Palmer mystery was solved. The Killing wasn’t all bad. The acting was amazing. Every single one of the leads played solid and dynamic actors. You felt frustrated right along with Linden having to deal with not only her family but this intense case. Mireille Enos was fantastic and I think deserves some recognition for the part. I loved every scene with the Larsons. Brent Sexton and the fantastic Michelle Forbes stole the show whenever they were on screen. They kept trying to cope and move on but were utterly dismayed and hopeless at the same time. Just fantastic acting. Michelle Forbes could totally hold her own on her own show. They even made Holder, played by Joel Kinnaman, into a likable guy by the end of the season. The only place the show really lost me was with Darren Richmond. I understand that his campaign was intertwined with the murder but I didn’t really care if Richmond won the election or not. I’ll tune back in to the beginning of the second season but I want some answers after the finale. What exactly is Holder up to? And who really is the murderer? Why am I asking these questions and why did nobody think this was a terrible idea to prolong the answer?

Everything Else – Dropped Shows/Picked Up Shows

Harry’s Law Season 1 – Meh. It just didn’t gel with me. I gave it the ole four episode try and it just didn’t sit well. I couldn’t get invested and found myself not paying attention. I guess I missed the Aaron Sorkin boat a long time ago.

No Ordinary Family Season 1 – I’m not that surprised it was canceled. I just found myself not caring for the show. It really was just useless fat. It showed signs of promise at the beginning and had a few moments of brilliance but they were few and far between and the show was becoming less and less awesome.

V Season 2 – I realized pretty quickly this wasn’t coming back and that I didn’t care for it. I’ll always like the pilot and the first few episodes but I dropped this after the second episode this season.

Mr. Sunshine Season 1 – I don’t think I got around to watching it but it didn’t look that great anyway.

Off the Map Season 1 – I wanted to like it and wanted Caroline Dhavernas to succeed but the whole thing seemed lame and a little too familiar.

Happy Endings Season 1 – I panned it last year but fell in love with the show after this television season ended. Definitely gives Raising Hope a run for its money for being the best new sitcom of the year. The cast is hilarious especially SNL alum Casey Wilson. Something I’m adding to my shows next year.

Bob’s Burgers Season 1 – This isn’t coming back until mid-season but it ended up being a solid animated sitcom and a breath of fresh air on Sunday nights. You need to get through a couple of episodes but once you do you’ll find it to be one of the best things you aren’t watching.