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I swear if somebody tells me that it’s the Golden Age of Television one more time…

Look, I’m not saying that this isn’t an amazing time for TV. All I am saying is that labeling one year as a golden age sets you up for future failure and disappointment. For instance, people who label the 1930s and 40s as the golden age of film completely disregard the amazing work done in later years. Plus, Gone with the Wind is sort of racist and Citizen Kane is kind of boring.

Earlier this year, some critics said the golden age of television was over. Really? Then how do you account for the fact that over half my list is freshman shows? As everything migrates towards cable and the web, TV is changing and currently on a curve of exponential growth. This is my first TV top ten list, because this is the first year that I feel like I watched enough shows that I could list ten and have a few honorary mentions.

It is amazing how diverse this year’s TV selections are. My list contains fantasy lands, New York during multiple different time periods, and a lot of talking animals. I don’t want to say that television is currently better than film, but I understand what the whack jobs who say that are talking about. Without further adieu, here is my list of the ten best shows of 2014:

10. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver In an incredible hot streak that lasted from May through November, Last Week Tonight provided the sharpest political satire on television. John Oliver took on everything from dictators to FIFA and managed to shed light on a lot of stories that actual journalists were doing a terrible job reporting. Oliver’s greatest gift is that he can take complex issues (net neutrality, civil forfeiture) and make them both funny and digestible. Oh, and every once in a while space geckos and supreme court justice dogs appear.

Best Episode: Episode #1.6

9. The Knick While you were busy covering your eyes during every insanely grizzly surgery scene, The Knick was busy closing the divide between film and television. It is an unflinching look at America at the turn of the twentieth century. It’s a history lesson that never feels like one because it doesn’t gloss over the squalor and the prejudice. Every episode is directed by Steven Soderbergh; slums, brothels, and ruptured body parts have never looked this pretty.

Best Episode: Method and Madness

8. Review The premise of Review is simple: a man hosts a show and instead of reviewing art or food, he reviews life experiences. At first, this show is about how far this premise can go before going horribly wrong. But then, around episode three, it becomes something else. Andy Daly turns the character of Forrest MacNeil into a sociopath disguised as a nerd. There is something always so wonderfully playful about Review, even as it dives deep into the darkest depths of the human soul.

Best Episode: Pancakes, Divorce, Pancakes

7. Game of Thrones Game of Thrones has reached that level of popularity that makes you want to punch every person who tells you that you have to watch it. Right now, every person in America (including myself), is that person. Epic in scope and scale, Game of Thrones has earned every bit of its popularity. And while splitting adaptations in half never seems to work (see Mockingjay), season four was only half of a book and yet it felt complete. This season felt the need to kill off as many characters as possible. Hey, anything George R.R. Martin can do to give us constant anxiety attacks.

Best Episode: The Mountain and the Viper

6. True Detective I still have no idea what True Detective is about, and that is precisely the point of it. After months of hype and scrutiny, now is the perfect time to look back and appreciate the sheer beauty and ballsiness of True Detective. It is very easy to get lost in the story, but that is part of the point. While figuring out who the Yellow King is can be fun and all, being just as confused as the main characters are is truly the best way to watch it. True Detective is already an instant classic, with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey doing the best work of their careers. McConaughey might have won the Oscar earlier this year for Dallas Buyers Club, but his performance as Rust Cohle in True Detective is what he will be remembered for for the rest of his life.

Best Episode: Who Goes There 5. Orange is the New Black Season two of the show that changed Netflix was a vast improvement on a first season that was already very strong. By taking a lot of the focus off of Piper, season two gave us backstories for a lot more prisoners who were just in the background in earlier episodes. We also got to mingle with wardens and security guards much more this season, and we got a larger sense of the history of the prison. It is always nice when a TV show takes time to actually explore the world it inhabits.

Best Episode: We Have Manners. We’re Polite.

4. Kroll Show Season two showed a much more focused Kroll Show. This is not so much sketch comedy as it is a series of overlapping vignettes. From the Oh, Hello guys to Publizity, Nick Kroll has created a genius comedic world in which reality stars and bouncers are the heroes. Recently, Kroll announced that season three of Kroll Show would be its last. This is a show that has had a vision since day one, and the fact that it has already picked out an expiration date shows how committed it is to the promises it once made. Imagine if The Office or The Simpsons did that. The world would be a better place and there would be no Ebola and stuff.

