Over the last month, we have taken a look at the network finales and seasons as a whole to determine the best of the bunch. The Chicago Code’s finale was voted as the best of last season, while The Vampire Diaries was voted as the best show of the last network television season. This week, we take a look at the previous year in cable television.
There are so many potential nominees for best cable show, so I took the question to the other writers here at CliqueClack. Here are their nominations:
Brett: iCarly! I know it’s become a bit of a running gag around here, but it really is a well done show. The episodes are always funny, they’re somehow able to attract a ridiculous collection of guest stars, and on occasion it is the most bizarre thing on television. And while I know I’m probably in the vast minority, given the group that will be making nominations, iCarly certainly deserves to be part of the conversation.
Ivey: Game of Thrones, hands down. Even if we put away how good the source material is just for a moment, the complete scope of the production was just incredible. I went into watching it not expecting to like, and was blown away by how wrong I was.
Kona: Southland. Saving this show from cancellation was the smartest thing that TNT’s ever done. Southland is hands-down the best cop show on TV right now. It’s the best parts of Homicide, The Wire and Law & Order all rolled up into one. I’m a sucker for shows shot on location, and they make excellent use of the streets of L.A. That combined with gritty (yet funny at times) writing and an excellent cast (I’m always a fan of anything in which Band of Brothers alums are involved), make it one of the few shows that I need to watch immediately when it airs.
Rachel: Pretty Little Liars. This show really surprised me. I honestly started watching as a joke and because there was a marathon on TV. But it’s chilling in the way that those young adult thrillers novels are, and you can’t stop watching. I also appreciate the way that all the finales of the half-seasons have been cliffhangers. Sometimes shows on ABC Family are too predictable and cheesy, the way they wrap everything up nicely in the end. PLL is like the “dark side” of ABC Family. Good flashback scenes, too, reminiscent of Veronica Mars.
Bob: Boardwalk Empire was just a masterclass in production value. HBO recreated the entire Atlantic City boardwalk circa 1920, and that was just the beginning. Steve Buscemi was magnificent and Kelly MacDonald may have been even better. It was consistently good with very strong acting and strong writing. Game of Thrones may have one-upped Boardwalk Empire when it comes to production. Having read the books before I never even dreamed of it becoming a movie, let alone a TV show. The fact that the producers have been able to create so many different locales so faithfully (not to mention the almost eerily good casting) is a testament to their talent. Plus, there’s lots of sex, gore, backstabbing, and politicking. Good fun.
Michael: Best Show Of The Season? The Walking Dead in the hot and steamy south of Georgia. Smart writing, believable characters, action aplenty, spiffy unexpected character deaths (those are always fun), intrigue, humor, tears and guns and bows and arrows. Oh. And zombies, of course. (By the by: Love the fact The Walking Dead is in reference to the players in the game … not the zombies themselves.) A full season packed into a mere 6 episodes left us clamoring for more.
Bob: I think you have to include Mad Men. It’s still one of the smartest, tightest shows on television, even after four seasons. This last season represented a bit of a rebirth for the show, with so many changes afoot. It could have been uneven or bad, but it excelled and may have been the best season yet. I know it keeps winning a bunch of awards, which can be boring, but I just don’t think any other show has caught it yet.
Kona: OMG. Dexter. That is one of the best shows ever. Dexter, Mad Men and Southland. I don’t know how I could choose.
Katie: Venture Bros. has to be on this list. What started off as a simple Johnny Quest parody has become so much more. It’s hilarious, but also completely beautiful at times with surprisingly complex characters. Operation: P.R.O.M. was my favorite finale of the 2010/11 television season, hands down. Venture Bros. is up there with The Simpsons for lines that I quote on a daily basis. And for the record, I can do a really good Henchman 24 impression (which I realize is basically an exaggerated Ray Romano impression).
