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Welcome, welcome, my friends! Gather round one and all! Gather as we come together to take part in one of TV IV's grandest traditions, an arbitrary ranking of different series of visual media on that most nebulous of qualities: being 'lit'. After years of dedicated(?) service Toxx has stepped down from the OP but never fear cause your girl Rarity is in the joint. You guys know the drill by now so I'm gonna skip the big spiel and get right down to business.  VOTING RULES 1. 1. Every show you pick must have had a first time airing in its country of origin in full or in part during 2018. This could be a network show, a cable show, an online show, a TV movie, it could even be a Youtube thing if you're down with what the kids are calling 'it'. 2. 2. The joy of this thread is in getting to shout about your favourites and hear about the hidden gems that you missed and we can only do that if you talk about why you've chosen the shows you have. You can write a sentence, you can write an essay, whatever you like as long as you write something. Any lists posted without reasons for their picks will not be counted in the final vote. 3. 3. If you want to list more than ten shows go for it but I'll only count your top ten. If you want to list less than ten shows then go for that too but I won't count it at all. If you don't want to rank your picks then that's fine as well but again, I won't count it. 4. 4. Don't be a dick about other people's choices. This is a positive thread to celebrate the best of TV, not a place for people to get lost in an argument over which genre show in its third season poo poo the bed worst. If you want to be critical then take it elsewhere. Please note that this rule will be waived if anyone picks Roseanne. 5. 5. If you want to talk about spoilers in your post then by all means go for it but put a spoiler warning at the start of your list. 6. 6. If you want to go back and edit your list after the fact then go for it, just shoot me a PM or post in the thread to let me know you have or I might not count it. 7. 7. Deadline for submissions is 1st January 00:00AM PST. I'll then do a live countdown of the final results in the New Year! There you have it, it's as simple as that! Archives TVIV Poll 2012: https://forums.somethingawful.com/s...hreadid=3523734 TVIV Poll 2013: https://forums.somethingawful.com/s...hreadid=3591552 TVIV Poll 2014: https://forums.somethingawful.com/s...hreadid=3686396 TVIV Poll 2015: https://forums.somethingawful.com/s...hreadid=3754622 TVIV Poll 2016: https://forums.somethingawful.com/s...hreadid=3800289 TVIV Poll 2017: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3840812 Top 25 TVIV Shows of 2017 Just to remind you guys, here's the top 25 shows that aired last year to also air this year. Hope you didn't forget any of them! 25. Dear White People 24. iZombie 23. Brooklyn Nine-Nine 22. Star vs. The Forces of Evil 21. Steven Universe 20. 12 Monkeys 19. Doctor Who 18. The Handmaid's Tale 17. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events 16. GLOW 15. Legends of Tomorrow 14. Travelers 13. The Expanse 12. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 11. The Deuce 10. The Orville 9. Bojack Horseman 8. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 7. Riverdale 6. Agents of SHIELD 5. Patriot 4. American Vandal 3. Better Call Saul 2. Legion 1. The Good Place For Your Consideration If you're undecided on your final list then here's some new shows to air this year that might tickle your fancy (after mutual consent has been agreed, naturally)
That's your lot, friends! Get listing! PS. As a sidenote, I now run of these for video games as well so if that's your thing then pop on over and laugh at the Games forum's inability to rank things starting from #10
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Dec 8, 2018 14:08
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Does the Orvile count? The last episode of season 1 was in December and the first episode of S2 is on December 30th. I probably wont be editing my list on new years eve, based on one episode.
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Dec 8, 2018 14:38
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No no no nononono I still have so much stuff to watch. I haven't even finished catching up to The Deuce yet 
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Dec 8, 2018 14:54
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cant cook creole bream posted:Does the Orvile count? The last episode of season 1 was in December and the first episode of S2 is on December 30th. I probably wont be editing my list on new years eve, based on one episode. I figured it had aired more of S2 this year but technically that does still count 
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Dec 8, 2018 14:58
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Atlanta for 1 or you’re all monsters. Also I’d be surprised if Good Place wins again given what a slump the first half of s3 was.
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Dec 8, 2018 15:02
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Escobarbarian posted:Atlanta for 1 or you’re all monsters. Hell, you could argue it deserves number 1 just for the Teddy Perkins episode alone.
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Dec 8, 2018 15:10
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You're missing what might be the best show of 2018, Forever, on your list.
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Dec 8, 2018 15:43
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Rarity posted:I figured it had aired more of S2 this year but technically that does still count We finally know why Fox decided on that premier date! cant cook creole bream fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Dec 8, 2018 |
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Dec 8, 2018 16:06
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10: Maniac A sci-fi show about perception, reality and meaning. Asks a lot of questions and doesn't force its own answers on the viewer, but also doesn't leave you feeling let down or like you wasted your time. Plus it's a self-contained one-season story so there's no annoying cliffhanger or unresolved plot threads at the end. It's not going to appeal to everyone, but if you're in the target audience then you'll probably like it a lot. 9: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend This show is still pretty funny and hits more often than it misses. Most of the songs are at least good in the context of the episode and many of them are good on their own merits (and excellent in the context of the episode). 8: Riverdale This spot could have gone to either Riverdale or Gotham as they're pretty much the same show: High-budget soap opera based on a comic. If you like intense melodrama then you should watch both. 7: The Tick The second half of the season was just as good as the first. The Tick (the character) is just great; an invulnerable idiot who just assumes that everyone around him is just as focused on the fight between good and evil as he is. 6: The Magicians What if the humans who found Narnia weren't some nice kids but a bunch of lovely adults? Also there's magic and gods and apocalypses and invisible fairies. 5: The Good Place Somehow this show manages to keep reinventing itself while continuing to be undeniably the same show. I've particularly been enjoying the way each episode of this season has been built around explaining a particular philosophical concept. 4: 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Of all the comedy panel shows, this is my favourite. And I watch a ton. Jimmy Carr is endlessly amusing to me, and I like playing along. 3: Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell This season has been some of Micallef's funniest material, IMO, and I've particularly enjoyed the fourth-wall breaking (eg. identifying Tosh Greenslade's characters as "Tosh Greenslade in character" and having various characters mention that they need to get changed for a different role or use the wrong voice). 2: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events This is a terrible show and you shouldn't watch it. Bad things just keep happening to some very nice children and only a psychopath could find any joy in it. 1: Happy Detective Stabler is a killer for hire who's found himself with a cartoon unicorn for a sidekick and a child to save. Very violent, very funny. Honourable mentions: Killing Eve, Counterpart, You & Press. I had 24 shows listed before I picked out my top ten but those four were the closest to making the cut.
