The Wire Award - Action Series

Named For: The Wire (HBO)
Awarded To: The best action series of the season
2009: Chuck (NBC)
2010: Lost (ABC)
2011: Justified (FX)
2012: Breaking Bad (AMC)
2013: Breaking Bad (AMC)

Here are this year's honorees...

10th. Arrow (The CW) 3 points
3rd by me

9th. The Bridge (FX) 4 points
3rd by T-time, 5th by me

8th. The Following (FOX) 5 points
1st by Jack

7th. Boardwalk Empire (HBO) 5 points
4th by Mags

6th. Orphan Black (BBC America) 8 points
3rd by Jack, Rizzo

5th. The Americans (FX) 12 points
1st by Jaydon

4th. Justified (FX) 17 points
2nd by Lenny

3rd. Game of Thrones (HBO) 31 points
1st by Ty, Marsh; 2nd by me

2nd. True Detective (HBO) 35 points
1st by Cecil; 4th by me

and the Poolie goes to...

1st. Breaking Bad (AMC) 49 points
1st by T-time, Lar, Mags, Rizzo, Bonz, Braids, Lenny; 1st by me

This is Breaking Bad's third straight victory in the category. No other show has won more than once in the six years of The Wire Award.

The Sopranos Award- Action Series

Named For: The Sopranos (HBO)
Awarded To: The best action series of the season
2009 Winner: Chuck (NBC)
2010 Winner: Lost (ABC)
2011 Winner: Justified (FX)

10. The River (ABC) 0 points

9. Sherlock (PBS) 1 point
5th by Matt

8. Chuck (NBC) 3 points
3rd by Jack

7. Boardwalk Empire (HBO) 8 points
2nd by Jaydon

6. Fringe (FOX) 9 points
2nd by Jack, 4th by Me

5. Sons of Anarchy (FX) 14 points
3rd by Tyson, Rizzo, Larry, and Matt

4. Game of Thrones (HBO) 26 points
1st by Tyson, Cecil, and Larry

3. Homeland (Showtime) 29 points
1st by Mags, 2nd by Me

2. Justified (FX) 29 points
1st by T-time and Jack, 1st by Me

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Breaking Bad (AMC) 34 points
1st by Jaydon, Rizzo, Matt, and Bonz, 3rd by Me

This is Breaking Bad's third overall nomination, second for best action series, and first ever win.  Here with a discussion on why the show is so great is Poolie voter Jaydon.

__________________

Breaking Bad is the story of one man’s journey from milquetoast beta male to amoral, pathologically self-serving demon. It tells this story through a series of increasingly narrow escapes from increasingly perilous webs of entanglement. One of the reasons it’s in the pantheon of great shows is that the escapes always lead to deeper, more insurmountably suffocating situations to be navigated. At the end of season 3, Gale had learned how to prepare Walt’s premium meth, rendering Walt and Jesse expendable. Walt makes Jesse kill Gale which keeps them alive but sets Walt and Gus at odds and sends Jesse into existential crisis. It also largely severs the partnership between Walt and Jesse, giving Gus an opening to foster a relationship with the lost soul.

Season 4 can be seen as the main event matchup between the long reigning champion drug lord and the wild and scrappy upstart. It’s an incredible showdown because both men are highly intelligent and evenly matched.

Gus is depicted as an indestructible genius. He reinstates his position of power over Walt and Jesse by brutally slicing the throat of an enforcer dumb enough to have been seen at the scene of Gale’s murder by eye-witnesses. This shows us two things: that Gus is capable of direct murder, and that he’ll unflinchingly end problems with immediacy. This action is a statement, “I own you until you prove no longer useful at which point you’re dead”. There’s the great moment when Gus walks determinedly into cartel gunfire and throws up his hands in a godlike gesture of infallibility. We see an avenging Gus seize power in an incredibly risky but brilliant poison plot that wipes out cartel boss Don Eladio and his men. Gus is calculating, ballsy and seemingly perfect.

Walt doesn’t buy it. In a memorable showcase of his turgid ego, Walt lets a newly ride or die Skyler know that he is the “one who knocks”. He puts his play in motion by encouraging Jesse to poison Gus with ricin hidden in a cigarette. Jesse balks, unsure of where his allegiance lies in the face of Walt’s continued under-appreciation and disrespect and Gus’s savvy self-esteem building efforts. The long boiling animosity between Walt and Jesse comes to a head in a sad fight that apparently cements the end of their partnership and derails Walt’s strategy.

