Josh

EASTERN BRACKET 1) Community vs. 4) The Office (U.S) - Brevity and uniform quality over distance-running with dips in quality. 3) The Walking Dead vs. 2) Seinfeld - Fuck. Off. With the zombies already. Seinfeld's class, too. CENTRAL BRACKET 9) Game of Thrones vs. 4) Breaking Bad - My proclivity will usually be toward drama set in the present and world of realism over either the past or a world of any degree of fantasy. 3) South Park vs. 15) Sons of Anarchy - Just die already South Park! Die! MOUNTAIN BRACKET 1) The Simpsons vs. 4) The Sopranos - Toughest. Goddamn. Thing. In the end, I just feel The Simpsons means more to its genre and to modern television. Plus, a larger wealth of material. 14) Louie vs. 2) Scrubs - Easiest vote for Louie so far. Scrubs has had it eeeeeeasy up 'til now. PACIFIC BRACKET 1) Arrested Development vs. 13) The A-Team - Okay, yeah, I'm happy with The A-Team making it this far. Now it's time for it to bow out gracefully. 6) Futurama vs. 2) The Wire - This is a vote on faith. I have not seen The Wire, but it's reputation is extremely strong and Futurama is ultimately imperfect.

ROUND 3 – THE SWEET SIXTEEN EASTERN BRACKET 1) Community vs. 4) The Office (U.S) 3) The Walking Dead vs. 2) Seinfeld CENTRAL BRACKET 9) Game of Thrones vs. 4) Breaking Bad 3) South Park vs. 15) Sons of Anarchy MOUNTAIN BRACKET 1) The Simpsons vs. 4) The Sopranos 14) Louie vs. 2) Scrubs PACIFIC BRACKET 1) Arrested Development vs. 13) The A-Team 6) Futurama vs. 2) The Wire You have approximately 51 hours to place your votes for The Sweet Sixteen. Voting for this round will end at 6:59 EDT/5:59 PM CDT/11:59 PM GMT on Sunday, April 15th. Remember to vote on every match-up, or else your votes will not be counted. And remember: this is the last time your votes will be done publicly.

Mountain and Pacific Bracket Second Round results are in! MOUNTAIN BRACKET In the battle of 1) The Simpsons vs. 8) House, the winner is 1) The Simpsons Fare thee well, House. You've done great, but The Simpsons has been on another level. 32-3. In the battle of 5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 4) The Sopranos, the winner is 4) The Sopranos A close battle. There should be no shame in this loss for Always Sunny. 20-15. In the battle of 6) Firefly vs. 14) Louie, the winner is 14) Louie The plucky underdog picks up a big win. 23-12. In the battle of 7) 24 vs. 2) Scrubs, the winner is 2) Scrubs Scrubs coasts through another round. 26-9. PACIFIC BRACKET In the battle of 1) Arrested Development vs. 8) Mystery Science Theater 3000, the winner is 1) Arrested Development A tough loss for MST3K, but AD was no less deserving. 23-12. We set a new record for smallest margin of victory in the battle of 5) Parks & Recreation vs. 13) The A-Team. The last-second winner is 13) The A-Team 18-17. A single vote difference. Not our biggest upset, but it's up there. Somewhere, TGC is cursing EWB. In the battle of 6) Futurama vs. 3) Friends, the winner is 6) Futurama No more free ride for Friends. 19-16. Finally, in the battle of 7) Twin Peaks vs. 2) The Wire, the winner is 2) The Wire That was a well-paired battle, and the victory seems that much more deserved for the winner. 24-11. Another round is behind us. Coming later today: The Sweet Sixteen. Also, it looks like we'll be voting via PM when we get to the Elite Eight.

I'm assuming that shooting for this season has been wrapped and the finale isn't intended as a series finale caliber episode. With that in mind, I honestly think the best case scenario is to finally make next season the last one. Even if it means a one-year big bump for a few actor contracts or a 13 episode season, Daniels should do all he can to keep what he has now and focus on wrapping things up in a satisfying manner.

Okay, that's the worst idea yet. Greg Daniels is better than that.

I need help reacting to something.

Mountain and Pacific second round voting is closed. Results will be available later, soon followed by the start of Sweet Sixteen voting!

Tremendous.

