I haven't written much about Television on this blog. But rest assured I do watch a fair bit. We have Foxtel at home, although most of the channels go unwatched. There are some channels though that get a heavy workout. ESPN firstly to look after my American sports obsessions. The AFL Footy Channel to follow the AFL and more specifically the mighty Essendon Bombers. We like The Comedy Channel and the Showtime Networks. The last place is where we go to get our fix of the amazing cable shows that are coming out of the USA. Free to air is basically ignored. Except for the ABC which is always offering interesting new shows. Of course I am a believer in watching shows on the old set in the living room. I don't download shows. I know plenty of people who do, but I just believe that it is plain wrong. It's called theft no matter how you wish to justify it. So, we have fairly fractured viewing habits, spread amongst pay TV, free to air and DVDs. Some shows we are right up to date with, some we are a season or two behind and playing catch up.

Either way there was one show that stood above all. Mad Men in Season 5 showed the show is not flagging at all. In fact it might be getting better. The writing is sublime and the characters are all so complex and nuanced. TV has never been as good as this. Season 5 of Breaking Bad was also astounding. Sometimes the tension is so great it feels best to watch it with the lights on. Of the new shows, Girls and The Newsroom were much loved in our home. The first was funny, sad and very revealing. The latter was insightful and supremely intelligent, despite receiving some mixed reviews. My favourite Australian show was the six part A Moody Christmas. It showed that it is possible for Australia to do comedy with insight and wit.

So without further ado, here is my list of the best 20 shows I saw this year.
1. Mad Men
2. Breaking Bad
3. Girls
4. The Newsroom
5. Parks and Recreation
6. Homeland
7. Modern Family
8. Louie
9. New Girl
10. A Moody Christmas
11. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
12. The Big C
13. Nurse Jackie
14. The Gruen Planet
15. Veep
16. Boardwalk Empire
17. Treme
18. Rake
19. Howzat
20. True Blood