Best Episode: Sponsored by Stamps

3. Broad City Finally, a TV show about broke New Yorkers who don’t live in unrealistically huge apartments. Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer’s popular web series was adapted into a half hour show by Comedy Central in what is arguably the greatest achievement in the network’s recent renaissance. Broad City is often described as a female Workaholics. A more accurate comparison is to Louie. While a lot of the humor is broad (that’s a compliment), Broad City typically borders on surreal. On any given day, you can get your dreams crushed and still do something amazing. Broad City is hilarious, heartfelt, and relatable on so many levels (running to catch a train at Grand Central; trying to get people to come to your art exhibition).

Best Episode: Destination Wedding

2. Fargo A televised adaptation of a Coen Brothers classic sounds like a bad idea waiting to happen. Hollywood is a town that is filled with bad ideas, but it is good execution that makes all the difference. Less a remake and more a continuation, Fargo flawlessly imitates the voice of the Coen Brothers. It is an acting tour de force for everybody involved (especially Allison Tolman and Colin Hanks). While it is an hour long drama, I am going to go ahead and classify it as a dark comedy. Fargo creates fanboys where you didn’t know they existed. You know how comic book fans get so psyched whenever a Captain America movie references Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or something else in the Marvel universe? That is exactly how I felt whenever Fargo made a reference to A Serious Man or No Country for Old Men. This is brilliant fan fiction for cinephiles.

Best Episode: Who Shaves the Barber?

1. Bojack Horseman I have spent the better part of the past few months trying to convince people to watch Bojack Horseman. A normal reaction I get is, “I couldn’t get past episode one.” To that I say, “seriously, just be patient.” Bojack is both everything I have ever wanted from a TV show and everything I thought a TV show like this could never give me. If you haven’t watched Bojack, it’s about a washed up 90s sitcom star (Will Arnett), who just so happens to be a talking horse, and his attempt to make a comeback. Think of him as a much more despicable version of Valerie Cherish.

In the world of Bojack Horseman, talking animals co-exist with humans, and nobody questions this. While the animals wear clothes, drive cars, and get married, the tortoise is still slow and the dog still loves to chase the mailman. For years, I have fantasized of an animated show like this. So, watching this show was partially like seeing my dreams come true. The biggest miracle that Bojack pulls off is matching silliness with sincerity. Bojack is a serious study of depression, and the best portrayal of loneliness I have ever seen.

Among the many great portrayals of Hollywood that I can think of, few of them do this good a job of showing a town where perhaps everybody is working real hard to hide a deep pit of sadness in their life. In just one season, this show has established a singularly unique and dark point of view. Oh yeah, and there’s also a running gag where three kids are standing on each other in a trench suit, and nobody catches on. Bojack Horseman expresses all of the feelings, and tells all of the jokes, that you always wished you did.

Best Episode: The Telescope

Honorable Mention: The Mindy Project- This is the show I most look forward to watching every week. This smart and hilarious workplace comedy is the closest thing network television has to 30 Rock right now. Plus, Chris Messina’s glasses are the funniest prop on all of television.

Other Contenders: The Comeback, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Rick and Morty, Mad Men, Louie, Veep, Silicon Valley, Bob’s Burgers, Parks and Recreation, Inside Amy Schumer

Still Haven’t Seen: Transparent, Hannibal, You’re the Worst

“Well actually, the best TV show of the year is Serial” -The idiot you’re never going to invite to any of your dinner parties ever again

Any film or TV show that presents a completely normal family is lying to you. If the family was normal, then it wouldn’t be a real family.

Dysfunctional families are a perfect storytelling device which lend themselves to virtually any genre, whether it be comedy, drama, or horror. I just started watching Parenthood, in which a sprawling mess of a family is the center of the story. It is a great show, and it got me thinking about my favorite dysfunctional families. Dysfunctional families can be disastrous. However, often that is just because their love is so strong that it compels them to do crazy things.

