EWB's Top 50 TV Shows of 2012: The Results

[GoGo Yubari]

Just to spite you I am going to watch Mad Men and enjoy it!

JUST AS PLANNED

Also, Justified is about a US Marshall who gets reassigned to his hometown in Kentucky, where he would absolutely not like to be. Hijinks ensue.

[TKz]

Well now it sounds like a Scooby Doo episode.

"Like, ZOINKS Raylan! It was old man Crowder all along! He was trying to spook out the local tourists so he could use the theme park as a front for his meth lab!"

[GoGo Yubari]

Boyd would make the most hilarious Shaggy ever.

Raylan is Fred, of course.

[TKz]

Boyd would make the most hilarious Shaggy ever.

Raylan is Fred, of course.

Now that's a live action adaption I'd pay to see. Dewey can be Scooby.

[livid]

Pitch it! It's about time for a reboot of another franchise.

Like has been alluded to, I don't think it's a secret how much I love Justified. I could go on and on and on about how great it is but apparently I do that a lot anyways? I will say that Season 4 starts tomorrow!

I don't think my disdain for Sons of Anarchy is a secret either. From the end of Season 4, I knew I was never going to respect the show like I once did and at a certain point in Season 5 I just couldn't keep watching it anymore. GoGo's spot on with it being overrated because it isn't in the upper echelon of dramas, yet seems to be thought of that way. I'm just gonna kinda gloss over how much of a travesty it is that it's higher than Justified.

I got behind on the latest season of Mad Men and haven't gone back to it yet. I will though because I did quite like what I was seeing.

I still need to watch Louie. I had gotten the pilot when it first aired but never got around to watching it and just haven't gotten around to watching any of it since then. I probably will soon though as the praise it's getting is too good at this point.

[C-MIL]

Justified looks fun. Going to bump it up my to-watch list. Is it crazy lotsa episodes to catch up on?

Sons/Mad Men: I tried jumping in on both these and got nothing out of them. Might start from the beginning someday, but they're crazy lotsa episodes deep now and it only gets worse the longer I put it off.

Louie is a top 3 show. Dexter had a strong year, but c'mon.

[Kane's Mullet Slacker]

The Late Show trilogy from Season 3 of Louie was fantastic, loved it. I especially love David Lynch's character and Louie's ode to David Lynch during the credits.

Justified is a show I've been told I need to watch. I'll get around to it eventually.

Sons of Anarchy is another show I've been told to watch. It's available on Netflix but I don't know if I wanna jump into it. There's a lot of episodes to watch to catch up.

I like Dexter but the show's had it's peaks and valleys. Season 3 was very blah but Season 4 was great, Seasons 5 was crap, Season 6 fell apart and Season 7 was a mix.

Top 6 predictions:

6. Dexter

5. Parks and Recreation

4. Game of Thrones

3. Community

2. The Walking Dead

1. Breaking Bad

[Josh]

- Justified seems like a show I should try when I can. Dunno when that will be.

- Sons of Anarchy used to have a similar draw for me, but given recent backlash I'm not sure I should bother.

- It's really frustrating that I've put off watching Mad Men so far. That and a show that may well top this list are the 2 shows I most need to take the time to marathon through.

- 7 is good, but Louie should be even higher. Top 5 , at least, and that really depends on what the other 4 are. Given the preemptive backlash against Dexter, Louie should have at least broken the Top 6. To me, it's the very best comedy on television, and possibly the best show on television. It consistently seeks to change what we expect out of comedy, storytelling, and TV in general, and it manages to make it all either very funny or heartbreaking, if not both. Love the pic choice.

[livid]

Chuck's one of those shows I'm just waiting to pop up on Netflix so I can watch it all in a couple weeks.

You won't have to wait very long.

Justified looks fun. Going to bump it up my to-watch list. Is it crazy lotsa episodes to catch up on?

3 seasons of 13 episodes so not too many.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

I need to get round to watching Mad Men. This update means a few of my favorites are in the top six, brilliant.

And of course...LOUIE ISN'T FUCKING NUMBER ONE! Thank fuck, what a pile of steaming shit that is.

[livid]

You voted for True Blood. You have no business calling something else shit.

[Skummy]

More comments from a man who doesn't really watch television!

Never seen (or even heard of) Castle.

Never seen New Girl.

