Now is the time all critics list all the great stuff they saw, heard or experienced over the past year.


To break that streak, I'm going to offer a different tally:



"Chopped" (Food Network): There are lots of food competitions, from the overwrought theatrics of "Iron Chef" to the low-budget inanity of "Cupcake Wars." But my favorite is this contest, which takes four chefs from a wide variety of backgrounds, hands them a mystery basket of ingredients for appetizer, dinner and dessert courses, and challenges each to devise creative dishes on a tight deadline. The results, judged by a snooty yet expert panel of food stars, are surprisingly exciting, emotional and mouth-watering.


"Totally Biased" with W. Kamau Bell (FX): This late-night show, with Chris Rock as executive producer, tackles race, politics, gender issues and more featuring standup comic Bell. At times, the series is still finding its voice, but Bell's riff about the difference between sheiks and Sikhs, including a shout-out to the disco band Chic, was priceless.

"Longmire" (A&E): Based on characters from Craig Johnson's mystery novels, this series is an amazing showcase for Australian actor Robert Taylor as Walt Longmire, a Wyoming sheriff struggling to find meaning in life after his wife's death. Sure, it occasionally veers into "Murder, She Wrote" land (too many killings in a town the size of a postage stamp), but viewers get a modern Western expertly mashed with a modern mystery series.


Dennis Quaid, left, and Jason O&#8217;Mara in &quot;Vegas.&quot; (CBS)
Dennis Quaid, left, and Jason O'Mara in "Vegas." (CBS)



"Vegas" (CBS): This show blends a modernized western with a Mob story and "Mad Men"-style nostalgia, showcasing a rancher turned sheriff policing 1960s-era Las Vegas as mobsters take over casinos. Yeah, it's still too-often a CBS murder of the week procedural, but with Dennis Quaid as the irascible sheriff and Michael Chiklis as a wily gangster, it draws me in, week after week.

"Sons of Anarchy" (FX): It's a brutal drama about a biker gang that somehow humanizes gun-running, drug-muling outlaws. With sizable, showy guest roles for "NYPD Blue's" Jimmy Smits and "Lost" alum Harold Perrineau, this season barreled through shocking scenes (An informant bites off his own tongue! A woman burned alive!) leaving us fans shell-shocked and begging for more.