The Matz Brothers Present: The 10 Best Network Shows of the 2010s

It's been a little over a month since the 2010's ended which has given myself and my brother, Sam, time to catch up on a few things & organize our thoughts on the best TV & film of the last decade. 

To fully explore the breadth of what the decade had to offer though we didn't merely want to throw together one long list of things we liked (Though there will be two long lists!) because our tastes might sway the whole thing too far in one direction or another. For example we might end up with a list of movies filled with dramedies & only a few action or horror films, which would be a shame because there were some amazing genre films last decade. So we've decided to break down television & film into distinct categories to create a list of top 10s before combining those into our definitive top 50 (And yes, we counted shows that started before 2010 -- though only their seasons that aired in the decade -- because, with all due respect to Sam Esmail, it's fucking dumb not to. The alternative is Breaking Bad & Parks & Rec never making/being near the top of a decade list & that's just dumb). First up we've got the best of network television, if you want to know more about our process -- like why that's a category -- read the next two paragraphs, if not you can skip down to the list. 

With film we divided primarily along genre lines: action, comedy, drama, etc., but we decided to try something different with TV. Rather than do the simple drama/comedy divide that most awards bodies do we opted to break them down by where the shows aired, in that way recognizing the different restrictions they work under & the different ways we consume them. So our four categories are Network (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, & the CW) which all deal with commercials & content restrictions, Basic Cable (AMC, FX, etc.) which has commercials but fewer restrictions, Premium Cable, (HBO, Showtime, etc.) which has neither commercials or content restrictions, & Streaming (Amazon, Netflix, Hulu) which takes lack of restrictions even further with varying run times & the ability to immediately binge all the episodes (save Hulu, which stuck to the weekly model). We think this makes sense because while Parks and Recreation and VEEP are both hilarious comedies half of the dialogue of the latter would be bleeped out if it aired on NBC, which is why we want to initially judge programs against those playing by the same rules before throwing them all into one top-50 batch.

Now that top-50 will include all forty shows that make up the various top 10 lists, plus 10 that narrowly missed out. And we came to our top 10 lists by individually compiling a top 20 for each category & then combining them with a first place worth 20 points, second worth 19, & so forth. I'll be posting those scores to give you an idea of which shows elevated themselves above the pack & which ones we might order differently on any given day. In addition we'll also be giving you each show's best character, season, & episode, because we're thorough like that. Alright, let's get to it.

Oh, & don't worry, we avoided any major spoilers because if you haven't seen any of these shows we'd love for you to watch them. To quote a tiger I know, they're great!

The Emmy Preview–Comedy: Who Got Snubbed, Who Should/Will Win, & When You Should Drink

The Emmys, the preeminent awards in television, air Monday night at 8p ET / 5p PT* on NBC. Seth Meyers figures to be the best host since Jimmy Kimmel** two years ago if not Conan a whopping eight years ago, but I'm more interested in who will/should win, who got snubbed, & how best to work drinking into the ceremony, so that's where my focus will be. You can read my thoughts on the nominations here, now though let me begin our journey by looking at the comedy categories.

*So for any timezone challenged Arizonans that's 5pm here.
**I like NPH plenty but I'll always take an actual comedian over a song & dance guy. 

Can Orange Is the New Black become the first TV show not on television to win an Outstanding Series award?

'Community' Watch: "Heroic Origins"

Abed's done some unassigned history homework.

It's been quite some time since I've done a recap of Community be it because of school, coaching, laziness, or a combination of all 3 but I'm tired of working on my political science essay & thought "Heroic Origins" was one of the more interesting episodes of the show this season so I'm hopping back in the saddle to review the penultimate episode of Community's fourth, & hopefully* not final, season.

*Against all odd "Community" has a roughly 50% chance at renewal, which is honestly more than anyone could've hoped for. Of course some would argue it's better off being cancelled & doing so would allow budding stars Donald Glover & Alison Brie to star in their own sitcoms or make more online videos with their douchebag boyfriend (I kid, I actually quite like Dave Franco), but is that worth Danny Pudi & Yvette Nicole Brown being cast off into stereotypical minority roles? I think not. 

