Josh

I have not seen The Walking Dead. I have heard mixed reviews. I can't say I'm in a hurry to watch it. PARKS AND GODDAMN REC. Very glad to see this show not only gaining critical success, but mainstream acceptance as well. The flipside here is Community. This show most definitely deserves its number one slot. Very few shows even come close (Parks and Rec and Louie come to mind.) However, while Parks and Rec is deservedly getting the mainstream credit it deserves, Community has gotten the shaft. I'm not a praying man, but I'll offer up a burning goat to any deity I can if it means keeping Community on the air. Meanwhile, NCIS is in no danger of cancellation or even going on hiatus. In summary, the current state of television can F- Well, you know.

It's Always Sunny is a show I've only caught randomly here and there. It IS very funny, but non-stop cold, dark comedy wears out for me after a point. Dexter is perhaps the primary symptom of my "I don't get premium cable, so I'll probably never watch the awesome shows that can be found there" problem. However much the series has degraded recently, I'm still very intrigued by what I've heard and I wish I had a convenient legal way to watch it. Modern Family is the rare exception to my "I don't watch a series at all if I can't follow it from the beginning" rule. I just started this season and love it. It's not in the same class as Community, Louie, or Parks & Rec, but it's very funny stuff. I actually saw an episode of HIMYM for the first time just this week. Not as god-awful-oh-shit-just-make-it-stop as I expected. In fact, relatively entertaining. That fucking laugh track though. Ugh. Speaking of that show, this is somehow the funniest thing I've read in the entire thread: Sons of Anarchy I have never seen, and I chalk that up mostly to my "have to see it from the start" rule. When I first heard about it, I thought "well, it'll certainly have my kind of artifice, but it'll probably be all artifice" so I just didn't bother. Apparently, I was wrong. I'd like to watch through it at some point. Breaking Bad? More or less the same thing as Sons of Anarchy, for me. I want to see it even more. Game of Thrones? See Dexter. The good news is that we're apparently completely out of Fuck Right Off territory. Hopefully I haven't jinxed it.

Captain America was good, but Thor was fucking TOPS. And it was largely due to its over-the-top stuff.

House. That's a complicated one for me. I'll start by reiterating what TGC said. Two additional points: - Losing Cuddy through some bullshit behind the scenes was a huge blow to the series. For closure's sake, you couldn't end the series with last season's finale, but it's tough as hell to keep going on. *sigh* This should be the last season. They've done an admirable job, but the time has come. I just hope things wrap up nicely. - The main saving grace that keeps me watching every week? Hugh Goddamn Laurie. To a lesser extent, some of the supporting cast, but without his fucking genius performance I wouldn't care anymore. Supernatural has zero appeal for me. My roommate introduced me to a bit of Doctor Who (with the current Doctor.) It was good, but fuck that series is incredibly intimidating to get into. Big Bang Theory - say it with me - can Fuck Right Off. Not only is it godawful television, it's airing opposite the best show on TV, Community. Community's gone on hiatus and this drizzling bullshit gets the ratings. Not necessarily surprising, but it irritates me all the same. South Park is fun now and then. I can't bring myself to watch it consistently. The League's position on this list reeeeeaaaally surprises me. I know some of you have talked it up, but (relatively speaking) not that many of you. And this is virtually the only place I ever hear about it. Maybe I'll check it out sometime. Chuck's just never interested me. The Office is still lots of fun for me. It's still a great ensemble cast and Robert California has been an outstanding addition. I was pretty nervous with Steve Carrell leaving, but I feel the show is doing fine despite being forced to shift its focus. FUCKING LOUIE. LOUIE. That one should be Top 5, if not Top 2. "Eddie", "Duckling", a bag of dicks in an elevator, Joan Rivers, and on and on, there's just too many great things this show has done in a single season. Fuck, it made me like Dane Cook! How the fuck is that even possible? LOUIE LOUIE LOUIE LOUIEEEEE. LOUIE LOUIE LOUIE LOU-IIIIIIIII. And The Daily Show is The Daily Show. Very little television is made with this same level of talent and conviction. And even less bothers to address so much that really matters in the moment at hand. Plus? Fucking funny stuff.

Promise?

I get why Glee is popular (at least I think I do), and I will completely admit that I see its popularity as a symptom of a culture I feel I am above. Yeah, I can be a pretty sanctimonious son of a bitch. Shocker, I know. That said, I have many actor friends who love the show and that confounds me further - but I try to keep my rage bridled around them, as I do see how it can bring joy. Empty, meaningless, platitudinal joy, but joy. Let's quietly file this one under Fuck Right Off. Fringe and Castle have just never appealed to me. I suppose they're likely inoffensive? That's the best I can say. True Blood appealed to me for a few days. I saw some clip of the villain giving a hammy-as-all-fuck performance, and it started to have a sort of pro wrestling appeal. Given the steady stream of negative things I've heard about it from people I respect, this has gone back to . . . well, not Fuck Right Off, but I have no desire to watch it. Boardwalk Empire! This may be chief among the shows I have not seen and badly want to. The pedigree is just too damn good to ignore it. Clearly, Zero and his friends are streets ahead.

