EWB's Top 51 TV Shows of 2013: The Results

[Benjamin]

South Park placing higher than the year before is shocking to me? Has it gotten better? Either way why is it so high? People need to watch better TV.

Eurh, How I Met Your Mother. I fucking hope this is the last year it's eligible, because it needs to die in a fucking fire.

Never seen Archer, but I could see that show being one I'd like. Same goes for Elementary, but there's too much on my plate already.

What I said about How I Met Your Mother? I'd echo it for Big Bang shit Theory.

[Benji]

South Park was on high form this season, so it deserves it's high placing. I think I forgot to even list it, but if I'd have remembered it then I would've.

Haven't seen much of HIMYM this year, but I'm amazed it's this high, it's been pretty awful, and I can only think it placed so high because of the quantity of votes, and not the quality.

Elementary was fun, but I couldn't get into it. I'll probably try some other time.

Archer placing is pleasing. More people need to watch it.

BBT I'm amazed is so high. I like the show (despite it's blatant and infuriating flaws) but only getting seven ballots and being 16th? That's waaaay to high. The only thing that I can think explains it is it's tremendous plot. (semi-NSFW)

What a wonderful pair of plots.

[zero]

I feel like HIMYM hit its stride again once its endgame was in sight. I've loved this season so far, minus a few episodes and the Marshall subplot, which has come to an end anyway. To me, it's like Season 8 of Scrubs, it's all just fan service at this point.

No idea how people watch the Big Bang Theory.

Gotta start watching Archer.

Have heard good things about Elementary... but CBS.

And South Park has transcended the idea of being a good or bad series, it's basically an animated version of SNL. It has good weeks, it has bad weeks, it mostly depends on what's going on at the time. Their non-topical shows are hit-or-miss as well, just the nature of doing a series the way they do.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Elementary is literally the only reason to watch anything on CBS, ever. It's less police procedural and more serialized drama, where a lot of cases fall by the wayside in favor of character progression etc. and aren't 'solved' until the last 5-10 minutes a lot of the time. Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu are both fantastic in it, and so is the supporting cast. Especially Clyde.

Also, a lot of alumni from The Wire turned up in season 1. That was neat!

I need to get back into Archer. I watched season 1 on Netflix and liked it.

I haven't watched South Park in about two years. From what I've heard, the GoT inspired episodes this year were pretty funny, but I feel like. I dunno, I've outgrown it? Parker & Stone are fucking irritating shits too. The whole "everyone's wrong, let's play both sides and sit here smugly with a fencepost up our asses" thing is dumb.

Big Bang Theory is awful. Fucking awful. My cousin loves it, and can't understand why I hate it. "They talk about nerdy things we talk about!" Yes, but those things and liking those things are usually the butt of the joke. It's just "hurr hurr, nerds, right?" Kaley Cuoco deserves better. The best thing I can say about this show is that the cast all seem like pretty good people.

I do not "get" HIMYM. I also have no desire to.

[gunnar hendershow]

I was told to watch HIMYM because it was "a Seinfeld for our generation" and while the early episodes were funny it fell off a cliff fast when things started dragging along from a story standpoint. That and unlike Seinfeld I guess we're supposed to like Ted and Barney? The appeal of Seinfeld was that Jerry and George were selfish ass holes, the appeal of Ted and Barney is that they're also selfish ass holes but we're supposed to be sympathetic or something? No thanks.

And South Park is hilarious when it's on, insufferable when it's off. I really like it when they don't play one side against the other to show how bad both are and instead do something like mock Kanye West. That's when the show is at its best.

[PatDaMan]

I watched about 5 minutes of Big Bang once. It's my only true regret in life that I'll never get those five minutes back.

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

I like Big Bang Theory >_>

Used to like HIMYM too, but it's dragged on about two series' too long.

[Berober]

E4 here in the UK have a two hour block of BBT and HIMYM which is right around the time I used to get back from Summer Work/Sixth Form/Uni and it made for great background noise, so I don't have the hate that some people have.

Saying that, I haven't seen the new series of either, so if people are using that to judge the show, then I could be completely wrong.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

I've yet to see another scene on television that quite compares to stuff like Dwights Fire Drill.

That's funny, because that scene is the exact reason that I stopped watching The Office.

Well, you're terrible.

Big Bang Theory placing at all is terrible and I blame JohnnyPerfect entirely. I don't even know if he voted for it, that just seems like a good bet.

It placing above Elementary is even worse.