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Dec 8, 2018 17:24
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Honorable mentions to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which both barely miss the list. 12 Monkeys also fell off the list due to a late contender jumping all the way gently caress up to 4. 10) Miraculous Ladybug/Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir I was debating placing this one on the list over CXG, Sabrina and 12 Monkeys, because while I really really liked the season 2 finale, the show is biting off way more than it can chew, and I am concerned about its future. That said, the second half of the two-part finale of Season 2 was basically a 20 minute fight scene that switched things up enough so it never got boring, and showed what Papillon/Hawkmoth can do if he actually tries. Still worth a watch, but it may not keep a spot on my top 10 next year depending on how the show goes. 9) Ducktales 2017 You know that thing you loved as a child from Disney Afternoon? That wasn't either Mickey Mouse or Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers? Well it's in this show and it's wonderful. I knew I'd love the show from the last line of the first episode (Mom?) and the show has not slowed down. The show is very clearly by fans of the Duck canon, and it's been a very fun ride. The first episode is up on youtube and I highly recommend anyone with the remotest amount of nostalgia for Ducktales to give it a shout. 8) Marvel's Cloak & Dagger Olivia Holt is absolutely carrying this show, and it's a credit to her performance as Tandy that I'm listing it over what I'm listing it over. That said, I'm extremely excited to see where the next season goes, as Emma Lahana's turn as Mayhem will give her a chance to shine. It's a cheesy Freeform Drama, but sometimes a show doesn't need to be more than that to be listed on here. At least not for me. 7) Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events This show is only suitable for the most wicked among us, and those who enjoy watching the suffering of young children. The cruelty of this show is such that even the villain Count Olaf begs you to look away in the theme song. Humanity as a whole will breathe a collective sigh of relief when the show ends on January 1st, which, sadly, makes it eligible for the poll one last time next year. 6) DC's Legends of Tomorrow From by far the bleakest show on the list to the funnniest. Legends of Tomorrow is a joy to watch every week. The show is self-aware enough to mock the overly dramatic self-importance of the other shows. The penultimate episode of the year, for example, had Ray Palmer, played by previous Superman Brandon Routh, grow a mustache, jokes abound. 5) She-Ra and the Princesses of Power It's gay, so I am legally obligated to list it. Even if I wasn't, I'd list it here, because I am quite enjoying the show so far and excited for the next season. Every single character is the best but also Scorpia is the best. 4) Marvel's Runaways It's gay, so I am legally obligated to list it. Season 2 fixed all of my problems with Season 1, and honestly I can say that I genuinely enjoyed Season 2. The parents are still the standouts, in particular Brittany Ishibashi as Tina Minoru. The scene where she threatens to disown Nico, and Nico calls her bluff is a highlight of the season. That said, the kids also have grown into their role as well, and there are some pretty good scenes between them as well. Season 1 left me ambivalent for season 2, but now I really really want Season 3. 3) Star vs the Forces of While only a half season aired this year, it was still a very good half season. The show has stopped all pretenses, and is now directly calling out the mewmans for their discrimination of the monsters. The show painted an interesting dichotomy between Eclipsa/Globgor/Meteora and the Magic High Commission. The focus on Star's growth as a person is very good. Every now and then I go back to Episode 1 and think "this show is going to be a fun, smart show about racism." 2) Cobra Kai I bought a month of Youtube Red for this show (I had already used my free month to download some youtube videos to listen to back when I didn't have unlimited data). This show was a super fun nostalgia trip, that even someone with no nostalgia for the original (I first saw Karate Kid when the remake came out and I decided to watch the original instead of the remake)can get lost in. I liked the way that Johnny, while still a total prick, shows his side of the story. I am interested in a second season, and the day before the show came out I would never have guessed that. 1) Star was a mewman who was sent to Earth. Learned of beauty, and life's worth. Star expelled Toffee from the wand herself Did that even end up mattering when Ludo did the splattering? Star did the right thing and gave up her throne With the friends she made she was not alone. Now all of that has earned it number three And I think that we can all agree There is a show I am forgetting I'd rather talk about  A WEDDING Steven Universe I could put this as #1 on the list entirely on the back of Reunited, the final episode of the most recent Stevenbomb, "Heart of the Crystal Gems," and second to last episode that has aired as of the time of this list's writing. After some nasty words were exchanged between the two halves of Garnet, Ruby and Sapphire, the gems decide to celebrate their titular reunion by having a full-on wedding between the two of them. However, much like Pro Wrestling, no wedding goes without unwanted crashers. In this case, it's the main antagonists to this point, the Diamond Authority, two giant gems who are upset at Rose Quartz for killing ("shattering") their sister, Pink Diamond. The episode is rife with shoutouts to the earlier episodes, and genuinely I'd consider it up there with Sozin's Comet if it was actually the finale of the show, but it isn't, so it's just a similarly good episode. There's even a part like in "Sozin's Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang" where the fandom is upset at their main character for following his gentle nature and not killing the main antagonist(s). The high points (Lapis's return, The Cluster emerging... on Steven's side and taking down both Diamond Arm ships). Now I'd give it #1 based entirely on that episode, but we also had more than just that one episode. The year started out with a fun romp in space with newly pink Lars, and has also introduced the next main antagonist, the leader of the Diamond Authority who has... something wrong about her. The next episodes air this month and I am incredibly excited for them. Anyway that was my list. I've been super excited to write up SU since Reunited aired, you may be able to tell. Senerio fucked around with this message at 02:21 on Jan 23, 2019 |
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Dec 10, 2018 22:44
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This was hard for me this year, in terms of I'm not sure i was enthusiastic about enough shows I watched to really be eagerly adding them to a "best of 2018" list. So I apologize for this post not having an extreme effort level or anything... but here we go! Starting at the top and then struggling to get to #10: 1. The Americans not sure this was mentioned in the OP?? RIP communism. It's so sad. This was the final season of a very good show though, and I think it went out pretty well? So I'll give it the congratulatory #1 spot here 2. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel even though it takes me out of it every time I see Jen Kirkman's name pop up in the credits as a story editor, I think this show is still pretty much just as fun as it was in s1. They rehabilitated Joel a bunch, but it's a unique show, it's got funny situations and a rootable main character. I still like it 3. Survivor I always rank this show high because it's one of my favorite series. If it has a down year i move it down, a good year i move it up, but it's always on my list. This year hasn't been an amazing Survivor year (Ghost Island was a dud but David vs Goliath has been a very fun ride) but like I said up top there's not a lot of shows I was crazy for this year, so let's just slot Survivor in here. 4. Patriot Put this up at #2 last year behind just the Young Pope. I think s2 was a definite step down and a lot more flawed. I love the cast, but they really had to shoehorn them in to get them all in one place. Birdbath's reintroduction and then self-KO was fun at least, but too much was forced (even bringing the folk guy back from the dead?), and it felt less organic how everyone was just constantly running into each other. In terms of humor the hostage video was way too hamfisted... I do think they still hit the right tone in some of the dark humor, like shooting & buying the accordion boy, but in too many places they substituted just piling up the abuse on John for black comedy. 5. Haunting of Hill House The ending didn't land for me, but it was a lot of fun watching a horror series in October, one that wasn't the over-the-top AHS chaos & camp especially 6. Castle Rock Mysterious things happening in a magical realism Stephen King world... it takes itself seriously and attempts a sort of Leftovers type of thing. I actually was enjoying it and enjoying the weirdness, that kind of thing is just up my ally I guess. I didn't find where they went with it altogether satisfying though. 7. The Good Place The plot of this show used to jump all over the place in the best possible way, always moving very fast and surprising you and always very fun. But I think it's most recent jump back into real life on Earth hasn't been quite as good as what's come so far. Still a good show though and I guess the tail end of s2 happened in 2018. 8. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt We only got 6 episodes and it wasn't anything revelatory, but after slogging through Arrested Development it was refreshing just getting served straight up funny TV 9. Handmaid's Tale I guess this show? If you want the misery porn of reactionary fascism doing its thing. 10. Modern Family When this show first got started I remember people actually realizing, hey, this is a funny mainstream sitcom, and it probably appeared in a few lists. It's still chugging along in season 10 now so I figured i'd give it an honorary nod. I hadn't been really watching it but lately when I've had an odd 30 minutes free here and there I've been queuing the new stuff up on hulu anmd you know what? It's the same old poo poo, yeah, but it's still reasonably good which is impressive. i originally had Better Call Saul as #10 which would probably be a way more consensus choice, but honestly, I was usually a couple weeks behind on it and never felt much when I watched it, so ill be unorthodox and throw the final spot to modern family. was Lodge 49 any good?
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Dec 13, 2018 19:03
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Fast Luck posted:1. The Americans I'm guessing it didn't air a season last year
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Dec 13, 2018 20:01
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It did. I guess it just didn't even crack the top 25 though? Wow! Rough year.
Fast Luck fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Dec 13, 2018 |
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Dec 13, 2018 20:08
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Rarity posted:PS. As a sidenote, I now run of these for video games as well so if that's your thing then pop on over and laugh at the Games forum's inability to rank things starting from #10 What for? The Quiet Man is obviously everyone's GOTY.
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Dec 13, 2018 20:25
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Lodge 49 is good, yes.
