2025 Year End Trip: Day 3 - Quito / Cotopaxi

Day 3 - The Altitude Gives and Takes Away

I've done many hikes in my life. Most are at places where I am already at some sort of altitude to begin with, be it outside of Denver or Salt Lake, or even less known "altitude" places like those in the Arizona desert outside Phoenix. Well, I can confidently say that none of those hold any candle to what I went through, (barely) breathed through today, even if it was all so worth it.

Before getting to all of taht, the day started at 7am getting up to board a tour bus at 7:15 to head to the Cotopaxi National Park for the day. This is one of the premier day-trips from Quito - taking you right up quite a bit high up the Cotopaxi mountain/volcano peak, the one that looms over Quito (though requires a clear day to see it from the city), a magical mountain with glacier & snow capped top. The mountain tops out at 19,.357 feet, with the snow and glacer starting around 16,500. I'll get to more elevations later, but that isn't the point for now. 

Like most day trip tours, there are other stops and merriment along the way. The first, once you get past the traffic exiting Quito (which isn't all that bad compared to many other cities, but still everpresent) you pass some amazing views of the valleys and mountains that line the PanAmerica Highway. Seemingly every other mountain is a volcano, either active or dormant. The view of it all was quite mesmerizing, and allowed for a ton of great photo opportunities - one so good the bus driver pulled over and let the seven of us (eight including the delightful Diana who was our tour guide) a chance to snap them from a set position.

The first real stop was a rest stop, which allowed for a really nice, strong black coffee, and mingling around a shop. Nothing jumped out as a must-buy, but it was a nice twenty minutes to stretch your legs. The first real stop was after taking the road off of the highway towards the Cotopaxi Park, where we ambled over to a small shack on the side of the road where an old Ecuadorian women sells coca tea. Like most things in Ecuador so far, it was authentic, cheap and excellent - another great way to stretch your legs, but in this case your mind and I guess your lungs as well. In theory it helps acclimitize (Quito is 9,350 feet, the park entrance area is 12,000, and the hike begins at 15,100). More than that it was just nice to have some tea.

The next stop was a little museum & store right at the park entrance, which encompassed both an opportunity to pet and feed two little baby alpacas (adorable) and get a crash course on the history of Cotopaxi, in terms of the park itself, its flora and fauna, its hsitroy and where it sits among all the various volcanoes that lie in this part of Ecaudor. It really is so weird to be in an area that looks like Patagonia but is 10,000 feet or more above sea level, adn at the equator. The mind doesn't really get it. During the quick museum trip (about 30 minutes across six or so rooms / exhibits) Diana taught us this cute littel song and dance written about a weird wobbly bird that roams Cotopaxi. The song was suppsoed to bring good luck. Little did we know how right this was.

As we left there, entered the park proper and the long winding drive to the Cotopaxi mountain, suddenly the cloudy skies started to open up. Cotopaxi Park is notorious for fickle weather taht can turn on a moments notice, and more often than not the peak is envoloped in clouds. This is true like 80% of the time, and was true as we entered the park, when Diana gestured to a cloud-covered area and assured us Cotopaxi is behind it. Well, as we drove across the park the clouds parted and we got a stunning, truly mesmerizing view of the mountain. This required another pit-stop where the bus pulled over, and a bunch of group photos and selfies and much more. It was truly stunning.

The clouds continued parted through the 45 minute drive up switchbacks from the main park level to the parking lot which sits at 15,100 feet. From there, we went on the hike - it is just 800 feet up to the "Refuge" (Lodge, effectively), but as I would learn this would be the hardest 800 feet of elevation gain I've done. The "hard" route is a straight incline that goes that 800 feet in one KM. We would descend that route which was terrifying enough as you were essentially skiing down the sand. To go up, there is a side route that is a series of fairly manageable switchbacks all the way up. In fact, from a tiredness in the legs perspective, this hike was easy. From a breath, actual how I felt, it was pain to no end. 

But damn if reaching the top didn't feel amazing. The lodge at the top is small but historic - with flags of so many countries, hang up by people from those countries who made the same trek. The three of us who made it to the top also enjoyed a really great cup of coca tea (one of teh best "man did that hit the spot" beverages of my life). It was a lovely time, and before we knew it we were in that sand dune skiing back down, and just as that happened, the clouds started to envelope the summt (a good 4,000 feet above us). The picture-perfect conditions we got, the later sets of hikers wouldn't be so lucky. The Cara Cara song worked.

Back on ground, the last stop was a lagoon that is the glacier runoff of a separate volcano, that also had great views of Cotopaxi, other volcanoes and mountains, and some great fauna (birds, mostly). From there we went to a local restaurant for a "menu of the day" simple meal of a lovely potato, plantain and cheese soup and then pork (a bit tough) with pickled veggie salad (excellent) and rice. Better than the lunch was the backyard of the restaurant, which was a mini farm with two llamas, a calf (so cute), chickens, ducks and guinea pigs. Just lovely overall as a way to end the tour.

