2011: Year of The Pursuit of Happiness (Television Shows)

By: Luke Florence

When thinking about what 2011 brought me in terms of television programming, one word came to mind.

Strange.

For the first time in four years my favorite television show was no longer around (LOST). For the first time in four years I didn't have a must-see show. For the first time in four years I simply didn't have a television show. And it felt ... strange.

After LOST went off the air in May of 2010 I took a break from TV. It wouldn't have been fair to try and watch another show after riding such an emotional high LOST provided. The best way to move on, for better or worse, is a combination of distance and time. After enough of both had passed I decided it was time to dive back in to see what television had to offer.

Just like with my book review, these shows are ranked from worst to best.

2011: Year of The Pursuit of Happiness - T.V. Review

10) The Office (Seasons Seven-Eight)

At its' apex, very few shows could touch the comedic value offered by The Office. The first few seasons were absolutely hilarious and had me in pain from laughter. However at one point or another, the plot line began to tire out, the jokes lessened, and as a result, the show started to slowly decline.

Season seven saw The Office's main character, Michael Scott (Steve Carell), leave the show, which for me signaled the beginning of the end for this series. Yes, the episodes featuring Will Ferrell and Carell were mildly entertaining, and of course, the season seven finale that sent Scott off was memorable, but at the end of the day this show has run its' course for the foreseeable future.

9) Survivor (Redemption Island)

Not exactly sure how this happened as it had been quite some time since I watched an entire season of Survivor. After looking back at their previous seasons I can honestly say I haven't watched a season of Survivor from start to finish since the very first season during the summer of 2000.

Whatever the reasoning, Survivor proved to be an enjoyable experience for the residents of Britton Woods (Grothaus and Devin) on Wednesday nights. We sat back and watched Boston Rob brilliantly manipulate the contestants and play a nearly perfect season on his way to the one-million dollar first-place prize. I thoroughly enjoyed how Rob kept Phillip in the game, bounced Matt twice from his alliance, and put himself in a can't lose situation during the tribal council. It really was a dominating performance.

Not gonna lie, I haven't watched a single episode of Survivor since, but something tells me I'll be watching more of it down the road.

8) The Killing (Season One)

Ever since LOST ended I had a really strong desire to pick a brand new show and watch it from the very beginning. I wanted the show to echo various traits that LOST provided. I wanted it to be dramatic, to be character-driven, and to be well-acted. I realize I was asking for quite a bit, but when the previews for The Killing began appearing on AMC I thought I might have caught a break in my relentless search.

The Killing is centered around the mysterious death/murder of a young teenage girl, Rosie Larsen. The show tackles the murder from a couple different angles, including the police's search for the killer, the family's struggle with this surprising death, and the political ties this murder provokes.

What I loved about The Killing was the ever-changing plot-line. As the police found more clues, more strange developments took place. I found myself riveted by the potential this show had. But, potential is a dangerous tool to mess around with, especially when you fall short, which The Killing ultimately did ... at least for the first season.

Without going into too much detail, the show struggled making me care about any of the characters, which is central to The Killing's success, or lack thereof. I'm okay with the huge plot-twist that was dropped after season one (even though everyone else was extremely disappointed), but I'm not okay with my bland attitude towards the main characters. But despite all of this, I will be back watching in the spring of 2012 when Season Two returns.

Boy do I miss LOST.

7) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Season Seven)

One of my few regrets from 2011 was not watching every new episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Out of the 13 episodes season seven produced, I only watched three. Sad but true. But those three episodes were classic It's Always Sunny shows and had me laughing constantly.

What I find remarkable is how much my mother enjoys It's Always Sunny, a show I'm 100% sure I would not have been allowed to watch growing up on 80 Lindsay Ave. She is constantly telling me about episodes I missed and how I need to watch them. One of the few episodes I did watch this past season was "Thunder Gun Express" where the gang is attempting to make it to the movie theatre to watch a potential blockbuster. My mother was on the floor rolling in laughter when Frank got on the boat and gave a "tour" to the Chinese tourists. Not gonna lie it was an extremely funny scene, but I got even more enjoyment over seeing how much my mom was laughing.

And this is coming from the same mother who wouldn't let me watch Married With Children. Go figure.

6) Shameless (Season One)

Thanks to U-Verse on Demand I happened to stumble upon the first episode of Shameless and stuck around enough to watch a couple after that as well during the stretch run of 2011. It's a unique show but has several of the same characteristics that create great tv as well. It's funny, it's character-driven, and it tells a good story.

What makes Shameless unlike any other television show I've watched is its' premise. The main character is Frank Gallagher, a single father of six children. Frank doesn't work, is constantly drunk, and doesn't support his family at all. The house remains standing and the bills are paid thanks to the six children who all contribute their fair share. That's not to say the kids are outstanding citizens ... quite the opposite ... but they are a family in every sense of the word.

5) Modern Family (Seasons One-Three)

Speaking of "family," my new favorite ABC show has one absurd, quirky, and unique family at its' center and has had me rolling in laughter ever since my mother suggested I start watching it at the beginning of 2011.