The implied threat of the box cutter incident seems to kick in when Gus fires Walt. Jesse has learned the meth formula well enough to render Walt unnecessary, sending Walt into a mad scramble of attempted escape. This leads to my favorite scene of the entire show where Walt discovers that his money has been seriously depleted by Skyler paying off Ted’s IRS tab. The soundtrack thumps like a heartbeat as Walt lets out an animalistic shriek of desperation. He starts laughing maniacally and the camera eventually pans up evoking a grave to the sound of disturbing distortion. This encapsulates perfectly the idea of Walt as an unstable dead man walking who happens to be perversely enjoying the downfall of his world. It’s humbling to behold.

Walt’s laughter in that grave signified his final transition to the underworld. The move he pulls to get out of this mess crosses any person’s threshold of acceptable anti-hero activity into certain villainy. He poisons Jesse’s lady friend’s kid and convinces him when confronted that Gus is to blame. In doing so he gets Jesse back on his side and collaborates with him to lure Gus into a vehicle equipped with explosives. Gus’s supernatural drug lord senses lead him to evade the trap at the last moment.

Walt finally vanquishes his most formidable opponent by exploiting Gus’s well-earned hubris. Walt convinces Hector “Tio” Salamanca to gain revenge against Gus for his eradication of the cartel and grandson. They make it appear as if Tio is snitching to the DEA in order to get Gus to kill him at the nursing home. When Gus is about to give Tio a lethal injection, Tio lets loose one of his trademark sneers of disgust and rings his communicative bell furiously for the last time. The bell triggers a bomb that gives us one of the coolest death scenesin TV history. We see Gus walk out post explosion seeming for a second to be actually unkillable. He straightens his tie and the camera pans to the right so that we can see all of his face, half of which no longer exists. He collapses.

Walt and Jesse destroy the lab and have a talk later at the hospital garage. Jesse lets Walt know that the poisoned kid will make it and that it wasn’t ricin but Lily of the Valley that was used. Walt calls Skyler telling her “I won”. It’s here that we learn that Walt was behind the poisoning of the child as the camera pans to the Lily of the Valley plant in Walt’s garden. It’s a final shock that resonates deeply.

Walt has won but what has he won and at what cost? He has won the spot of drug lord and he’ll presumably become the new Gus.  He’s lost his soul completely and will likely continue on an evil path that will claim more victims. Will Jesse, Hank, Skyler, Walt Jr or his baby die? Will Walt kill Jesse? Will Jesse kill Walt? As we approach the final (unfortunately split into two) season, it seems like Walt’s made his finale escape. Walt overcame his greatest enemy and will now transition into becoming an even greater evil. It seems his destiny is to become the new force from which others must escape.

The Poolie Action category is consistently the most competitive. There were some very good and some great seasons put forth by competing nominees. It’s my position that Breaking Bad blew them away like Tio.

by Jonathan Stuart

Mad Men 513 Review- Shocked Therapy

Beth- "I knew you'd show."

Pete- "Because I'm pathetic?"

Nobody died. The company stayed in tact. There really weren't any serious surprises at all.  While the season five finale of Mad Men was a conclusion to a seemingly uneventful year, "The Phantom" also continued a number of individual character arcs that are heading in some interesting directions.

Mad Men will have the occasional suicide, company blow up, or secret life, but at the end of the day it is simply these characters that keep us coming back, wanting more and more of Don, Roger, Peggy and the gang.

So although I finished watching the season finale asking myself if anything happened during the past 13 episodes, when you take a deeper look at what actually went down in season five and even this final installment of 2012, it was pretty hefty.

Pete Campbell's rise to the top was so successful that nobody questions a thing he does anymore...well except Don, who wondered if proxying his partners' vote was even allowed.  While his business life couldn't have been better this season, the personal side of things kept life interesting.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Mad Men season finale, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 513 - "The Phantom"
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Mad Men 512 Review- It Turns To Crap

Glen- "Everything you think's gonna make you happy, just turns to crap."

Well that makes two straight episodes down the stretch of Mad Men's fifth season that gave the audience an absolute bomb.  Last week it was the combination of Joan deciding to sleep her way to partner and Peggy quitting SCDP, and in "Commissions and Fees" it was the death of Lane Pryce.

