My 2011 - part the second

TOP TEN TV SHOWS THAT WERE NEW TO ME THIS YEAR
(aka. Hannah finally watches the shows everyone's been harping on about for months)

1. Parks and Recreation

Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler): human sunshine.

Much as it would be rather concieted as marketing campaigns go, this show could have the tagline 'Parks and Recreation: pretty much the perfect TV show' and not be lying one jot. I watched the entire thing, three and a half series, in about a month this, and I don't think a TV show has ever given me so many feelings. And I get a LOT of feelings from a LOT of tv shows.

This show is pure joy. Pure joy, condensed into 20-minute pockets of beauty and sparkles and unicorns and sugar and spice and all things nice. There's love, faith, compassion, honour, passion, community, and some of the best potrayals of friendships I've seen in any show. The cast is fantastic, the plots are sweet and uncontrived, and the whole thing just charms its way into your heart, clutching on tight and not letting go. Perfect, perfect show.

Also, the cast totally look like animals.

2. Horrible Histories

Such a sexy Dick. (TURPIN. Get your minds out of the gutter.)

What is it with me and shows designed for children? Whatever, whatever, I do what I want, and Horrible Histories is deserving of love from all ages. Shameless, unwavering love. Because of how it is brilliant.

A bunch of nerds writing daft sketches and silly songs which celebrate ridiculous historical oddities while remaining completely factually accurate - what could be better? The sketches are fun, everybody is really excellent face-wise (Baynton! Willbond! Rickard! Howick!), and they write lyrics like 'can you imagine it? // I'm the last plantagenet'. Oh, you glorious little weirdos.

3. The Good Wife

Will Gardner (Josh Charles) and Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) practise law; remain beautiful while doing so.

Questions I ask myself: why did I wait so long to watch The Good Wife? This magnificent show - one of the best I've ever watched, writing-wise in particular - was absent from my life for far, far too long. Fortunately, with a little help from Isobel, this was rectified with a day-long binge watch of series one, wherein I fell disgustingly in love with everybody.

Julianna Margulies is incredible, Josh Charles can get it any day of the week, and Archie Panjabi as the ambiguous and enigmatic Kalinda is glorious. Don't even get me started on Alan Cumming and his season-stealing turn as magnificent shitbag Eli Gold. I'm yet to embark upon series two (Univeristy happened, and ate up most of my time/brainspace), but everybody should get on this show. Like, yesterday.

4. Modern Family

Oh, these crazy kids.

Had Parks and Rec not come along, this would have stolen the spot for favourite American Comedy Show Wherein the Characters Address the Camera, but it will have to be satisfied with a very close second. I'm sure it'll be gutted, but it'll get over it.

While some find it saccharine (and it does occasionally tread into the preachy realm of cheesy that P&R manages to evade), it is hilarious in the extreme, and utterly charming. We witness an extended family stumble their way through holidays, domestics and public events with minimal success and maximal haphazardness (haphazadity? hapharzititude?). The show is bright, sweet and smart, an utter delight. Also, it introduced me to Ty Burrell's Phil Dunphy, aka. my dream husband.

5. Rev

Tom Hollander as Adam Smallbone - hold me closer, tiny vicar.

One of those gorgeous, subtle shows that creeps up on you and, before you know it, has firmly planted itself in your heart. Beautifully observed, it is one of the rare portrayals of religion on TV that manages to remains liberal, respectful and unpatronising.

I may well write a bigger post on this at some point, because feelings: I have them, but here I shall summarise. Frank and smart, it manages to tackle religion, friendship, poverty and marriage in a way that is both funny and achingly real. In particular, look out for Steve Evets' beautiful portrayal of Colin - just gorgeous.

6. The Yard

Actually, 'these crazy kids' is probably a better caption for this picture.

The excellent Jakk recommended this six-part Canadian darling dear of a show, wherein we explore the ins and outs of playground politics in an elementary school. It's hard to explain; it's kind of a kids' show for grown-ups, expertly (if obviously) parallelling adult situations in jungle-gym backdrops.

The kids are fucking brilliant, and so adorable you'll pull a muscle (is their anything funnier than children swearing? I think not), and it is one of the sweetest shows I've ever had the pleasure of watching. I fear I can't do it justice in summary, but seriously - watch it if you can. You won't regret it.

7. Chuck

Iiiii should have posted a picture of a main charcter, rather than a guest star. But this is Matt Bomer in a baseball shirt, so no.

The darling Emma decided I needed to watch this show, and BOY was she right. I am now realising that two of my twenty favourite shows of 2011 involve the ACCIDENTAL SPY! plotline, so clearly I have a type, and while Spy handles it more subtly, Chuck is balls-out ridiculous. And I love it.

It has a good deal of endearing features: Zachary Levi's lovely face; Yyvonne Strahovski's lovely face; spy-based shenanigans; nerdery; Adam Baldwin being brawny and excellent; Captain Awesome; and all the delicious UST you could ask for. Good lord it takes a while to get stuff done, and while you end up yelling 'JUST MAKE OUT GOD' at the screen, it's in a lovely way!


8. How I Met Your Mother

The main reason I am watching this show: this face right here.

Another show that completely passed me by the first time, and that everybody seemed to rave about. I admit, I saw it as something of a generic sitcom-type thing, which, of course, it is, but it's really quite good, isn't it? I've now reaching series five, and I have to concede that my interest is waning a little, but I loved the first two series. To be fair, I will most likely watch the rest of it, for Jason Segel's face alone.

9. Downton Abbey

Cousins in love with their faces and their feelings and jdhgfj.

Oh, this bastard show. What with Glee and Merlin already contributing to the slow and painful decline of my sanity, I didn't really need another fucking awful show driving me batshit insane on a weekly basis. And yet, alas, I decided that I was going to watch the first series of Downton Abbey earlier this year, so that I could partake in series two in real time.

Every bloody episode makes me shake my fist in the air and cry 'FELLOWES!' at the top of my voice, because WHAT IS PLOT? WHAT IS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT? WHAT IS CONTINUITY? WHY IS IT ALL OF A SUDDEN THREE YEARS IN THE FUTURE? and all the generic complaints people have about Downton. However, as I have heard it succintly described on Tumblr, 'this is a show about Dan Stevens and Michelle Dockery having faces', and oh boy it is.

10. Made in Chelsea

Oh GIRLS, will you ever take your own advice?

Believe me, I am judging myself thrice as hard as you are. I blame Izi, Sophie, Julia and Emma entirely, but one episode of this ridiculous excuse for television had me horribly invested in the fake personal lives of these concieted, stuck-up, preposterous human beings. God I love these idiots.

***

See also:
Top ten new TV shows of 2011
People of the year
Soundtrack to the year