Modern Family's ensemble cast is what makes this show such a huge hit. Ed O'Neill, Julia Bowen, Sofia Vergara, and Ty Burrell are just a few of the actors and actresses that headline this Emmy award winning program. Trying to describe the family-tree would be pointless to those who have never watched it. The best analogy I can think of as to why I love Modern Family would be that it combines the wacky family from Arrested Development with the sarcastic humor of The Office (early years). It can be a tad sentimental at times, but that's understandable as it is attempting to appeal to a broad audience.

I think anyone who watches Modern Family will relate to it somehow. Within the large family tree there are issues arising with relationships, raising children, being a grown-up - or on the flip-side - life as a kid. The long-term success of this show will rest solely with the writers, but so far so good.

4) The Wire (Seasons One-Four)

As a big fan of Bill Simmons it's nearly impossible to avoid his obsession with HBO's The Wire. He has gone on record multiple times saying it's the best television show he's ever seen. Since Billy hasn't let me down yet I thought 2011 was a good time to embark on the five season journey.

The Wire is set in Baltimore, Maryland and focuses on a different aspect of the city each season. Selling drugs on the street, the seaport system, city government, public education, and newspapers are the main themes of each respective season. After watching three and a half seasons I can say that it's one of the best written shows I've ever watched and it's one of the best acted shows I've seen as well.

Because every season has a different theme you get a cast of new characters every 13 or so episodes. However, the ones that stick around are for the most part ... epic. Stringer, Avon, McNulty, and Omar have provided some of the best moments and one-liners I've seen on a scripted television show. It's the closest thing to LOST I've encountered.

To be fair, I haven't viewed the entire series which is why it's not higher on this list. What I've seen so far is flat-out amazing, but I want to hold out complete judgment before I finish the show. The Wire was meant to be seen in its' entirety and until I do, I will hold off putting it near the top of my favorite television show list.

3) Parks and Recreation (Seasons Two-Four)

All credit for Parks and Recreation should go to two people. Michael Grothaus and Ron Swanson. Grothaus gets the shout-out because it was him who introduced me to this outstanding show. Ron Swanson deserves credit for simply being Ron Swanson.

I often wanted to rank my favorite television show characters because I thought it would be a challenging list from top-to-bottom. Well, after watching a couple episodes of Parks and Rec, the top of that list suddenly became much clearer as Ron Swanson (played brilliantly by Nick Offerman) slowly entered my life.

I've never laughed harder than I do when I watch Parks and Recreation. I can honestly say I've been in mild pain during an episode, especially when Ron Swanson is heavily involved. Don't get me wrong, this is not a one-person show, as Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) all have me laughing on a constant basis. But without Ron Swanson all would be lost.

2) Dexter (Seasons One-Two)

What made LOST so great were the complex set of characters interlaced with dramatic plot twists that kept you on the edge of your seat for the entire episode. While Dexter doesn't keep me anxiously awaiting each new scene it does have an excellent and well-told plot, is character-led, and is well-acted (for the most part).

Dexter is a first-person story told by the main character, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) who is a blood analyst for the Miami Police Department. When he's not helping capture murderers during the day he is hunting - and killing - them on his own by night. See, that's the interesting thing about Dexter ... he's a mass serial killer, but also considers himself the good guy as he only kills those who have killed others.

It was that insanely good plot-line that first got my attention, but it was the plot-development (key difference) that made me stick around. Dexter - like LOST - uses flashbacks to help define the characters we are presently watching. It helps us learn the reasoning behind their actions, and it creates depth, which is crucial for any successful show.

Michael C. Hall has won a SAG and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Dexter Morgan, and it's absolutely well-deserved. Even though he is surrounded by some shoddy acting in the first couple of seasons, Michael C. Hall absolutely kills it. Pun intended.

1) Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season Eight)

Larry David has always known what funny looked like. As a co-creator of Seinfeld it was obvious he knew how to create and write really funny shows. When he created Curb Your Enthusiasm he put himself in front of the screen and even though he's not an outstanding actor, after seven seasons of practice it all came together in season eight.

I've seen nearly all 80 episodes of Curb, and there's no debate that the most recent season was the show's best from start-to-finish. Whether it be Larry using performance enhancing drugs, eating Pinkberry, or getting into a fight with Michael J. Fox, season eight was the finest season of television I watched in 2011.

I'm not a big believer in organized religion for various reasons, but I will say that if I had to pick two people to "follow" in terms of their beliefs, it would be George Carlin and Larry David, both for their uncanny ability to observe the world, decipher through the bullshit, and spit back something intelligent and downright hilarious.

In season eight Larry David invents terms like "the social assassin," "pig-parker," "Koufaxing," and the "chat-and-cut." These are things that happen every day but no one seems to say anything. Well Larry doesn't live in that world and besides being really funny, I find it strangely inspiring.

After all that it somehow manages to come back to that word ... "strange." And yet, I think that perfectly describes my 2011 television experience.

Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."