Never seen Modern Family.

Never seen The League.

Have seen maybe half an episode of 30 Rock, not formed an opinion.

I've not watched South Park in years. Aside from when it first started and I was still young enough to be amused by cartoon characters swearing, I never got into it. I'm aware that at some point it became a much more intelligent show than it used to be, but I've just never really been drawn to watch it again. Basically not watched more than a handful of episodes since the movie (which was awful).

Never seen (or heard of) Person Of Interest.

Never seen Chuck.

Adventure Time! Now we're talking. I absolutely adore it. I know it can be criticised for sometimes just throwing two random concepts together and hoping that funny ensues but, fuck it, it works. It's exactly my taste. It's very, very funny, very sweet, very cool, and has once actually brought a tear to my eye. I love that, every now and then, they pull out something genuinely heartbreaking, moreso than most kid's shows would ever dream of. It's smarter than people give it credit for, and I love how over the past couple of seasons they've gradually revealed little bits of character motivation and backstory. It's knowingly "random" and "wacky" in the same way that Animaniacs and a lot of '90s cartoons were, but less frantic in its energy, which, to me, makes it funnier, and a hell of a lot more surreal. I can imagine it aging pretty horribly, and in ten years time looking back and wondering what the hell we were thinking, but for now, I love it. It's fun, and never underestimates the intelligence of the kids watching.

I've never seen Sherlock, and probably should, just to see if I'd like it.

I've only seen a few episodes of Archer, so I don't really know the characters well enough to love it like some of my friends do, but I can tell I'd really enjoy it if I spent some time on it.

The Colbert Report is fantastic. I don't watch it nearly enough, but "Liking" it on Facebook was one of the best things I ever did, just to see quotes from it appearing every day. Always makes me laugh. For the first time, I'd say that America does satire better than the Brits now. Though it does often fall into the trap that Chris Morris once described as the problem with satire; it's just another way of saying "tut, whatever next?".

Speaking of which, The Daily Show! Also good, but I tend to prefer Colbert's format. Both fantastic, though.

I've never seen Boardwalk Empire. If I had more free time, I'd probably watch the shit out of it, it looks like something I'd love, and has a fantastic cast. My girlfriend's been watching it, and swears I'd love it.

Doctor Who's wonderful, and one of my favourite TV shows of all time. It's flawed as hell, but I love it that way. A shining example of the BBC doing something that I don't think anyone else could do, because no matter how new and shiny they try and make it, it's still a camp silly romp based off a 1960s TV show, and no one else would take the risks on it that the BBC consistently did to get to where we are today. I'd say that I can see why some people don't like it, but I have to say it through gritted teeth; it's my childhood. It's like saying "I can see why some people don't like sunshine and lollipops"; it's objectively true, but I don't quite believe myself when I say it. It's utterly ingrained into my life, and into the culture I live in, and I honestly believe that. I'd point to Dr Who, over the years, as a rare example of television as a beneficial medium.

Never seen Supernatural, don't quite understand what it is.

Never seen How I Met Your Mother.

Never seen It's Always Sunny...

I don't really like Big Bang Theory. I find it odd how we're constantly being told that geeks are being "empowered" in modern society, that "geeks are cool", yet the sitcom that's arguably at the centre of it is largely using their geekiness as a figure of fun. You can call it ironic all you like, but laughing at a nerd in glasses is laughing at a nerd in glasses.

More than that, it's the most Chuck Lorre TV show in history; I hate his style. The jokes are too obviously set up, the dialogue too stilted, the characters too one-dimensional, and the laugh track too over-bearing.

That said, while I'm not a fan of Big Bang Theory, I'm a huge fan of Sheldon Cooper. What Jim Parsons has done with that character is equivalent, to me, to David Hyde Pierce as Niles Crane, in terms of dragging what could have been a one-joke supporting character into an absolute star turn. It could have been a much lazier character, but Parsons adds nuances and characteristics that make the character more complete, and more memorable, than the rest of the show combined.

Never seen Homeland.

Never seen, or heard of, Justified.

Never seen Sons Of Anarchy. I'm sure it's great, and I know this is silly, but I've been massively put off by the sort of people who watch it. So many wannabe bikers and heavy metal kids that I have the misfortune of being Facebook friends with due to having DJ'd a heavy metal night, that are just arrogant, idiotic bigots, absolutely love this show. And that makes me think that I don't ever want to say "I love Sons Of Anarchy". Stupid, I know.

