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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 |
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Dec 7, 2014 00:27
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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 |
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Dec 7, 2014 00:28
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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
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Dec 7, 2014 19:08
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No-one expects the dragon age inquisition, Sophia, I'm sure it counts
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Dec 7, 2014 21:24
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Yes stop being stupid shitbirds, not only about lists but also about other posters in any capacity
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Dec 8, 2014 16:01
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Oh god the time skip in fargo is so good
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Dec 16, 2014 23:47
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Ed: nvm not worth it
NieR Occomata fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Dec 17, 2014 |
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Dec 17, 2014 17:07
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Fine joe, just keep it to that one post then
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Dec 26, 2014 22:01
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uublog posted:I know we're not supposed to get judgey about other people's lists but does that include Irish Joe's Shows He Hates That Nobody Gives a poo poo About or Asked For? yes, don't do this
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Dec 26, 2014 23:20
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Rarity posted:Wait, Harry Lloyd's in Manhattan? i wrote about this, wth rarity also he's great in manhattan but...um, how to put this. he's great but the way the season ends with his character is, um. hmm. disappointing, i guess.
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Dec 29, 2014 07:56
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here we go heres my top ten. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fV5WNudPPU 10. Manhattan Manhattan had a loving mess of a first season. It's really hard to express how many plots were progressed inconsistently, poorly progressed, or just plain dropped as the season continued; What was the point of the private's relationship with Frank's daughter? Was there any thematic or narrative point to Frank's infidelity subplot? Why is so much time spent on Peter Stomare's character. especially when he ends up having no significant impact on the finale? So many aspects of the first season of Manhattan were just unbelievably loving poor, and as a whole the season was so violently, so infuriatingly inconsistent. So why is this still on my top ten list when so much of the show made me so annoyed when watching it? Because, when the show was on it was really on. The central conceit of the show- an examination into the desperate nuclear arms race that lead to the end of World War II -is inherently fascinating, and when the show focused on the desperate, important, secret work the scientists were doing and their moral conflict with potentially helping create a weapon that would destroy the world, it was wondrous television. Heck, even when the show diverted to the home life fallout- pun intended -of the scientists' work, namely Frank's and Charlie's wives, that stuff usually worked as well- it just sometimes got too caught up in the melodrama, too focused on soap opera-y plots and developments that were ill-conceived and worse, not serviced well enough by the overarcing narrative to make them feel like anything other than bare-faced stalling for time. Manhattan should've been the absolute, unequivocal best show this year, and in a world where it didn't so deeply gently caress up so many aspects of the plot and cohesion of the season it would've been, John Benjamin Hickey's performance as the deeply, deeply flawed protagonist Frank Winters is one of the best of the year, and as mentioned before the pilot is one of the single best introductions I have seen to a program since, like, LOST. The premise, setting, dialog, and most of the characters are absolutely great and work so well together, create a world so narratively rich from the very beginning. But the narrative doesn't hold up its end of the bargain, and so deeply fumbles what should've been an easy touchdown that Manhattan just barely edges in at the bottom of my list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53pQhJdi-sA 9. The Knick I love The Knick, but The Knick isn't really a daring or revolutionary show in any way. If I could sum up my feelings about The Knick in one word, it's "competent". The acting is stellar if, conversely, uninspiring- everyone turns in a great, but no-frills performance, Clive Owen included. The set design is great if quite Gangs of New York-y, the dialog usually does its job- and sometimes, but not enough, even more than that -and the plot progression is rather what you'd expect for a show about a turn-of-the-century hospital set in the 1900's- typical plots involve the casual