2013's Worst Television Series and Episodes

The Worst 

I rarely put the shows that are obviously bad on this list, I would rather put the shows who have fallen from grace, jumped the shark or shows in their first year who tried too hard to be "great" rather than just finding quality writing.  In fact every major network got a lump of coal in their stocking, including one pay cable show.  I honestly hate doing a "worst" list, but some shows, are just begging for it!

1-Dexter (Showtime)

This list has the opposite of the best list.  The best show of the year (Breaking Bad) had one of the best closing seasons of all time, while Dexter had one of the worst, and an atrocious series finale that did not redeem things from the season.  The plot with the beginnings of the code was cool enough, but divide between Dexter and Deb was oddly handled.  While some shows can have a season that has a ho-hum business as usual season this show always was best when it pushed the envelope, like with Trinity.  This was one of the most uneven shows I have ever watched, even last season had rebounded, but this season fell flat, and (SPOILER) Dexter throwing his sister in the sea with all his other victims proved the writers just went along with the motions and the constant changing creative minds can ruin a show. End rant.

2-Family Guy and The Simpsons (tie-FOX)

Brian Griffin died, and he's apparently coming back to life.  Well the creative team behind this show needed people to start talking about this show again in some capacity, and it got the twitter buzz it wanted, but people moved on, something FOX should do, let go.  This show just is not funny any more.

Speaking of shows that need to be put out of their misery, The Simpson's is another animated series, which needs to be put out of its misery.  I watched this years Halloween episode, the intro directed by Guillermo del Torro was awesome, but the rest of the episode felt like it was made 20 years ago without the laughs.  Terrible, time to end! 

4-The Millers (CBS)

A show with so much talent, Will Arnett, Margo Martindale, Beau Bridges, and Jayma Mays wasted.  This material for this show is terrible, CBS's number one comedy is number one because of its placement on Thursday nights, why change the channel, oh that's right because this show like their other crap Thursday show Two and a Half Men is dumb.  This is honestly the best I can do to describe this show, this write up is as simplistic as this show.

5-1600 Penn (NBC) 

Putting Bill Pullman back in the White House seems like a slam dunk, right?  I mean he helped stopped those aliens in the film Independence Day so he should be able to help save an NBC comedy.  Wrong!  This was NBC's worst new comedy last year, but the talent was there.  Josh Gad was directed poorly, and while Jenna Elfman had her funny moments she could not help save this show.  Comedy and politics has worked a lot recently, but this show was a big fat 00.

The Worst Episodes

1-Dads-"Pilot"

Beyond the racism, of the Asian assistant this pilot set in motion a show that almost made the worst list, it would be number 6 above.  The episode itself tries too hard, and guess what characters in real life can't be made like able the way they are set up in Family Guy.  This was just the biggest piece of garbage.

2-Dexter -"Remember the Monsters?"

One of the worst series finales of all time, and that includes my anger towards the fade to black in The Sopranos.  A massive hurricane is coming and Dexter kills someone, goes back and forth driving, toward this storm and ends up a mountain man alone without his son, leaving him with a crazy murderer he really doesn't know?  That's the plan you had from the beginning?  Awful.

3-Glee-"Shooting Star"

When this show gets heavy handed, it gets heavy handed, and this school shooting episode was just out of place.  I get why they wanted to try this, and help people cope, but this was a clunker, and just proves this show needs to be put out of its misery.  (World be number 7 on the list above).

4-Community-"History 101"

The build up from the stars of this show, talking about Community with Dan Harmon was their undoing.  This was an overstuffed episode that tried too hard, and did not get Community.  I hope Dan Harmon makes season four a dream.

5-Mad Men- "The Crash"

I know some people will yell at me for this (my friend Keith), but I hated this episode.  Don and the office on amphetamines? This reminded me of when The Sopranos attempted their trippy stuff, this worked better because of the era, but this episode felt odd, and out of place.  The exposition on Don's past was all that was need, not a trip gone wrong, to make the episode feel just off.

Fall 2013 TV Preview: Most Anticipated Returning Shows

I would say that during this time, most people pay attention to the new shows coming out, and while there is an excitement/build up for returning shows its almost never the same.  Part of the reason for this is that networks know people are "coming back" to their favorite show, and now its time to build up the hype for all of these new shows, so commercials at movie theatres and at home are geared more for the new rather than the returning, but what returning shows left people with such massive cliff hangers or cast changes that people are even more pumped for them to come back after a summer drought?

