Television Review - 2016 (Part 1)

Welcome to my (annual?) review of television shows I've watched during the year.

For reference, here's a list of shows I've watched this year, in no particular order. Unless otherwise indicated, I'm only considering the episodes released during 2016. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything.....

Suits
BoJack Horseman
Silicon Valley
Top Chef
The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Mr. Robot
Catastrophe (Seasons One and Two)
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ballers (Season One)
You're the Worst (Seasons One, Two, and Three)
Archer
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The Sopranos (Season One)
South Park
Better Call Saul
Louie (Season Five)

Similar to what I did a year ago, I'm going to do a rundown of my top five television viewing experiences of the past year. Like 2015, however, I'm going to start by covering a few shows I watch that have declined in quality and have been progressing towards irrelevance for me.

Trending Downward

Mr. Robot

I listed Mr. Robot as my fifth-favorite viewing experience of 2015, but even then, I had some problems with it. There was a often a sense of mystery and confusion surrounding Season One's excellent plot, but most of it involved getting to figure out who Elliot is and what he's all about. That largely worked because Elliot is a truly fascinating character. Season Two opened with confusion, confusion, and more confusion. It was as if the show had sacrificed its entertainment value in an effort to keep the viewer in the dark about what's really going on. Mystery and intrigue are nice and all, but at some point, you have to make the viewer care what the resolution will be. I don't love this show enough to wade through the mud. We've still got the back half of Season Two on our DVR and we might never get to it.

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

I fell asleep during an alarming amount of episodes during Season Two. Kimmy's initial transition to today's world was what made this show compelling during the first season, but it turns out that this show didn't have all that much to offer beyond that initial storyline. We got a decent arc surrounding Titus' relationship with a construction worker, but not much else was compelling. The show's biggest problems are Lillian and Jacqueline. The former is as uninteresting as she is decrepit and has a one-note sense of humor. The latter is (as I've said before) a retread of Jane Krakowski's Jenna Maroney from 30 Rock. Throw in Tina Fey's disappointing turn as an alcoholic shrink and there was little to like about this season. I've already seen 30 Rock and don't need to watch a show with exactly the same comedic style and lesser characters.

Modern Family

This has taken up residence as the show on our DVR that we pretty much only watch as a last resort. Eight seasons in, the Dunphys and the Pritchetts haven't changed all that much despite everyone on the show aging. The only character that's shown much in the way of real growth is Haley, and she's not on the short list of the show's most interesting characters. Jay, Phil, and Luke are still great and Ty Burrell is consistently excellent, but they're delivering a brand of humor that's simply become stale after eight seasons. That's forgivable, but at some point, a long-running series needs to rely more on character development to keep things interesting. A few humorous personalities can't carry this show, particularly when Cam and Mitchell haven't had anything interesting to do in awhile, Manny's schtick is just plain old (and the whole mature-person's-mind-in-a-child's-body act was a lot more endearing when Rico Rodriguez was, you know, an actual child), and Gloria is nails-on-a-chalkboard-level annoying.

Over the next week or two, I'll have future installments reviewing my five favorite things I've watched this year for the first time.