Best of 2011: Top Ten Series

Welcome to the second and final of my year end blog posts. (I should have a few more posts before the end of the year, but this will be my last one on 2011 as a whole.)

At the end of the year, critics like to look back at the television of the past year. One of the most popular way of doing this is by making a top ten list. I decided to join in the fun, making my list of ten series.

Without further ado, let's get to the ten. They are after the jump along with a list of honorable mentions.

Best of 2011: Top 10 Episodes of 2011

Welcome to my first post on the best of 2011! This is a series of posts that will publish over the next three days. These will highlight what I think was the best of television to air over the past year. (*)

(*) Disclaimer: I cannot say that I have seen everything, or even the vast majority of what is on television. This is purely coming from my sample of TV.

The first list will be my top ten episodes to air over the past year. My process was this: I picked one episode from each show that I thought was worthy of consideration, and then I narrowed down that list to ten episodes. It led to some very difficult decisions and the cutting of some very good episodes of television.

The final ten that I picked are after the jump. (They are presented in alphabetical order by episode title.)

November Sweeps Catch Up: How I Met Your Mother

Robin and Barney share a moment on "How I Met Your Mother"
Credit: CBS

I take a look at the current state of How I Met Your Mother after the jump.

Alex's TV Watch is Back!

Hello, everyone!

This is the last time I will be writing such a post. I'm back, this time I mean it. October happened to be a month where my time for writing was slim. Writing is not my career, so sometimes things get in the way.

However, I'm back. It's time to get back to writing about television in what should be 4-5 posts per week.

However, I won't be returning to weekly reviews for a little bit. I have a lot of TV writing on which I need to catch up. To do this, I will be creating a new series of posts that should last me through the end of the month. "November Sweeps Catch up" will cover many of the series that are airing on broadcast TV. The day after the latest episode of a series airs, I will be dissecting the series on an overall level.

This will start tonight, with a review of the series "Once Upon a Time."

On the Old TV Watch Project, this will resume full time on Sundays in January. I will be continuing my coverage of Veronica Mars season 1 at that point. On the Serenity front, that review will happen before the end of the year, as soon as I find time to watch the two hour movie and write about it.

Thank you all for reading, and I'm looking forward to us sharing our thoughts on television with each other.

RIP Steve Jobs

The computer industry lost a truly important figure today. Steve Jobs has died at the age of 56.

Since getting my first iPod several years ago I have never turned back. Jobs has completely changed the way I (and the world) look at technology.

Appropriately and sadly, I am typing this post on my iPhone.

I will leave this thread open for discussion of his role in the computer/music/MP3 player/phone/ tablet industry.

New Show Review: FX's American Horror Story

Connie Britton Stars in "American Horror Story"
Credit: FX

My review of the new series "American Horror Story" is after the jump.

Archer-"Heart of Archness Parts I, II, and III"

Again, the cast of "Archer"
Credit: FX

The final part of the Archer "special assignment" just finished airing on FX, and I have some thoughts on it after the jump.

Pilot Review: "New Girl"

Isn't Zooey Deschanel "adorkable" on "New Girl"?
Credit: FOX

Some thoughts on the pilot of the new series New Girl are after the jump.

Season Premiere Review: Two and a Half Men-"Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt"

Ashton Kutcher joins the cast of "Two and a Half Men"
Credit: CBS

Some quick thoughts on the premiere of Two and a Half Men are after the jump.

Emmy Live Blog 2011!

Like I mentioned in my Fall TV post from earlier today, I will be covering the Emmys in a very similar way to how I covered the Oscars. I will be live blogging the ceremony. I use the Cover It Live system which allows you to join in the fun and comment along with me.

It will start tonight at 7:30PM tonight! I can't wait for you guys to join us!

Archer-"Heart of Archness: Part I"

The Cast of "Archer"
Credit: FX

I was lucky enough to have my screener of the fall premiere of Archer arrive today. Unfortunately, that didn't give me enough time to write a full review of the episode before the episode aired.

So, all I will say is that this was absolutely hysterical. It continued its plotline in a way that was both brilliant and hysterical. I found myself laughing at this half hour of television more then anything I have watched in a good long time. The one liners flew out of the characters' mouths so quickly. I barely had time to recover before the next one liner had me falling over with laughter. Seriously. This was good.

