![]() ![]() Several excellent shows are ending in 2012. I also adored “American Horror Story” ’s brilliant, hard-to-watch “I Am Anne Frank: Part 2.” If I were forced at gunpoint to pick a greatest episode of 2012, I would pick the fifth episode of “Louie,” the one where Parker Posey makes him eat all those pickles-in that one half-hour, I felt every single emotion I have (plus, “Louie” seems like it would be a favorite of the kind of people who hold TV critics at gunpoint). (Although attention must be paid to Penny’s pronunciation of Au Bon Pain.) However, if you’re looking for a harsh, surreal multi-cam sitcom about slutty city gals, “Don’t Trust the B- in Apartment 23” is your best bet, the one “bad girl” show that has actually hit its comic stride. Thank God it’s not my job to think about ratings, because I’d just cry all day long. It’s a mug’s game to judge network sitcoms early on, but when Whitney Cummings launched not one but two terrible sitcoms, I found “Two Broke Girls” more promising than “Whitney.” Instead, “Whitney” took risks (within network limits) and got funnier, while “Two Broke Girls” soared in the ratings and got uglier. (“Breaking Bad” had a fantastic season, but all I remember is Skyler walking into a pool.) Here are five things I’ve noticed. The truth is, when I think back on 2012, what sticks out isn’t what’s best, it’s what’s most memorable. Can “Dexter” pull off this Season 7 return to goodness? Will the new season of “Smash” be a madcap revelation? Let’s throw a “Newsroom” joke in here, just to rile people up. Colbert and Maddow are my heroes-can I wedge them in? “Scandal” isn’t going on any Top Tens, but I certainly think about that show a lot. (I’m anti-hero’d out I’ll catch up later.) This is also true of “Fringe” and “Justified,” which I’ll have watched in its entirety by the end of next week, so ask me then. Also missing from my non-list: “Sons of Anarchy,” even though my critic-friend Alyssa Rosenberg keeps telling me how good it is. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there is no TV critic who has watched everything, especially one like me, who watches so many terrible sitcoms for no good reason. Also, I’m not caught up on “Walking Dead,” so who am I to judge? So, yes, I could probably stop whining (or whinging, for you fans of “Downton Abbey”) and cough up some shows I admire, like “30 Rock” and “Enlightened” and “Girls” and “Mad Men” and “The Good Wife” and “Homeland” and “Happy Endings” and “Parenthood” and “Breaking Bad” and “American Horror Story” and “Portlandia” and “Suburgatory” and “Parks and Recreation” and “Raising Hope” and “Dexter” and “Louie” and “Always Sunny In Philadelphia” and “The Middle” and “Archer” and “Don’t Trust The B” and “Children’s Hospital” and “The Hour” and “Community” and “Episodes” and “Game of Thrones” and “Treme” and “Doctor Who” and “Bunheads” and “Switched at Birth” and “LA Complex.” I could put numbers on them, but I won’t, so don’t fool yourself into thinking that’s the order, because it’s not, and I definitely left some stuff out, either because I don’t watch it or because I forgot.
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