This Week's Top Three (Saturday, 9/21/13 through Friday, 9/27/13)

Well ... as more and more shows move to Sunday night, it was time to shift This Week's Top Three to starting with Sunday shows instead of ending with Sunday shows. So, this week started with a Sunday that included the series finale of Dexter, the season finale of Ray Donovan and the penultimate episode of the newly crown Emmy Drama Breaking Bad.
I was curious to see if a very good final season of Dexter would end with a satisfying finale and — for the most part — it did not let me down. But was it good enough to bump Breaking Bad from the top spot?
And as the network shows all start back up, I was definitely looking forward to some new television on NBC and ABC ... so this week I am including a "Best New Show" toss in.

3. Ray Donovan, Episode 12, Same Exactly. Ray Donovan had some stiff competition for best new show of the summer with FX debuting The Bridge and AMC debuting Low Winter Sun, and while those both still have a couple of episodes left ... Ray Donovan was the best of the three going away. Liev Schreiber has completely taken this role and made it one of the most interesting characters on television. When the Emmy nominations come around next July Schrieber  and Jon Voight's mesmerizing performances may be forgotten, but they shouldn't be as they have made the show must see television week in and week out. James Woods could also be in line for some recognition in the guest star category as he was great as the FBI's most wanted ... even if his character made a couple of mistakes that were a little unbelievable by the end.
While Ray's role a as a fixer for the stars provides plenty of intrigue, the real central arch here is the family escaping Boston and the Catholic Church ... only to be surrounded by it when their father comes back around. And it makes for very real and emotional television on a weekly basis. I will certainly be looking forward to this show's return next summer.

2. Breaking Bad, Episode 7, Granite State. What is there to be said about this season of Breaking Bad? There are no words to describe the perfection that Vince Gilligan has crafted in this final eight episodes. While I think the Emmy for Best Drama was long overdue ... it deserved it for Season 2 or Season 4, not the hijinks and loose writing for the first eight episodes of Season 5 ... but that aside ... these final eight episodes have been brilliantly written, perfectly acted and expertly crafted. The whole world will be watching as things wrap up tomorrow night ... and they should be ... this is one of the five best dramas ever on television.
As for this episode ... my favorite thing about it was Gilligan finally using an episode to pass some time. The first 60 episodes of Breaking Bad were quick paced and not much time passed on an episode to episode basis ... but there was a decent amount of time passing here as Walter White sits alone in New Hampshire ... hiding from the world ... fighting his cancer and desperately hoping his family — his son in particular — can forgive him.

1. Dexter, Episode 12, Remember the Monsters. After a down Season 6 and boring Season 7 ... I think many of us were worried about how Dexter would wrap things up in Season 8. But it was well done. Many fans seemed upset with the open interpretation ending ... but I think it was perfectly done.
For eight years we have watched Dexter break his code and create bonds with other humans. Getting married, having step children and his own son, staying close with his sister, making numerous friends, etc. But in the end ... the code had to win out.
I thought the death of Deb was not needed and was a typical final episode shenanigan ... but it helped Dexter realize that everyone around him was always at risk because the Dark Passenger is always there. With his kill of Saxon ... I think he realized that he was always going to be a killer and if he joined Hannah and Harrison in Argentina, it would ultimately lead to problems for them as well.
The final shots were great. He once mentioned that all serial killers end up in Oregon ... and he clearly decided to go that route. And the final shot said to me ... the Dark Passenger is always going to be here, so Dexter has resigned his fate to being alone. The only question left is whether or not he is still following the code?

Honorable Mention: Sons of Anarchy, Episode 3, "Poenitentia"; Hell on Wheels, Episode 8, "It Happened in Boston"

BONUS
Best New Show of the Week
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Episode 1, Pilot.  I had high hopes for "The Blacklist" with James Spader and thought that "Hostages" with Dylan McDermott might surprise, but both of those seemed pretty formulaic so far. "Sleepy Hollow" is just trying to ride the coattails of some other successful shows ... and is doing it poorly so far.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed like it could be another show that was just a disappointment ... but somehow it was highly entertaining. It does not seem like this show is going to try and be more than it needs to be, which will keep it very refreshing. It was also clear that this show has a fantastic budget, which is going to be needed to keep it fun and light on a weekly basis. I am definitely looking forward to all the different angles they can take with this show and see what kind of ways they may tie it in to the bigger Marvel universe that is crafted so well.

