#17 - American Horror Story: Asylum

 

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I had my doubts about S2 for the first couple of episodes, none of the characters really seemed to work for me, but now that we're as far as episode 8, 2/3 through it, things have definitely come together very nicely and I'm happy to call it a step up from S1. Jude's descent into madness is played very well by Jessica, as expected, but the writing has been much better than I would have expected it to be. The slogan 'pray for Lana' has definitely rung true as well, just when you think she's going to get a break, BAM, she's locked up again. Poor bitch never gets a break :D I have no idea how it's all going to turn out, but I'm sure it's going to be a very interesting revelation.

#16 - Don't Trust The Bitch In Apartment 23

 

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Sadly this is going to be cancelled fairly soon with ratings for S2 taking a nosedive, but much as I enjoy it I can see why and I don't think I'll mourn it that much. It's hilarious though, James Van Der Beek playing an exaggerated version of himself is often a highlight, especially his relationship with Chloe, which is bizarre to say the least. The funniest episodes thus far have almost always revolved around Chloe going off on some grand scheme to solve a non-existent problem in the most complex manner possible. That resulted in her running People magazine for a time (and being a proper BITCH to one of the employees :lol:) and putting June in a wheelchair so as her disabled mother wouldn't be angry at her for f***ing her husband :lol:

#15 - Once Upon A Time

 

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Had I simply been ranking this on S1 it would definitely not have made my top 20, there was little to no story progression until the final 3 episodes, which were admittedly brilliant, but the 'character of the week' thing often lead to 3/4 episodes in a row which were just really really DULL. Thankfully S2 has introduced all the major players so it was right down to story telling from episode 1 and now that they have magic back there are so many possibilities as to where the story can go, which they've thankfully realised. Having action taking place, in real time, in both fairyland and the real world was a clever move, it makes for little downtime story wise (bar that one dull episodes with WOLFGIRL) and having a few characters trapped on the other side was compelling too. Barbara Hershey steals every scene she's in, I'm glad they've made her an almost regular in S2 because 1) her story is very good and 2) she can act the shit out of every scene. The winter finale had her arrive, ready to exact her revenge on her daughter (the evil queen, who isn't quite so evil) and I can't wait to see what happens next *.*

#14 - Scandal

 

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Completing a trio of ABC shows, Scandal is part soap, part political drama, part utter nonsense. The S1 story with the President was very carefully written and acted, but the cliffhanger with Quinn's backstory coming to light was a sign of what was to come. It's still very tightly scripted, there's a MAJOR story arc evolving involving election rigging and assorted other illegal activities, but it's take the high drama aspect of stuff like Revenge and laid it on nice and think. The Abbey/David Rosen THING in particular is probably a soap step too far, featuring half the soaptrickstokeepstoriesinteresting manual. Despite all this the central character (Olivia) and the central premise are very promising and enough to offset the slightly ridiculous nature of some of the stories.

#13 - American Dad

 

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Whilst Family Guy has gone spectacularly off the boil and The Cleveland Show was always dire, American Dad has plod on regardless and whilst it has experienced a dip in quality, is still, for the most part, a very enjoyable show. Oddly enough S7 and S8 seem to have written Hayley out of the family with her making the odd appearance in most episodes for about one line, whilst Jeff still hangs around a lot. Anyway, the main selling point is obviously Roger and there have been plenty of nicely ridiculous episodes involving him recently, my favourite being when he married Stan's mother and became his best friend only for her to try and kill him :lol:

#12 - Person Of Interest

 

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Another show in its second season in 2012, however this one is well on its way to a 3rd with ratings only slightly down (at least in 18-49) on last year. What started out as a relatively clever procedural has now branched into having multiple different back stories/story arcs and brilliant recurring characters. The 4 main characters have also been given nice little side stories too which makes the show more enjoyable than just case of the week. The main plus point for this is that things are never quite as they seem, especially not when Root or Elias are involved. It's also got quite a good sense of humour about things too which is always a good thing.

#11 - Doctor Who

 

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Despite only airing a handful of episodes this year Doctor Who is still more than worthy of being 11th. Not every episode was brilliant (A Town Called Mercy didn't really do it for me) but Matt Smith's energy is enough to overcome even the wooden acting 'skills' of Ben Browder. The Angels Take Manhattan was suitably scary and emotional as we said goodbye (amid a chorus of cheers from some) to Amy and Rory. I really liked them both though and was sad to see them go, but they did so in a nice way, I'm especially glad they didn't die. Aliens On A Spaceship was a nice fun ROMP, but Asylum Of The Daleks was probably the best. Not only did it introduce, sort of, the fabulous new companion, but also RESET all Dalek stuff throughout history which was fun.