racism/sexism/misogyny/drug (ab)use/scientific illiteracy that permeated the common culture of the time. The premise of the show, despite being all about being on the "burgeoning forefront of modern medicine of the early twentieth century", is mostly a veneer of cable respectability over a very obvious medical drama- there's some great stuff about early twentieth century hardships with surgery, electricity, et al, but the show is really, truly, honestly "House in 1900". That's what it is; the racism angle with Andre Holland's character gives it a bit of extra narrative weight, but it's at its core a period medical procedural with some grotesque, absolutely disgustingly accurate surgery portrayals. So. The Knick, as I have described it, is good but nowhere near distinctive enough to be put on any top ten list. Why is it on mine? Because the one thing that makes it distinct- its direction -is so wildly fantastic that the show's direction alone makes it a loving sea change in how TV is made. TV is a writing-driven medium- directors are essentially hired guns on an episode-to-episode basis, and have very little laterality in how to tell the story separate from what's written on the script, especially in stark contrast to, say, movies, where directors essentially call all the shots. Oh sure, you get your Rian Johnsons, your Michelle MacLarens, who can elevate material via their command over the camera, but this only makes great scripts better. In contrast, the work Soderbergh has done on The Knick, how he has directed every single episode of the first season, has made this show into a truly director-driven show, pretty much the first of its type ever as far as I know. His shot direction, his cinematography, his pans and the way he frames his shots tell a far more gripping, a far more important narrative than what the actors are saying, and his direction- and his direction alone -is what makes The Knick a great show. Soderbergh is why The Knick is on my top ten list; nothing else matters. As a side note, Cliff Martinez's synth-heavy score is so good and so dissonant from what one would expect for a period drama that it deserves some recognition as well. Don't get me wrong, Steven Soderbergh is why The Knick is great television, but Martinez is pretty much the only other performer who operates at the level Soderbergh is throughout this 10-episode first season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veBokK7K9vE 8. Community Let's talk about Dan Harmon. Fired from the show he created, he somehow got rehired to showrun Community's fifth season- a season it probably shouldn't have gotten in the first place -in a redemption story that brings to mind the greek myths of old. Which rather fits Harmon's Jesus complex, but here we are. He came in, and he didn't shy away from embracing the events of the fourth season, despite his complete lack of creative control over it, and how its oft-divided fanbase all came to the rarely-unified conclusion that it was a loving mess, at best. Harmon had to address the narrative of a season he had no control over, an almost total changeover in writers- nearly everyone who hadn't already quit or otherwise left after he was fired after season three ended up taking other jobs after season four was done, assuming reasonably that there was no loving chance that it would end up renewed -and the unceremonious, very contentious departure of Chevy Chase from the main cast at the end of season four. Then Donald Glover wanted out to pursue his rap career. Community season five should've been the worst. The season four finale, for better or worse, tied up all major loose ends for the show and made the central premise- a group of friends at community college- inherently invalid. Dan, going into breaking and then writing season five, considering he wasn't shying away from treating the previous season as canon, would have to find an at least somewhat justifiable reason that the group would go back to Greendale, then write out Chevy's character entirely- and do it without having him on-set at any time, so bitterly did Chase leave the program in the previous season that he was literally barred from showing up to the film set -then write out Donald's character entirely, in only five episodes. And that's not even counting how Jonathan Banks had to be introduced and immediately integrated into the group dynamic, without feeling like another old white guy who was signed on to replace the other old white guy who left. Or counting how Dan had only thirteen 21-minute episodes to tell whatever arcing story he wanted to tell, and close it on what would almost certainly be the for-reals, no second chances series finale, his return marked by his final goodbye to this show he adored immensely. Community season five should've been a loving trainwreck. A new writer's room, a quarter of the cast gone, a once-fired former showrunner known to be incredibly difficult to work with as boss again? With barely half the episodes he had before? On a network that barely tolerated it, with a studio that viewed it, justly, as that show that was only valuable when it hit syndication numbers? Coming off a terrible loving previous season? And yet...and yet...and yet. Community season five was good. It was often great. More than that, it was loving Community again. Sure, Chevy not being