Eastern and Central Bracket Second Round results are in! In all but two of the matches, the difference between victory and defeat was no greater than four votes. EASTERN BRACKET In the battle of 1) Community vs. 9) The West Wing, the winner is 1) Community The first of two wide margins of victory in this first half of the second round. 28-10. In the battle of 5) How I Met Your Mother vs. 4) The Office (U.S.), the winner is 4) The Office (U.S.) Maybe it's due to my personal preference, but I did not expect this one to be this close. 20-18. In the battle of 6) Blackadder vs. 3) The Walking Dead, the winner is 3) The Walking Dead Blackadder put up a very noble fight, but current, American, and mainstream won out. 21-17. In the battle of 10) Frasier vs. 2) Seinfeld, the winner is 2) Seinfeld The second of the two easy victories here. Well done anyhow, Frasier. 26-12. CENTRAL BRACKET In the battle of 1) Lost vs. 9) Game of Thrones, the winner is 9) Game of Thrones We have our first ousting of a one seed, and just barely! 20-18. In the extremely, extremely close battle of 12) Monty Python's Flying Circus vs. 4) Breaking Bad - the winner is 4) Breaking Bad AMC favorite beats British classic, once again, 21-17. Will this change in our next battle? In the battle of 11) Fawlty Towers vs. 3) South Park, the winner is 3) South Park Nope. Current American basic cable threepeats, 21-17. Finally, in the battle of 10) Freaks and Geeks vs. 15) Sons of Anarchy, the winner is 15) Sons of Anarchy The bikers do it again. You'll be missed, Recurring Appearance by Trace Beaulieu. 21-17. Mountain and Pacific second round voting continues until tomorrow's deadline. SURVEY: I'm considering shifting the voting format from public thread to private message voting somewhere from the Elite Eight to the Tournament Championship match, in order to preserve some semblance of suspense. Yea or nay? If yea, where along the line would you like to see that shift take place? I'm personally leaning toward at least doing it for the final match. People would still be welcome to lobby and debate here in the thread, but all actual voting would be done in private.

MOUNTAIN BRACKET 1) The Simpsons vs. 8) House - It's very hard for me to vote against House, but It's The Goddamn Simpsons, People. 5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 4) The Sopranos - Totally an easy choice. Best drama I've ever seen. 6) Firefly vs. 14) Louie - I mean no offense to the Whedonites, but I feel Louie - on it's own - will mean more to television and television production Firefly. Plus, Louie just holds a higher place in my heart. 7) 24 vs. 2) Scrubs - I feel like both of these shows deserve to go no further than this, but at least I could see myself watching a full episode of Scrubs again. PACIFIC BRACKET 1) Arrested Development vs. 8) Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Fuck me, a choice this tough shouldn't be happening so early. I know it's an uphill battle, but for sheer uniqueness, breadth of material, and comfort factor, I have to give the nod to MST3K. 5) Parks & Recreation vs. 13) The A-Team - This is largely me being a contrarian, because I do genuinely love Parks & Rec as well. That said, I'll probably never feel like A-Team gets enough love, so it gets my support in the face of what I imagine is certain doom. 6) Futurama vs. 3) Friends - Yeah, no more free ride, Friends. 7) Twin Peaks vs. 2) The Wire - I imagine a lot of similar things could be said about these shows, despite their difference in styles. Ultimately, I feel like The Wire will be a better handbook for artistry on television, simply due to being a complete series.

Round 2 Eastern and Central Bracket voting has closed. I'll tabulate the results and have them later. For now, let the Mountain and Pacific Round 2 voting begin. MOUNTAIN BRACKET 1) The Simpsons vs. 8) House 5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 4) The Sopranos 6) Firefly vs. 14) Louie 7) 24 vs. 2) Scrubs PACIFIC BRACKET 1) Arrested Development vs. 8) Mystery Science Theater 3000 5) Parks & Recreation vs. 13) The A-Team 6) Futurama vs. 3) Friends 7) Twin Peaks vs. 2) The Wire SPECIAL NOTE: It looks like we don't need quite as much time for voting in this phase as I thought. The deadline for this set of matches will be one day sooner than usual. This is reflected below. You have approximately 38 hours to place your votes for both the Mountain and Pacific brackets. Voting for these brackets will end at 6:59 EDT/5:59 PM CDT/11:59 PM GMT on Thursday, April 12th. Remember to vote on every match-up in both brackets, or else your votes will not be counted.

Alright, I decided. EASTERN BRACKET 1) Community vs. 9) The West Wing - Apologies to West Wing, but Community is just too special. 5) How I Met Your Mother vs. 4) The Office (U.S.) - I make no apologies to HIMYM. 6) Blackadder vs. 3) The Walking Dead - Again, the whole zombie thing just ain't for me. Blackadder's tremendous and could beat a whole lot of shows. 10) Frasier vs. 2) Seinfeld - Very close. End of the day, I think I'm personally more drawn to comedies with some sort of emotional core. CENTRAL BRACKET 1) Lost vs. 9) Game of Thrones - Lost continues to hold no appeal for me. 12) Monty Python's Flying Circus vs. 4) Breaking Bad - Monty Python is far too influential. That's not a knock on Breaking Bad. 11) Fawlty Towers vs. 3) South Park - Not only Fuck Off South Park, but Fawlty Towers was perfect. 10) Freaks and Geeks vs. 15) Sons of Anarchy - It came down to aesthetic appeal for me. I kinda dig the whole outlaw thing. I do feel bad about this one, though. Seriously. Fawlty Towers, ya'll.