Glee (FOX)

Glee sadly makes the list because of the passing of Cory Monteith, if you ever considered yourself a Gleek, you will probably tune into the tribute episode for the young man who played the love able Finn Hudson.  It's honestly a shame that his character had that story line where he kissed Will, his mentor's fiance, but this episode will not allow a dry eye.

The Good Wife (CBS)

Alicia and Cary having their own firm versus Will and Diane?  Does this mean the end for Alicia and Will?  Josh Charles has only signed on for one more season.    Peter is the governor,  and more Carrie Preston, sign me up. all That  sounds like Must-See Television.

How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

The mother of all reveals happened, we finally met the future Theodore Evelyn Mosby, and I am pumped.  Barney and Robin are getting, still not as pumped about this, but I think this could be a great last season for a little show that became something bigger.

New Girl  (FOX)

Nick and Jess are together, it will be exciting to see where the show takes this romance, and hopefully it will not implode the way some shows lose steam with their popular couples once they get together.  Make them a Monica and Chandler, not a Ross and Rachel. Who will Schmidt pick?

NCIS (CBS)

I do not watch NCIS, but Cote de Pablo who plays Ziva is a fan favorite, and she has decided to leave the show, big mistake.  While this does not affect me I know many fans who will be curious to see how the show handles the characters departure.

Revenge (ABC)

Emily reveals herself to Jack, Victoria's son shows up, Nolan is being held, their is a gunshot to open the show, and Charlotte gets even bitchier bangs than Melissa Fuermo from One Life to Live.  This show ended with all cylinders fired up, but with a new show runner I am nervous.

Scandal (ABC)

There was a massive reveal at the end of last season when Olivia was blind sided reporters, and end up in a car with her father.  Where will the excitement head next with Pope and Associates, Shonda Rhimes is always full of surprise?

FOX Unveils its Fall 2013 Line-Up, with Bones on the Move and New Girl Winning!

Overall Fox's schedule is one of the more stable schedules, they cancelled one of the smaller number of shows, but also cancelled the loose ends or less than stellar shows from their network.  The most interesting thing about this schedule announcement is that Bones will start on Mondays in the fall, but then move to Friday, this is an interesting move, and making Friday much more competitive. FOX has the Super Bowl this year,  and they picked....New Girl to follow (thankfully not X-Factor).  This is one of the smartest moves a network has made for a post Superbowl show in a few years.  

Glee will replaced in 2014, and return late in spring to finish its season in June. I think Glee's awkward schedule proves it longer has the power, and is seen as more vulnerable, than something FOX can bank upon.  I am intrigued to see 24 come back as a limited series.  This is not a bad move, but seems out of the blue.  FOX's midseason shows are as follows: Gang Related, The Following, Us & Them, Surviving Jack, and Murder Police.  I am proud FOX stuck with the Following! Listed below is the full schedule and some of the descriptions of the shows.

MONDAY
8/7c Bones (fall)/ALMOST HUMAN (late fall)
9 pm SLEEPY HOLLOW (fall)/ The Following (midseason)

TUESDAY
8 pm DADS
8:30 pm BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
9 pm New Girl
9:30 pm The Mindy Project

WEDNESDAY
8 pm The X Factor (fall)/American Idol (midseason)

THURSDAY
8 pm The X Factor Results (fall)/American Idol results (midseason)
9 pm Glee (fall)/RAKE (midseason)

FRIDAY
8 pm JUNIOR MASTERCHEF (fall)/Bones (late fall)
9 pm Sleepy Hollow encores (fall)/Raising Hope and ENLISTED (late fall)

SATURDAY
7 pm Fox Sports Saturday

SUNDAY
8 pm The Simpsons
8:30 pm Bob’s Burgers
9 pm Family Guy
9: 30 American Dad

Gang Related (Drama)
EPs | Scott Rosenbaum (The Shield), Chris Morgan (Fast & Furious)
CAST | Terry O’Quinn (Lost), Ramon Rodriguez (Charlie’s Angels), Jay Hernandez (Last Resort), Sung Kang (The Fast and the Furious), Inbar Lavi (Underemployed), Rza, Cliff Curtis (Missing), Shantel VanSanten (One Tree Hill)
Follows a gang member sent in to infiltrate the San Francisco Police Department and rise through its ranks — ultimately landing on the Gang Task Force. There, he must balance his obligations to his crime family with an increasing sense of loyalty to his new “family” on the SFPD.

Almost Human (Drama)
EPs | J.H. Wyman, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk (Fringe)
CAST | Karl Urban (Star Trek), Michael Ealy (Common Law), Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under), Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Michael Irby (The Unit), Mackenzie Crook (Pirates of the Caribbean), Mekia Cox
An action-packed buddy cop show set in the near future when all LAPD officers are partnered with highly evolved human-like androids.

Rake (Drama)
EPs | Peter Duncan (creator of the Australian series of the same name), Peter Tolan (Rescue Me), Michael Wimer, Greg Kinnear
CAST | Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine), Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings), Necar Zadegan (Emily Owens, M.D.), Bojana Novakovic (Edge Of Darkness), John Ortiz (Luck), David Harbour (The Newsroom), Tara Summers (Boston Legal)
Centers around Keegan Joye, a brilliant but self-destructive criminal defense lawyer.

Sleepy Hollow (Drama)
EPs | Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci (Star Trek)
CAST | Orlando Jones (MADtv), Katia Winter (Dexter), Nicole Beharie (The Good Wife), Tom Mison (Parade’s End), guest star John Cho (Go On)
A modern-day supernatural thriller based on the legend of the titular Westchester Country, N.Y. town

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Comedy)
EPs | Mike Schur and Dan Goor (Parks and Recreation)
CAST | Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live), Andre Braugher (Last Resort), Terry Crews (Are We There Yet?), Melissa Fumero (One Life to Live), Joe Lo Truglio (Free Agents)
The single-camera project revolves around a diverse group of detectives in a precinct at the very edge of New York City.

Dads (Comedy)
EPs | Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy), Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild
CAST | Seth Green (Family Guy), Giovanni Ribisi (Friends), Brenda Song (The Suite Life On Deck), Peter Riegert (The Good Wife), Martin Mull (Roseanne, Arrested Development), Tonita Castro (Go On), Erin Pineda, Vanessa Lachey (Hawaii Five-0)
The live-action, multi-cam comedy, which has already earned a six-episode order, revolves around two successful guys in their 30s who find their lives turned upside-down when their nightmare fathers unexpectedly move in with them.

Enlisted (Comedy)
EP | Kevin Biegel (Cougar Town)
CAST | Keith David (The Cape), Geoff Stults (The Finder), Parker Young (Suburgatory), Chris Lowell (Private Practice), Angelique Cabral (Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23)
Based on Biegel’s relationship with his siblings, this single-cam comedy follows three very different brothers working together in the Army at a small base in Florida.

Surviving Jack (Comedy)
EPs | Bill Lawrence (Cougar Town), Patrick Schumacker ($#*! My Dad Says), Jeff Ingold, Justin Halpern ($#*! My Dad Says)
CAST | Chris Meloni (Law & Order: SVU), Alex Kapp Horner (The New Adventures of Old Christine), Connor Buckley (Deception), Claudia Lee (Hart of Dixie), Kevin Hernandez, Tyler Foden
An adaptation of Halpern’s book I Suck at Girls, the single-cam comedy tells the story of “a boy becoming a man and a man becoming a father, in a time before ‘coming of age’ was something you could Google.”

Us & Them (Comedy)
EPs | David Rosen (I Just Want My Pants Back), Gavin & Stacey creators James Corden and Ruth Jones, Jane Tranter, Julie Gardner and Henry Normal
CAST | Jason Ritter (Parenthood), Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls), Kurt Fuller (Psych), Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Kerri Kenney (Reno 911!), Dustin Ybarra
A single-camera adaptation of the UK series Gavin & Stacey, about two very different lovers who try to make a long-distance relationship work.

2012's Best and Worst in Television: The Episodes

Best Television Episodes

Community “Basic Lupine Urology” How do you spoof Law and Order by paying homage to the show while making fun of the procedural, ask Community, because they are the master.  I may be a bit biased because to me this is the funniest show on the air, but this show is of the hook.  From a hilarious cross examination by Annie to Abed and Troy switching from good to bad cop, there is no reason to stop this show.