Chuck: I have been trying to wrack my brain thinking of an off-network scripted show that I watch and I finally came up with one — Being Human! Haven’t watched the entire season yet, but I’ve enjoyed the few episodes I have seen and the relationships and interactions between the characters. Never saw the UK version, so nothing to compare it to, but I’ve really liked what I’ve seen of the US version … now I just have to find the time to finish it!
Ivey: It is hard to leave Stargate Universe out of the conversation, as well. Despite the pre-existing Stargate fans who were predisposed to hate SGU, this show turned in some of the best science fiction that television has seen since the early days of Battlestar Galactica. It’s cancellation was one of the bigger … disappointments of the whole year.
If your favorite cable show isn’t listed among those nominated, please share your pick in the comments. Perhaps, a write-in candidate will win!
You can vote once a day until Wednesday night (6/29) 11:59 PM ET when the poll closes.
Clacked by Carla Day 
on Jun 23, 2011 @ 16:00 EST5EDT
Game of Thrones for certain was the best with Boardwalk Empire coming in a fantastic second.
. . . . .
*claps rhythmically*
Wah! King! Dead!
Wah! King! Dead!
Wah! King! Dead!
Wah! King! Dead!
Wah! King! Dead!
Wah! King! Dead!
Bob’s Burgers hands down! But if you’re going to disqualify that, my vote goes to Rubicon on AMC!
You must have missed out on our Best Network Show poll last week :(
Justified
Thanks for mentioning and including SGU. I’ve been a Stargate fan since the first season of SG1. My kids grew up watching it with me and I attribute that and ST:TNG for helping to shape the spuds into science fiction lovers.
I’m also one of those Stargate fans, the apparently rare breed, who thought SGU was better than its predecessors. Okay, maybe it plodded along a bit too much during the first season. Even I was sometimes frustrated by the pacing, but you can’t argue that the second half of season 2 was some of the best ship-based science fiction storytelling ever to hit any screen big or small.
Craig Engler posted a famous letter attempting to counter fans’ claims of Syfy trying to kill the show, but he avoided the one, true reason the show struggled in the ratings. Unlike the other 2 iterations of the franchise, SGU had to go up against new network programming instead of having the luxury of cruising along in the summer when there is far, far less on the air to draw viewers away. The bastard wouldn’t touch that fact with a 10 foot rasslin’ rope!
‘scuse me for a moment…I gotta go kick the crap out of something.
I’m trying to forget the heart ache of SGU, that’s why I did not even bring it up. HBO seems to be firmly behind GoT which makes it easier to give my tender heart to. :)
I’m trying to forget, too, but one of the things we’ve been doing to fill in the blank TV space during the summer is rewatching SG1, so I’m constantly reminding myself of how much I loved the franchise. I guess I’m just a sucker for punishment.
Ah, tv masochism.
I just gotta believe we’ll get more Stargate somehow. *sniff*
Sons of Anarchy, since Breaking Bad was not available
Stargate Universe was just getting really good. It took a bit maybe to develop the characters but they were succeeding. I especially liked Lt. Scott – Brian J. Smith’s character.
Why isn’t Breaking Bad, True Blood or Weeds on the list?
*POST AUTHOR*
Breaking Bad hasn’t been on in the past year, so it was excluded from the poll. For True Blood and Weeds, neither was nominated by the writers.
Stargate Universe for me, as it did something that had never really been done before. Yes BSG was gritty and realistic and set in space, but it was SGU that really approached the classic tropes of sci-fi in an adult, realistic and most importantly human sort of way. It’s cancellation was a huge loss to the genre, as it really seem to be building toward something incredible. Will be sorely missed.
Intellectually, I suppose I should have voted for Game of Thrones, but every second of Justified was just too riveting not to choose it.
Even with the multiple character reboots to fix the show, SGU never even came close to matching the quality of any of the other shows in the poll, even Being Human or iCarly.
Okay, I was taking your comments seriously and was even able to see how you could feel that way until you tossed in iCarly! I seriously do not get the appeal of that show, but I’m different…everything I love gets cancelled.
