Girls, Homeland, Smash among year's best TV shows
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NEW YORK (AP) - What was TV like in 2012?
As with every year, it was a mix of the ridiculous and the sublime, the sacred and the profane.
A TV-centric political season provided many memorable moments (President Barack Obama's missing-in-action debate performance; Clint Eastwood's empty-chair duet). Excellence persevered with series such as HBO's Boardwalk Empire and Treme, AMC's Mad Men, History's surprisingly splendid Hatfields & McCoys, ABC's promising new Nashville, CBS' The Good Wife and, of course, AMC's The Walking Dead with its icky charm.
Then there were stinkers like the best-forgotten ABC sitcom Work It, which, focusing on two guys who dress as women to get jobs, was mercifully axed after just two airings. ABC's Good Morning America finally managed to out-fluff NBC's Today and stole the ratings crown. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno wore on.
