NBC Thursday Comedies - Week 16

Great news this week, Community is returning!  NBC released that Community will return on March 15th at 8.  The only downside is that it kicks Parks and Recreation of the schedule for five weeks.  So 30 Rock will move to 8:30, The Office stays where it is at 9, and Parks and Rec will return at 9:30 on April 19th, when Up All Night finishes its run.  Everyone got all that?  Scheduling is fun!

Breaking Bad - Season 2

I knew this show was suppose to get better as it went along.  I was most certainly not disappointed.  There was a little bit of struggle in the early episodes of season one, but most shows go through something of a learning curve and this one's was minimal.  Once they found their voice before being cut off by the writers strike, it has been pretty phenomenal ever since.

NBC Thursday Comedies - Week 15

There was a reason only Parks and Recreation had a Valentines Day episode last week.  It's because it was a whole week and a half before the holiday and Parks and Rec is not on this week.  Instead, 30 Rock has an hour-long Valentine's episode.  Goes to show how aware I am of this particular day.

NBC Thursday Comedies - Week 14

Back to the usual line-up this week.  Strangely we only get one Valentine's Day episode, that's usually a holiday sitcoms love to do.

Sherlock - Series 1

I've taken a detour from British sci-fi to British drama.  There are a lot of good UK shows that I've seen, State of Play, The Office, Extras, Spaced, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.  There are many more I need to see, but the beauty of the UK model is that a series is not long.  This first series of Sherlock was only three 90 minute episodes and I blew right through them.  Partly because of the low number and partly because they were just so good.

NBC Thursday Comedies - Week 13

The Office takes a week off to leave room for an extra 30 Rock.  Since 30 Rock has a full season order even though it didn't premiere until midseason, I imagine there's going to be a number of weeks where The Office, Parks and Recreation, or Up All Night takes a breather for a week.

Breaking Bad - Season 1

I've finally gotten around to catching up with this critically acclaimed show.  The love for Breaking Bad is near universal and most conversations put it up there with Mad Men today and such seminal shows as The Wire, Deadwood, and The Sopranos.  Bryan Cranstan has won himself an Emmy for the first three seasons, and probably will again for the fourth in August.  It had big shoes to fill and in this first season, I don't think it quite lived up to the hype.

Doctor Who - Series 2

Well done, David Tennant, well done.  I enjoyed Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, after all, he was my introduction to the character and the series, but David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor was a step above.  The Doctor is man of contradictions and Tennant's ability to effortlessly swing from the happy to the sad to the deadly serious and sell each of those completely is marvelous.

NBC Thursday Comedies - Weeks 11 & 12

Community is gone (for now), but 30 Rock is back.  After taking some leave time for Tina Fey's pregnancy, 30 Rock returns to the Thursday night block in this new year for its sixth season.  While I certainly miss Community, it sure is nice to have 30 Rock back.  Due to being away the night the comedy block returned, I'll be, briefly, tackling the first two episodes of 2012 for each of the shows this week.

Top Ten Shows of 2011

Like most things here, this is late.  Most lists of this kind come out at the end of the year, mine, on the other hand, is coming out after the new year has began.  2011 is over, but I'm taking a quick look back at what my favorite programs of that year were.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, I can't watch everything and if I didn't watch it I can't include it.  So no Breaking Bad, even though it tops many critics' lists (I just started though, so I'll catch up eventually), and unfortunately no Mad Men either, which did not air an episode in 2011.  Thankfully, that will be back in the spring.  For now, let's start with number 10...