Between the zombies, the dragons, the terrorists — not to mention the self-involved twenty-somethings and ass-hat political figures — all told 2012 was a pretty good year for TV.
In the last year we saw bigger bootlegging on
Boardwalk Empire, bigger laughs on
Parks and Recreation, and bigger battles (on Blackwater Bay!) on
Game of Thrones. And don't get us started on the homicidal tendencies on
The Walking Dead (or, actually, do — just not right now). But 2012 was also the beginning of the end for a lot of our favorite shows— namely
30 Rock and
Breaking Bad, both of which started their final seasons this year.
So to celebrate the season that was, may we present: the best television of 2012.
Above:
The Walking Dead Claws Its Way to the Top
Let’s admit it right up front: Until Season 3,
The Walking Dead was not actually a very good show. It had its thrilling moments, to be sure, but it often felt strained, uneven, and — the greatest sin for a horror show — occasionally tedious. This year, the characters and the show grew tougher, faster and more ruthless, engaged in a constant life-or-death hustle that always felt barely an inch ahead of the zombie maw. But for all the horror inflicted on humanity by shambling empty shells, the introduction of the Governor — a sociopath politician dripping with folksy charm — reminded us that the true face of evil is still a human one.
The show continued to take out its characters with the heartlessness of a George R. R. Martin novel, but also pulled off a fairly astonishing sleight of hand: killing off the most irritating character on the show in an episode so gut-wrenching and harrowing that it somehow felt like something truly valuable had been lost. Unadulterated misery isn’t everybody’s drug of choice, but if that’s what you’re looking for,
The Walking Dead is as pure as it gets.
— Laura Hudson
