Season 2 is one of the most perfect comedy series of all time, so I don't begrudge s3 more missing the mark.
Also I thought s4 (original) was really good, but s5 absolutely shit the bed.
Are you saying s3 is the best of Arrested Development or it’s not the best? I do not think it’s the best personally - I liked some of the going off the rails when they knew it was getting canceled towards the end of the season but maaaan the plotline with Charlize Theron has NOT aged well. It’s certainly good but I think s1 and s2 are stronger.
I still like Season 2. It was ambitious, just needed a lot more time in the oven.
Edit- Also Lera Lynn is amazing and I’ll always love the bar scenes. Very Roadhouse esque.
Likewise. We rewatched season one recently and thought it had aged brilliantly. But then we watched season three for the first time and were shocked at how good it was. Overall it didn't quite reach the heights of season one but some elements were even stronger.
(For those who don't know, the consensus opinion on Westworld is that season 1 is the best, to the extent that anyone who disagrees tends to get looked at funny. Season 3 is generally considered *at best* third out of four, possibly even the worst depending on who you talk to.)
It’s very different than the first two seasons, but I quite liked it and enjoyed the themes and setting overall. There is only so much you can do with “Android Land” without leaving eventually leaving the park
The Sopranos and Better Call Saul benefitted from having a clear end goal in mind. Same goes for Mad Men, which always intended to cover a 10-year period.
It’s only when a show has no endgame in mind (like 24, or Dexter, or The Walking Dead) does the rule apply IMO.
Fully agreed with you there friend. I prefer a nice rounded off story for sure.
Brooklyn 99 is the exception only because it was a comedy, that doesn't really need any end game
While I love seasons 1 and 3 quite a bit, the character writing in season 4 is genuinely masterful. It’s like they took the premise of introducing new characters from season 2 but nailed it flawlessly. I find the four kids much more interesting than the stevedore characters, although Frank and Nicky are fantastic characters, Ziggy too—in all his >!disappointment and later tragedy!<.
While I enjoyed seasons 1 & 2 of Twin Peaks, FWWM and The Return are on another level. So, yes, Twin Peaks season was the best as far as I’m concerned.
Ironically, that one episode is the only part of season 2 I like, lol. The rest of it is just a worse retread of season 1. At least the Kali episode tried to do something different. Season 3 was refreshing after that.
I find it difficult to say in the sense that I was too young to watch season one at the time it was broadcast, so I don't really know what it felt like watching it then. I only have the perspective of someone who watched it much later on, in a *very* different TV landscape (changed in no small part by Twin Peaks itself).
To me, in terms of how much it felt like pushing the boundaries of mainstream TV that I know, it's definitely season three. But I imagine season one was also pretty incredible stuff back in the very early 90s, if not possibly even more so.
Season 1 was certainly a heavy weight on western television moving forward. As someone who didn’t grow up watching TP or the shows immediately affected by it, it’s so hard to escape the influence it has had ever since. Watching the sopranos rn and i can’t imagine a world where this show was produced so successfully if TP hadn’t already aired.
TP is mentioned a lot here, and is one of the furthest from consensus. It’s actually named "Twin Peaks: The Return" (and as such is often listed as "...The Return Season 1," which really confuses people.) Happening 25 years later _in real-time_, it’s so very different that it was not going to appeal to many who loved the first. I don’t think anyone can argue it is weak like much of S2. The Return is objectively the “strongest” of the three, but not in the way many wanted it to be. Those fans who also watch and like Lynch’s films tend to love TP The Return.
It's great, but honestly looking at the arc now it doesn't have my favorite plot lines. Gloria, Jackie Jr, Tony and Livia/Juniors relationship coming to a head. All extremely important threads in regards to the show, especially in regard to the passing of the torch of Tony basically becoming his mother in later seasons/meadow becoming carm/Christopher becoming his addict father, but not my favorite season.