The Second Annual Super Way Late 10 Best Shows of Last Year (2012)

Walt, Jesse, & co. continue to cook up the best TV has to offer.

Once again I've managed to finally finish my top 10 shows of the previous year in April. I know, you're impressed, anyway here it is...

There's a prevalent myth in our society that watching television is bad. That it melts the brain. That it's really just a waste of time when you could be working, exercising, sleeping, or reading a book instead. When someone mentions they don't watch much television, or don't even own one, they usually say so with pride. It should come as no surprise I think these people are idiots. Now that's not to say parents should let their kids watch TV for 8 hours a day, that television can't be mind numbingly stupid (see: 96% of reality TV), or a complete waste of time (see: 92% of CBS programming), but that, if one looks in the right places, the medium of television is now providing more emotionally resonant, intelligent, & original stories that its cinema counterpart & much of modern literature. It is for that reason that I proudly say for the 21st consecutive year of my life I watched more television than the year prior &, as always, I'm thankful for that. Now here are the best* programs I watched over the last calendar year.

*"Best" is, of course, a largely subjective word when talking about entertainment. Certainly if one were to claim that "Two and a Half Men" were the best comedy of 2012 we could label that person an idiot but, there are dozens of shows that one could make a legitimate claim. Furthermore for as much TV as a watch I'm still a student who must occasionally study & go to class & not a television critic so there are plenty of shows I missed this year. Some of those shows (e.g. "Luck" & "Treme") I wish I'd at least watched a few episodes of because they might've made this list, others may be shows you love ("30 Rock," "The Walking Dead," "Dexter," "Sons of Anarchy," "Spartacus") that I'm sure I'd have enjoyed but didn't have the time or feel the need to watch, & others ("The Big Bang Theory" & almost everything else on CBS) I just don't want to watch but good for you for enjoying them (Actually that's not good at all. Why weren't you watching "Community" or "Parks and Rec" instead? You suck). My point here is this isn't a definitive top 10, heck I'll probably disagree with some of the shows I chose or at least the order I put them in minutes after I post this, merely my thoughts at the moment & a recommendation for shows you might enjoy if you haven't yet checked them out. 

'Community' Watch: "Conventions of Space and Time"

Troy & Abed together forever! 

When NBC sent out two episodes for TV critics to review for the 4th season this was the episode they sent along with the premiere, perhaps thinking it better than people reading about the 2nd episode being Halloween themed in February,* & of the 3 reviews I read two found the premiere solid but this episode lacking & the other felt the exact opposite. So while the chance to see an episode at an Inspector Spacetime convention, the storyline Dan Harmon said he most wished he'd been able to tell, excited me  my expectations were tempered &, much like the premiere, that led to my enjoying it quite a bit despite some clear shortcomings.

*As someone who knows a number of fellow "Community" nerds & frequents Hitfix & The AV Club's reviews, & reads the well informed comments on those sites as well, I generally expect most "Community" watchers to have a good deal of knowledge both about the show itself & the behind the scenes stuff involving Dan Harmon & the various delays the last 2 seasons. Based on the comments on "Community's" facebook page though I'm apparently quite wrong as a fair number of people were ignorant as to why there was a Halloween episode on Valentine's Day, & even more annoyingly didn't seem to realize Abed's imagined laugh track version of the show in the premiere was part of that episode & nothing more. It seems for all of its fervent, intelligent, fans even "Community" has some ignorant & downright stupid ones just as "The Big Bang Theory" has some smart ones. 

'Community' Watch: "Paranormal Parentage"

Which one of these should I dress up as next year? 

Sitcoms tend to excel at Halloween episodes. From funny costumes, to trick-or-treat, to haunted houses & other horror tropes there's a lot of potential fun to be had with a Halloween episodes but over its first 3 seasons Community clearly established itself as the king of Halloween episodes. The first season's "Introduction to Statistics" was the first great episode (Abed as Batman!) & where the show hit stride. Season two's zombie epidemic, "Epidemiology," is maybe the funniest episode the show's ever done. Last year's "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps" was a fun look at the psyches, & storytelling abilities, of the Greendale Seven. So this episode had a lot to live up to & thus it's no surprise that Megan Ganz, one of the best writers of the last 2 seasons, was handed scripting duties for this episode & she delivered.