Wow, did that seriously just happen?  When he failed to get the job done in that brand new Jaguar, I thought it was just a fake out.  I figured it was going to be one of those deals where he made the attempt and then somebody helped him to stop round two.  No, no, no.  Lane was seriously motivated to end it.

His final push to get out of the money trouble, and the embarrassment that would come with losing his job, was a horrific one.  Not only for the man who lost his life, but also for the individuals who found him like that.  That had to be the most tragic moment in each of their lives, and the make-up people did such a good job that I bet it was even pretty troublesome for the viewers.

Am I sad to see Lane part ways with the world like that?  Absolutely.  Will I miss the boring plots he has been giving Mad Men this season?  Not at all.  I enjoyed the Brit last year, but in 2012 he has been lulling me to sleep with all of his troubles.  Although his act may not have been good for anyone on screen, it may have been a positive for those of us watching off screen.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Mad Men, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 512 - "Commissions and Fees"
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Mad Men 510 Review- Merry Krishna

Pete- "Ya know, if I had told you last December that we'd be in the running for a car, you would've kissed me on the mouth."

Don- "Maybe you and I should go as a couple."

It's that time of year, when the world falls in love...or maybe it's just that time of year when the world pretends to be in love because her better half is a really good recruiter for her religion.

Seriously, between Harry's trip down Krishna lane, and Lane's money problems, there was a lot going on in "Christmas Waltz" that couldn't have cared less about.

As Harry's plot continued to get stranger and stranger as it went, I started wondering what the point was of adding this arc to the series.  Was it just to show that audience how caring Harry was?  Was it to add some religious elements to the mix?  Whatever the reasoning, I found myself not caring in the least what happened to the new Paul, and his lovely friend.

Similarly, I was bored out of my mind whenever Lane was by himself worrying about his money situation.  I understand that this certainly creates major issues for the company, but either the idea wasn't fleshed out that well, or I just can't handle Jared Harris as Lane after watching him as David Robert Jones during my recent Fringe catch-up binge.

To read the rest of my review of this week's Mad Men, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 510 - "Christmas Waltz"
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Mad Men 509 Review- Get On The Scale, Get Off The Scale

Michael- "I feel bad for you."

Don- "I don't think about you at all."

Both of Don Draper's former wives made valiant returns in "Dark Shadows." Fat Betty ate up the screen (pun intended) with every emotion you can imagine, while the deceased Anna Draper appeared in mention only via an attempt to cause a rift in Don's now solid family situation.

Although everyone in the known universe hates Betty Francis, it is difficult to argue that January Jones has been amazing in the role over these past five years. Let's look at the depth at which she portrayed the character this week by running through the many emotions of Fat Betty...

Sadness
Not only did it make me sad watching Betty attend those bizarre Weight Watcher meetings, it obviously was making her sad to be there. The leader of that crew is all well and good, but I think they could all benefit from a more influential instructor. I would suggest someone like Tony Perkis, who always knows how to treat his students at a "weigh-in."

Jealousy
With things seemingly not running so smoothly with Henry, Betty was supremely jealous when she walked through Don's apartment. The trendy furniture wasn't the only thing she was jealous of, though. Seeing Megan with her shirt off – and later reading that note from Don to his new wife – must have shattered Fat Betty's self confidence a lot.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Mad Men, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 509 - "Dark Shadows"
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Mad Men 508 Review- Death Is The Only Adventure

Megan- "I felt better failing in that audition than I did when I was succeeding at Heinz."

Rory Gilmore, Mr. Belding and the end of Megan Draper's run as a copywriter highlighted the eighth episode of Mad Men's fifth season, "Lady Lazarus."

One stanza in the Sylvia Plath poem that this episode gets its title from reads:

Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.

Just as the lady of the poem wants nothing more than to finally die after being revived time and time again, Megan Draper wanted nothing more than to finally get out of the advertising business.

She was great at her job. Like the above excerpt reads, Lady Lazarus was exceptional at everything, and like Peggy so astutely commented to Joan, Megan is good at everything...she's just one of those girls.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Mad Men, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 508 - "Lady Lazarus"
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Mad Men 507 Review- Pity, Dirty, Funny

Glen- "How's the city?"

Sally- "Dirty."

Like many Mad Men episodes, and the series in general, "At the Codfish Ball" was a slow burn. It was taking so long to build up that I was ready to unabashedly declare it the worst hour of the season thus far.

