Grade: A
Thursdays 930/830c
NOTES: The Office (U.S.) is one of my favorite sitcoms of all time and Parks and Rec is the new (and improved) version of The Office. While Season 4 of The Office is one of the greatest comedy seasons of all time, Season 4 of Parks and Rec is not far behind. Creators Greg Daniels and Michael Shur followed an amazing season of Parks and Rec in 2011 with another amazing one in 2012. Far and away the best comedy of 2012 as well as the best show of 2012
Grade: A-
Tuesdays 9/8c
NOTES: New Girl had an amazing pilot but struggled to find itself in the early goings. But like every great comedy show it found its stride and once it did it became one of the best shows of 2012. It's only flaw is that's it does not have as many memorable moments as I would like it to have so I can't give it an "A" rating. That being said, I can't wait to see where the show takes Nick and Jess in Season 2.
Grade: B
Sundays 10/9c
NOTES: While Season 5 is not yet complete, the vast majority of the season is. And based upon what has aired so far Season 5 of Mad Men is its worst season to date- which is a shame because it is one of the greatest television series of all time. As bad as Season 5 has been it's still Mad Men and a "terrible" year for Mad Men is still better than anything most other networks can put on
Grade: B
Thursdays 8/7c
NOTES: I don't think the show will ever be as good as it was in its first three seasons but this new ceiling of Season 6 is fine with me. I like Liz Lemon's new relationship with Criss and I like how the Jack and Liz relationship is working out but the show still doesn't know how to properly use Kenneth, and the new page (Hazel Wassername) is awful.
Grade: B
Thursdays 11/10c
NOTES: Despite Archer coming off of its best season to date, it's hard for me to truly love Archer like how many of my friends do. An Archer season will have some great episodes in it but also a lot of "eh" episodes as well. Season 3 didn't have as many memorable episodes as it has in seasons past like "Mole Hunt" or "Swiss Miss" but it was more consistent from episode to episode this year.
Grade: B
Tuesdays 10/9c
NOTES: Season 2 of Justified can almost make my Mount Rushmore of television series and if I ever do a follow up (which I plan on it) it will most likely make that. But that being said Season 3 was a huge let down. They had one too many bad guys (Boyd Crowder + Robert Quarles PLUS Ellstin Limehouse) that spread the show out WAY too thin. That and Raylan was much less of a bad ass in this season than he ever was in the previous two and I need to have my Raylan Givens shooting people (or at people) every other episode.
Grade: B
Wednesdays 8/7c
NOTES: Seasons 1 and 2 of Modern Family are excellent but Season 3 fell very flat of the potential that we have seen Modern Family reach.
Grade: B
Mondays 8/7c
NOTES: How I Met Your Mother is also one of my favorite sitcoms of all time and it's first five seasons are amazing. But Season 6 was sub par and the 2011 version of HIMYM was just awful (I would have stopped watching if I didn't love the first five seasons so much). But the second half of Season 7 (the part of the season that aired in 2012) was very classic HIMYM and it reverted back to the goofy style it had when it first aired. While I still need to meet the damn Mother already, single Ted helps this version of How I Met Your Mother get above a "C-" rating.
Grade: C
Thursdays 930/830c
NOTES: The show earns its "C" rating- it's just average. It's a show I only watch to bridge the gap between The Office and Archer and it's just filler at most. There's potential with a great cast, but I just haven't seen it yet.
Grade: D+
Thursdays 8/7c
NOTES: I'm happy that creator and showrunner Dan Harmon is being forced off of the show. The show imploded into itself and was way too clever for its own good. There were some great moments in Season 3 but overall it needs to go back to its simple Season 1 days
Grade: F
Thursdays 9/8c
NOTES: It's a shame that NBC, from an economic standpoint, is in the crapper and that The Office is one of its highest rated programs because we'll be forced to deal with the dribble that is passing for The Office these days for at least a few more years. Original showrunner Greg Daniels left a few years ago to run Parks and Rec so then he was replaced with Paul Lieberstein (who plays Toby on the show). But now he's gone so this show will be in further disarray going into its fall season. The logical new showrunner would have been Mindy Kaling (who plays Kelly Kapor) but she left this season to create her own show: The Mindy Kaling Project.
Anyways, I'm off on a tangent. This show just needs to die already