Putting pretty good TV season into perspective

There's just no question that keeping up with television these days requires either a computer or smart phone with automatic reminders or some kind of assistant who will come to your house, program your DVR ("I believe 'Breaking Bad' is running long tonight, sir.") and gently remind you that roughly eight series have started up on cable as you're reading this.

"Including 'True Blood' last night, Madame."

So before your mental bandwidth runs out, how about a quick look back on the TV season just ended for some highs, lows and trends:

Comeback Series of the Year: "Parks and Recreation" on NBC. For a series that tried to find its way with six mostly unwatched episodes the prior season, everything clicked for one of television's most consistently funny sitcoms. The entire cast was fleshed out and given three dimensions, the writing was sharp and there were really clever nuances all around.

Most Surprising Series: "Men of A Certain Age" on TNT. Did anybody see this coming? The drama, starring Ray Romano, right, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula, managed to be poignant and funny (an incredibly difficult mix to get exactly right) about men having midlife crises. Easily the best portrayal on television of men dealing with their second acts and all the people - friends, wives, lovers, kids - who populate that stretch.

Finally, some laughs: In addition to a few sitcoms already cementing their reputation (NBC's "30 Rock" and "Parks and Recreation," FX's "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia," etc.), the new season brought ABC's "Modern Family" and "The Middle," NBC's "Community," BBC America's "The Inbetweeners," "Bored to Death" on HBO and both "Archer" and "The League" on FX.

Documentaries and miniseries at the top of their game: From PBS' Ken Burns' hi-def love letter to beauty, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," to HBO's "The Pacific" and "Life" on Discovery, there were plenty of reasons to be proud of the content on television. The first not only made you want to go outside immediately, it made you proud that doing something for the greater good was still an ideal in the national politics of old. The second did justice to the harrowing war in the Pacific theater and the different kind of warfare it was (and how that plagued young Marines for life). And last, "Life" was breathtaking, educational and eye-popping all at once.

Great returning series kept up their promise: AMC's "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad," FX's "Sons of Anarchy," Showtime's "Dexter" and NBC's "Friday Night Lights," among others. The first three, especially, proved resoundingly that scripted dramas continue their renaissance on American television.

The "Glee" phenomenon: As erratic and cloying as this series can be, it can also be outrageously funny, uplifting, amazingly entertaining and sweet as well. But regardless of what you think of it, the series matters because its success should move networks to try different, more ambitious series.

The failure of "FlashForward" on ABC: OK, that thing about ambition? It needs to have a payoff.

Three big shows leave the air: "Lost," "Law & Order" and "24" all went out for good this season. The longest running of them, "Law & Order," got a very late notice and merely ended after 20 seasons. "Lost," on the other hand, was the beneficiary of enormous hype and expectations and, depending on what you wanted from the series, either delivered or annoyed. "24" was merely a show that didn't know how to disappear. And when it did, very few cared.

The crumbling of once-solid series: "The Office," "Big Love," "Damages." It happens, but it's not pretty. Good shows go bad. Or, if not bad, then some kind of sour. This is also what makes television more intriguing than movies - the story lives longer than two hours (or two sequels). Not everybody can run that kind of creative marathon.

The Winter Olympics: Always great, unless you're jaded. (And yes, they'll be greater when NBC stops airing them.)

The bright future: "Treme," "Justified," "Modern Family" on down the line. These are series that will carry the torch for quality television. More could crop up this summer. And, naturally, next fall.

All you need now is someone to make sense of it all and keep you informed. Hmmm. Wonder who could do that?

E-mail Tim Goodman at tgoodman@sfchronicle.com. You can read his TV blog, the Bastard Machine, at www.thebastardmachine.com. Follow him at www.twitter.com/bastardmachine.

This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle