But let’s talk about “End of Days.” Bill, as always, has several fish to fry, but apparently more than enough time to deal with them all. There’s the Casino, where he fires Tommy for lying about his involvement in Tribe’s drug dealing, constantly covering for his messed up family. There’s Marilyn, who saves Bill’s ass, only to discover he’s an absolute lunatic that is not going to do anything for her in return, en route to ruining what could be a promising political career. Albie is going out of his mind crazy, ripping wall paper off the walls and cutting his wives’ faces. And there’s crazy ass J.J., who, contrary to what the Feds think, doesn’t promote incest, but just implanting eggs into infertile women without their knowledge. What?! For such a crazy plot line, there was little setup of it. I was conflicted about this, because on one hand, it was pretty messed up, and was better as a shocking reveal as opposed to a slow one. But on the other hand, it seemed like lazy writing, a way to make J.J.’s craziness come to a head.

Then we have the wives. Barb is pissed at Bill for never listening to her, going so far as to leak information about Anna’s baby to the press. She also tells him she needed him for 20 years, but now, not so much. She is still very opposed to the public outing of their family, yet she lacks the ability to permanently close Bill’s mouth and keep him from doing so. Margie’s stance is unclear. She wants to divorce Goren but is opposed to it. She wants to announce the truth, but doesn’t want to lose her business. Nikki is the only one that’s really gung-ho about it all, but she also wants Bill all to herself, which is pretty contradictory to the idea of Bill announcing that he has three wives. She was also drugged up by J.J.’s doctor, and just before getting implanted, was saved by Adeline, who had uncovered the plot the previously. Bill got there just in time too, because Wanda regained the ability to speak just moments after Nikki took off. Then Adeline burns J.J. and his wife in the hospital. Plot ended.

Of course, everything was building up to Bill’s announcement of the family’s polygamy. Before we get to that, let’s go over how stupid Bill is:
1.) He thinks that if they just get in a limo when it’s all over, they won’t be harassed or arrested. We all know there’s different laws in limos.
2.) He tells Barb he knows that the Senate run got them off track, but he doesn’t know what to do other than keep going. I don’t know, how about stop?!
3.) HE RAN FOR STATE SENATE TO REVEAL HIS TRUE IDENTITY! WHY?!

When the announcement finally came, I was, even when I still enjoyed the episode, I was kind of angry. Margie looked so gutted when he name was called, Barb needed a moment to even stand up, and even steadfast Nikki looked terrified. Poor Don was there, a slight smile on his face, but why? Bill literally destroyed his life by making him take the fall at HomePlus. Life won’t at all get easier for him or the Hendrickson family. In fact, it’s going to be an even bigger mess than it was before. Bill will probably lose everything: the Senate job, the casino, HomePlus, probably Barb, and maybe Margie. Sara already left the family, knowing what was to come, and she’s just the first one.

So that’s it for a shaky season of Big Love. As I said at the start, it was a season dominated by stories rather than characters, and it was as a result much weaker than last year. For highlights we had the culmination of the Ben-Margie issue, the return of Anna, Nikki’s transformation, and Albie’s affair with Dale. For low lights, we had the Senate run, the trip to Mexico, and enough scattered and rushed plots to fill a season of Heroes. When Season 4 was at its best, it was very good. When it was at its worst, it was more frustrating than I could have imagined. I don’t really know why either. For all the bad parts, the writing was either lazy or over zealous, which was surprising for a show that improved from an already consistent story. So here’s hoping next season will be better.

Disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Michael’s Score: 54
TUIW Grade: C

The worst thing in “Under One Roof” happened to poor Albie and Dale. It surprised me that Dale had somehow been okay with Albie’s extreme creepiness, but he always seemed more preoccupied with the fact that what he was in some way wrong or sinful. I’m not sure if he loved Albie as much as he loved him, but there was something genuine in their relationship that’s not seen to much on the show. It was only  a matter of time before their secret would be found out, but I never imagined Dale would kill himself over it. When Bill revealed to him that he knew his secret, I really wanted Bill to reveal his own. While the two are apples and oranges, I do think it might have helped Dale to know he wasn’t the only one with a secret.

I do have to give props to Nikki for telling Albie she’d love him either way. I think she has a right to be angry at her parents for destroying her childhood (or lack thereof) and turning her into who she is. I have to say, I laughed pretty hard when Nikki showed up in the short skirt with her hair pulled to the side. She views herself as some sort of tramp, yet her view is about 25 years out of date. Perhaps saving Carol Lynn from a sealing will be what finally wins the girl’s favor, but more importantly, it was the first time Nikki has fought for something instead of playing a role in the plans of someone else.

The other big revelation of the night was the return of Anna, pregnant with Bill’s premarital baby. I can’t blame her for wanting to raise the child on her own outside of the Hendrickson home, but it was pretty fishy how quickly she went from refusing any involvement with them to asking for money in exchange for visitation rights. When the sister-wives went to visit her in the restaurant when Bill had done the same was one of the funnier parts the episode. Barb’s anger over the whole issue is completely justified, and it was great for her to finally hit a shot at Bill for being so selfish and always coming up with a testimony for all of his mistakes. Also coming out of this: Bill married Margie after she got pregnant.

Lastly, we had the Adventures of Frank, Lois and Ben in Mexico, where they were attempting to buy some birds. It’s a pretty boring story, where Ben is finally happy to be accepted again and Frank threatens a gay Mexican bird smuggler, and then BANG! the Greens return. They are two of the creepiest villains in all of television, and they’re return cannot mean anything good. This story has bored me all season, but with the Greens, I’m hoping that Ben steps up and saves the day, and becomes the heroic version of what his father is.

“Under One Roof” was an episode of revelations and big events. The season is on the backside of it’s episodes, so I expect this all to start to build up to an epic conclusion in the coming weeks. But there’s a lot of problems that have hardly been addressed. Will exposing their polygamy be a bad idea as Margie suggested? Can they really move into the big house and truly live under one roof? Will all of this get derailed by some combination of Anna, Albie, and the Greens? One thing is for sure, Big Love has once again built up a season of great suspense that will undoubtedly continue to build to a stirring finale.

Michael’s Score: 80

Tangled Up In Wires Grade: B+

That brings us to episode 4, “The Mighty and The Strong.” Going in, there were several issues at hand for the Hendrickson clan. Bill was preparing for his announcement speech, Sarah was saddled with the baby of the Native American woman Barb hit with her car, and then there was that whole little misunderstanding where Margie kissed Ben, who was then referred to on TV as her husband. All three threads in one way or another lead back to Bill. Last season it really started to become apparent how selfish and hot headed he was, and it’s only grown this year. His state senate run has nothing to do with an ambition for politics, but more attaining a new kind of power. When Joey asked him to return to Juniper Creek as prophet, he refused, seemingly because the job was tarnished by Roman. He’s deluded himself to thinking that becoming a state senator would allow him to stop hiding his polygamy, but thinking of what he can do has blinded him from what is actually going to happen. The Hendricksons are going to get ripped to shreds, but Bill is too short sighted to realize it. Further, it was absolutely crushing to see what he did to poor Don. The guy has been down and out for a while, losing his wives and kids, and as he said, always seeing Bill succeed in one way or the other. But Bill doesn’t care. When his opponent starts sniffing around Home Plus, Bill goes straight to his best friend and asks him to not only give up his job, but out himself as a polygamist and face public scorn. It’s perhaps the most selfish thing Bill has done, and I can’t imagine that Don is just going to fade away quietly.

As for Ben and Margene, their romantic tension has been building since Season 1, and last year, Margie’s harsh rebuke of Ben in the wake of his love letter seemed to signal an end, but their kiss brought that all back up. Margie began to handle it in her typical way, not telling the whole truth to Barb and Bill, and overdoing it in her break down on air, one of the more painful sights on the show. Teeny sort of opened the flood gates on the issue (hey, she’s back from “sports camp!”), telling Bill and Barb about Ben’s love note. But Ben takes the fall for it, and while Bill is angry, he’s too distracted by his announcement to let it get in his way. Margie can’t stand it though, and she tells Bill the truth right before his big speech (hilariously, in an elephant costume), that she meant the kiss. Ben protected her from J.J. when he came storming in and then he showed up for her show when no one else would. Bill has ignored her TV show from the start, and at times even seemed jealous. He kiss with Ben was a misguided feeling of gratitude for the only one of the five people in the house that could have been there (sorry Teeny and Niki’s twins, you can’t drive). We’ll see how it all plays out, but I think that’s really what’s going on. Bill kicking Ben out of the house at the end was a little harsh. Again, he’s too hotheaded and selfish to think that Ben isn’t “another man” trying to steal his wife, but his confused 18 year old son that more than anything, just needs his father to give him some guidance.

Meanwhile, back on the compound, Alby has stepped up the creepy factor big time with his affair with Dale. This isn’t going to end well, we all know that, but sneaking into the guy’s house and delivering jam to him? Why isn’t Dale running for the hills? It’s an interesting story, because both have more to lose than just their careers should they be discovered, but like I said, it’s not going to end well. Speaking of messed up things Alby does, how about giving his mother to J.J. to be sealed? J.J. is delightfully creepy, with his lack of fingernails and exploitation of his poor sister, but marrying the mother of his ex-wife? Nikki’s right, people should be more upset about that. I’ll take it for now if that means that Mary Kay Place will stick around for a little longer.

More than anything else, “The Mighty and Strong” showed how many secrets and lies the whole Hendrickson family tells each other constantly. I’ve lost track of the number of times Bill has been blown away by some secret of one of his clan. That’s not to say it’s lazy writing, but more that it’s a family that claims closeness and reliance on one another, but actually clings to its secrets and individuals. Everything one of them does they do for themselves, dealing with the fallout when their actions are discovered. It’s compelling to watch, but I can’t imagine it will last much longer. Someone is going to have a big fall, it’s just a question of who.

Michael’s Score: 77
Tangled Up In Wires Grade: B+

Ricky Gervais: Little used, but very, very funny. Loved the pot shots at everyone, as well as the promotion of both The Office and The Invention of Lying. Hosts of these award shows are really overblown, they really only get a monologue to do their thing, but Ricky definitely spread some great jabs throughout the night.

