Grading the TV season

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I wouldn't want to be a TV critic because I'd want to be able continuing to just enjoy it, not have to view it with one eye on what to say about it. Still, as the shows I watch have narratives and characters, I do still have opinions. (Perusing the number of my posts over the years by category, "TV" has the second highest total. Granted, I'm not always writing about TV in the way you'd be thinking, but it is a relatively common topic in one way or another.)

Anyway, despite that I find myself inclined to assess the TV season that is coming to a close. Luckily for my readership, I have the good sense not to want to compose essays about each show, and figure grading like on EW/AV Club reviews should suffice.

It's worth admitting that these grades are based on my general sense of watching the series' episodes week after week, not based on a thorough analysis; at the end of each show I had a feeling of how well it entertained me, and that's the real assessment. Also, I'm only grading the series I watched from the premiere through to the finale; it's not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination.

(Shows are listed roughly in order of the nights on which they aired, starting with Sunday, in case you're wondering.)

The Simpsons B

Bob's Burgers A

Once Upon a Time B+

The Good Wife A

Mad Men (so far) A

How I Met Your Mother B-

Terra Nova D [yeah, I cannot believe it either]

New Girl A-

Raising Hope A

Suburgatory B-

Modern Family B+

Happy Endings A-

Revenge B

The Big Bang Theory C+

Community A-

30 Rock A-

The Office C

Up All Night C+

Parks and Recreation A

Scandal A-

Chuck A-

Fringe B+

Nikita [incomplete] [still have 7 episodes on the DVR]

Saturday Night Live C+

Psych B

In Plain Sight B+

Fairly Legal B

Portlandia A

Never let it be said I don't give the internet the pithy sort of content it requires.

Of course, these days TV criticism is probably more a matter of giving people who want to gather and have the old water cooler conversations an online place to congregate and spout off. While it's unlikely people will congregate around me (and thank goodness for that), you are encouraged to share your thoughts on the TV season in the comments.

~

If a couple years of writing for the student paper in college taught me anything (beyond not to be a journalism major) it was that I was not cut out for criticism. I don't mean I couldn't take it; I mean I wasn't ideally suited to dish it out.