there sucked, and Donald leaving five episodes in hurt, but Harmon resumed his rightful place as captain of this ship and everything immediately became better- the jokes were funnier, the characters were written better, the dialog was on loving point again, the show regained its much touted and vaguely described "heart" that made it distinctive as a comedy in the first place. It wasn't a pale imitation of the man, it wasn't season four- it was Harmon, it was the real deal, and it was still great. Sure, season five was still messy- the second half was weaker than its first, and I think the two-part season finale is a bit weak- the first part is conceptually fantastic but executionally nonsense, and the second part is a bit too pat and forced (but has a great final five minutes/ending credits sting). But that's to be expected. Community has always been a messy show, a show that's consistently inconsistent, always the longshot, the underdog, the one that beat the impossible odds. And it did it in season five. It was great television despite every indication otherwise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Kim1Gxg3w 7. Person of Interest Person of Interest is, in contrast to the show right below it on my top ten, the most consistently consistent show on television. The cast the show has assembled is so good, and has such good chemistry, and works so well together, and are so well defined that the show is always at the very least a joy to watch week-in-and-out. The serialized plotting is always on point, the antagonists are real characters, actually dimensionalized and empathetic, if not sympathetic, the dialog is often very emotionally resonant and knows exactly what sort of wavelength the show itself is meant to operate on. The action is tight; the cinematography is clever and intelligent. I could go on. But I won't. Sorry if this writeup comes a little sparse; at one time I was known as the guy who would spend his time evangelizing how great Person of Interest is. I don't, and don't have to, do that any more; everyone already knows that. My writing up the reasons why PoI is fantastic would be undercutting the whole point; there is no more confident and capable show on television than this. None whatsoever. It knows exactly what show it is, what show it wants to be, and how to accomplish those goals and it just does that. Constantly. That's it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve8orWqYzPU 6. Masters of Sex Season 2's first half is a loving mess. The show feels aimless; William Masters' constant flitting from job to job after he quits Maternity Hospital at the end of season one might've been realistic, but boy oh boy did it make the first half of the season feel like it was constantly treading water. And then we get to such fantastic plot developments as Virginia doing Cal-O-Metric, or Betty's married life shenanigans- which were great executionally, since her scenes with Greg Grunberg were some absolutely wondrous bits of acting on both his and Annaleigh Ashford's part, but conceptually were completely divorced from the central premise revolving around Masters and Johnson's intersecting lives. Or Betty's lesbian lover, which was one step removed from even her married life subplot. Or Libby. Christ, Libby. Caitlyn Fitzgerald's Libby could've so, so easily been the nagging, bitchy, hag wife character to William Masters, somehow justifying or making more morally acceptable to the audience that Masters was constantly cheating on his wife with his employee (and eventually, his work partner). Essentially, she could've been the Betty Draper of Masters of Sex. But in her first season, she wasn't; she was genuinely a good person, if a bit awkward and odd. She was even a friend of Virginia's, which made the affair that her and Bill eventually begin a betrayal on both their parts'. It was a neat, smart, and somewhat clever way to characterize the long-suffering wife character that is supposed to restrict the male protagonist's genius; Libby, in season one, is just a nice lady, making every moral and ethical line that Bill and Virginia cross all the more dubious, less and less justifiable. But then in the first half of season two, Libby gets the one-two punch of the whole "being a lovely mother" plotline and the Coral arc, which was so self-evidently pointless, cringe-worthy, and such a departure from her characterization as sensitive if awkward and a bit facile that it nearly ruined the show entirely whenever it was on. I honestly don't know what the point of it was; Coral's storyline in the first half of the season seems solely to introduce her brother Thomas to Libby, and that's it. The first half of the second season of Masters of Sex is just loving bad. The sex study doesn't go on, most of the serialized narratives are completely separate from each other, and many of them make no sense or are really poorly executed. But then the timeskip happens in the seventh episode, and the show somehow miraculously finds a narrative purpose it never had before. Changing the show to be about Bill and Virginia's struggles with growing their own practice, looping in the now-divorced Betty in the process, and setting the show in and around the building in which Masters and Johnson run their practice gives the show a narrative focus it needed, and desperately. Sure, everyone