My 12 Favorite TV Shows In January
This is not an all-time list or whatever. Just a few shows that I have been enjoying in January 2011 in no particular order.
Fringe
... has been consistently good in its third season. Sure, there are some people who will stop watching because of the baby plot, but I think it is an interesting idea, considering all that has been going on with Peter and the two Olivias. It's definitely the most fucked up love triangle I have ever seen. I love when the show gets personal and doesn't strictly separate the drama from science fiction. I feel like a lot of SciFi shows (I'm looking at you V) fail to make their characters interesting enough to make us care when something affects their life, but Fringe has never not made me care for Olivia, Peter or Walter.
The Wire
I've watched pretty much all of season four in January and it is the best season of the show in my opinion. During it's first three season the show has always looked at a specific problem affecting Baltimore (the drug business, the docks, political corruption), but I feel that the fourth season's focus on the school system was the most brutal and honest so far. You can feel how everything starts coming together. You get an up-close look at how those kids cannot escape from becoming drug dealers even though some of them try so hard. It's heartbreaking and I don't think I will ever get over Bodie's death. The way he was shot was just so incredibly cruel, I couldn't stop crying.
How I Met Your Mother
This is one show I never thought would be on any of my lists again. The writers truly did a 180 and saved the show. They realized that it's not about Barney and his friends. It's about Ted and his friends. With the introduction of Zoey they have finally managed to find someone who fits into the group perfectly and who I would actually like to be the mother, but I guess that won't be happening if they stick to continuity.
Community
I watch a lot of shows. A lot. Really. I would call them all creative, but Community is reinventing the word with every episode. Never have I seen anything so incredibly ambitious. The writers change things up week to week and it never feels forced. Just look at the fabulous bottle episode where Annie loses her pen and everyone turns into a psycho or the Dungeons & Dragons episode. Those plots may not sound exciting, but Community is so full of lovely details and easter eggs that it's hard not to fall in love with it. And if you don't want to watch it for anything else, at least watch it for the adorable bromance between Abed and Troy.
The Good Wife
If this list had a particular order, this would be #1. All the shows I love have at least had one or two bad episodes. It's just the nature of things. But The Good Wife ... I seriously cannot remember one single episode I did not like. The quality is so consistent that I sometimes wonder if the writers are actually robots. Every week we are presented with a new case, but it never feels forced because the professional lives of the characters always affect them personally in one way or another. The cast is superb, the writing is flawless. I really can't say anything bad about this show. I'm in love with it, I wanna take walks with it on the beach, I want to take it to dinner and I want to spend the night with it.
Grey's Anatomy
I believe that Grey's Anatomy is a very misunderstood show. People always think the worst of it, but I think it's a very good drama. Sure, it can be cheesy sometimes, but that is what makes it what it is in my opinion. Its strength are definitely the characters. And there are a lot of them, which is why it never gets boring. Besides, how else am I going to get my weekly shirtless Jesse Williams fix?
House
... has been on the air for seven seasons and the writers still manage to keep it fresh. House (the character) has changed a lot and is in a relationship with Cuddy now, which serves as a basis for a lot of new and interesting stories. What I like about this season is that they have also started fleshing out the other doctors more. We never knew much about Chase or Taub in the previous seasons, but now I feel like we've been best buddies for the past six years. While the show is pretty much consistently good, there is one particular reason that I put it on the list: the latest episode, in which House has to save Cuddys mother. It was a very bold episode, because House (the character ... this is getting annoying) showed his even darker side when he threatened to fire Masters and brought her to tears. Not a lot of TV shows these days can have such a despicable protagonist and get away with it.
90210
Whatever, kill me. I enjoy it. The main reason why I even started watching the show again was the announcement of Teddy becoming gay. I didn't expect to love it so much though. Trevor Donovan is doing a really good job with the coming out storyline and the rest of the cast has become better too, at least judging from what I remember of season 1. I'm not saying that 90210 is in any way quality television, because it isn't. However, it is very entertaining and I'm glad I gave it another chance after ignoring all of the second season.
Justified
It's only been back for one episode so far, but I loved it. Timothy Olyphant has really grown as an actor and he is acting the shit out of Raylan Gibbons. You can just feel how much he enjoys playing him. While I'm a little bit sad that they wrapped up the first season's storyline in just ten minutes, I'm already looking forward to the Bennet clan as the new big bad of the season. It's kind of sad that nobody I know watches this show. The pilot and the first few episodes are not really representative of what Justified has become, so if you ever decide to give it a chance, don't give up too soon.
Being Human US
No, I have not seen the original. And I probably won't for a long time. I hate people who hate remakes just for the fun of it. I think Being Human US is a lovely show with three very likeable main characters. Two minutes into the pilot you care so much about what happens to Aidan, Josh and Sally as if you have spend the last few years hanging out with them. The writing isn't the best, the acting probably isn't neither, but it's charming and cute. That's all.
Friday Night Lights
The last few episodes of this show have moved me to tears. It was so hard to say goodbye to all the people you cared about for the past five years. Eric and Tammi Taylor are probably two of the best characters in the history of television. It's rare to see a marriage depicted so realistically, but then again FNL has always been very keen on staying realistic. That's why it always felt so real. While the finale wasn't really the best episode of the show, it was a very fitting way of saying farewell to Dillon. I never knew I would be so consumed by a show about football.
Skins
I'm talking about the original, not the US. Season five started with an episode focusing on Franky only and I loved it. The new generation is definitely more interesting than the characters from seasons three and four. I can't wait for Grace's episode. She is so fucking adorable. If I was straight I would probably fall in love with and marry her. So lovely. Everyone keeps complaining that S5 so far does not have the typical Skins feel to it, but I could not disagree more. This is Skins at its finest. There's no need for gangsters, drugs or orgies. Some people forget that most of the teenagers in this world are not high 24/7.