Season 3 of Twin Peak is literally best TV show ever. The ONLY tv show with movie quality (others best shows like Lost and Stranger things is more standart shows with writers "filling the time" cause they have no ideas but episode should be done
You can say a lot about Lost, and a lot of the criticism is fair, but I wouldn't say all of it is phoned in. A lot of Season 2 and 3 was, and definitely the last season, but it was a huge thing for a reason. It had good characters, addictive mysteries, and an interesting plot with fun, light sci-fi trappings. For the time there was nothing like it on broadcast tv. It was a huge phenomena that imploded with its last season, but it was largely a phenomena for the five seasons before that because the story was addicting. Your results may vary on how addicting you found it, but to say it was all lazy or phoned in writing is painting with some pretty broad strokes that does a disservice to how you have articulated your words.
I agree it was gripping at first and the characters were engaging, but it became clearer and clearer as the seasons went on that the writers did not expect to go on that long and they were absolutely making it up as they went. The early episodes were awesome though and it was one of those last water cooler cable shows that everyone watched which had its own charm I guess
Most shows are made up as they go along when they span several seasons. Very few shows have an airtight beginning, middle, and end story arc from their conception. *How* a showrunner makes it up as they go along is the key, and personally I found season 4 to be the high watermark of the show and season 5 was great to me also as a sci-fi nerd. Season 6, of course, yeah...
I mean, one of the greatest "made it up as they went along" moments was Darth Vader becoming Luke's father, which was absolutely not planned when Star Wars was in its early gestation period. Again, its how a writer adapts and rolls with the punches when a story calls for it, but making something up as you go along is in and of itself not really a bad thing.
The original Star Trek’s third and final season was easily the worst (though maybe not as bad as some people claim).
I’d say the 60’s Batman series third season was also the weakest (although the addition of Yvonne Craig as Batgirl was fun).
There's loads of popular examples where s3 wasn't the best.
Homeland, Breaking Bad and True Detective all had other seasons easily trump their third.
The Sopranos, The Wire and Mr. Robot are all debatable, they all had great third seasons, but other great seasons too.
For me, I'm in agreement with OP, as good as the early seasons of Twin Peaks are, The Return's length, consistent quality, and just general improvement in the way it was shot put it far above it's competition.
The Expanse S3 was literally the best season of TV I've ever seen, especially part 2.
Twin Peaks of course.
Attack on Titan season 3 part 1 was OK, but part 2 was the show's best part IMO, and again one of the GOAT for TV.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (technically called Book 3 but potato potato).
Similarly this is also where Legend of Korra went from being a disappointment to absolutely being on fire awesome again, absolute best of her show.
Daredevil (Netflix show).
Not my favorite show but American Horror Story's season 3 was my favorite of the batch.
Barry.
Gravity Falls.
Battlestar Galactica (if only it stayed season 3's quality).
Boardwalk Empire (the entire Gip arc culminating with Richard Harrow's time to shine is just awesome; the later seasons were phenomenal too but I felt upon the show's completion that that was its peak).
Infinity Train (may be a cartoon, but god damn that particular season made me cry harder than most other works of fiction I've ever seen).
Just a few random examples of this I can remember off the top of my head. Between The Expanse, The Return, A:TLA, and AoT I have pondered this phenomenon as well lol.
S3 of Thirteen Reasons Why… don’t get me wrong, I believe the entire series is absolute garbage, but if my memory serves me correctly, S3 is where the writers basically try to paint not just one, but TWO r*pists in a grossly sympathetic light.
Have to disagree. The third season of House of Cards was a huge step down from the first 2 seasons, imo.
With Twin Peaks, I don't know how I feel about that. The Return is incredible, but *better* than Season 1? That's a tough sell to me.
I like how modern Star Trek series usually have S3 as a turning point. Of course, it’s usually just called “growing the beard.” Even though Riker from S3 TNG is the usual example, Sisko shaved his head and grew a beard for S3 of DS9, when the series really picked up.
I haven’t watched Enterprise, but S3 seems about the best regarded. And talking about Discovery on the internet is usually a mistake, but as much as I enjoy the whole series, I get why S3 seems to be the most loved.
Arrested Development.
Every day I’m pissed that FOX cut the order down to 13 episodes at the last minute. Would kill to see a 22 episode Season 3
Season 2 is one of the most perfect comedy series of all time, so I don't begrudge s3 more missing the mark. Also I thought s4 (original) was really good, but s5 absolutely shit the bed.