This Week's Top Three (Monday, 9/9/13 through Sunday, 9/15/13)

As we enter a wide open Emmy's week (and there will be more posts on that later) we are watching as one show is virtually assuring itself of any and all Emmy's that it will be up for in 2014.
With Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, The Bridge, Low Winter Sun, Hell on Wheels, Boardwalk Empire, Dexter and Ray Donovan all putting on great shows week in a week out ... we have another show sneaking into This Week's Top Three with a great series finale.

3. Burn Notice, Episode 13, Reckoning. Burn Notice had struggled to be even an average show the past couple of seasons, but with its seventh and final season it was successful in bouncing back and closing in a satisfactory way. The violence level ticked up considerably the last couple of seasons as Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) struggled to get closure from his time as a spy and move on to a life as a normal citizen and it had gotten kind of tedious. But, in this final season, his relationship with the CIA and his strained relationships with his closest friends Sam (Bruce Campbell), Jesse (Coby Bell) and Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) was really put the test and gave the viewer a very good amount of emotional satisfaction as he found his way back to them. Sure, we had the typical "kill off" of a character we cared about in Michael's mother — and it was somewhat unnecessary — but all in all it was a good send off with a happy ending that made putting seven years into this show seem worth it. Good final storylines. An open enough ending for one-off events for the network later. And a show that sends viewers away with a smile. Well done USA Network, if only a single one of your others shows seemed worth a damn to me.

2. Dexter, Episode 12, Monkey in a Box. As one show came to an end, we moved one more closer to the end of another. Dexter closes up shop next Sunday, and its final season has been on par with all but maybe Seasons 1, 2 and 4. The writing has been very good (though a little sketchy with the first "brain surgeon" killer) and the acting has been exceptional as all the different angles are coming together for a perfect storm of events in the series finale. Dexter (Michael C. Hall) has slowly evolved from a psychopathic killer into an everyday citizen ... right at a point when it could cost him everything he cares about. His decision to let Oliver Saxson (Darri Ingolfsson) live and be dealt with by the authorities was shocking and has put his sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) in peril as she lies in a pool of her own blood. This ending is very reminiscent of the ending of Season 4 when his complete consumption with getting the Trinity Killer caused him to be absent while his wife was murdered, only this time it is the opposite. His infatuation with Hannah (Yvonne Strahovski) has led him to not murder a man who is dangerous to him and everyone he has grown to love. As the series comes to a close we all have to wonder if our favorite serial killer has finally let too much invade his life. Will it end with Dexter in cuffs? Dead? Or in Argentina?

1. Breaking Bad, Episode 6, Ozmandias. While this week will see wide open Emmy awards ... next year is already a case closed. Barring a total catastrophe in the final couple of episodes, Breaking Bad will run away with the 2014 Best Drama, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress awards. I am calling it before the final season of Mad Men is even in, before Season 3 of Homeland is in and before Seasons 4 of Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey are in. I just can't imagine any of those shows topping the expertly crafted final season Vince Gilligan is giving us to one of the greatest shows that has ever aired. The emotional toll of Hank's death, not only on the viewer, but on Walter, Skylar, Marie and Walt Jr. was perfectly done. As Walter (Bryan Cranston) desperately tried to cling to his family and ran off with his daughter, we see every bit of emotion in his face with Cranston's mesmerizing performance. Somehow, the monster he has become, does not always win out. His decision to leave Holly at a fire station and sever ties with his family by spewing as much venom as he could was the only way to keep them safe. We know that Walt vs. Jesse (Aaron Paul) is not quite yet settled, but Gilligan has made it very difficult for us to see how it gets there. As Walt heads off into anonymity, Gilligan has already let us know that something drags him back to his boarded up home and it likely involves Pinkman. I am not sure what the final two episode hold, but I am sure that they are going to be full of surprises ... and if the first six this season have been any indication ... they will be very satisfying.

Honorable Mention: Sons of Anarchy, Episode 1, "Straw"; Boardwalk Empire, Episode 2, "Resignation"; The Bridge, Episode 10, "Old Friends."