The 8 Best TV Moments of 2012

{Warning! This post contains some possible spoilers from this season of television. Continue at your own risk.}

I watch a lot of television. I won’t deny it. I have three children who never go to bed so I am forced to drink a giant coffee at around 8pm, so I am not asleep on the couch drooling while my kids are turning our home into something out of Lord of the Flies. But for all of the good that the 8pm coffee does, it usually means I am wide awake until about 3 hours past a normal parent bedtime. For this season, I have been able to plow through almost every episode of The Walking Dead in about a week and a half.

And while I will admit that I watch a lot of crap (See: Beverly Hills, 90210 season 2), I do watch a lot of great TV. And these get my vote for The 8 Best TV Moments of 2012:

1. The great Jesse James-esque train robbery on Breaking Bad. (Season 5, episode 5)

It was hard to pick just one moment of awesome in season 5 of Breaking Bad. Every episode was filled with deserving moments, but the The Great Methylamine Train Robbery? I picked it because it was hilariously ridiculous and wonderfully straight out of a Western at the same time. I was anxious throughout the entire everything-that-can-go-wrong-does sequence. And finally breathed a sigh of relief when they managed to pull off the impossible. And then, when it was all said and done, a shot is fired that changes the lives of the Walt, Jesse, and Todd for the entire rest of the season.

2. Lane Pryce and Pete Campbell fight it out over some chewing gum found in someone’s pubis on Mad Men. (Season 5, episode 5)

Oh, Lane, giving the grimy little pimp his second nosebleed of the season. Shining and satisfying moment for Mr. Pryce…sadly it would be one of his last.

3. Deb asks Dexter if he’s a serial killer on Dexter. (Season 7, episode 2)

Season 6 ended with Deb seeing Dexter mid-kill, knife-collection and saran-wrap and all. I worried that season 7 would start with it all having been a dream. But no, Deb most definitely caught her brother in the act and just when Dexter thought he might be in the clear, he opened his front door to find his sister sitting amongst his blood slides with many, many questions, including “Are you…a serial killer?” to which Dexter responds with a Dexter-esque deadpan “Yes.” Perfection. Unfortunately, the season was pretty much downhill from that point. Bring back season 4! Trinity was the best season of Dexter, before everyone got too tanorexic and annoying.

4. Shane dies and surprisingly—and quickly!—turns into a walker on The Walking Dead. (Season 2, episode 12)

Honestly, there were almost too many excellent things happening in this scene to count. Rick knew that Shane wanted to kill him, and in a move that Shane would never expect, Rick kills him first. (Season 2 Rick is way less Rick than season 1 Rick…but just wait until season 3 Rick—he doesn’t give a crap about anything) And then! Oh then! Shane comes back as a walker even though he hadn’t been bitten. And hoo boy—this pretty much changes everything we knew about the zombie apocolypse. Everyone is infected! And, of course, since Lori is off paying attention to everyone but her loose cannon first-born, Carl is there to see all of this go down, and to put zombie Shane to rest. And then! Then! Just out of reach is an entire army of walkers about to storm the farm.

5. The Claire Danes Cry Face on Homeland. (Seasons 1 & 2, every episode, at least several times)

The crying. THE CRYING. It never ends. Carrie is such an interesting mix of good instincts (She’s smart—wicked smart) but completely irresponsible, reckless, and stupid actions. I scream at my television on a regular basis (and often wake my sleeping children) with a “OH MY GOD YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DO THAT CARRIE!” but alas, yes, yes she is going to do that.

And then she’s going to cry about it.

6. Anne Hathaway does The Claire Danes Cry Face on SNL.

The only person who can do this better than Anne Hathaway is..um..me. But it’s not just Anne who gets it right here. Everyone in scene has this down perfectly, especially Dana, because after watching this—even if you have never seen an episode of Homeland—you want to send Dana off to live on a desert island, right? It’s so spot on, there is nothing more irritating on that show than Dana Brody, and there are some super irritating moments, like, say, why does Jessica Brody call her husband Brody? And why does nobody want to acknowledge Claire Danes’ ever-growing real-life baby belly? Distracting! But please, Dana. Needs to be written out. So, so badly. And perhaps Anne Hathaway needs to be written in.

7. Ben Wyatt proposes to Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation. (Season 5, episode 5)

Leslie stopped Ben in the middle of his adorable proposal because, well, she’s Leslie Knope. And because, as she said, she needed a minute “to remember every little thing about how perfect my life is right now, at this exact moment.” And then I cried. No really, I did. Wept like a baby because those two may look completely mismatched and even I will admit to being slightly skeptical when there was romance between them. But they are just about the most perfect couple to ever be in an NBC sitcom. (Looking at you, Jim and Pam. You’re out! And, really, you’ve been boring for a few seasons now.)

8. Scarlett and Gunnar cover The Civil Wars’ “If I Didn’t Know Better” on Nashville. (Season 1, episode 1)

Oh man, I’m in love with Nashville. I’ll be honest, I started watching it mostly because I’m sort of in love with both Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere’s hair. And I’m super interested in their whole storyline that comes straight from the movie that was kind of horrible—Country Strong, maybe? But I’m way more interested in this lovely little singing duo of Scarlett and Gunnar who are not dating but oh my heavenly days do these two ooze the chemistry. And then in the pilot they went and sang at an open mic night at The Bluebird Cafe and knocked “If I Didn’t Know Better” out of the park, and basically sang it better than The Civil Wars. Brilliant.

What about YOU? What were your favorite moments of 2012?

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