Best Scenes of 2011

SPOILER WARNING FOR EVERYTHING ON TV EVER IN 2011.  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!


10. The Parks And Rec Staff Tell Leslie They Are Going To Help With Her Campaign
Perhaps the obvious choice this year from Parks And Recreation would be April and Andy's wedding.  And that was really great.  But my pick from the show is actually the last scene to air this year.  After Leslie's campaign team backed out following her "scandal" by dating Ben, it looked like she would have to give up her dream of running for office.  Instead, she walked into the offices with the entire department ready and committed to helping her win the race.  They each had a different job (Tom- Swagger coach, Andy- Security, sweeps, body man and javelin if need be, Donna-Transpo "aka rides in my Benz") and when Leslie remarked "I can't ask you to put your lives on hold" Ron rebutted with "Find one person here who you haven't helped by putting your life on hold".  As Leslie got choked up by the love and support of her friends, I found myself shedding a tear too.  What makes Parks and Recreation different is that it does funny with a ton of heart, and this moment was the epitome of what makes the show so special.

9. Adele Mash Up/Santana Slaps Finn
Ugh.  Yes, I know that I'm putting Glee on this list.  But I honestly couldn't stop thinking about this scene for days after it aired.  First, the Adele mash up was good.  Really freaking good.  I've hated pretty much every song that season three has had to offer, so this was a major standout.  In addition to sounding fantastic, it also was full of emotion and fittingly became a climactic point of the episode.  When the song ended and Santana slapped Finn, I cheered a little bit.  Because A) It was something I had wanted to do since season one and B) It was an actual complicated issue (Finn yanking Santana out of the closet after years of her torment) where Glee fell into a shade of gray for once.  I loved it, and damn it I'm done apologizing for it.

8. The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
The first of the many moments on this list involving ghosts, The Vampire Diaries was the first to start the trend of major moments involving the undead.  When poor forlorn Jeremy, who had just lost another person that he cared about, was brought back to life by girlfriend Bonnie it seemed as though he was destined to continue living a sad and unexciting life.  That night however, he wandered down the stairs and was greeted by not one, but both of his dead ex-girlfriends.  It was a great way to end the season with a bang and kept viewers guessing all summer long.

7. Carrie and Brody Come Face To Face
There are a lot of intense high pressure moments in Homeland and this...isn't one of them.  But I just love this scene outside of the vets support group where the two see each other for the first time since his briefing in the pilot.  There was a visible spark and undeniable chemistry between the two that on any other show would have been seen as a cute flirtatious moment.  But on Homeland?  You had to figure out who was playing who and just how much.  The cat and mouse game between Carrie and Brody took a different and exciting turn with this scene, and made the show an enjoyable mindfuck for a few episodes.  I love a scene with layers, and this one was practically an onion.

6. Everyone Shows Up For Kathy, Including The Dead And The Almost Dead
It seems that the best way to end a season this year was by throwing some old dead friends into the mix and you know what?  It always seems to work.  On the Big C, Cathy decided to run the New Years race in freezing weather to honor her dead friend.  Upon reaching the finish line, she sees her son, brother and doctor all cheering for her.  Then dead friends Lee and Marlene appear next to them.  Finally her husband Paul shows up and stands in the middle.  Cathy is psyched that "everybody came" but when her son points out that his dad isn't there she (and we) realize that Paul is actually standing on the side with the dead and not the living.  It was a lovely moment that ended with a brilliant way to introduce the potential death of Cathy's husband.

5. Good Wife No More
Alicia Florrick spent the first two seasons of The Good Wife being the dutiful, well, good wife.  She stood by her husband when he was found to have cheated with prostitutes, through his imprisonment and trial and finally through his campaign to get back his old seat.  But after he won, and she learned that he had slept with the woman who became her best friend, Alicia finally had enough.  In this amazing scene, she brought him to a brand new apartment and announced that it was where he would be living from now on.  She told him what she knew and refused to listen to his arguments.  When he asked what he could do to make it better, she told him "nothing".  After years of being the put upon wife, Alicia finally took a stand and proved that she was her own woman, and a force to be reckoned with.

4. Christina And Crosby's Fight 
I love a good argument and this one from Parenthood was the best of the year.  Christina and her brother in law Crosby had been building up a resentment towards each other for episodes for various reasons, without ever actually interacting.  When he showed up at her home, their pleasantries turned into a nasty fight.  When they finally finished screaming at each other he marched off, only to have her have to call him back...her water had broken.  It was great to watch these two have an evenly matched fight (in which both were right and wrong about various issues) and to watch them to have to so quickly drop all of their hatred to come together as a family.

3. Go Away Tate
I've already talked a bit about my love for this scene in my review of the episode, but as time goes on I find that I love it more and more.  What was great about this scene is that it is one that we had known had to happen eventually (Violet confronting Tate about all of his crimes) and yet it managed to live up to expectations.  First the timing of it, after Violet's mother had died, gave it more emotional weight than it would have carried as just a simple list of his sins.  Second, Tate's inability to still confess all, hoping in the moment that he could downplay his actions, was true to character and kept us all still guessing as well.  Third, her acknowledging that she still loved and forgave him but still adamant that he needed to be punished, made the whole thing much more complex and gut wrenching to watch.  Fourth, the reveal of Vivien, looking better in life than she ever had in death was a lovely button to the scene that gave Violet and us a little comfort.  And finally?  The actors knocked the thing out of the park.  American Horror Story did bloody and campy fun well, but this scene proved that it could kill at the dramatic as well.

