The Best TV Dramas of the Past 25 Years

Vulture.com, one of the best culture blogs around, is doing a series to determine what the greatest TV drama of the past 25 years is, and it got me thinking about what I consider to be the best. HBO revolutionized the TV drama, making it more about the overall narrative of the series, and less about what happens in each individual episode, and it’s because of shows like The Sopranos and the emergence of TV DVDs and DVR, that the way we watch TV has changed. We're now more likely to sit and watch an entire season in a few sittings, as opposed to waiting a week for a new episode.

My picks:
The Sopranos
Six Feet Under
Breaking Bad
Friday Night Lights
Sons of Anarchy

Notable mention goes to Mad Men. And as for #1, it’s hard to choose. My gut tells me to go with The Sopranos because I love every minute of every episode of every season, including the phenomenal cast, the acting, and the narrative, but I think each show I’ve selected brings something very different to the table. It really is impossible to compare a show like Friday Night Lights to something like Sons of Anarchy.

One Culture Junkie's Take on the Best TV Shows of 2011

Photos via hitflix, fanpop, tvfanatic, thedailybeast.

I’m hesitant to call this a Best-of-2011 TV list, because let's be honest, I don’t watch every show on TV. I’m picky about what I choose to watch and hardly watch half-hour sitcoms so even though I may chuckle at a passing episode of Happy Endings, I much prefer the one-hour intensity of a TV drama. So instead, let’s call this what it is: one culture junkie’s take on the best shows of 2011.

Oh, and SPOILER ALERT.

Friday Night Lights
One of the most realistic (if you pretend season 2 never happened), heartwarming, and artfully written television shows came to an end this year after five seasons of disappointingly low viewership. When Coach Taylor said his final "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose", I’m not ashamed to admit my stomach was in knots and tears were inevitably streaming. I’ve never been so emotionally attached to a cast of characters before - there will never be a family quite like them. And of course, saying goodbye to Riggins was pretty much heartbreaking.

Revenge
Officially the guilty pleasure show of 2011 and what I consider to be the best new show on network TV. A prime-time soap complete with enough secrets, betrayal and treachery to keep any soap lover content. Takes place in the Hampton’s, where elite socialites and lavish parties provide the backdrop for some very juicy scheming.

Boardwalk Empire
The last three episodes of season two were absolute, jaw-dropping, game-changers. When Angela was taken out, we knew that no one was safe and that it was a definite possibility that the main characters we came to love over the past two seasons could potentially start dropping like flies. As cringe-worthy as the penultimate episode was (incest is really having a moment right now on TV), and even though we knew a showdown of sorts was coming, nothing could prepare us for the torture of having to see Nucky actually put two bullets into the man he pretty much raised. Well, at least we still have Richard Harrow.

Breaking Bad
Hands down, the best hour on television right now, with the most satisfying season finale I’ve seen on TV, maybe ever. Plus, the plot twist in the very last scene was completely unexpected and disturbing. For four seasons, we’ve watched the once-timid, cancer-ridden chemistry teacher evolve into a ruthless criminal capable of unimaginable lows. And I can’t reference this season without at least mentioning the shocking death scene of arguably the creepiest bad guy to ever exist on television - Gustavo Fring, who literally got his face blown off à la Walking Dead.

Breaking Bad - Cancer Changes Everything

Esquire.com

Award-winning Bryan Cranston plays Walter White - a passive and super-geeky High School chemistry teacher who's working two jobs to make ends meet and to get ready for a second child he and his wife are expecting. He finds out he has terminal lung cancer and decides to partner up with an old student of his, using his knowledge and experience with chemistry to cook meth (technically speaking, methamphetamine). Are you intrigued yet? Well, as Walter throws himself into this new life, something changes. He becomes more confident and aggressive, and kind of a bad-ass. Having played it safe his entire life, Walter ends up embracing what's left of his life, almost being set free through his cancer.

It's a lot like Weeds was in the beginning - an inexperienced, straight-laced individual tries to become a criminal in the very dangerous drug game. But it's not a comedy like Weeds, aside from Aaron Paul (Big Love) playing the goofy, stoner. It's dark and twisted - the best kind of humor.

Breaking Bad is about doing things you never thought you ever would, pushing beyond the boundaries you put up for yourself, and walking the fine line between right and wrong. It challenges your morals, addressing the question TV lovers have had to face in the post-Dexter world - Is it wrong to do something bad, if you're doing it for the right reasons? Bryan Cranston is phenomenal as Walter, the way he embraces the devilish side of him, even getting turned on by the dangerous situations he gets himself into. Knowing you're going to die changes everything.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - But Not for TV

December is the worst for TV junkies like me. While cable shows we all know and love (Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, Weeds) have sadly ended for the season, and we await upcoming seasons for other cable shows (Californication, Big Love) AND while network shows have gone on their month-long hiatus (seriously?!, is that necessary), I find myself scrambling to find something to stimulate the visually-obsessed person that I am.

Then again, in a way it's nice to catch up on shows I haven't had the chance to add to my already-jam-packed schedule. And so, the time has come to embrace this holiday season and (re)visit some fantastic TV shows - I suggest you do the same.

Breaking Bad. First things first, I have a ridiculously weird obsession with stories about drugs and addiction. With a really cool premise, kind of like an old-favourite of mine, Weeds, it's one of those 'do what you gotta do to survive' stories about a high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. To secure his family's future he starts making and dealing meth, and the rest is award-winning history. Bryan Cranston, who stars as the meth-dealing Dad, has won an Emmy for this role three freaking years in a row. If that doesn't make you wanna watch, then I don't know what will.

You can actually watch the entire pilot right from AMCTV.com:

The Walking Dead: I've only heard good things about this show's gruesome depiction of a post-apocalyptic world. It tells the story of the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, following a small group of survivors as they fight, basically, to live.

My So-Called Life. Two words: Jared Leto. Oh, yeah, and Claire Danes was in it too. For any child of the 90s, this is a welcome trip down memory lane. One of the first teen-centered dramas, My So-Called Life dealt with hot-button teen issues (at that time), but in a realistic way. There were no quick-solves, five minutes before credits.

Freaks and Geeks. Not a day goes by that we don't hear about, or see something new from the ridiculously talented artist, James Franco. There could be no better time than now, to go back to where it all started, when James Franco was the eternally-tortured bad boy Daniel Desario, who could steal, melt and break our heart in one episode. It's so unfair this talented cast only got one season, but it just goes to show people don't want to watch the outsiders. Instead, we're force-fed a regurgitated archetype of severely vacuous, popular kids.