Best and Worst TV of 2011

The shows that kept us tuned in and others we tuned out.

Best: The Game - Revived on BET in 2011, The Game’s season four premiere drew 7.7 million viewers — making it the most watched sitcom in cable television history. TV audiences just can't get enough of The Game. The season five premiere kicks off January 2012.(Photo by Brad Barket/PictureGroup)

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Best: The Game - Revived on BET in 2011, The Game’s season four premiere drew 7.7 million viewers — making it the most watched sitcom in cable television history. TV audiences just can't get enough of The Game. The season five premiere kicks off January 2012.(Photo by Brad Barket/PictureGroup)

Best: Reed Between the Lines - Tracee Ellis Ross and Malcolm-Jamal Warner brought the Black family comedy back in one funny, cute and charming swoop. Reed Between the Lines has been dubbed The Cosby Show for the 2000s.   (Photo: Derek Blanks/BET)

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Best: Reed Between the Lines - Tracee Ellis Ross and Malcolm-Jamal Warner brought the Black family comedy back in one funny, cute and charming swoop. Reed Between the Lines has been dubbed The Cosby Show for the 2000s.   (Photo: Derek Blanks/BET)

Photo By Derek Blanks/BET

Best: Grimm - Grimm took the homicide detective genre and flipped it on its ear by adding an edgy supernatural element. Russell Hornsby injects new life into the buddy cop dynamic as the partner of a special powers policeman. (Photo: NBC)

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Best: Grimm - Grimm took the homicide detective genre and flipped it on its ear by adding an edgy supernatural element. Russell Hornsby injects new life into the buddy cop dynamic as the partner of a special powers policeman. (Photo: NBC)

Photo By Photo: NBC

Best: Person of Interest - This intriguing drama about a CIA agent off the radar and a matrix of security cameras and technology that tracks crime before it happens delivers. And having Taraji P. Henson as the butt-kicking cop who keeps it real, is definitely an added bonus. (Photo: CBS)

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Best: Person of Interest - This intriguing drama about a CIA agent off the radar and a matrix of security cameras and technology that tracks crime before it happens delivers. And having Taraji P. Henson as the butt-kicking cop who keeps it real, is definitely an added bonus. (Photo: CBS)

Best: X Factor - The magic mix of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, LA Reid and Nicole Scherzinger, plus the mixed age range of the very racially diverse contestants has made this singing contest the most interesting and exciting reality show to hit the air since the TV debut of American Idol. (Photo: FOX)

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Best: X Factor - The magic mix of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, LA Reid and Nicole Scherzinger, plus the mixed age range of the very racially diverse contestants has made this singing contest the most interesting and exciting reality show to hit the air since the TV debut of American Idol. (Photo: FOX)

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Best: New Girl - New Girl is kind of a Three’s Company for the 2000s.  The hip, indie acting styles of starring cast Zooey Deschanel and Lamorne Morris keep the weekly storylines modern and fresh.(Photo: FOX)

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Best: New Girl - New Girl is kind of a Three’s Company for the 2000s.  The hip, indie acting styles of starring cast Zooey Deschanel and Lamorne Morris keep the weekly storylines modern and fresh.(Photo: FOX)

Best: Once Upon a Time - What do you get when you mix a show created by two Lost writers, mix in a small Maine town, plus all our beloved fairytale characters? Must-see addictive paydirt television that keeps all the fanboys and girls glued to their sets. Giancarlo Esposito delightfully chews the scenery weekly. (Photo: ABC)

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Best: Once Upon a Time - What do you get when you mix a show created by two Lost writers, mix in a small Maine town, plus all our beloved fairytale characters? Must-see addictive paydirt television that keeps all the fanboys and girls glued to their sets. Giancarlo Esposito delightfully chews the scenery weekly. (Photo: ABC)

Best: Terra Nova - Imagine a 2149 so horrific from a crashed economy and decayed ecology that in living in prehistoric earth 85 million years in the past is an improvement. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and with a premise that makes you go “hmm,” Terra Nova emerged a runaway hit early in the TV season. (Photo: FOX)  

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Best: Terra Nova - Imagine a 2149 so horrific from a crashed economy and decayed ecology that in living in prehistoric earth 85 million years in the past is an improvement. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and with a premise that makes you go “hmm,” Terra Nova emerged a runaway hit early in the TV season. (Photo: FOX)  

Best: Single Ladies - A dramedy that combines the moxie of Sex and the City and the flavor of Girlfriends, Single Ladies made a big splash with audiences its freshman season. Now all eyes will be glued to  see if the series can survive the major departure of ex-star Stacey Dash. (Photo: VH1)

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Best: Single Ladies - A dramedy that combines the moxie of Sex and the City and the flavor of Girlfriends, Single Ladies made a big splash with audiences its freshman season. Now all eyes will be glued to  see if the series can survive the major departure of ex-star Stacey Dash. (Photo: VH1)

Best: Up All Night - This comedy wittily explores the pitfalls that come with being new parents without being all about baby. And the triple-threat starring ensemble of Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph manage to keep the squirm-inducing, funny humor overflowing.(Photo: NBC)

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Best: Up All Night - This comedy wittily explores the pitfalls that come with being new parents without being all about baby. And the triple-threat starring ensemble of Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph manage to keep the squirm-inducing, funny humor overflowing.(Photo: NBC)

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Worst: Pam Am - The Mad Men-inspired network drama that actually did it right but ended up going wrong. Time-warping audiences back to when air travel was exciting and sexy was a good thing. But Pam Am not being able to find an audience fast enough was a bad thing—the series was canceled its freshman season. (Photo: ABC)