Fringe
... has been consistently good in its third season. Sure, there are some people who will stop watching because of the baby plot, but I think it is an interesting idea, considering all that has been going on with Peter and the two Olivias. It's definitely the most fucked up love triangle I have ever seen. I love when the show gets personal and doesn't strictly separate the drama from science fiction. I feel like a lot of SciFi shows (I'm looking at you V) fail to make their characters interesting enough to make us care when something affects their life, but Fringe has never not made me care for Olivia, Peter or Walter.
The Wire
I've watched pretty much all of season four in January and it is the best season of the show in my opinion. During it's first three season the show has always looked at a specific problem affecting Baltimore (the drug business, the docks, political corruption), but I feel that the fourth season's focus on the school system was the most brutal and honest so far. You can feel how everything starts coming together. You get an up-close look at how those kids cannot escape from becoming drug dealers even though some of them try so hard. It's heartbreaking and I don't think I will ever get over Bodie's death. The way he was shot was just so incredibly cruel, I couldn't stop crying.
How I Met Your Mother
This is one show I never thought would be on any of my lists again. The writers truly did a 180 and saved the show. They realized that it's not about Barney and his friends. It's about Ted and his friends. With the introduction of Zoey they have finally managed to find someone who fits into the group perfectly and who I would actually like to be the mother, but I guess that won't be happening if they stick to continuity.
Community
I watch a lot of shows. A lot. Really. I would call them all creative, but Community is reinventing the word with every episode. Never have I seen anything so incredibly ambitious. The writers change things up week to week and it never feels forced. Just look at the fabulous bottle episode where Annie loses her pen and everyone turns into a psycho or the Dungeons & Dragons episode. Those plots may not sound exciting, but Community is so full of lovely details and easter eggs that it's hard not to fall in love with it. And if you don't want to watch it for anything else, at least watch it for the adorable bromance between Abed and Troy.
The Good Wife
If this list had a particular order, this would be #1. All the shows I love have at least had one or two bad episodes. It's just the nature of things. But The Good Wife ... I seriously cannot remember one single episode I did not like. The quality is so consistent that I sometimes wonder if the writers are actually robots. Every week we are presented with a new case, but it never feels forced because the professional lives of the characters always affect them personally in one way or another. The cast is superb, the writing is flawless. I really can't say anything bad about this show. I'm in love with it, I wanna take walks with it on the beach, I want to take it to dinner and I want to spend the night with it.
Grey's Anatomy
I believe that Grey's Anatomy is a very misunderstood show. People always think the worst of it, but I think it's a very good drama. Sure, it can be cheesy sometimes, but that is what makes it what it is in my opinion. Its strength are definitely the characters. And there are a lot of them, which is why it never gets boring. Besides, how else am I going to get my weekly shirtless Jesse Williams fix?
House
... has been on the air for seven seasons and the writers still manage to keep it fresh. House (the character) has changed a lot and is in a relationship with Cuddy now, which serves as a basis for a lot of new and interesting stories. What I like about this season is that they have also started fleshing out the other doctors more. We never knew much about Chase or Taub in the previous seasons, but now I feel like we've been best buddies for the past six years. While the show is pretty much consistently good, there is one particular reason that I put it on the list: the latest episode, in which House has to save Cuddys mother. It was a very bold episode, because House (the character ... this is getting annoying) showed his even darker side when he threatened to fire Masters and brought her to tears. Not a lot of TV shows these days can have such a despicable protagonist and get away with it.
90210
Whatever, kill me. I enjoy it. The main reason why I even started watching the show again was the announcement of Teddy becoming gay. I didn't expect to love it so much though. Trevor Donovan is doing a really good job with the coming out storyline and the rest of the cast has become better too, at least judging from what I remember of season 1. I'm not saying that 90210 is in any way quality television, because it isn't. However, it is very entertaining and I'm glad I gave it another chance after ignoring all of the second season.
Justified
It's only been back for one episode so far, but I loved it. Timothy Olyphant has really grown as an actor and he is acting the shit out of Raylan Gibbons. You can just feel how much he enjoys playing him. While I'm a little bit sad that they wrapped up the first season's storyline in just ten minutes, I'm already looking forward to the Bennet clan as the new big bad of the season. It's kind of sad that nobody I know watches this show. The pilot and the first few episodes are not really representative of what Justified has become, so if you ever decide to give it a chance, don't give up too soon.
Being Human US
No, I have not seen the original. And I probably won't for a long time. I hate people who hate remakes just for the fun of it. I think Being Human US is a lovely show with three very likeable main characters. Two minutes into the pilot you care so much about what happens to Aidan, Josh and Sally as if you have spend the last few years hanging out with them. The writing isn't the best, the acting probably isn't neither, but it's charming and cute. That's all.
Friday Night Lights
The last few episodes of this show have moved me to tears. It was so hard to say goodbye to all the people you cared about for the past five years. Eric and Tammi Taylor are probably two of the best characters in the history of television. It's rare to see a marriage depicted so realistically, but then again FNL has always been very keen on staying realistic. That's why it always felt so real. While the finale wasn't really the best episode of the show, it was a very fitting way of saying farewell to Dillon. I never knew I would be so consumed by a show about football.
Skins
I'm talking about the original, not the US. Season five started with an episode focusing on Franky only and I loved it. The new generation is definitely more interesting than the characters from seasons three and four. I can't wait for Grace's episode. She is so fucking adorable. If I was straight I would probably fall in love with and marry her. So lovely. Everyone keeps complaining that S5 so far does not have the typical Skins feel to it, but I could not disagree more. This is Skins at its finest. There's no need for gangsters, drugs or orgies. Some people forget that most of the teenagers in this world are not high 24/7.