Losers of the Night: Neil Patrick Harris got burned again. Fortunately, this time wasn’t to John Cryer, but by John Lithgow for Dexter. NPH will get a statue someday, but this really seemed like it was going to be the year. While Up was a fantastic film, it’s a little sad that The Fantastic Mr. Fox didn’t win. Like with NPH, it lost to a worthy opponent, but still. Modern Family also got the shaft in favor of the far inferior Glee. Sure Glee has a good message about being true to yourself, but Modern Family clearly blew the other shows in the category out of the water.

Winners of the Night: Michael C. Hall got a great win coming right on the heels of his announcement that he had cancer. It was also great to see Big Love get a win with Chole Sevigny taking a statue for her role as Nikki, the uptight Mormon sister-wife. There weren’t really any big winners that captured strings of awards, with Dexter winning two awards for acting (John Lithgow, Michael C. Hall), Crazy Heart winning for Best Song (T-Bone Burnett) and Actor (Jeff Bridges), and Avatar coming away with one for Best Director (James Cameron) and Best Picture, Drama. It will take home several more statues come Oscar time, as there are more statues to win.

Surprising Winners of the Night: As much as it disappoints me to say it, Sandra Bullock came out on top in a category full of several highly touted contenders. I guess sometimes movies made with the purpose of winning someone awards do what they’re supposed to. The Hangover also came away a surprise winner, beating out the more highly critically acclaimed Julie & Julia and It’s Complicated. Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t a huge shock, but he still beat out several big names.

Most Disappointed Loser: Based on camera shots, it’s a three way tie between Quintin Tarantino, Sandra Bullock (for Supporting Actress, she won later), and, surprisingly, Jason Reitman, who looked pretty pissed when he lost for Best Director and Best Picture.

Best Acceptance Speech: Robert Downey Jr., hands down. For a guy that’s been to hell and back, it’s great to see him in good humor. Martin Scorsese also had a great acceptance speech for his lifetime achievement award, deflecting a lot of the praise to the people he worked with and those that inspired him. And, damn, I want to see Shutter Island.

Biggest Trend: As we discussed when the nominations came out, there was a leaning towards the popular over the critically acclaimed. Juliana Marguilies, Glee, The Hangover, and Sandra Bullock took home awards over other nominees with a stronger critical pedigree. This isn’t to say that these weren’t completely undeserving; there’s a good reason why a lot of people enjoy them. It’s still surprising when a movie like The Hangover beats out two Meryl Streep movies.

Hey everyone! Sorry for the slow posting, things in the media world have slowed down in the gap between Christmas and New Years. not to fear though, TUIW is going to help a little with some previews of 2010. We start with a schedule of the mid-season premieres for some of the shows we follow here. Undoubtedly, the one we’re most excited for is Lost, although Big Love ought to be a good one too. For more, check out our source here.

Wednesday, Jan. 6
Modern Family returns (ABC), 9 PM
Friday Night Lights returns (DirecTV 101), 9 PM

Sunday, Jan. 10
New season of Big Love premieres (HBO), 10 PM

Monday, Jan. 11
How I Met Your Mother returns (CBS), 8 PM

Thursday, Jan. 14
Community returns (NBC), 8 PM
Parks and Recreation returns (NBC), 8:30 PM
30 Rock returns with back-to-back episodes (NBC), 9 PM

Sunday, Jan. 17
24 four-hour, two-night premiere part 1 (FOX), 9 PM

Monday, Jan. 18
24 four-hour, two-night premiere part 2 (FOX), 8 PM

Thursday, Jan. 21
The Office returns (NBC), 9 PM
Burn Notice returns (USA), 10 PM

Monday, Jan. 25
Damages returns (FX), 10 PM

Wednesday, Jan. 27
Psych returns (USA), 10 PM

Tuesday, Feb. 2
Final season of Lost premieres (ABC), 9 PM

Monday, March 1
Parenthood premieres (NBC), 9 PM

Special Events
The Simpsons 20^th Anniversary Special: in 3-D! on Ice! (FOX), Jan. 10. at 8:30 PM
The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards (NBC), on Jan. 17
Dollhouse series finale (FOX), Jan. 22 at 9 PM
16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (TNT/TBS), Jan. 23
Winter Olympics (NBC), Feb. 12-28

10. 30 Rock
A lot of people have been ragging on 30 Rock for declining in quality, and yes, its third season was not its best, but it remained one of the funniest shows on TV. The third season had some gems, such as a fake trip to space for Tracy, Alec Baldwin playing a Spanish telenovela star, and Steve Martin’s hilarious turn as a disgraced corporate executive. Perhaps the backlash has come because the bar was set so high, but still, put 30 Rock next to most comedies on TV and you’ll see just how good it is. (M)

9. Friday Night Lights
By virtue of an unorthodox distribution agreement, Friday Night Lights is no longer in immediate danger of being cancelled, so we can just focus on how great this show is and how gracefully it recovered from its season two stumbling blocks. Whether you caught up with season three on NBC in the spring, or are already keeping up with season four through Direct TV now, you’ve seen a show that rediscovered its groove as a rich, naturalistic look at life in small town America, without condescension or bombast. Boasting some of the finest performances and writing on television, it’s a load off our minds to know that Friday Night Lights isn’t going anywhere.

