TV.com's Top 100 Everything of 2014, Vol. 3: Items 71–80

We've reached the 70s on our annual Top 100 Everything list, which means we're halfway through being halfway through or completely done with being all the way finished with a quarter of the list. In other words, this is when things start getting serious! Numbers 100 through 81 were totally the bottom of the awesomeness barrel, but these items are the real deal... until the next 10 that come along, of course. So let's hurry up and dive in, and remember: Check back in a couple days for the next round!

80. Mmmm, scenery sure is delicious

As far as we can tell, the backdrops of many of our favorite shows must taste like a bite of filet mignon after a few weeks at a vegan retreat. Kyle MacLachlan on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., John Barrowman on Arrow, and James Spader on The Blacklist consistently give it all they've got, chomping on their surroundings as if they're polishing off their last meal. See also: Kevin Spacey on House of Cards, Joe Morton on Scandal, and Henry Czerny on Revenge. Yum!

79. The Goldbergs' rock-solid mom

Beverly Goldberg puts the mother in smother, and her constant compulsion to comfort her children and win their affection drives many of The Goldbergs' best storylines (like when she appropriated Adam's mixtape for his girlfriend, or when she staged her own musical so that Adam could play the lead role, or any other time she stomped into a scene like Momzilla protecting her young). As the nucleus of her family, everything revolves around Beverly for better or for worse, but always for our benefit. And powering the character's engine is Wendi McLendon-Covey, who turns in an award-worthy performance in every episode and is arguably TV's best current sitcom matriarch.

78. Banshee's detour to the countryside

Cinemax's Banshee quickly became a favorite around these parts when it debuted in 2013, but in 2014 the smalltown crime potboiler matched its patented physical brutality with more attention to the psychological strain its central characters are under. Nowhere was that more true than in Season 2's "The Truth About Unicorns," which stripped away nearly everything and everyone (it only featured three series regulars) to concentrate on the emotional hangover between Hood and Carrie. On the backs of some difficult conversations between two tormented people, lingering shots of the countryside, and the quiet intensity of the climactic interruption of what could have been, the hour showed us a deeper and more beautiful side of Banshee, one of the year's best shows.

PREVIOUSLY: Banshee "The Truth About Unicorns" Review: Cabin in the Woods

77. A dead Mona tells no tales

Pretty Little Liars fans have put up with a lot of misdirection, a very curious timeline, and, well, a whole bunch of lies over the course of the show's four and a half seasons. So when Mona, Rosewood's most dangerous brunette, went missing—with her house trashed and blood everywhere—viewers were understandably a little skeptical. But one lingering shot of Mona's body stuffed into a trunk made it clear: Mona was actually gone, and Pretty Little Liars had actually pulled the trigger on killing off one of its most important characters. You know, unless the writers retcon everything in the second half of Season 5 and it didn't actually happen. But that'll be 2015's problem.

PREVIOUSLY: Pretty Little Liars Season 5 Summer Finale Review: Because You're Mona

76. Doctor Who confronts fear in Peter Capaldi's best episode yet

Doctor Who's eighth season was definitely wibbly wobbly, and not in the good timey-wimey sense. Still, when it was on it was ON, as was the case in the Steven Moffat-penned "Listen," an episode that dealt with the universal nature of fear. It skillfully played with the concept of time being non-linear, the way that Moffat's instantly memorable "Blink" did in during the David Tennant era, and just as Season 4's "Midnight" showed us that what a monster is doesn't really matter, "Listen" showed us that whether or not the monster even exists doesn't really matter, either. Creepy and confusing—yet still relatable—it was by far the most successful episode of Twelve's debut season in the TARDIS, and will likely be remembered for years to come.

PREVIOUSLY: Doctor Who "Listen" Review: Fear, Itself

75. What a great year for lady newcomers!

We may enter every television year looking forward to spending time with our old favorites, but that doesn't mean we don't also get giddy over the fresh faces we meet. In 2014, the two newbies who left the biggest mark were Fargo's Allison Tolman and Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez. Tolman brought quiet determination to her role as the smartest woman in the room, while Rodriguez impressed with genuine earnestness and her outgoing personality. These two will be around for years to come.

74. And a great year for movie dudes on TV!

The guys didn't do too shabby, either. Three Hollywood dreamboats had a tremendous 2014, thanks to pulling double duty on the small screen and in the movieplex. Matthew McConaughey lit up True Detective while also winning trophies for Dallas Buyers Club, Martin Freeman was great on Fargo and Sherlock while starring in the Hobbit trilogy, and Parks and Recreation's Chris Pratt went from goofy sidekick to goofy major hunk as Guardians of the Galaxy's Star Lord and The Lego Movie's everyman-turned-hero Emmet Brickowski. Save some for the rest of us, fellas!

73. But a weird year for going to the bathroom!

If you went to the bathroom this year and made it out alive, then you got lucky! There were all sorts of commode commotions this year, from Game of Thrones' patricide by crossbow while Tywin was on the can to New Girl's Jess clogging a toilet with aquarium-rock "meth" to Fargo's Lorne Malvo proving he isn't potty shy by taking a dump with the door open. Other big bathroom breaks: Mindy got her hair flushed while trying to join the Mile High Club on The Mindy Project, Getting On cut costs by installing an overly sensitive motion sensor in the loo, Veep treated a nosebleed induced by Selina's presidential win in a restroom that couldn't spare a square, and The Americans wiped a hostage's ass and then kicked it in a close-quarters lavatory brawl.

72. Mad Men's nip clip

Mad Men's most entertaining singular moments often have nothing to do with Don Draper. Remember when a secretary ran over someone's foot with a lawnmower? Remember when Roger took LSD? Remember when Pete Campbell fell down the stairs? This year the title of Wackiest Mad Men Moment goes to the one and only Michael Ginsberg, for cutting off his own nipple and gifting it to Peggy in a nice little box. As long as you ignore the sad fact that he was mentally unwell, it's pretty much the greatest thing Mad Men did all year (besides that musical number we already mentioned and Peggy's awesome Burger Chef pitch, of course).

71. The Mother of all reveals

Whatever your feelings may be regarding How I Met Your Mother's series finale (here's ours), it's hard to deny the excellence of the show's 200th episode, "How Your Mother Met Me." By focusing solely on the Mother and her own journey toward ending up with Ted (complete with plenty of near misses, as told from her point of view), the episode fleshed out a character we'd been hearing about for nine years but still barely knew. It was a prime example of how skilled HIMYM was at balancing emotion and humor in a way that made you want to rip your heart out of your chest. Plus, it solidified our crush on Cristin Milioti. Somebody please hire her immediately now that A to Z is canceled.

PREVIOUSLY: How I Met Your Mother "How Your Mother Met Me" Review: Hittin' the Mother Lode