'Community' Watch: "History 101"

Community without Dan Harmon still has plenty of sex appeal.

The relationship I have with Community is different from any other sitcom I've had the pleasure of watching. There have been others that I've found funnier (Arrested Development), been totally obsessed with (The Office), that I was with from the beginning even when seemingly no one else was watching (Party Down), or that I even think have a better cast (Parks and Recreation), but there's always been something unique about Community.

 Part of it is simply a a combo of all the above. The darkest timeline in "Remedial Chaos Theory" is the funniest 90 seconds of TV I've ever seen. I may never match my obsession for season 2 of The Office but with Community I haven't been limited to one season in particular, but rather devour all the DVD commentaries & other extras & reading multiple recaps of each episode. That first season of Community I had few, if any people, besides my brother to discuss the show with before finally talking friends into watching it* or finding others who were already streets ahead. & while I'd give Parks brilliant cast** the edge there's not a weak spot in the Community cast.***

*It's possible I've done more facebook posts on "Community" than all other shows combined, I've certainly posted more clips, & that's saying something. 

**This is where I have to remind anyone not watching"Parks" to get their shit together. 

***I've had problems with Pierce &, especially, Chang but that's had much more to do with the writing than Chevy Chase of Ken Jeong's performances. 

Beyond that it's a show that in many ways seems tailor made for me, & other TV/movie geeks, with the many pop culture references, the various theme episodes, & Abed himself whose use of television knowledge to better understand real life is not altogether different than my own thinking. So when Sony announced they had let Den Harmon, the mad genius behind the show, go after last season there were some big questions about the future of this show that I, & a few million others, loved so much.

If I ran the Emmys: Comedy

No matter what Emmy voters say the cast of Parks and Rec should
be happy, they're on one of the best comedies on TV.

Alas between school, football, & my general inability to manage my time we've arrived at the day of the 2012 Emmys &, like last year, I've only managed to post my supporting actor/actress in a comedy picks so I'm going to speed through the rest in 2 posts, sadly, without any videos. First let's finish off the rest of the comedy nominations.

As I've mentioned before I watch more television than most Emmy voters, who are busy actually making TV, so I'm catching some performances & shows that they may be missing out on, & of course actual TV critics see more than I do so here's a professional's take* on lead actress in a comedy, lead actor in a comedy, & outstanding comedy series. 

*Again these posts are indeed a rip off  of Alan Sepinwall's Emmy posts, & I encourage you to read his TV criticism if you enjoy reading such things.

It's important to also note that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry Downton Abbey). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. Now on to the nominees...

If I Ran the Emmys: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Community pulls a hat trick in my version of the Emmys. 

We're on to the 2nd round of my "If I Ran the Emmys" series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, which is designed to give praise to those performances & shows I consider most deserving of recognition. As I've mentioned before I watch more television than most Emmy voters, who are busy actually making TV, so I'm catching some performances & shows that they may be missing out on, & of course actual TV critics see more than I do so here's a professional's take.*

*Again these posts are absolutely ripping off Alan Sepinwall's Emmy posts. In fact we even chose 5 of the same actors in this category & the one we did disagree on we just chose different actors from the same show, & that ratio isn't really going to change. So yea... You could just read his stuff, & if you enjoy television criticism than I highly recommend you do, but I hope you'll read mine anyway. 

It's important to also note that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry Downton Abbey). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. As for the actual Emmys two years ago voters & I agreed on two nominees, last year that number shrunk to one & now I'm afraid, as with the Supporting Comedy Actress category, we couldn't find one nominee to agree on. Once again I leave it to you to decide who did a better job of singling out the best performances.

If I Ran the Emmys: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Emmy voters can have the Modern Family ladies,
just leave me ALISON BRIE! & Gillian Jacobs.