Otherwise, HIMYM stopped being good a long time ago and South Park's place is fine. It still puts out a decent episode every now and then, probably could have gone a bit lower then.

Yeah, I voted for it

TBBT and HIMYM being in this section make up for how shit South Park is.

[TKz]

Well now you're just a parody of yourself, Johnny.

[GoGo Yubari]

I don't generally watch South Park but I ended up watching five episodes this year. The Game of Thrones episodes were excellent, The Hobbit was pretty good and brought back South Park's version of Kanye West which is a reliable winner, and the goth kids episode was a goth kids episode. All in all an up year for South Park when it comes to my interests.

Haven't watched any more of HIMYM since last year. Someday, probably.

Elementary is sometimes up-or-down a bit but the central story is pretty good and the chemistry between Miller and Liu is fantastic. They've taken a show that when announced produced a round of groans and "really, America?" and instead proven to be a show that makes a strong case for why procedurals can still work.

I really like Archer but am two seasons behind. I am going to DVR the fifth season and then binge season 4 on Netflix so I can finally be caught up.

The Big Bang Theory's first season was perfectly fine background noise, very much a "this is dumb but our cast is talented and we hit our beats well" show. Haven't watched it since.

[Ace]

Elementary, HIMYM, and Big Bang are all shows I really enjoy. Although 90% of my BBT enjoyment is just staring at Cuoco so....

Haven't seen Archer.

Refuse to watch South Park. Was funny when I was 12. Now that I'm now 27 and its still going is just mind-blowing.

[Colly]

If you haven't watched since then you've missed its transition from 'adult, but not actually, more puerile but with rude words' to satirical current affairs comedy. It actually wasn't very funny when you were twelve.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Oh South Park at its best is just wonderful. Not seen any of the last few series though....I think the last I saw was when thy sent the killer whale to the moon and when the Japanese brainwashed the kids with anime and buttered up the adults by telling them they had huge penises compared to the tiny, tiny Japanese ones.

HIMYM is something I used to watch in Japan but got more bored with as it progressed and not seen it for a while.

Big Bang Theory is alright. My dad watches it on E4 between 6 and 7pm so when I take my daughter over on a Thursday we'll end up with an episode or two in the background. However it does fulfil the annoying Chuck Lorre approach of misusing the female characters.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

If you haven't watched since then you've missed its transition from 'adult, but not actually, more puerile but with rude words' to satirical current affairs comedy. It actually wasn't very funny when you were twelve.

I think my favourite South Park episode is still the one where the girl has started growing breasts and all the boys turn into grunting cavemen....Then Susie goes to get breast implants for the boys to like her and they just laugh at her.

[livid]

Like Ace, I actually watched South Park when I was a lot younger but I did watch it for a long time after that. Like Always Sunny, it just got old for me. I've been told to check it out again but with the amount of stuff I still need to watch, I'm not sure that'll ever end up happening.

How I Met Your Mother hasn't been outstanding in awhile but it's still pretty good and somehow is even having a good season, something I wasn't sure was possible when they revealed that the entire season would take place over a 48 (72?) hour period.

Elementary is tremendous. My thoughts echo a lot of what GoGo already said, though I do think I appreciate it a tad more. It'll be a shame of Jonny Lee Miller doesn't at least get a nomination for Lead Actor at some point in the show's run.

Archer is amazing and somehow keeps getting better. Best comedy of 2013 by far.

My hatred for The Big Bang Theory will continue, if for no other reason than NBC's insistence on putting Community up against it. I think they've resigned the fact that its got the audience it will always get but I'm not sure why they didn't play around with its timeslot more. See, I hate TBBT so much, I pretty much just turned this into talking about Community!

[GoGo Yubari]

You don't have to watch South Park on a regular basis, it's not really worth that. But absolutely check out the Console Wars/Game of Thrones trilogy from last November/December (Black Friday/A Song of Ass and Fire/Titties and Dragons). It's excellent.

[METALMAN]

I've never watched The Big Bang Theory. I just hate it after having observed the people that watch it.

[GoGo Yubari]

It's so rare that I even come across people who like it online. My dad likes it, though.

In fact, I bet "my dad likes it, though" could be a series tagline for them.

[gunnar hendershow]

It's so rare that I even come across people who like it online. My dad likes it, though.

In fact, I bet "my dad likes it, though" could be a series tagline for them.

"That frat boy I know likes it, though"

"Jim from the local Subway likes it, though"

"My ex-girlfriend's aunt likes it, though"