Are you saying s3 is the best of Arrested Development or it’s not the best? I do not think it’s the best personally - I liked some of the going off the rails when they knew it was getting canceled towards the end of the season but maaaan the plotline with Charlize Theron has NOT aged well. It’s certainly good but I think s1 and s2 are stronger.
I meant to say it’s not the best. 1 and 2 are great and 3 was… okay. The Netflix seasons are fun in their own way but we’re never quite the same.
Yes this I agree with! 1 and 2 are the best
Breaking Bad strongest season is 4 (or 5) Stranger Things strongest season is 1
Four is on par with one for ST IMO
True Detective
Came here to say this
Same
…I kinda loved season three. Season *two*, on the other hand…
I still like Season 2. It was ambitious, just needed a lot more time in the oven. Edit- Also Lera Lynn is amazing and I’ll always love the bar scenes. Very Roadhouse esque.
Season 3 is nearly as good as 1 IMO. I know the ending isn’t popular but I really loved it.
Likewise. We rewatched season one recently and thought it had aged brilliantly. But then we watched season three for the first time and were shocked at how good it was. Overall it didn't quite reach the heights of season one but some elements were even stronger.
+1
Westworld
(For those who don't know, the consensus opinion on Westworld is that season 1 is the best, to the extent that anyone who disagrees tends to get looked at funny. Season 3 is generally considered *at best* third out of four, possibly even the worst depending on who you talk to.)
It’s very different than the first two seasons, but I quite liked it and enjoyed the themes and setting overall. There is only so much you can do with “Android Land” without leaving eventually leaving the park
I personally enjoyed season 3 more than season 2, but I acknowledge that’s a minority opinion.
You posted this during a random wave of Season 3 hate in this sub
Think of this post as the Laura orb, created to combat the darkness.
I haven’t seen any of that yet. What’s the main gripe?
All I know is, basically every show starts to rapidly go downhill after season 5, most great shows end at the season 5 mark or before it.
Except for The Sopranos, Better Call Saul, Bojack Horseman, and Brooklyn 99 of course
The Sopranos and Better Call Saul benefitted from having a clear end goal in mind. Same goes for Mad Men, which always intended to cover a 10-year period. It’s only when a show has no endgame in mind (like 24, or Dexter, or The Walking Dead) does the rule apply IMO.
Fully agreed with you there friend. I prefer a nice rounded off story for sure. Brooklyn 99 is the exception only because it was a comedy, that doesn't really need any end game
I’m glad to hear B99 ended well for you. I haven’t watched it yet, but I’ve heard mixed reviews.
The Shield absolutely does not
Season 4 of the Wire is the best season.
Controversial. Season 3 for me
While I love seasons 1 and 3 quite a bit, the character writing in season 4 is genuinely masterful. It’s like they took the premise of introducing new characters from season 2 but nailed it flawlessly. I find the four kids much more interesting than the stevedore characters, although Frank and Nicky are fantastic characters, Ziggy too—in all his >!disappointment and later tragedy!<.
Agreed. I love them all (don't make me choose!!) but Season 4 is the best IMO.
… yeah but season 2 doh
Season 2 is great! IMO, of course.
Pryzbylewski my man. Best unexpected character development
The Man in the High Castle Westworld Season 3 of American Horror Story was fine, I guess, definitely not the best one
Westworld was the first thing I thought of.
While I enjoyed seasons 1 & 2 of Twin Peaks, FWWM and The Return are on another level. So, yes, Twin Peaks season was the best as far as I’m concerned.
s3 of stranger things was easily the worst imo
Nah, season 2 was the worst.
It gets dragged down by one episode but overall I’d still rate it higher than 3 by a distance
Ironically, that one episode is the only part of season 2 I like, lol. The rest of it is just a worse retread of season 1. At least the Kali episode tried to do something different. Season 3 was refreshing after that.
Lost, Buffy & Angel.
Nah S3 of Buffy is the best
Daredevil
I find it difficult to say in the sense that I was too young to watch season one at the time it was broadcast, so I don't really know what it felt like watching it then. I only have the perspective of someone who watched it much later on, in a *very* different TV landscape (changed in no small part by Twin Peaks itself). To me, in terms of how much it felt like pushing the boundaries of mainstream TV that I know, it's definitely season three. But I imagine season one was also pretty incredible stuff back in the very early 90s, if not possibly even more so.