For the last two years I've attempted to give my thoughts on who was deserving of Emmy nominations for the 10 major awards (Supporting Actor/Actress in a Comedy/Drama, Lead Actor/Actress in Comedy/Drama, Best Comedy/Drama) but ultimately I've failed to ever publish more than my thoughts on 3 of the aforementioned categories. This year I vow to do them all though!

Before i get to my thoughts on our first category, Supporting Actress in a Comedy, it bears mentioning once again that Emmy voters are people who work, or worked, in the industry (actors, directors, writers, etc.) hence many of them don't have the time to watch a broad variety of shows. I, on the other hand, have plenty of time! So while their choices may get tons of publicity, including here, I'd argue mine may well be more valid. Of course really I think TV critics should be in charge, since it's their job to judge television, so here's a professional's opinion.*

I freely admit that I'm ripping off Alan Sepinwall's Emmy gimmick. As for the similarities between many of our picks, as will be extremely evident in the next category, I would merely say we both watch a lot of TV & have good taste.

It's important to also not that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry Downton Abbey). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. As for the actual Emmys two years ago the voters & I agreed on two of the nominees & the winner, last year we agreed on two again, this year however we have not one common nominee. You be the judge of who did a better job.

"Community" Watch"-Course Listing Unavailable"

Chang's got an army now,
but will the show put it to good use?

We're on to week 3 of NBC Comedy watch & my reviews seem to be getting progressively longer so for this week at least I'm giving each show its own post.

Community-"Course Listing Unavailable"

Whenever a show attempts a serialized story there are bound to be episodes that move the various characters around & then there will be episodes where those moves pay off. This was very much the former kind of episode, which prevented it from reaching the heights of the last 4 weeks.*

*Todd VanDerWerff at the AV Club gives a great review of the episode in which he discusses the potential downside of the serialization of a comedy.  

NBC Comedy Watch

Paul Rudd on "Parks & Rec"

I'm back for week 2 of NBC Comedy Watch & this was an outstanding week.


Community-"Basic Lupine Urology"- Sure it wasn't as deep emotionally as the last few weeks but from a pure laughs standpoint that's the best episode since the Glee parody back in December. It usually is the parody/homage episodes that get the biggest laughs & as soon as I heard they were making a Law & Order episode I expected it to be amazing, & last night delivered from the opening scene when the study group's yam was found "murdered." 


Troy & Abed trying to each do the crime scene zinger was hilarious, as was their entire time as partners (& Shirley was great as their captain as well-a reversal from season one's "The Science of Allusion" when Shirley & Annie were partners attempting to solve a crime & Abed was their "African-American police chief"), & Annie & Jeff were unsurprisingly affective lawyers (another call back to season one when they proved to be a formidable debate team, & a little bit more). Having the eternally decent Todd be the primary suspect was inspired, though not as much as Michael Ironside's appearance (& did anyone else wonder if he was involved in killing Starburns to silence him as a witness?) as Todd's military lawyer, uncle, or anything involving the brilliant Michael K. Williams who was finally used to full potential here getting to deliver his, "A man's got to have a code," line that surely made all fans of The Wire shudder like the Dean around a man in uniform. It also set up another dark & interesting turn to the season with the death of Star Burns or, as he always made a point to tell everyone, Alex.*

NBC Comedy Recap

Annie & Abed in the Dreamatorium. 

Last night marked the return of Parks & Rec, meaning once again NBC was airing the 2 best comedies on TV in one night! Because of this wonderful occurrence I felt the need to give my brief, except in the case of Community, thoughts on the last night's episodes.

1. Community-"Virtual Systems Analysis"-By now it's cliche to say that an episode of Community is unlike anything else on TV, after all they did an episode as Ken Burns documentary only 2 weeks ago, but damn... That was definitely the weirdest thing they've ever done (Not to mention the weirdest, & funniest thing, the Dean has ever worn). I mean that neither as praise or criticism. Ok, maybe a little praise because it's ballsy to go that nuts even after all the other stuff they've pulled. Though being off kilter alone doesn't make a show good (If that were the case Glee would be sensational), what really made the episode work was that beneath all of the wackiness of Abed & Annie playing other members of the study group inside the dreamatorium there was real emotional resonance. 