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Dec 13, 2018 21:24
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10. The Venture Bros. (Season 7) -- I've been watching and loving this show since it debuted in 2004. Since then, it has moved away from being a Jonny Quest parody and a "show about failure." Instead, it has delved deeper into its complicated mythology that mines some deep cuts from throughout geek culture, developing the main characters into three-dimensional people that grow, change, screw up (a lot), and feel fully realized, despite being a crazy cartoon. Creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer have never been afraid to shake up its status quo, which always impresses me. With multi-year gaps between its short seasons, there are a lot of details to keep track of, and I know I've forgotten a lot, even after reading their gargantuan behind-the-scenes book that also came out this year. But if you have Hulu, all the early seasons are currently available to stream, so it's never too late to catch up. 9. Sharp Objects (Season 1) -- Set in depressing small-town Missouri (more like Misery, am I right?), it was part neo-noir murder mystery and part Southern gothic family drama. Amy Adams (one of my favorite actresses) did most of her acting in this by reacting, as an alcoholic and former cutter with severe PSTD, returning to her hometown and terrible family as a reporter, investigating the murders of two local girls. But nothing will prepare you for the almost campy evil of her mother, played by Patricia Clarkson, or the off-putting banality of evil that Adams' character encounters from everyone else trapped in Wind Gap. I hate awards shows, but these two women deserve the G.D. Emmys right now. 8. Big Mouth (Season 2) -- The only other cartoon on my list, this Netflix show can be raunchy, perverted, and gross, but it's also hearfelt, warm, and true. Puberty was a horrific time for pretty much all of us, and these writers haven't forgotten what it felt like. It's also probably the funniest show around right now, with so many tightly-packed jokes per minute that my wife and I laughed nonstop, binging through the ten new episodes in two days and feeling sad afterwards. I never cared for Nick Kroll unless he collaborates with John Mulaney (my favorite stand-up comedian), but both of them are in great form here, providing voices along with the hilarious Jenny Slate, Jessi Klein, and Maya Rudolph, among others. Don't let the stylized (okay, UGLY) animation put you off -- if you're not a complete prude, there's nothing funnier you can stream right now. 7. Better Call Saul (Season 4) -- A slower season where ultimately not a lot happened, but still a tour de force for heartbreaking writing, brilliant editing and music selections for montages, and some of the best acting on television from Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, and especially the great Rhea Seehorn as patient, kind, competent, probably-doomed Kim Wexler. As a prequel to Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul is using more Breaking Bad "fanservice" than ever before, and at this point, I can't imagine watching Saul without having seen Breaking Bad first. But unless it completely screws up its final seasons (which I doubt), I think this is going to end up being the superior show. 6. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 2) -- A charming, funny, and well-made show that only starts to fall apart when I think about it too deeply. It won all the awards for its first season and deserved many of them, but it hit so many buttons for me, about the mid-century New York Jewish experience and the history of stand-up comedy. Rachel Brosnahan is truly a superstar as "Midge" Maisel. She lights up the screen and pulls off the largely improvisational-feeling stand-up routines, which are generally hysterical. You can see why her character is dazzling late-'50s audiences, even if it seems like she time-traveled there directly from 2018. The show would be a worthless piece of crap if Brosnahan and the writers couldn't make that happen. But Midge is surrounded by far too many characters who aren't interesting or likable (especially her snobby, elitist parents), and she had far more unlikable moments herself this season, where she treated her burgeoning comedy career like one more disposable hobby for a dilettante to dabble in. It also lost points due to an interminable three-episode arc set in a Catskills mountain resort, which seems like the absolute worst vacation ever. 5. Killing Eve (Season 1) -- A gripping, clever, and often hilarious cat-and-mouse thriller between a sociopathic (yet whimsical) assassin and a bored, underutilized analyst who first discovers her global trail of death, this was a brilliant show about two strong, smart, capable women who become obsessed with each other. Excellent acting from Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer as Eve, the analyst, and Villanelle, the killer. It reminded me of one of my favorite shows ever, Hannibal, with its depiction of the complicated relationship between a murderer and the one person who understands him enough to possibly take him down, but develops an emotional attachment along the way. 4. The Americans (Season 6) -- A show I've stuck with since the beginning, it never made a huge pop culture impact due to being a character-driven drama about Soviet spies living deep undercover in the Virginia suburbs in the '80s. It's always well-written and excellently-acted, but tends to get overshadowed a lot. Well, this was the final season, and it was one of the best. The series finale was drat near perfect, with a climactic scene in a garage featuring some of the best acting I've ever seen from Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, and Noah Emmerich. If it took seven years to build up to that confrontation, it was totally worth it. 3. Daredevil (Season 3) -- What can I say? Daredevil is my favorite Marvel superhero, it was the best of the Marvel Netflix shows, Season 3 was a return to greatness after the just-okay Season 2, and now it's canceled, along with Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Daredevil was so perfectly-suited for a serialized TV show, with so many decades of great stories by brilliant writers to draw from, blending crime-noir, brutally-choreographed fight scenes, and legal drama. But due to behind-the-scenes drama between Marvel, Disney, and Netflix, this is why we can't have nice things. This summer I wrote a law review article about Daredevil (mostly the comics, but also the show) and the lessons they teach non-lawyers about heroic lawyers and the legal system. It will be published in 2019, and unfortunately, one of my main arguments was that the show WILL continue to adapt comic book storylines and get people thinking more about the law and how good lawyers can make a difference. But we still got three seasons, there are still plenty of amazing Daredevil comics to read (seek out writers Miller, Bendis, Brubaker, Waid, and Soule, or ask me for "greatest hits" recommendations), and at least my article is still coming out... for now. 2. The Good Place (Seasons 2 and 3) -- Okay, maybe THIS is the funniest show currently on television, but it's so much more than just a network sitcom. If I had to compare it to another show, the closest would be Lost, with regular, not-so-special people thrust together into weird, fantastical, metaphysical circumstances beyond their understanding, their destinies now bound. It's a smart show that has taught me more about philosophy and ethics than I ever dreamed possible, and a fearless show that packs more plot development into a single episode than others do in entire seasons, then completely shake up the status quo, writes itself into corners, and flawlessly figures new ways out. The stakes are high, and there are twists and turns galore to thrill you when you aren't cracking up. If you haven't seen this yet, the first two seasons are on Netflix. Give it two or three episodes in case you aren't hooked immediately. They're short, and midway through Season 1, you'll probably be obsessed, like we were when we binged the whole series this year. 1. Atlanta (Season 2) -- What can I say that critics and other fans haven't already said? The multi-talented Donald Glover can do no wrong. With director Hiro Murai as his right-hand man, a hip and woke writers' room, and excellent co-stars in Brian Tyree Henry, Lakeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz, Atlanta is almost a whole new show every week. You never know what you're going to get, if an episode will be hysterically funny, like one man's wasted day when all he wants is a haircut from the flakiest barber ever, or if it will be a harrowing nightmare, like a violent armed robbery, a chase through the woods, or a trip to a madman's mansion. You might have heard something about "Teddy Perkins," which is probably the most memorable and singular episode of television to air in 2018. You can watch it out of context even if you've never seen Atlanta before, and I guarantee you won't forget it anytime soon. Big Bad Voodoo Lou fucked around with this message at 01:23 on Dec 14, 2018 |
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Dec 13, 2018 21:43
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10. Swedish Dicks Two swedes (Peter Stormare and Johan Glans) open a detective agency in LA. Shenanigans and Keanu Reeves happens. 9. Seal Team Compelling military action together with strong character growth. 8. The Terror Julius Caesar and Brutus put aside their differences and decide to explore the northwest passage, then proceed to get stuck in the ice. Gorgeous and scary show. 7. The Expanse The more this show has moved away from inner-solar politics the better it has become, a pure science fiction show that you rarely see on tv. Only downside is that I can only understand half of what the belters say. 6. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel This show is fun and has taken all the best bits of the first season and improved upon them, Coming from a country without a big jewish culture it is just as interesting to see how the entire jewish culture worked in the 50's. 5. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina A mediocre show from the 90's get a fun and chilling redo. One of the surprise hits of 2018. 4. Billions Never has a topic I know so little about and care even less for been so interesting. Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti with their acting prowess alone make it compelling tv. Adding Asia Kate Dillon as a non-binary character has also been a great addition. 3. Agents of Shield In a time where DC pumps out a ton of mediocre low budget shows, and the marvels netflix struggle to fill 13 episodes of content, Agents of Shield has put out 22 episodes of story each season without any of them feeling superfluous . You won't find any top tier superheroes here, just great stories and compelling characters. The stand out is Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz who for years now has put out an amazing performance. 2. Legion Legion is very weird, and I like weird. 1. The Good Place I am not really a fan of american comedy. As a rule the best comedy shows have one good season and then start fizzling out, it happened with Glee, New Girl, Brooklyn 99 and so many others. It just feels like the showrunners are so busy reacting to new-found popularity that they throw away everything that made them good and popular. Better off Ted is an exception, but as funny as that was, it featured thin characters and unremarkable stories. Out of three seasons of The Good Place there has been maybe a single episode I didn't find funny, it is incredibly clever and inventive, it has good actors playing great characters and the story moves at a blinding pace. Oasx fucked around with this message at 09:49 on Dec 14, 2018 |
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Dec 13, 2018 23:07
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Oasx posted:5. Game of Thrones Sorry buddy, GoT didn't air in 2018. You'll have to change your list if you want it counted.
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Dec 13, 2018 23:16
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Also, I'm pretty sure Travellers hasn't aired yet this year.
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Dec 13, 2018 23:37
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Open Source Idiom posted:Also, I'm pretty sure Travellers hasn't aired yet this year. It does in a few hours. That’s why I’m holding my list till next week.
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Dec 14, 2018 01:48
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Mine will be very late as usual because Escape at Dannemora doesn’t finish until the 30th and if the rest of the season is as good as the latest episode there’s a possibility it could make it in
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Dec 14, 2018 06:43
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Ugh sorry, I thought I had doublechecked that all my shows came out in 2018. I edited my list.
Oasx fucked around with this message at 09:50 on Dec 14, 2018 |
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Dec 14, 2018 08:33
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Escobarbarian posted:Mine will be very late as usual because Escape at Dannemora doesn’t finish until the 30th and if the rest of the season is as good as the latest episode there’s a possibility it could make it in I've heard that Netflix is probably dropping Black Mirror this month, so I think there'll be a lot of last minute addendum and additions in general -- if that is in fact the case.