We were this close to a group without a Fuck Right Off show, then NCIS shat on all of our heads. Burn Notice at least seems like a relatively original series, even if not something I'd actively choose to watch or even leave on in the background. Justified seems pretty interesting, but it's one of many shows that suffer from "fuck, seems late to start watching now." 30 Rock may not be what it once was, and it's my least favorite of the actually good NBC Thursday Night stuff, but it's still head and shoulders above 95% of television. COLBERT REPORT. This should have been much, much higher on the list. The continuing developments of the Colbert Super PAC alone should have put this show in the Top 15, if not the Top 10.

That wish would basically entail making it a 100% fictional series, as opposed to a partially-scripted reality series, which is kind of a useless wish. We already have Gilligan's Island, which did that as well as anyone ever will. Alternatively, Lost, which I hear is okay. And I really do try not to be negative. It's just that I find it's best to limit my TV watching to only the stuff I personally find superb. If I really followed every show that was just decent, I wouldn't make time for many other, more productive things.

I feel ya. It's one of my favorite films, but I completely acknowledge that it's kinda up its own ass and even inspired other films to get up their asses. That said, William H. Macy! Julianne Moore! John C. Reilly! JASON GODDAMN ROBARDS. While it's not the only reason, the biggest reason I love Magnolia is the fucking cavalcade of strong performances.

Shocker of the Year: I like The Simpsons a lot. I'm cool with it not being higher on the list, but I also see that a lot of filler got ranked higher. Boo. Never seen Wilfred, but it looks very promising. Tosh.0 I can only watch in VERY limited doses. I can't even get through a full episode. Just overkill. I rarely find shows that I would call "good, not great." I tend to follow a show religiously or write it off entirely. Psych is a rare middle-ground exception. Fun show, but nothing so compelling that I MUST watch it. Survivor has always been and always will be a "fuck right off" show. It may be the OG of "fuck right off" shows for me. If I was given 10 wishes, wiping the existence of Survivor from all of history would probably make the list.

Have to repeat the mentions of The Departed and The Royal Tenenbaums. On that note, add The Life Aquatic. This one may be a bit more controversial, but Magnolia is the first thing that comes to mind in this category. Also? Basically anything the Coen Brothers have ever done. O Brother, Where Art Thou?, No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Ladykillers, etc.

Ah, so that's why -1 for Baddar.

File Under Fuck Off: Amazing Race. File Under My Roommate Likes It, So I Merely Tolerate It When I Have To Be In The Room: Once Upon a Time. File Under If My Roommate Watched This, It Would Be In The Above Category: Happy Endings. American Horror Story seems to have potential. However, it also looks like a show that could be consumed with artifice and have no real depth. Maybe I'll get around to it one day. Archer is the only one here I've seen and actually liked. That said, I would have to start from the beginning if I wanted to follow it regularly. This group at least showed potential for everything after it getting out of Fuck Right Off territory.

I've heard nothing but great things about Bored to Death, but have never seen it. The rest . . . I have no opinion on? They may as well not exist? Sort of a filler 5 for me.

2 Broke Girls and NCIS: Everything can fuck right off. Never heard of the 2 anime things. No real appeal there for me. I've never heard of QI but OH MY FUCK STEPHEN FRY. It has to be glorious. Has to be. I've seen enough to file it under "fuck right off."

The first one was good, but could have taken the ridiculousness a lot farther. Hopefully, this one does just that.

My god, I almost forgot Louie somehow. How the hell did that happen?

Actually, fuck it. Here's my list. And there will be no Tough Enough, even if it would have made 15 picks. 1. Community 2. Louie 3. Parks & Recreation 4. The Colbert Report 5. The Daily Show 6. House 7. The Office 8. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations 9. Top Chef 10. Modern Family 11. 30 Rock 12. Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives 13. The Simpsons 14. Chopped 15. Conan EDIT: Holy fuck, how'd I forget Louie?

GoGo, what's your opinion on including Tough Enough? Not sure that I'll have 15 even with it, but then I may just leave it off. Not sure.

The Muppets. As someone who grew up watching the originals, this was just tremendous. It totally broke apart my cynicism, and that's hard to do these days.

Get to sharin' people!

Man finds original work prints of Manos. Seeks to create Remastered Manos Blu Ray. I shit you not.

The Rankin-Bass claymation television specials, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Hobomabo already brought up Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, and I'll add Santa Claus (the Mexican kids' movie.) I've only ever watched the MST3K versions of each, but even in their original form they should be fun. Finally, anything involving Muppets and Christmas, especially Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas. You may be able to watch that one for free on YouTube.

I know I'm way behind on this, but fuck right off NBC.