I did some digging, and I compiled a list. Here are ten of the best dysfunctional families in pop culture:

The Tenenbaums- The Royal Tenenbaums

As one of my favorite opening monologues ever explains, the Tenenbaums were once a family of overachievers who have fallen on tough times. While they are all unique and have potential, none of them trust each other, which is why they have trouble functioning as a family. This is probably all the fault of failed patriarch Royal (but hey, he did get a film named after him). You know a family is dysfunctional when the only way to get close to anyone in it is to fake a disease.

The Bluths- Arrested Development

“And now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything…” The Bluths have a lot in common with the Tenenbaums. In fact, creator Mitch Hurwitz was so afraid of the similarities that he nearly didn’t go through with the show. We are all glad he did. The Bluth Family’s issues could probably be blamed on their terrible father, but everybody else is complicit as well, even Michael. They lie and steal from each other like it is no big deal. Yet, they are still a family, and if you mess with one Bluth, you mess with all of them. The Bluths are a close group. Sometimes, they are just a little too close though.

The Corleones- The Godfather

When your family is involved in organized crime, you know there is going to be some trouble. Funny, movie mobsters have such a strong sense of family, yet they never seem to act in their best interest. Michael Corleone wanted nothing to do with the family business, but circumstances forced him into it. That is the thing with a dysfunctional family: they will never let you leave. The worst part of it all is how Michael responds to his brother Fredo’s betrayal. It breaks my heart.

The Sopranos- The Sopranos

In the Soprano clan, it is hard to know how somebody is actually related to somebody, or if they are even related at all. Sometimes, Christopher is Tony’s nephew, and other times he is Tony’s cousin. Family members steal each other spouses, and even resort to killing one another. Don’t even bother asking a Soprano to organize an intervention for a loved one. Good families (if that is such a thing) look out for one another. In dysfunctional families, everybody is actually just looking out for themselves. And that is why Janice is still the worst.

Malcolm’s Family- Malcolm in the Middle

Malcolm’s family is never given a last name (though some say their last name is Wilkerson), because they could be any family. They often struggle financially and typically dance around in their underwear. They yell at each other and frequently destroy property. Yet, at the end of every episode, we are given reason to believe that this family actually works. Lois and Hal compliment each other, while Reese will fight anybody who lays a finger on Malcolm, even if Reese might just be Malcom’s biggest bully. They may scream and fight a lot, but they love each other, even if the rest of the world doesn’t feel the same way.

The Torrances- The Shining

As the famous twist ending of The Shining shows, we really don’t know jack about the Torrances. They seem like a happy trio until Jack starts hearing voices that tell him to murder his family. Then he picks up the axe. I am pretty sure that the moral of this story is never to bring your wife and children to Colorado.

The Bunkers- All in the Family

Don’t quote me on this, but the Bunkers might have been the first truly dysfunctional family on television. Archie’s ideological clashes with Meathead are the stuff on television history. As the theme song itself proclaims, Archie and Edith Bunker just weren’t made for these times.

The Cross Family- Chinatown

“She’s my sister! She’s my daughter! She’s my sister and my daughter!” Yes, this line means exactly what you think it means.

The Lannisters- Game of Thrones

Morality in Westeros is relative, as everybody that inhabits this world is a little insane in the membrane. There is something especially off about the Lannisters, though. They are like the Bluths of Game of Thrones, but with more access to Medieval weaponry. A brother and sister sleep with each other. A father tells his son that he never even wanted him alive. An illegitimate nephew becomes a murderous nightmare. Even Maury Povich would be too scared to have the Lannisters on his show.

The Bates Family- Psycho/Bates Motel

In Psycho, Norman and Norma Bates don’t necessarily share any screen time together, but the implication of some Freudian shades of love is creepy enough. They are basically Lucille and Buster Bluth, minus some bloodshed.

Episode 13: In this bonus episode, Ian and Cassie discuss everything there is to possibly discuss about the fourth season of Game of Thrones.

Joffrey, you don’t deserve Natalie Dormer’s love. Image via IMDB

Moral of the story: Don’t get married in Westeros.

Sunday’s episode of Game of Thrones was a big one, and it is one that every fan has been waiting for since season one. So for now, I will say SPOILER ALERT. If you don’t want SPOILERS for this week’s episode of Game of Thrones, do not read beyond this point. I put SPOILERS in bold/caps lock because you see, I’m trying to make a point.