8. Better Off Ted
What could have been a really conventional show about a wacky company quickly worked it’s charm and quietly became one of the best shows on TV. Better Off Ted is one part corporate satire and one part modern screwball, a combination that works well even in the show’s weaker episodes. The show wears its absurdity on its sleeve, making the most ridiculous parts (motion sensors that can’t see black people, a medieval fight club, the entire character of Veronica) completely normal within the boundaries of the world it lives in. A lovably wacky show, hopefully Ted can pick up a bigger audience here in its second season. (M)

7. Modern Family
Modern Family instantly got comparisons to Arrested Development upon its arrival, due mostly to it’s hand-held camera and quirky family plot, but the show quickly differentiated itself with a sweetness that isn’t found much on TV these days. The show never fails to deliver big laughs, and in just half a season, the characters have endeared themselves greatly to fans. How it will hold up as it goes on remains to be seen, but Modern Family has stood out thus far as delightfully funny show that isn’t afraid to show it has a little heart. (M)

6. Lost
When Lost got an end date, it suddenly became a focused show with a goal in mind, and it’s action-packed fifth season delivered big time. The world of Lost was already a dense one, but with time travel added to the mix, the show about people being stranded in a weird place became a show about destiny and the decisions we make in life. By this point, Lost is a show for dedicated fans only, but for those fans, it was an absolute treat to watch. (M)

5. Parks and Recreation
It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Parks and Recreation would find its groove this season since its parent show, The Office, experienced similar growing pains. However, I don’t think anyone anticipated just how good it would get. In its second season, the show found a way to make Amy Poehler’s lead character funny without seeming pathetic or delusional, while strengthening the support around her (particularly Nic Offerman’s Ron F-ing Swanson and Aziz Ansari’s Tom Haverford). Over the course of this year, Parks and Recreation has shaped itself into a potent comic force with the potential to lead NBC’s comic block as The Office ages more and more. (J)

4. Big Love

It didn’t take Big Love too long to transcend its hacky-stand-up-comedian (you think having one wife is hard, try three!), but the jump in quality in the show’s third season was still pretty incredible. Big Love navigated the rocky emotional territory of Bill’s three marriages (and attempt at a fourth) with the shocking trial of Roman, child abduction, family secrets, and it still found time to take a road trip out east. The ensemble was typically strong, but the year’s standout may have been Ginnifer Goodwin, who finally got some juicy storylines to go with her top-notch comic instincts. (J)

3. Curb Your Enthusiasm
From the very start of Curb Your Enthusiasm, it seemed we were inevitably headed for a Seinfeld reunion, the centerpiece of this past season of TV’s most cringe-worthy show. Larry David and Company played it all perfectly, tying in the reunion to Larry’s divorce for Cheryl and the idiosyncrasies that have made the character Larry David so fun (and painful) to watch. Everything built so perfectly to the moment we’d all been waiting for: the character Larry David acting as George, who was based on real life Larry David. Curb seemed destined for a sweet ending this season, but instead it ended with a question we’ll be pondering until the show returns: Do you respect wood? (M)

2. Breaking Bad
In its second season, Breaking Bad took the box it seemed to be fitting into to (desperate man turns to life of crime, has series of misadventures) and blew it up. Breaking Bad has become many things – a gritty, ground-level look at meth dealing in the southwest, a fascinating character study, a Greek tragedy, a dark comedy – but it remains grounded in the stunning performances by its ensemble, especially Bryan Cranston’s mesmerizing performance of the deeply flawed Walter White. It started as a small underdog, but Breaking Bad has become every bit the equal of its AMC neighbor and combined with Mad Men to make a stunning 1-2 punch unlike any other on TV. (J)

1. Mad Men
Even by Matt Weiner’s leisurely standards, the third season of Mad Men felt excruciatingly deliberate, especially in the slow early part of the season. But, as always, those who trusted the show were rewarded with a season as rich and compelling as the first two. Big changes hit the Sterling-Cooper crew, appropriate for a season set against the backdrop of the impending Kennedy Assassination, but, as always, the changes felt grounded in the show’s human element. While some episodes were extremely painful to watch (“The Gypsy and the Hobo,” “Seven Twenty Three,” and “Wee Small Hours” come to mind), they were necessary steps to the exciting future promised in the brilliant season finale. (J)

“Racial Sensitivity” – Better Off Ted
Sometimes, all it takes is one great episode for a decent show to jump to must-see, and that’s exactly what Better Off Ted did with “Racial Sensitivity,” an inspired bit of corporate satire that combined all the show’s best elements for 30 exhilarating minutes. Like “Slap Bet” before it, “Racial Sensitivity” announced the arrival of a show with a truly unique comic point of view.

