Although one of the biggest stories to emerge from fall 2012 was an overall decline in ratings, we were still able to come up with a number of reasons that we loved watching TV in 2012. In fact, we decided that we couldn't limit our choices to just 10 shows -- and we still left a few great selections out. It's important to note that this is not our idea of a definitive Best of the Best list, although many of the series listed here also occupy slots on many Best of 2012 TV lists. Rather, this is a list of shows that we not only loved watching in 2012, but loved encouraging other people to watch. With that, here are a few reasons why we loved TV this year, in no particular order.

Find even more lists and features in the 2012 Year in Review section.