The Weekly Power Rankings: "High on a Mountain"

By Dustin Rowles | TV | April 11, 2011 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | April 11, 2011 |

10. Breaking In: I thought it was a really promising pilot. Check out the review.

9. Top Chef Masters: I lost interest in the last cycle of “Top Chef Masters,” and now with a new format and a new host, I’m not sure if I won’t lose interest again, particularly after they voted off one of the three chefs (in addition to the two Indian guys) that I had much invested in as personalities. I don’t remember the name of the guy voted off, but he was like the Michael Ian Black of chefs.

8. Archer/Bob’s Burgers: I didn’t love this week’s episode of “Archer,” but it did prompt me to finally check out “Bob’s Burgers,” which I’d mistakenly lumped in among Seth MacFarlane’s crappy shows. I didn’t love “Bob’s Burgers,” either, but after seeing both it and three week’s of “Archer,” I have a high appreciation for H. Jon Benjamin’s voice work. He’s outstanding.

7. Survivor: The weaselly defense attorney said it all after Boston Rob, once again, voted off Matt, who had just returned from Redemption Island. “Genius move.” It was, too. Boston Rob still has the numbers, and you’d think that, after the scare Grant got, he’d cozy up even more with Rob, and now they can just pick off the smaller tribe until, invariably, Phillip throws a wrench into the machine and Rob’s own tribe turns against him in the final weeks.

6. The Borgais: Another strong episode, though not as good as last week’s. Really, what makes the show as good as it is so far is the assassin, who is one of the most sinister, ruthless motherfuckers this year in television. The show also turned a corner this week: The Borgais were fun evil last week, and now they’re just plain evil.

5. Lights Out: A strong finale for the boxing series, triumphant and bittersweet, and a good way to wrap it up, as I don’t know how you come back for another season from what happened at the end of the episode. Fare thee well, “Lights Out.” I won’t miss you, but I’m glad you were around.

4. The Good Wife: Alan Cumming once again demonstrated how terrific he is in this show (and I’ll miss him after the campaign) while Michael J. Fox has been excellent in each of his episodes this season. I hope he becomes a periodic regular. We’re also now on the brink of the district attorney’s election, and I wonder if the Kalinda bombshell will drop before or after the votes have been tallied.

3. The Killing: Almost nothing happened in this week’s episode until the last few minutes, yet it says a lot about how excellent this show is that I was transfixed by the slowly developing, mostly routine police work that took place. Anybody (who hasn’t seen the Danish series) have any grand theories on the murderer yet?

2. Parenthood: I absolutely loved Peter Krause’s character in the first couple of seasons of “Six Feet Under,” and I’m grateful each week that “Parenthood” airs that Krause is able to wipe away the memory of what a selfish, self-destructive prick his character became in the latter seasons of “SFU.” I do admit, however, that I don’t love the Dreyfus/Lauren Graham subplot, but I can’t wait to see if Crosby can finally redeem himself.

1. Justified: Last week’s was an insane episode, from the negotiation over the coal mine to the death of one of this season’s major characters. Did I almost feel a twinkle of remorse for Mags Bennett in the end? Almost. But did I miss it, or was it not properly explained: What exactly is that land going to be used for, if not for coal mining? Anyway, maybe the best episode of “Justified” so far.