Fortunately, once the Draper clan made its way to the eponymous gala, there was so much to adore that the lack of previous enjoyment was forgiven.

It is so often the little things that make Mad Men such a treat, and nothing epitomized that more than the quick conversation between Pete and Dr. Emile at the event. Of course Emile takes on the opinion that an account man does absolutely nothing at the company. Thankfully, after listening to the academic complain and condescend all episode long, Pete Campbell put him in his place if just for a few moments.

Emile was certainly an easy target, what with his ego ready to burst anyway, but it was a treat to watch Pete do what he does in a matter of seconds.

They were all there to watch Don receive his award, and that he did. What he probably didn't think he would here that night was the fact that nobody in the business liked him or would work with him because of his open letter a ways back. How could they trust you after the way you bit the hand? Ken's father-in-law asked Don.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Mad Men, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 507 - "At the Codfish Ball"
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Mad Men 506 Review- I Find Your Product Boring

Bert- "You've been on love leave. It's amazing things are going as well as they are with as little as you are doing."

Many of the main players went to "Far Away Places" in an interestingly structured episode of Mad Men this week. Some left on an physical trip, others took a journey thanks to some killer drugs, and one... well for one, the place she went wasn't so much far as her act there was the furthest from what I ever expected out of her.

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around what happened here. Has Mad Men ever played with structure like this before? With three stories occurring simultaneously, but showing each one separately, this was quite the intriguing strategy. Why do you think Matthew Weiner and company decided this was necessarily the best way to plot this episode?

For one reason or another, it had me even more involved than normal, and "Far Away Places" left me thoroughly entertained. The one story of the three that had me a bit annoyed, however, was Don and Megan's, and it wasn't only because the video effects in the car were so bad.

They were pretty awful, and the fake Howard Johnson's wasn't much better, but it was the constant bickering between the newlyweds that lost me early on. Whether it was over work, sherbet or the fact that Don thinks he is Megan's master, I became a bit uninterested until he just left her on the side of the road like a piece of dirt.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Mad Men, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 506 - "Far Away Places"
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Mad Men 505 Review- Down For The Count

Peggy- "Lane beat the crap out of Pete."

Ken- "I can't believe he beat me to it."

The down and out life of Pete Campbell was interesting to witness during "Signal 30," especially when comparing it to how content Don Draper was at this given point in time. It is best summed up by the words of Ben Hargrove...

It might have been living in the country that was making him cry. It was killing him with its silence, and loneliness, making everything ordinary too beautiful to bear.

I'm not sure which combination of living in the suburbs, growing tired of his wife, an increased work load or simply wanting to be like the ad men he has watched over the years forced Pete into this type of behavior... but I'm glad it has happened.

Without his downward spiral, we never would have been able to watch Lane knock him the heck out. How great was that fight scene in the conference room? Between Roger aggressively wanting to see the fight and later claiming he had money on Lane, Don quietly closing the blinds and Pete actually hitting the floor, it was the most entertaining scene of the episode.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Mad Men, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 505 - "Signal 30"
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Mad Men 504 Review- Mystery Halluci-date

Don- "I married you, and I'm gonna be with you until I die...which could be this afternoon."

The good news is that Don didn't actually cheat on Megan in "Mystery Date." The bad news is that he was so sick that he hallucinated, and said hallucination had him cheating on Megan with a former lover and then strangling her to death.

I'm definitely not one to dissect what somebody's extreme fever hallucinations say about their true desires, so I will discuss Don's affinity to cheat without bringing his faux experience with Andrea into the conversation.

That is basically what the entirety of Don's story was about on this week's Mad Men. Is Don going to act differently now that he's married to Megan? While with Betty, the man was a serial cheater, so when Megan and Don ran into a former partner of his, she obviously got upset.

She's worried that it wasn't Betty that drove him to cheating, but rather that it is just a part of who he is. Like the past couple of episodes, I liked the way that Megan dealt with the difficult situation. She faced it head on, bringing the conflict to Don's attention and making him aware of the way she felt.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Mad Men, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 504 - "Mystery Date"
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Mad Men 503 Review- Take A Load Off, Betty

Roger- "When is everything gonna get back to normal?"

She's just fat.