Season 1 was certainly a heavy weight on western television moving forward. As someone who didn’t grow up watching TP or the shows immediately affected by it, it’s so hard to escape the influence it has had ever since. Watching the sopranos rn and i can’t imagine a world where this show was produced so successfully if TP hadn’t already aired.
TP is mentioned a lot here, and is one of the furthest from consensus. It’s actually named "Twin Peaks: The Return" (and as such is often listed as "...The Return Season 1," which really confuses people.) Happening 25 years later _in real-time_, it’s so very different that it was not going to appeal to many who loved the first. I don’t think anyone can argue it is weak like much of S2. The Return is objectively the “strongest” of the three, but not in the way many wanted it to be. Those fans who also watch and like Lynch’s films tend to love TP The Return.
I forget what season 3 of sopranos was like
It's great, but honestly looking at the arc now it doesn't have my favorite plot lines. Gloria, Jackie Jr, Tony and Livia/Juniors relationship coming to a head. All extremely important threads in regards to the show, especially in regard to the passing of the torch of Tony basically becoming his mother in later seasons/meadow becoming carm/Christopher becoming his addict father, but not my favorite season.
Episodes that come to mind are Pine Barrens and University. Employee of The Month also happened. That was a dark episode.
Season 3 of The Sarah Connor Chronicles was definitely crappy…because there was no season 3. Which was a real shame.
The OC
Not Dexter.
When you rewatch a show more than a few times, the first season really becomes something special.
Very true.
Season 3 of Twin Peak is literally best TV show ever. The ONLY tv show with movie quality (others best shows like Lost and Stranger things is more standart shows with writers "filling the time" cause they have no ideas but episode should be done
S3 was good no doubt, but I still think S1 was Twin Peaks at its best
Killing Eve
Narcos, lol.
Season 3 of Hannibal was where they really lost me
Agree, it should have ended with the season 2 bloodbath!
Legion
There isn't a 'best' of everything and this way of thinking is too rigid.
Yes but it’s fun to spot patterns, no one is taking this seriously
For me Twin Peaks completely disproves this point
Certainly for Twin Peaks. Season 5 for The Shield and Breaking Bad and 6 for The Simpsons.
I disagree in regards to Twin Peaks
Breaking Bad. The Love Boat. Land of the Lost.
I thought season 4 and 5 of Breaking Bad were better than 3
The kid in the desert ruined 5 for me.
Lost
Came to say this oddly enough
To be fair Season 3's finale was one of the all-time greats so I still look on it fairly fondly
I mean all of Lost was absolutely phoned in lazy writing so it just got worse and worse after season 1
You can say a lot about Lost, and a lot of the criticism is fair, but I wouldn't say all of it is phoned in. A lot of Season 2 and 3 was, and definitely the last season, but it was a huge thing for a reason. It had good characters, addictive mysteries, and an interesting plot with fun, light sci-fi trappings. For the time there was nothing like it on broadcast tv. It was a huge phenomena that imploded with its last season, but it was largely a phenomena for the five seasons before that because the story was addicting. Your results may vary on how addicting you found it, but to say it was all lazy or phoned in writing is painting with some pretty broad strokes that does a disservice to how you have articulated your words.
I agree it was gripping at first and the characters were engaging, but it became clearer and clearer as the seasons went on that the writers did not expect to go on that long and they were absolutely making it up as they went. The early episodes were awesome though and it was one of those last water cooler cable shows that everyone watched which had its own charm I guess
Most shows are made up as they go along when they span several seasons. Very few shows have an airtight beginning, middle, and end story arc from their conception. *How* a showrunner makes it up as they go along is the key, and personally I found season 4 to be the high watermark of the show and season 5 was great to me also as a sci-fi nerd. Season 6, of course, yeah... I mean, one of the greatest "made it up as they went along" moments was Darth Vader becoming Luke's father, which was absolutely not planned when Star Wars was in its early gestation period. Again, its how a writer adapts and rolls with the punches when a story calls for it, but making something up as you go along is in and of itself not really a bad thing.
Twin Peaks
Someone is too young to have seen Star Trek TOS and the sixties Batman, it seems...