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Worst: Pam Am - The Mad Men-inspired network drama that actually did it right but ended up going wrong. Time-warping audiences back to when air travel was exciting and sexy was a good thing. But Pam Am not being able to find an audience fast enough was a bad thing—the series was canceled its freshman season. (Photo: ABC)

Photo By Photo: ABC

Worst: Charlie's Angels - In hindsight it wasn’t really a bad show, but where this '70s classic reboot failed was taking itself way too seriously when the original Angels crime solving always had a fun loving vibe. (Photo: ABC)

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Worst: Charlie's Angels - In hindsight it wasn’t really a bad show, but where this '70s classic reboot failed was taking itself way too seriously when the original Angels crime solving always had a fun loving vibe. (Photo: ABC)

Worst: The Playboy Club - The show was supposed to be about the Playboy Club of the '60s but had too many mobsters, a gaggle of uninteresting Mad Men knockoff characters and lackluster storylines — even the real-life bunnies hated it. And all of this was apparent after only three episodes. (Photo: NBC)

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Worst: The Playboy Club - The show was supposed to be about the Playboy Club of the '60s but had too many mobsters, a gaggle of uninteresting Mad Men knockoff characters and lackluster storylines — even the real-life bunnies hated it. And all of this was apparent after only three episodes. (Photo: NBC)

Worst: Free Agents - This British series remake about two public relation execs — one recently divorced and another rebounding after a  fiancée's death — who find mutual lust after a drunken one night stand never really found an audience or favorable reviews. After four episodes it was canceled.(Photo: NBC)

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Worst: Free Agents - This British series remake about two public relation execs — one recently divorced and another rebounding after a  fiancée's death — who find mutual lust after a drunken one night stand never really found an audience or favorable reviews. After four episodes it was canceled.(Photo: NBC)

Photo By Photo: NBC

Worst: H8R  - In 2011, a reality show where celebrities come face to face with their biggest haters to win them over wasn’t the best concept. Not in an age where celeb stalkers aided by Internet hacking, phone wiretapping and even Google maps have creeped out stars and their sympathetic loyal fanbases. (Photo: CW)

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Worst: H8R  - In 2011, a reality show where celebrities come face to face with their biggest haters to win them over wasn’t the best concept. Not in an age where celeb stalkers aided by Internet hacking, phone wiretapping and even Google maps have creeped out stars and their sympathetic loyal fanbases. (Photo: CW)

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Worst: Allen Gregory - An animated series created by Jonah Hill about a super smart 7-year old who attends public school due to his same-sex parents dwindling finances, Allen Gregory reads like a good idea. However the finished product: a non-funny, snails-paced primetime cartoon was unfortunately anything but.(Photo: FOX)

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Worst: Allen Gregory - An animated series created by Jonah Hill about a super smart 7-year old who attends public school due to his same-sex parents dwindling finances, Allen Gregory reads like a good idea. However the finished product: a non-funny, snails-paced primetime cartoon was unfortunately anything but.(Photo: FOX)

Worst: Whitney - Comedian Whitney Cummings stars as an anti-Carrie Bradshaw type in this sitcom which explores the humorous pitfalls and politics of a couple living together in a relationship from a one night stand. Cummings’ razor sharp wit always bites but sometimes the writing on Whitney seems beneath her.(Photo: NBC)

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Worst: Whitney - Comedian Whitney Cummings stars as an anti-Carrie Bradshaw type in this sitcom which explores the humorous pitfalls and politics of a couple living together in a relationship from a one night stand. Cummings’ razor sharp wit always bites but sometimes the writing on Whitney seems beneath her.(Photo: NBC)

Photo By Photo: NBC

Worst: How to Be a Gentleman - A loose retread of the Odd Couple premise paired two former high school classmates — an uptight columnist and his former bully now freewheeling Iraq vet and trainer. But audiences never seemed interested in the answer to show’s title because the series was pulled after three episodes. (Photo: CBS)

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Worst: How to Be a Gentleman - A loose retread of the Odd Couple premise paired two former high school classmates — an uptight columnist and his former bully now freewheeling Iraq vet and trainer. But audiences never seemed interested in the answer to show’s title because the series was pulled after three episodes. (Photo: CBS)

Photo By Photo: CBS

Worst: Memphis Beat - Not even the presence of actress powerhouse Alfre Woodard could save the ratings-challenged cable drama Memphis Beat from cancellation. The sophomore series, which starred Jason Lee as a quirky cop and Woodard as his superior Lt. Tanya Rice, was not renewed for a third season.(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for IMG)

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Worst: Memphis Beat - Not even the presence of actress powerhouse Alfre Woodard could save the ratings-challenged cable drama Memphis Beat from cancellation. The sophomore series, which starred Jason Lee as a quirky cop and Woodard as his superior Lt. Tanya Rice, was not renewed for a third season.(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for IMG)

Worst: Ringer - This drama probably serves star Sarah Michelle Geller best of all — she gets double the acting challenge by playing twins. But the experience hasn’t been as riveting for viewers, Ringer sometimes plays out more like a soap opera in the least interesting ways.(Photo: CW)

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Worst: Ringer - This drama probably serves star Sarah Michelle Geller best of all — she gets double the acting challenge by playing twins. But the experience hasn’t been as riveting for viewers, Ringer sometimes plays out more like a soap opera in the least interesting ways.(Photo: CW)