I'm notorious for rarely giving out "full star" ratings for episodes of the TV shows I watch. I've reviewed approximately 250 TV episodes this year, but only 11 episodes achieved top marks from me. Am I miserly or too difficult to please? Quite possibly. But at least you know the shows that manage to get maximum stars are worth watching, even if they're often highly rated because they mark the culmination of a season/series (and consequently a long storyline.) Below are excerpts from my "full star" reviews of 2010, assembled for your reading pleasure in ascending order of greatness:
'24', 8.23-8.24 – "2:00PM – 4:00PM"
It definitely felt like the end of an era watching a bloodied Jack limp off for his movie adventures. 24's kept the quality surprisingly high for a TV series with such a rigid format, kept on air three years past its prime. Except for the deplorable Day 6, the show never gave us a season of television I didn't enjoy on some level, and the early years were genuine weekly thrills that I'll always have strong memories of. Some of the events and situations 24 presented us with seem passé these days (remember when a terrorist nuke being detonated in a remote desert felt raw and shocking?), but that's a testament to how much the series changed the game and upped the ante for thrillers everywhere. Continue reading...
'CHUCK' 3.18-3.19 – "Chuck Versus The Subway"
& "Chuck Versus The Ring: Part II"
& "Chuck Versus The Ring: Part II"
If there's one thing that impresses me about Chuck it's the show's ability to pull off consistently excellent season finales that manage to freshen, evolve and incrementally mature the series. "Chuck Versus The Subway" and "Chuck Versus The Ring: Part II" were two of the best episodes Chuck has produced, which is remarkable considering we've just finished the third season of a show that felt in danger of early suffocation... Continue reading...
'SHERLOCK' 1.3 – "The Great Game"
The episode was stuffed with incidents and the show's trademark deductions, making this episode feel like we essentially got half-a-dozen mini-adventures in one feature-length shebang. The addition of a ticking clock element elicited extra tension, as Sherlock raced around London trying to solve his opponent's mental obstacle course, although perhaps more could have been done to emphasize the against-the-clock element. Occasionally superimposing numbers to show the remaining hours left to crack each mystery worked fine, but I couldn't help feeling a constant ticking clock would have kept the anxiety simmering better. Continue reading...
'DOCTOR WHO' 5.12 – "The Pandorica Opens"
The return of Steven Moffat to guide series 5 to its conclusion worked very well in terms of untangling this year's deeper puzzle, and certainly did a nifty job of retroactively making previous episodes feel more relevant and interesting, with regards to the overall arc. "The Pandorica Opens" delivered an abundance of action, adventure, chills, thrills, explanations, and ridiculously big stakes that actually made sense. It wasn't perfect, but it came damned close, and was certainly an impressive hour of ambitious British sci-fi action that left you desperate to see next week's conclusion. Continue reading...
'BOARDWALK EMPIRE' 1.1 – "Boardwalk Empire"
This confluence of writer Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and director Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas) is as prosperous, satisfying, and exciting as you could hope. HBO’s crime epic Boardwalk Empire begins with a fascinating and beautifully-crafted 75-minute drama that introduces Atlantic City (circa 1920), the coastal town’s feted treasurer Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, and people whose lives will be changed by the onset of Prohibition... Continue reading...
'BREAKING BAD' 3.13 – "Full Measure"
My overriding feeling is that this was Breaking Bad's finest season, and easily the best drama on television so far this year. The performance are sublime (it was great to see actors other than Cranston come to the fore this year, too), the writers are capable of squeezing tension from the most unlikely of places, and the direction has been exceptional (the Cousins two-pronged attack on Hank's car, Rian Johnson's creative "Fly"). There's always room for improvement, but this episode set the stage for a fourth season of significant change. Walt's professional relationship with Gus is going to be strained (to put it mildly!), so he'll surely have to find a way to appease Gus, earn back his trust, then kill him at some point. The show appears to be headed in the direction of Walt and Jesse becoming the city's drug barons (battle-hardened by the events of this season), and I'm eager to see exactly how the writers get us there... Continue reading...
'BREAKING BAD' 3.12 – "Half Measures"
What can you say? "Half Measures" was another incredible episode; a beautifully simple storyline that got under the skin of Jesse and provoked some interesting decisions and emotions from Walt, too. Walt's been drifting through this season slightly, sucked into Gus's world to be his meth-making monkey, despite knowing his percentage of the product Gus sells is grossly unfair. But there are now signs of a resurgence. Of Walt taking control once again. Skyler is showing a few signs of compromise at home, he may soon have a money laundering business in the Car Wash that's comparable to Gus's fast-food restaurant, and maybe if Gus was out of the picture he could get his hands on the super-lab to use for himself? Is that where all this is heading? Continue reading...
'MAD MEN' 4.7 – "The Suitcase"
Overall, "The Suitcase" definitely ranks as one of Mad Men's best hours; packed full of funny, perceptive and emotional moments. It also marks a clear turning point in the Don/Peggy relationship, symbolized in the final scene when Don tells Peggy she can leave his office door open. He's no longer a closed book to her. Continue reading...
'MAD MEN' 3.13 – "Shut The Door. Have A Seat"
A momentous, emotive and gripping end to what's been a strong third season that only suffered from a relatively slack start and infrequent use of Don. Otherwise, this year's been just as mesmerizing and poignant as always, with some very strong episodes in the latter half especially. "Shut The Door. Have A Seat" saw the razing of the two pillars in Don's life: his marriage and his career, and only one was able to rise from the ashes... Continue reading...
'FRINGE' 2.18 – "White Tulip"
The best episodes of Fringe splice a compelling sci-fi idea to relatable human emotions; a balance the show doesn't always succeed at. But that's why the recent "Peter" was so memorable, with its focus on Walter's grief and guilt over his son's origins bolstering a simplistic, pulp sci-fi storyline. It's also why so much of Olivia and Peter's storylines never seem to ignite. Olivia hasn't had a believable connection to anyone since her fiance died in season 1 (recently she's just been taking advice from a bowling alley mystic), and Peter's main function on the show is to interpret Walter's technobabble and spew snarky rejoinders. But "White Tulip" got everything just right, with a clever and stirring hour of entertainment that ranks as one of my favourite Fringe's... Continue reading...
'BREAKING BAD' 3.7 – "One Minute"
There are no superlatives to do justice to those final moments, and everything prior to that was rock solid character building. This was the kind of episode that reminds me why I love the long-form storytelling of television, where spending so much time with characters results in pay-off that can strikes a hammer to your heart. You're feeling every sting of pain and anguish these characters are going through now, and it's simply stunning to watch. If you're not watching Breaking Bad, you're missing the best thing on television. Continue reading...