“Come Ye Saints” – Big Love
Big Love started as something of a novelty, a story about a guy with three wives. By the time the show hit “Come Ye Saints” in its third season, all of that was more or less in the past. After Anna divorces Bill, he takes his family on a trip across the country, visiting important Mormon sites. The trip turns into a disaster, most notably after Sarah’s pregnancy comes to light when she has a miscarriage. Not only is the family intensely fractured, but Bill himself questions his faith and decisions more than ever. It’s a powerful episode of a show that was as good, if not better, than the other big dramas in its third season.

“ABQ” – Breaking Bad
You could basically choose from any of the 13 episodes in Breaking Bad’s engrossing second season, but we settled on the finale, which ties up the recurring images of the pink bear and body bags with Aristotlean flair. Walter White’s descent to hell completes itself in showy, fiery fashion, putting an exclamation mark at the end of one of the best seasons of television ever.

“Bad Breaks” – Burn Notice
“Bad Breaks” trucks along for its first ten minutes like every other episode of Burn Notice. Michael Weston starts investigating a case while also working on his larger mission of figuring out who burned him. But then the bank Michael is in gets robbed and, from there, its off to the races. Loaded with cool spy tricks and breakneck pacing, “Bad Breaks” was one of the most exciting and frothy hours of the year.

“Debate 109″ – Community
Community has quickly endeared itself to its fans in a lot of ways, and “Debate 109″ showcases the goofy charm the show has. Jeff gets roped into doing the debate team with Annie where he quickly finds his “lawyer skills” will be of no use. Fueled by an obnoxious rival and the promise of a parking space, Jeff and Annie get tough, and awkward together, and beat rival City College. Meanwhile, Pierce tries hypnotherapy to help Britta quit smoking and Troy and Shirley freak out over Abed’s films that predict the future. When it all comes together, it’s easy to see the quirky sweetness that has made Community one of the best new comedies of the season.

“Seinfeld” – Curb Your Enthusiasm
Larry David folded the comic universe in on itself at the climax of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s seventh season, when he threw on a sweater vest and portrayed George Costanza, the fictionalized version of Larry David from Seinfeld. The series of events that got us there, involving Mocha Joe, a pamphlet sized book on acting (without acting), and respect for wood was as hilarious as the show has ever been.

“Unnatural Love” – Flight of the Conchords
Americans might not fully grasp the never-ending feud between New Zealanders and Australians, but Flight of the Conchords made it one of their central jokes in their two season run. “Unnatural Love” finds Jemaine falling in love with an Australian after a night on the town goes a awry, much to the chagrin of Brett and Murray. Nearly all the jokes in the episode are about Australia, but told through the subtle humor of the show, it’s absolutely hysterical. The episode also features one of the band’s best songs, “Carol Brown.” Though maybe not their funniest or most memorable, it is a really terrific, catchy song with probably the coolest looking sequence the show’s done.

“The Son” – Friday Night Lights
[WARNING: This is an episode that has only aired on DirecTV. If you're waiting to watch on NBC in the spring, do not read further!] “The Son” might be the best episode the show has ever done. Matt Saracen emerged in the first season of FNL as an unlikely hero, a second string quarterback who was never supposed to play or get the girl. Matt was perpetually in an uphill battle, with a grandmother with dementia, a mother that left him, and a father who’d rather fight in Iraq than be at home. The latter comes to a head when Matt’s father is killed in Iraq, sending Matt into a downward spiral he seemed destined to have. Zach Gilford delivers an Emmy-worthy performance in an episode of FNL that will put a lump in the throat of even the most passive viewer. Television writing really doesn’t get much better than this.

“Benefits” – How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother once again showed its ability to take a pretty typical sitcom premise and add some life to it. Here, Ted and Robin become friends-with-benefits to ease the tension of their roommate situation, much to the chagrin of a lovesick Barney. The nimbleness with which the show deals with it, especially during the sequence that goes through the entire sequence of events in about two minutes, makes for another top-notch episode.

“The Incident” – Lost
Lost’s finales aren’t always their strongest episodes, but those looking for resolution from “The Incident” were left with their heads spinning. After a season of mindbending, time-travel weirdness, Lost raised the ante even further, raising questions of fate and predetermination while building to the most painful cliffhanger in the show’s history. Add in our first intriguing glimpses of Jacob (in a series of some of the show’s finest flashbacks ever), the Locke payoff, and the tragic end to the Juliet-Sawyer relationship, and you’ve got a bang-up finale.

“Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency” – Mad Men
There are plenty of memorable moments in television history, but there are few as horrifying as the lawn mower scene Mad Men used in their terrific third season. But really, the shocking scene is only one part of a terrific episode changed the gang at Sterling-Cooper tremendously. Don is teased, first by Cooper’s suggestion that he might be promoted to work in London, and then by the prospect of working for Conrad Hilton. Joan’s departure from Sterling-Coop is hampered when her husband doesn’t get the chief residence position. Betty stays a bad mother. Lane get’s transferred to Bombay, then gets to keep his job. Oh yeah, and Lois ran over a guy’s foot with a riding lawn mower. For a show that likes to keep it’s plot moving slowly, this was an episode that put into action the events that would define the end of another season of Mad Men.

