Winter TV Review: The Best (and Worst) TV of 2010

I know I'm late to the party, but I have planned to get back to more television writing here at NYaT. I have to admit, I'm far from a TV expert. I don't have time to watch every show (and there are a few on my list to pick up in 2011) but I wanted to compile a list of shows I like a lot--and a few I couldn't stand. So without further ado, let's get to my list top television series of 2010:

Miss Blankenship was one of the best characters of 2010 (AMC)

Top 5 Series

1. Mad Men: It was a really weird year for Don Draper and SCDP but what made it different, made it great. In my opinion it was their finest season yet. The season started with the question "Who is Don Draper?" and by the end of the season we realized that it may be a man (and a company) headed for some rocky times. The omission of the very annoying Betty Draper for much of the season was enough to bump up the season and "The Suitcase" was one of the all-time great episodes of the show. The latter episode should get someone an Emmy (Elizabeth Moss who I have been critical of in the past was excellent) and I don't know what award we can give to "The Queen of Perversions", Miss Ida Blankenship, but maybe they can add her to the "in memorium" part of the Emmy's. Her death joins the "lawnmower scene" as the two most sickly funny things that have happened on the show.

2. Breaking Bad: Every once in a while I'll decide I've had enough of not watching a show that everyone else loves and catch up on it. Breaking Bad was an easy choice and I zoomed through two seasons of the show. I found it entertaining and was excited for the third season. And the third season blew me away like Jesse Pinkman blew that guy away in the finale. The shootout scene in the parking lot at the end of "One Minute" was something the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino would have been proud of. The season finale left a lot of questions in the air for Walter White, Jesse Pinkman and the whole drug operation, but the season answered a lot of questions about the contender status of this show: it's truly one of the best. The mark of a good show for me is that when I can recommend it to my dad and we both really like it. Dexter and Breaking Bad are two of the best and they both fall under this category.

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Amar'e Stoudemire Lights the Menorah? (and other weekly questions)

O.J. Simpson is still not a Jew, but if the newest New York Knick star, Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire, has his way, he may be considered for Adam Sandler's next "Hanukkah Song". Stoudemire says that he may have some Jewish roots on his mother's side and wants to find out more about them.  If you follow Amar'e on Twitter, you may have seen some odd tweets recently about his pilgrimage to Israel and his search for his "Hebrew" roots.We may have to change his Twitter handle from "Amareisreal" to "AmareIsrael", especially considering this interview he filmed with an Israeli news station (H/T Ian):

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24 Recap: So I’m About to Marry a Mass Murderer…at the Jersey Shore

If they made a list of worst television girlfriends I would think you would have to put Denny right up there. But do you know who else from this past year goes right up there? Sammy “Sweetheart” from Jersey Shore. And you know what the tell-tale sign of a bad girlfriend is? When she makes the boyfriend get into fights for her only to stab him in the back when the time comes. But if you take this comparison a little further, Ronnie and FP jr have a ton of same personality traits: bad accents, ridiculously delivered lines, undeserved loyalty to a lying girlfriend, and they beat the crap out of people when they fight. I’m sure I could take this analogy a bit further, so as I go through the recap of this game changing episode—with a plot so full of holes, you could drive a fleet full of zodiacs with nuclear rods on it, a human resources department so inept at CTU that Tobey Flenderson from The Office would refuse to work there—we’ll figure out who the rest of the members of 24 equate to which members of Jersey Shore.

Chloe O’Brien as Snooki

Misunderstood at first (or mistaken as slightly “off”--I mean Chloe does look a bit autistic) but knows how to get things done. Also, she’s not a big fan of violence or people telling her what to do. The most disappointing thing about the ending of this episode is that for 59 minutes, Snooki er, Chloe shined. It was her finest piece of work. It was like the episode where Snooki finally got back into the group and was partying with her pals only to get punched in the face by a school teacher. Damn you, harsh world! The dialog between Chloe and Bubba (who doubles as the boss, Brian, here in so many ways) was great this episode. We start the episode off with Bubba whining about losing all aerial surveillance and drone capabilities. Bubba, that’s been a problem since hour 1 this season, why should anything change now? Looking a little shaken up, Chloe asks Bubba if he’s all right and gets the great response: “No, Chloe, I am not okay.” Poor Bubba; first 'Nam, now this!

Things get worse for Bubba when NSA arrives. I could list the amount of times that NSA has screwed things up on this show (all of Season 2 with their moles), but you could tell from the start they weren’t going to be good news for the CTU crew. NSA is on site and pulling power plays. The guy who helped design it is there and he’s not happy what Bubba has done with the place. Does he mean the hole blown through the side of the building or the fact that they allow moles into their operation? Such a loaded statement there when you think about it (don’t think too hard).

Well Chloe is trying to fix things but she’s getting distracted by everyone. First Denny shows up and Chloe tells her to get the heck out of her way. Then she tries to go to Bubba or Arlo the Horndog (who is definitely Pauly D—a good enough guy who just wants to go get drunk and get laid) for help but both aren’t giving her the support she needs. Then she goes down to convince the NSA guys to listen to her but no one is having a bit of her. So, after a quick phone call with Freckles, who tells her to “do what she needs to do”, Chloe does just that. She walks back into the room where NSA is working, demands they follow her plan to drill into the trunk line, and when they don’t listen (and her anger builds), she pulls a gun. “You’re probably an OK guy when you’re not at work,” Chloe said to the NSA guy as she made him leave the room. Poor Chloe/Snooki and their guy troubles.