#10 - Revenge

 

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Officially Moopy's favourite TV show of 2012. I can see why and I absolutely love it myself, but I find it difficult to empathise with a few of the characters, but the fabulous Victoria and her EYELIDS are a winning combination I cannot possibly deny. It's a high end soap, with all the accompanying drama and ridiculousness and especially in S2 has delighted in ramping this up at every possible opportunity. I love the addition of The Initiative as a bit bad (nearly) faceless entity who meet in smoke filled darkened rooms watching big TV screens making malevolent plans, it's very early James Bond. It is, of course, utterly ridiculous but totally in keeping with the spirit of the show. The whole 'Revenge' aspect has taken a slight backseat of recent, which it needed to do as she had basically destroyed 20 lives in 20 episodes before now and there's only so long that could go on.

#09 - Veep

 

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SUE, DID THE PRESIDENT CALL? ... 'NO' is quite probably my line of the year from any TV show, a recurring joke that is as funny the 10th time as it is the first. Veep may only have been 8 episodes but there were more laughs in those 8 episodes than in almost any other comedy on TV right now. I know people see it as a lesser 'The Thick Of It' (I can't comment having never seen any of it), but if this is lesser than that must be the best show ever. Julia is brilliant as the hapless Veep who always manages to get herself into the shit despite the best of intentions. My favourite episode is #2 where she gets a flu and in the middle of an all important trip to an ice cream shop gets diahorrea and has run out surrounded by her staff :lol:

#08 - Downton Abbey

 

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I enjoyed season 3 a lot, but it's quite obvious at this point that they are struggling for ideas. The witty one liners were back and in some instances better than ever, but there was a lot of poor dialogue this series and despite there being 8 episodes precious little actually happened. The biggest event was of course Sybil's death, but that was obvious from the very beginning of the episode so didn't quite work as well as it could have done. It did however provide a chance for OSCAR NOMINEE ELIZABETH MCGOVERN to stretch her acting muscles and attempt, and fail, to act her way through a scene. Bless. I do so love Cora in all her utter rubbishness. Thomas was outed too, which was dealt with surprisingly well, if a little uncomfortable to watch in the best way. The main problem for me was that there never seemed to be any real danger of things going tits up: oh no we're bankrupt - Matthew gets left loads of money, Oh no Mrs. Hughes has cancer - oh no she doesn't etc. I hope the Christmas Special can remedy a few of these points as last years was brilliant.

#07 - GCB

 

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Sadly GCB never made it beyond 10 episodes, but WHAT a 10 episodes they were. Cricket is LIFE ITSELF, what an amazing woman. Her showdown with Carlene at the audition for the church play was AMAZING (see below) and still has me in stitches when I watch it now. The whole thing was so ridiculous and OTT that I can't help but feel it wouldn't have worked having been extended to a full series anyway. Carlene's ridiculous plan to build Condo's for Jesus which got them stranded in Unincorporated Juarez in the season finale was another highlight, resulting in them traversing a desert in high heels and designer dresses.

 

 

#06 - Fringe

 

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Fringe has long been a ratings turkey but thankfully the powers that be have allowed a short final 5th season to wrap up the story. They've basically just made it for the fans, which is nice to see and they have been loyal with viewership remaining steady week on week, but it's definitely going to be worth it. The Observers have finally taken over and now the Fringe team (ambered for 20 years) are out to save the day once and for all. There's lots of lovely nods to earlier seasons including devices from the pilot and various season 1 episodes cropping up and you can definitely tell the writers have gone out of their way to make it a satisfying conclusion. As with everything in Fringe quite how it will be resolved is anyone's guess, but I have faith it will be brilliant. My only hope is that somehow they get returned the prime universe which we haven't seen since S3.

#05 - The Closer

 

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Bowing out in 2012 is one of my all time favourite TV shows. It's been critically acclaimed from the very beginning and it's very much worth it because, especially for a crime procedural, the characters are brilliantly written. The main underpinning of S7 was that Brenda was being sued, which she saw off in the S7.1 finale last summer, but Goldman is a massive c**t and took the case to the Supreme Court, which was resolved in the S7.2 finale last November. Roll on summer 2012 and the final 6 episodes ever (S7.3!) and whilst the ultimate reveal of the mole, someone who's identity we had been guessing at for nigh on 2 years, was perhaps the biggest letdown of the year, the final episode was as moving as I had hoped. Major Crimes has replaced the Closer and is a very different beast, shaped by events in the final 6 episodes and also by the enormous presence of Brenda.