“Fizbo” – Modern Family
Modern Family has been fairly consistently hilarious, but “Fizbo” is super-extra-double hilarious. Featuring a story line that finds a fleet way to make use of the entire ensemble, an interesting structure, and the sight of Cam threatening someone in a clown suit, the episode is an inspired bit of work, as showed by the meticulously built Rube Goldberg device that leads to the episode’s climactic injury.

“The Hunting Trip” – Parks and Recreation
If there’s any episode to show just how much Parks and Rec improved between its first and second season, it would be “The Hunting Trip.” Leslie maneuvers herself, Tom, Donna, and Anne onto a hunting trip previously reserved for Ron, Jerry, and Mark, trying to prove herself to be one of the boys. This would probably have only played out as a decent half hour of television, but when Ron get’s shot in the head, it becomes fantastic. Ron’s instant reaction to take 8 pain pills and down scotch, Tom’s suggestion that the Predator was hunting them, Donna’s distress over her car, and Leslie’s reasons for why being a woman caused her to shoot Ron are priceless. If you didn’t believe in Parks and Rec after its first season, watch this episode right away.

“Kerplunk” – Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daises met it’s too soon demise with “Kerplunk,” an episode not intended to be a finale, but one that functions fairly well as one. The episode finds Ned and Olive working for the Darling Mermaid Darlings on their comeback tour to solve the mystery of who sent a shark after one of their rivals. the mystery wasn’t the best the show did, but it was done with such gusto and with an attempt to tie up loose ends before the show’s end, that the episode is more bittersweet than any others. The brief epilogue tacked on at the end to wrap up the show may have been a bit too quick, but it’s a fitting end to a show that went too soon.

“Blood of the Father, Heart of Steel” – The Venture Bros.
Cartoon Network shows are nothing if not user-friendly. Beyond the show’s basic set-up, you usually don’t need to know too much going in and don’t need to watch that closely to get what’s going on. The Venture Bros’ fourth season premiere, however, tossed all that aside, wallowing in its dense continuity and crafting an episode that made no concessions to linear storytelling, creating as exhilarating and captivating a half hour as Adult Swim has ever aired.

25. House
One of the more popular shows of the decade, House combined ER, CSI, and Scrubs into a consistently satisfying show that produced one of the best TV personalities in its title character. Hugh Laurie’s portrayal of the sarcastic genius Dr. House is worth tuning in for on a regular basis, but the show always manages to keep the tension rising for the full hour before reaching its conclusion. Perhaps the best part of house is that you don’t need an extensive background on the show to watch it, making it easy to enjoy each time you turn it on. (M)

24. Dexter
As time goes on, Dexter has kind of flown off the rails (let’s just not talk about this season’s unfortunate repositioning of Dexter as America’s Favorite Serial Killer: how will he adjust to life in Suburbia?) but even at its most ridiculous, Michael C. Hall is there to ground the show. Hall isn’t afraid to embrace Dexter’s nasty, dark side, but he’s at his best when playing Dexter as an alien thrust into human society; squirming and struggling to pass for normal when surrounded by constant threats. (J)

23. Extras
Ricky Gervais took the cringe comedy he perfected on the The Office and brought it to Hollywood with his fantastic Extras. The premise of the show is simple, Gervais plays an extra who strives for more, while having wacky run ins with celebrities playing themselves. Each episode was essentially a set up for an awkward moment with a celebrity and for Andy, and it usually was incredibly cringe inducing while gut-bustingly funny. Standouts include a graphic Kate Winslet, a childish Daniel Ratcliff, a stoic Ian McKellen, and of course, an perverted Patrick Stewart. (M)

22. The Venture Bros.
The Venture Bros. isn’t really a parody, even though a quick plot summary reads as such. But parodies are generally a loosely strung-together series of one liners and jokes (see pretty much everything else on Adult Swim), whereas The Venture Bros. manages to balance together some extremely intricate mythology, legitimate character development, cultural criticism, and, yes, a very long and very funny series of one-liners and jokes. In episodes like “The Doctor is Sin” the show is at its best, turning the hero-villain dynamic on its head and showing that even superscientists and arch-villains in butterfly suits have feelings too. (J)

21. Scrubs
Though it veered off course towards the end of its run (we’re counting this new season as a spin-off), the first few years of Scrubs were fantastic television. The show never hesitated to add the crushing aspects of working in a hospital, but also never relied on gimmicks seen in hospital dramas. Instead, Scrubs always featured a high degree of goofy humor while highlighting the actual ups and downs of working in a hospital. The characters were all lovable, especially the constantly grumpy Dr. Cox, played to perfection by John C. McGinley. The popularity of the show has grown since it went into syndication, and rightfully so, as it was one of the better, unique comedies of the 2000s. (M)

20. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia‘s genius lies in how harmless it can seem at first. “A group of friends who hang out in a bar and get into schenanigans? I’ve seen this show before.” But Sunny takes its schlocky tropes in such wrong directions, and with such deranged glee, that it quickly becomes obvious that this isn’t like other sitcoms. Like a 2000s Seinfeld, Sunny stretches the limit of what is acceptable behavior within a sitcom until there are no limits left. (J)

19. Firefly
People forget that there was a time when Joss Whedon was a successful television wunderkind with a JJ Abrams-level ceiling. But that was before Firefly, his difficult, heady sci-fi western about a future that looks a lot more like our past. Whedon cleverly inverts the utopic social order of Star Trek, turning the Federation (actually called the Alliance, but its the same general idea) into the bad guys, making a show celebrating ingenuity and individualism, while avoiding any sort of heavy-handed sermonizing. Plus he recurited a stellar cast, led with Han Solo swagger by Nathan Fillion (who deserves to be a much, much bigger star thanks to this role). Sadly Firefly only lasted one season, but what a season it was. (J)

18. Friday Night Lights
Perhaps the most naturalistic show ever on television, Friday Night Lights quickly grew past its premise of a town obsessed with high school football. In addition to the drama you’d expect, the show has touched on a father in Iraq, racism, class difference, paraplegics, and the enormous expectations placed on high school stars. Rather than just keep the same cast, even after some have graduated, the show hasn’t been afraid to keep its cast revolving, consistently bringing in well thought out characters. As a result, FNL is not just a show for football fans, but for fans of great TV. (M)

17. Big Love
What started as a show with a gimmicky concept, a Mormon man with three wives, evolved to become a family drama about faith and convictions, which has gotten better and better as it has gone on. The show is driven by a terrific cast, most notably the three wives played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin. While it’s not a show you can just pick up and watch at any point, Big Love is a unique drama that puts the pedal to the floor for every episode and is a pleasure to watch each week. (M)

16. Pushing Daisies
Cheerful whimsy is a hard tone to carry through a 13-hour season, but Pushing Daisies pulled it off by weighting down its twee elements with a genuine sadness. Constructed like a fairy tale and set in a world that looks like a Tim Burton-directed Amelie, Pushing Daisies was an hour of happiness beamed directly into your living room, buoyed by an amazing ensemble without a single weak link or overwhelming personality (although, if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Chi McBride). One of the great tragedies of the strike is that it sabotaged the burdgeoning success on one of TV’s most unique shows. (J)

15. How I Met Your Mother
The only show on our list with a laugh track, How I Met Your Mother started as a sitcom with a clever premise and expanded to become one of the most inventive and hip shows on TV. While the performance of Neil Patrick Harris as ultimate ladies man Barney has drawn the most praise, the rest of the cast is equally as fantastic in their less over the top roles, especially Cobie Smulders as Canadian newswoman Robin. If you remain unconvinced, check out the Season 2 episode “Slap Bet.” There are few episodes of TV in the last 10 years better than that. (M)

14. Flight of the Conchords
Blending deadpan silliness with genuinely catchy songs, Flight of the Conchords turned into a minor phenomenon, as word of mouth spread about just how hilarious the show was. Even as the quality of the music teetered off a little bit in the second season, the show’s hilarious writing and talented supporting cast (including two of the decade’s funniest creations: Rhys Darby’s clueless manager/New Zealand consulate drone Murray and Kristen Schaal’s creepily obsessed superfan Mel) carried it through. (J)

13. The Office (US)
After a lackluster first season, the American version of The Office looked like a flop. But with the Season 2 opener “The Dundies,” The Office started having its own identity and it paid off big time. Rather than stay focused on just a few characters, the show expanded through the offices of Dunder-Mifflin, giving a whole new set of options to the show. It still goes for the cringe humor of it’s British heritage (more on that in a bit), but it has also relied on a deeper emotional depth for its cast of characters, providing more than just laughs to a great show.(M)

12. Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica had giant “Stay Away” signs posted all over it – like the fact that it was remake, appearing on a channel not exactly known for quality original productions. But Ronald D. Moore and David Eick beat the odds and made a show that, during some of our most turbulent years, directly engaged the political situation with more sophistaction than any other show on TV (inlcuding cable news or, for that matter, most films). While Moore didn’t quite stick the landing, he still made an immensely thoughtful show, packed with characters who transcended their pulpy roots to become genuinely fascinating and empathy-enducing figures. (J)

11. Veronica Mars
The first season of Veronica Mars is an intricately plotted masterpiece that serves as compelling evidence of what television is capable of on a storytelling level, balancing a tightly-wound mystery that would give Sam Spade pause with a fascinating depiction of class warfare in a California high school. While the next two seasons didn’t quite live up to that first one, they were still excellent and all three gave us a chance to see the brilliant work Kristen Bell did in the title role. Balancing a world-weary, sardonic edge with a measure of innocence and idealism, Bell played the most realistic teenager to appear on television since Sunnydale High School’s destruction. (J)

10. Breaking Bad
When it started, Breaking Bad‘s premise sounded awfully familar. But, over the course of two brief seasons, it morphed into a pitch black look at male anxiety, drug trade in the Southwest, and one man’s transformation from an upstanding chemistry teacher into a monster. Giving one of the best performances of the decade, Bryan Cranston guides that transformation by showing that those traits had always existed inside Walter White, it just took something like cancer to bring them out. There have been many antiheroes on TV this decade, but none started seeming as docile only to become as horrifying (in such a convincing way) as Walter. (J)