Back in Qutio, we had just enough time to head to the La Mariscal Artesenal Market and do some souvenir shopping before our dinner at Urko. The market was one step above mormal tourist trap nonsense but probably one step below true "artisanal" stuff, which was perfectly fine for what I wanted - a nice llama / alpaca wool hoodie and knit-cap, and some other random wares. One half of the nine rows of shops all in close proxixmity of each other seemed to be more clothing heavy, the others more handicrafts heavy, a nice conbination taht made a fairly overwhelming market quite manageable.

Dinner at Urko was excellent - easily seen as Ecuador's best restaurant, the 10-course tasting was excellent from start to finish. As with my other recent trips, and I mean it this time, I'll do a write-up of all the tasting menu spots (six in total) at the end. After dinner, which ended in the exact two hours they predicted, I went to within the Floresta neighborhood (seems to be an upmarket spot) for first a brewery - Django Laboratorio de Cervezas - and then a speakeasy - Codigo 86. The speakeasy was the better of the two for sure, but the brewery deserves a quick mention. They brew fairly unique stuff and the two copas I tried, one a cold IPA (probably their most traditional from a flavor / ingredient perspective) and the other a mocha stout, which was sublime.

Also sublime was Codigo86 - apparently I missed there's a password taht they release if you send them a DM - but the person at the front laughed about it and did let me in after jokingly giving me a hard time. Inside, Codigo is fantastic - they have four parts of their menu - first seven specific homemade concoctions, of which I tried one which was a gin fizz type drink with a bunch of Ecuadorian ingredients. Second was their take on a bunch of classics - like a Martini with Guayaba, or a Negroni with the bitters being all Ecuadorian flavors - I got two of that set. The third was just a bunch of standard cocktails, of which I'm sure tehy do great. And fourth, like any good speakeasy, you can just given them some flavors or ideas and they'll figure it out. On the whole, Codigo86 was excellent, from the drinks, to the decor to the vibe of the place - the cocktail bar version of Sinners from the night before. On the whole, even if there's no true EDM/Techno club as far as I can tell, Quito met its mark from a nightlife perspective.

2025 Year End Trip: Day 1-2 - Journey Down & Quito

Day 1 - The Journey...

We started planning this end of the year trip more or less after it was clear my parents were selling their house (and becoming nomads) and the new one wouldn't be ready until late January. The trip took many iterations. First was Europe for a bit, then centered on South America. There was a brief dalliance with Asia as my parents may have had to go to India, but when that fell through, it became a pretty set view that it was to be in South America. For a few reasons - we all love the continent, and most importantly, given the lack of any change of time zone, I could work there next week (starting Monday, Dec-15), allowing me to fly down earlier when it as still affordable.

That said, even when it became South America, it took many different iterations. I think from the beginning the only constants were New Years in the Atacama desert, and that first weekend in Quito leading me to work in Cuenca. The in between was always in flux. First was Galapagos, but despite how amazing I'm sure it is, none of us were all that thrilled by it. Then it became Patagonia, which my Dad who runs hot and cold on wanting to re-do places, wasn't a huge fan of. In the end, it became a zig-zag trip across South America, as after Cuenca we head to Lima for the weekend, then Arequipa for a few days, then Rio for most of Christmas Week (their first time to Brazil, my second time in ten months after never going before), adn then Atacama and wrapping it up with that last weekend in Santiago. Complex, it took a while of plannign on flights, baggage, hotels, AirBNBs, tours, restaurants. And then it got complicated.

I was supposed to fly with my parents to Houston last (Wednesday) night, before we all fly to Quito Thursday afternoon. Instead, due to needing to go to Quebec City a bit last minute, that all got complicated. They followed that initial itinerary (which only needed to happen in that way because I was supposed to work in Houston on Thrusday), and I had to take a rare three flights in a day - first Quebec City to Newark, then Newark to Houston and then the red-eye to Quito. Somehow, despite at times a disastrous year with United in terms of delays (mostly all because of Newark) this one went off without a hitch.

I had 3.5 hour layovers in both Newark adn Houston. In the Newark one, after a quick chicken sandwich lunch, I had to work for most of it, but when the flight took off around 5pm, the vacation started in earnest, with me ordering my scotch tucked into my middle seat (problems when you have to change bookings last minute). Houston airport was odd where every restaurant and bar seemingly closes at 9pm, but restaurants seemed to extend that to 9:30 (I arrived at 8:52), and bars to 10:45 or so. Anyway, by 11:50, I was tucked into my seat for the red-eye, of which I got about my normal red-eye sleep (not a lot), and before I knew it, we were landing way too quicky on decent - one of the first experiences with Quito's infamous elevation.

Day 2 - ... and the Payoff

I've never been to Ecuador. I've never been to Colombia either, but my parents went to Ecuador (ironically, right as Covid was starting) and loved it. Seemed a natural place to start the trip, and even on the drive from its fairly modern (if a bit small) airport, through its well maintained roads with manicured sides, I was immediately impressed. Granted, I'll probably not be able to give a real judgement on Quito the city until Sunday when I explore the central area sites, but the first impression made me feel it was the equal of Lima in terms of development (though that may be a slight exaggeration). 

