Because it’s Saturday, we’re talking television. That’s when Amber Humphrey publishes her weekly entry of Channel Guide, our twice-weekly column on all things television. But there’s something else at work this week. It might be Saturday, but it’s also the final day of the year. And what better way to send off our coverage of television in the year 2011 than with a list of the shows that we loved most dearly. In order to do so, Channel Guiders Amber Humphrey and Mikela Floyd each contributed their picks for the five best shows of the year, in no particular order. In keeping with our ’11 Best’ theme for the Year in Review, FSR Publisher and closet television fanatic (don’t tell movies, we don’t want them to be jealous) Neil Miller throws in one final pick with his own best show of the year. All powers combined, they have unleashed our list of the 11 Best TV Shows of 2011.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s out of options — it must do the news. We lead tonight with the first image of Brad Pitt in the crime-drama Cogan’s Trade. He plays Jackie Cogan, a pro enforcer hired to investigate the robbery of a mob-protected poker game. He will star alongside the likes of Scoot McNairy (Monsters) and Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom), as well as Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini and Richard Jenkins. That’s a hell of a cast, folks.

Following a very successful premiere this past Sunday, HBO has made the decision to renew the critically acclaimed, medieval fantasy series Game of Thrones for a second season. The premiere scored a ratings of 2.2 million on the original airing and over the course of multiple reruns pulled in a final total of over four million viewers. It’s clear that Game of Thrones won’t be going anywhere any time soon. But while premium cable thrives, broadcast television falters as CBS pulled their CIA comedy CHAOS from its schedule after only three episodes, effective immediately. The series was averaging a little over five million viewers on Friday nights at 8pm. As a result of the cancellation, CBS has moved up the U.S. premiere of hit police procedural Flashpoint to May 6th in the 8pm time slot. And before you go, here are some other recently announced pick-ups:

It might be nice to have a timeline on this so we know exactly how long we have to be on the edge of our seats, but J.J. Abrams has nevertheless dipped his toes into what might become his next project over at Paramount. According to Deadline Omaha, Fringe co-executive producers Monica Breen and Alison Schapker have been hired to re-write a script for Zanbato – a story involving Japanese history, fighting robots, and whatever else the pair has up their sleeves. As we all know, Zanbato is a type of large sword called a “horse-chopping sword” because it was built to kill a rider and his horse in one fell slice. Robots with big swords? Abrams? The Fringe writers? How long do we get to be in this state of excitement again?

When not sitting in the cinema or the drunk tank, you can often find me claiming some couch space and settling in for some television, either live or on the DVR. It’s quite the life, let me tell you. During the down time of television seasons, you’re no doubt beside yourself with what to do. Go outside? No thanks, Mr. Sun. Hang out with friends? Who? No, it’s best to watch old seasons on DVD until the new episodes roll around. Then once they’re here, celebration! After a six or eight month hiatus, it’s time for a welcome reunion with favorite characters and engaging storylines. It’s time to settle in for a solid 12-22 weeks of brand new amazing adventures! Well, maybe a decade ago. Or even five years ago. But today it seems that whoever is in charge of the network schedule isn’t so much a fan of Connect Four as he is of Scattergories. If you’re not down with the game parlance, what I’m trying to say is almost no channel just runs a straight season anymore. Virtually every cable network runs a scatter shot program, three episodes here, a two week break there, a marathon on Saturday, and then another four episodes in a week.

With premiere week over I’ve compiled a list of the week’s top premieres from each night. The winner of each night is based upon the quality of the writing, the shows entertainment value and if it’s a new series, the shows sustainability. This year had some extremely heavy hitters and some of the best performances we have seen on the small screen. So without further ado, here are the winners of the FSR Fall 2010 Watch List (please note that this list only applies to shows that started before or during the week of September 19th). Sunday: Boardwalk Empire In what should come as no surprise, Boardwalk Empire was top dog on Sunday. I’m not big into period pieces which is why I really never got into Mad Men, but Scorsese has made me fall in love with the 20′s and Atlantic City. Steve Buscemi is a great lead and a guy I can’t wait to watch every week. If only Scorsese could direct every episode and not just the pilot.

