Katie’s six favorite moments of 2010 TV

Mad Men – “The Suitcase”

Let’s face it, the 4th season of Mad Men was awesome. That being said, easily my favorite episode was smack dab in the middle of the season: “The Suitcase”. Funnily enough, I didn’t think it would be during the first twenty minutes or so. Peggy is my favorite character and she doesn’t get treated very well in the first half. Her birthday brings her coworkers — and the wife of her ex-lover — to pity her as a single woman and Don is crueler to her than usual (we know why, but she doesn’t). But the last half of the episode is just pure win, starting with Don gleefully sharing Roger’s memoir notes with Peggy (Ms. Blankenship?!). That scene at the bar is one of the few times we’ve seen Don really open up with another human being and it’s the first time Don and Peggy are really equals in each others’ eyes. I don’t think Don could have chosen a better person to help him when he finally had to deal with Anna’s death. This was Jon Hamm and Elizabeth Moss‘ episode to command and they did not disappoint.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – “Who got Dee Pregnant”

I kind of lost touch with Always Sunny in the last couple years, but this season brought me back. They took a chance this year by making Kaitlin Olson‘s real-life pregnancy part of her character, but the episode that first addresses the pregnancy was the best of the season — it also happened to be one of the first episodes I reviewed here at CliqueClack. Getting to see the different characters in costume during flashbacks so that the guys can find out which one of them knocked up Dee was priceless. Of course, we wouldn’t find out the real father for a few more episodes, but having all-over bad person Dennis panic over apparently impregnating his own sister was such great payoff. Again, congrats to Olson and husband/cast member Rob McElhenney on the birth of their son earlier in the year.

The Return of Futurama

There’s nothing quite like a miracle to confirm my belief in a good and loving deity. After four made-for-DVD films starting in 2007 that set the stage for the show’s revival, we finally have the series continued in episodic form with a new season. It took them a little while to find their stride, but overall it’s been a strong season so far. It’s still the great show it was, with that right mixture of sweetness and black humor (and robots). My surprise favorite was “Lethal Inspection,” which featured Bender and Hermes going on an adventure and an emotional ending that I didn’t see coming. There are still 13 episodes in the season and I can’t wait to see them all. All Glory to the Hypnotoad!

Venture Bros. – “Operation P.R.O.M.”

The 4th season finale was the show’s first hour-long episode and the Astrobase Go! team did not disappoint. Operation P.R.O.M. included some instantly classic jokes, including the still cryptic activity known as giving someone a “Rusty Venture.” But we also get to see plenty more of the delightful Shoreleave, who reignites his fling with Al. I still say seeing them slow-dance at the end was just plain adorable. Hunter confronting the OSI brought the thrills we expect from a VB finale, but the twist with Molotov and Brock was inspired. The episode and season ended as Dean expressed himself with a loud, angry “F*** YOU!”

South Park – “Mysterion Rises”

This season’s Coon trilogy was great, but the 2nd of 3 episodes was my personal favorite. First, the identity of Mysterion is finally revealed. Making Kenny’s uncountable deaths into a superpower — albeit a painful and frustrating one — was really clever. Not only does he die on a regular basis, but no one ever remembers in the morning. Poor Kenny. However, the main reason the episode is on this list is the awesome My Neighbor Totoro homage. Cartman winning over the dark Lord Cthulhu is almost beat-by-beat identical to Mei meeting the gentle spirit Totoro. It’s only made better by the cheery song, also straight from the film.

Sherlock

I was a little late to find this series — I only just watched it this past month — but man, BBC has outdone itself. I never would have thought a modern reinterpretation of Sherlock Holmes would work this well, and yet the three storylines that made up the first season were so effortlessly woven into modern London. Martin Freeman‘s casting as Watson was what sold me on the series from the get go, but Benedict Cumberbatch (who has the most Anglophilic name ever) is wonderful as the famed detective.  The relationship between the two men has just the right chemistry and the sharp dialogue had me laughing all the way. The first episode was my favorite, but the reveal of Professor Moriarty in the season finale was brilliant. It ended on a major cliffhanger, but thankfully we’ve been told the 2nd season will air at the end of summer.

Agree with me? Have a few you think I missed? Let me know in the comments!

Clacked by Katie Schenkel
on Dec 31, 2010 @ 11:00 EST5EDT