Bests of 2014: Characters

No order or ranking.  Just my favorites. 

Gil John - Alpha House
The incredibly likeable but lazy senator from the great state of North Carolina suddenly got some presidential buzz after almost single single handedly passing a bipartisan bill, appearing on a reailty show, shutting down the party's wing nut standard bearer and winning a strong challenge to his seat.  Alpha House has a lot of things going for it, but John Goodman is probably the best among them.

Oberyn Martell - Game of Thrones
Duh.  No one delivered more against higher expectations or a bigger backlash of casting.  Maybe the only person out there who can both politic and fight, besides Tywin.  Again, there are high expectations of certain Storm of Swards scenes,done expertly, as well as scenes created out of whole cloth, like handing it to some Lannister guards in the brothel.

Dufresne - Black Sails
One of the background characters brought to the forefront to pump up the drama on Black Sails, Dufresne became best combination of a well acted, well executed, dynamic character on the biggest surprise show of 2014.  Dufresne becomes the de facto star of the shows best episode ("V.") in a way that brings to mind Band of Brothers' rotating focus on different characters.  Sadly, the actor portraying Dufresne had to bow out of the second season due to his bout with brain cancer.  


Flashback Nucky - Boardwalk Empire
Much more than a Steve Buscemi impression, both actors conveyed with dexterity both Nucky's and Buscemi's mannerisms, as well as the events and motivations that made him the man he is, implicitly brought up again by his interactions with Joe Kennedy. 

Helen - The Affair
The easy way to portray the wife of a cheating husband his to make her a harping shrew.  The other way is basically anything else, and to get Maura Tierney to do it. 
 
Rust Cohle - True Detective
This being easy and obvious doesn't make it wrong.  The laconic detective.  The undercover in too deep.  The drunk.  The redemption seeking.  The conspiracy theorist.  The commando.  The guy who's usually right. 

Hannibal - Hannibal
We KNOW what's going to happen.  Both from the season premiere flash forward and from our own knowledge of the movies and books.  Then Hannibal throws us.  All season long.  He's portrayed as a brilliant man being pursued by other brilliant people, which is also a complement to the show and the full cast.  It's easy to make a character seem like a genius by making everyone else seem stupid, but Hannibal (both the show and the character) are done the right way. 

Honorable Mentions:
Allison - The Affair
Grief stricken and lonely despite being surrounded by people.  There's clearly a lot going on with her in the early episodes and it doesn't feel winky or overdone. 

Louse - Bob's Burgers
Single funniest character on television.


Jamal - Tyrant
Barry thinks he's so smart, doesn't he?


Stephen Colbert - The Colbert Report 
Swan Song for the character, new verse for the man

Sherlock and Watson - Elementary

Watson's growth and Sherlock's non cliched addiction struggles coupled with fun investigating make this one of my most looked forward to shows each week, year round.

Nora Durst - The Leftovers
Like Dufrense, star of a great episode - Band of Brothers style.  Intriguing and dynamic


Roger Sterling - Mad Men
Finally coming into his own as a leader

Abby & Illana - Broad City
Funniest Girls on tv.

Bests of 2014: Episodes

"The Children"

Game of Thrones

A show whose episodes are more known for being the episode where one particular scene happened than for the episode as a whole.  In the few cases where an episode is known for the episode as a whole, it's a result of most or all of the episode focusing on a single event.  "The Children" is the best example of Game of Thrones so far where an episode has multiple pieces and is greater than the sum of its parts.  It manages to wrap up storylines and lead them into future seasons in Kings Landing, The Wall, beyond the Wall and with Arya...all while melding them with other heretofore minor storylines (Stannis) or seeds planted in the past (Jaquen H'gar's coin).  Much time is dedicated to the far North, but rightly so as it gives time for Snow to process Ygritte's death as well as establish the new sherriff in town.

"The Secret Fate of All Things"

True Detective

While True Detective is most often praised for its six minute one shot sequence in the previous episode, it's when we see the narrative and the flashbacks completely diverge that the show really stakes its claim.  Functionally and structurally, it answers a load of questions while closing off the first act of the show.  Artistically, the acting from the two leads joined with the editing and directing to tell a story in the best possible way.

"Burdian's Ass"

Fargo

Similar to "The Secret Fate of All Things", "Buridan's Ass" closes off a few storylines from the first part of the season and launched into the second.  Somehow, Fargo allows us to feel sympathy for a fake and bake schmuck like Don or shock at Lester's simultaneously masterful and sickening plan when he escapes the hospital.  The premeditation brings him to a level we haven't seen before and well sets up the second half of the season, all while making us wait a week in agony to learn the outcome of the snowstorm.  Worth it for the drums alone.

"End of Watch"

Elementary

An episode that would have been pulled had it been scheduled to air the following week.  Sherlock and Watson investigate a random police shooting, and then a second random police shooting.  The investigation, like most episodes, has more layers than it initially seems but does enough to distract the viewer from finding it predictable.  The other element that elevates the episode is Sherlock's concern of losing anonymity, and more importantly confidence, at NA and the lengths at which he'll go to retain it.  We've seen a few dark moments from Sherlock ("I am not nice"), so we're set up for it.  And seeing him spell out his rationale for his methods comes of as solid characterization.

Honorable Mentions

"Episode Ten"

"Episode One"

The Affair

"Guest"

"Two Boats and a Helicopter"

"The Garveys at Their Best"

The Leftovers

"Waterloo"

"The Monolith"

Mad Men

"Form and Void"

True Detective

"Grimmy - Series Finale"

The Colbert Report