Welcome back, it’s time for the longest day of the week. That pivotal day before Friday when everything gets simple. Thursday is also a great night for television, and this year is no different. Actually, this year is probably the most jam packed night of the week on the small screen. Everything from cops to vampires to college to dead people to spys to India, this Thursday has it all. So go grab that 16oz beer from the fridge and some fresh AAA batteries for the DVR remote because here comes Part V of the FSR Fall 2010 Watch List!

Surprise, surprise. It’s time for the return of that weekly column you didn’t realize was gone for several weeks. It’s also time for me to write my first article on this fair site since… August, I believe. It has been a long month of moving, shaking and bribing local officials, I have come back to life and returned to that which I am passionate about most: ripping the latest Blu-ray releases a new disc-hole with my not-so-eloquent prose. This Week in Blu-ray, we take a look at several classics, all from different eras, presented with great care and consideration by their respective studios, several new releases that don’t fail to attain mediocre status, and a big list of titles that I wasn’t able to review — perhaps because many home video publicists were under the impression that I had died recently. Damn that Cole Abaius, he’s always starting nasty rumors.

Join us each week as Rob Hunter takes a look at new DVD releases and gives his highly unqualified opinion as to which titles are worth BUYing, which are better off as RENTals, and which should be AVOIDed at all costs. And remember, these listings and category placements are meant as informational conversation starters only. But you can still tell Hunter how wrong he is in the comment section below. This week sees the epic series America: The Story Of Us (that should be mandatory viewing for every American) alongside a mix of rent-worthy releases and titles in need of avoiding including Prince Of Persia, the first season of Glee, Roger Corman’s Starcrash, Letters To Juliet, the strangest damn Michael Madsen movie you’ve never seen, and the angry but hot Thai fight-dancing of Raging Phoenix star Jeeja Yanin.

Like all of you, I have my own emotional and intellectual response to the Lost finale: its meaning, its significance, and whether or not it was satisfactory. But since Sunday the Interwebs have run the gamut of all possible responses to the show’s farewell night, so my response to Lost instead is a look at what its run may mean for the future of televisual storytelling.

I don’t wanna wait! For Joshua Jackson to be cast in a science fiction film that sounds a lot like Men in Black and is based off a British television show from the 70s. Luckily, I don’t have to.

Phenomena that exist on the Fringe of science unleash their strange powers in this thrilling series, created by J.J. Abrams, Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Experience all 20 thrilling first season episodes and over six hours of bonus features on Blu-ray™ and DVD!

If you’re the writing team of Fringe, how do you follow up that amazing season finale? Come on in, I’ll tell you how…

Rob Hunter loves movies. He also loves competing against the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company with his own paper company called Disemboweled Trees Inc. These two joys come together in the form of cash money payments that he receives every week and immediately uses to buy more DVDs. This week… Angela Lansbury, Jewish detectives, haunted houses, and more!

Judging by their output for Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and The Proposal all in one summer, it seems like screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman don’t sleep. And they won’t get to anytime soon. We caught them not napping in order to ask them about writing for Michael Bay and their upcoming Cowboys and Aliens.

This article will run from 11:01am to 12:24pm. Set your DVR accordingly. Programming Note: Article may start early or late and end whenever it feels like. You can’t win.

After a series of mysterious bank robberies, a suspect is found embedded into a wall, causing Walter to realize that they have not only found a way to literally walk through walls, but are looking for something he’s made in the past.

This week on Fringe: A mysterious disease that scientists have been injecting into kidnap victims unravels Agent Dunham’s life yet again.

In the opening moments of “Power Hungry,” we happen upon one “Joseph Meegar,” a man with electro-magnetic powers that manifest themselves at the wrong time.

There is, like, tons of TV-related news happening in the wee hours of the morning, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get all out of the way in one article.