After as quick a day at work as I could possibly get away with (two hour nap when I got to the hotel, was able to log off at 2:05). That left me time for really one touristy thing to do in Quito, but it ended up being the thing that gave the country its name - visiting the Equator, and the Middle of the Earth park & museum. Of course, you could go anywhere on the equator and say the same thing, but what I love so far about Quito is you don't get the one worst part about being at the equator nearly anywhere else: heat, humudity and jungle. Here you happen to be elevated in a valley of one of the world's great mountain ranges, which just happens to be at the equator.

Before visiting the Middle of the Earth, the driver I hired (same company fo the uber that took me from the airport) took me to a nearby mirador overlooking the Pululahua crater. Now, in reality it is just a sprawling landscape of peaks with a valley of farms and lush greenery in its middle - but it takes you a minute to realize that farmland and lush greenery is the crater. This is just a new world.

The Middle of the Earth area itself is well maintained in what in theory is an outer suburb of Quito. There is an official monument park, which other than a fairly regal sculpture/tower in the middle, with "N", "S", "E", "O" om its four fouces and a bright yellow line drawn out on the ground on the "E" and "O" sides (the 0 degree latitude point), was fairly staid. The real gem is the museum next door named the Museum de Sitio Intanan, of which the 0 degree latitude line also in theory runs through. The museum is half an immersive history of Ecuador itself, with some really nice exhibits on their history with coffee-making, their flora and fauna, their burial rituals and the like. The other half though is a delightful traipse around the 0 degree line with various science museum type exhibits, first showing how in theory there is no shadow cast on sundials during the equinxo, to how easy it is to tell time, to how difficult it is to walk in a straight line with your eyes closed (not really sure why that one was there). In all, ti was a great time, and yeah there is a cool feeling being on the equator.

Back in town, we rested up at the JW Marriott Lounge before ehading for an adventurous dinner at Cire. The adventure being the restaurant is in Cumbaya, anither suburb of Quito which has become a new hip spot with its own charmign little old town (something of a mini-Oaxaca). The drive took a while as we descended roughly 800 feet down from Quito proper, but got to see first the stunning lights of the suburbs in the valley below Quito, adn then the imrpessive Cumbaya itself.

Dinner was excellent - Cire is a well reputed restaurant that takes authentic Ecuadorian ingredients, flavors and proteins and remixes them in fascinating ways - like a local type of clam served in just a brilliant Japanese-inspired broth, to a duck confit with the skin mixed with sichuan-spice. The best dish may have been their charcoal grilled octopus, which is probably the best octopus dish I've ever had. The desert too of creme brulee with mango and ginger ice cream was also tremendous. On the whole, Cire was an excellent experience and a great start to the trip gastrominically wise.

So was the way the nigth ended, in the La Pradera district, a boisterous little 2x5 block area which was nicely near the JW (though slightly far enough to warrant an Uber back out of caution). I spent most of the night at Sinners Microcerveceria which truly was one of the best microbrewery bars I've been to in a while. They had a good set of beers and all I tried were excellent, including two stouts that were excellent. IPAs were good to. Best part though was the vibes - the place was packed with a bunch of other beer enthusiasts, and they played a great mix right out of my Spotify with a mix of classic rock and 90's/00's rap. Overall, posting up at Sinners was a great wy to spend a few hours, have some great beers in a beautiul "Copa" size (300ml) which means you finish it before it gets cold.  Can't recommend Sinners enough, and realistically, can almost say the same about Quito as a whole.

My Top 20 TV Shows of 2025: #5 - #1

5.)  Alien: Earth  (Season 1, FX)

Halfway through the season, I mentally had Alien; Earth pegged higher up. It hit all the notes for me - Noah Hawley (of Fargo) at its centerpiece. Great acting performances, from Tim Olyphant to Sydney Chandler (Kyle's daughter) at its centerpiece. Just enough weirdness and mystery to keep you guessing but not too much to make it all silly (liek what happened with another more ill-fated, to me, Hawley product in Legion). It took legendary source material and twisted it with enough wider world building for it to work excellently on the small screen. And then it became clear that Sydney Chandler's character Wendy could essentially communicate with and seemingly order around Xenomorphs. This seemed to upset a lot of people (granted, people who have more a connection to the Alien franchise than I do), and it did make me pause a minute, because the ramifications of this are so big. Furthermore, where this takes place in teh larger Aliens universe timeline doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It begs a lot of questions, I'm saying.

But despite all of that, hell if that wasn't amazing television for ten episodes. The action scenes with teh Xenomorph adn the various other crazy creatures Hawley drew up (the spider with many eyes being the best) were just incredibly haunting. These were scenes that were worthy of something based on the genius of Ridley Scott and James Cameron at their best. The whole storyline of capitalism gone to its most extreme and awry - while on the nose of course, did work in teh larger setting. The whole idea of what synthetics are in this world seemed, truly, as interesting as it did in the grand reveal in the initial Alien film. The season ends in a weird note, with the Lost Boys breaking free and it clearly seeming they have a Xenomorph fully in toe, and I do think Hawley will have to deal with the wider raminifactions of this decision in the context of the Aliens franchise (Hawley is nothing but ultimately reverential to the source material - see Fargo), and for whatever questions we have about those decisions, I can't help but wait to see where Wendy and the Lost Boys go next.

