Ten Years, Ten Shows

Just by chance, there were two recent pieces, one in Vanity Fair and the other in The Hollywood Reporter, listing the top ten TV series of the 2010s.

Here they are, followed by my comments:

VF

10. The Great British Baking Show
9.   Broad City
8.   Fleabag
7.   Rectifiy
6.   Atlanta
5.   Better Call Saul
4.   Steven Universe
3.   Enlightened
2.   Twin Peaks: The Return
1.   Bojack Horseman

HR

10.  Better Things
9.    Atlanta
8.    The Leftovers
7.    Halt And Catch Fire
6.    Bojack Horseman
5.    30 For 30
4.    Breaking Bad
3.    Mad Men
2.    Rectify
1.    Parks And Recreation

First, how do you define which shows are of the past decade.  Big names like Mad Men and Breaking Bad started in 2007 and 2008 respectively, though most of their episodes were broadcast in the 2010s.  Should that make a difference? (Vanity Fair thought it should.)

Second, should fiction and non-fiction be compared?  Both lists have one "real" show--The Great British Baking Show and 30 For 30.  Maybe it would be better restrict the list to fictional shows.

And note there's only one network show listed--and it's not Modern Family, perhaps the most honored show on TV in the past decade.  I guess critics have gotten tired of it, just like the Emmys did.

And note Vanity Fair lists British shows.  Perhaps it would be better if only American shows were included to keep things simple--there are a lot of shows out there, and it's impossible to watch even a sliver of them, especially those from other countries.

Okay.  As to the particulars, I don't watch The Great British Baking Show.  I only watched a few Broad City episodes, so I can't really judge it. (I liked what I saw, but not enough for a top ten list.) Fleabag I liked, but it wouldn't be top ten for me.

Now we get to Rectify, one of three shows to make it on both lists.  It's rare I despise a show, but that's how I felt about Rectify. It's about a guy who returns home after 19 years on death row when his sentence is vacated.  Many critics noted how subtle and ambiguous it was.  Nonsense.  There's no ambiguity--either this guy did the crime or didn't, and he knows what he did.  However, the show withholds this information (at least as long as I watched, which was half a season).  This made me hate the show.  I don't need to know everything, but if they want to artificially keep something from me that's crucial, something which is known, I don't need to watch the show.

Next is Atlanta, which also made both lists.  It's a fascinating, well-done show, with some great acting.  It's mostly a comedy, but you never really know what it'll be each week.  I'm not sure if it'd make my top ten list, but it's hard to complain.  The show I'd compare it to is Louie, another half hour that was mostly a comedy but could go in any direction.  It would probably make my top ten.  Somehow, that show, airing from 2010 to 2015, didn't make either list.  It could be due to short memories.  Or perhaps it's because the creator and star, Louis C. K., is now persona non grata.

Next, Better Call Saul.  A fine show, but nowhere near as good as Breaking Bad.  Probably wouldn't make my top ten.  Then there's Steven Universe, which I've never watched.

Enlightened.  How did this make any list?  The show was awful.

Interesting to see the new Twin Peaks.  I liked it a lot, but I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

Then there's Vanity Fair's #1, and also on the Reporter's list, Bojack Horseman.  I don't get it. I've heard so many people praise it, but I watched most of the first season and just couldn't get into it.

Now onto The Hollywood Reporter's list (skipping over the three shows we've already discussed).

I've only seen a bit of Better Things, so can't say anything about it. It's worth noting it was created by Louis C. K. and a woman who often appeared on Louie, Pamela Adlon. I wonder if this was a way of making it up to Louis.

The Leftovers deserves to be on the list.  A Damon Lindelof show, based on a novel, though by the second season it went beyond the book (and kept getting better).  It's about an event where 2% of the world's population disappears.  The event is never explained, but that's okay (as opposed to keeping the secret on Rectified) because while people try to figure it out, no one can, so we're in the same position as everyone else.  You'd think a meditation of grief wouldn't work, but it was a powerful show.

Halt And Catch Fire was another drama that kept getting better.  It was about people who worked in computers in the 1980s. It never caught on with the public, but at its best it was riveting.  Might make my top ten list.

30 For 30 is a well-done documentary series.  Not sure what else I can say about it.

What's notable about Breaking Bad and Mad Men is they're not in the top two positions, where most critics would put them.

At #1, the only network show, Parks And Recreation.  After a poor start, the show rebounded and became one of the best comedies on TV.  Top ten?  Maybe.

As to the titles missing, I wouldn't have been surprised to see dramas such as Homeland, Downton Abbey, True Detective, The Americans, The Handmaid's Tale, Mr. Robot, Fargo or even Stranger Things.  In comedy, where's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Silicon Valley, Veep, Girls, Transparent or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel? 

Then there are three shows missing that would easily make my top ten.  Community and Party Down, both of which started in 2009 but did their best work in 2010 and beyond, and Rick And Morty.

Perhaps the most notable absence is Game Of Thrones, a TV phenomenon and highly-honored series that started in 2011 and ended in 2019.  I guess the final season was so bad it ruined everything.