2013 in review: TV

So I’m a couple weeks late doing this, but whatever.

2013.

Big year. Kind of a sucky year in a lot of ways, but I can’t ignore its importance for the world, and for me.

I just want to give some love to the books, movies, music, and TV that were introduced to me in 2013.

Best TV:

1—Breaking Bad—I actually didn’t start watching Breaking Bad until 2013, so the final season was the only season I watched ‘live’ with the rest of the world. After watching just two episodes of the first season, I realized what an error I had made, and quickly zoomed through everything to get caught up. The final season of Breaking Bad was great. It will be remembered as one of the finest shows ever made and it deserves that kind of recognition. 

2—Mad Men—2013’s season started off kind of wonky, but quickly became one of the series’ best. The finale hints at interesting things to come. And now with Breaking Bad out of the way, the discussion of what is the best show on TV just got a little bit easier.

3—Hannibal—I’ve always liked the Thomas Harris books and their film adaptations, so I was uncertain what to think when it was announced there would be a Hannibal TV show—and on NBC? It didn’t sound like a good idea to me, but the show is some kind of fantastic. Hugh Dancy creates the best version of Will Graham to date and Mads Mikkelsen is great as Dr. Lecter. Mikkelsen plays the part as though he had never seen Hopkins in the role and the show is better for it. Hannibal is charming, yes, but he’s more a monster than Hopkins ever allowed himself to be. The writing is great and the cinematography is at a level higher than anything I can remember seeing on network TV. Hannibal is the best new show of 2013. Can’t wait to see where it goes from here—I only hope that the ratings improve so that the show is around for years to come.

And some honorable mention for The Americans, The Bridge, Sleepy Hollow, Orange is the New Black, and The Blacklist.

Lacking an HBO subscription, I haven’t seen the latest Game of Thrones season yet. Otherwise it’d probably rank pretty high, too. The Blu-Ray shall be mine!

The show that took the biggest step back from greatness in 2013 for me was Justified. I don’t know if the show will ever be better than it was in its second season (though season 3 came close), but last year wasn’t that great. I mean, it was okay, it was still Justified. . . but something about season four just seemed kind of tired. I’m hoping that doesn’t mean 2014’s season will be just the same. But hey, Patton Oswalt was cool!

Most disappointing new show of 2013: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.—I wanted this to be good. Seemed like it should be good. I mean, Marvel was doing almost everything right lately. How could this show go so wrong? It’s not what I expected (I thought it’d utilize the lower ranking superheroes of Marvel’s roster, but no. . .), but that’s not the reason it disappoints. The show is kind of entertaining, but it’s so damn safe. It’s losing viewers every week, which should be a wakeup call to the showrunners, but I don’t know if they’re going to fix it in time to save their creation. They seem willing to pull every punch possible, resulting in the least daring action TV show of 2013. I mean, not everything has to be edgy (I wouldn’t call Marvel’s films edgy, with the exception of maybe Iron Man 1 & 3). The show is a thriller where everyone invariably lands on their feet with a smile. Maybe that’s cool to some people. For me, it’s getting old. The show needs a massive overhaul in season two.

Worst new show of 2013: The Following. So stupid it’s almost funny.

Here’s to 2014! More Mad Men, Hannibal, Justified, Game of Thrones, and all the rest, plus the return of 24, and some promising looking newbies like Helix, Black Sails, True Detective, and maybe Rake.

Good bye, Breaking Bad. I feel like I was just getting to know you.