List Making > Work
Television was my favorite art form, this year. Some years, it's music, others it's movies or books. But this year was all about TV. So, naturally, I made a list.
10. Gossip Girl 4x03 The Undergraduates
The Undergraduates is my pick for the best Gossip Girl episode of the year for one reason: Blair and Serena teaming up to take down Juliet was both well-deserved and awesome. For once, Serena got ahead of the person trying to destroy her and she and Blair's fake catfight was great. Also it included lots of confused Nate, which is the second best Nate. (Mr. Nate Humphrey is the best)
9. Breaking Bad 3x10 Fly
Breaking Bad is the most intense show on television, pretty much ever. I mainlined the entire series in about 2 weeks this summer and I had to make friendship bracelets during it so I wouldn't have a heart-attack. Fly is nowhere near as crazy as the final two episodes of the season, it's basically a bottle episode, just Walter and Jesse and a fly. It's one big metaphor for their fucked up lives and it's brilliant. Jesse's confession of how upset he still is over Jane's death is what got Aaron Paul his Emmy.
8. The Vampire Diaries 1x22 Founder's Day
One of the best season finales in recent memory. It delivered, with John Gilbert's vampire-mindfuck device going off, Mayor Asshole Lockwood dying and the final big werewolf hint for the Lockwood family, poor Anna being killed, Jeremy's insane emo, everything about Damon/Elena/Stefan that happened, and finally, Katherine returning, kissing Damon as Elena and cutting off awful John's fingers. Amazing.
7. Degrassi 10x15-16 My Body is a Cage
Degrassi's entire Boiling Point series was brilliant. It shook off the crap of the past two seasons, finally said goodbye to the original cast and introduced some really great new characters. The best being Adam, the first transgendered teen on a show that is geared primarily towards teenagers in Canada and the US. Adam is wonderful. He's so awkward and darling and this was his episode to shine. Degrassi has had some great (and not-so-great) LGBT storylines but it could have been very easy to fuck this up. In "My Body is a Cage," Adam struggles with flirting, his mother who is still having a hard time accepting that he is not "Gracie", bullies and a past with self-harm. Jordan Todosey, the actress that plays Adam, was heartbreaking and wonderful in every scene. And at the end, when Adam, along with his family and best friends, burned the last of his girly clothes, it was so gratifying. Now, Adam is gearing up for a romance with Fiona, which is just the absolute best thing I could ever hope for. Degrassi proved that it can still be great, even in its 10th season.
6. Futurama 6x10 Prisoner of Benda
When one of your writers creates a new math formula for an episode, you know it's going to be great. The Professor creates a machine that allows your mind to switch bodies. Hijinks ensue, my favorite being Fry in Zoidberg's body and Leela in the Professor's having sex. I can't wait for the DVD commentary about this episode, it's going to be hilarious and geeky to a crazy degree. I'm so glad Futurama is back and just as nerdy and funny as ever.
5. Mad Men 4x07 The Suitcase
This might be the best episode of the entire series. Top five, at least. Don and Peggy, the two people who love their work more than anyone else, battling over a suitcase campaign. Peggy attempts to leave several times, as it's her birthday and her lame boyfriend set up a surprise dinner with her family that she hates, but she chooses work and Don over them. Don has been avoiding returning a phone call to California because he knows it will mean that Anna, the only woman he ever really respected and cared deeply about, has passed away. He gets stinking drunk, has the most pathetic drunk fight with Duck Phillips and passes out in Peggy's lap. It's something only fans of the show can really appreciate, but it's great nonetheless.
4. Community 1x23 Modern Warfare
Last night's Christmas episode almost beat this one out for my favorite Community episode of this year (oh god, the tears). But ultimately, I stuck with the paintball episode because there are few things I love more than ridiculous action movies and this is an homage to them all. Abed's Terminator-esque entrance, Jeff's John McClane at the end, everything about Chang, it's all perfect. And the Jeff/Britta sexual tension finally came to a head, which was a well-needed piece of overall plot development.
3. The Venture Bros. 4x13 Bright Lights, Dean City
Every single episode of the Venture Bros' fourth season has been gold. I can't even tell you how many times I've watched the scene from "The Silent Partners" where the pirate Captain and Shore Leave talk about Degrassi. (Shore Leave: best character ever or best character ever?) It was really hard to pick one episode that I liked above the rest and I ultimately went with this one because God, do I love it when they make fun of Reed Richards. Professor Impossible and Phantom Limb's Revenge Society has been a brilliant storyline all season and this was the best episode about it. And the there's the whole Rusty writing a Broadway show about his pathetic life and Brown Widow, played by Nathan Fillion, singing along to "It's Rusty!" is hilarious.
2. Friday Night Lights 4x05 The Son
I refuse to believe there has ever been a better episode of dramatic television dealing with death than this. Matt Saracen coming to grips with his father's death is just shattering. He resented his father so much, for leaving him with his ailing grandmother and for being a hindrance rather than a help when he came back in season 1. But he was still his dad. There are a few especially devastating scenes, but the one that got to me the most was when Matt shows up to the Taylors for dinner, at about 10pm, drunk and shaken from seeing his father's body (he had stepped on a landmine and literally no longer had a face) and Tami serves him anyway and he gets upset about the carrots on his plate and he just completely breaks down in his own Matt Saracen way and it's utterly heartbreaking. He keeps apologizing and the Taylors keeps telling him it's okay and UGH, everything about it gets to me. Episodes like this are why Friday Night Lights is the best show on television that no one watches.
