Top TV shows for 2011 [and now 2012]

[jeremyp]

Here's my list:

1. Breaking Bad.
2. The Killing.
3. The Walking Dead.
4. Sons of Anarchy.
5. Downton Abbey.
6. The Good Wife.
7. Justified.
8. Southland.
9. Prime Suspect.
10. 24 hours in the E.R., U.K.

Keep in mind I have to wait for HBO/SHO series, so can't rate: Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, Game Of Thrones

[dukehjsteve]

Call me sick if you like, but I have been a regular watcher of The Walking Dead. A bit slow at times, but those zombies......

[Cooter Brown]

The list begins and ends with Homeland. A guilty pleasure is Strike Back which is what 24 could've been with extreme violence and graphic sex.

[guru]

1. Hell on Wheels
2. Justified
3. Grimm
4. Breaking Bad
5. American Horror Story
6. Blue Bloods
7. Family Guy
8. The Killing
9. Falling Skies
10.Walking Dead


Last year, Walking Dead would have been a top-3 for me, but it's gotten bogged down this season in the farmhouse. Hopefully, the 2nd half of the season will pick up. Enjoyed The Killing, but could rank no higher than 8th thanks to not solving the damn crime before the end of the season.

Top 3 were no-brainers for me. Hell on Wheels, already renewed for a 2nd season, is a guilty pleasure for any Civil War-era buffs. Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins continue to be brilliant in Justified(though the rural Kentucky stereotypes may be a bit overwrought). Grimm, doing well despite a Friday night timeslot, is an interesting premise - a homicide detective who learns that he is a descendent of a group of hunters known as "Grimms," who fight to keep the world safe from supernatural creatures - characters inspired by the Grimm Fairy Tales(disguised from everyone but the Grimms as regular humans).

American Horror Story, which has already wrapped it's maiden season, and been renewed for a 2nd, is terrific. The premise - a fictional house in LA haunted by anyone who has died there - made for some interesting storylines, which included the real-life Black Dahlia. The first season ended with the lastest inhabitants - Dylan McDermott's character and family - all dying by various means and joining the growing cast of trapped ghosts(who can leave the house on just one day a year - Halloween). Should make for an interesting season 2.

[gh]

boo! spoiler! I guess that's one show I won't be putting on my catch-up-later list.

[guru]

I'm not sure at what point after the end of a season it's considered a spoiler to talk about the show(heck, we've had several show threads running DURING seasons), but trust me, nothing I revealed here about AHS is anything you won't know is coming after the first episode. The fun part is HOW it happens, and that I didnt discuss.

[KLocke]

If you don't know "Homeland". Well, you had better check it out

[Marlow]

My tastes are much more plebian. My top 10:

10. Mike & Molly
9. Royal Pains
8. White Collar
7. Walking Dead
6. Justified
5. Person of Interest
4. Big Bang Theory
3. Burn Notice
2. Hawaii Five-O
1. The Mentalist

And the best of the best (now RIP) – Rescue Me

[Vault-emort]

Although their second seasons weren't as good as the first, Walking Dead and Downton Abbey would be in my top ten. But Game of Thrones is definitely #1. The Borgias was another good series.

[kevinsdad]

Breaking Bad
GOT
Homeland
Justified
The League
Southland
Strike Back
River Monsters (seriously-watch it sometime if you like to fish or travel)
Curb
Swamp People (also serious-subtitles for those of us who don't speak cajun-what's better than that?)

[jeremyp]

If you don't know "Homeland". Well, you had better check it out

I have to wait for it to be released to DVD so Netflix can send it to me; probably in 3 months.

[jeremyp]

Although their second seasons weren't as good as the first, Walking Dead and Downton Abbey would be in my top ten. But Game of Thrones is definitely #1. The Borgias was another good series.

When was Downton Abbey in it's second season? We're still awaiting it. Are you in U.K.?

[KLocke]

Ok, I will be curious to know your thoughts on Homeland. It has trumped my previous #1 Breaking Bad. Claire Danes is outstanding and never dissapoints.

If you don't know "Homeland". Well, you had better check it out

I have to wait for it to be released to DVD so Netflix can send it to me; probably in 3 months.