What I also loved about it was that it was based in a very genuine place. Archer is dealing with the grief of his fiance dying in a very genuine way. I can't wait to see what Adam Reed and crew have cooked up for the rest of this mini-arc. That ending at the pirate fortress was a very good place end part one.

What did everyone else think?

Up all Night-"Pilot"

Regan and Chris spend some time with their baby on "Up All Night"
Credit: NBC

I just watched last night's airing of the pilot and I have some quick thoughts on it after the jump.

Emmy Picks 2011: Who Will Win? Who Should Win?

Margo Martindale from "Justified"
Credit: FX

It's that time of year folks, the Emmys are here! I have previously announced that on Sunday I will be live blogging the ceremony, but for now, I would like to share my predictions. This post will consist three items for each category: The nominees, who will win, an who should win. I will be taking a look at comedy and drama series, the major acting awards, the major writing awards, and the major directing awards. All that is after the jump.

Fall TV 2011!

"Chuck" will be a show that is covered regularly on this site.
Credit: NBC

It's that time of year again folks! The fall TV season started yesterday, so I'm a day late in publishing my "What I will cover this fall" post. Everything you need to know about my coverage of the fall TV season is after the jump.

Season Finale: Suits-"Dogfight"

The Cast of "Suits"
Credit: USA

Some thoughts on the finale of Suits, and the season as a whole, are after the jump.

Breaking: Early Access to Pottermore has Begun

Credit: Pottermore/J.K. Rowling/WB

I just woke up to a big surprise in my email. I now have access to Pottermore! My early access account has just been activated.

The Pottermore insider has confirmed this with the following statement:

We’re excited to announce that early access to Pottermore has begun, so if you’re one of the million people who found The Magical Quill and registered for early access, please read the rest of this Insider post carefully.

The most important thing to know is that we need to stagger entry to the ‘Beta’ (early) version of Pottermore so we can properly collect all the feedback. To begin with, we’ll be inviting a very small number of people onto the website, so you may not receive your Welcome email straight away.

We’ll be sending those Welcome emails out over the coming weeks and, once yours arrives, you’ll be able to log in and start helping us develop the Pottermore experience. 

If you want me to continue to update this story with early findings please comments.

See you in Pottermore!

White Collar-"Countdown"

The cast of "White Collar"
Credit: USA

Some thoughts on the midseason finale of White Collar are after the jump.

Hello Everyone, It's Been Awhile...

Hello readers, it's been awhile.

I would like to apologize to you all for my prolonged absence from the blogosphere over the past few weeks. I know that when you read this blog you expect me to be there writing new posts, and I haven't been there recently.

I could rant about how I'm enjoying summer, how my summer job is very tiring (for the record, I make no money on this site at this point), and how my summer work is taking up a lot of time but I won't. I know that I don't feel like writing long tirades on those subjects, and that you don't want to read paragraphs and paragraphs about excuses.

What I want to do is get back to writing between 2 and 5 posts a week about television. This will happen immediately.

Although, there is one more detail I want to work out. I have been horrible about the Old TV Watch Project. Three series proved to be way too much to run at the same time.

Here's my proposal: First, we finish off Firefly with a Serenity review. I know there are people who email me often about that and I feel awful for not getting to it when it was scheduled in June. That will be online Thursday. Then, it becomes a little more complicated. I don't think I can make this a weekly project. I think I'm going to make this more like Myles McNutt's catchup project and write about one season at a time, when I have time to write it.

So how it would work is whenever I have time to watch and episode or two and throw together a post, I'll do that. I will probably end up posting 2-4 posts a month. As for the show, I though long and hard about this. In the end, it came down to pageviews, and my Veronica Mars posts are higher viewed then my Friday Night Lights posts. So, what I'm going to do is write as many posts as I can, when I can write them. I will give you 24 hours notice on each post to watch the episodes on DVD or on theWB.com. Friday Night Lights will resume as soon as I finish Veronica Mars Season 1.

So, let's get back to it! Look for some brief thoughts on the White Collar midseason finale publishing at 10PM.

Emmy Nominations 2011!

