While it seems like we should be doing a whole article about hot cartoon animals, it turns out that animated shows suck this year. And aside from that sort of hot tiger from Battle Force 5 there really wasn’t a lot to look at. So we’re going to talk about regular shows, starring humans.

Ok fine and one with a talking bear that shows his cock. Happy?

Battlestar Galactica
Syfy

Jakebe says: Ronald Moore and company couldn’t stick the landing creatively, but the series finale did still provide some wonderful character moments — Roslyn and Adama’s final farewell, Sharon’s redemptive act, and Tory (finally!) paying for Callie’s murder. And even still, a less than perfect sendoff doesn’t diminish the show’s success in the slightest; it’s still the one of the finest sci-fi epics ever to grace the airwaves. So say we all!

Lost
ABC

Jakebe says: The fifth season of Cuse and Lindelof’s perpetual mind-fuck of a show blew me away almost every single episode. Sayid shooting baby Ben! Sawyer stepping up to lead the Losties! Faraday’s mom! UnLocke! We finally started seeing some payoff that — somehow — only made me more confused. And the finale, in which Juliet is literally ripped away from Sawyer and detonated a hydrogen bomb by smashing it with a fucking rock, left us reeling and breathless and anxiously awaiting the sixth and final season, where literally anything can happen.

Survivor
CBS

Lovejoy says: Holy shit did you see Survivor this season?! Scoff about reality TV all you want, but in all the 19 seasons of the show there has never been a season this exciting. Not one, but two, game ending injuries. An incredible underdog story. And the craftiest, and smartest, player the game has ever seen. It’s no wonder the next season is changing the game significantly, you can’t do Survivor the same old way anymore.

Supernatural
CW

Jakebe says: Don’t be soured by the small but rabid fanbase. Supernatural has quietly become one of the best genre shows on television right now. The writing and characterization are consistently superb, and this season — the last of the show’s planned five-year arc — finds the Winchester brothers struggling to stop an apocalypse they inadvertently started. Kripke and crew even use their teen-girl-bait reputation for some inspired plothooks. From chicken-shit prophets of the Lord to the most assinine angels you’ve ever seen, Armageddon’s never been so fun.

True Blood
HBO

Jakebe says: I don’t know why this isn’t getting more love in the fandom, because this hot-mess of a supernatural Southern gothic tale went from guilty pleasure to bonafide delight in its second season. Maryann (Michelle Forbes) was the most divalicious Big Bad since Glorificus, and Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) elevated himself from endearingly stupid sexpot to still-stupid-yet-awesome leader wannabe. The third season looks to really let the fur fly, with shapeshifter Sam on the road to find his parents and the addition of Alcide, a werewolf and (yet another) love interest for popular prude Sookie Stackhouse.

Glee
Fox

Lovejoy says: Glee had a few ups and downs in its first season. The show would fluctuate between brilliantly mean spirited comedy, to sappy and emotional after school specials. But even at its worst the show was still entertaining, and the musical performances were, for the most part, pretty great. Broadway stars Lea Michele and Cory Monteith definitely carry the show, but Jane Lynch’s evil Sue Sylvester is one of my favorite villains of all time.

V
ABC

Jakebe says: After Elizabeth Mitchell’s crazy-good performance as karmic-whipping-girl Juliet Burke on Lost, I’d watch her doing just about anything. Throw in Morena Baccarin as Queen-V Anna and you’ve got all the makings of another sci-fi parade of awesome. The four episodes we were teased with in November left us hanging just as things were coming together, and we hope people won’t have forgotten about the promise of this show when it returns in March next year.

Community
NBC

Lovejoy says: It took a few episodes for Community to get good, but when it did it got awesome. The show can’t seem to decide if it’s an ensemble comedy, or a story about Joel Mchale’s douchebag lawyer with a heart. The chemistry between the characters is amazing and their eccentricities have made me bust up laughing more than once.

The Venture Brothers
Cartoon Network

Jakebe says: Another gem of a show that doesn’t seem to be getting the attention it deserves, Doc Hammer’s send-up of those 60s boy-adventurer cartoons grows more assured every season. The season premiere alone earns it a place on this list, but the ability of the writers to find new depths in their satire of their source material — as well as incredible plots that makes their world stand well on its own — really carries it over the top. Plus, Hank and Dean’s progression from indistinguishable dweebs to father-hating slacker and mad-scientist-in-training, respectively, is a singular surprise and joy to watch

The Cleveland Show
Fox

Jakebe says: If an episode of American Dad last year is any indication, Seth McFarlane is painfully aware of furries, and he’s looking to make us as uncomfortable as possible by giving us exactly what we want. “Highlights” of The Cleveland Show include Tim the Bear showing his dick for steak, Tim and his wife Arianna making gooey ursine love in the Lincoln Memorial, and a crazed reindeer butt-raping Santa. But beyond that, Cleveland is actually a surprisingly sweet family comedy that combines the raunch you expect from McFarlane with a keen fondness for the traditions of the genre. It’s found its legs a lot quicker than American Dad did, that’s for sure.

Family Guy
Fox

Jakebe says: Exhibit B in my “McFarlane Loves/Hates Furries” argument: the season premiere, where Stewie and Brian travel to a world where anthropomorphic dogs keep humans on leashes, and a sight gag in a later episode which featured bipedal horses with short shorts and noticeable crotch bulges. This season’s also been notable for entire episodes devoted to minor characters Evil Monkey and (my personal favorite) Consuela, the Mexican maid. And Quagmire’s relentless verbal bitch-slapping of Brian is as shocking as it is awesome.

FlashForward
ABC

Jakebe says: From the hiring of Dominic Monaghan and Sonya Walger to random kangaroo appearance to an actual Oceanic Airlines poster in the background, this show is quite shameless in its ambition to become the next Lost. While it isn’t quite there yet, it is surprisingly entertaining. Each episode deepens the mystery for us bit by bit, tweaking the rules of the universe it’s created for itself and keeping us guessing right up to the very end. The fall finale, which saw Agent Mark Benford fired from the FBI and mysterious mad scientist Lloyd Simcoe abducted by an even more mysterious organization, kept us hooked for its return next year.

Fringe
Fox

Jakebe says: Fox looks determined to kill off all traces of sci-fi from its schedule; it doomed Dollhouse with a no-win timeslot and it’s stuck Fringe into 9 p.m. Thursdays, where it has to do battle with Grey’s Anatomy, CSI:, The Office and 30 Rock. That’s a shame too, because this nifty update of The X-Files has really hit its stride in the second season, balancing twisty mythology with great episodic storytelling and well-fleshed characters. Anna Torv is finally warming up as FBI agent Olivia Dunham and John Noble never disappoints as clueless, conscience-less mad scientist Walter Bishop.

We had a few more shows to talk about. Malin was quite fond of 30 Rock, but then Lovejoy accidentally deleted his entries like the dumbass weasel he is. But know that 30 Rock and The Office are still awesome, as are plenty of other shows we haven’t gotten the chance to fully watch.