|
LET'S DO THIS poo poo AGAIN Here we go, round three of the mega-poll. Sophia and I are still running it, same rules as before. Let's see how terrible the collective tastes of TVIV are this year! What is the TVIVer’s Poll? Essentially, it’s a super poll. Inspired by DivisionPost’s link to HitFix’s Annual TV Critics’ Poll, I decided at the spur of the moment two years ago to replicate the situation with the posters in TVIV. Anyone who posts in TVIV is free to submit a top ten list of their favorite shows in the year 2014, in reverse favorite order starting with 10 (their least favorite) and ending with 1 (their most favorite) in one post. Submissions are open right now, as you're reading this, and will remain so until the end of this month, midnight PST January 1 (aka New Year’s Day). The poll will then be closed, Sophia “and I” will total up the results, and post them a couple of days later. We will assign ten points to your submission’s favorite show-the number one slot-nine to second favorite, etc etc etc down to one point for the number ten slot. The total number of points accrued will give us an aggregate favorite shows list as chosen by TVIV in 2014.  RULES YOU MUST loving FOLLOW READ THIS READ THIS READ THIS:1) Every item on each person's top ten list must have aired in part or in full in the calendar year 2014. This should go without saying, but just to be clear: as long as your show (if it's a show; miniseries, webseries, and TV movies are also open to be picked- maybe you really loved Sharknado 2, whatever, I don't judge) aired at least one episode in 2014, it's available. If you pick a show for the top ten slot which has aired two seasons in 2014, but you're only picking it for one of those seasons, clarifying which would be much appreciated, but not necessary. (I'm thinking specifically of The Walking Dead season 4 vs. the first half of season 5). Conversely, if you pick a show which has aired two seasons in 2014 and you're picking both seasons, clarifying that you're picking both would also be much appreciated, but not necessary. (Survivor seasons 28 and 29, for example). 2) This isn't PYF. Please write up something about the shows on your list- why you picked them, what you loved and hated about the season, whatever, just don't do a bare list. This isn't negotiable; simple, bare-bones lists won't be counted. (It doesn't have to be a massive screed; a sentence or two after each selection is fine. Just write something.) It's really boring anyways, and this thread is also meant to foster discussion. I picked the spoilers tag because obviously discussing what you loved about a season of a show requires discussion of that season, and that means spoilers, and I don't want to wade through a CIA document so feel free to spoiler all you want. Obviously, this also means WARNING: YOU CAN AND WILL BE SPOILED ABOUT ANY SHOW THAT'S AIRED IN 2014. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. 3) Don't be an annoying shitbird about other people's lists. Obviously discussion about the qualities of specific TV seasons that have aired is accepted and, in fact, encouraged, but don't bring this thread down with an annoying bitchy flamewar about That Show You Hate. I'm speaking specifically about flaming people who list The Leftovers, Girls (somehow, three years into this poll, people still get really mad about Girls, man), or Community on their lists. Especially Girls. Don’t be loving annoying about Girls. If it gets real bad I'll lock the thread, so don't be stupid. Obviously everyone's lists are gonna be subjective as hell so imagine a giant IN MY OPINION written in bold and underlined before everyone's lists.  4) I can’t believe I have to make this rule but here we are. You HAVE to have ten shows on your list. No more, no less. It HAS to be in order from 10 to 1. 10, in this case is your LEAST FAVORITE SHOW. Repeating again: 10 IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE SHOW, ASCENDING IN FAVORITISM TO 1 BEING YOUR FAVORITE SHOW OF 2013. It HAS to be numbered. You CANNOT list two shows within the same submission and expect your submission to be counted, even if they are complimentary shows. You MUST post your submission in comprehensible English. You MUST post your submission in one post. You cannot violate any of these rules and we will not count your submission or even link it if you don’t. NONE OF THESE RULES ARE NEGOTIABLE. The by far biggest headache for both Sophia and I last year when running this poll was people being unable to count to ten and/or being super special snowflakes who decided to submit all hosed up orders to their show. Please don’t do this, it made our jobs much more unnecessarily difficult and we’ve mutually decided to simply not count them any more. 5) HERE IS HOW EDITING YOUR SUBMISSIONS WORKS. When y’all submit your polls, I will periodically be pulling your posts and end up hyperlinking all of them in the post right below this one. Then, Sophia and I will pull from my hyperlinked list that I’ve made to compile all of your submissions into an Excel document. YOU ARE FREE TO EDIT YOUR SUBMISSIONS AT ANY TIME. But- and this is important- before you edit your submission- CHECK THE SECOND POST TO SEE IF YOUR POST HAS BEEN HYPERLINKED. If it has, YOU MUST EDIT THE POST THAT HAS BEEN HYPERLINKED. That’s what we’re going to pull from to compile your points and it makes our jobs, again, much much easier if you do that. Then, please pm me or Sophia (we both have plat), post in the thread that you’ve edited your submission, or- best option- do both. Please make sure to do this, we will be compiling literally hundreds of submissions in a week and we’re just two guys and we WILL miss your edit if you don’t tell us you’ve edited it and then we’ll both feel bad because we’ve slightly misrepresented the data. If I haven’t hyperlinked your submission- feel free to do whatever. Delete your original post, and resubmit under a new one, edit it- WHATEVER. Don’t care. The simple, concise summary to what I just wrote: If you’re editing your submission- are you hyperlinked? EDIT THAT POST. No? GO HOG WILD DUDERS. In that same vein, please please check 1-2 days after you submit to make sure that I’ve hyperlinked your post. If I haven’t, it might be that neither Sophia nor I have counted your submission and that would be a real bummer to you. I will be hyperlinking in chronological order so if I “skip” you that’s a good warning sign. Then bother me, I’ll make sure to get it fixed. If you change your username in between when you submit and when we count up the votes, please also let us know, we’d like to attribute to each poster accurately and it’s also a good check if me and Sophia are all like “who the gently caress is GOD HATES NIGGERS and why does he like Duck Dynasty so much” and suddenly you’re all like “I go by Inoffensive Username now. Got an e-wife and children I gotta settle down from my SA Anarchist days.” I'm actually going to do that this year this time, guys! I said I would then I didn't because I was very busy irl in 2013, but my real-life situation is much more stable this time around so yeah, let's see I can actually like, do it this time. Winter End Television Schedule This is the upcoming schedule for the TV season until the end of December 2013. I used pogdesign (thanks for alerting me to this Zaggitz) (go to here, it’s a neat website to make your own specialized TV calendars), followed every possible show that TVIV would ever even slightly care about, then screenshotted the resulting bloated mess of a calendar for you all. You’re welcome.       Top Fifty TVIV Shows of 2013 I went to last year’s thread (oh by the way if you want to access that to see your submission from last year here is the link, and here is the link for 2012's poll- both require archives; you can also see how shamelessly I copied the OP from last year) and pulled the top fifty shows from last year, removed the ones that didn’t air in 2014 for whatever reason, and listed them for you so you won’t forget any of the more “culty” shows that aired this year. Everyone thank Rarity because this was her idea. THANK HER. 1. Game of Thrones 2. Person of Interest 3. Arrow 4. Hannibal 5. Orphan Black 6. Parks and Recreation 7. Justified 8. House of Cards 9. Sleepy Hollow 10. Brooklyn Nine Nine 11. The Americans 12. Boardwalk Empire 13. Archer 14. Veep 15. The Genius 16. Elementary 17. Mad Men 18. New Girl 19. Psych 20. Shameless 21. Bob's Burgers 22. Orange is the New Black 23. Doctor Who 24. Scandal 25. The Walking Dead 26. Nathan For You 27. Adventure Time 28. Rectify 29. Revolution 30. Comedy Bang! Bang! 31. Masters of Sex 32. Pretty Little Liars 33. American Horror Story 34. The Legend of Korra 35. Almost Human 36. Continuum 37. The Daily Show 38. Utopia 39. Gravity Falls 40. The Eric Andre Show 41. Vikings 42. Modern Family 43. Eagleheart 44. Bates Motel 45. RuPaul's Drag Race 46. Black Mirror 47. Homeland 48. True Blood 49. The League 50. The Bridge (US) Shows That Premiered in 2014 That You Might Have Forgotten About Based off Rarity's suggestion last year of a list of "Good Shows that came out in 2013", I've decided to rename this list and differentiate its aims slightly- instead of a list of "good shows", it's just a list of shows that, as you're making your list, you might've forgotten about because they either aired early in the calendar year or aren't popular in TVIV. I can add to this list as the thread goes, so if you have any suggestions let me know. Too Many Cooks True Detective The Americans (season 2) The Affair Covert Affairs Falling Skies Gracepoint The 100 Vikings (season 2) Shameless Nathan For You Haven Manhattan Rectify (season 2) Playing House Suits Review Broad City Black Sails Rick and Morty Transparent The Red Road NieR Occomata fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Dec 7, 2014 |