Hey everyone! It's been awhile! Due to a combination of factors (including the new Harry Potter movie, which was awesome, and not having computer access all weekend), it's been a little quiet on the blog.

This means that I didn't do my big post on the 2011 Emmy nominations that I was planning. But it's all good because I have come up with a better plan that will allow me to spread my coverage over the weeks as lead up to the Emmys.

What I'm planning is that I will do a post on all of the major categories discussing who's nominated and predictions in the categories. I'm going to do this over the next 9 Thursdays (with one Tuesday in the middle), starting with this Thursday.

The schedule is what follows:

Thursday July 21st: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Thursday July 28th: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Thursday August 4th: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy
Thursday August 11th: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy
Thursday August 18th: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama
Thursday August 25th: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama
Thursday September 1st: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama
Thursday September 8th: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama
Tuesday September 13th: Outstanding Drama Series
Thursday September 15th: Outstanding Comedy Series

After the jump I have a list in all of the major categories (and others that I will be keeping an eye on during the Emmys) from the nomination list.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Here's All My Choices in One Place

Over the past few weeks, I have done a series on the 2011 Emmy nominations. I went through the eight major acting categories and the two series categories. For each category I listed my predictions and who I would put on my Emmy Ballot. You can find that information for each category after the jump.

As a note, look for my thoughts on the Emmy nominations tomorrow around 4:30PM ET.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Outstanding Comedy Series

Parks and Rec is brilliant!
Credit: NBC

We have come to the end of my series on the 2011 Emmy nominations. (If you want to look back at previous posts, just click the link). We wrap up with the nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series after the jump.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Outstanding Drama Series

"Jusified" should be nominated for an Emmy
Credit: FX

This post is a part of a series on the 2011 Emmy nominations. I have finished my coverage of the major acting awards and now I move on to the series categories. My thoughts on the category "Outstanding Drama Series" are after the jump.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy

Zachary Levi plays "Chuck"
Credit: NBC

This post is a part of a series on the 2011 Emmy nominations. I continue my coverage with the category Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy after the jump.

Torchwood: Miracle Day-"A New World"

The Team runs into a little trouble with a helicopter on "Torchwood"
Credit: Starz/BBC

My review of tonight's premiere of Torchwood: Miracle Day is after the jump.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy

Amy Poehler is Leslie Knope on "Parks and Rec"
Credit: NBC

This post is a part of a series on the 2011 Emmy nominations. I continue my coverage with the category Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy after the jump.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Nick Offerman is Ron F***ing Swanson!
Credit: NBC

This post is a part of a series on the 2011 Emmy nominations. I continue my coverage with the category Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy after the jump.

Louie-"Moving"

Louie does some stand up on "Louie"
Credit: FX

Some quick thoughts on tonight's episode of Louie are after the jump.

Wilfred-"Fear"

Ryan and Spencer watch some porn on "Wilfred"
Credit: FX

Some quick thoughts on tonight's episode of Wilfred are after the jump.

Season Finale: Men of a Certain Age-"Hold Your Finish"

Joe, Terry, and Owen eat at Norms on "Men of a Certain Age"
Credit: TNT

My review of tonight's season finale of Men of a Certain Age, and some thoughts on the season as a whole are after the jump.

Programming Note: Twin Peaks Notice

I'm sorry to say that Twin Peaks will not be covered as a part of the Old TV Watch Project this summer. My schedule just can't handle three shows a week as a part of this project. However, Twin Peaks will be covered in the winter/spring slot starting in February.

Recap: No Twin Peaks this summer, will instead start in February.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Yvonne Strahovski is fantastic on "Chuck"
Credit: NBC

This post is the continuation of my coverage of the 2011 Emmy nominees. Last Week, I took you through the Drama Acting Awards. This week, I will take you through the comedy acting categories, starting with Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy after the jump.

Louie-"Bummer/Blueberries"

Louie has an awkward date on "Louie"
Credit: FX

This wasn't an episode of Louie that gave me a lot to think about because there's no way I can relate to the topic of the episode. Sure, some of the moments on the date were funny, but they did leave me with a whole lot swimming in my head. My thoughts on the episode could be summed up with the thoughts "That was fine". 

With the holiday weekend looming, I just don't have the energy to create bullshit on this episode. I do have a lot to say on next week's episode though. Come back next week for those thoughts.

