My Favourite TV Shows

Season 1: 10/10 Season 2: 8/10 Season 3: 9/10 Season 4: 10/10 Season 5: 10/10

Probably the greatest TV show ever created. 62 fantastic episodes of purposeful storytelling that constantly progresses and develops its characters to a logical and satisfying end without ever overstaying its welcome. It's both succinct yet leaves no stone un-turned when it comes to delivering entirely on the dramatic potential of its story. This is the level of storytelling that only the medium of TV can deliver, and still its presentation never suffers from the limits that often accompany TV production. This is the greatest long-form story ever told on TV, and though I personally find the second season noticeably weaker than the lot, it's too captivating and it sets up so many satisfying elements that later seasons would deliver on to tremendous results, that even the weakest season of this show is nothing short of fantastic television. Brilliant performances, editing and obviously storytelling. Cranston's performance is one of the greatest ever captured on TV or film.

Favourite Episodes:

1. The Nightman Cometh 2. Hero or Hate Crime? 3. The D.E.N.N.I.S. System 4. A Very Sunny Christmas 5. Mac & Dennis Move to the Suburbs 6. Sweet Dee's Dating a Retarded Person 7. The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award 8. The Gang Goes to a Water Park 9. Charlie Work 10. Time's Up for the Gang 11. Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare 12. CharDee MacDennis: The Game of Games 13. Mac Bangs Dennis' Mom 14. The Gang Dances Their Asses Off 15. The Gang Gets New Wheels 16. Dennis' Double Life 17. PTSDee 18. Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack 19. Mac & Charlie Die 20. The Gang Hits the Road 21. The Waitress is Getting Married 22. Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth 23. Hundred Dollar Baby 24. The Gang Goes to Jersey Shore 25. The Gang Dines Out 26. The Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby 27. The Gang Misses the Boat 28. The Gang Broke Dee 29. The Gang Gets Analyzed 30. The Gang Goes on Family Fight

A sit-com so good it ruins basically all other sit-coms. A brilliant satire of television tropes and a surprisingly thoughtful character study on the five worst people in Philadelphia. This show has said a lot over its 13 seasons and it continues to stay fresh and hilarious. Season 12 is probably the most consistently excellent of the bunch, and how many shows can you say that about? It's likely the only long-running sit-com that doesn't have any bad episodes, and the average/disappointing episodes can be counted on one hand. It strikes the perfect tone and sense of humour to tackle issues relating to cultural values and political topics without ever coming off as preachy or transparent, and it's always SO funny. Fantastic writing with fully realised characters, brought to life by some very intelligent and hilarious individuals. Never has a show had this much quality AND quantity, never get tired of watching it.

Season 1: 9/10 Season 2: 9/10 Season 3: 9/10

Season 1: 10/10 Season 2: 6/10

The line between what's a TV show and what's a film has been blurred in recent years with streaming taking storm of both industries and the only real distinction these days being runtime. This shift was set into motion in many ways by 'Twin Peaks'. Nowadays we have blockbuster TV shows such as 'Stranger Things' and 'Game of Thrones', but when looking at early examples of television that employed cinematic presentation on a level unseen previously, this show was a huge achievement. Lynch combined his trademark surrealist direction and masterful creative team with a gripping murder-mystery penned by Mark Frost and himself. The result was a hugely influential show that even today remains impactful and extremely effective. Taking on a genius soap-opera-inspired presentation and subverting it with a dark mystery and genuine thematic interests resulted in a perfect concoction of filmmaking that was entirely fresh. Unfortunately, the network pressured Lynch and Frost's creativity at points, leading to their departure from the series. This resulted in about half of the second season being genuinely awful. Regardless, under Lynch and Frost this show is a masterpiece of television, and the final episode, marking Lynch's return to the series, is perhaps the best. The 12-episode run of this show that was almost entirely disappointing is fairly easy to skip, even upon initial viewing (and basically necessary upon rewatch). Kyle MacLachlan's Agent Cooper is one of my favourite TV characters ever. For anyone looking to dive into Lynch's work, this is a pretty good place to start.

Season 1: 8/10 Season 2: 8/10 Season 3: 9/10 Season 4: 8/10 Season 5: 9/10

10/10

This is a masterpiece of pure film-making passion. In every frame of this low-budget, 14-episode series you can see the hard work, inspiration and determination that went into crafting great entertainment. It's really no surprise that Edgar Wright, as well as Simon Pegg and Nick Frost would go on to great things. This is a love-letter to pop culture, brought to life by truly funny and intelligent writing. This is everything a sit-com should be, and it totals at under six hours. Every episode of its short run is immense fun, and the clear effort poured into the direction of this show is exactly what is missing from most shows in this genre, and it's what elevates this to the top. This is what you get when extremely talented individuals working under restraints work their asses off, and transform those restraints into strengths. A season 3 would always be welcome if Wright feels like taking a break from directing the best action-comedies of the 21st Century.