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Dec 14, 2018 10:25
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I don't care about Black Mirror so this here list is firm. 10 Ultimate Beastmaster (Netflix) Not exactly your typical TV/IV celebratory programming but hear me out. This is Ninja Warrior done correctly. The personal sob stories are much more tightly edited, the obstacle course is more interesting, and rather than spending 42 minutes watching a crop of people from insert-city-name-here try and fail at the same course, you get a field of competitors whittling down as they progress through a much longer and more complicated and interesting course split into 3-4 sections over the course of an hour. The competitors themselves hail from a handful of countries, and the respective teams display effusive camaraderie and joy when their teammates do well. I just love it when people are nice to each other on unscripted competitive programming. The parkour and upper body strength isn't all though. The best part is the commentary! Each country has two commentators, and they exhibit campy and overly-produced senses of national pride and oneupsmanship. France and Italy hate each other, for instance, and it's pretty much the funniest thing ever. Also, for this most recent season we have Anderson Silva for Brazil and CM Punk for the USA so that all just rules. 9 The Profit (CNBC) This is also kind of out there. It airs on CNBC for gently caress's sake. This is Shark Tank meets Kitchen Nightmares. In this show, mystery rich man Marcus Lemonis is summoned to shitshows of businesses to inject cash and expertise and save the day. Since an actual rich man's actual money is involved, he takes more time and care than the average 3-5 day restaurant flip for cameras and melodrama. Marcus deals out relevant money-saving-and-making advice and doesn't take poo poo when the business owners try to dish it. Marcus also does not always sign a check upon these disasters, and he's walked out on deals already made out of sheer disappointment at the humans in charge. This is a good show! If you have Hulu and/or any passing interest in business in general, you should check it out. 8 RuPaul's Drag Race (LOGO/VH1) It's trashy. It's overly produced. For a GLBTQ production it's problematic at best. She-Mail, am I right? AND IT HAS HAD THREE SEASONS THIS YEAR AND THEY'RE ALL FABULOUS. And they were all spoiled! To poo poo! And nobody cared!!! Also, Manila Luzon and Latrice Royale are CURRENTLY BACK. Trust me, this means winning. If you're not already on the bandwagon, I'm not convincing you with this. Buu~uut.... 7 Drag Race Thailand (Erm, the internet) If you've never had a sketchy landlord who disappears to Thailand for six months over the winter, you've not lived. That said, south and southeast Asian cultures have distinctly different notions of gender than we do in the west, and I'd imagine they were all sat there in Bangkok watching RuPaul's mess and thinking, "We can do better." And they have. They so have. And they will continue to do so as I surmise that this was quite a popular program as it aired. Those twee Americans better hide their tucks and work on their styling. Finally, if PanPan doesn't give you life, I don't think I want to know you. 6 GLOW (Netflix) (Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling) Heart, soul, wit, television production drama, wrestling, and girls doing all the dirty work. Marc Maron and Alison Brie. Their chemistry is astounding. For further proof of this, check out this episode of Marc Maron's podcast. I'm not sure what to say about this. Even if you don't love wrestling you ought to like this, though if you hate campy 80's stuff you might be out of luck. Still, seeing the new season pop up on Netflix was one of the quickest and easiest wastes of time I've experienced this year. It's simply a solid and good show, a joy to watch. Bonus points for the bottle episode! GLOW was in reality a television program and they took the time to recreate what one of the episodes would have looked like with wrestling and promos and poorly-acted comedy sketches. When you have a cast that can act well in pretending to act poorly, you know you have something awesome. 5 Trailer Park Boys (Netflix) This series felt its age on Showcase back in the day and bowed out when the bowing was good. Losing Corey and Trevor hurt, and the entire enterprise was just getting a bit stale. Netflix revived the thing a few years back, and it wasn't glory days, it wasn't deserving of this list, but it was pretty okay. This year, however, was a return to form. The plots were engaging, the characters were there, the heart was back in the show. And then the world lost Mr Leahy. For what it's worth, John Dunsworth was a stalwart in the Nova Scotia theater community. This isn't a dumb celebrity death; it's one that bears a lot more cultural relevance than the Mr Leahy of the countdown to liquor day may have you expect. Although he was often antagonistic, he was also in many ways the heart and soul of it. So, everybody just knows. It's done now. It's over. This season was the swan song. But what a swan song it was. It belongs here on this list. 4 Masterchef Australia (Ten) Five episodes a week. With 24 home cooks and roughly two eliminations weekly, you can do the math and find this to be a fairly heavy 2-3 month commitment over the late spring and early summer (or, well, the opposite I suppose actually). Every episode is a goddamn joy, though. Even the dumb Wednesday immunity episodes that totally don't count. Even when Chloe loving MINCES AN INCREDIBLY GOOD CUT OF BEEF FOR loving DAN DAN NOODLES and AVOIDS elimination. Somehow. You might be familiar with American Masterchef, holding a raised eyebrow to this entry. It's different; trust me. These people can seriously cook. Every year the competition ramps itself up; contestants get inspired by each previous season and we see these armchair warriors busting out dishes of better quality than American Top Chef. You know, professionals. My final selling point is the Monday-episode pressure test, invariably a horrendously complicated signature menu item from a serious pro. We're talking dozens of ingredients and many more dozens of steps to the recipes. They post these recipes on the website and it's all downright educational. Best reality competition show in the world, hands down. 3 Barry (HBO) This one really caught me by surprise. I was expecting a dumb HBO romp starring Bill Hader, kind of like how Ballers is an Entourage reboot starring Dwayne Johnson and Rob Corddry, and boy was I wrong. The premise is that Bill Hader is an ex-Marine who was very good at killing people in the Middle East, and remains very good at killing people for much more money upon his return home. Upon getting a job in Los Angeles, however, he accidentally takes up acting classes and discovers a sense of unfortunate morality, so things get complicated. Between Mr Hader and Henry loving Winkler we have some known quantities here, but beyond that we have a story that's actually fun and unique, season-long arcs that make sense, some great performances all around and a final product that runs the gamut from laugh-out-loud funny to cringe-funny to white-knuckled-terrifying action to sheer melodrama. This show has it all, folks! 2 The Good Place (NBC) One day in August my best friend tells me, this show has an entire episode dedicated to the trolley problem. Over the next day or so I watched two full seasons of television. BORTLES! TED DANSON! This is the funniest and smartest show on network television, and seeing as it apparently got the top spot for 2017 I think I'll leave the flowery pontificating for some other poster more articulate than I. You don't need me to convince you. Just go watch this show. It's a 22 minute sitcom with 13 episodes per season, for crying out loud. First two seasons are on Netflix. Go. Do it to it. 1 Cobra Kai (YouTube) Daniel LaRusso is the bad guy. DANIEL LARUSSO IS THE BAD GUY. It's not like this is news. This video went up in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Gz_iTuRMM But they ran with the concept. Now that Daniel and the guy he crane-kicked are all grown up, they have more developed life stories, grudges, and brand new petulant teenagers to train for the ALL-VALLEY TOURNAMENT. Every episode of this show made me so drat happy. The relationships are realistic and just complicated enough. Every character has a distinct point of view, justifiable to them. Nobody is quite evil, nor is anybody quite good. Karate remains a bullshit martial art, but the spirit and moxie bring me to a happy place of childhood innocence anyway. Speaking of kids, this is as good a cross section of Los Angeles high schoolers in 2018 as you're going to get. Some have money, some don't, some are popular, some aren't, all have smart phones, the racial representation is on point, and they're all both noble and flawed. (except for that one girl, you know the one, she's just a oval office but there had to be a straight up oval office for narrative purposes, you know?) The world gives us lots of reasons to despair, but we 80s/90s kids are incredibly lucky to have something like this. It's the reboot to justify reboots.
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Dec 18, 2018 01:47
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I felt kind of underwhelmed after creating my list, but I think 2017 might've just been one of the best years of TV ever. That's not to say that there weren't shows that I absolutely adored this year, because there absolutely were. Honourable mention to Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a show that I've always watched sporadically but has never really stuck with me. This season's finale was absolutely gorgeous. 10. Silicon Valley - I feel like this show has slipped a lot for me the last few seasons, but when its good (Jared), it's awfully loving funny. 9. Brooklyn Nine-Nine - This is just an incredibly reliable funny show. I know what I'm getting, and thats 20 pretty fun minutes. And that's pretty cool. 8. Westworld - Kiksuya is the only reason this is on my list. The whole show is the sort of big mystery box that I cannot bring myself to give a single gently caress about, but that one episode is so very good. 7. Legion - Not nearly as good as season 1, but it remains very weird and very much fun to look at. 6. Parts Unknown - RIP Anthony Bourdain. In my mind, this will be as close to perfect as a travel show can get. 5. American Vandal - I'm bummed this got canceled. The new season managed to stay fresh and while I don't think it was quite as laugh-out-loud funny as the first, I think it might have landed just as resonant a message. 4. The Terror - I expected this to be dark, and it did not disappoint. It's wonderfully acted, beautifully shot, and does an exceptional job of building an unforgivingly cold and dreadful atmosphere. 3. Barry - I didn't expect this to go quite so dark, but it's loving great. Bill Hader (and Harry Winkler, and everybody else) delivers an amazing performance. Kind of wanting to hang out with the Chechen mob not a takeaway I expected from a TV show on 2018 (or anything, really). 2. The Good Place - I was originally pretty skeptical that it could maintain its quality with its latest setting change returning to Earth, but I'm very glad to be eating crow here. This show is a goddamn treasure. It's also noteworthy just how nice this show is, which helps when some of the other items this list were very much not. 1. Atlanta - Teddy Perkins, y'all. Also literally everything else. Donald Glover, Hiro Murai and company can do no wrong. The show does whatever it wants and nails every single goddamn thing.
