Shows I haven’t watched so I can’t judge: The Newsroom, Homeland (will watch), The Americans (will watch), Transparent (will watch), Review (will watch), Broad City (will watch)
10.) Archer Vice (FX)
Archer was never a show that was going to get old doing what
it was doing. There are enough interesting storylines involving faux-CIA
operatives to go another season or two. The characters were still fresh and the
dialogue still as cutting and sharp as ever. Some of the Episodes in the 4th
season were as good as ever. Still, Archer had settled into a solid routine.
Then, it decided to change it all up and take a leap that was very daring, very
risky, but worked really, really well. ISIS was disbanded. They happened on a
metric ton of coke, and proceeded to do everything but flush it down the toilet
in efforts to steal it. They worked in all characters in interesting ways at
some point. It changed the dynamics of the show, but Archer Vice remained so
damn funny. I will never get tired of Sterling Archer’s dialogue, and while
Mallory is essentially just Lucille Bluth, given that she was my favorite
female sitcom character of all time, I don’t have a problem with that. The show
will return to its roots for a 6th season (though losing the ISIS
name given the negative connotations that have popped up since Season 4), and I
think that will allow the normal operative capers feel fresh, but it may be
losing something here. Given that Archer is an animated show, it is a bit
easier to take this type of risk, but it is also easier to settle with familiar
themes. Archer didn’t do that. Creator Adam Reed took a huge risk, and it ended
by giving us the gold of Pam’s coke addiction, Sterling’s constant efforts to
sell coke, and Cyrill’s complete breakdown.
9.) Inside the NBA
(TNT)
Given that for 6 months (November through April) this is a
weekly show, Inside the NBA essentially has a full tv season. It really should
be considered a normal show. Why? Because it is about as funny and entertaining
as any sitcom. There is little to no true analysis in the actual Inside the NBA
(Kenny tries to do something at the halftimes). All there is is Ernie lobbing
up question of Kenny, Charles and an increasingly comfortable Shaq, to tear
down and run with. Why I think Inside the NBA really deserves to be recognized
this season is that Shaq has become so much better than he was originally. The
pairing of the humorous Shaq with the original trio seemed perfect on paper,
but it didn’t really work. Even if Shaq was friends with Kenny and Charles, it
is hard to break into their brilliant chemistry. This year, it worked, mainly
because of Shaq giving as good as he got. His energy level increased, and he
plays as well with Ernie as Shaq and Kenny did in the past. Ernie himself has
gotten enough confidence to rip into Barkley at times. The show gives its true
value in May, when they basically do it nightly during the playoffs. Chuck,
Kenny, Shaq and Ernie put up a solid performance from Studio J basically every
time. I really feel like writing to TNT to ask them to release the episodes On
Demand like they would for their normal shows. I would definitely watch them.
8.) Orange is the New
Black (Netflix)
Orange is the New Black would have ranked slightly higher in
its first Season. I don’t think it was any worse in Season 2, but it did suffer
from some normal Season 2 issues, like a loss of an initial storyline, or
trying to fight the need to bring the gang back together. They changed the
status quo early by separating Piper from what was happening in the prison, and
definitely expanded the show far beyond Piper in Season 2, but I don’t know if
it worked as well. Some of the new characters were really interesting, but there
was slightly less narrative drive in Season 2, and the overarching plot of Vee
vs. everyone was a little frayed. That all said, they created in-depth
portrayals of new characters basically in each episode. They kept you
interested and engaged in so many different characters and lifestyles. Orange
is the New Black was hyped after a Great Season 1 not only because it was
really good, but because it was so different. It was all women, it was mostly
minorities. It was the strangest cast on television since probably The Wire,
yet it worked so well. Orange is the New Black had a high bar to reach and I
don’t know if it reached all the way there, but it came really, really close. I
loved the way Orange is the New Black explored the older population of the prison,
and the prison workers (guards, management), shining a light beyond the
typecast roles of prison population. It continues to be one of the most
interesting shows on TV, and a great softer version of Oz, with a female cast.
I don’t know how long they can keep this up, or how long Kenji Johan would want
to, but each time the ‘You’ve Got Time!’ song comes on, I’m intrigued.
