The Top TV Moments of 2012

And here we are. You and me, on the last page.

By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone. So know that we lived well and were very happy. And above all else, know that we will love you always.

Sometimes I do worry about you though. I think once we’re gone you won’t be coming back here for awhile. And you might be alone. Which you should never be. Don’t be alone, Doctor.

And do one more thing for me.

There’s a little girl waiting in a garden. She’s going to wait a long while, so she’s going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her a story.

Tell her that if she’s patient, the days are coming that she’ll never forget. Tell her she’ll go to see and fight pirates. She’ll fall in love with a man who’ll wait two thousand years to keep her safe. Tell her she’ll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived. And save a whale in outer space. Tell her, this is the story of Amelia Pond. And this is how it ends.

I cannot with you Steven Moffat.

8) The Reichenbach Fall – Sherlock

Let’s stick with the Steven Moffat feelings , shall we?  The second season finale of BBC’s Sherlock aired on PBS the weekend Dan Harmon was fired from Community.  So…needless to say, I was in a fragile place.  And the final 15 minutes or so of this episode broke me, from the final confrontation between Moriarty and Sherlock to the phone call to John to John’s monologue at Sherlock’s graveside.  Absolutely stunning performances from Andrew Scott (who won a BAFTA for his role as Moriarty), Martin Freeman (who won a BAFTA for Series One)  and Benedict Cumberbatch (yet to win a BAFTA).  Is it time for Series Three yet?!?!?!

9) The Plane Crash – Grey’s Anatomy

At first it seemed like Shonda Rhimes  had been watching too much Lost, down to the season 8 finale of Grey’s Anatomy opening with a tight shot of Meredith’s eye opening.  Then it became a taut and grizzly episode fraught with implications that have carried over into Season 9.  If you are going to “clean house” with your cast (so to speak) this was a hell of a way to do it.  First we got a DEVASTATING death scene for Lexie Grey in the finale:

Mark: I love you. I do. I love you. I’ve always been in love with you. I will always be in love with you. We can get married. And you’re gonna be an amazing surgeon. We’re gonna have 2 or 3 kids. We’re gonna be happy, Lex. You and me. We’re gonna have the best life, Lexie. You and me. You can’t die, because we’re supposed to end up together. We are meant to be. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.

And then Mark died in the Season 9 premiere.  Essentially of a broken heart.

Which, honestly, I am glad Mark died too.  Having him go on without Lexie, especially after his speech in the finale, would have just felt wrong.  I have made it clear that I am with Grey’s till its final episode, and it’s nice to see such a long running show reinvigorated like this.  Season 9 has been quite stellar thus far, and I can’t wait to see what madness Shonda has up her sleeve for the rest of the season.

Just don’t have Meredith miscarry, okay?

10) Who Exactly IS Running the Country? – Scandal

Speaking of the madness of Shonda Rhimes, I previously discussed my new-found obsession with Scandal in this post.  Scandal is never lacking in its “what the HELL” moments, but the ultimate one (to me) was the reveal that The Chief of Staff, The First Lady, a Supreme Court Justice, an Oil Tycoon named Hollis Doyle and our Heroine Olivia Pope are in cahoots with each other and are essentially running the country…down to even fixing the Presidential Election in Fitz’s favor.

And now Fitz has been shot (which I still think Hollis was behind) and is still in critical condition and his crazytown banana pants Vice President has seized the Presidency.  WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?!  It almost feels like Shonda and Company have written themselves into a corner…I’ll be glued to the edge of my seat to see how they get out of it.

10) “The Robin” – How I Met Your Mother

We’ve known since the Season 7 finale that Barney was going to wind up marrying Robin but the question was HOW were they going to get to that place?  After all, as of that finale Barney was engaged to Quinn and Robin was in a relationship of her own.  Much of Season 8 has been a bit lackluster, especially when the creators didn’t know for sure if they were going to do a season 9 or if this was indeed the show’s final year.  With that info now solidified, hopefully HIMYM can get back to the business of being legen…wait for it…and I hope you are not lactose intolerant…cause the last part of that word is…DARY.  This episode, the winter finale, showed that the show can still be the amazing one that I fell in love with.  If Barney Stinson was gonna propose to Robin Scherbatsky, this was going to be the only way it would happen: still the ridiculous Barnacle we’ve always known, but full of the heart we have come to see him grow over the past few seasons.  I unabashedly wept at this, and I had even been spoiled as to what went down.  That’s how good it was.  (Sorry for the crappy video quality)

And now, I’ve saved the best for last…(so I DID rank one of the moments.  I had to)

12) Jeff Winger Comes Full Circle – Community

Take a look at the following two speeches from Community‘s pilot episode and its season 3 finale:

Jeff: I discovered at a very early age that if I talk long enough, I can make anything right or wrong. So either I’m God or truth is relative. In either case, booyah!

Jeff: Guys like me will tell you there’s no right or wrong, there’s no real truths. And as long as we all believe that, guys like me can never lose. Because the truth is, I’m lying when I say there is no truth. The truth is- the pathetically, stupidly, inconveniently obvious truth is- helping only ourselves is bad and helping each other is good. Now, I just wanted to get out of here, pass Biology, and be a lawyer again instead of helping Shirley- that was bad. And my former colleague wanted so badly to keep his rich client that he just asked me to roll over in exchange for my old job. So, I guess we all walked in here pretty bad, but now… Shirley’s gone good. Shirley’s helping me. It’s that easy. You just stop thinking about what’s good for you and start thinking about what’s good for someone else.

And THAT, my friends, is why Community is my favorite show in the whole wide world.  When I realized how closely Jeff’s closing argument in “Introduction to Finality” mirrored his speech to Duncan in the pilot YET HAD A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LIFE VIEW, I burst into tears.  It was something that was SUCh a gift to all the fans of the show because Dan Harmon, in all his mad genius, KNEW we would pick up on that.  My little Jeff Winger had grown up and changed for the good.  He’s a better person because of his crazy study group and Greendale Community College.  He sees the light now.  I may have some fears about a Harmonless Season 4, but I have faith.  Dan laid it all out there for the people who took over.  They just have to follow his blueprint.

And have Jeff and Annie make out please.

And there we have it, friends.  What were YOUR favorite TV moments that I may have missed?  Let us know in the comments!