9. 30 Rock
When 30 Rock debuted, no one had any doubt that Aaron Sorkin’s dramedy Studio 60, also about a sketch comedy show, would be much better. Now, in it’s fourth season, 30 Rock has had 3 more seasons and Emmy’s for Best Comedy than it’s former counterpart. A zainy show that combines the in jokes of Arrested Development with the absurd parts of the The Simpsons, Tina Fey’s show is a weekly laugh fest, even when it’s not at its best. 30 Rock stands out from other sitcoms for it’s joke first, plot later structure. Above all, 30 Rock has proved it’s okay to pander comedy to smart people, and has become a show that doesn’t take its viewer for granted. (M)

8. Curb Your Enthusiasm
No one, not even Larry David, acts like “Larry David,” the main character of Curb Your Enthusiasm. But part of the fun of the show is picturing what it would be like if, just once, you could verbally abuse the people who take too many samples or eat a couple of your shrimp after taking the wrong takeout box. Free of the conventions and restraints imposed by Seinfeld, Larry David was able to run wild and make a show that is so painfully, terrifyingly awkward that you can’t help but laugh. (J)

7. The Daily Show/The Colbert Report
Sticking out from the other shows on this list and forever being tied together, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report were perhaps the most important shows for late night TV since Johnny Carson. Taking aim at not only politicians, but the media and hypocrisies everywhere, both shows became more and more important as the second half of the decade went on. In the 2008 election, both Daily Show host Jon Stewart and the Stephen Colbert took Republican candidate John McCain to task for his remarks about the economy, and the media followed suit. Both shows stood at the intersection between comedy and politics while managing to play both sides. How long they can last remains to be seen, but in the 2000s, they were incredible. (M)

6. Mad Men
There was a recent study that watching TV shows regularly and following the characters has the same effect on your brain as forming actual friendships. While I don’t know this for sure, I suspect that vast majority of participants in the study were Mad Men viewers. Sure the show’s period trappings are beautifully realized, and the central concept of an ad man who is so committed to his craft of building consumerist fantasies that he has sold himself on his lies is compelling and rich, but its Mad Men‘s characters and the humanity with which it treats them that makes it so hypnotically compelling. Mad Men is a collection of little moments that build a larger picture of alienation, depression, and things we do to try to fight them off. (J)

5. Lost
No other show has ever captured the curiosity of its fans while demanding so much attention as Lost. A combination of mystery, adventure, and sci-fi, Lost was a cultural phenomenon upon its arrival, and those that have stuck around have been treated to a show that has grown strongly over time, making its mythology deeper and deeper. Many imitators have tried to steal Lost‘s formula, but to no avail. When the show returns this spring for it’s final season, one of the great TV mysteries will come to its conclusion, but our fascination with it may never end. (M)

4. The Wire
What’s left to be said about The Wire, David Simon’s depressingly realistic portrayal of how the system rewards sloth, greed, and inaction? There are no good or bad guys in The Wire, just people trying to do what they can to get by. Simon’s multi-layered, intellectually taxing storytelling takes a while to acclimate to, but before you realize, you’re sucked into a world spiraling further and further towards bleak, bureaucratic dystopia; and then you turn off the show and realize you were already living in it. (J)

3. The Office (UK)
Before there was Michael Scott, there was David Brent and his band of weary office workers who were perpetually terrorized by the antics of their boss. The original version of The Office really brought together the cringe comedy of Larry David with Sam and Diane, while at the same time presenting the dull drums of the workplace. David Brent is right up there with Ralph Cramden, Lucy, and Archie Bunker in the TV comedy hall of fame. His very presence on screen will make you cringe. Without The Office, who knows what would have happened to sitcoms in the 2000s. (M)

2. The West Wing
While Aaron Sorkin was at the helm, The West Wing Was a show unequaled in quality. Before Sorkin left the show following the fourth season, the show was as much a human drama as it was a political one, thanks in large part to the quality of a cast that made their characters impossible to dislike. Perhaps the most overlooked part of the Sorkin Years was that the show was often hilarious, breaking the seriousness up, and really making for four seasons without a bad episode. When the show changed hands for its final three seasons, it suffered at first, and improved towards the end, but seasons 1-4 remain some of the best television you’ll ever see. (M)

1. Arrested Development
Without a doubt the best comedy of the decade, and possibly ever, Arrested Development is a masterpiece of comic writing and execution. Whether you’re watching an episode for the first time or the tenth time, you’ll always laugh as the jokes pile up. With countless running gags and jokes (Franklin, “Her?”, Mr. F) that continued to pay off as the show went on, Arrested Development is a show that rewarded its small, loyal fan base, and easily won over more after its cancellation. If  you haven’t met the Bluths yet, you have no idea what you’re missing. (M)

There are few shows, let alone comedies, that are still as impactful the 80th time you watch them as they were the first. But Arrested Development actually gets better with repeat viewings, allowing you to fully drink in the world that Mitch Hurwitz created. The vividly realized, slightly askew universe of Arrested Development most closely resembles a real-life Springfield, with grotesquely wealthy privilege replacing middle-class ennui, but Arrested Development succeeds by packing it with characters who have beating hearts underneath their cartoonish exterior. Under appreciated in its time, Arrested Development’s cancellation had one positive: it guaranteed that the show’s run ended without a single bad episode. (J)