Since many fans of Mad Men have professed their hatred for Betty Draper/Francis over the years, I'm sure very few were sad to see that she added weight gain to her constant state of sadness during the hiatus.

Betty's increased size, which was a way of covering up January Jones' real life pregnancy, Betty's health scare and how everyone reacted to both covered a majority of what happened in "Tea Leaves."

Unlike many Mad Men viewers, I have always enjoyed the character of Betty. She has always been interesting to me, whether it be her relationship with Don, how she treated the children,or her new marriage to Henry. Her actions here were no different.

Most interesting? Her reaction to finding out that her tumor was in fact benign. "It's nice to be put through the ringer and find out... I'm just fat," she said after hearing the news. In that moment, it was difficult to tell whether she was just frustrated, or if Betty might have really preferred dying over simply being an overweight woman. At least the former makes her special.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Mad Men, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 503 - "Tea Leaves"
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Mad Men 501 Review- Spring Cleaning the Carpet

Peggy- "Clients are right all of the sudden? I don't recognize that man. He's kind...and patient."

The times they are a changin'. Although it was only seven or eight months since Don went to California with Megan in the Mad Men season four finale, everything felt different in "A Little Kiss."

Don and Megan couldn't keep their hands off of each other, even as they walked into work together, Pete and Roger were nearly at each other's throats attempting to gain the advantage within SCDP, Joan was at home taking care of her new born, and Peggy was working day and night, managing very little success.

Okay, so maybe that last one was exactly what we've seen from Peggy for a few years now, but there was definitely a different vibe to start the season. The period we were watching only moved from October of 1965 to Memorial Day of 1966, but the 1950s feeling of previous seasons was almost entirely gone, which was no more evident than at Don's surprise party.

The lighting, the decor, the attitudes, and a certain performance by a former secretary made the event seem like a portrayal of the changing times.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Mad Mean season premiere, head over to TV Fanatic.

Mad Men 501 - "A Little Kiss"
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The Teri Bauer Award- Worst Action Character

Named For: Teri Bauer (24)
Awarded To: The the character you love to hate in an action series
2009 Winner: Olivia Taylor (24)
2010 Winner: Skyler White (Breaking Bad)

Place. Nominee (Series) Points (My Vote)

10. Liam O'Neill (Sons of Anarchy) 1 point

9. Arthur Pendragon (Camelot) 1 point (5th)

8. Nelson Van Alden (Boardwalk Empire) 2 points

7. Moira Doherty (Persons Unknown) 3 points

6. Angel Batista (Dexter) 4 points

5. Tyler Evans (V) 5 points (4th)

4. Miles Fiedler (Rubicon) 6 points

3. Erika Taylor (Persons Unknown) 8 points (3rd)

2. Tara Thornton (True Blood) 12 points (1st)

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Sarah Linden (The Killing) 21 points (2nd)

This is Sarah Linden's first Poolie nomination, and first win for the character you love to hate in an action series.

We here at the Quiet Pool Perspective are proud to welcome Poolie voter Tyson, who has some awful things to say about Sarah Linden, Mireille Enos, and the people of The Killing.

                                                                                                                                                                   

Sarah Linden is a terrible character and an awful person.

She ignores her son, her fiancé, and her commitments in order to immerse herself in the Rosie Larsen case. Spoiler alert: she doesn’t figure out shit.

The whole show is just a colossal waste of time. Here is a comprehensive show summary: dead girl found, her family is sad, her dad goes to jail, the police think a couple people are the murderers but none of them are, and one of the cops is involved in some foul play.

I literally just described every single thing that happened in season one.

Now, a sane person would assume that this show would be cancelled. WRONG. Get ready for season 2 where Detective Linden will ignore her son while he’s in the hospital so she can track down 5 new suspects, all of whom happen to be members of the same Islamic Mosque.

Sorry I forgot to mention that one of the original suspects is a devout Muslim. He is also a kidnapper, but he only kidnaps 14 year old girls who are about to be neutered or something. You cannot make this stuff up.

Yet after everything mentioned above, The Killing received an 8.4 rating out of 10 according to IMDB. To put that in perspective, Lost received an 8.5 out of 10. Someone please explain this to me.

One final note: The actress who plays Detective Linden is Mormon. She is also married to Cameron from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I have no idea what to do with this information, but I think it makes me like her less.

~ Written by Tyson Brazell

The "Through the Looking Glass" Award- Action Episode

Named For: "Through the Looking Glass" (Lost, 322)
Awarded To: The best episode in an Action Series
2010 Winner: "The End" (Lost)

Place. Nominee (Series) Points (My Vote)

5. "A Study In Pink" (Sherlock, 101) 1 point (3rd)

4. "Winter Is Coming" (Game of Thrones, 101) 5 points

3. "Days Gone By" (The Walking Dead, 101) 9 points

2. "Brother's Keeper" (Justified, 209) 13 points (1st)

and the Poolie goes to...

1. "Full Measure" (Breaking Bad, 313) 14 points (2nd)

This is Breaking Bad's second Poolie nomination and first win for best episode in an action series.  The show has also been nominated for best action series a year ago, and for some reason best drama in 2009.

It really is nice to see Breaking Bad win an award in this year's Poolies, even though only two episodes aired during the season.  "Full Measure" was a fantastic end to the third season, and it became better and better after garbage upon garbage began gracing our screen in the fall.  Albeit some gems started to come out in the winter and spring, but apparently none measure up to this stunning finish of Breaking Bad's third season.  I can't wait for the fourth installment to start up in July.

Eighth Day of TV Christmas- Eight Minutes Breathless

In a new tradition here at the Pool, as both a way of summing up the year in television and celebrating the holidays, we will be releasing the first Twelve Days of TV Christmas series leading up to the day where I hope to receive multiple DVD box sets of my favorite shows. Whereas the Poolies celebrate the best television of the season by a number of voters, the Twelve Days of Christmas is my attempt at giving credit to the top series of the year by me and only me. Having said that, a couple of my favorite shows have been left off the list for a multitude of reasons. In the case of Chuck and Justified, it's mostly because I couldn't fit them into a numbered slot as well as some others. With Sons or Always Sunny, I just wasn't as happy with their respective seasons in 2010. So without further ado, here is the Eighth Day of TV Christmas. Feel free to sing along.

On the eighth day of Christmas my tv gave to me...eight minutes breathless, seven kids a studying, six deads a walking, five deeeaaad rapiiiiists, four ad partners, three Jo Bros, two Terriers, and a paper boss in Scranton, PA.

I really had no place to put it, but Breaking Bad needed to be recognized for its outstanding performance in 2010. The episode titled "One Minute" was filled in tv time by multiple minutes of excitement, hence the "eight minutes breathless." Watching as our boy Hank hung on for dear life as the crazy Mexican brothers attempted to murder him horror movie style, was absolute brilliance. Not only was the ending to that episode so great, but looking back on it, the entire season was fantastic. At the time I didn't think that great of it, but after watching how disappointing some of my other favorite shows have been, Breaking Bad needs to receive credit for showing up to play this year. Other than "Fly", which some critics are touting as a great episode but in reality was God awful, every ep brought excitement and drama. It won't be back until this summer, so we have to wait a while to get Walter, Jesse and the gang back in our lives.

Sixth Day of TV Christmas- Six Deads a Walking

In a new tradition here at the Pool, as both a way of summing up the year in television and celebrating the holidays, we will be releasing the first Twelve Days of TV Christmas series leading up to the day where I hope to receive multiple DVD box sets of my favorite shows. Whereas the Poolies celebrate the best television of the season by a number of voters, the Twelve Days of Christmas is my attempt at giving credit to the top series of the year by me and only me. Having said that, a couple of my favorite shows have been left off the list for a multitude of reasons. In the case of Chuck and Justified, it's mostly because I couldn't fit them into a numbered slot as well as some others. With Sons or Always Sunny, I just wasn't as happy with their respective seasons in 2010. So without further ado, here is the Sixth Day of TV Christmas. Feel free to sing along.

On the sixth day of Christmas my tv gave to me...six deads a walking, five deeeaaad rapiiiiists, four ad partners, three Jo Bros, two Terriers, and a paper boss in Scranton, PA.

