BEST EPISODE, DRAMA—Mad Men, “The Suitcase” (aired Sept. 5, 2010) Set against the backdrop of the Ali/Liston fight of 1965, this episode relied almost exclusively on the relationship between Don and Peggy and its complexities. Don is putting off making a phone call to California that he knows will bring terrible news while Peggy, who is trying to leave for her birthday dinner, gets detained by Don to work on the Samsonite pitch. There is amazing dialogue, meaningful character development and impeccable acting by both Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss. By the end of “The Suitcase”, viewers have watched Don and Peggy become stronger as colleagues and friends as well as grow and change individually. It’s a damn near perfect hour of TV. BEST EPISODE, COMEDY – This category was tough. Finalists included Community’s “Modern Warfare”, “Bully” from Louie, Delocated’s “Jon He Does It”, the “Manny Get Your Gun” episode of Modern Family, and “Anna Howard Shaw Day” from 30 Rock. But the one that stood above them all, the best comedy episode of 2010, was Parks and Recreation’s “94 Meetings”.
