I updated the list of my top TV dramas after realizing that I had watched some new shows that forced their way in, and that I'd have to expand my list significantly. Disclaimers: I still haven't seen Boardwalk Empire, or much of Treme, Friday Night Lights, nor have I seen "The Good Wife." Odds are that these shows might change the lower hiearachy once watched, but the top 7 shows are pretty solid in my opinion now. Beware of spoilers...In descending order, here they are:
11: "The Sopranos." (HBO) This is a very low position for a very important show, I agree. Nonetheless, while I followed the early seasons with gusto, I found the last 2 seasons to be somewhat of a slog, and I wasn't enthused enough to continue watching it. I followed the recaps on TWOP and kept abreast of developments, but nearly 7 years after the infamous "fade to black", I still haven't watched those last episodes and have not much desire to. That says something to me.
10 (tie): "Game of Thrones" (HBO), and "Homeland." (Showtime). Both shows deserve to be on this list, but I can't kick off any nor do I want to change my previous #12s and 13s, so I gave them a tie. Both shows are wonderfully acted and have set a very high bar. Homeland deservedly won the Emmy for "Best New Show" and GoT has become a cultural phenomenon thanks to GRRM's excellent books (I'm also a fan of those). I'm expecting great things for both shows.
9. "Sons Of Anarchy." (FX) This is more of an emotional ranking. If you go by overall quality in recent seasons, then GoT/Homeland would leapfrog this show, but SOA has been around for 5 seasons come September and I've been riding along with them since then. SOA will tell the story it wants to tell, whether you like it or not, and I've decided to appreciate it for what it is rather than for what it could be. I'm down for the rest of the ride.
8. "The Shield" (FX): Grittier than a spoonful of gravel pudding. Rougher than sandpaper. Pulpier than freshly squeezed orange juice. The Shield was uncompromising, brutal, direct and raw. Michael Chiklis tore up his cuddly Commish image and through the character of Vic Mackey re-wrote the textbook on corrupt cops. The dangers of running rogue were frankly presented as the Strike Team acted as a law unto themselves, with tragic results. The series finale of "The Shield" remains as the best single episode of any TV show I've ever seen, and it's a textbook example of how to wrap up a TV series.
7. "Terriers" (FX). You may not have heard of this TV show, or if you heard of it you were wondering "what is it about? Dogs? Private Investigators? What?" Do yourself a favour; go watch it. Buy the DVD set, watch it on Hulu, torrent it, do whatever it takes. Go watch it, and I'll be here to receive your thanks when you're finished, and your grief and anger that we only had one season of it. What are you still doing reading? Go watch the 13 episodes now now now!
6. "Justified" (FX). Harlan County, a place I love watching on TV but wouldn't want to live in. The exploits of Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens started off in a pretty good way in Season 1, then made a huge leap from good TV to great TV in Season 2 with the addition of Mags Bennett. Season 3 was never going to live up to the heights of Season 2, but they did an admirable job to keep the quality as high as they could, and Justified continues to stake its claim as one of the top TV shows of the current crop. Hands down, it's the best drama on FX since "The Shield" ended.
5. "Deadwood" (HBO). Also known as "Profanity as Poetry". The fictional account of Deadwood in what was the frontier USA was a rollicking tale of community, how various nefarious characters with nothing in common came together to forge something worth defending. Ian McShane broke out as one of the most iconic characters of all time as Al Swearangen, while Timothy Olyphant led as Sherriff Seth Bullock. It was a very complicated and interacting tale, sadly cut short after three seasons with a whole lot more story to tell. Alas, whe'll never hear those stories.
The remaining series will be posted later :-) see you then!
11: "The Sopranos." (HBO) This is a very low position for a very important show, I agree. Nonetheless, while I followed the early seasons with gusto, I found the last 2 seasons to be somewhat of a slog, and I wasn't enthused enough to continue watching it. I followed the recaps on TWOP and kept abreast of developments, but nearly 7 years after the infamous "fade to black", I still haven't watched those last episodes and have not much desire to. That says something to me.
10 (tie): "Game of Thrones" (HBO), and "Homeland." (Showtime). Both shows deserve to be on this list, but I can't kick off any nor do I want to change my previous #12s and 13s, so I gave them a tie. Both shows are wonderfully acted and have set a very high bar. Homeland deservedly won the Emmy for "Best New Show" and GoT has become a cultural phenomenon thanks to GRRM's excellent books (I'm also a fan of those). I'm expecting great things for both shows.
9. "Sons Of Anarchy." (FX) This is more of an emotional ranking. If you go by overall quality in recent seasons, then GoT/Homeland would leapfrog this show, but SOA has been around for 5 seasons come September and I've been riding along with them since then. SOA will tell the story it wants to tell, whether you like it or not, and I've decided to appreciate it for what it is rather than for what it could be. I'm down for the rest of the ride.
8. "The Shield" (FX): Grittier than a spoonful of gravel pudding. Rougher than sandpaper. Pulpier than freshly squeezed orange juice. The Shield was uncompromising, brutal, direct and raw. Michael Chiklis tore up his cuddly Commish image and through the character of Vic Mackey re-wrote the textbook on corrupt cops. The dangers of running rogue were frankly presented as the Strike Team acted as a law unto themselves, with tragic results. The series finale of "The Shield" remains as the best single episode of any TV show I've ever seen, and it's a textbook example of how to wrap up a TV series.
7. "Terriers" (FX). You may not have heard of this TV show, or if you heard of it you were wondering "what is it about? Dogs? Private Investigators? What?" Do yourself a favour; go watch it. Buy the DVD set, watch it on Hulu, torrent it, do whatever it takes. Go watch it, and I'll be here to receive your thanks when you're finished, and your grief and anger that we only had one season of it. What are you still doing reading? Go watch the 13 episodes now now now!
6. "Justified" (FX). Harlan County, a place I love watching on TV but wouldn't want to live in. The exploits of Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens started off in a pretty good way in Season 1, then made a huge leap from good TV to great TV in Season 2 with the addition of Mags Bennett. Season 3 was never going to live up to the heights of Season 2, but they did an admirable job to keep the quality as high as they could, and Justified continues to stake its claim as one of the top TV shows of the current crop. Hands down, it's the best drama on FX since "The Shield" ended.
5. "Deadwood" (HBO). Also known as "Profanity as Poetry". The fictional account of Deadwood in what was the frontier USA was a rollicking tale of community, how various nefarious characters with nothing in common came together to forge something worth defending. Ian McShane broke out as one of the most iconic characters of all time as Al Swearangen, while Timothy Olyphant led as Sherriff Seth Bullock. It was a very complicated and interacting tale, sadly cut short after three seasons with a whole lot more story to tell. Alas, whe'll never hear those stories.
The remaining series will be posted later :-) see you then!
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