So, I'm going to leave it to you. What did you all think of tonight's episode? 

Wilfred-"Trust"

Wilfred freaks out at the vet on "Wilfred"
Credit: FX

Some quick thoughts on tonight's episode of Wilfred are after the jump.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama

Raylan Givens has no hat on "Justified"
Credit: FX

Over the course of the next two weeks I will be covering the major Emmy categories. Over the past few days I have covered most of the major drama acting awards. Today, I cover the last of those major drama acting awards, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama. Last year's nominees, my predictions, and who I would nominate are after the jump.

Necessary Roughness-"Pilot"

Dani and Matthew do some talking on "Necessary Roughness"
Credit: USA

Some thoughts on the premiere of Necessary Roughness are after the jump.

Men of a Certain Age-"Whatever Gets You Through the Night"

Joe runs into some trouble on "Men of a Certain Age"
Credit: TNT

My review of tonight's episode of Men of a Certain Age is after the jump

Royal Pains-"Traffic"

Wait, what is Winona doing in the Hamptons?
Credit: USA

Some thoughts on the season premiere of Royal Pains are after the jump.

Friday Night Lights-"Wind Sprints"

Tim Riggins and Coach Taylor have a talk on "Friday Night Lights"
Credit: NBC

Here's my delayed continuation of my look back at Friday Night Lights with the episode "Wind Sprints" after the jump.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama

Lauren Graham is amazing on "Parenthood"
Credit: NBC

Over the course of the next two weeks I will be covering the major Emmy categories. Over the past two days I have been covering the Supporting Actor and Actress in a Drama. Today, I move on to lead actress in a drama. Last year's nominees, my predictions, and who I would nominate are after the jump.

Firefly-"Objects in Space"

River looks at a "harmless object" on "Firefly"
Credit: FOX

Oh boy is this review delayed! This review fell trap to my very schedule outside of the blog. I would have time to sit there and write a part of a paragraph, but never a full review. So, finally, here's my continuation of my look back at Firefly with the episode "Objects in Space" after the jump.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama

Peter Dinklage gives a strong performance on "Game of Thrones"
Credit: HBO

Yesterday, I started my Emmy coverage with a post on the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama category. Today, I move on to the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama category.

As a reminder, these posts are divided into three parts: last year's nominees, my predictions, and who I would nominate if I had a ballot. All three of those parts are after the jump.

Veronica Mars-"Meet John Smith"

SPOILER! on "Veronica Mars"
Credit: WBTV

Here's my delayed continuation of my look back at Veronica Mars with the episode "Meet John Smith" after the jump.

Emmy Predictions 2011: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama

Margo Martindale was amazing on "Justified"
Credit: FX

This post is the beginning of a series of posts on the upcoming Emmy nominations for 2011. Over the next two weeks I will be taking you through the major acting and series awards building up to the nomination announcement on July 14th. How this will work is each post will be broken up into three parts: last year's nominees because Emmy voters tend to be complacent, my predictions for the nominations, and who I would pick if I had an Emmy Ballot.

I'm going to start today with Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama. (As an FYI, you can download the performers ballot here to see where actors submitted themselves). You can find everything after the jump.

Leverage-"The Long Way Down Job"

Nate and Elliot go to a cold place on "Leverage"
Credit: TNT

My review of the season premiere of Leverage is after the jump.

Suits-"Pilot"

Again, the cast of "Suits"
Credit: USA

I offered my thoughts on this USA drama earlier today. I didn't find it to be anything special by any means. It's just your average USA network procedural.

Now, it's your turn. What did everyone else think?

Louie-"Pregnant"

Louie spends some time with his kids on "Louie"
Credit FX

Unfortunately, my busy schedule over the past couple of weeks has prevented me from putting together a full review of tonight's very funny season premiere of Louie. From the stand up bits about Louie's thoughts on kids to the appearance of his sister, and finally to the ultimate fart this episode was absolutely amazing. Like I said in my review yesterday, I really loved the first four episodes of this show and I can't wait to share more thoughts on later episodes. 

But for now, what did everyone else think?