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 00:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 05:59 |
|
|
Everyone's Top Ten Lists: 1.thexerox123 2.Regy Rusty 3.adhuin 4.xeria 5.DarklyDreaming 6.Andrew_1985 7.Republican Vampire 8.Senerio 9.BSam 10.JUICY HAMBUGAR 11.Zaggitz 12.Not a Twat 13.Rocksicles 14.Bown 15.Annakie 16.hcreight 17.IRQ 18.Ravane 19.egon_beeblebrox 20.King Burgundy 21.smg77 22.CaptainHollywood 23.ShakeZula 24.sbaldrick 25.Tuxedo Jack 26.MrFlibble 27.Rarity 28.DivisionPost 29.Parasara 30.CeeJee 31.onefish 32.SHUPS 4 DETH 33.Pillowpants 34.Bou 35.DapperDinosaur 36.pentyne 37.Deadpool 38.Toxxupation 39.timp NieR Occomata fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Dec 29, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 00:28
|
|
|
You forgot White Collar. Thanks Rarity. Also, is there an actual poll link, or do we just submit it here in this thread? Edit: never mind I don't read. I'll post mine in a bit. I'm beginning to realize how many great shows there were this year. Least Favorite 10. Grimm: Trubel has been the greatest character this season. With Nick losing his powers, Trubel's taken up the grunt work and she is amazing. The actress does her own stunts, she's a complete badass. Unfortunately, with Nick getting his powers back, she's leaving, though I really hope she comes back 9. Star Wars: Rebels: Rebels brings back the old feeling of Star Wars, the feelings I felt back when I was a child and Phantom Menace had just released. It truly grasps the nature of Star Wars and brings it back to its roots. Though it is not as dark as the Clone Wars, it has, in a short span of time, brought far more character development and, as a whole, has been easier to get attached to the characters. I love the new lightsabers (both the Inquisitor's and Ezra's future lightsaber) and glad to see the trend continued in Abrams' Star Wars movie. 8. Supernatural: Sam and Dean have had amazing adventures this year, except earlier this year where they went to Chicago, but we'll skip that. From dealing with Fish Taco monsters to curing Dean of his demonhood (and never referencing the Deanmon again), it's been crazy and hilarious. The ultra meta episode where God finally appears again was brilliant and probably one of the funniest episodes in a long while. I want to see this show run into the ground at season 50. 7. High Moon: This is the funniest TV movie I've ever seen. It's produced by Bryan Fuller and it's essentially a perfect portrayal of what science fiction authors in the 50's believed that our future would be. Originally slated to be a tv series, Syfy, the dumbshits that they are, only aired the pilot and refused to buy any more episodes. The show doesn't take itself seriously at all, and because of that, produced the most hilarious and craziest pilot I've ever seen. There's a part where they show a giant green mechanical dinosaur on the goddamn moon. It's beautiful. And there are indian space ninjas, and gay russian androids. It's hilarious when you're sober, and you'll poo poo your pants if you're drunk. 6. Hannibal: Season 2. Everybody dies except Hannibal. So much blood, so much violence, so much hunger, and food galore. I love this show. It's literally perfect. There's not a single thing wrong with this show. Probably one of the best things on tv right now. Mads Mikkelson is the loving sexiest man I've ever seen, I'm not gay, but I would touch his penis if he asked me. I don't want to say anymore. 5. Psych: I am sad that this show is over. For 8 years, I have laughed and cried watching this show. The season was short but the writers got to do whatever they wanted with the show, and so we got some of the craziest stuff that Shawn and Gus have done. I think this season wrapped everything up perfectly, Lassie got what he wanted, but so did Juliet. Shawn and Gus got to be together and Shawn finally chose someone else over himself. That's the greatest character development he could honestly have and it came at a perfect time. And that final reference about Monk was wonderful. I hope USA releases a Monk/Psych episode just on its own one day, that would be one of the greatest tv moments. 4. Jane the Virgin: This was quite an underdog show, I don't think anyone expected this show to be so good. Gina Rodriguez plays a compelling young woman in emotion turmoil, due to an accidental artificial insemination. Jane becomes a pregnant virgin and is forced to navigate the resulting chaos imposed in her life, from a disapproving boyfriend, who originally suggests she abort the child, to a new father (and huge tv star) who "magically" appears and wishes to be part of her life. And of course, the frigging handsome biological father of the child who seems to be nearly perfect in every way, who is also attracted to Jane. Jane has one of the most confusing lives and it only gets more ridiculous. This show is hilarious and engaging, but more than that, it's a show where the female lead is probably one of the greatest role models a girl could have, something that's seriously lacking in today's media. 3. Almost Human: I am sad that this was cancelled. Urban and Ealy had amazing chemistry together; every car moment where they'd just sit and talk would be amazing. The show suffered because of Fox's stupid decision to air the episodes out of order, orginally the plot didn't flow at all, it felt really wierd. But once you go back and watch it in the right order, you realize that this show flows really well. It certainly did not deserve the axe, but it was expensive and Fox is full of idiots, so what can you do? Police Procedurals are normally something I hate because they're easy to make and watching one episode is like watching them all, but this was a very unique twist on it. Science fiction police procedurals are interesting because of the cool technology and interesting philosophical concepts, the writers had fun with it, especially that bitcoin guy. 2. Orphan Black: This show is shockingly amazing. The show suffers from the fact that it's not at all self-contained, throwing a lot of information at you in a single episode and expecting you to remember that for the next. It's easier to binge watch in that respect. It's absolutely thrilling though and hard to stop watching, once you start. Everyone has heard of the accolades of Tatiana Maslany, even Supernatural references it "I starred in a one-woman Orphan Black show last year." It's brilliant how vivid each clones personality is, despite all of them being played by a single actress. This season had twists left to right, and I came out with far more questions than answers. Kira, Sarah's daughter, is an astonishingly wonderful child actress and this was a great season for her, she's very believable (ten times better than Carl from The Walking Dead). That scene where her bone marrow is extracted was quite haunting and I think she played it quite perfectly. 1. Continuum: Continuum is my favorite show. This season was insane, because all of the plots that have been going on have now just completely been changed. The entire original timeline that they were in (this is a show about Time Travel and is 500 times better than the garbage that is Doctor Who) has been destroyed and all the characters have just accepted that they can't change anything. Everything that they've been fighting to change, what Liber8 has been trying to do and what Kiera was trying to stop has been rendered pointless. Why? Because a single person can be sent back in time, change something, and everything changes revoking all previous changes. So there's no point in time travelling at all. They're just stuck. It's probably one of most interesting philosophical postulates that's been posed in tv science fiction. Also the last episode has space marines, which is awesome. I hope this show isn't cancelled, otherwise I've got melons I need to send. Most Favorite Ravane fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Dec 8, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 01:16
|
|
|
Too Many Cooks is not a-you're kidding about Too Many Cooks, right?