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Dec 19, 2018 17:54
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My 2018 list is quite different than my 2017 list. Missing this year due to not airing in 2018 are The Leftovers, Mr. Robot, Master of None, Better Things, Halt & Catch Fire, and Future Man. That is over half of my 2018 list. Plus 2 of my 2017 top 10, Legion and The Handmaid’s Tale I didn't watch this year. Shows That I Didn't Watch This Year, But I Feel Like They Could Have Made My Top 10 If I Did: Legion, The Handmaid's Tale, Killing Eve, Sharp Objects, The Terror Honorable Mentions: The Americans, Insatiable, Cobra Kai Un-Honorable Mention:Westworld 10-Love I almost forgot that the final season aired in 2018. It stuck the landing, and overall I think it was one of the better Netflix series. 9-High Maintenance This show benefited from a binge watch by me of all the HBO seasons this year. Also the post-election episode was just on point (and also that twist at the end was just...wow). 8-Barry Really good and it was a lot darker than it had any right to. I do wonder where the show goes in 2019, because that ending... 7-The Expanse While season 2 was just outside of my top 10 last year, season 3 easily surpassed it. Thank you Amazon for saving the show. 6-The Good Place I still love the show, but yes season 3 was a little uneven. 5-GLOW Season 2 is just amazing, and so much better than season 1. When the show was funny, it nailed it, and when the show was serious, it nailed it.  4-Counterpart I haven't started season 2 yet, but season 1 blew me away. That reveal in episode 6 I never saw coming.  3-Patriot At times season 2 was amazing, at other times it felt like the show was trying way too hard. I feel like I need to re-watch it to truly judge it, because I am still unsure how I truly feel about it. There are things I don't completely understand or that even make sense to me in season 2 (despite everything in season 1 making complete sense). Still despite that it is my number 3, because it is so original.  2-The Haunting of Hill House I was really worried (as someone who loves the book and the original 1963 movie) when I saw the trailer, since it was a completely different story than the book. In hindsight to do a original new story was genius. The influence of Six Feet Under was all over this show. The ending? I guess I have been ruined by Stephen King endings, because I thought the ending of this was fine.  1-Terrace House This show is the reason why I missed so much other TV in 2018. My wife and I watched 117 episodes of Terrace House in 2018 (46 episodes of Boys & Girls in the City, 36 episodes of Aloha State, and so far 35 episodes of Opening New Doors). I also have 98 episodes of the first non-Netflix season sitting on my laptop which I plan to start in 2019. I can not explain why this show is like crack to me. Maybe it is how great the host are or the look inside of a different culture. It doesn't matter, because it is my top show of 2018, and my all-time favorite reality show. To be clear I have based my number 1 ranking solely on the 2018 season of Opening New Doors (which part 1 of that was the first Terrace House I ever watched). 
nate fisher fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Dec 19, 2018 |
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Dec 19, 2018 21:23
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Oh goody. I can't wait to add dozens shows iIve forgotten on to-be-watched list.
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Dec 21, 2018 16:43
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My tv-watching time took a serious hit while the year progressed so i stuck mostly to the things i knew. I had an early shoe-in for the #1 spot but an unexpected challenger rose up and put on a consistently good show. In the end, i had to decide betwen the show, that made me long for the next episode as soon as one ended and the show, who delivered happy good times every loving time. So, who will win? Read the list to find out! Runner-ups: - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Short season that for me didn't hit often, but when it did... ooh boy. - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Just not feeling it this time. - Charmed: From the trailers i expected to like Sabrina way better, But the three surprisingly were way more /charming/ while the other was a boring mess. Good background watch. - New Strike Back would for sure be on this list, but i'm not sure if it aired this year? Don't look, my list stands. 10 Wynonna Earp Always jusst not making the list, but this year you made it girl! For next season i just wish they would dial down a bit on the everyone being some sort of magical being shtick. It's definitely a guilty pleasure and i would not insist you watch more than one episode if you didn't like it. But give it a try. 9 Titans Intriguing and - to me - unknown superhero-team ('cept for Robin). Caught my interest in where this is going and being astoundingly brutal on the way makes for a place in this year's Top 10. 8 Agents of SHIELD Everyone knows now what this is about. Still good, but the arcs did not catch me as much this time, so losing some points. 7 Hilda This is the show parents should watch with their children. Just so relaxing and nice without being a shallow mess. 6 Happy! Ummh, i don't know how to describe this? The Product of a Hate-gently caress while on drugs between Crank, Max Payne and Fear&Loathing? It's an absolute insane ride anyone should at least try once. Just to see what bizzarity unfolds on the screen. 5 Ash vs Evil Dead I was sorry to see this innovative little slasher-hommage go. But on the other hand, it went out with a bang and an open end before it could get repetitive. Hail to the King! 4 Killjoys They use their two last seasons order to full effect, bringing the story to save the universe on a nice trajectory for the endgame. Plus, they had time for a good old Bountyhunting Episode. This is just a very fun space-show - but you must like or at least be resistent to flapsy dialogues! 3 Z-Nation  This season they made a whole lot more things right but i think they've been struggling for some time now to stay fresh. It's sad to see Doc, 10k, Murphy & co go. for now. Hoping for one or more stand-alone movies. The well established and beloved characters and the world would be perfect for something like this. By the way: They were never near the Grand Canyon! 2 The Expanse  Epic Space Opera from the perspective of a ragtag-crew caught in the middle is extremely my jam. And this season it delivered the mystery, the fights and the politics again in spades. Add the unexpected cancelation and the miracle that was the continuation, which had me make good on my promise to Mr. Bezos and made me an Amazon Prime Subscriber. 1 Legends of Tomorrow  Yeah. These Time-Idiots are the heroes we deserve and by god do we need them! If you like fun, you must watch this. If you're fed up with those broody grimdark poo poo, watch it! It's insane and the writers are comedic geniuses with an astoundig love to detail. And you just see how the cast loves that poo poo. A show well deserving of the 10 points for making me feel good on a weekly basis! Disclaimer: made in a hurry, probably subject to change. But i so want you all to watch some good tv 
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Dec 22, 2018 20:12
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Collecting this years top 10 list, I faced dilemma of not having watched that many new shows. While reading on OP, I realized I just hadn't bothered watching new seasons of like dozen series that I liked last year. I eventually figured out the reason for lack of my tv-watching. The reason will be high on the list. My top 10: 10 Arrested development season 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXg2_yExgVY Not as funny or original as the first few seasons, but still makes me consistently laugh. 9. The Chilling adventures of Sabrina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybKUX6thF8Q Surprise show from the makers of Riverdale. Teen horror is my weak spot and Sabrinas adventures tickle me from all the right spots. It's funny and "scary" at the same time. 8. The toys that made us https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iABClQiLUuc Documentary about how corporations ruined our childhoods... I mean made toys that disappointed us. Featured toy-lines this season are Hello Kitty, Star Trek, Transformers and Legos. Of those, Legos were and still are legitimately awesome. Hello Kitty is cool, but not my cup of tea. And Star Trek... You'll have to see the episode yourself to really understand how horrible the toy companies are. 7. Jessica Jones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5EJzh60_z0 Unlike the goonsensus, I actually liked Jessica Jones and her mommy issues this season. a Fun little season that doesn't reach the highs of season 1, but none of the netflix Marvel series do. I'm happy to see season 3 next year, but I'm also happy that they're all cancelled. 12+ seasons in couple years was way too much. 6 .Altered Carbon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-X7DPAPmzQ Nice gritty vision of the future. I liked the contrast between the upper class towers and the main city. Also features my favourite AI character of all time. 5. My next guest need no introduction with David Letterman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aIuWcT-O_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a12nTEcoqE a Talk show featuring David Letterman and long-form interviews. What's different from regular talk shows, is that there is no other filler. Only an in-depth interview with a guest, that isn't schilling their latest movie, book or series. Guest list is top quality: President Obama, George Clooney, Malala Yousafzai and others. 4. Dynasties https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XvWaU4Oouk Latest nature documentary from BBC and Sir David Attenborough. The man is 92 year old, but still casts exciting nature documentaries every year. The focus of this documentary is 5 animal families and their "Dynasty". Featuring Chimpanzees, Lions, Tigers, Emperor Penguins and Painted wolves. This is much more personal scale documentary than we're accustomed to. For example first 1 hour episode focuses on Chimpanzee family led by an older alpha male David and the power struggle with younger males for dominance. 3. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0QIw3Sb4nA You have all heard the catchphrase, so I don't need to urge you to look away. There's only tragedy and misery in this show and there's no hope for happy ending in this tale of misery. Neil Patrick Harris performance as Count Olaf is deadly funny, both metaphorically and literally. 