And I really hope you were talking about the Brit version of “Being Human” as it makes the Siffy one look so weak as to make one wonder why it still exists.
Hi, Tom!
Heh, I don’t keep up with iCarly like Brett does, but even though the show doesn’t really appeal to me, I have to admit that it earns its stellar ratings. It’s really just a matter of how the two shows I mentioned don’t veer wildly in quality from week to week with inconsistent characters that exhibit wildly illogical, unearned growth, and writing all over the map.
And I loved the UK pilot for Being Human for its cinematography and tone, and especially for Flanagan and Riseborough. I thought Tovey’s laughable overacting and keening was the weakest part of the show. I found the series to be a massive letdown with its recasting, higher budget, and changed sensibility. I’m glad I quit watching long before the Tube Incident. I was hesitant initially to watch the US pilot, but it’s much closer to the original concept that I loved, and blends its horror, drama, and sentimentality much more masterfully than the original did. I also thought the rewritten plots worked much better. Haven was also another welcome surprise from Syfy the previous summer.
From reading your comments over the years, I do like a lot of the same shows you do that are sadly culled before their time, but you’ll have to accept that I have the exact opposite opinion and taste with regard to a few others. I also hate Merlin and Season 1 of Fringe and found B5 which I watched live to be an incredible disappointment, so make of that what you will.
Well Ryan, it’s apparent you watch TV very differently from me. You get all smarty pants and actually think, and fancy stuff like that, while you’re watching. I just kinda stare soullessly at the television, gaping maw steadily depositing a glacial flow of drool on whatever shirt I happened to throw on, probably backwards, until the credits roll. Then I either declare, “Tommy like!” or “Tommy hate!” which is ascertained by the quantity of drool accumulated during the show. (BTW, lotta drool means ‘gud TV’)
In the spirit of full disclosure I must admit that boobs and explosions are often huge influences on my enjoyment, and they don’t necessarily have to be on the TV, just nearby will do. I’m betting you even hold your pinky finger out when you use the remote!
Gah! Culture and intelligence are sooo overrated…much like pants. Stupid societal norms!
Hey Ryan, I just picked up season 1 of B5 for the treadmill. I am planning on starting it today. I really hope I like it!
I am also a great fan of boobs and explosions. I actually, sincerely and non-ironically enjoy watching Michael Bay’s Transformers flicks in IMAX, even though I’m a G1 fan. Fortunately, both of the aforementioned elements appear much larger in the theater. My only caveat is that the owner of said boobs must be someone I would not relish seeing shot in the face (2LT James qualified, being one of the few characters on the show not irreparably damaged).
bsgfan2003, I think you will enjoy B5 quite a bit, as it is solidly entertaining, and the actors (especially Jurasik and Katsulas) can pull blood from the worst-written scenes. Like ST:TOS (and often with the same guest writers), it should be timeless enough to hold up well today, save for the SFX (just remember they were fairly impressive at the time for weekly television). I think that my problem was that I became too invested in the mythology and grand narrative of the show and thought that it was greater in the writer’s envisioning than what was ultimately revealed. That and I don’t like to see the strings being pulled when I watch something. I had a similar problem with BSG‘s endgame, even though I felt that was a much more subtly and skillfully-executed show.
Oh the plight of us fans! :)
I’ll file it in my back pocket, so I won’t be disappointed later, thanks!
bsgfan2003- although I am sure you already own the BSG series, they are reshowing it on BBCAmerica.
Nice of you to think of me!! :) Yes, I’ve got’em. I am glad that new fans will be made with the latest showing. Really, when BSG was on, it was a total obsession for me. I met such lovely online people discussing and disecting! The spoiler hunt was awesome fun too!
Its funny how watching it from the beginning again, every little clue makes much more sense. I am doing the same thing with Supernatural… lol
Yeah, but you also met some major D-Bags, too.
I still love ya!
My screen is splattered with hot tea right now. You’re so baaaaaaad! :)
Hey, I could have been talking about myself!
House