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 01:26
|
|
|
Don't spoil the broth, Bown. Utopia (UK) Series 2 aired this summer, also.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 01:34
|
|
|
Here's a quick list I made thaEDIT: gently caress this post. Sorry err'body. I will make a better one with reasonings down the line.
Escobarbarian fucked around with this message at 13:15 on Dec 7, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 01:52
|
|
|
More new shows that were on earlier this year and not listed: Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey (documentary by Neil DeGrasse Tyson) Last Week Tonight With John Oliver Penny Dreadful Bitten (not the worst supernatural related show this year) Life Story (Attenborough documentary) Issaries fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Dec 7, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 01:52
|
|
|
Bown posted:Too Many Cooks is not a-you're kidding about Too Many Cooks, right? This. You can't be serious, right? Also, Falling Skies came out in like 2011, not this year, it's at least 3 seasons in. And you forgot Z Nation and The Flash. And The Strain, and The Last Ship and and and even if they weren't nearly as good as Z Nation or Flash. e: Bojack Horseman. Silicon Valley. e2: BROOKLYN 99 IRQ fucked around with this message at 02:24 on Dec 7, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 02:21
|
|
|
Bown posted:Too Many Cooks is not a-you're kidding about Too Many Cooks, right? IRQ posted:This. You can't be serious, right? The broth has already been spoiled.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 02:28
|
|
|
I guess this is the place for me where a great video finally gets beaten into the ground 
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 02:36
|
|
|
Yo Bown I hope you have an actual list lined up with write-ups and poo poo. This ain't PYF.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 02:51
|
|
|
10. The Legend of Korra - Seasons 3 and 4 have been great, I'm really going to miss that world once the series finishes in a couple of weeks. 9. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - I love John Oliver, from The Bugle podcast, to The Daily Show, to this. So glad to see him getting this platform, and he's making good use of it! 8. Attack on Titan - The english dub aired in 2014, so I'm hoping it counts?  7. Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Strong and confident right out of the gate, I hope this show gets a nice long run. 6. Parks & Recreation - The twist at the end of the latest season has me really looking forward to the final season! And I can't wait until Cones of Dunshire is finally sold as a real game.  5. Too Many Cooks - The haters in this thread can suck it. I was enthralled. And now the song is stuck in my head again. 4. Nathan For You - No words to describe this show. It's magical.  3. Bob's Burgers - Consistently well-written, hilarious, and heartwarming. I always look forward to new episodes.  2. Steven Universe - An adorable, brilliant show that is doing a great job building its world and backstory, even though it's still just in its first season.  1. Fargo - Absolutely amazing show, I cannot wait for the second season.   (I hope the gifs don't get in the way, I can remove them if need be.) thexerox123 fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Dec 7, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 03:00
|
|
|
Zaggitz posted:Yo Bown I hope you have an actual list lined up with write-ups and poo poo. This ain't PYF. Yeah but I'll edit all that in later.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 03:15
|
|
|
My top 10 list is a bit tumultuous this year with 4 whole new faces added on. Particularly missing from my list this year are Justified and Orphan Black. Both had decent seasons this year, but definitely not top 10 material. I guess they can be honorable mentions. FORMERLY TENTH, NOW HONORABLE MENTION) The Flash Last year, I won the dubious award of getting the most of my picks on the overall TVIV top 10, with Arrow being the only show missing from my list, because I hadn’t watched it. Having done so now… my list last year still wouldn’t have changed. Arrow is a pretty good show, but it never blows me away. I really didn’t like the main plotline of the second season because Slade’s single minded obsession bored me. I’m still glad I watched it because it prepared me to watch The Flash this year, and it’s much more my… tempo. Arrow is a bit too grim and serious a lot of the time, and I’m really enjoying Flash’s antics and actual super powers. Plus it’s got an evil time traveler pretending to need a wheelchair so it’s got everything. I expect this show may rise on my list in future years if it keeps it up, but for now it’s so new that it’ll just 10) Fargo I didn't want to watch Fargo because I really don't like the Coen brothers style of films. Fargo was among the most tolerable of those that I've seen, but I still don't love it and didn't have any desire to watch a TV show based on it. But in the past week the combination of this thread and my brother urging me to give it a chance finally got me to cave. For the most part it was alright, but not something I loved. It's too miserable and bleak for my tastes, and just isn't my kind of show. But the final episode was fantastic and, like the original movie, gave me a strong and satisfying ending. For that, and for the quality of the acting, I feel it does deserve some recognition, even if it's not really my kind of show. I might come along for the next season. 9) Parks and Recreation Yikes what a drop, from 3rd place all the way to 9th. I still love P&R and I don’t really think it’s had as much of a decline as it’s popular to say it has. But that said, maybe there’s some truth to it because aside from the ending of season 6, I can barely remember anything that happened this past season. Couple that with the fact that we haven’t had any new episodes this fall and that’s why it’s so much lower on my list this year. I have big hopes for season 7 and the 3 year jump however, so if it’s as good as I think it will be, I expect it to be back up near the top in next year’s list. 8) Game of Thrones It’s probably blasphemous to put GoT so low on my list, but I really wasn’t feeling it for most of this season. Call me a filthy bookreader, but I think the showrunners have made some poor decisions this year and there were several whole episodes that meandered without much purpose and for the first time I sometimes felt bored. Joffrey’s death and the Mountain killing Oberyn however were superb, as was Tyrion’s speech in his trial. Those scenes alone would keep the show somewhere on my list. 7) Sleepy Hollow It was a bit hard to decide how to rank the next two. They both had things this year I loved and things I wasn’t so hot on. Sleepy Hollow’s final episodes from last season were incredible and would’ve skyrocketed it up. Zombie John Cho transforming into a full demon and attacking as George Washington’s Secret Mason Tomb burned around was utterly stellar. So was John Noble’s character Henry revealing himself to be the Horseman of War and going full Walternate style evil. Season 2 has been good so far as well, but it’s had more episodes that were not as great than last year did. Plus I really don’t like the decision to marginalize Captain Irving and Jenny so much in favor of Katrina and new character Hawley who is awful. 6) Hannibal Similarly my feelings are mixed on Hannibal’s second season. The first half of the season while will is still imprisoned are the best the show has ever been. The flipping of the Hannibal/Will relationship on its head was brilliant and I loved every minute of it. Unfortunately I felt the season went downhill a little bit after Will was exonerated. I didn’t personally find the further growth of their twisted relationship as interesting as it had been before, and there was a lot about Will’s actions towards the end of the season that I thought were implausible. That’s why I justify bumping it down a slot. The finale was quite amazing though. 5) House of Cards Here’s the first case where I think that this season was unambiguously better than the last one. From the very first episode I was engrossed and stayed so for the entire weekend as I swept through the season. Frank murdering Zoe, one of the most central characters of the first season was something I didn’t see coming at all and set the tone for an even more ruthless season than the first one. One particular moment I loved was at the end of the first episode where, after not saying a word to us so far, Frank finally looks to the camera and asks “Did you think I’d forgotten you?” It was just so perfect because I actually had been wondering if they’d dropped that aspect of the show. This show is just so totally made for me. I can completely embrace every bit of the premise of this utterly remorseless man doing whatever it takes to rise in power. His plot to gain the presidency without having received a single vote was just astounding, and I can’t wait to see where Season 3 goes for President Frank Underwood. 