On day six of this TV Christmas season, we at the Pool recognize AMC's The Walking Dead. After absolutely bombing with Rubicon as the stations first attempt to add to its dynamic duo of Mad Men and Breaking Bad, they came through in spades with The Walking Dead. It was only a six episode first season, hence the "six deads a walking," but it was fantastic. From the start, this series had me hooked. The pilot was riveting, and the quality maintained throughout. Although Alan Sepinwall blatantly disagrees, I believe the short first season was a blessing in disguise. They were able to get their story across without any filler. As much as I would have loved to seen a 12 episode season, each of these six eps packed a punch, and I think we were better off because of it. The finale, in which the gang of Zombie killers came into the CDC building and then fled it, was a perfect example of where they could have dragged it out but didn't. Sepinwall wanted that episode to be extended to a about three or four eps. Really? You wanted them to sit around that cave for three episodes...doing what? They celebrated, they learned how the zombies are re-born, they got sad, and then the building blew up. All of which were done succinctly and beautifully. It was a great first season and I am definitely looking forward to the second.

Fourth Day of TV Christmas- Four Ad Partners

In a new tradition here at the Pool, as both a way of summing up the year in television and celebrating the holidays, we will be releasing the first Twelve Days of TV Christmas series leading up to the day where I hope to receive multiple DVD box sets of my favorite shows. Whereas the Poolies celebrate the best television of the season by a number of voters, the Twelve Days of Christmas is my attempt at giving credit to the top series of the year by me and only me. Having said that, a couple of my favorite shows have been left off the list for a multitude of reasons. In the case of Chuck and Justified, it's mostly because I couldn't fit them into a numbered slot as well as some others. With Sons or Always Sunny, I just wasn't as happy with their respective seasons in 2010. So without further ado, here is the Fourth Day of TV Christmas. Feel free to sing along.

On the fourth day of Christmas my tv gave to me...four ad partners, three Jo Bros, two Terriers, and a paper boss in Scranton, PA.

So the fourth show to receive praise for its performance during 2010, although it probably has been written about too much already by me, is AMC's Mad Men. Maybe it is because I was able to over-analyze the series on a weekly basis this year, but Mad Men went from a show that I watched and knew was quality television, to a show that I loved and enjoyed almost as much as anything on tv. My feeling is that Mad Men, like many serialized dramas, has the ability to get better and better as time goes on. Because the characters become that much more in depth as the years go by, their actions are that much more important to the viewer as each and every episode comes on. This year was full of changes. From Don's metamorphosis, to the new Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce trying to stay alive, things were different in 1960s New York. How long can this ride take us? I'm not sure, but I'll be there every step of the way, and so should you.

Mad Men 413 Review- Don's Going to Disneyland!

Sally: Who's Dick?

Don: Well... that's me. That's my nickname sometimes.

Unlike when when this past season of Hung ended, I am actually sad that i won't be reviewing Mad Men anymore in the near future. My review of last night's season four finale, "Tomorrowland", is live over at TV Fanatic. It's a 1200 word piece in which I lament about how the finale was a good fit for what this season was really about.

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on the fourth season finale of Mad Men, "Tomorrowland". So watch the ep, think about the number of things that had to happen to get you to this blog, then read what I had to say.

Don: Miss Calvet and I are getting married.

Roger: Who the hell's that?

Even though my review was on the longer side for my style, there was plenty that I left out. For starters, I can't believe Megan mentioned how her teeth were big. The boys on the Firewall and Iceberg Podcast went on for ages about how Sepinwall's readers were so concerned about the actresses huge teeth. The fact that Weiner expected this to be something people would notice, and worked it into the script well in advance, was awesome to witness.

So Bert Cooper was not in this episode. Is he gone for good? When we come back next season, I would be really surprised to see him there, but I won't count it out.

What a choice for an ending song. I Got You Babe? The only thing that pops into my head upon hearing that tune is....Groundhog Day! So will Don's year start all over come season five until he gets things right and stops acting like a jerk? That would be a great twist and an interesting story telling technique.

Well those were just some of the small points I didn't get a chance to touch on in my review. It was a great season of Mad Men, and if you're not watching this show, you're missing out. It might take you a while to get into, as it did with me, but you'll be happy you got through the beginning.

Mad Men 413 - "Tomorrowland"
Review
Round Table
Recap
Quotes

Mad Men 412 Review- Sad Men

Roger- "It's good not to be the reason this place went down anymore."

It's much more difficult reviewing a show that Jackie Boy thinks is mind numbingly boring, while he's in the room making snide remarks every once in a while. Given those treacherous conditions, I still managed to bang out a review of last night's penultimate episode of Mad Men's fourth season. It went live over at TV Fanatic this morning.

Mad Men 412 - "Blowing Smoke"
Review
Recap
Quotes