9/10

First 10 or so seasons are wonderful and some of the greatest television ever aired. This is a genius American satire with an amazing world, characters and a brilliantly distinctive animation style. The early years of 'The Simpsons' remains the pinnacle of TV animation. Everything else gets increasingly less so and I haven't watched any of the seasons from the last few years but I've not heard great things at all. So 10/10 for everything it used to be, but I'll take a point off because I'm aware that no one is really all that impressed with how the show turned out today. The fact that it's still on even though it's fallen very far from its glory days, just goes to show how great of a show it really was.

Season 1: 8/10 Season 2: 9/10

An excellent new series from David Fincher that really helped aid the massive disappointment that 'House of Cards' devolved into. This is a fascinating exploration of violence and insanity set against the arrival of rampant serial murders in 1970s America. This is an incredibly well-directed series with really tight pacing (episodes range from 73 to 34 minutes to help tell the best story possible) and fascinating performances from standouts Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany and Cameron Britton. This series writes in real life individuals and bases their inclusion off of interviews and other accounts, and the result is a true authenticity to the interactions within the fictionalised world of the show. Violent crime and its basis in mental illness is explored with a real genuineness, maturity and understanding of the subject, that's truly fascinating to see the topic handled properly. This steers clear from being exploitative of real life tragedy for entertainments purpose by basing it in a truly productive and progressive intent, which is to truly get to the bottom of an issue. Rather than labeling these individuals as "evil" and locking them away for life, the characters of this show aim to examine what got these serial killers to where they are now. This is the basic pitch of the show, and it really delivers on just how impactful and fascinating a premise like that sounds. Not only does it have this strong foundation in an important subject, but the fictional character-writing here is really excellent. Groff's lead Holden Ford is a fantastic protagonist. Who is ultimately doing a good thing, but is thoroughly flawed as an individual. He learns things throughout the season that make him a more understanding person, but he is also greatly affected by spending so much time in this world. The biggest weaknesses of this show's first season are the character of Debbie. She mostly exists as a way for the writers to communicate Holden's changing personality, views and how his work affects his personal life. Outside of that, she has no real connection to the story, so I feel like what they end up doing with her character by the end of the season is for the best if it actually has consequence going into Season 2. Aside from this complaint, the first episode is surprisingly not very good; especially next to the rest of the season. It's full of awkward conversational dialogue (something that still occasionally pops up throughout the season) and the opening scene is kind of laughable in how unconvincingly it's presented. As soon as Episode 2 hits however, this show is excellent television and the final episode is absolutely fantastic. Can't wait for Season 2.

9/10

Favourite Episodes:

1. Two-Face 2. Heart of Ice 3. Perchance to Dream 4. Beware the Gray Ghost 5. Almost Got 'im 6. Trial 7. Feat of Clay 8. Dreams in Darkness 9. Joker's Favor 10. I Am the Night

Has it's less-engaging episodes, but on the whole this show's presentation is too good to fully call any episode terrible. This is essentially the definitive take on Batman with fantastic takes on every major character from the comics, visualized beautifully by fantastic character designs and a visual aesthetic reminiscent of the nostalgic cartoon serials of the 1940s. The music is also insanely good for a television show, especially one designed to keep kids busy for half an hour. This show is full of some of the best Batman stories ever written, and even in its weak episodes, the animation is gorgeous and the performances are so much fun that you can't help but enjoy yourself. When this show is great however, which is most of the time, it's some of the best animated TV ever aired.

9/10

Season 1: 8.5/10

A truly weird and seemingly terrible idea for a show managed to prove itself as one of the most exciting and impressive standouts in the blurring of television and film media that really took shape in 2014 between this show, 'True Detective' and 'House of Cards' among others. Any and all skepticism with regards to why this was even something that existed was done away with by the end of the first episode. This is the work of a strong storyteller and a collection of some of the industries' most experienced directors, coming together to tell a really interesting and constantly surprising crime tale. Freeman and Billy Bob absolutely killed it in this season, both presenting instantly iconic and unforgettable characters. Aside from its surprisingly great presentation (cinematography, music, editing and production design are all really strong here), what I really love about this series is Noah Hawley's storytelling. It balances twists and turns perfectly, never once feeling predictable. Huge shifts in the story or character dynamics can be thrown at us without ever feeling disappointing or failing to live up to the potential that might come from further exploring said storylines or characters. Subversion is never thrown in for the sake of a cheap twist, there's always a purpose behind the turns in the story. It never feels as though characters are done away with because they no longer serve a purpose to the writer. No one is necessarily expendable yet no one is safe from real consequence within the story. And what's great about this approach by Hawley is that he always knows how to change things up in the most satisfying way possible. After three seasons it's clear that whenever he throws in a huge shift in the narrative, you can trust that it's for the best and not a cheap shock. During the run of the first season however, it was truly original and refreshing to see a story constantly change and evolve, as TV is notorious for going against this approach for the sake of keeping a show on the air. I feel as though Season 2 managed to improve upon every element of the first, and that does make the achievements of its predecessor feel a little less exciting when revisiting it today, but in no way does it dampen the fact that all three of these stories are so damn entertaining.

Season 2: 10/10

Season 2 is by far my personal favourite season. A lot of personal bias contributes towards that as I am a sucker for the time period and by extension the production and costume design. The organised crime elements of the story were also far more engaging to me this time around and the sci-fi element was such a perfect and inspired inclusion as it fits perfectly into the 1979 setting. This season also balances an insane amount of central characters, each of them equally fun to watch so that the story never drags when it focuses on any one of its moving parts over another. Episode 7 straight up steers away from what is arguably the central story thread of the entire season, as to focus on the other ones and beef them up before heading into the final three episodes. Speaking of which, Episode 9: 'The Castle', is an insanely satisfying hour of television. My only complaint against what is without a doubt one of my favourite seasons of television however, is the ending. There's a reveal that connects it back to the first season, and I honestly feel like it's just kind of stupid and unnecessary considering how much I loved that character up until that point and how meaningless the reveal is to the stories of both seasons.

Season 3: 8/10

Season 3 is about on the same level as Season 1 in my opinion. I actually really enjoyed Episode 3, which I know wasn't as well received as the rest of the season. It was a really unexpected detour, but one that I found really engaging and a unique way to incorporate a flashback side-plot. Fantastic performances all around, especially from Ewan McGregor who single-handedly sells most of the emotional beats of the season between his two roles. Carrie Coon and Mary Elizabeth Winstead turn in the best work I've ever seen from them and Michael Stuhlbarg is hilarious. David Thewlis is also a major standout, though initially he felt like a stand-in reprise for Billy Bob's character, he very shortly came into his own as an unforgettable TV antagonist. The greatest weakness of this season once again is an element of the finale. I don't really feel like the climax of the central conflicts was totally satisfying like they were in the previous seasons. In some ways I can see this as intentional, but in others it kind of just felt a little dishonest to who some of the characters had been established as. Having said that, the final scene is excellent. Outstanding score this season as well.

Season 1: 6/10 Season 2: 7/10 Season 3: 8/10 Season 4: 8/10 Season 5: 8/10

A really strange show that began as a relatively forgettable and standard animation with a neat concept and some fun jokes. The first episode really didn't impress me, but the first season picked up for the most part after that. Overall it didn't feel like anything too special by the end of its first year. Fast-forward to 2019 and it's probably the best animated show on TV now. Each season has improved upon the last as it dives deeper and deeper into its characters with more successful results each time, to the point where it is now one of the most emotional and thoughtful comedies ever aired. Season 4 basically functions as a dive into the history and emotional state of each of the main characters. We get at least one episode for each central character that serves as a peak behind the curtain. This new attachment to the characters worked wonders for the excellent storytelling of the follow-up Season 5. There's a lot of really fun and clever word-play jokes and gags related to the bizarre world that these characters inhabit that goes almost completely unexplained. It's an interesting playground for the show-runners to tell their stories in, and to be perfectly honest, at this point the characters in this show are probably the most fleshed out in any animated program I've seen.

9/10

Season 1: 8/10

Season 1: 7/10 Season 2: 7/10

8/10

8/10

8/10

Stranger Things: 7/10 Stranger Things 2: 6/10 Stranger Things 3: 7/10 Stranger Things 4: 7/10

7/10

Season 1: 8/10 Season 2: 5/10

9/10

Best Arcs: 1. The Siege of Mandalore 2. The Wrong Jedi 3. The Shadow Collective 4. Ghosts of Mortis 5. Nightsisters 6. Clone Conspiracy 7. Battle of Umbara 8. Undercover Bounty Hunter 9. The Citadel 10. The Bad Batch

Incredibly inconsistent, with episodes ranging from some of the best star wars content ever to sub-prequel-level trash. It started out kinda bad and slowly got way better, but even Season 5 featured a terrible arc or two. I love the show regardless and it's very easy to avoid the lackluster episodes (some episodes clearly have a younger demographic in mind than others). When this show is at its best, it makes up for the prequel's shortcomings almost entirely. Season 7 is easily the strongest overall, and the final 'Siege of Mandalore' arc is one of my favourite Star Wars stories, and my favourite piece of content the saga has produced since the original trilogy.

Season 1: 8/10 Season 2: 8/10 Season 3: 7/10 Season 4: 4/10

Season 1: 7.5/10

7/10

Season 1: 8/10 Season 2: 4/10 Season 3: 5/10

This show is really only on this list because of the excellent first season, which ultimately worked as a long-form film over a proper multi-season television show. The second season was disappointing and generally bad. It lacked the arresting filmmaking of the first and the writing leaned into and exemplified the worst parts of season ones dialogue. The performances were also pretty weak aside from Farrell and McAdams. I only saw the first few episodes of Season 3, but it didn't really hook me and a lot of the acting was really unconvincing despite Mahershala's gripping work. Overall Season 3's first few episodes didn't feel all that special or memorable. HBO should leave this show in the past.