4) Agents of Shield “WHAT THE gently caress” I can hear the outraged voices now. AoS hasn’t exactly been the most popular show around these parts. I liked it well enough from the beginning, but I would definitely have agreed it wasn’t anything super amazing. At least not until near the end of Season 1. The reveal of Hydra’s infiltration of Shield in Cap 2 and the way it completely turned the show upside down was amazing. I’ve loved every single episode since that point. I think it’s a really strong show now and the only reason it’s not even higher on my list is that there are shows that are even better. I like the cast, I like the worldbuilding they’re doing for the MCU, I like the filler episodes, I like everything. It’s one of the shows I try to make sure I watch live almost every week. 3) The Good Wife I just watched through the entirety of this show last month (thanks to zoux and Mu Zeta for persistently recommending it in the Couch Chat) and I was surprised at how engrossing this lawyer show could be. Once I’d started I was completely hooked. If I’d been watching it last year it would definitely have been right up near the top of the list, neck and neck with Person of Interest. Alicia Florrick is one of my favorite characters on TV right now. The second half of last season, with her starting her own firm and getting into serious, angry competition with her former boss and former lover Will Gardner was thrilling. But to then - right at the height of their war – have Will be suddenly and senselessly killed in the crossfire of a courthouse shooting was something so much beyond anything I’d seen from the show. It stunned me so much I had to go yell about it in The Good Wife thread and take a break before I could continue. And the show didn’t pull any punches from then on either. Alicia had to deal with the grief and the guilt and it was truly painful to watch. It really is an amazing show. 2) Person of Interest Person of Interest still wins out as my favorite though. Its ambitions keep growing with each passing season, the end of Season 3 putting a second AI out into the world, and bringing us into a new kind of existence. No longer is Team Irrelevant the one with all the information, now that Samaritan exists and is even more powerful than the Machine. Even before that though, the end of Season 3 was among the best stuff the show’s ever done (not quite up to last year’s Endgame episodes, but that would be hard to surpass). One of my favorite episodes involved Root getting tortured by Control, and older woman, and the Machine talking to her using morse code transmitted through Control’s phone at a frequency too high for the older woman to hear. The best part of this is that they actually played the morse code beeps at said frequency on the show, so that I could hear them but older people could not. This is just one example of how cool this show is and how much thought they put into everything. And that’ll do it. That’s my top ten list of 2014. Once again PoI is squarely on top where it belongs… wait… 1) Over the Garden Wall It was kinda hard to decide if I really wanted to put this on top or not. I’ve never put a miniseries on my top 10 list and it really is only the length of a movie. But despite its length it really is the best thing I saw on TV this year. If you somehow haven’t seen it yet, go watch it immediately. It’s such a brilliantly told story about two boys getting lost in the woods. I feel like I can’t even do it justice writing about it. The last episode is one of the best episodes of television I’ve ever seen, and it was just 11 minutes long. Regy Rusty fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Dec 16, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 03:22
|
|
|
10. Continuum - Still manages to get me to symphatize the terrorists, while the fascist-side has some good points too. 9. The Librarians - a New "Indiana Jones"/"Romancing the Stone"-style show that started in December. Looks very promising. 8. Doctor Who - New Doctor, New Rules and New direction have given us some very excellent episodes (and few egg-shaped turds.) 7. Arrow - The year-long build-up of Slade paid of big time at the end of the Season 2. It was perfect show about a 6. Orphan Black - a Regular conspiracy-show elevated by Maslanys excellent performance as the 5. Jane The Virgin - This one was a complete surprise to me. a Telenovela-style comedy with completely ridiculous premise and "the Sexy latin Narrator" explaining everything. And it works! 4. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver - Like Daily show, except weekly and no John Daily. I especially like their well researched segments about different issues, which are more international in scope. Also usually quite funny. 3. Community - It lost few cast members, 1 whole season and gained some new faces, but it still one of the best comedies on television. Asscrack Bandit was pure gold. 2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine - The best comedy this year. Sambergs antics really play well against Braughnans deadpan performance. 1. Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey - Neil DeGrasse Tyson combined with Cosmos-series is documentary Gold.  Honorable mentions: Lucha Underground - It made Wrestling interesting again by adding Telenovela-style segments between matches and having clear style to their show. The Flash - I usually don't care much for Supers, but the Flash is an entertaining sister-show of Arrow. Life Story - Good quality nature docs are hard to come by, but this one is guaranteed Attenborough-quality! I still haven't seen the Latest season of Sherlock and there's upcoming Marco Polo-series that might mix-up the list. Issaries fucked around with this message at 19:48 on Dec 17, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 03:23
|
|
|
If Game of Thrones tops the list this year (and Orphan Black makes it anywhere near the top 10) this subforum has some serious problems to deal with.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 03:47
|
|
|
Bown posted:If Game of Thrones tops the list this year (and Orphan Black makes it anywhere near the top 10) this subforum has some serious problems to deal with. I don't think they will. They both put in relatively lackluster seasons this year. It'll be interesting to see what does win though, with the juggernaut of Breaking Bad out of the running, there are a lot of possibilities.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 03:55
|
|
|
For what it's worth I'm waiting on mid season finales before posting my list, but I do have a preliminary list done and the results might shock you!!!!!(PoI is not number 1)
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 04:01
|
|
|
Zaggitz posted:For what it's worth I'm waiting on mid season finales before posting my list, but I do have a preliminary list done and the results might shock you!!!!!(PoI is not number 1) That's okay, I'll make up for this shocker.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 04:06
|
|
|
Regy Rusty posted:1) Over the Garden Wall Ah, no. I loved this, and I should have put it at my top honestly, but I completely forgot about it. The animation is absolutely quaint and charming; I really like anything with Elijah Wood in it. The last episode was brilliant indeed. I'm contemplating changing my list now.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 04:13
|
|
|
Wherein I discover just how little television I actually keep up with regularly. 10. Game of Thrones Lackluster, but Joffrey's and Oberyn's deaths made up for it a little. 9. Faking it It's kinda dumb, and most of the characters tilt onto the "obnoxious rear end in a top hat" side of the teenager spectrum, but it's a fun watch. And at least that god-awful premise got put out of its misery entirely by the end of the first season. 8. black-ish Worth watching if only just for the kids. 7. Orphan Black Really just earning this slot on the back of Tatiana Maslany. We will probably all be tired of hearing about her (if you aren't already) by this time next year. 6. Broad City I seem to have watched a lot more comedies than last year. It took me a couple tries to get into it but once I sat down and watched more than a couple episodes, it became one of my favorites pretty quickly. 5. Veep Almost the funniest loving show I've ever watched. 4. The Fall Gillian Anderson is glorious in this as a detective who gives exactly zero shits about anyone's manpain. Meanwhile, Jamie Dornan is the creepiest motherfucker. Congratulations, everyone going to see 50 Shades of Grey. Your Christian is a serial killer. 3. Last Week Tonight Basically like a more enjoyable, weekly TDS. Not having a requisite interview in every episode really does wonders. 2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine One time, Chelsea Peretti made fun of me at one of her shows. It was awesome. 1. Person of Interest I'm stupid for having waited this long to watch this show. It somehow manages to hit almost every single thing I'd want to get out of something on television. (Really, it's all about Bear.) Dishonorable mention: Pretty Little Liars. So much momentum, so much good will in 2013, only to piss it all clean the gently caress away by having absolutely no one give a poo poo that a teacher knowingly from the word go hooked up with a teenager, after originally (back in the first season) insisting that he thought she was a college student. And then they killed off the actual best character. (Other shows I actually kept up with this past year - How to Get Away With Murder, Selfie, Marry Me, Agents of SHIELD)