7.) Last Week Tonight
with Jon Oliver (HBO)
I haven’t seen every episode, but I’ve seen enough to give a
good judgement of what this show is. It is great, just great. John Oliver was
given the unenviable task of leaving the Jon Stewart Training Academy and
trying to do something similar. Other than Colbert, no one left to do a work in
a similar sphere. Jon Oliver did, but he changed it up enough to make it wholly
his own. Oliver also succeeded far more than I would have ever imagined. He did
a show that was based on the same elements of The Daily Show, with the right
panel showing images while he talks over them, but Oliver took the added liberties
offered by HBO (no commercials, 30 minutes, swearing) to create something all
his own. The main highlight was clearly the long-form story that he broke down,
examined, picked apart and mined for humor and insights like a seasoned pro. He
took on topics that Stewart would ignore, or Colbert would mock, and embraced
them. His ability to take these smaller topics (mostly, the Indian election is
pretty large) and spend a good 10-15 minutes on them without a break and
actually make people care was incredible. Oliver is not as funny as Jon
Stewart, nor as singularly talented as Stephen Colbert, but he’s as dedicated
and in his first year in this format he really made it work. Many thought that
he would regret his move when Colbert was announced as Letterman’s replacement
shortly before Oliver’s show started. Instead, Oliver made a name for himself
all on his own, on a different network, and will be a constant presence on HBO
for years to come.
6.) True Detective (HBO)
No show got more praise, and most of it was incredibly deserved. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson were both brilliant in their roles as Rust Cohle and Marty Hart. The dialogue between the two was well written and played excellently. Director Kary Joji Fukanaga developed a look and feel to the show that challenged Breaking Bad in terms of its visual appeal. It was captivating stuff, a show with some truly great individual elements (not to mention Alessandra Dadarrio). So why do I only have it 6th? Because it has quite a few elements that would put it down a few pegs. First, it really failed to develop any characters outside of Cohle and Hart, especially the female characters. It also failed on its overall psychotic premise. The long talks of life being a flat circle and Carcossa were all shoved aside for being a true-to-form manhunt for a Serial Killer. It was still a good show with some awesome elements, but looking back I don't think it was any better than the five shows below it and a show that got overpraised for the select areas where it stood out from the pack.
5.) Game of Thrones (HBO)
I had a hard time placing Game of Thrones this season. On the one hand, the story was slightly aimless this year, just moving the pieces around the chessboard for future moves. Of course, there were some major storylines and plot points (and deaths), but we end with even more characters lost, roaming around Westeros and Essos. That said, I don't know if I've enjoyed a season of Game of Thrones more since Season 1. This year the greatness was concentrated around King's Landing, which centralized so much of the incredible action. I was enthralled with everything surrounding the death of Joffrey and the trail/sentencing of Tyrion. Most of my favorite characters resided there so it was particularly entertaining. I also liked the idea of justice finally being paid all around. I also don't think any show had so many 'Holy Shit' moments as Game of Thrones this year. We had Tyrion's speech, the entire Wedding with Joffrey, and the flight between the The Viper and the Mountain. There were some weaker points, such as the aimlessness of Dany's march through Essos, and the infuriating tease of how close Arya got to meeting Sansa after all those years, but those were generally given less time. I'll be intrigued to see where this show shifts focus now with Tywin dead, Tyrion on the run and few Lannisters left, but I trust that Benioff & Weiss, if not George RR Martin hmself, will be able to figure this one out.
4.) Nathan For You (Comedy Central)
Dumb Starbucks was what got all the headlines, it made Nathan for You and Nathan Fielder into somewhat known names, but the brilliance of Nathan For You goes far beyond just Dumb Starbucks, it goes into all of the ridiculous, inane but still unbelievably sharp ideas that he trotted out week after week. I worry about how far this show can go on without the small business owners getting in on the joke. It won't work as well if the businesses don't fully believe that this ridiculous man is actually trying to help them, but they do and it does. Personal favorites this year was the car-wash using tons of birds (including a peacock) to shit on cars outside the carwash; or the Daddy's Watching dating service, which again used the hilarious body-guard from Season 1. In reality, pretty much every subject and business Nathan takes on works well. He has an amazing way to act totally deadpan and hilarious at the same time, right after each other. It is hard to tell how much is scripted, but the best part's are what I assume to be unscripted, where Nathan talks to customers about the business changes. He's also amazing at the end of projects when he goes to slyly gloat about a half-or-quarter success. Nathan For You will be back with even more ridiculous ideas next year, and I can't wait to see if that DeadPan Hero can keep it going year after year.
