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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]7) Spartacus: War of the Damned[/h2]

Spartacus

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Yes, it’s the show where most of the promos are just ridiculously hot people looking ridiculously hot and sweaty, and yes, it’s getting Return of the King-style bonus points for having just ended its run. Doesn’t matter: fact is, aspiring TV writers are going to be studying Spartacus years from now to learn how it is you tell a fully-realized dramatic story, regardless the subject matter. In this case, that subject matter was gladiators fighting and fucking their way to freedom in ancient Rome, but with each season, Spartacus went deeper, revealing layers to its world and characters that put most prestige TV dramas to shame.

This is a show that’s been defying the odds since day one, whether delivering big screen action on a shoestring budget, overcoming the untimely death and replacement of its star, or making a series with surface appeal to dudebros that simultaneously presents a more progressive view of sex and gender than the vast majority of TV. It even managed to make an unplanned prequel season awesome for crying out loud! War of the Damned was a brilliant, emotional final farewell to a series that no one gave the time of day to when it first started, but that Steven S. DeKnight and company quickly turned into something really special.