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 04:33
|
|
|
Ravane posted:Ah, no. I loved this, and I should have put it at my top honestly, but I completely forgot about it. The animation is absolutely quaint and charming; I really like anything with Elijah Wood in it. The last episode was brilliant indeed. I'm contemplating changing my list now. Yeah it deserves the recognition. Remember everyone, it's not too late to watch Over the Garden Wall and put it in your top 10! (Seriously it's only 2 hours long total)
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 04:40
|
|
|
10) Z-Nation I feel incredibly guilty putting this on a top-ten list but it had a deceptively good first season that successfully balanced cartoonish ultra-violence with some drat fine character beats. 9)Face-Off (July-October season) This remains one of 2 reality shows I can stomach, mainly because it's light on drama, heavy on technical detail and I'm never mad when someone gets sent home 8)The Quest The other reality show I can stomach. Was it pure cheese? gently caress yes. Could you see the strings holding it together the whole time? Obviously, but the cast sold the hell out of everything and that gave it just the right amount of charm for me to consider it memorable. 7)Vikings This show promised me a blood eagle and delivered, I feel like that's all I need to say really. Would be higher but the last episode of this season was a bit of a cop-out 6)Arrow This show remains one of the best action series' in recent memory, but season 3 has been a little scatter-shot so far 5)Brooklyn Nine Nine Consistently funny, but I feel the Jake and Amy will they/won't they has already worn out its welcome 4)The Flash Excellent superhero action while the writing is good but not great 3)Hannibal Incredibly good cinematography mixed with excellent acting from the leads. The show definitely falters in the second half of this season until it picks up again in the finale, but Hannibal at its worst is still leagues better than most of TV. 2)Over the Garden Wall A good story told perfectly. The two leads play off each other amazingly, the supporting cast is instantly memorable and the art style is wonderful 1)Steven Universe I can honestly say I feel cheated by not having this show in my childhood. Every character is awesome in their own way, the animation is top-notch, funny when it needs to be, touching when it has to be and above all fun to watch.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 05:13
|
|
|
Honourable mentions – How to Get Away With Murder. True Blood (For a terrible final season). Amazing Race (For a fantastic current season). Hotwives of Orlando. Teen Wolf. Once Upon a Time. South Park. Suburgatory (For a depressingly cheap final season). Doctor Who (I don’t know how to feel about this show any more). The Originals (For a token gay character). Parks & Recreation. 10 – Orphan Black  This season lacked a lot of tension which the first series had. Also a very poorly implemented Trans clone. The finale stinger has me hoping for a return to form for Series 3. It’s still good TV. 9 –RuPauls’ Drag Race  Bitchy drag queens in a mix of Project Runway/Top Model? Amazing, quotable, plastic tv. 8 – The Strain  TV IV Somewhat irrationally hates this show so much. It’s not fantastic, but it keeps drawing me back in. The monstrosity of the vampires (Which you’ll see every episode!) and the decent CGI with their stingers is unsettling. I’m still creeped out by the bastards. 7 – Penny Dreadful A fantastic successor to True Blood, albeit in Victorian getup. The links to literary classics are enjoyable and well implemented. As for Mina… less said the better. Oh, and Dorian Gray is the biggest slut. 6 – Veep  Selena’s surprising rise to power leaves me interested for where next season will go. Watching everyone implode and bitch everyone else out is amazing. 5 – Upper Middle Bogan Upper class meets long-lost bogan family hits so many points which other Aussies will no doubt rather enjoy. It’s a sweet and honest look at family. Also, at times, hilarious. 4 – Legend of Korra  After a crap Season 2, Season 3 of Korra hit back for a home run. Character growth and beautiful animation capped off with breathtaking music make this magic kung-fu a show a must-see. 3 – Agents of SHIELD  This show somehow got good. It’s just goofy fun with some really cool action crap. 2 – Gravity Falls  If you aren’t watching this, you really should be. Fantastic voice acting, brilliant continuity and an entertaining rogues gallery in this mysterious town energise what could be pretentious crap. However, my 13yo students HATE this while the 15yo students and above LOVE it. I don’t know why. 1 – Walking Dead A cliché number one. But It just does so much right.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 05:51
|
|
|
10 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine It's a sitcom with good character work where Andy Samberg is funny but doesn't overpower everything by Andy Samberging. Having a really broad performer like that and keeping him in line is not nothing, especially when you've got a strong ensemble with standouts like Andre Braugher and Melissa Fumero. I'm just hoping we get to see more of Holt's home life. 09 - The Knick What I like about the Knick is that it's an unsympathetic look at the scientific and medical establishment as it was a century ago. While a lot of people parse this as just another male anti-hero drama, I love how it's willing to go grotesque by, for instance, subjecting Eleanor to real turn-of-the-century psychiatric treatments. 08 - Veep It's not The Thick of It and it's never going to be, but Selina's run for the presidency tells us why that might be a GOOD thing: without threats of parliamentary shuffles, special inquiries, or a bugbear like Malcolm Tucker, Veep can make a lot of comic meat out of a tragicomic storyline that thrives on momentum rather than stasis. 07 - Silicon Valley Oh my god. Oh my god. How is this not self-evident? The show might have stumbled a bit, but it's a sitcom that combines topicality with a great grasp of character. To be honest, it only drives home how outdated Sorkin is when you compare this with The Social Network. 06 - The Comeback Bitch, are you for real? The alpha bitch of meta mockumentary sitcoms comes back for a victory lap, more relevant and funnier than ever, and you need a rationale? Michael Patrick King is doing something that isn't disgusting garbage for the first time in like nine years. 05- Last Week Tonight Sure, it's not a spot on Newswipe or other, similar programming, but it's head-and-shoulders above the much more complacent political comedy of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. 04 - Rick and Morty It's like Doctor Who and Black Mirror mashed together except it's also a cartoon that makes me laugh. It never shies away from the ugly side of things and actually treats things with gravity when they need it. 03 - Fargo Fargo is True Detective except it's not pretentious crap that uses allusions to Bierce and Chambers to cover the fundamental gap where its thematic center should be. 02 - Black Mirror I wish it could be Christmas Everydaaaaaaay 01 - Hannibal It's Hannibal. It's beautiful, grotesque, thematically deft, heart-wrenching, vaguely homo-erotic... it's everything that cable wants to be, and it's on network, and it's anchored by some of the best performances in the medium. It's a shame there's so little left. Honorable Mentions go to Agents of SHIELD for Most Improved and Constantine for Most Disappointing. Republican Vampire fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Dec 17, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 06:42
|
|
|
So my list is made up of pictures, because a picture is worth 1000 words. 10) Gundam Build Fighters (Try)  9) Gravity Falls  8) Suits  7) Reign Moved up 2 places because of this week's episode and the PSA after it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btWIsMuxQNo 6) Arrow  5) Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  4) The Flash  3) WWE NXT  2) Faking It  1) The JBL (not Cole) Show (without Renee Young)  Honorable Mention: this image. Sadly neither RAW or Smackdown were good enough to justify it. 