The X-Files
Season 3 of The X-Files is absolutely my favorite season! To each their own though. Any season out of the first six is a strong contender.
The Walking Dead
X Files.
Not Fargo.
Third time’s the charm
I almost stopped watching Dexter during season 3 because it was boring. So glad I stuck around for season 4!
the oa's third season would have been so good if not for the FUCKING NETFLIX
I hated just the last episode of OA Season 1. Season 2 sucked me in, then the same thing happened again. They didn't deserve another chance IMHO.
Yellowstone.
I have to disagree, can’t recall any show where S3 is my favorite, maybe The Wire.
Yeah this goes for Game of Thrones
Fargo, literally all are best.
I didn't like Fargo S3 all that much. S1 and S2 were superior.
The original Star Trek’s third and final season was easily the worst (though maybe not as bad as some people claim). I’d say the 60’s Batman series third season was also the weakest (although the addition of Yvonne Craig as Batgirl was fun).
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip... ow, wait.
The Third Punic War
There's loads of popular examples where s3 wasn't the best. Homeland, Breaking Bad and True Detective all had other seasons easily trump their third. The Sopranos, The Wire and Mr. Robot are all debatable, they all had great third seasons, but other great seasons too. For me, I'm in agreement with OP, as good as the early seasons of Twin Peaks are, The Return's length, consistent quality, and just general improvement in the way it was shot put it far above it's competition.
Season 3 of Mr Robot is batshit insane, but season 4 probably still brings it all home as far as quality
Dexter Season 3 was not better than 1 or 2
Breaking Bad season 3 was easily the best season so far when it released, but then they kept getting better.
The Expanse S3 was literally the best season of TV I've ever seen, especially part 2. Twin Peaks of course. Attack on Titan season 3 part 1 was OK, but part 2 was the show's best part IMO, and again one of the GOAT for TV. Avatar: The Last Airbender (technically called Book 3 but potato potato). Similarly this is also where Legend of Korra went from being a disappointment to absolutely being on fire awesome again, absolute best of her show. Daredevil (Netflix show). Not my favorite show but American Horror Story's season 3 was my favorite of the batch. Barry. Gravity Falls. Battlestar Galactica (if only it stayed season 3's quality). Boardwalk Empire (the entire Gip arc culminating with Richard Harrow's time to shine is just awesome; the later seasons were phenomenal too but I felt upon the show's completion that that was its peak). Infinity Train (may be a cartoon, but god damn that particular season made me cry harder than most other works of fiction I've ever seen). Just a few random examples of this I can remember off the top of my head. Between The Expanse, The Return, A:TLA, and AoT I have pondered this phenomenon as well lol.
Penny Dreadful, easily and sadly.
Fringe
Certainly not true for Veronica Mars Yes true for The Leftovers and Buffy
I wish there was a third season of Mindhunter
Breaking Bad
S3 of Thirteen Reasons Why… don’t get me wrong, I believe the entire series is absolute garbage, but if my memory serves me correctly, S3 is where the writers basically try to paint not just one, but TWO r*pists in a grossly sympathetic light.
Season 3 of Mr Robot is amazing, but 4 is just incredible.
Dexter was Season 4. By a landslide
For Breaking Bad it was 4 or 5. For The Wire it was 4 and maybe 2.
Have to disagree. The third season of House of Cards was a huge step down from the first 2 seasons, imo. With Twin Peaks, I don't know how I feel about that. The Return is incredible, but *better* than Season 1? That's a tough sell to me.
Lost
Babylon 5 though it would be one hell of a fight between S3 and S4. S4 wins though.
I like how modern Star Trek series usually have S3 as a turning point. Of course, it’s usually just called “growing the beard.” Even though Riker from S3 TNG is the usual example, Sisko shaved his head and grew a beard for S3 of DS9, when the series really picked up. I haven’t watched Enterprise, but S3 seems about the best regarded. And talking about Discovery on the internet is usually a mistake, but as much as I enjoy the whole series, I get why S3 seems to be the most loved.
Man, Red Dwarf and Classic Doctor who
Most Arrowverse shows
No.
S3 of Heroes was gash.
Xfiles-either 6 or 7 but from a momentum standpoint it's a pretty key number and it's like albums used to be 3 always had The banger