1. Parks & Recreation 2x24 Freddy Spaghetti
Freddy Spaghetti is my favorite episode of television of 2010 for many reasons. Almost every character has a great, emotional moment that just gets to you, as well as a dozen hilarious moments that make you laugh until your stomach hurts.
You have the further introduction of new characters, Ben and Chris. Ben is an amazing foil for Leslie, he's a state auditor who wants to shake his past of being a teenaged mayor and be respected again. Then you have Chris, a guy who runs 10 miles a day because he wants to run to the moon and takes a multi-vitamin so big that it's a choking hazard. I'm so excited to see them both more in the third season.
Andy and April finally admit to each other that they like one another (and high-five!) but April's afraid that he still has feelings for Ann. However, after Andy gets hurt in a motorcycle accident (which he's getting 12% interest on. It's like, one of the highest you can get.) she rushes to him and they kiss and it's awkward and amazing and so THEM. It all comes crashing down after that, when Andy tells her that Ann kissed him earlier that day, as she's always in a fragile place after she ends a long relationship, but in that moment, it's perfect.
Then you have Ron, who hates government spending and gets a semi just talking about being part of a task force put together solely to cut the budgets of the entire Pawnee government, standing up to save Leslie's job. Ben tells him, "Look, every department's losing a Leslie Knope." and Ron shoots back, "No, Ben, they're not. No other department even has one." Ron tells them he'd rather be fired, it would be a noble sacrifice for him, and it's so wonderful. I love Ron and Leslie's relationship, how much respect they have for each other and how Ron knows just how vital she is and shows her by giving her his spot on the task force.
Leslie, the heart of Pawnee and her little department, single-handedly puts on a free concert for kids at Lot 48. I love Leslie so much, she loves her job and providing a service for people and she's just so damn positive and wonderful and goofy and this episode is all of that to a T. My favorite moment (besides Andy and April kissing) is after the Freddy Spaghetti concert, she's sitting on the bench in Lot 48 and Mark Brendanaquits comes over to say goodbye. He gives her a layout for her park that she's always wanted to build and she laments "I won't get to build a park anytime soon." and Mark just tells her "I wouldn't bet against you." It's such a lovely moment between them and it makes me a tiny bit teary. It was just an amazing way to end an amazing season.
10. Gossip Girl 4x03 The Undergraduates
The Undergraduates is my pick for the best Gossip Girl episode of the year for one reason: Blair and Serena teaming up to take down Juliet was both well-deserved and awesome. For once, Serena got ahead of the person trying to destroy her and she and Blair's fake catfight was great. Also it included lots of confused Nate, which is the second best Nate. (Mr. Nate Humphrey is the best)
9. Breaking Bad 3x10 Fly
Breaking Bad is the most intense show on television, pretty much ever. I mainlined the entire series in about 2 weeks this summer and I had to make friendship bracelets during it so I wouldn't have a heart-attack. Fly is nowhere near as crazy as the final two episodes of the season, it's basically a bottle episode, just Walter and Jesse and a fly. It's one big metaphor for their fucked up lives and it's brilliant. Jesse's confession of how upset he still is over Jane's death is what got Aaron Paul his Emmy.
8. The Vampire Diaries 1x22 Founder's Day
One of the best season finales in recent memory. It delivered, with John Gilbert's vampire-mindfuck device going off, Mayor Asshole Lockwood dying and the final big werewolf hint for the Lockwood family, poor Anna being killed, Jeremy's insane emo, everything about Damon/Elena/Stefan that happened, and finally, Katherine returning, kissing Damon as Elena and cutting off awful John's fingers. Amazing.
7. Degrassi 10x15-16 My Body is a Cage
Degrassi's entire Boiling Point series was brilliant. It shook off the crap of the past two seasons, finally said goodbye to the original cast and introduced some really great new characters. The best being Adam, the first transgendered teen on a show that is geared primarily towards teenagers in Canada and the US. Adam is wonderful. He's so awkward and darling and this was his episode to shine. Degrassi has had some great (and not-so-great) LGBT storylines but it could have been very easy to fuck this up. In "My Body is a Cage," Adam struggles with flirting, his mother who is still having a hard time accepting that he is not "Gracie", bullies and a past with self-harm. Jordan Todosey, the actress that plays Adam, was heartbreaking and wonderful in every scene. And at the end, when Adam, along with his family and best friends, burned the last of his girly clothes, it was so gratifying. Now, Adam is gearing up for a romance with Fiona, which is just the absolute best thing I could ever hope for. Degrassi proved that it can still be great, even in its 10th season.