[Vault-emort]

When was Downton Abbey in it's second season? We're still awaiting it. Are you in U.K.?

Australia.

The 8-part second series finished up about two months ago and they also broadcast a 90min special in the UK on Christmas Day.

[Giant Panda]

Game of Thrones was good in the spring, Homeland was good in the autumn. Boardwalk Empire is greatly improved this year. Boss had some stellar episodes. I think the feature length Homeland finale just edges that episode of Boardwalk Empire for me. I've seen the Luck pilot but not sure that counts as a 2011 show. Curb Your Enthusiasm is still worth watching. Re-runs of Big Bang Theory are everywhere.

[gh]

.... Grimm, doing well despite a Friday night timeslot, is an interesting premise - a homicide detective who learns that he is a descendent of a group of hunters known as "Grimms," who fight to keep the world safe from supernatural creatures - characters inspired by the Grimm Fairy Tales(disguised from everyone but the Grimms as regular humans).....

I've not seen this one, but along the same line I'd put Once Upon A Time on my list, in which everybody in this small New England town is actually a storybook character, but they don't know it, other than one little kid who everybody thinks is nuts.

[jeremyp]

When was Downton Abbey in it's second season? We're still awaiting it. Are you in U.K.?

Australia.

The 8-part second series finished up about two months ago and they also broadcast a 90min special in the UK on Christmas Day.

I guess the Empire gets first dibs.

[jeremyp]

My tastes are much more plebian. My top 10:

10. Mike & Molly
9. Royal Pains
8. White Collar
7. Walking Dead
6. Justified
5. Person of Interest
4. Big Bang Theory
3. Burn Notice
2. Hawaii Five-O
1. The Mentalist

And the best of the best (now RIP) – Rescue Me

Now I know why we disagree about movies. We inhabit different planets.

[gh]

maybe I'm wrong, but I seem to recall that Marlow doesn't get HBO; what cable people get certainly has a bearing on these kind of lists. Like, I have no idea if Dexter or Weeds were any good in 2011; I'm only now watching the 2010 seasons because it takes a year before Showtime makes them purchasable.

[guru]

.... Grimm, doing well despite a Friday night timeslot, is an interesting premise - a homicide detective who learns that he is a descendent of a group of hunters known as "Grimms," who fight to keep the world safe from supernatural creatures - characters inspired by the Grimm Fairy Tales(disguised from everyone but the Grimms as regular humans).....

I've not seen this one, but along the same line I'd put Once Upon A Time on my list, in which everybody in this small New England town is actually a storybook character, but they don't know it, other than one little kid who everybody thinks is nuts.

The amusing sub-plot in Grimm is the Big Bad Wolf is reformed(suppresses his bad, non-human side) and assists the detective on the cases involving the creatures, often providing comic relief.

[jeremyp]

maybe I'm wrong, but I seem to recall that Marlow doesn't get HBO; what cable people get certainly has a bearing on these kind of lists. Like, I have no idea if Dexter or Weeds were any good in 2011; I'm only now watching the 2010 seasons because it takes a year before Showtime makes them purchasable.

I'm not sure it's not just HBO that Marlow doesn't get.

[gh]

Earlier this week a critic in my paper did two 2011 TV lists.

Best new shows of 2011:
1. Homeland
2. Boss
3. Shameless
4. Downtown Abbey
5. Cinema Verité
6. The Hour
7. Mildred Pierce
8. Revenge
9. Wilfred
10. Game of Thrones

Best new shows of the fall season:
1. Homeland
2. The Hour
3. Boss
4. Revenge
5. Prohibition
6. Person of Interest
7. Up All Night
8. Pan Am
9. Woody Allen (on "American Masters")
10. Enlightened

(hm to American Horror Story)

It was the same guy, so now, not sure how The Hour and Boss reversed places on the two lists!

[jhc68]

Any list has to include Breaking Bad and Justified.
I liked the American version Prime Suspect (the Brit series is a classic) but apparently our's was the only household in America watching the series.

[gh]

Prime Suspect started weak, but it works fine now that they have removed a bit of the overt antagonism towards Jane and humanized some of the other detectives a tad.