Everybody who is still with me: have you watched the episode?

Can I spoil it for you?

Good.

Okay, now that that is out of the way, I am going to spend the rest of this article talking about JOFFREY’S DEATH. It is possible that a lot of this article will be written in caps lock, because after this episode, I feel like my brain is stuck in caps lock. Along with every other Game of Thrones fan, I have been waiting for this to happen since season one. While it seems wrong to ever root for the death of another human being, it never felt wrong to want Joffrey to die. During his run on the show, Joffrey had a direwolf killed, called for Ned Stark’s execution, and then taunted people who’s loved ones perished. Rooting for Joffrey death felt cathartic. This is what Romans must have felt like watching gladiator matches.

This is all a little weird then, given that Joffrey’s death only felt half-cathartic, though half is better than nothing at all. Maybe it is because I built it up so much in my mind and imagined much more insane scenarios for what his death would be. Maybe it was because I just pictured him being cut up into little pieces by Arya. Man, this show really makes a sociopath out of all of us.

This week’s episode, entitled “The Lion and the Rose,” was penned by George R.R. Martin himself. It seems fitting that he would write such an important episode, and while it is easy to complain about the fact that he hasn’t even finished writing the books yet, his involvement in the show is probably why it has remained so consistently good. While Joffrey doesn’t fall to the same sword that took Ned Stark’s head, he does get to die while literally drunk on his own insanity.

What ultimately makes this death so effective is the spectacular buildup to it. Joffrey spends this entire episode taunting everybody that he has a chance to. As the episode progresses, he gets meaner and meaner, and you are more ready than ever before to watch him die. In Westeros, there are some kings who are ruthless, yet good at their jobs. Joffrey was both ruthless and incompetent. To him, being king was an excuse to murder things. He would shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die.

The beauty of Game of Thrones is that it can make you hate a character in one episode, and then like them in the next one. For example, since the end of last season, Tywin Lannister has come off as more rational than ever before. Meanwhile, it is hard not to feel pity for Theon after he lost everything. It is the Clockwork Orange Effect: It is hard not to feel bad for somebody once they stop victimizing people and become a victim, if the cruelty inflicted on them is worse than the cruelty  they inflicted on others. Joffrey, however, is a special case. He was the only character who was never given a sense of love or understanding because he did not deserve it. The end of the Purple Wedding feels like this was a reward for making us sit through the Red Wedding deaths last season.

In just a few short seconds, we watch Joffrey as he painfully exit this world. For somebody who never seemed like he could survive on his own, it is fitting that Joffrey died in his mother’s arms.

Let me just remind everybody that this huge event happened in the second episode of this season. The death of a major villain is usually saved for some point near the climax. The usual approach allows for a satisfying ending and consequences that can be held off until the next season. Instead, Game of Thrones makes this happen in the beginning of a season. A dead king means a whole vortex of trouble is about to open up. The Thrones writers love to take on a challenge. The showrunners run into the danger, not away from it. This might have been one of the most anticipated events in the show’s history. Now that it has happened, it is hard to imagine what could top it. That is probably a probably a stupid thought to ponder, given that Westeros is an ever-expanding world filled with dragons and the undead.

In Westeros, every good deed must be met with something terrible, and the end of tonight’s episode saw Cersei accusing Tyrion of Joffrey’s murder. I have no idea whether Tyrion actually poisoned Joffrey or not. No matter how much he hates Joffrey, it seems like a dumb move for a man who loves to play the political game. Yet, he seemed completely unfazed as the authorities took him away, but that could also be because he was so elated that Joffrey was finally dead that he did not know how to process his emotions. Who will be king now? Will it be Chauncey from Mad Men? This is another narrative challenge that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will be able to solve.

In the end, I am not even sure what exact point of this article is, which is probably not a good thing. Maybe it is to point out that there can be joyful moments in Westeros, but whether it is joy or pain, that moment will usually revolve around something morbid like death. That is just the world that these characters inhabit. Game of Thrones is the most unpredictable and ambiguous show on television. Nothing is certain in this world, not death, life, or morality.

One thing is certain though: Joffrey Baratheon is a total dick. There were a million ways you could have died, but the way that you eventually left this realm was as surprising as it was satisfying.