An unpopular opinion, I'm sure, but I found Mad Men absolutely fucking awful. I watched the first season, after my brother recommended it to me endlessly. At the time, I worked in a petrol station, where I was sat on my own for my entire shift, and barely had any customers. That was when I used to get through seasons and seasons of TV. I just found the whole thing to be style over substance, self-aware, knowingly "clever" nonsense. Private Eye summed it up perfectly with a one panel cartoon, in which one critic was raving about the accurate period detail, and the other replied "Oh, so they did not have plots in the '50s either, then?". I'll give it some credit, though, for being (for the most part) fantastically acted, and for not falling into the trap of retroactively moralising that so many period pieces do ("The Hour" - the first season of which I thought was vastly superior to Mad Men, sadly fell into that trap too often).

I don't like Louie in the slightest. A lot of my comedy fan friends, and comedian friends, really rave about it, but I don't see anything to him that hasn't been done before and better.

To me, that's akin to saying, "hey, go hang out with people you really don't like just so you can laugh at how terrible they are." I'm not going to waste my time with that!

Surely that's the point of television drama and comedy? Most of the greatest TV comedy characters of all time are people you would never dream of inviting into your living room.

[Jimmy]

This makes me realise how little TV I've watched in the last year, when that was predominantly what I used to watch. I'm going to try and get into Homeland and maybe Boardwalk Empire, Archer -- and I wouldn't mind a comedy, so maybe Louie. Still got some old shows to get through, but I miss having a good TV show to get into. I know Community will be back soon, but I need something else. Also need to catch up on Parks and Rec, which was fantastic and I'm not sure why I didn't keep up with its latest season.

[Walker]

Justified - Only real heard good things on EWB, so it has been added to me "to watch" list.

Sons of Anarchy - I've seen one episode. I can see that I would like it. I will probably tackle it this year once I'm caught up with ...

Mad Men - I love it, I really do, but it is really hard to binge on it. I can't power through several episodes in one go like I could with Breaking Bad. Nearly finished Season 3, I want to be caught up by the time Season 6 starts.

Louie - Absolutely adore that show.

[Jimmy]

Did you just make up Breaking Bad placing on this list?

[LL!]

And of course...LOUIE ISN'T FUCKING NUMBER ONE! Thank fuck, what a pile of steaming shit that is.

This is an example of a hilariously bad comment.

JohnnyPerfect, you are officially deemed as the poster with the worst taste on this board or... anywhere really.

[Walker]

Not sure what you mean.

[LL!]

I sense a pretty heavy quality drop coming soon though. I'm hoping the show has an end in sight, because it starting to overstay it's welcome.

Sutter has said he wants to end it at seven seasons which sounds about right. If stretching it just a tad.

Alright so...

Justified - Justified is awesome. I honestly think season 3 was even better than season 2 which is difficult because season 2 was phenomenal. I cannot wait for the next few days when season 4 starts. This series is gonna MAKE Walton Goggins.

Sons of Anarchy - I really love Sons of Anarchy for the most part, but season 5 was weird and ripe with "what the fuck? :/" moments. At this point only two characters of the whole slew seem to be likable, but I'm trusting Sutter to come up with something explosive for these last two seasons.

Mad Men - I watched the first three episodes a couple if years ago and it didn't grab me. My girlfriend absolutely adores it, and so do many many others so I'll give it another chance one of these days.

Louie - Absolutely brilliant television. It's simply raw and biting. It's real and it's hilarious and it's dark and it's depressing and that jumbled mess of emotions makes for very interesting viewing. Louis CK is so smart and it shows. But I guess it's not for mouth breathers who love Big Bang Theory and other shit shows.

[Benjamin]

Is it weird that I want to hate somebody purely based on their tastes of TV? Because that's how I feel about JohnnyPerfect right now.

[Your Mom]

Justified: Saw season 1 and it was pretty good. Not sure when I'll catch up

Sons: I was a pretty big fan but they are slowly but surely removing every single thing I ever liked about it

Mad Men: I don't get it. It's not like some shows that I actually hate it's just I don't get whats interesting about it.

Louie: Wanting to watch this but I can't find season 1 anywhere without having to buy it and I dont want to do that