2. Will You Take Me To Philadelphia With You Please?
It's hard to find a scene in the Friday Night Lights finale that wasn't amazing but this one stood out.  Throughout the years, Eric and Tami's relationship was the one solid unchanging part of the series.  In the finale, they both got job opportunities out of Dillion and it seemed that they were at an impasse, as she felt that it should finally be her turn.  When typically stubborn Eric broke and tracked her and Grace down at the mall and told her that he turned down his contract and asked if she would take him to Philly with her, my heart melted.  It was sweet, it was beautiful and it is exactly why people loved this show.  Full hearts indeed.

1. Jesse Pulls A Gun On Walt
Breaking Bad had A LOT of good scenes this year, and it is tough to ignore Jesse's speech to his NA group or Walt declaring "I am the one who knocks".  But truly, this scene was the climactic point to a very intense season.  After episodes of Gus turning Jesse against Walt, the two had finally parted ways.  When Jesse discovered that his ricin cigarette was missing and that the son of his girlfriend was ill, he was certain that Walt was responsible.  Jesse shows up at Walt's place and pulls a gun on him, but the tales turn and Walt managed to convince him that Gus was to blame.  There was so much to love about this.  First, the turn of them being against each other at the start to on the same team again at the end showed what a gifted team of writers this show has.  Second, the performances that each actor had to put in shows why these guys take home the big prizes.  And finally the fact that we later learned that Jesse was right and Walk managed to play him anyway, makes it even more fun to see on a repeat viewing.  That is the mark of a great scene and I'd gladly watch this one over and over again.

Great Scene: Love Actually

It's almost Christmas, and for so many popettes this means settling down with a cup of cocoa/cider/nog and watching a holiday classic.  But most of the people that I know don't pop in Miracle on 34th Street or It's A Wonderful Life or even A Christmas Story.  No, the holiday film that every seems to own is Love Actually.  Is this really a Christmas film?  I mean, there is a lot of the holiday in it.  And yet, one could argue that it's far more a film about love.  It isn't called Christmas, Actually is it?  Well to those people, I say "Bah Humbug".  Of course it's a Christmas film.  And it's BECAUSE it's about love.  The holidays are truly that one time of year where people choose to express what others mean to them.  Screw that commercial Valentines day...this is the holiday where love actually does exist.

The film is filled with great scenes, but perhaps the most famous (and deservedly so) is where newlywed Juliet opens the door to Mark, her husband's best friend.  She has just discovered that the wedding video he took was all of her and after years of thinking that he hated her, she realizes that it is very much the opposite.  The scene is very sweet and quite beautiful, all brought about by the actor's reactions.  I love that we know that these two will never be together and yet it is a brilliant moment of connection that we are thrilled to be a part of.

Great.  Scene.

Great Scene: It's a Wonderful Life

Woa.  I think I have finally semi awoken from my food and booze coma! (Seriously.  I fell asleep at the happiest place on earth)  The best thing about Thanksgiving being behind us, besides having a whole year to feel this gross again, is that it marks the start of the Christmas season.  Like any good New York born Jew, I love Christmastime.  I listen to the holiday radio station, get pumped for very special TV episodes and most importantly, watch Christmas movies galore.  If you know me, you know that one of my favorite films of all time is It's A Wonderful Life, and although the following moment isn't Christmas-y it is still a great scene.  In fact, I would argue that it is one of the greatest scenes in film, and certainly the most chemistry filled.

The quick set up:  George Bailey (young George, who has yet to decide that he wishes that he had never been born) is totally crushing on Mary, who has loved him her whole life.  This is a bit of a problem for George, who has wanted nothing more than to escape his home town of Bedford Falls and hates the idea that anything (or anyone) would hold him back.  But years of flirty lust can't be ignored, and it all comes to a head in this scene. I mean, come on.  It makes the telephone sexy.  That takes some serious skill.

Great(est?).  Scene.

Great Scene: The West Wing

When it comes to great scenes, I usually tend to favor two person back and forths where it is the specific combination of those two individuals at that specific moment that leads to an explosive, heart-warming or  painful moment.  While monologues can be great, I usually find them to be a little self indulgent on the writer's part.  Or they seem like actor Emmy bait.  But sometimes, monologues are so good I don't care if they are any of those things.  And those times are usually when its something written by Aaron Sorkin.  And this amazing scene from The West Wing's Two Cathedrals shows exactly why.

The set up:  The devout President Bartlet is left alone in a cathedral after the death of his long time secretary, Mrs. Landigham.  What happens next is a wonderful display of a President's anger at his situation and a man furious with his creator.

Great.  Scene.

Great Scene: The Vampire Diaries

My pop culture loving buddy Mary and I do this thing where we point out a great scene as soon as we're done watching it.  I'm not sure when it started, but I kind of love that it's something we do.  And now, my little pop-ettes, it is something that I'm sharing with you too.  Consider "Great Scenes" a regular feature of this blog.  There.  It's done.

Today the awesome Angst Report talked (and provided hot screencaps for) a scene from last week's The Vampire Diaries in which Damon taught Elena how to stake a vampire.  And yes.  It was good.  In fact, TVD (I choose never to call it VD for obvious reasons) seems to have mastered the art of the scene, providing at least one amazing moment that is sexy, poignant, tense or heartbreaking per episode.  But there is one scene from season two that is all of these things and I love it dearly.  Here we have bad boy with a heart of gold (my favorite TV trope) Damon capturing his prey by the side of the road and revealing to her his great secret.  His internal battle about killing her, coupled with his confession makes it a brilliant little moment that exposes the brilliance of his character.  Also, we get lots of Ian Somerhalder eyes.  So, that's good too.

Behold:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eip3NIakKhM

Great.  Scene.