4.)  The Lowdown  (FX)

A few years ago, I made one of the weirder Top-5 picks, naming The Good Lord Bird my #3 show of 2020, a period piece where Ethan Hawke plays a crazed version of the abolitionist John Brown - a show that reinforced how great an invested Ethan Hawke is as an actor, and how telling a story around race relations isn't always preachy and dour. Well, five years later, Mr. Hawke was back at it here - even if less overtly so, with his performance of Lee Raybon (modeled after Tulsa newsman and race relation historian Lee Roy Chapman - even if the comparison is fairly thin). But even more than the Good Lord Bird, this show sung not just because of Hawke's earnest, zany, brilliant portrayal of a dastardly noir newspaperman, but because of how rich the rest of the story was - which brings us to the real star: creator Sterling Harjo. I've never seen Reservation Dogs, but after watching this, I realize how much of a hole that is in my viewing history.

The Lowdown was full of brilliance in all its characters, from Lee's daughter (a star-making performance by Ryan Armstrong), to the various forces of evil and slightly less evil he came up against (Kyle Maclachlan, Scott Sheppard, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tracy Letts, and so many others in a show filled to the brim with great, if still understated, TV actors). The story got fairly complex, but at its heart was aroudn race relations and the way the evangelical South as they got more and more powerful took advantage of the native americans, but it did it again in a fairly deft way (making that the sideplot to the larger murder/suicide mystery) that it wasn't heavy handed. The show taught us a lot, while still being entertaining, captivating at times (great thrill scenes) and way more funny than it had any right being. Seems like Ethan Hawke should just put out a graet period piece every five years from now on. 

3.)  Andor  (Season 2, Disney+)

I'm not a Star Wars guy. I have watched the original trilogy quite a few times and realize it is incredible. I never watched The Rise of Skywalker or whatever that last film was and never will. I find Rogue One quite good, lost hope on the Mandalorian and honestly will hope the idea of new films goes away forever. With all that said - believe me this ranking is in no way influenced by it being Star Wars IP. No, on its very own merits, Andor Season 2 was one of the best things I've seen in years. Sure, the connections to Rogue One at the end was thrilling, and the various allusions, and by the last quartet of episodes ouright performacnes by known film-verse Star Wars people was great, but what this was is a story of showing how the Empire was built, how that dictatorship was created on the ground. It did a far better job of explaining the dominance of the Empire than any lore-building shit Lucas tried in taht prequel. If you want to make The Empire a villain - show them the three parter where they systematically false-flag their way to raining hell on Gorman. That whole section could as easily have been Game of Thrones, or, hell, our own government. That was magical television, if harrowing in its wider context.

What I really loved about this season though was how its 12-episode format - really played out as four three-part movies - gave it some room to breath. Yes, not each three-part installment was as good as the other, but in a world where all TV shows, if especially so IP heavy ones, are trying to figure out a way to live off of giving us six episodes every two years, here Andor gave us twelve. It gave us the magic that was the wedding rituals in its first act. It gave us some great family dynamics in its second. It gave us Vader and the link to Rogue one (the link to the prequels) in its final. And of course, gave us that third set of episodes with the riot of Gorman, a weirdly now seminal moment in Star Wars canon. This is the show that IP should be creating. Andor after its first season, full with the prison break-out episodes, was already living a world well above its IP imitators, but this season capped Andor for good. I think it is clearly obvious to say that Andor is the best IP related TV show to ever come out - be it Marvel, Star Wars, DC. The hit rate is so, so low, but Andor showed that you can make great television in this world.

2.)  The Rehearsal  (Season 2, HBO)

I was hooked when he made HBO build him a replica of IAH Airport, specifically a part of the airport concourse I know quite well. I was further hooked with his amazing Paramount as Hitler spoof (which seems even more prescient now as I write this when they are trying a hostile takeover of HBO). I was out of my mind when he cosplaying as Sully, put those headphones in and blasted "Bring Me Back to Life" recreating the Miracle on the Hudson. And of course, I was shellshocked when we watched him fly a fucking 737 and land it. The Rehearsal season 1 was a great concept with some amazing moments that took a weird turn at the end when it became a bit awkward thinking if he adversely impacted a kids life. The Rehearsal season 2 was what that show, and truly Nathan Fielder himself, was put on earth to do - take a weird idea ("Does lack of Pilot Communication cause crashes") and do as Fielder does which is take it to every extreme. None better than when we learned he trained himself to be a pilot, realized almost immediately why lack of communcation is prevalent, and then, of course, flew a fucking plane load of real people.