2. Jayne @ https://www.twitch.tv/jayne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi0AfXzxMEY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_JXygpBvHA And here's the biggest reason, why I haven't watched that much television this year. Twitch has variety of content that has tickled my fancy and interactivity that the platform enables, gives it an addicting quality. Jayne isn't the only streamer I follow, but his videos are big reason, why I'm still playing and following Overwatch. Yes, he is a game streamer, but his his specialty isn't playing the game. His focus is on gameplay coaching, educational streaming and community building. To list some things he does on stream: He reviews viewers gameplay videos, analyses pro-matches and coaches semi-pro teams. On community building side he organizes (with others) Tournaments and pick-up games for people of all skill levels, from beginner players to semi-pros. 1. The Orville https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrADPsg9MaQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yWEVMbb4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl37s46_ahI Yeah, I know that it won't air until 30.12, but based on trailers alone, I'm placing it #1 show of the year. (Sue me). In unlikely event of it flopping hard, I might change the order. The Orville is the feel good Star Trek show on the television. I can't wait for the first episode of the season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOHDnxgmhxc Oh the last one is just some weirdo that has made like zillion Orville videos during the season break. Just ignore him. (Seriously he makes like 15 minute shows about 10 second of new footage.) Honorable mentions of shows, I totally forgot continue to watch this season: Glow Legends of tomorrow Travelers Riverdale Crazy ex-girlfriend. Legion The Good place Ducktales 2017 Sense8 special Lucifer Issaries fucked around with this message at 23:54 on Dec 22, 2018 |
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Dec 22, 2018 23:47
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I actually had a really hard time narrowing down my list. This was a good year for TV. Here goes: 10. GLOW One of my favorite new shows from last year came back with a strong sophomore season. There was a lot of competition for the 10 spot, but ultimately the episode presented as a regular episode of the show-within-a-show put GLOW over the top. 9. Better Call Saul If this were just the Jimmy McGill Show it would rank higher on my list. Odenkirk and his supporting cast are phenomenal and the slow transformation into Saul Goodman has been very compelling so far. However, the Mike part of the plot is no longer carrying its weight, and at this point is actively bringing the show down in my opinion. Fortunately the Jimmy stuff is so good that it mostly makes up for it. 8. American Vandal The first season was a pleasant surprise that landed on my list last year, but I was wary of their ability to follow it up. As it turns out, despite the omnipresent poop jokes, they did so by leaning away from the comedy angle to present a genuinely intriguing mystery and some thoughtful commentary on the pitfalls of growing up in the age of social media. 7. Daredevil I never had the same problem with Daredevil Season 2 as many others did, so the show wasn't really in need of a “return to form” in my estimation. That being said, this season was probably the best Marvel Netflix season since the first Jessica Jones. I'm sad we won't be getting any more DD, but at least the show got to go out on a very strong note. 6. Barry I didn't actually watch this until well after its initial airing, as part of my end-of-year push to knock some shows off my To-Watch list. And boy I'm glad I did, because this show is something special. Often as hilarious as you would expect given the cast, but also willing to go shockingly dark and pull no punches with regard to Barry's line of work. 5. Legion Didn't quite match the brilliant weirdness of the first season, but I loved the increased characterization of the Shadow King, and even 80% Legion is one of the most interesting shows on TV. Also great: the Jon Hamm-narrated interludes on mental illness. 4. 12 Monkeys Quite simply the best time travel story I've ever seen, and a final season that had a ton of fun with the mechanics of the premise. 3. The Expanse One of the best examples of sci-fi world-building, coupled with some great performances and a great story. Plus they found a way to bring Miller back, which was just icing on the cake. 2. The Americans Final seasons are always hard, especially in a show like this where real-life history has always cast a pall over the characters and their likely fates. That being said, the showrunners absolutely stuck the landing here. The whole season was great, and the finale in particular stands as one of the best series finales of all time 1. Patriot Equal parts hilarious and emotionally devastating, Patriot somehow found a new gear in its second season. The “hanging out in Paris” episode is probably my choice for best individual TV episode of the year.
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Dec 23, 2018 07:48
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As usual I have a whole lot of shows on my 'to watch' list and a whole lot of not watching them to do, etc etc. 10 Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san (Skull-face Bookseller Honda, S1): A gay skeleton that works in a bookstore. If this isn’t my brand.  9 Celebrity Big Brother (US, S1): It’s difficult enough to produce a good Big Brother season nowadays but to get the Celebrity, Big Brother Canada 6, and Big Brother 20 hat trick in the same year is a miracle. I love my trashy reality TV competition shows and CBB was a new take with a surprisingly competitive cast and a schedule that doesn’t make you feel like a burned-out husk of a human by the finale.  8 A Series of Unfortunate Events (S2): I genuinely thought season one was bad. I don’t know what clicked in my head but now I get it. The writing, the style, the showmanship. S2 came closer to capturing the essence of these terrible no good books. Also, Carmelita Spats is the most perfect casting decision made this year.  7 Insecure (S3): The major downside of an Insecure season is that it takes forever for 8 episodes to come out and then nothing really happens. It’s funny but it dangles character development over its viewers for over three years. I just want to see Issa not be a kinda terrible person anymore!!  6 Attack on Titan (S4): Shoutout to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for at least telling us ahead of time that half the season would actually air in a year. One of the most boring manga arcs was adapted real well only a mere 459 years after it was written, and it was all worth it for this gif.  5 Schitt's Creek (S4): I binged this entire show in January during the week where I had incredibly severe bronchitis. A horrible idea because I was laughing so hard but I powered through since it’s that good. Y’all sleeping on this, and Canadian TV in general. I would die for Catherine O’Hara.  4 Survivor (S36, S37): Ghost Island sure did… happen… but what’s putting Survivor on the list is David vs. Goliath. Season 37 and the most recent season is one of my favourites ever. The theme wasn’t so ham-fisted and was relevant until the end, the cast were a perfect blend of competitive and petty without being unlikeable or annoying, the advantages didn’t weigh down the game. Survivor’s why I come to TVIV.  3 RuPaul's Drag Race (AS3, S10, AS4): Is there an award for ‘show that did the absolute most in 2018?’ Drag Race would win that easily. 3 seasons and a Christmas special in one year that gave us BenDeLaCreme winning every challenge and then eliminating herself cause she was bored and the return of Jasmine Masters to HD television. It’s hard to be mad at drag becoming mainstream.  2 Westworld (S2): Ironically this season was at its best when it went away from Westworld, both literally and figuratively. The episode of Maeve in Shogun World and Akecheta at the edge of a primordial Westworld were the standouts this season beyond the narrative of “let’s find the maze/cradle/forge/whateverthefuck." Regardless I still really enjoy this show.  1 Riverdale (S2, S3:) In 2018 I decided not to watch poo poo that would bum me out and instead have fun. Riverdale continues to excel at that. I’m actively seeking a therapist just so I can talk-scream about the weekly episodes with no judgement. If you’re looking for a show in the genre of ‘hot 30 year olds playing high school sophomores who happen to never really do homework or even sleep and they have an unlimited gas tank or at the very least a bomb rear end public transit system that works at midnight so they can show up in the most random of places’ then this is the show for you. Come for the gratuitous shirtless scenes and stay for the dozen episode recap podcasts that try to grapple the 42-minute fever dream we all share on a weekly basis.
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Dec 24, 2018 07:58
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Yeah so a late contender showed up and forced me to change my list with the sheer overwhelming gayness of it.
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Dec 26, 2018 09:06
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Don't keep us in suspense. What can beat Steven Universe in gayness?
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Dec 26, 2018 15:02
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That was me alerting Rarity that I was editing my list. I was talking about Runaways, which had an exceedingly good and gay first half of season 2. It didn't beat out SU but it beat out She-Ra
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Dec 26, 2018 17:52
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quote:7. Deadline for submissions is 1st January 00:00AM PST. I'll then do a live countdown of the final results in the New Year! Given that Black Mirror is being released tomorrow (and assuming it "counts" as television, and not as a movie or whatever) would it be possible to extent this deadline a week, much like a similar release date for Black Mirror pushed forward the deadline last year?
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Dec 27, 2018 15:02
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Open Source Idiom posted:Given that Black Mirror is being released tomorrow (and assuming it "counts" as television, and not as a movie or whatever) would it be possible to extent this deadline a week, much like a similar release date for Black Mirror pushed forward the deadline last year? Fair point. I'm going to move the deadline on 6th Jan 00:00 PST. Any later and I'll be too busy with work to get everything written up for the countdown.
