Well, what’s good and what’s shitty on television these days?
AMC -There’s a new season of Breaking Bad coming soon. This is a show that started out merely ok, but has improved with every episode. If you haven’t seen it, a chemist/high school chemistry teacher begins cooking meth to support his family after he is diagnosed with cancer. However, the intellectual challenge of criminal behavior becomes highly addictive and he keeps going after his cancer is (in effect) cured. The most recent season (3) ended with a cliffhanger of epic proportions and it seems like each episode is better than the one before it. They’ve also got a 2nd season of The Killing coming. The Killing is a quasi-remake of the Danish series of the same name. The American version is actually superior in terms of pace (however the original version [which is not a bad show] has a dedicated fan base of utter snobs) and acting. Really the only thing the 2 series have in common is their basic premise, which is the brutal murder of a young girl in circumstances that affect their city’s core political structure. Mireille Enos (Big Love) is quietly awesome as the lead detective and her douche partner (Joel Kinnamen) actually won me over as a character. Now this is a police show in a post-Wire world so I’d be inclined to dismiss it; but the slow burn story telling style is addictive. A bunch of critics bitched about the ending to season 1, but after watching the first season I’ve concluded that they’re all whiney cocksuckers. This is a show to watch. There’s also a western in AMC’s pipeline that’s somehow centered around the construction of the trans-continental railroad (Hell on Wheels) which sounds interesting. And we’ve got more Walking Dead to look forward to. Mad Men is coming but it’ll be awhile. AMC is really HBO’s only competition as far as serious TV goes. Right now you’ve got 2 quality crime/cop shows, a quality horror pastiche, and Mad Men which doesn’t really have a genre unless you go really broad and term it ensemble drama.
FX – I don’t recommend much on FX as need to see, but they now have 2 shows that qualify. Justified (once again a post-wire cop show but not without its charm) follows the adventures of an Elmore Leonard character and Federal Marshall Raylan Givens. Margo Martindale plays one of the better TV antagonists ever in the 2nd season. And Archer. I’m not even going to explain Archer, just see it. It’s required. Always Sunny in Philadelphia gets an honorable mention.
The rest of basic cable – mostly reality TV crap that ought to be avoided. I’ll post an update if I find out different.
Broadcast Networks – I really only watch The Office, Parks and Rec and sports on these channels. I hear James Spader will be joining the regular cast of The Office as manager for part of the season, but not the whole thing. So the manager search will probably rear its head again; which is good, I really enjoyed it. And Parks and Rec is brilliant. I wonder if the trend of Lesley Knope’s boyfriends getting canned from the show will continue. Time will tell. But don’t subject yourself to the rest of the programming on these networks. Seriously.
HBO – Thank Brigham Young that Big Love is finally over. Good Lord, that show was stupid. But not as stupid as I was for watching the whole thing. I kept thinking, there’s going to be a point to all this eventually. But nope. Game of Thrones just finished its first season, and that’s definitely a must watch. It’s like Gordon Gekko Tolkein. And it works. Also, its just begun shooting its second season. True Blood just started up again. I thought the 3rd season was pretty crappy and I only tuned in for the 4th for Oscar winner nudity, but the 4th season has me ensnared again. I’d never rank this show higher than guilty pleasure but it has me for the time being. The excellent Boardwalk Empire has a new season on the way. I’m a huge fan of this mob show. Treme is one of the better shows on TV right now, and in true Dave Simon tradition, there’s never been anything else like it. Michael Mann (Heat, Last of the Mohicans) and David Millich (Deadwood) have a horse racing series in development which ought to be worth checking out, Luck. Entourage will finally die (though I’ve enjoyed the show on a guilty pleasure level) but the last season should be fun. Curb Your Enthusiasm will also get at least one more season. The show is sometimes too painful to watch but it’s undeniably quality. I’ve also heard they’re developing a mini-series based on Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Ought to be strange. This network is 50/50 on comedy but as far as drama any new show deserves a look. The only issue I have with them is canceling shows before their time: Carnivale, Deadwood, John from Cincinatti.
Cartoon Network – A couple things here: first they cancled their best new non adult swim show in years with Sym-bionic Titan. After one season. Without any story resolution. Assholes. And after 2 very solid seasons and opening their 3rd season with a bang, Clone Wars has somehow managed to become really really stupid. But the amazing Venture Bros is returning and the rest of adult swim is pretty solid.
Showtime – Don’t bother. And yes I’ve seen Dexter and Weeds. Still don’t bother.
And that’s my incomplete and biased summary.
Glad I could be responsible for your FX winners.