I think a lot of focus on the show as a legacy piece will focus on that finale, and secondly the Sully episode, where he farcicly recreates Sully's life centering around why the CVR goes silent for 30 seconds before Sully says "we're landing in the Hudson". And yes, seeing Nathan get HBO to build him a giant bedroom set for him to recreate being Sully as a baby was perversely funny, but him piecing together what assuredly is a ludicrous Evanescence theory was captivating in the best way. By the time he put those headphones on, well hell I was ready to believe it. But anyway, the best part of the show to me is the earnestness of his underlying theory - that power dynamics causes a lack of communcation which leads to many crashes. Not sure it will go anywhere, but beyond all the zaniness, the introspection, the brilliance that Nathan Fielder brings to the world, as always lies a kernel of truth and if this show can make flying safer - as someone who does fly on a plane ~90 times a year - then we're all the better for it. All I know is that we're all better for Nathan Fielder existing and continuing to put out masterpieces like this.

1.)  The Pitt  (Season 1, HBOMax)

For the second straight year, I watched a show that premiered early in the calendar year and thought to myself fairly immediately that "yeah, this is my #1. It will be nigh impossible to top it." Last year, it was Shogun, which aired in March. This year, it was The Pitt, which aired first on January 9th. 15 episodes - as close as we'll get to an old school TV season (not-broadcast division). Fifteen episodes, fifteen hours of the rawest, most emotional, most ethereal, most dramatic television you will ever see. The Pitt was brilliant for many reasons, from the acting including me discoverin Noah Wyle (I never watched ER), to the dramatic beats, to its deft take on so many issues from abortion to trafficing to gun violence. But two aspects set it apart - the realness and the way it respected its viewers. The concept of a hospital drama is far from a new one, but no show took it to this extreme. This was to hospital dramas what The Wire is to cop shows, and that is the best compliment I can give any show.

Much like The Wire packed the show with cop parlance from day one that normal people would have to take notes to keep up with, The Pitt did absolutely the same thing with medical terminology, and more than that medical procedures. The way it spared no damn expense in showing us the gore of emergency medicine, but the glory of its practictioners as well. It respected its audience. and paid that respect back by giving them a truly eye-opening view of what medicine is. More than that, we got to see competent people act competent. So much of TV is about lampooning the opposite. So much of our world is mired in the opposite, where seemingly dumbness is rewarded - or more pointedly, expertise is maligned. Well, The Pitt showed the world why that view is dumb, that highly trained people can do amazing things. Of course though, it was also human. The way it could craft some crazily meaningful and more than that lasting characters while all this zaniness was happening in the course of a day is mystifying. I'll never forget everything to do with Dr. Santos and Whitakers dynamic, or seeing Dr. Jahvadi stand up to her Mom, or seeing Dr. Langdon spiral downwards but then revive himself, and of course anything to do with Dr. Robbie. Few shows create this many indelible characters over seasons, let alone in theory one shift of work. The Pitt was truly something amazing, and easily was the best thing on TV in 2025.

My Top 20 TV Shows of 2025: #10 - #6

I don't know if this is true, but truly this might be the best set of a Top-10 yet. I'm sure if I actually looked back I could find a year to rival it, but more than anything what I love about my Top-10 this year is how damn all over the place is - from sitcoms to dramedies to dramas to whatever the hell it is Tim Robinson and Nathan Fielder are doing. Anyway - let's get to the Top 10.

10.)  The Righteous Gemstones  (Season 4, HBO)

On the one hand, this was probably outright the most "drama" or "story" heavy season of Gemstones yet, culminating with that incredible staged shootout at their summer estate. But when taht shootout also involves and already shot Jesse and Judy Gemstones are crawling across the floor to reach chekov's gun? Well, you've still got yourself gold. I did like that the season went to the root of how the Gemstone dynasty was created - from of course ex-Civil War turncoats and robber-barons. It also explore a lot around adult depression, loneliness and loss. The show was always more intrested in exploring religion and psyche than it was given credit for - none better than the alternating raunchiness and sadness around Eli's relationship with Lori. Also - of all the guest stars, my God was Sean Williams Scott brilliant as Corey. He is someone that needs a second career at this point, a good 25 years on from Stiffler. And of course, I can't leave this without talking up Baby Billy, which remains one of my favorite sitcom characters ever, and the role that even more than Boyd Crowder that Walton Goggins was born to play - hearing him say about his nanny that "we're not paying her to put on fashion shows. We're paying her to nan!" will remain with me long after this show has now left the air. Looking back, I appreciate that the early seasons were actually far more interesting about the question of if these churches are good or bad (there was more pro-church stuff than people will remember in those early episodes) but ultimately, mega-churches suck, but man as Gemstones showed, are they lampoonable.

9.)  The Chair Company  (Season 1, HBO)

I don't know if I Think You Should Leave is ever coming back, but if Tim Robinson has graduated to stuff like this (which combines the outright lunacy of ITYSL well with the serialized nature of The Detroiters) than I'll forgive him for it. The Chair Company was at its best when it didn't really know how close to ITYSL zaniness it should get - the best part being that conflict playing up mostly in Tim's own character - balancing a perfectly funny but staid sitcom type family life with a ITYSL everything else. Episodes like the fifth where we go to the bar and all hell brakes loose starting with the guy with a hole in his head. Like most best ITYSL stuff, writing plot points and siliness in text is a fool's errand to describe just how amazing it all is. What really impressed me though about the season was the mystery aspect. Yes, on its face Ron thinking there is a grand conspiracy against him because his office chair broke on stage is ITYSL stupid, but damn if he didn't figure out a way to make it compelling noir-type theater, from scary phone calls to voyeurs to actually revealing he was to some degree right about it all (after the brilliant drug-smuggling red herring). The season ended setting up multiple potential mysteries for Ron and daughter Natalie to explore with the other bunch of zany characters, and God I'm already smiling thinking of what ridiculous nonsense Tim Robinson will stuff into this crazy world of midwest Ohio. 