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Creed Is So Underrated

He doesn't usually get confessionals and there's never been an episode about him, but now that Kevin has seemed to be put a little more front and center, I nominate Creed for the most underrated member of The Office. This deleted scene from the last episode illustrates why:



One last Office tidbit. Well maybe more than a tidbit. This Ausiello post asks if Pam is going to be replaced as receptionist? Well that would certainly add to the shakeup started by Michael's quitting. Wonder if Michael's standing up to the Man will allow Pam to do the same? And wouldn't that make some fun storylines for Sweeps? Wow.

(Speaking of "quitting", I just started reading "Watch With Kristin" and now she's leaving for maternity leave. Lame.)

Ausiello with 24, Lost, The Office and Big Love Spoilers

This man always keeps me informed (again, below is just on the shows that I watch). Here's my thoughts:

I always thought that 24 should wrap things up at the end of this season...but it doesn't seem I'm getting my wish. One more now seems like it's pushing it a bit.

I still haven't recovered from the Big Love episode on Sunday. Wow. One death comes in the season finale and one sooner? A guy and a girl? One major and one ancillary? I feel like we have a death and then some retaliation. Sounds like fun!

You knew if Pam and Jim were going to get married on The Office that it wouldn't be easy. Glad the show's producers/directors always seem to agree with me

Lost is amazing. I think the majorish character who dies could be Penny or it could be Miles. But, remember, who/what is really dead on this show? Could Desmond and Walt come back at some point to reincarnate Penny and Michael, respectively, if both are dead? Sure...why not. Anything's possible. The two new characters also get me interested. A former soldier could mean a friend of Widmore, Sayid, Desmond or none of them. And a corporate takeover could have to do with Widmore or Sun's father's companies...or maybe a takeover of the island. Fun awaits!

Without further ado, Ausiello's Q&A:

Question: How about some 24 scoop? --Josh
Ausiello: Longtime executive producer-director Jon Cassar has left the show after failing to come to terms on a new contract. "I will not be involved with the upcoming eighth season," he tells me. "Although that's sad for me to leave after six years, it's also very exciting to be back in the marketplace working with different people and facing different challenges." (First up for Cassar is CBS' new Ed Bernero pilot, Washington Field.) His split from 24 is particularly surprising considering the close relationship he formed with Kiefer Sutherland. In fact, Sutherland himself expressed confidence that Cassar's contract negotiations would yield a positive result when I spoke to him last month. "There is no more integral part to the success of 24 than Jon Cassar, and I think [exec producers] Joel Surnow and Howard Gordon will tell you the same thing," he said. "We're a whole unit, and one part doesn't work without the other. He's also obviously one of my best friends and someone that I absolutely adore working with. I have all the faith in the world that things will work out, as they have over the last seven years." Or not!

Question: Does Sarah's miscarriage on last week's Big Love count as one of the major deaths this season? --Deanna
Ausiello: No. The two deaths I'm referring to are of the non-fetus variety.

Question: Holy crap. I just watched the new episode of Big Love and it was so intense! I'm getting anxious about the two deaths. Do you know if they'll be airing soon or is it a season finale thing? --Kristina
Ausiello: One in the season finale and one before.

Question: How 'bout some scoop on The Office? --Jacqueline
Ausiello: Done. Producer-co-star Mindy Kaling plans to ruin Jim and Pam's wedding. "America just loves [them] so much," she notes, "and since we are one of the only shows that doesn't [score its episodes], the worst thing we could ever do is, like, score [their big nuptial kiss] with some Edwin McCain song. So I am going to probably pitch that we do that." What a little troublemaker!

Question: Do you think the major-ish character that will be killed this season on Lost could be Juliet? Please say no. I have a girl-crush on her. --Michelle
Ausiello: Join the club. Nah, Juliet is considered a major character, no "ish" about it, so I think she's safe. In other Lost news, look for the season finale to intro two new, potentially recurring, characters: Jason is a former soldier whose gravitas makes him a natural-born Pied Piper; and Samuel is a J.R. Ewing (minus the Stetson, accent, and drunk wife) whose day isn't complete without a corporate takeover.

Question: Is Penny dead on Lost?! OMFG, what is this show doing to me! --Gaby
Ausiello: Penny, on the other hand, definitely falls under the "ish" category. And even more ominous than the big fat target on her forehead is the fact that her portrayer, Sonya Walger, has landed the lead role in a new ABC pilot that, appropriately enough, is already drawing comparisons to Lost. The show is called Flash Forward, and it's based on Robert J. Sawyer's apocalyptic tome that chronicles the mass chaos that comes after everyone on the planet blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. The flash-forward part applies to the vision of the future that everyone experiences during the blackout. But even if ABC orders the show to series, as many expect it will, that doesn't mean Walger is done with Lost. Quite the contrary. As a well-placed Lost insider tells me, "She will juggle both shows."

"Ryan Started the Fire" -- Best Office Video. Ever.

If you're a fan of The Office then you will like this video. It sort of stole my idea of putting fake songs to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire", but this is so cool, I can't complain (btw...I found this on Rainn Wilson's--AKA Dwight Schrute--twitter)

LOST Spoilers...

Ausiello reports

Oh man, I'm excited!!!!

Next week will be a HUGE week:
24, MLK day off, Barack inauguration, LOST back!!!!, Restaurant Week in NY, Astron Solutions 10 year anniversary, 2 years with Pass...plus a new episode of SVU, Law & Order, the Office, Scrubs

and much, much more...maybe GNW can go to like $10 too...