South Side Rules – A Shameless Podcast discusses every episode of Shameless ever and at the end of each podcast we rank the episode – using this Shameless Scoring Matrix – and put it on the ShameList!

The Shameless Scoring Matrix Explained

The Execution of Concept is where a Shameless episode can get the most points, as it evaluates the three core elements of every episode:
→ Script (0-100 points)
→ Performance (0-100 points)
→ Emotional Resonance (0-100 points)

Additionally we give each episode plus points or minus points to address the Frank of it all, as this allows us to score episodes without having it dragged down by Frank Gallagher being The Worst, or unreasonably inflated if it turns out that Frank – surprisingly – is actually pretty decent in this one!
-/+ Frank Qualifier (-50 to +50)

As with the Frank Qualifier there are elements of Shameless that are utterly delightful, and elements that are beyond stupid. However letting tiny moments of beauty or stupidity affect the overall episode score seems harsh, so that’s where our Bonus Points come in:
What the actual…?!? (unlimited minus points)
Joy Points (unlimited plus points)

And lastly both Ruth and Michelle have the ability to use 3 Trump Cards each, in every season of Shameless. These can be applied at any point in the above discussion, and are used for something that, rationally, or irrationally, makes you happy or angry, and that you can’t or won’t explain or defend against a score given by the other host.

Bullshit Buffer (3x per person, per season, -5 to +5)