The Super Way Late 10 Best Shows of 2011

Walt, Jesse, & Gus cooked up a fantastic season of Breaking Bad.

Now that we're entering the fourth month of 2012 I had two options with this:

1. Don't write it. It's not timely & no one cares what I think anyway. Or... 

2. Write it anyway! 

Obviously I opted for #2 because I spent too much time watching TV & thinking about this list last year not to write it & it serves as a good advisory for shows to Netflix. 

Before we get to the list here's a brief summary of shows that didn't make the cut.

Shows I didn't watch that never stood a chance anyway:

1. Anything created by Chuck Lorre (THM, BBT, & "Mike and Molly")-if you like his shows good for you but let's not confuse mediocrity with the best television has to offer.

My (faux) Emmy Ballot: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Now that's an Emmy worthy handshake.

The Emmy nominations were just announced last Thursday (see the list of nominees here) I thought I’d give my thoughts on who/what should have been nominated in the major categories. Last week I detailed my list of Outstanding Supporting Actresses in a Comedy, & today we move on to their male counterparts.

No category gave me more trouble to narrow down to six nominees, as you’ll be able to tell from my honorable mentions list, than Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy (For a look at a professional critic’s opinion click here, & for my picks last year go here). There are just so many great comedic actors & roles in television that you could pick at least a dozen different actors & be able to make a fine case that they should earn a nomination, however Emmy voters are restricted to six votes so I am as well. Without further ado here are my six picks (click on their names to see one of their highlights from this season)…

My (faux) Emmy Ballot: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Alison Brie: Beautiful? Check. Hilarious? Check. Emmy worthy? You bet.

With the Emmy nominations being announced Thursday I thought I’d give my thoughts on who/what should be nominated in the major categories. Considering I watch more television than the majority of Emmy voters (who in their defense are busy making television) I’m actually more qualified than they are to decide who/what is deserving of recognition. For example they gave “The Wire,” considered by most critics one of the two best dramas of all time (“The Sopranos” being the other), only two nominations (& zero wins) in 5 seasons. That would never have happened had I been in charge.

Our first category will be Supporting Actress in a Comedy (For a look at a professional’s thoughts go here, & for my picks last year click here). Out of all the female categories this was the hardest to narrow down for while they’re may be a general lack of good lead roles for women comedically, be it on television or in film, there are a number of fine roles out there for women in complimentary roles & the women filling them are more than up to the task of making us all laugh (click on their names to see one of their highlights from this season).

"Community" Watch-"Epidemiology"

Let me start by making this simple proclamation: “Community” is better than “The Office.” I know… I know… That’s blaspheme, especially coming from someone like me who’s been pushing “The Office” on people for the past 5 years (At this point I don’t even know who’s got my Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD… No, seriously I’m freaking bidding on eBay for replacements). However, when you see an episode of “Community” like last week’s “Epidemiology” there can be no doubt (Sadly, judging by the ratings only Casey Johnson, my brother, & I watched the episode. What the hell do you people do on Thursday nights? Get hammered? Do homework? Get hammered while doing homework? Either way you’re making a mistake). In fact “Community” actually surpassed “The Office” last season with its brilliant paintball, action send up “Modern Warfare” (the best half hour of TV all last season). Out of loyalty I gave “The Office” a chance to come back this season, but Community remains the stronger, & much funnier, show.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that “Community” would give us probably the greatest Halloween themed episode of all-time (which is saying something considering how good last week’s “Modern Family” was). No live action show does a better job of poking fun at/paying homage to movie genres. First there was last season’s mob themed chicken finger episode with homages to “The Godfather” movies and “Goodfellas”, then “Modern Warfare,” followed by this year’s space themed episode of two weeks ago & then last week’s zombie apocalypse masterpiece “Epidemiology” (officially the half hour that all other comedy’s will be judged against the rest of this season).