“Troy: How did we get the short straw?

Abed: It's not a short straw. It's a hot potato.

Troy: Yeah, well, it looks pretty cold to me.

Abed: Cold or dead?.

Troy: Survey says...

Abed: We can't both do the zinger.”

Game of Thrones “Black Water” One of the best directed episodes of the year, and that I have ever seen in television history.  The battle mixed with the genuine brilliant story telling is so well done.  Game of Thrones had a solid season, but this episode catapulted the season into greatness.  How this episode was ignored by the Emmy Awards in the directing category is beyond me.  From the action to Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey’s great on screen acting chemistry this was off the hook.

Mad Men-“The Other Woman”- Mad Men had its weakest season (which is not saying much), but there were some episodes that were out of this world amazing.  “The Other Woman” highlighted one of the most difficult stories as Joan gave up her body to help land the Jaguar account, and become a partner.  Joan steals the episodes and her scenes with Pete, Roger, Don, and Lane are brilliant.  Peggy also completes her growth as she steps out of Don’s shadow on her own.

Homeland- Q&A-Cat and mouse finally catch up to one another.  Carrie is finally justified on her opinion when everyone at the CIA finally finds out that Brody was a terrorist.  This episode takes place almost entirely in the interrogation room, and its brilliance is sealed in the final moments when Carrie confronts Bordy.  If you take out Brody’s daughter’s storyline, this is one of the most perfect episodes.

Revenge “Reckoning” The best season finale of last year!  Revenge knows how to ramp up the drama, while this year the show is a bit more like Alias (good and bad thing), the season ender was one of the most exciting episodes of a television series.  With twists and turns, cliffhangers about major deaths, and Emily finally being challenged, there was a lot of good here.

Parks and Recreation “The Debate” -Leslie Knope versus. Bobby Newport in a debate to hilariously end all debates.   This is not the end of her campaign, but one of the funniest moments where these two go toe to toe on the stage.  While this remains the main story, the best side story involves Andy reenacting his favorite films because their cable is out and they can’t watch the debate.   This episode proves this ensemble fires on all cylinders.

Worst Television Episodes

Grey’s Anatomy-“Flight” Enough already Shonda!  Stop needlessly killing your characters in these awful tragic accidents.  Losing both Lexie and Mark has proven to set your show in a downward spiral (no pun intended).  You continue to use major plot devices to drive the story rather than let natural character development occur.  Your fans are getting fatigue with this crazy episodes.

How I Met Your Mother “The Autumn of Breakups”-Wait didn’t Ted and Victoria break up in season one over Robin, and wait didn’t Ted tell Robin he loved her last season, and things ended incredibly bad for Ted?  Don’t we already know Robin ends up with Barney?  Why are writers wasting their time and their fans time with retread story lines over and over and over again.  Pick the mother!!

Glee “Dynamic Duets”- Thwap! Bam! Pow!  Blaine and his super hero club came off and cloying, and odd, rather than a cute way for him to get over Kurt.  Couldn’t they have just had him going through a crisis rather than dress up in spandex in order to be tempted back into the world of the Warblers.  I am tired of this shows absolutely poor character development, and storyline progression.  This episode proved this show needed to pick a steadier direction rather than fracturing the direction of the show to NY, Ohio and wherever else folks may be.  This episode stands as something beyond camp, but just an awful train wreck.

Revolution “Pilot” One of the worst pilots I have watched in years, this show had no charismatic characters and never made me invested in the mystery nor did I care about the journey.  Now I often give most pilots the benefit of the doubt because they are establishing the story, and building at something bigger.  This show looked like all of the most recent Lost wannabe shows like Alcatraz, the re-make of V, etc.  Stop trying too hard!

The Office “Here Comes Treble” This show has fallen so far from grace, and even fans know this show is no longer relevant or even funny (most of the time).  This season’s Halloween episode entitle “Here Comes Treble” is proof.  Trying to combine four or five entertaining stories can be provide even a mess with longer dramatic episodes, so why add this element to a comedy.  No storyline seemed to hit its groove.