Wilfred-"Happiness"

I offered my thoughts on this very weird comedy yesterday. I found that there were elements of the show that worked very well, and elements that didn't. The elements that worked well were good enough to vastly overpower the bad. If you liked this one even a little bit, stick around because it does improve with time.

Now, it's your turn to share your thoughts. I'm very curious to hear what you guys thought of it. Was it funny to you?  Did you think it was weird? And most importantly, did you like it?

Burn Notice-"Company Man"

Michael does some spy stuff on "Burn Notice"
Credit: USA

My review of the season premiere of Burn Notice is after the jump.

Advanced New Show Review: USA's "Suits"

The cast of "Suits"
Credit: USA

My review of the new USA Network drama Suits is after the jump.

Update: Breaking News: JK Rowling Announces Pottermore

A Pottermore Screenshot
Credit: Warner Bros/JK Rowling

Update Thursday 6/22 1:20 PM: So now we know exactly what Pottermore is. It's essentially an online community for people to read the Potter books. It's going to be the online presence for the series with e-books, audiobook downloads, and most importantly: exclusive, new content from JK Rowling. For more information, MuggleNet has the press release and some photos here.


UPDATE WEDNESDAY 6/22, 9:40PM: The owls are gathering at http://www.youtube.com/jkrowlingannounces/! Can't wait to find out what Pottermore is! Look for a post as soon as I can tomorrow (which may be in the afternoon).

I know this blog is about TV, but I have to report on this story as it broke.

About two hours ago, JK Rowling sent a link to ten Harry Potter Fansites with a set of coordinates. The instructions were to go to http://www.secretstreetview.com/ and enter each coordinate. When you enter the coordinate and zoom down to street view, there's a letter.

Nine Letters have been released so far. You can find the links to the coordinates here. (I'm sourcing MuggleNet) I'm putting what they spell after the jump just in case you want to figure it out for yourself. It's OK, I can wait...

Men of a Certain Age-"Can't Let That Slide"

Joe prepares some dinner on "Men of a Certain Age"
Credit: TNT

My review of tonight's episode of Men of a Certain Age is after the jump.

Advance Review: FX's "Louie" Returns for Season 2

Louie has one of many awkward encounters on "Louie"
Credit: FX

Louie returns for its second season tomorrow on FX, but I have some thoughts that I'd like to share today. Those thoughts are after the jump.

Advanced New Show Review: FX's "Wilfred

Jason Gann stars as "Wilfred"
Credit: FX

My review of FX's new comedy Wilfred is after the jump.

Falling Skies-"Live and Learn" and "The Armory"

Members of the 2nd Mass try to raid an armory on "Falling Skies"
Credit: TNT

I shared my thoughts on this very fine sci-fi drama on Friday. It wasn't the best thing that I've seen on television this season, but it serves it's purpose well.

Now, it's your turn to share your thoughts.

What did everyone else think of the series?

Friday Night Lights-"Eyes Wide Open"

Matt Saracen is forced into leadership on "Friday Night Lights"
Credit: NBC

I continue my look back at the football drama Friday Night Lights with the episode "Eyes Wide Open". My thoughts are after the jump.

Advanced New Show Review: TNT's "Falling Skies"

The Cast of "Falling Skies"
Credit: TNT

My review of TNT's new drama Falling Skies (from executive producer Stephen Spielberg, if that actually means anything) is after the jump.

Men of a Certain Age-"A League of Their Owen"

Owen plays some softball on "Men of a Certain Age"
Credit: TNT

Some brief thoughts on tonight's Men of a Certain Age are after the jump.

Covert Affairs-"Good Advices"

The Cast of "Covert Affairs"
Credit: USA

USA sent this episode out to critics in advance, so I had expectations that were slightly higher because they clearly have confidence in the episode. After watching it, I found it to be more of the same. The mission wasn't structured in a way that was particularly interesting, but it did provide some fun and some laughter at the stupidity of Annie Walker. (You miss the schmutz trick? Really?)

The only thing that the episode did particularly well was it captured the city of Paris very well. I could tell that they went on location to shoot it because you couldn't recreate that anywhere. If there's one thing that this show does well, it's that it looks pretty damn good.

But I don't see this series as anything other then pure summer fluff. It doesn't work on a particularly deep level, but it makes good "turn your brain off TV".

What did everyone else think?