Senerio fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Dec 29, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 07:24
|
|
|
This was a great year for comedies, only three shows in my top 10 are not, and one of those is a documentary series. 10. High Moon This "TV movie" (unaired pilot) was hilarious awesome fun. Sci-fi without the post apocalyptic grimdark that is so in for the genre right now. Gay android spies, robot dinosaurs, and full of color. This was a well needed shot of energy in a genre that has been so depressing of late. I wish it had been picked up to series. 9. BoJack Horseman This was an unexpectedly amazing show from Netflix. I love when Hollywood writes Hollywood, and the animals shtick allowed you to accept the bizarre places the show took you, like Vincent Adultman and Downer Ending. 8. Black-ish The two youngest kids in this show are so adorable I overdose on cute every time I watch this show. I only wish there were more Laurence Fishburne, all his scenes were great but loaded into the first few episodes. I feel bad for thinking it but the wife character's eyes crack me up every time I see them. 7. Shameless This show is always good, but the fourth season was also crazy dark for Fiona. Everything fell apart for her in an ever sinking spiral of pain and despair. Mickey finally came out and it was a great scene. Frank was, as always, an awful person. Really every character had a good arc this season. This show can be such a dark comedy, and this season felt almost too black to be comedy (like that could ever happen). 6. True Detective I put this here for the undercover robbery shootout escape scene. Everything else about the show was good to great but that scene was top notch amazing TV. Dramas had a really strong year but I only felt like I could put one on my top 10 list 'cause I'm a whore for comedies, Fargo and Person of Interest were strong contenders for the spot. 5. Veep I love all the characters on this show. This season got me really hyped for the next season. Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selena Meyer is always great. 4. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey The wonders of the universe presented for laypeople in prime time. I just couldn't help but love this miniseries. 3. You're the Worst The title told you exactly what to expect from this show. Awful people being awful together. The final scene of the season has me so excited for season two. I really didn't like the war veteran sidekick, Edgar, at the start of the season and slightly warmed up to the character as the season ended, still the weak point of the show though. 2. Playing House A show based on the real life friendship of the two lead actresses and it shows. Just a really great show with true friendship. Also has Keegan-Michael Key from Key & Peele as an awesome recurring character. The bird bones episode was too funny. 1. Broad City Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson play fictionalized versions of themselves and it is hilarious. Hannibal Buress plays an amazing recurring character on the show, I heard he is getting his own show now and can only hope he will play as big a part in the next season. Hon. mentions: Silicon Valley, Fargo, Person of Interest, The Flash, The 100, Transparent, Review, Rectify JUICY HAMBUGAR fucked around with this message at 07:52 on Dec 7, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 07:50
|
|
|
10 too many cooks looking forward to this pilot episode getting a full season, what little we saw was intruiging enough and judging from the opening credits they're planning on a lot more happening. 09 inside number 9 new show from some of the league of gentlemen folk, also phychoville. think of it like the twilight zone, if the twilight zone was actually good 08 house of fools my name is beef, i'm a hot loving beast and i live next door to these two. i travel this land, removing my pants and making love to african ladies. 07 mad as hell australian news satire show. it's funny and it's hosted by shaun micallef who is one of the funniest people in australian tv. good show 06 running man a korean variety show. i saw one the other day they were all aliens. the one i'm watching now they're all secret agents except one who is an infiltrater, also there was a chair catapult that threw them into the pool if they made a mistake on a tonguetwister. 05 crime scene this was a great show that we got to watch between running man seasons. the team got to try and solve a murder each week, ummm.it was good yeah 04 liar game a korean remake of the japanese manga and live action show. this is a superiour show to the japanese one mainly because the characters aren't as loving cartoonish, much easier to wathc because of that. looking forward to the next season because they've been adding in conspiracy stuff that wasn't in the japanese one (i havent' read the manga it might be in that i don't know) 03 the genius this korean variety game show is a lot of fun, unfortunately we've been missing the song Extreme Ways which generally came at the best moment of each episode, but it's still been great to watch. a good cast and i'm upset that my favourite didn't win but i'm going to watch to the end anyway[/b] 02 black mirror I havent' seen this years episode yet but based on every episode so far, and knowing the guy behind the show, it's going to be must see tv. 01 doctor who Probably the best show on tv, it's been consistantly good for over 50 years now. not a single bad episode, and the audio stories are even better! this new guy they have being the doctor is brilliant and his companion is tolerable and very cute. a good show.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 09:52
|
|
|
Ah gently caress it, if the mid season finales end up changing my mind I'll just edit in post. First, my 2013 show of 2014: Spartacus  I saw the entirety of Spartacus shortly after the start of the last year after seeing a few people put it on their top ten lists. I have been kicking myself nonstop since then as it is one of the most incredible, satisfying shows I have ever seen. A rocky start that soon leads into 3 and a half of the most consistently excellent seasons of TV I’ve ever watched. Woulda been my number 1 pick last year were I not late to the party. My bad. Now the main event: 10. Transparent  It's a show about lovely people dealing with their father's gender transition at the same time as they all go through major transitions. The family is 100% broken all the time but sometimes you get moments like the one in this picture and it makes it all worth while. 9. The 100  What a crazy goddamn show. What kind of voodoo magic has the CW been employing that lets them make such drat entertaining TV? It’s loving mind boggling. A lot of the character writing can be inconsistent but goddamn if the weird turns characters take isn’t riveting as hell. Well played, teenage girl pandering network. 8. Black-ish  This year’s best new comedy. Really smart family show with hands down the best child actors I’ve seen in years. 7. Rectify  Probably the closest thing to art there is on TV. 6. Utopia (UK) Series 2  No other show has managed to portray pure, unadulterated dread as well as this one. This is a show where no one is safe, where bodies drop faster than you snap your fingers. Everything is hosed and no one is coming to save you. You can only try to save yourself, but you’ll probably fail in the attempt. I’m utterly crushed by the fact that this was cancelled but I have to hope the HBO remake by David Fincher will lead to its official revival. 5. Brooklyn Nine-Nine  Nothing’s okay. Wunch is circling me like a shark frenzied by chum. The task force turning into a career-ending quagmire. An Internal Affairs investigation casting doubt upon my integrity. And you ask, is everything okay? I am buffeted by the winds of my foe’s enmity and cast about by the towering waves of cruel fate. Yet, I, a Captain, am no longer able to command my vessel, my precinct, from my customary helm, my office. And you ask, is everything okay? I’ve worked the better part of my years on earth overcoming every prejudice and fighting for the position I hold, and now I feel it being ripped from my grasp and, with it, the very essence of what defines me as a man. And you ask, is everything okay? 4. Arrow  Couple the amazing end of season 2 with the overall lighter tone of this current season (mostly thanks to Brandon Routh’s Ray Palmer, who is the absolute best and I hope he never leaves) and this show remains one of the most fun things to watch on TV. The action is still as top notch as it’s ever been, and while this first half of S3 has been more of a slow burn without the requisite million and one plot twists, it’s become a more consistent show to sit through. 3. The Flash  Take everything that makes Arrow great, remove 80% of the angst, what do you get? An amazingly fun show that always makes sure I have the biggest grin on my face at the end of the night. The Flash has always been my favorite superhero and this show has been doing him justice in a way I would never have expected in a pre-Arrow world. 2. Person of Interest  So they didn’t top the Devil’s Share. Hell, I doubt they ever will, but this year for the show still gave us plenty to be impressed by with RAM, Root Path, Prophets and the Devil You Know. The show has now finally become the cyberpunk thriller it’s been alluding to for years. The scope continues to expand and shift as seasons go, but the stakes have never been higher, and that makes for drat gripping TV. 1. Fargo  The first true post-Breaking Bad prestige show, does everything right that True Detective did wrong. I don’t really know of any other way to describe why this show hit me so hard. The way it starts every episode as if it were its own movie, the way it balances every angle just right, the way you always know that Lester is just this snivelling ingrate who doesn’t deserve a single good thing he gets, the way Lorne Malvo is basically Satan incarnate. Everything in the first season of this anthology was perfect. Zaggitz fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Dec 17, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 12:36
|
|
|
10. Orange is the New Black This was fun to binge through. The ending in particular was satisfying. 9. The Walking Dead It's kind of poo poo but I do enjoy watching it. Mainly for Carol. The first episode of the latest season was fantastic so gets a top 10 spot for that alone. 8. A Touch of Cloth 3 Not as good as the previous 2, but still great fun and full of puns. The continuity joke was the highlight of part 3. 7. The Flash It's fun and light. I like it despite the dumb comic book stuff 6. Bates Motel Season 2 was a huge improvement on the first. The two leads (Norma & Norman) remained excellent. 5. Utopia Unlike everything else. Style over substance in a good way. Should not have been cancelled, and I'm angry that it's now in the hands of someone else. 4. The Knick I really enjoyed the setting. The sequence in which a doctor forgets to wash his hands after touching a meningitis patient was the scene I screamed loudest at this year. 3. Veep Brilliant comedy, Armando Iannucci can do no wrong (and the cast is good too) 2. Fargo Best miniseries ever? Lots of tension and I loved the development of Martin Freeman's character. 1. Hannibal It's dark, grim and nasty but sometimes it can be hilarious too. It also looks and sounds amazing - it's perfect. Best TV line of 2014: "Is your social worker inside that horse?"