People's Choice Awards TV nominees led by Castle, Glee and Vampire Diaries

The people have interesting taste in television, here are their nominees for television:

Network TV Comedy: The Big Bang Theory, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, New Girl

Network TV Drama: Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Revenge

Cable TV Comedy: Awkward, Hot in Cleveland, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Melissa & Joey, Psych

Cable TV Drama: Burn Notice, Leverage, Pretty Little Liars, The Walking Dead, White Collar

Premium Cable TV Show: Dexter, Game of Thrones, Homeland, Spartacus, True Blood

TV Crime Drama: Bones, Castle, Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS

Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show: Doctor Who, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, The Walking Dead

Comedic TV Actor: Chris Colfer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson,  Ty Burrell, Modern Family, Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory, Neil Patrick Harris, How I met Your Mother

Comedic TV Actress: Jane Lynch and Lea Michele, Glee; Kaley Cuoco, Big Bang Theory, Sofia Vergara, Modern Family, Zooey Deschanel, New Girl

Dramatic TV Actor: Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, The Vampire Diaries, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, Supernatural, Nathan Fillion, Castle

Dramatic TV Actress: Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy; Emily Deschanel, Bones; Ginnifer Goodwin, Once Upon a Time; Nina Dobrev, The Vampire Diaries; Stana Katic, Castle

These next 2 will be whittled down to 5 by end of next month:

New TV Comedy: Ben & Kate, Go On, Guys with Kids, The Mindy Project, The Neighbors, The New Normal, Partners

New TV Drama: 666 Park Avenue, Arrow, Beauty & The Beast, Chicago Fire, Elementary, Emily Owens, M.D., Last Resort, The Mob Doctor, Nashville, Revolution, Vegas

Jumping the Shark Part 2: Attack of the Shows

In the last edition a while back I cited the the following shows that are past their prime: The Office, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Grey's Anatomy, Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit, and Weeds.  Here are some shows that should hedge their bets and either end at the end of this year or wrap things up pretty soon.  I will say I agree with all of these shows needing to end, although I think How I Met Your Mother needs to just stop playing games and move the purpose of the story forward.

Glee (2009-Present) FOX-This singing show started out as a fresh take on outcasts at a high school who wanted to just sing.  There was a small group of students who came together through a strong powerful ballad and they did not want to stop believing that anything could be possible.  Glee's pilot aired at the end of May sweeps and built the up the excitement and interest throughout the entire summer for viewers.  This was a great move.  While as a fan I was frustrated, I applaud the creative way this show garnered strong word of mouth.  I am surprised they have not done this with any other show.  There is also the hopeful teacher who wanted to help his students.  In the the beginning Lea Michelle was not annoying, Mr. Schue's hopeful ways were endearing, and the antagonist Sue Sylvester had some of the best one liners.  The show hit a major creative wall in season two adding too many characters and not being able to juggle the different stories.  The show became so popular numerous famous people wanted guest star and their appearances took away from the the main characters.  The show also decided to do tribute episodes to Madonna, Britney Spears, and these episodes were more problematic because they seemed to force songs and performances into the thread of the show.  In season three these problems have slowly been fixed, but the damage is done.  Jane Lynch is barely around, and her character is one note.  Lea Michelle is shrill, and Mr. Schue is good guy teacher is bordering on annoying.  With most of the shows cast graduating this year, including the best part of the show Santana, the show is at a pivotal cross roads and needs to decided a path to take.  While many of the graduating students will surely go off into the sunset many are sticking around, and while this is great I think it will create dead weight.  I think the show should end this year, but it won't.


30 Rock (2006-2013) NBC-Let me start this with the statement, I love this show and these characters.  Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin are the present day Mary Tyler Moore and Lou Grant.  The supporting cast which includes Jane Krakowski, Tracey Morgan, Jack McBrayer, and Judah Friedlander is also brilliant.  This show has slowly lost its edge, and while there are still funny moments I want this show to end while its ahead.  I am almost one hundred percent sure that this will not be the last season.  I think when the show comes back next year it should end next year with a shortened season.  So far the shows most recent season has lacked focus, and does not have as strong of a comic edge.  This started throughout seasons four four and five.  While seasons four and five were had many flawed moments this season flaws have been the most apparent that the show is losing steam.  Time to end on top.  I love you Tina!