8.)  Dept. Q  (Season 1, NETFLIX)

We go from a noir played for comedy with just enough noir / mystery brilliance to keep you coming back to a noir played for dark as fuck topics, with just enough verve and fun to keep you coming back. Department Q flew way under the radar when it came out, but from word of mouth it grew into a surprise NETFLIX hit. In recent years, NETFLIX has done so well co-producing English/BBC stuff (Bodies, Adolescence) but Department Q may have been the weirdest to really succeed. The Wire meets Veronica Mars (though, to be fair, not as good as either), the show really showcased some small moments so well, while exploring PTSD, racisim, biases and so much more ailing police work around the world. The idea behind it was fairly novel, but its approach of putting a gruff leader-type managing a team of wackos wasn't all that novel. Either way, it combined to something special (and a graet theme song to boot). By the end of it, when it revealed just how dark the plot at its center was, it almost washed over you, focusing us all more on the success of this ragtag group actually cracking the case. Few characters have been more captivating than Matthew Goode's Carl Morck. Really curious where this show goes - flash of pan shows like this that get renewed have a mixed track record, but there are so many more cold cases to explore, so many more weird randos to run into in the weird world of Scotland, that I'll be happy to be along for the ride. Just maybe next time no holding humans hostage for years on end.

7.)  The Bear  (Season 4, FX)

My #1 show in 2023 deservedly fell on the list quite a bit last year in its misbegotten Season 3. It wasn't bad, but was way up its own ass, and truly not all that funny. Well, it's fourth season was an amazing return to form - from the comedy, to the heart, to the lack of famous chefs who can't act (a very annoying part of its 3rd season). It seems clear that Christopher Storer realized what made this show special in its first two seasons, and what made it a bit of a mess last year, and stripped it back. This was the restaurant being fairly normal and successful (apart from computer's countdown clock) but focused back on the core group off characters - from Carmie's realization on his self-destructive streak turning away Claire, to a brilliant Richie storyline of him coming to terms with his ex re-marrying and sharing affection for his daughter with her new stepfather, to even the nice storyline of the beef window being the only real profitable part of the company. The season set its sights so far more narrow than bringing in Thomas Keller types as guest stars - focusing on The Bear, making it finally a working restuarant worth visiting, and just given the characters an air of professional competence that allowed us to better appreciate their personal incompetence and failings. It may never reach the singular beauty that was its second season, which had still the best character-showcase episodes, but I'm heartened how much The Bear's creative team seemed to learn from the poor press its third season got to scale it back and sharpen it back to something so lovable. The fourth season ended with its best cliffhanger yet, with Carmie ceding the restaurant fully to Sydney and (reluctantly, of course) Richie, but we know he's coming back for something great, much like the show will itself.

6.)  It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia  (Season 17, FX)

Alan Sepinwall recently released his list of his 10 best TV shows of the year. The list shares some overlap - three of my Top-5 were on his list, including a shared number one. Surprisingly, he had Sunny rated higher than I do. Not sad in any way - if anything I love it - the show deserves it flowers. It's great reassurance that I wasn't crazy thinking how insanely good this season was. I'm honestly not even trying to grade them on a curve given the show is 17 years in and no other live action sitcom other than Curb has come within a decade of them season wise in a while. What was so incredible about this season was the consistency - there were no bad episodes. Hell, there were no average Sunny episodes. To me, they ranged from above average (e.g. Thought Leadership: A Corporate Conversation) to all-timers (Mac and Dennis become EMTs). The finale focusing on Frank finding love on the Golden Bachelor was also just a truly brilliant episode mixing normal Sunny sophomoric hilarity (Cock Chewah!) with poignancy that has been present often for Sunny at its best in recent years (Frank pouring his soul out to Carole King!). Between that, we got Mac and Charlie at a dog park, Frank as cake, a weirdly great Succession riff, their whole journey at Abbott Elementary (which worked perfectly despite me not watching that show), to Rob and Charlie accosting Cricket about if he ate a dick. This was Sunny distilled into something brilliant - to me their best 8-episode season yet (Season 14 to now). Technically, they're contracted to do an 18th and seems certain that such a season will exist. It's a bit of an unknown after that. One day this show will end, but it's clear at this point when it does, it will be because Rob, Charlie and Glenn chose to stop it, not because they lost an ounce of their brilliance.