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 13:08
|
|
|
Narrowly missed out: Drunk History, The Americans, Sleepy Hollow, True Detective, The Game, The Fall, 24: live Free Die Hard Dropped out Z Nation So much fun, kicked the gently caress out of Walking Dead this year. Knocked out by Gamorra with two days to go. 10 Gomorra Italian Mobsters, in Naples. poo poo goes down on a regular basis... Cinematography is pretty brilliant. Naples is a poo poo hole no one should ever visit. 9 Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D Every episode bar a couple from the end of season 1 to now has been a progression, Huge turn around in quality as we all know. 8 The 100 Sleeper hit. Currently knocking it out of the park. 7 Gravity Falls Genius show. 6 Banshee Nothing bad to say about this show. Sex, Guns and Fighting. More badasses than the UFC. 5 Arrow Amell 4 Flash Any straight man without a Tumblr, shouldn't have 3 CW shows in the top 10 of the year. But here we are 3 Rick and Morty You ask a lot of questions Morty, not very charismatic 2 Vikings Blood Eagle... 1 Hannibal Stuff way worse than a Blood Eagle, food porn and a wendigo Rocksicles fucked around with this message at 12:32 on Dec 29, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 13:44
|
|
|
Senerio posted:7) Reign What the poo poo?  Is Teen GoT turning into After School Special GoT?
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 13:51
|
|
|
Provide your list or kindly shut the gently caress up.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 13:57
|
|
|
Okay, this is my real post. Ignore the effortless bullshit one from before. Shows that just didn't make it in because TV has been just that drat good this year: Trailer Park Boys, Rectify (this absolutely shocked me. Rectify is amazing in every way yet I still can't bring myself to put it in the top 20 somehow), Game of Thrones (made a lot of missteps this year but it's still damned good), Gravity Falls, True Detective, Playing House, Vee-oh my god i need to stop there are too many Show that didn't make it in because it doesn't freakin' count: Too Many Cooks. The actual top 10 in the right order and everything: 10. You're the Worst Cynical arseholes romcom that is my favourite traditional sitcom this year by miles. Insanely sharp writing and a supremely game cast. Also Aya Cash is gorgeous. Just about manages to pull off the tightrope between meanness/cyniciam and genuine heart. 09. Transparent Hey, these Amazon fellas might be going places! Jill Soloway is the TV auteur we never knew we needed. Tambor plunges himself into an incredibly brave role and gives us his best work ever while the kids are all some of the most sympathetically lovely people TV has ever shown us. 08. Rick and Morty I wonder if this would be higher if it'd aired later in the year? Time and the overbearing love some of my irl friends have for this have diluted it for me, but it's still not only the best and most unique sci-fi airing, but the most acidically funny show TV has had in years. As with You're the Worst manages to inject genuine emotion that works into a show that doesn't have a place for it. 07. Mad Men Hard to write about, especially because like with much Mad Men it was a slow burn that only really made sense once you could see the big picture. The big moments were among the most effective for me in any TV drama. I'm praying for some hope of redemption for Don Draper going into 2015. Also that the old man makeup they give Jon Hamm in the claimed final scene isn't so bad. 06. Comedy Bang! Bang! Not quite as consistent as last year but when it's on can give me more laughs than just about anything. This year has expanded the list of guests and included some pretty interesting people such as Tony Hawk while also continuing to play with structure in a way you don't ever really see - the fake "top 10 CBB moments countdown" framing device in the Lizzy Caplan episode being a highlight. Plus Scott Aukerman is my favourite dude hence the avatar. 05. Review Andy Daly's a genius, guys. It's a bummer that Comedy Central sat on this brilliant season but over a year but it made it all the better when it eventually became a hit. The concept of a guy reviewing "real life" is fun enough, but what elevates this show from the premise of the original Australian version is both the way Daly plays his host, who throws himself into everything with blind gusto, and the serialised element they added, as his life falls apart episode by episode. I don't know how a season 2 is going to work but I'm absolutely thrilled it's happening. 04. Hannibal This makes every other drama on every other regular network look like poo poo. Sorry, Good Wife/PoI fans, but...you got nothin' on this. As much as I love the unique approaches to gore and such, what really draws me in here is the psychological nature of Hannibal and Will's relationship. Add some jet-black comedy, amazing acting, and the best cinematography and sound design you can see anywhere right now, and you have the best drama network TV knows how to offer atm. 03. Adventure Time This show gets so much weirder and so much better every year. I'm basically at the point where I'm willing to call it the best children's cartoon ever made. There's been some major plot jazz this year and it all serves to make the mythology all the more interesting and intense. We've also had the usual themes of puberty and such, as well as a short history of inequality at one point, paired with episodes about a dog's stretchy tail joining an insect circus, the existential qualms of a character known as the "Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant", and some fifth-dimensional fun that was actually probably better than the version seen in Interstellar. It's just....the freakin' best. 02. Louie Last-second switcharound WHAAAAA? In my original list this was #1, and the line between the top two is still very thin. Basically Louie is the closest TV gets to an art film right now. Especially because there are actually two art films contained within the season. After taking a year off Louis CK came back with the most thoughtful, intelligent, strange, sometimes frightening moments anything is giving us right now. It's a shame so much of the discussion about this season got swallowed up by a fundamentally wrong misinterpretation of one scene, but it doesn't take away from how utterly amazing the show was. 01. Fargo When I'm talking about my top 10 films with people and the original Fargo gets brought up, I tell people it's my favourite good vs. evil story ever. It's true. Of all the different ways to tell that basic story archetype, none appeals more to me than the one that's just a genuinely nice, folksy lady trying to piece together a really senseless thing. The heart I love so much in the movie is on display front and centre in the show and is exactly why it makes it to the top of my list. Not that it would be able to succeed without everything else around it being completely impeccable, from the pitch-perfect performances (Allison Tolman is a revelation, and Thornton/Freeman put in new career-best work for me) to the expansive, confident cinematography to the loving fantastic scripts. Reminder that all Noah Hawley was really known for before were some episodes of Bones, yet he managed to write an entire ten-hour story that hits all the right notes, references the exact Coens-y tone they want without ever seeming to emulate or be swallowed by it, and contain some really ballsy moves. I could write an essay on this show, but let's just lead out by saying it deserves to be at the top this year more than anything. True Detective had one really good shot, but Fargo did everything right without blowing its wad too early. Now here's my 11-20, just because I ended up with them while I was ranking everything and heck why not: 11. Happy Valley - Best British show of the year with some horrifically intense moments and an incredible lead performance. 