Raelynn is lovely No, Srar's right. Raelynn is the shits. I just caught up on the show today. GoGo's totally right about Erin. I also dig Wild Horses girl. Can't wait for Cee-Lo's team! (Even though I probably won't be able to watch and comment for a week.)

I'm actually gonna hold off on placing my votes for just a bit. I know here my votes are going in 6 of those 8 matches (South Park can fuck off, Fawlty Towers is TREMENDOUS), but I want some feedback on the other 2: 1) Lost vs. 9) Game of Thrones 10) Freaks and Geeks vs. 15) Sons of Anarchy Talk me into voting for your picks in those matches.

Round 2 draws nigh! In this round, to keep things moving at a clip we'll vote on two different brackets at the same time. This first half will feature the Eastern and Central brackets, with the Mountain and Pacific brackets to come in the second half. But first, a bit of context when it comes to the Eastern and Central brackets . . . IN MEMORIAM One Tree Hill Only Fools and Horses Peep Show Columbo Eastbound & Down The Tick (Animated Series) The Shield Star Trek: The Next Generation ER Mad Men Buffy the Vampire Slayer Bottom Supernatural Batman Farscape Doctor Who And now, ROUND 2 BEGINS. EASTERN BRACKET 1) Community vs. 9) The West Wing 5) How I Met Your Mother vs. 4) The Office (U.S.) 6) Blackadder vs. 3) The Walking Dead 10) Frasier vs. 2) Seinfeld CENTRAL BRACKET 1) Lost vs. 9) Game of Thrones 12) Monty Python's Flying Circus vs. 4) Breaking Bad 11) Fawlty Towers vs. 3) South Park 10) Freaks and Geeks vs. 15) Sons of Anarchy You have approximately 69 hours to place your votes for both the Eastern and Central brackets. Voting for this bracket will end at 6:59 EDT/5:59 PM CDT/11:59 PM GMT on Tuesday, April 10th. Remember to vote on every match-up in both brackets, or else your votes will not be counted.

It certainly was. To wit: And this moment came soon after:

Pacific Bracket results are in. Here are the final first round bracket results! In the battle of 1) Arrested Development vs. 16) The IT Crowd, the winner is 1) Arrested Development New bracket, same 1 vs. 16 result. Sorry, IT Crowd. 29-8. In the battle of 8) Mystery Science Theater 3000 vs. 9) Chuck, the winner is 8) Mystery Science Theater 3000 Once again, nerd interests collide! The OG nerds win out by 3 votes. 20-17. In the battle of 5) Parks & Recreation vs. 12) Curb Your Enthusiasm, the winner is 5) Parks & Recreation I again wonder what more exposure would do for Curb Your Enthusiasm, but this a pretty emphatic result. 29-8. In the battle of 4) Angel vs. 13) The A-Team, the winner is 13) The A-Team I want to call this a true upset. Maybe my perception of how much these two shows are loved on EWB is a bit off? 21-16. In the battle of 6) Futurama vs. 11) Red Dwarf, the winner is 6) Futurama Oddly enough, this was almost the biggest blowout of the bracket. 30-7. In the extremely, extremely close battle of 3) Friends vs. 14) The O.C. - the winner is 3) Friends Yeah, I'm just fucking with you. This was the biggest blowout of the bracket. 31-6. In the battle of 7) Twin Peaks vs. 10) Six Feet Under, the winner is 7) Twin Peaks I'm a little surprised here. That said, it was certainly close: 20-17. Finally, in the battle of 2) The Wire vs. 15) Prison Break, the winner is 2) The Wire The Wire had a comfortable lead, but it was by no means a blowout: 26-11. And that, ladies and gents, is the end of Round 1! Stay tuned, because the first batch of second round matches will be posted tonight.

Pacific Bracket voting is closed. And that's the whole first round. Expect another update tonight, kicking off Round 2.

Last call. I'll try to tabulate things and move forward tonight.

Surely that's a Terms of Service violation.

Is this some sort of weird pre-Good Friday thing or something?

Yeah, "Duckling." Tremendous, tremendous television.

Now you'll never leave us.