My Top 20 TV Shows of 2025: #15 - #11

15.)  Task  (Season 1, HBO)

Mare of Easttown but darker, if that was somehow possible, but this one did it. The same accents (if anything, even more earthened). The same tone centering around catching a murderer, but this one ripped the cord in a way Mare didn't - showing the unlimited way crime infiltrates in small town America, the way loss never truly leaves. The way forgiveness is such a fleeting concept. The performances were all great, but truly Mark Ruffalo was something else in this one, playing so many emotions at all times. Yes, the depressing nature of his backstory seemed a bit like piling on, but in this case, it worked because everything else was as dark. The beautiful moment where Grosso and Stover start dancing and cozying up, you know in a show like this that this was a death sentence. What was made clear as we went as the criminal side was even better and more captivating - the character of Maeve drawn so interestingly. Darkness knows no limits in rural Pennsylvania I guess, but it still remains captivating. I do hope coming back for a 2nd season is not a mistake - doing the one thing Mare never did - double down for more darkness.

14.)  Paradise  (Season 1, Hulu)

One of the earliest shows of the year to make the list, Paradise was like throwing three great ideas together, from Political Thriller to Neighborhood Crime Show to, of course, the reveal of adding a final course of Apocalypse show. The Apocalypse aspect seemed at first an amazing reveal at the end of the pilot, than something shoehorned in, but by the back couple episodes, it was all I could think about. The episodes that went into the actual apocalpytic event, the supervolcano in the Antarctic, the slow tidal wave coming across the world, the grainy image of the reporter seeing it unfold. All of it was raw, all of it was real. All of it made teh political thriller stuff of who killed the President (and the President's own dastardliness) a bit trite, but let's not lose how good some of that stuff was as well, from Sterling K. Brown, to even an against-type James Marsden, playing the dastard so well. There was a craft here, even if the apolcapyse aspect kind of swallowed everything else, much like that tidal wave. Excited to see where this goes from here as we see that there is some life left "above".

13.)  Adolescence  (NETFLIX)

The whole one-er of it all got the headlines, and yes the fact they pulled it off so well was an amazing feat of filmmaking, but if anything it overshadowed how good a small, but incredibly well acted and told story, Adolesence was at its core. In a way, this is similar to the other famous recent one-er, in Birdman, which also maybe overshadowed a great movie. In this case, yeah ti was a small story, but of heartbreak, fear, delusion, bullying, and so much more without ever not treating the source material as anything other than real. Stephen Graham was great (as he basically always is), but Owen Cooper put in one of the better child perfroamnces ever for a character that was asked a hell of a lot. Some of the social media commentary felt a bit heavy handed, but maybe that is the one area it is easier to connect with from a younger person's perspective. I connect more with the cops and the dad, which were all just brilliantly raw and real. In this case, I really don't hope there is a second saeson - this was just a perfect, poignant showcase for something dark but raw.

12.)  Hacks  (Season 4, HBO)

Hacks continues to be just such a well oiled machine - it is incredible how flawlessly Jean Smart plays the role of a comedian. From my knowledge of Dame Smart she was never really a comedic actress - more a brilliant dramatic one. Well, can she method-act the shit out of being a comedian. If anything, this was to me her strongest season yet - even if other parts of the show are starting to feel a bit stale, like the two talent managers budding office romance, or the lack of a real story of Deborah's old Chief of Staff. But anyway, the up-and-down simultaneous success or failure of Deborah's late night show, and for once believable spite and animosity between the two lead characters, did still carry the day. It ended on a great note for what seems to be the final season ahead, but while we await it, we can marvel at a show still mining interesting, new storylines out of two comedians. However real or not the writer's room scenes were, they seemed great and so indicative of what that is probably like. The pressures of modern television also were so well played - expertly with the Dancing Mom character. They narrowed the story, and truly I think it paid off and sets us up for a great finish.

11.)  Death by Lightning  (NETFLIX)

I'll admit, the four part story of the assassination of James Garfield - easily the least notable presidential assassination / death - was not one I expected to lead to compelling television. I guess it is because, as Garfield's widow greatly foresees towards the end, history has kind of forgetten about him. But man did this show reveal firstly how interesting a character he was, but more than that how natively crooked and interesting politics were at the turn of the Century (the last turn). The amazing characters of Roscoe Conkling (brilliant Shea Wigham), James Blaine (Whitford) and even the great Mrs. Garfield were excellent, but it's the three leads that made this sing. How pitiful a charlatan Charles Gaiteau was (the best being when it was revealed he couldn't get laid during his tenure at a polygamy cult), how boorish a loaf Chester Alan Arthur was (I'm sure taking taht particular affectation way beyond what was real), and how decent a man Garfield was. It did showcase a lot of truth - that in Garfield's death, Chester Arthur changed tune on backing Garfield's wish to end the spoils system (granted, seems like that system is 100% back in Trump's America), that Garfield really was the ultimate compromise candidate foisted on the country out of nowhere, adn he did just campaign from his farm's porch. All of it so interesting. The only two reasons it isn't higher are (a) there is a lot of great television to come and (b) it was just four episodes. I easily could've watched 8-10 on this random ass topic.

My Top 20 TV Shows of 2025: #20 - #16

First, a look back at what's missing from last year (as always, a lot). What's interesting is this year 14 of the 20 are shows that will air multiple seasons (e.g. not mini-series), a big number compared to recent years. Now, two of them ended this year, and probably at least half of the remaining 12 will not air in 2026, but still, a lot of these will be back, which is nice.