12. Orange is the New Black - Mostly as good as ever but I'm not gonna lie y'all, Vee really killed a lot of this season for me. 13. Nathan For You - Still incredible and still reveals more about human nature than a lot of more serious shows. Dumb Starbucks is a masterstroke. 14. Eagleheart - Only a few episodes of this aired this year otherwise I mighta put it in my top 5. Eagleheart season 3 is the best thing [as] have ever done. Guaranteed. 15. The Birthday Boys - Best sketch show airing, miles above Key & Peele. Does things with the episodic format sketch has never done. 16. Broad City - Very fun, cute stoner comedy. I'm super happy we're getting more active female voices in comedy. Hannibal Buress is incredible. 17. Over the Garden Wall - Excellent miniseries with a fantastic classic Disney/Ghibli tonal blend, a lot of AT alum, and great guest voices. 18. Steven Universe - I'll admit it took me over 20 episodes before I finally fell in love with this show, but now its' mythology is opening up it's becoming really something. On track to be the next great cartoon. 19. Brooklyn Nine-Nine - I have some issues with this show but they're largely based around what I want it to be instead of what it actually is. I think I could grow to really love the live-action cartoon it's seemingly turning into. 20. Bob’s Burgers - Still as funny and manic as ever but has become more of an "old reliable" for me than something that actively excites me now. Still more than worth it! well that was a fun hour and a bit. i seriously had to stop myself from making a 21-30.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 14:53
|
|
|
10) Sleepy Hollow - This show slid down many spots because I'm really disliking how they're marganilizing Frank and Jenny in favor of Katrina and White Dude McRogueWithAHeartOfGold. But still, it's a fun show every week and just a roller coaster of crazy, history, funny, horror. 9) Psych - The last couple of years this was always my #2 but season 8 had a lot of not-great episodes. It was all completely redeemed by slam-dunking the show's finale, though. Still one of the funniest and just fun shows I've ever loved. 8) Playing House - I had no idea this show was coming until a friend told me to watch it just before it started and I am so glad I did. A double-female lead front about two best friends PLUS Keegan-Michael Key and Zach Woods also having great parts? Do we really STILL not know if this show is getting a season two!? HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? OUT LOUD? IN THE WORLD? 7) 24 - It's crazy that in 2014 I can still put 24 on a list of things that I loved this year. Cutting the show down to 12 hours really worked. It allowed them to trim 85% of the fat, leaving just enough for it to still feel like a season of 24 for us to complain about, but still keep all the stuff that made 24 great. Very little about this season felt like a retread, while still featuring enough enough callbacks and cameos to not feel like a reboot. Introducing Yvonne Strahovski as a semi-partner to Jack was really great. I used to be a walking 24 encyclopedia back in the day, and got so disillusioned with the show I never even watched most of season 8. This season really renewed my love for the show. 6) Drunk History - I didn't even know this was a thing until last year and so this was the first season I caught live. This show is amazingly fun, and I learn more about history (sort of) than I have since high school. Add in that several Thrilling Adventure Hour castmembers are either drunks or re-enactors on the show and I'm all in. 5) Elementary - Still my favorite procedural on TV. Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu are magic together and last season's overarcing plotline was great except for the misstep with Joan and Mycroft. One of the few non-comedies I really look forward to every week. 4) Fargo - Division Post told me about this show a few days after it started and I'm so glad he did. My liking of Colin Hanks outweighed my distaste for Martin Freeman so I gave it a shot and wow. I thought this season was basically a masterpiece. I need to go re-watch it now. 3) Review - I just learned who Andy Daly was last year from his guest-starring arc on Thrilling Adventure Hour and now I want to watch everything he does. This show is a little difficult to explain but was executed with perfection. I would have been perfectly happy with leaving the one season we got as-is, but am excited for season 2 as well. Jessica St. Clair as Forrest's wife and James Urbaniak as his boss rounded out an already great cast. 2) Brooklyn Nine-Nine - I never expected to love this show as much as I do, but now I really, really do. it probably makes me laugh more than anything else this year on a regular basis. 1) Parks and Recreation - Forever. Unless they bungle the landing, expect this at #1 on my list next year, too. I can't wait to see how they end it considering the last two minutes of the season finale. Honorable mentions: The Leftovers - Not because I loved it but because I found it strangely compelling Key & Peele - Keegan-Michael Key was in half the things I loved this year and I still can't get enough of him. Game of Thrones - Yeah it slipped some this year but a certain someone's death made up for it. Plus, Brienne is on it so... OitNB - Even better than season 1 and I'm sorry I couldn't squeeze it onto my list. The Walking Dead - I love zombie shows. Comedy Bang Bang! - I just started watching a month or two ago because of my love for the podcast U Talkin' U2 To Me? / Adam Scott / Scott being a frequent TAH guest and now I love this show so much. Scandal - Still an awesome crazy ride but can we please drop the Olivia/Fitz thing already? No? Hannibal - So grossly beautiful. I can't stop watching. Mad Men - They stuck the landing this last season. Louie - For the fat girl speech alone, but still, great season. Silicon Valley - Despite my issues with the lack of female nerds on the show, it was really funny.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 16:08
|
|
|
Annakie posted:Silicon Valley - Despite my issues with the lack of female nerds on the show, it was really funny. Considering only like 12% of engineers in Silicon Valley are female in real life, you might want to take your issues up with the real Silicon Valley/STEM education system and not the show. Bown posted:Show that didn't make it in because it doesn't freakin' count: Too Many Cooks. Why wouldn't it? I don't see any minimum episode limit in the OP. Or anything dictating that a standard narrative structure is required. thexerox123 fucked around with this message at 16:36 on Dec 7, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 16:20
|
|
|
Bown posted:Show that didn't make it in because it doesn't freakin' count: Too Many Cooks. It counts. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 16:31
|
|
|
Bown posted:
I love you! just downloaded it, 5 episodes in... Aya Cash is now my ultimate woman
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 16:36
|
|
|
Ugh. I don't think i've even watched ten different shows this year.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 16:52
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 05:59 |
|
|
Okay everyone up to Annakie should be linked in the second post, if you're not linked I either missed you or, more likely, your submission broke the rules in some way this is a good reminder that if you're gonna change your submission, which you're allowed to do, make sure you change the post i hyperlinked to in the second post, don't make a new post thanks
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2014 19:08
|
|