Dexter (2006-2013) Showtime-This is going to contain spoilers so reader beware.  My friend said something intriguing about how this show should have ended.  My friend said this show should have ended at the end of season five with Rita in the bath tub and Harrison in her blood.  Dexter comes in to see his son sitting in his mother's blood the way he was found by his step father.  Dexter then says "What next" and the show cuts to black.  I like this idea, and exploring this concept is too late because the show has lasted two more seasons.  Season 6 and 7 both have created a problematic downturn in quality.  This past seasons episode entitled "Nebraska" where Dexter hallucinates his brother and talks to him instead of his step father Harry, and leaves his sister behind was the worst episode of the series and one of the worst episodes of television this year.  I was beyond disappointed.  Showtime has a hit on their hand, like they do with Weeds, and when they realize they can make money they keep going.  I need Michael C. Hall to say enough is enough and move on the way it sounded like he wanted to a few years ago.  The next season needs to be the last but this show should have ended a few years ago.


True Blood (2008-2014) HBO- This is another one of my favorite shows, but sometimes you have to let go of the things you love most.  Season 4 had a creative resurgence, but this show has proven to be uneven.  Season 3 was all over the map, and I had lost faith in this show.  Even though season 4 restored my faith (a little) I think this show needs to end when Alan Ball steps away after season 5.  While I realize there are way more than five books in the series this show is based on, the show needs to focus and move forward to the end game.  Alan Ball ended his series first series Six Feet Under after 5 seasons, and did so with grace, class, and dignity.  Six Feet Under had one of (if not the best) series finales of all time.  The end of season 4 seemed to be an explosion of character deaths in order to clean house.  My advice is to plan the final days, and end on top the way Six Feet Under did.

CSI (2000-Present) CSI: Miami (2002-2012) CSI: NY (2004-2013)-Let me make this perfectly clear.  I have only watched the original, and by watched I mean I saw an episode or two on Spike because my friend wanted to watch.  These shows appear to be fine procedural dramas but as CBS announces more and more shows for their new fall lineup it appears that its time to retire these procedurals.  CBS has two successful bankable shows in NCIS, which I think LA should go, but do not watch that one either, so I have a hard time commenting.  These shows have followed the path of the Law & Order series.  At the end of this season one or two of these may be off the air for the first time.  I think CBS is coming up with better more creative programming, and clearing these three shows from their lineup would show their commitment to rejuvenating their schedule.

The Killing (2011-2014)-AMC-The season finale of season one was a big middle finger to the viewers who watched this show.  The premise of this show was that young girl named Rosie Larson was killed, and the plot was meant to be a whodunit that avoided the procedural.  The exact opposite happened.  Week after week we were given a red herring rather than allowing the detectives piece together the clues.  This show should have been a mini series rather than a series, or solved the crime in season one and focused on different characters like they are doing with American Horror Story.  The only reason I am returning to watch this show will be to see the mystery play out, I want an answer.

Update

CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Dexter and 30 Rock have ended.  True Blood will end in Summer 2014, The Killing was axed, but then brought back to life for a successful third season on AMC.

My Favorite Holiday Songs

Last night I went to see the Boston Gay Men's Chorus, they put on an excellent show!  Seeing the chorus finally put me in the holiday spirit, and made me think about my favorite holiday songs.  There are of course different versions of different songs, and everyone has their own favorites. Here are my favorite holiday seasons with the specific artist.

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"-Judy Garland-her brassy voice makes this song soulful.  This song gives me hope that even in the most difficult times things can better.

Wham-"Last Christmas"-While this song is one of the sadder Christmas songs, it has always been one of my favorite songs.  Even though this is one of the sadder songs it still has remained one of the most popular Christmas songs for those thinking loving the wrong person.

Mariah Carey-"All I Want for Christmas is You"-This is one of the best Christmas songs ever!  This song makes me happy, and was an instant classic.  This also reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas movies, Love Actually.

Eartha Kitt-Santa Baby- Classic and sexy (even though she is singing about Santa), this is one of my favorite Christmas songs, and Eartha Kitt's voice is just wonderful!

Chris Colfer and Darren Criss-"Baby It's Cold Outside"-Althought this song sounds a bit like date rape (which I am not condoning) I always thought this song was cute when I was younger, and the Glee version between Kurt and Blaine helps to keep up this allusion.

Andy Williams "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"- The holiday season would not be complete without Andy Williams (for me) and this is my favorite song of his.  

Bing Cosby "White Christmas" Finally Bing Cosby's White Christmas which is such a beautiful version of this song.  Hearing this song just puts me in the mood.