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

[GoGo Yubari]

There were very few ties this year. Here was the largest, a three-way tie for 43rd!

43. Once Upon a Time (24 pts, appeared on three ballots) (Last Year: #34)

43. The Americans (24 pts, appeared on three ballots) (Last Year: N/A)

43. Homeland (24 pts, appeared on three ballots) (Last Year: #11)

42. Veep (25 pts, appeared on three ballots) (Last Year: N/A)

41. House of Cards (25 pts, appeared on five ballots) (Last Year: N/A)

Next Time, on EWB's Top 51 TV Shows of 2013: Owwwwww, owwwwww, owwwwww, owwwwww, owwwwww, owwwwww, owwwwww, owwwwww...

[gunnar hendershow]

Woohoo the Baltimore shows back-to-back!

My cousin does electrical work for House of Cards. It's almost like I am on the list this year!

[GoGo Yubari]

I've watched more Once Upon a Time this year than I have in any year before, and by that I mean I watched a scene with Mulan in it. It was decent and I'm still probably never going to watch the show.

The Americans I watched the first couple episodes of and liked a lot and then it just got lost in the shuffle. I still have the vast majority of season 1 on DVR and I want to try and watch it before season 2 starts, but that might be a big ask.

Homeland I dropped two episodes into season 3. I just decided "you know what, I'm watching enough stuff already and The Showtime Effect seems to be setting in." If season 4 is beloved maybe I'll burn through S3 and hop back on.

Veep is fucking great. Season one was decent but season two found its form and got really great, pretty much from the Finland episode onwards. Especially the Jonah insults. Oh man, the Jonah insults.

Honestly I think House of Cards is the most overrated show of 2013. Kevin Spacey is really good (and in a couple episodes he's straight up fantastic), Corey Stoll is getting a deserved career boost out of carrying much of the load on his back for most of that season, and then otherwise I found it deeply hard to care about anyone or anything. I love shows about manipulative assholes but this one felt a bit lifeless.

[Benji]

Once Upon a Time is a good show, but I feel like at this point then anyone getting into it will probably find it tedious, I don't think it'd be a show that could marathon well. I like the show though, so I'm glad to see it on the list.

The Americans started REALLY badly. Seriously, the first three episodes I struggled with as it was poorly structured and had some awful cliché stories, but it showed flashes of greatness (there's a scene which I'll describe simply as "line dancing", which I absolutely adored). It got a lot better as the season progressed and has a LOT of potential going forward with not a whole lot of expectation, which is a wonderful rarity for a show going into it's sophomore season.

Homeland on the other hand didn't have that benefit, and almost Heroes'd season two. Luckily season three was an improvement, and again, it has a lot of potential going forward. If you decide to check it out (and for season one at least, you really should) - keep in mind that season two does have a classic slump.

Don't watch Veep, couldn't get into it when it originally aired, but I plan to marathon it at some point.

House of Cards weirdly didn't interest me initially, and it's waaaaaay back in the line of shows about politicians that I would want to watch.

Also, I want to take a moment to say that I like how Goggles does these lists. Wonderful.

[PatDaMan]

Homeland fell off so hard. The ending of almost every season 3 episode had me like "but.....nothing happened"

And Dana. Fuck Dana.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Veep is the best.

[Pesci]

Watched the first episode of House of Cards and didn't like it enough to go back. But I'll probably watch it at some point because it's on Netflix and it's easy.

Homeland season 1 is one of the best first seasons of anything I've seen, and I quite liked season 2... season 3 fell off in a big way and Dana got ridiculously annoying, but I stuck with it and I think it picked up towards the end. It left me interested to see where they're going with it, anyway, so I'll stick with it again.

No real comment on the rest. Veep is something I might watch eventually., Maybe.

[GoGo Yubari]

Yeah, the fact that all everyone was talking about re: the episodes of Homeland after I dropped was Dana stuff made me cool with dropping it. I can't even pinpoint what's made her so awful after I thought she was such a good part of season one, maybe it's just that she had a full-on point that season and then it just feels like "oh well let's see what Dana's doing!" She's a believable teenage character but not in a good way.

[Pizza]

She's a better character than Kim Bauer, but getting hunted by a cougar is still getting hunted by a cougar. I didn't watch S3, but the car accident story from 2 was terrible.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Not seen any of those last lot. I'm soooo un-hip.

[LittleDaniel]

If it weren't for Bob's Burgers (great show), I'd have never seen any of the list so far.

[GoGo Yubari]

words go in this space

40. Black Mirror (26 pts, appeared on three ballots) (Last Year: N/A)

39. New Girl (27 pts, appeared on four ballots) (Last Year: #29)

38. The Colbert Report (28 pts, appeared on four ballots) (Last Year: #19)

sigh

37. Dexter (28 pts, appeared on five ballots) (Last Year: #6)

36. QI (29 pts, appeared on three ballots) (Last Year: #33)

Next Time, on EWB's Top 51 TV Shows of 2013: I wish there was a way to know you're in "the good old days" before you've actually left them.

[METALMAN]

QI is the first one here I've actually seen. Do people still actually watch it? It used to be good but it is so awful whenever I've had it on. Or maybe it only used to be good because I was 17. Who knows.

It used to have interesting people but now it is just loud wankers shouting over each other and making tedious innuendos. It's a bit of a boy's club. It's like watching Buzzcocks or Mock The Weak. Alan Davies is awful. I'm so tired of his mimes and shouting. It was good when it had comedians who are also smart, or other people that are smart. When it has the likes of Sarah Millican or Jason Manford. Urgh.

Stephen Fry is boring now. I can't stand his smug self-indulgence. It's largely a show where he talks and talks, elevating his profile as a guru of all things. He's okay in small doses. I mean his programme about Wagner was good, as was Jeeves & Wooster and he has done good things in raising awareness about mental problems. But really, just go away.

QI, just go away.

[TKz]

Dexter placing anywhere is horrible.

Dexter placing above The New Girl? Just awful, EWB. Just awful.

[livid]

Need to catch up a bit.

I tried watching Once Upon A Time but could not get past the atrocious acting and very hokey-looking set design. Shame.

I still need to get around to watching the rest of The Americans. I wrote about the pilot for iGR but I was going to re-visit it once the season was over. I eventually deleted them off the DVR so I think I'll have to make a point to watch it before the next season.

Homeland was in a very similar spot but it going downhill has prevented me from caring. I'm not sure I'll ever get around to seeing it fully.

Veep is another show that I've seen an episode of and is on my list to get around to at some point.

While I even had House of Cards on my list (15), I do agree with GoGo that it is probably the most overrated show around right now. I know a co-worker who loves it and while I thought it was very good, I'm not sure I could care as much about it as he (and others) apparently does.

Black Mirror is even getting a lot of publicity over here and I've thought about checking it out but it may be awhile before that happens.

For New Girl, see my comments about The Americans/Veep/etc.

I adore The Colbert Report, even if I haven't actually watched it in awhile. It's a great show. I'll find my way back around to it again at some point, I'm sure.

Fuck Dexter. I'm glad it's over so people can stop suggesting that I watch it.

Never seen QI.

[GoGo Yubari]

Dexter made it because JohnnyPerfect had it as #2 on his ballot. On one hand, I was really hoping it wouldn't make it in at all, but on the other at least I got to openly mock a show on this list for the first and probably last time because oh my god, what an astoundingly incompetent season of TV. So unbelievably awful.

[TKz]

Dexter made it because JohnnyPerfect had it as #2 on his ballot. On one hand, I was really hoping it wouldn't make it in at all, but on the other at least I got to openly mock a show on this list for the first and probably last time because oh my god, what an astoundingly incompetent season of TV. So unbelievably awful.

I fully expect this to be the reason behind any other awful placements.

[Josh]

Colbert should have placed much higher.

QI has me intrigued, but I've never seen it.

The rest I have no interest in or can just fuck off entirely.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Glad Black Mirror made it. All six are well worth watching for what "could" happen in a bleak glimpse of our future and obsession with technology and social media alongside the decaying of our social responsibility.

QI is the fourth on my list to make it. I agree though, when Manford or Carr or whoever is on it then it's just the same as everything else. However SOMETIMES they actually put on someone smart like the old days and it's so much better. Comedians aren't the best choice for the show. Folk like Clarkson are actually better on it, as are Sandi Toksvig, Giles Brandreth, Danny Baker etc...the older folk who also have a great one-liner.

Though seeing Victoria Coren and Sue Perkins in the same episode made me far too happy.

Watched a few of the first series of Dexter recently and I liked it well enough. New Girl is kinda ok but annoying characters.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Dexter honestly doesn't even deserve to place on any list of the best of anything in 2013, unless that list is "best show I stopped watching halfway through the season because ye gods, really?"