6. Futurama 6x10 Prisoner of Benda
When one of your writers creates a new math formula for an episode, you know it's going to be great. The Professor creates a machine that allows your mind to switch bodies. Hijinks ensue, my favorite being Fry in Zoidberg's body and Leela in the Professor's having sex. I can't wait for the DVD commentary about this episode, it's going to be hilarious and geeky to a crazy degree. I'm so glad Futurama is back and just as nerdy and funny as ever.
5. Mad Men 4x07 The Suitcase
This might be the best episode of the entire series. Top five, at least. Don and Peggy, the two people who love their work more than anyone else, battling over a suitcase campaign. Peggy attempts to leave several times, as it's her birthday and her lame boyfriend set up a surprise dinner with her family that she hates, but she chooses work and Don over them. Don has been avoiding returning a phone call to California because he knows it will mean that Anna, the only woman he ever really respected and cared deeply about, has passed away. He gets stinking drunk, has the most pathetic drunk fight with Duck Phillips and passes out in Peggy's lap. It's something only fans of the show can really appreciate, but it's great nonetheless.
4. Community 1x23 Modern Warfare
Last night's Christmas episode almost beat this one out for my favorite Community episode of this year (oh god, the tears). But ultimately, I stuck with the paintball episode because there are few things I love more than ridiculous action movies and this is an homage to them all. Abed's Terminator-esque entrance, Jeff's John McClane at the end, everything about Chang, it's all perfect. And the Jeff/Britta sexual tension finally came to a head, which was a well-needed piece of overall plot development.
3. The Venture Bros. 4x13 Bright Lights, Dean City
Every single episode of the Venture Bros' fourth season has been gold. I can't even tell you how many times I've watched the scene from "The Silent Partners" where the pirate Captain and Shore Leave talk about Degrassi. (Shore Leave: best character ever or best character ever?) It was really hard to pick one episode that I liked above the rest and I ultimately went with this one because God, do I love it when they make fun of Reed Richards. Professor Impossible and Phantom Limb's Revenge Society has been a brilliant storyline all season and this was the best episode about it. And the there's the whole Rusty writing a Broadway show about his pathetic life and Brown Widow, played by Nathan Fillion, singing along to "It's Rusty!" is hilarious.
2. Friday Night Lights 4x05 The Son
I refuse to believe there has ever been a better episode of dramatic television dealing with death than this. Matt Saracen coming to grips with his father's death is just shattering. He resented his father so much, for leaving him with his ailing grandmother and for being a hindrance rather than a help when he came back in season 1. But he was still his dad. There are a few especially devastating scenes, but the one that got to me the most was when Matt shows up to the Taylors for dinner, at about 10pm, drunk and shaken from seeing his father's body (he had stepped on a landmine and literally no longer had a face) and Tami serves him anyway and he gets upset about the carrots on his plate and he just completely breaks down in his own Matt Saracen way and it's utterly heartbreaking. He keeps apologizing and the Taylors keeps telling him it's okay and UGH, everything about it gets to me. Episodes like this are why Friday Night Lights is the best show on television that no one watches.
1. Parks & Recreation 2x24 Freddy Spaghetti
Freddy Spaghetti is my favorite episode of television of 2010 for many reasons. Almost every character has a great, emotional moment that just gets to you, as well as a dozen hilarious moments that make you laugh until your stomach hurts.
You have the further introduction of new characters, Ben and Chris. Ben is an amazing foil for Leslie, he's a state auditor who wants to shake his past of being a teenaged mayor and be respected again. Then you have Chris, a guy who runs 10 miles a day because he wants to run to the moon and takes a multi-vitamin so big that it's a choking hazard. I'm so excited to see them both more in the third season.
Andy and April finally admit to each other that they like one another (and high-five!) but April's afraid that he still has feelings for Ann. However, after Andy gets hurt in a motorcycle accident (which he's getting 12% interest on. It's like, one of the highest you can get.) she rushes to him and they kiss and it's awkward and amazing and so THEM. It all comes crashing down after that, when Andy tells her that Ann kissed him earlier that day, as she's always in a fragile place after she ends a long relationship, but in that moment, it's perfect.
Then you have Ron, who hates government spending and gets a semi just talking about being part of a task force put together solely to cut the budgets of the entire Pawnee government, standing up to save Leslie's job. Ben tells him, "Look, every department's losing a Leslie Knope." and Ron shoots back, "No, Ben, they're not. No other department even has one." Ron tells them he'd rather be fired, it would be a noble sacrifice for him, and it's so wonderful. I love Ron and Leslie's relationship, how much respect they have for each other and how Ron knows just how vital she is and shows her by giving her his spot on the task force.
Leslie, the heart of Pawnee and her little department, single-handedly puts on a free concert for kids at Lot 48. I love Leslie so much, she loves her job and providing a service for people and she's just so damn positive and wonderful and goofy and this episode is all of that to a T. My favorite moment (besides Andy and April kissing) is after the Freddy Spaghetti concert, she's sitting on the bench in Lot 48 and Mark Brendanaquits comes over to say goodbye. He gives her a layout for her park that she's always wanted to build and she laments "I won't get to build a park anytime soon." and Mark just tells her "I wouldn't bet against you." It's such a lovely moment between them and it makes me a tiny bit teary. It was just an amazing way to end an amazing season.