3.) Silicon Valley
(HBO)
It’s not hard to see why Silicon Valley succeeded. You take
an established show runner in the comedy world in Mike Judge, and mix that
together with some of the brighter minds in alt-comedy today, including TJ
Miller and Kumail Nanjiani, with a seasoned comedy vet like Martin Starr, and
you’ll get results. What is more surprising is the topic they chose to tackle.
Back when Judge ran Office Space, the tech world was easy to make fun of. In
the past 15 years, that world has now become easy to hate, with ridiculous
money flowing in and it becoming a sign of corruption and greed as much as
innovation. Well, Judge took that premise and ran with it, and boy did it
succeed. Silicon Valley not only told the story of how a start-up is born and
the decision making that goes on behind and in-front of the scenes, but managed
to lampoon the actual Silicon Valley with his fake version of Google in Hooli,
and the greed present in the area at the same time. It helps that he has an
uber-talented group of actors to play easily written characters, one being a
comedy force in TJ Miller, but the material and storylines were great. There
are some open questions in Season 2, like if the show will work as well when
Pied Piper becomes a heavily funded, focused start-up instead of 6-guys in a
garage, and if they can replace the late Christopher Evan Welch’s character of
Peter Gregory, the eccentric Billionaire funding Pied Piper, but the show did
so well in Season 1 I can’t imagine it not working. Given the talent in the
cast, and the propensity for these comedians to want to do other things, I
can’t imagine this show lasting more than maybe four seasons, but I will be
along the whole way. I’ll be remiss to not talk about the single best piece of
comedy in the 2014 TV year, the long, unabridged masturbation plot-line.
Breaking down how to most effectively jerk off 200 people in 10 minutes by
using math is about as good as comedy can get in 2014. So was the show overall.
2.) Veep (HBO)
Unlike House of Cards, which got silier and strained as Frank's power increased, Veep only gets better as Selina Meyer becomes more important. Season 2 which dealt with her growing power and initial plan to start a campaign was better than Season 1, and Season 3 was even better than Season 2. The show's community grows larger but even stronger. There were a couple great developments in Season 3. First, I think they really utilized Andrew and Catherine well. They also have found comedy gold in Gary Cole's character pining after Susan. Then I think Jonah worked really well stripped of all power and going rogue with Ryan-Tology. Of course, the old standards still worked as well as before, with Julia Louis Dreyfus playing the hell out of Selina, and Gary, Dan, Amy and Mike being just as well used and structured now as they were in Season 1. The dialogue is still as effortless as ever, the insults just as cutting. Allowing Selina to travel outside Washington more and more has helped really focus the show as well, as seeing people from the craziness of Washington react to the relative normalcy of the rest of the world with contempt is never not funny. Having Selina be President in Season 4 will definitely be a change, but since she is still campaigning (not to mention behind Thornhill and Chung) there still is some basis that Selina is fighting for the Presidency, and more importantly the respect that comes with it. Speaking of respect, it is time people show Veep some as the best sitcom on TV that it is. Their list of awards should extend beyond Julia Louis Dreyfus and Tony Hale, to the entire show.
1.) Fargo (FX)
Other than The Wire and Breaking Bad, I don’t think I’ve
seen a show have a better season of Dramatic Storytelling than Fargo did. Considering
the challenge of taking an iconic movie, or rather arguably the iconic movie from two beloved
filmmakers, and moving it to TV, this might have been the most impressive feat
of TV Storytelling in a long, long time. All Hail Fargo, quite easily the best
TV program I saw in 2014. Much like the movie, it is hard to truly describe what made Fargo so interesting and captivating. Fargo did have an incredible stable of interesting, well written and well played characters. The leads were all great, from Billy Bob's brilliant turn as Lorne Malvo, to Martin Freeman as the Jerry Lundegaard-inspired Lester; and of course Allison Tolman, who was quite a revelation. What really sealed the show's excellence for me was the long list of other characters that all fit in and were well placed, with characters like Don, to Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench, to Key & Peele's FBI agents, to Lou Solverson, to the Deputy, they were all well casted, written and acted. When you mesh together that many distinct characters, it could feel overcrowded but Fargo never did. Instead, the plot of Fargo worked excellently as well. It never strayed too close to the actual story, but wove around the same themes. What finished it to me was the setting, the cool wintery streets of Minnesota, which played as an excellent backdrop for all this strangeness. Fargo accomplished it all, mixing biblical references, fish falling from the sky, murder, insurance salesmen, high comedy, and higher drama. Fargo was TV's crowning achievement in 2014, and it may have even given Breaking Bad a run for its money if it was on in 2013.
