Yes, you read that right: Top 9. Now, I watch more TV than most, but not as much as any professional critic. So while they might be stressing over which of their favorite shows to cut to make a Top 10, I actually had the inverse problem of figuring out which show I liked a lot but didn’t love to add to my list. But I wanted this list to represent the shows I loved this year. TV has been so good in recent years that everybody can find more than 10 shows to like. But 10 shows to love? There just weren’t any more for me to pick after my first 9 choices. I drew an imaginary line after pick #9 and realized I liked most of everything else I watched this year [What sucked? ‘Glee.’ And ‘The Killing’ ended up feeling like a waste of time], but these 9 are what made 2011 a standout in the world of TV.
(Movies are a different story, and I’ll get to that before the end of the month, hopefully).
I’m certain there were more than 9 great shows on the air this year, but I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing a few of them because there wasn’t enough time. I’m way behind on ‘Boardwalk Empire,’ and haven’t seen a single episode of ‘The Good Wife,’ for example, so shows that you think should be among everyone’s favorites this year might not appear on mine simply because I haven’t been keeping up with them.
Once we get into the top 5 or so, don’t pay much attention to the numbering. The order of the list is just how I feel at a specific point in time, and in my head could easily change a week or a day or even a few hours from now. If asked, I probably couldn’t come up with enough reasons why my #2 is a “better” show than my #5. I’ve been wrestling with my #1 choice for a while now and while I’m certainly happy with my pick, I could easily substitute it for something else on the list and be perfectly fine with it.
I’m going by the calendar year with my picks, so certain shows that could’ve made the list based on its most recent season (or previous season) may not have made the cut because their best episodes aired last year and not this year.
Anyways, here they are:
R Y V I E W S 