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Dec 27, 2018 19:06
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I apologize for this kind of being stripped down and not as fancy as what some of you guys have put down 10 Happy! All this needs is a Mike Patton score and it would be perfect (or at least jump much higher on this list) 9 Preacher season 3 Still going strong and hopefully will get stronger with the next season 8 FLCL Alternative Much better than FLCL Progressive, this short series didn't merely just try to capture the lightning in the bottle insanity that was FLCL, but instead told a good story that I found pretty relateable 7 First We Feast Presents Hot Ones Season 7 (I think?) This season had Jeff Goldblum, Tenacious D, and Weird Al being interviewed while they suffered under the cruel hotness of hot sauce, what's not to love? 6 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Vento Aureo Ongoing but I love me some Italian trivia and batshit insane battles of wits and wills 5 Daredevil Season 3 Pissed off that the Marvel Netflix universe is basically collapsing in on itself, but this was a pretty good note for DD to end despite leaving some loose ends. 4 205 Live This has been WWE's best show consistently for the year of 2018, just a bunch of cool crusierweights getting their poo poo in for an hour and having at least one great match week after week. 3 Better Call Saul Season 4 As someone who has never watched Breaking Bad its amazing how much I get out of this show without understanding the callforwards and deeper references; frankly I'm just hear to watch good rear end acting and for Bob Odenkirk to finally get his due. 2 Venture Bros Season 7 What can be said of this series in how it constantly changes its status quo for the better and keeps fresh despite being nearly 15 years old. I really do like how we are beyond the "It's a show about failure" and episodes are just about the fun awkward bullshit our heroes and villains get into. Also great utilization of guest voice actors like Mark Hamill and Paul F Thompkins 1 Marvel's Agents of Shield Season 5 As always I will vote for this show near the top mainly because its one of the few shows I will work myself into watching live and posting on TVIV; I found that this season worked hard with it's limitations in budget and location by once again relying on its great cast to lift the material with their amazing chemistry. Hoping the next two seasons have way less stakes involved and is more of a fun chill show than this season which put everyone through the ringer.
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Dec 28, 2018 05:56
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So much like I spent most of 2017 watching all of X-files, I spent a lot of 2018 watching shows that were not from 2018, some by only a few years, others by many. So keep in mind this is just the top 10 of shows I watched that even qualify for the list, so some of them might be a wee bit questionable. I'm especially annoyed with not being able to vote for Manhunt: Unabomber due to it being a 2017 release. 10: The Blacklist (S5)  This show has gone completely off the rails. From a relatively simple premise of a master criminal with all the contacts agreeing to turn informant for the FBI for personal reasons, the show has stacked twists, turns, reveals, shocking betrayals and shifting morals to the point that it's both very difficult to follow and impossible to predict. But through all this confusing morass of spy cliches, there is one constant: James Spader. Spader is perfectly cast as Reddington, and I essentially live for the moments where he goes into a completely unrelated strange anecdote in the middle of a serious scene. I would not be surprised in the least if some of those were ad-libs. He's a true joy to watch ramble, and I'll miss the show, which seems to be entering its endgame, once it's gone, simply because I will miss on my usual dose of Reddington Rambles. 9: Iron Fist (S2)  This one wins "Most Improved". Iron Fist S1 was by far Netflix Marvel's weakest show, tied with Defenders. The only thing that kept it afloat were truly excellent side characters in Ward Meachum and Colleen Wing, who got precious too little screen time in a show focused on intensely boring bad kung fu and stupid drama involving The Hand. Danny Rand was the anchor around the show's neck, from a bad performance by Finn Jones, to a completely unlikable personality, to an inability to have the titular Iron Fist do any kung fu in a kung fu show. Season 2 is an improvement on every level. Much better fight choreography, much less obnoxious editing that lets you actually follow what's going in a given scene, giving Danny an actual character arc for us to latch onto, more interesting villains with less confusing motivations, further development of the supporting cast, actual twists that aren't boring predictable nonsense, and some goddamn actual fun. Ward Meachum is my favorite TV rear end in a top hat and his rocky attempts to recover from an entire life of being a horrible scumbag are one of the most interesting things in any of the Marvel shows. Danny trying to be smart and prevent a gang war by brokering peace between gangs is an interesting approach and it's nice to see a superhero show where someone's default position isn't to just be a complete loving Cop. Season 2 of Iron Fist wasn't without its flaws, but it proved that a show can genuinely improve from one season to the next, and I'm sad we'll never get a follow-up on the absolutely delightful end of season teases we got. 8: Castlevania (S2)  Let's get one thing out of the way right now: this show has absolutely terrible animation. It doesn't reach the lows of early 90s anime where they'd have giant pans across the screen where nothing moves while someone monologues off screen, but there's a lot of very bad looking movement, stuttering motions, obvious CG with a bad filter on it, etc. But you don't watch this show for the action, anyway. At least I hope not. This show manages to squeeze genuine drama, horror, and humor out of a game series that is at its best confusing anime bullshit and at its worst just a bunch of movie cliches thrown at a wall to see what sticks. While it's hardly a straight adaptation of the source material, it manages to keep what's compelling and fun about Castlevania while telling a well structured story with ups, downs, twists and buckets of blood. While many complained that season 1 just felt like a teaser for an actual show, the doubled episode count of season 2 allows them to tell a fuller story, introduce new characters without making the show feel crowded, and have interesting conflicts between various characters' philosophies. And yes, there's still a fair bit of violent monster slaying action to be had if that's what you came to see. But most of all, the show has a strong emotional core. Everyone in the show feels like a real person, even the viking vampires and "devil forgemasters". Warren Ellis' writing may not be everyone's cup of tea, and some of his more annoying tics certainly show up in this series, but honestly, any move away from the usual cliches that Anime is constantly guilty of is a win for me. This show doesn't have any goddamn panty shots or jokes about someone's cooking or any of that insufferable garbage. The bad guy isn't defeated by someone being stubborn, nobody talks about their secret techniques. If this show's runaway success heralds a future where more anime is written by people who think anime is dumb garbage, I'm all for it. 7: The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell (S1)  A creepy gothic baking/sewing/arts-and-crafting show that's also a weird sitcom with creepy puppets, weird ghosts, raunchy humor and tons of creativity. This show's structure is essentially perfect, with the DIY segments featuring Christine showing off her amazing skills being broken up by silly sitcom segments featuring her and the puppet cast getting into various shenanigans. The Jim Henson company takes care of the puppeteering and creature design, and boy does it show. From a ghost that lives in a mirror to an embalmed cat from the days of the great egyptian empire, the show is full of weird, offbeat gothic characters. Christine's DIY segments are truly fascinating, and it's amazing to see someone take a bunch of random junk and turn it into works of art right before your eyes. Despite all the charm, there are 3 main problems I have with this show that keep it from being ranked a bit higher. Firstly, the segments where Christine creates amazingly adorable things skip just a few too many steps to be useful as instructins for the viewer, which is a shame. You can certainly follow along with what she's doing, but good luck trying to reproduce any of her creations or anything like them. They're more like "inspiration" than instructions, and of particular note, she never even gives you recipes for the food she makes, focusing more on the decorative side of things. This is good for pacing, but annoying for someone like me who actually bakes. Secondly, the show has a bit of a tone issue. There's a lot of simple Addams Family type offbeat jokes, like Christine visiting her grandmother at the graveyard and having a hand stick out of the grave to eat some of the chicken, but there's also weird sexual humor and outright murder going on in the show, and it doesn't really work with the carefree 90s sitcom vibe that the rest of the program has. I understand this dichotomy is no accident, but hopefully they'll find a better balance in season 2. And third of all, the season is just too short! 6: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (S1)  I predict a lot of people will place this show a lot higher on their lists. This witchy tale of teenage emotions is an extremely stylish and visually creative romp, full of gore and monsters that would be at home in a Guillermo Del Toro as well as the heights of "church goth" fashion. The show manages to mix your typical teenage drama sort of structure with insane satanic madness and have it feel natural instead of a distracting clash. There's a very heavy-handed but well done criticism of patriarchy and religious orthodoxy woven into each episode's absurd supernatural plot, which elevates things from feeling a bit too gratuitous. Everyone is perfectly cast in the show, and each character is well rounded, even the one-dimensionally villainous ones. Definitely one of the more creative shows that came out in recent years, and one that would absolutely not have aired just 15 years ago. The main reason I only like this show instead of love it is that for all its subversive satanism and weirdness, it still has far too much CW in its DNA for my personal tastes. Also, for a show which has so many satan worshipping protagonists, who's right and who's wrong in a given situation is always far too clear, and it would behoove the show to blur the lines a bit more often. But of course that goes hand in hand with the CW-ness of things. Also why the heck did they switch Zelda and Hilda's names around? 