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Sam Woolf’s 10 Best TV Shows Of 2013

The amount of good TV this year was really kinda ridiculous. Like, truly unfair. I don't know whether it's an accomplishment or grounds for psychiatric evaluation that I managed to fit in over 30 shows this year while working a full-time job, but the real crazies out there are the ones responsible for making my viewing habits look casual compared to the hours and days you'd need to commit to really be on top of your TV game in 2013. To wit: there was a ton of no doubt great programming out there that never had a chance at making my Top 10 list, simply because I didn't have time to watch it. I walked out on Boardwalk Empire (mistakenly, it would seem) after Season 1, and haven't been in the mood for Masters of Sex just yet, to name just a few of the shows popping up on "Best of" lists right now, but not my own.

[h2]10) Bob’s Burgers[/h2]

Bob's Burgers

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Last year this spot was occupied by Archer, so it’s nice to know H. Jon Benjamin is passing the torch to himself on this one. And while Bob Belcher and Sterling Archer share little in common besides their voice actor, Bob’s Burgers has the same love for its characters that got Archer on this list last year. Each episode is a struggle to choose which member of the Belcher clan is your favorite, as one week Louise’s chaotic-neutral sociopathy outshines Linda’s boozey show-womanship, or a new wrinkle in Tina’s butt-obsessed odyssey through puberty is just a little funnier than Gene discovering a talent for competitive table-setting.

With such a terrific central cast of characters at its disposal, Bob’s Burgers made it pretty much impossible for any other show to keep up with it in terms of firing speed and hit-ratio of jokes. It’s got the immaturity and weirdness of classic South Park, and the warmth of early seasons of The Simpsons, but the freeform interplay of the voice actors is what makes Bob’s Burgers unlike any other animated comedy out there. Add on top of that a talent for clever puns and crafting catchy original songs every week, and it becomes hard not to turn into a huge dork for Bob’s Burgers.