FACE OFF: Britney Spears was a bust on “X Factor,” if you ask us. But “The Walking Dead” this year kept us, um,smiling, so to speak. (
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Even though the Mayans lied through their teeth about the world ending in 2012, some TV this past year was often good enough to make us dread the apocalypse.
But some was so bad, we shut our windows to keep out the locusts.
Here then a rundown and a Mayan-like prediction of what’s coming up roses and what’s doomed to oblivion as compiled by The Post’s TV staff.
THE BEST
* “The Walking Dead” (AMC). The best drama on TV to never gets nominated by the Emmy slugs. Sheriff Rick & Co., made us love the coming zombie apocalypse even while they/he killed off in the most horrifying ways, our favorite characters. OK, it was time for Lori, the cheating complainer to go, but Shane and T-Dog? Come on!
* “Breaking Bad” (AMC). Riveting still with the promise of a wild ride this summer when crystal-meth czar Walter meets his fate.
* “Game of Thrones” (HBO). The most pirated TV series of the year, (“Dexter” was so last year!), continued to make us love those big, hairy men and naked, nasty women in a world that doesn’t exist.
* “The Hour” (BBC America). The second season of this Brit import combined an exciting spy story, topical current events (the Suez Crisis) and terrific writing/acting to create an atmospheric look at behind-the-scenes life in British television circa 1957.
* “Elementary” (CBS).Another re-do of Sherlock and worse, one that is a knock-off of the already excellent British series? Doomed to failure. Ooops. Turns out we loved it!
* “Modern Family” (ABC). We all keep waiting for this baby to hit the skids, but, so far, like “The Simpsons” they keep on keeping it fresh. OK, none of us likes Luke Dunphy, but still.
* “The Simpsons” (Fox). Why? See above.
* “Nashville” (ABC). Yes, we’ve seen it 700 times before — the young, ambitious starlet vs. the older talented reigning queen, but somehow Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere make it seem brand-new, what with the corny country tunes and all.
* “The New Normal” (NBC) The peacock’s answer to “Modern Family” was another knock-off destined to fail. Guess what? It’s terrific and viewers think of “Normal” like it really is normal.
* “Girls” (HBO) If you’re a 20-something this was the only show to watch. It’s completely different, totally upsetting and totally relatable for women of a certain age.
* “Downton Abbey” (PBS), “Life on earth would be bleak indeed without Maggie Smith.” Robert Rorke, editor, “TV Week.”
THE WORST
* “Mob Doctor” (Fox) They couldn’t surgically remove this cancer fast enough. It was so bad, this thing could have been written by mobster-would-be-movie mogul Christopher Moltisanti of “The Sopranos.”
* Emily Owens
, MD. (CW) The unfortunately named, Mamie Gummer, (Meryl Streep’s daughter) couldn’t pull off a medical miracle in this, her second doctor show that tanked.
* “Vegas” (CBS) Fake Italian mobsters, and a real-life sheriff in situations as fake as a show girl’s implants makes this show a no-show for us. I mean, satellite dishes on McMansions in Vegas in 1961?
* “Guys With Kids” (NBC). The title says it all. Is there anything funnier than fathers? With children? Just thinking about it is a laugh riot.
* “Political Animals” (USA) A series that was supposed to be a roman á clef about the Clintons was so bad, it made bad boy Bill look good. Just awful.
CAN’T WAIT
* “The Following” (FOX) Kevin Bacon is a former FBI agent (there are no current cops in the TV world apparently) who comes back to track a notorious escaped serial killer who leads a nation-wide band of serial killers. OK, we know it will be much better than it sounds.
* “The Carrie Diaries” (CW) If you loved “Sex and the City” (and who didn’t?), you (or your by-now teenage daughter) are sure to adore this show about Carrie circa 1984 — beginning before the city if not before the sex.
DESTINED TO TANK
* “1600 Penn” (NBC) This is so bad it makes “Political Animals” look like Nobel material. Save yourselves from inner political turmoil and don’t waste your vote.
* “The X Factor” (Fox) L.A. Reid knew to get out while the gettin’ was good. Britney was booted because she wasn’t crazy enough and yet Simon kept annoying Chewbacca Kardashian who looked like a football player in drag and sounded like, well, a football player in drag.