#04 - Game Of Thrones

 

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SORRY FUNKY

 

As we approach the top 3 Game Of Thrones only narrowly misses out. Episodes 8-10 of S2 rank among the best TV I have ever watched. The battle sequence in episode 9 looks like something from a big budget movie, ON CABLE, and the final scene with Cersei about to poison herself and her son, only to be stopped at the last moment by her father charging in (literally, on a horse) to save the day was as moving as TV gets. The whole season in fact was brilliantly written, directed, acted, everything about it was brilliant. The Shows I have ranked #2 and #3 are pretty much on par with this and it was only the smallest of differences that separated them. I haven't read the books and part of me is glad because witnessing everything unfold on screen as it does seems all the more powerful/incredible having no idea what to expect. I have no doubt S3 this will once again up the game and rise even higher in year end 2013 ranking.

#03 - Suburgatory

 

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BY FAR the funniest comedy on TV right now. Dalia, Dallas, Jill, Sheila, Lisa, Mr. Wolf, Noah, ALL HILARIOUS. Dallas and George getting together in S2 has been nice, it was obviously going to happen eventually and even more obvious is that angry break up which will be coming soon no doubt, but it's been the source of lots of laughs. The biggest laughs, as ever, come from Dalia and Sheila though. Indeed the most recent episode saw Dalia perform her own MUSIC VIDEO to get her cleaner back which is so on point and hilarious everyone should watch it (SEE BELOW). I'm also very fond of Jill and her haughtiness and indeed her complete inability to empathise with any other human being. Her choice of bedroom furniture for her child, OPUS!!, is one of my very favourite scenes from the show (again, see below).

 

#02 - The Good Wife

 

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S3 wasn't perhaps as good as S2, though it had fewer poor episodes it also lacked the highs of the final 5 episodes of S2. Though episode 14 certainly came close with Will's trial bringing together lots of stories that had been running throughout the season and also a dramatic showdown between Wendy Scott Carr and both Diane and Alicia. What plays so well for The Good Wife for me is the strength of the female characters, obviously Alicia needs to be well written as the show is about her, but Diane and Kalinda get treated equally as well and its great to see supporting females being put in pride of place. The stories are also very clever, and especially in S4 the cases have been unfolding brilliantly and in very unexpected ways. The one downside if the tedious relationship between Kalinda and her gangster husband who swaggers in and doing the usual hard man things and it's just oh so pointless. Thankfully it's been kept to the sidelines for the most recent few episodes and it's definitely for the best. There's also a LOT of humour, be it in the form of ridiculous guest judges or the witty remarks of the characters, it never fails to amuse. I suspect this may be the last season and if so I hope they have a suitable ending in place. Part of me really wants to get Peter and Alicia back together, but I just don't know if they well.

#01 - Homeland

 

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Could it have been anything else? Well, no.

 

Nothing has come close to Homeland in terms of sheer WTF value of story telling. The central performances are just incredible, Claire Danes especially bats it out of the park in each and every scene. The story, especially in S2, is fact paced, well written, but most importantly surprising. Who knew HALF of what has gone in S2 would have happened. It's covered more ground in 10 episodes than most shows do in 10 seasons. As a result it is proper edge of your seat, nail biting drama. I don't know how much longer it will continue, I suspect no more than 2 more seasons (it's already been given a third), but if it continues at the current level it's definitely going to go down as one of the all time greats.

ALBUMS in the morrow (or at some point prior to THE BIG DAY)

#18 - SMASH

 

I'm glad they've overhauled it for S2, with the removal of the dreadful Ellis, the rubbish boyfriend, the rubbish extra marital lover and the other one I can't even remember.

 

But what about the SON?

 

I really should catch-up on AHS/OUAT/possibly Person of Interest too at some point. I keep wanting to watch Apartment 23 but I hate James Van Der Beek.

 

What a fantastic top 4, currently catching up with GoT, got four more episodes to go. I haven't stopped thinking about the Homeland finale over the past couple of days, the last half was just phenomenal.

 

Do disagree re: American Dad/Family Guy though. Of course they're both far better than The Simpsons right now but I think Family Guy has really been on form this season, the last two episodes especially have had me in stitches. Up there with TBBT as my favourite comedy of the moment.

 

Oh the son is dire too, I loved the scene where he had to CRY and looked like he'd never cried in his life before. Plus he has AWFUL hair and seems like a bit of a twat.