5: Luke Cage (S2)  Pour one out for a real one.  While a lot of people were divided on season 1 of Luke Cage, it was my personal favorite of all the Marvel Netflix seasons. Though Season 2 is a bit darker and less goofy, which is a definite negative in my book, it was a very strong followup that had an amazing arc for its protagonist. Much like season 1, this season had shades of the wire(no pun intended), where each villain's perspective is just as valid and explored as the protagonist's, and you come to see that they're all victims of a system that doesn't leave a way out for marginalized people. Bushmaster's probably one of the most interesting villains in a Marvel product in a long time, in the sense that if he cared just a little more about collateral damage he'd probably be a protagonist. The performances in this show are just amazing, the fights are satisfying, the music is legit, and the general sense of style is just awesome. I'm really gonna miss Mike Colter as Luke, because even when he's angry and bitter and not likeable, you really want to root for him. This show's lighting, soundtrack and cinematography create the clearest mood I've ever seen in a televised product, and I would honestly would've watched 8 seasons of this show just to hang out in Harlem with these characters. My main complaint with this season is that season 1 focused heavily on the sins of Luke's preacher father, only for this season to just brush over those horrible deeds and paint Luke as in the wrong for not wanting to accept his father's attempts to reach out. A lot of parents maybe don't deserve forgiveness just because they ask for it, and if you're going to redeem a character like that you need to put a bit more work in, in my opinion. Not a big deal, I understand what they were going for, but it was a little clumsy. The Godfather tribute ending was a really ballsy direction for the show to go in, and it's really awkward that this is where we'll leave our protagonist now that the show's been cancelled by idiots in boardrooms. 4: Brooklyn 99 (S5)  I was late on the Brooklyn 99 train, but if someone had told me Andre Braugher was in it I definitely would've been on board from the start. Season 5 suffers a liiiiittle bit from the problem all sitcoms tend to get where every character conflict is completely smoothed out and everyone's a big family who'll always stick together for no reason other than they've been in a sitcom for 5 years, but it's still one of the funniest shows out there. One of the things I consistently enjoy about the show is that despite its sitcom budget, it isn't afraid to actually do police procedural stuff once in a while. They do shoot at bad guys and go undercover and all that good stuff, it's not all sitting around the station cracking lovely jokes while an overloud laugh track plays (PS I love that the show doesn't have a laugh track, death to all laugh tracks). Andy Samberg and the rest of the cast are all just great in their roles, and I really do love all these characters. Boyle and Terry are particularly hilarious characters and I'm impressed that they keep coming up with new ridiculous aspects of their personalities to explore. I'm not sure how much story there is left to tell (It honestly feels like Jake and Amy's wedding was put off an entire season for no reason other than to stretch out character arcs a bit more), but I'm still delighted they got renewed. I just hope Madeline Wuntch finally loses her job for all those times she groped Holt. 3: Daredevil (S3)  Sorry this list is so Marvel-heavy, people who inexplicably don't like superheroes! It's not my fault we live in Peak TV. Daredevil was Netflix's first and most popular show, and I'm really glad that it got to have something like closure before being canned. While Wilson Fisk was the villain of season 1, season 3 is all about the rise of the Kingpin. Gone are the justifications for his actions, the certainty that he's doing awful things in pursuit of a noble goal. Gone is his relatable flawed humanity. We're in the presence of a complete monster who has had 2 years to do nothing but plan his rise to power and his vengeance. D'Onofrio is as captivating as ever as Fisk, and he definitely steals the show from Charlie Cox, to the point that a lot of Cox's solo scenes have a mental Kingpin yelling at him just so they could cram more D'Onofrio in there. Bullseye is introduced as a secondary antagonist this season and has a bunch of amazing scenes as well. This season is gritty, dark, emotional, silly, comic-booky, and uplifting all at once. The character conflicts feel raw and believable instead of contrived like in some of the other recent Netflix Marvel offerings (Jessica Jones Season 2, what the gently caress happened?), and while Matt spends a lot of time away from his supporting cast, they're given a lot to do in his absence and the show expertly weaves a bunch of disparate yet related plotlines together. There's an episode near the end of the season that focuses on Karen Paige's backstory, and it might be my favorite episode in the entire series. This season has a very famous one-shot extended fight sequence that must be seen to be believed, and it honestly makes all the fights in Iron Fist and Luke Cage look like crap in comparison. The people who worked on this show put a ton of effort into every aspect of it, and this show absolutely did not deserve cancellation. But unlike its fallen brethren, it got to go out on a very high note. 2: Hilda (S1)  I'd like to say I don't usually watch children's cartoons, but that'd be a lie. I can recommend Hilda to people who aren't embarrassing manchildren, though, because it is a genuinely delightful show. The gorgeous animation, fun character designs, creative worldbuilding, clever humor and intelligent characterization all combine to create an experience that is enchanting and touching. This show doesn't assume the kids watching will be dummies, doesn't fall into the obnoxious cliches so many cartoons I watched as a kid had, and has positive messages for people of all ages. My personal favorite thing about the show is Hilda's mother. While she worries about Hilda and wants her to fit in at school and other normal motherly concerns, she isn't in a condescending, fun-killing adversarial relationship with her daughter like so many other moms in cartoons. She has Hilda's back, 100%, and never discourages her from being a weirdo who talks to monsters and goes on crazy adventures. She's a single mom and sometimes things are hard for her, but she's still a very good mother and it's just great. This show is bursting with imagination, emotions and cleverness, and I recommend it to children of all ages. 1: Bojack Horseman (S5)  Bojack Horseman might be the best show ever put on television, as far as I'm concerned. While a lot of people had issues with this season because it featured Bojack backsliding into bad behavior after making progress in season 4 and featured the show very unsubtly criticizing itself (along with prestige television in general), I thought season 5 was just as strong as season 4, if not moreso. "Free Churro" is one of the best episodes of television I've seen in many years, and it's essentially a half hour long monologue delivered by Will Arnett. This show manages to be incredibly funny and incredibly poignant at the same time, and I will never understand how they manage that balancing act. The characters keep evolving from season to season without ever departing from the core of what makes them who they are, and I can never predict where the show's going to go next. The show's relentless satire of Hollywood culture and American culture at large never gets old for me, and this season had it in spades, tackling #metoo in the most absurd way possible, commenting on how quick we are to forgive celebrities who do unforgivable things, dealing with opioid addiction, the societal effects of idolizing rear end in a top hat protagonists in prestige dramas, all while doing masterful character work with its ever-growing cast. Speaking of which, Pickles Aplenty the pug might be the character find of the year. This season was at times sickening, heart-wrenching, gut-busting, melancholy, bittersweet, and basically every other emotion you can think of, and I can't believe how great a job it does of holding itself together despite constantly splitting up its cast and running such an emotional gamut. I'm a broke 30-something teetotaler nobody from Canada, so why do I relate so much to a 54-year old washed up celebrity horse alcoholic from California? I love this show. Lurdiak fucked around with this message at 06:59 on Dec 28, 2018 |
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Dec 28, 2018 06:57
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Agh, I just decided to give up on finishing The Deuce or watching Barry or Homecoming in time for my list in favor of catching up on Atlanta... but season 2 doesn't drop on Hulu until the 1st  e: oh poo poo, just saw that the deadline got moved back, hot drat
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Dec 28, 2018 16:38
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I droped the ball, i didn't finish about 10 of the bigger shows. 1: 12 Monkeys - Best end to a show in a very long time. I'll miss this show  2: The Expanse - I doubt this show will ever be out of my top 3, i love everything about it.  3: Titans - Exactly what i wanted out of a DC show, brutally violent and realistic dialog, no shying away from bringing up characters, regardless of us probably never getting them. Crappy finale because of restructuring fuckery, but it still ended strong with the after credit scene. People have plenty of nerd issues with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5tGgEXPUlU  4: Cobra Kai - Best revival show, period. I'm dying to see if they can replicate it's charm.  5: Travelers - I wasn't going to included this show, but the fact that Amanda Tapping directed the great finale last season and the opener this season plus another one later in the season.  6: Killing Eve - Sandra Oh is an easy sell, but everyone on this show loving crushed it.  7: Strike Back - I'm dying on this hill. Novin is awesome.   8: Cloak and Dagger - My fav marvel show of the year. The kid who play Ty is a drat good actor.  9: Impulse - I didn't think this would end up on the list, but here we are.  10: Last Ship - A fitting end to Star Trek: Murica. They literally threw the kitchen sink at the show and made it stick. Peter Weller directed a arthouse masterpiece in this season.  I'm putting this here so i can find it next year. Having watched the first episode of Deadly Class , it's my fav show of 2019 so far, i'm half way through it at midnight. It's perfect. Rocksicles fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Dec 31, 2018 |
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Dec 28, 2018 17:34
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