The Brit version is all-time top 10 material. Too bad you can't (far as I know) get subtitled versions. Some of that Mancuvian accent is just too far out there.

[gh]

I'd be hard pressed to give up any of these (just listed as they came to me):

Breaking Bad
Sons Of Anarchy
Once Upon A Time
House
Boardwalk Empire
Revenge
Ringer
The Killing
Justified
Game Of Thrones
Dexter
Weeds
60 Minutes
The Daily Show

In the watch-out-of-one-eye-while-doing-something-else category I'd put Person Of Interest, Nikita, Covert Affairs, Body Of Proof.

The Beauteous Babs would add Hawai'i 5-0, Bluebloods.

I didn't include "specials" like Prohibition.

What's really a pisser is how many of these shows now tend to have 13-week seasons. Of course, in the "Golden Age" of 39-week seasons, the material was largely pap.

[gm]

I am probably in a different solar system than most anyone here. The shows I make a point to watch/record (in no particular order):

American Pickers
Pawn Stars
American Restoration
Chuck
Hawaii Five-O
Human Target (sadly canceled)
Person of Interest
Survivor
Storage Wars
The Amazing Race
and a host of HGTV shows like House Hunters/HHInternational

[mump boy]

There TV shows i was mist obsessed with in 2011 were

The Killing 1 (original Danish version i couldn't get through the US one)
Game of Thrones (now read every single book as well)
The Slap (australian tv adaptation of bestselling book was probably my favourite show of the year)
Spiral (french cop show that was shown ofter The Killing in UK, had to go and buy DVD of first 2 series)

[trevorp]

Prime Suspect ...The Brit version is all-time top 10 material. Too bad you can't (far as I know) get subtitled versions. Some of that Mancuvian accent is just too far out there.

Just one of the seven was set in Manchester - where the Mancunian accent can be heard. (Not wanting to be pedantic, just that 'Mancuvian' sounds very funny to these English ears and gave me a fit of the giggles). Daphne from Frasier was supposedly from there but her accent was way off and irritated us over here. Surprised that you found it 'too far out there' as it's by no means our least attractive or comprehensible regional accent or dialect.

[Vault-emort]

And since its' second series began in the UK on 1 January (its' first series was late 2010), a vote for the BBC's Sherlock as one of the set-in-stone top TV shows of 2012.

[jeremyp]

I'm adding "Hell on Wheels" to my list. AMC is producing some really good shows.
I watch Revenge, Blue Bloods, Falling Skies on a regular "must have entertaining pablum" basis.

[Illumina]

Here is my top 10
1) Vampire Diaries
2) Mentalist
3) Eurica
4) Leverage
5) Bones
6) Dr.House
7) White Collar
8) Fringe
9) NCIS
10) Dexter

[Giant Panda]

Here were the ten choices of the American Film Institute:

Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Homeland
Justified
Louie
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation

[gh]

Earlier this week a critic in my paper did two 2011 TV lists.

Best new shows of 2011:
1. Homeland
2. Boss
3. Shameless
.....

Nobody followed this up with any comment on Shameless. They've just released season 1 on DVD and the local reviewer gives it an over-the-top rating. Anybody ever watch it, have any thoughts?

[guru]

Hell on Wheels wrapped season 1 last night. Another terrific show from the good folks at AMC. Highly recommended for those of you who may have missed it. It helps to be a bit of a Civil War buff, as there are many subtleties to the characters that tie into their respective war experiences. When I have some time I'll try to get a thread rolling on the show.

And tomorrow night, Justified returns...

[jeremyp]

Hell on Wheels wrapped season 1 last night. Another terrific show from the good folks at AMC. Highly recommended for those of you who may have missed it. It helps to be a bit of a Civil War buff, as there are many subtleties to the characters that tie into their respective war experiences. When I have some time I'll try to get a thread rolling on the show.

And tomorrow night, Justified returns...

At first I thought it was going to be Deadwood lite, but it's a different pony and well worth watching. They have warped history though by leaving out the chinese workers whose labor/sweat/tears/deaths largely built the rails.