Shows Ended / Were a Miniseries

#20 - Under the Bride (miniseries)

#18 - Letterkenny (RIP, but what a ride)

#13 - Interior Chinatown (I hope I'm right)

#10 - Baby Reindeer

#8 - The Sympathizer

#7 - The Penguin (though maybe it will come back?)

#4 - What We do in the Shadows (double RIP)

#2 - Ripley

Shows that didn't air in 2025 (but will be back)

#19 - A Good Girls Guide to Murder

#17 - Three Body Problem

#14 - House of the Dragon

#6 - The Gentlemen

#3 - Fargo (gonna assume until Noah Hawley officially says no mas)

#1 - Shogun (can't WAIT)

Shows that weren't as good / Didn't Watch

#16 - Only Murder's in the Building (still fun, but run its course)

#15 - Nobody Wants This (will watch, but don't think it would crack my 20)

#9 - A Man on the Inside (may regret not watching it yet)

20.)  The Residence  (NETFLIX)

A weird Knives Out style, Clue style mystery romp across random white house lackeys, servants, cooks, and mainds, all of it led brilliantly by Uzo Aduba at its center, The Residence was surprisingly low on the totem pole of what NETFLIX seemed to care about and market in 2025. Sad, because it was a little gem. Yes, the story was overly convoluted, and a lot of random things thrown in to stretch it out to eight episodes (this would've worked better as a Knives Out type movie / run-time), but still just great performances at its core, from Aduba, to Giancarlo Esposito, to Kan Marino and so many others - the cast list reading with length and impressiveness becoming of a Wes Anderson film. Again, that is probably why this isn't higher - this type of material is enhanced by brevity. At its best two hours, it deserves a spot higher up - just happens there were some more hours.

19.)  The Beast in Me  (NETFLIX)

Late, late entry to the till (and before we go further, I'm holding off Stranger Things until 2026 as I will mnot be watching that finale on Christmas Damn Eve), as The Beast in Me was a tight, psychotic thriller that was super well acted, lifting a fairly thin, ridiculous plot. It was so obvious from the beginning that the Matthew Rhys character did kill his old wife, that I stupidly kept trying to convince myself that they'll go for something smarter. But in the end, they did not. They did give us some great moments between Rhys and Claire Danes, a great return spot for Jonathan Banks, even he was playing effectively a Mike mashup with Gus. The show could've been better, but in the end, it was still quite a riveting few episodes with some magical scenes interspersed.

18.)  The White Lotus  (Season 3, HBO)

I don't think the show has lost the plot, I'll just say that they probably need a few more tweaks to the recipe in Season 4 to keep the magic going. Thailand was an interesting local, and while there were some of the most memorable stories on the "rich, spoiled white people" side of the spectrum (everything to do with the two brothers, primarily), they were counter-balanced by teh weakest set of Lotus Employees so far. Still, didn't stop from some amazing scenes with Carrie Coon and Michelle Monaghan, to of course Parker Posey saying "Piper" all the time. The highs were still super high - haven't even mentioned the amazing Sam Rockwell cameo speech, but we need a bit more magic, mystery and class warfare this time around. Go back to that drawing board, Mr. White. Basically, we need another Armond.

17.)  The Diplomat  (Season 3, NETFLIX)

If the season ends with Kate not shacking back up with Hal, this might end up higher. For most of its third season, which took the graet idea to narrow the focus to effectively the immediate aftermath of the President's Death and the fact only a few people knew about the false flag attack, it sharpened the story quite a bit. The dynamics between Kate and Allison Janney's president were exceptional. The London stuff itself felt way weaker this season (including a slightly offputting, pervy view from the Prime Minister), but was replaced by a lot better palace intrigue on the US side of things. The closer Kate got to the affairs of the President, teh better the show got - in a weird way the same thing happened with Veep. It was always a bit silly how in the know and in the mix the "ambassador" was to everything, but the "second lady who was spurned for VP who is also ambassador"? yeah, that's a position that makes a ton of sense to be in the know, and the show was better for it.

16.)  The Last of Us  (Season 2, HBO)

Having not played the game, I had no idea Joel was going to get killed. I commend them for staying true to the game and killing essentially the star character (and more shining a light taht the actress playing the kid character isn't all that great yet in their career), but I do wish they could've squeezed a couple more episodes out of him. The plot itself leading up to that death was riveting, as were the performaneces, the pain the relationship between Joel and Ellie was so haunting. Yes, killing Joel woke up something in Ellie, crystallized the revenge plot (that I understand does become a compelling story in the game) and sharpened what could be a sprawling show, but some of the best parts of the first season of the show was that sprawl. The trek to Seattle and goings on there were intriguing; the character of Dina became more and more compelling as we went; but it is a clear sign of what drove the show when the most memorable, best episode of its post-Joel timeline was the flashback one that brought him back. Super interested to see where this show goes from here, and mostly can they recapture the magic they  threw away by staying true to the source material (which I believe for the artistry, was the right call).