is still involved in their own little separate stories, but it doesn't feel so disparate from each other when all of the principle cast is in primarily the same location: that one building. The plot arcs in the second half of the season get much, much better too: Bill and Virginia struggling with trying to be successful and respected in the scientific community dovetails nicely with Bill's impotence angle. Libby got a much better arc in the second half of the season with all of the CORE stuff, including the affair she initiates with Thomas. I could go on, but you get the picture: the second half of the season is so much better and so much different from the first half they barely resemble the same show; the first half is Bill's boring struggles to hold down a job and Virginia's boring, weird struggles to sell diet pills. The second half is them trying to grow a medical practice and move from studying sex to trying to cure sexual dysfunctions. The quality jump is loving staggering. And, looking back, it's really hard to see the second half of season two as anything but a direct result of the first half; without the terrible, TERRIBLE Coral poo poo we don't get Thomas, and if we don't get Thomas we don't get CORE, which was a far more narratively satisfying and weighty arc for Libby's character than she's ever, really, had. Without Cal-O-Metric we don't get Flo, and Flo is honestly a pretty great and interesting foil to Langham, far better than that no-name burlesque lady he was dating in the first half of the season. Sure, the Betty marriage poo poo was stupid but it led to her being finally re-integrated into the main cast in a way that made sense (especially since she left the first season with no reasonable justification to returning for any significant length of time). Bill wandering from job to job might've been pointless and repetitive, but without it we don't get to be introduced to Betsy Brandt's character, the single best new character of the season, one who has a flat-out wondrous scene in the second half of the season with Virginia. Basically, my point is the first half of season two of Masters of Sex, outside of the third episode's bottle episode. is atrocious and completely ill-conceived and executed, and the second half is some of the best tv I've seen all year. The frustrating thing, of course, is that the second half is based entirely on the buildup from the first; it makes me question whether or not the quality jump was intentional or something; even if it was, the seven episodes in the back half being loving incredible (leading into its brilliant finale) doesn't justify the first six episodes- a full half of the season- being really, really atrocious to watch. If Masters of Sex had been a more consistent show, it would've ended at or near the top of this list; instead, its massive quality fluctuations knocks it down to sixth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyu_MdKBXic 5. True Detective People claim two things about True Detective: That Fargo is better than it, and that it's overrated. Both of these statements are largely true; neither of these denies the fact that True Detective was easily one of the best shows that aired this year. Yes, there are criticisms to make. Yes, TD had a women problem- although I think it's slightly overstated, Michelle Monaghan's character had a decent (if still somewhat problematic) arc that could've used more exploration, but as it was- and this is important -it works well enough. It works adequately, and I enjoyed Maggie's scenes onscreen. Yes, the show ends somewhat less well than it could or maybe "should" have, but it's nowhere near a bad ending and nowhere near bad enough to ruin the show or whatever the anti-hype train people would have you believe. Yes, the philosophical leanings of Rust Cohle were ultimately empty and somewhat hollow verbal masturbation, but that was literally the entire point of those scenes- they're meant to illustrate how much of a pretentious, arrogant rear end in a top hat he is, not meant to be some Philosophy 101 lecture from Matthew McConaughey. True Detective was a show that was incredibly shot, performed, and for at least eight episodes- eighty percent of the loving season- was a brilliant and complicated whodunnit with a really clever framing device, and a rather interesting commentary on the failures of systems- whether that be organizations, groups, duos, or individuals. Plus, it had one of the single best scenes ever shot, maybe ever, not just in television. Sure, it didn't end as well as it could have, but it ended well enough, and it most certainly deserves to be on this list. The sins of hobbling the landing don't make the performance as a whole bad, no matter what people may claim. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh10k2LPZiI 4. Rick and Morty Dan Harmon spent his time away from Community making one of the best cartoons ever. That's barely hyperbole. It's mind-blowing to think how strong a first season Rick and Morty had, how it was incredible from start to finish, how it was dark and hilarious and emotional and serious and awesome- as in, inspiring awe -frequently, often within the same episode. It's mind-blowing to think that this show started as a terrible flash cartoon centered around a Doc Brown knockoff exploiting a Marty McFly knockoff to suck his balls that somehow turned into this, this dark, cynical, and yet still emotionally heartfelt cartoon about a broken alcoholic man's adventures in time and space with his mentally impaired grandson. Rick and Morty is so good, and so effortlessly good it's downright bizarre to think that it's the first season, or that it's mostly episodic, because the two-episode serialized arc it has in the middle of the season- where Rick and Morty end up burying their alternate-universe dead selves and then living those stolen lives, and Marty's emotional confession of that fact to Summer, his sister, when she's about to run away from the family...you know what, gently caress it, just watch it. And remember that this happened in the middle of an episode where the main plot of this episode was about everyone in the family watching alternate universe TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iYO4T9iErs&t=1027s Rick and Morty is so good it transcends my distaste for genre fiction in general to illustrate to me in no uncertain terms how well it can be accomplished, how it can tell really human, emotionally resonant stories, ones that illustrate the mind-blowing infinity of the universe and its limitless potential and how that is a truly beautiful concept when done right. And it does it in twenty-one minute chunks, on adult swim, with two main characters that are just barely not infringing on copyright. That's how good this show is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzZsrGJJDH8 3. The Americans This show and the two above it are the only shows I would consider to have been "great" TV released. It probably stems from my bias for drama over comedy why Rick and Morty isn't on this list, but to me my top ten list is composed of two distinct groups: Shows that were great, and shows that were good but somehow missed the mark in some way. The Americans had a good first season, but holy poo poo alive was its second season loving incredible. It became a show that operated on all cylinders, that balanced the overarcing thriller elements and the tense home life scenes in a way that reminded us of what Homeland was like at its best in season one, before it became terrible convoluted nonsense. What surprises me the most, thinking back on season two, was how little work had to be done to make season two so incredible; all the show needed was a bit of narrative and character focusing. That was it, really; season two is a huge qualitative jump from season one, yes, but it feels like a natural progression from a solid base, and not some outlier jump in quality that the show would never be able to subsequently achieve, as is somewhat common in FX shows (Sons of Anarchy, Justified, etc). The Americans had an incredible, smart, tense, clever second season about the moral and ethical grey areas of the cold war, and the effects of what living a deep cover life would do to your sense of self, or the relationships you form, but it all seemed like an extension of the themes the show had always posited. Truly, a great show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM2l8TPzKmY 2. Fargo You don't sequelize the Coen brothers. You wanna talk about the most singular voice in Hollywood today, it's them. They, and only they, can make the movies they make in the way they make them. Their ouevre is as close to perfect as you can reasonably get, and there's a reason why in their, what, dozen-plus movies they've directed, that there's not a single sequel in there. They tell the story they want to tell, completely within a single movie. And they're done. I love the Coen brothers, but the thing that impresses me the most about their work- about all of their works -is how loving complete every film they've made is. There's no looseness to any of it, every movie is tight and ends definitively, with reason and thought and care put into how it wraps up. And of their movies, of all their wonderful movies, my by-far most favorite is Fargo. It's an incredible film, but the most important and crucial aspect of the film is that it ends. Jerry Lundegaard's failed kidnapping plot of his wife comes to its dark, painful conclusion in a way that states in no uncertain terms that although the world may continue, our time spent watching it will not. So along comes this no-name motherfucker Noah Hawley, whose most famous previous writing credit was for that FOX show Bones, claiming that he was gonna make a tv show set in the world of Fargo. Not only that, but everything about it- from its main anti-hero, Lester Nygaard, to having a capable female cop as the protagonist, to a similar premise of Lester covering up the murder of his wife- everything about it screamed that it was a ripoff of one of the greatest movies ever made. And yet...it's arguably better than the movie. That's how good Fargo the TV series is; it not only honors its source material, it not only feels like a true and natural and earned extension of the world established in the movie, it's not only incredible in its own right, removed from the source material, it might be the superior of the two works. That's how incredible Fargo is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PTNHQND6MA 1. The Leftovers The Leftovers is a show that is not for everyone. In fact, for many it may end up as one of the worst shows that they've seen this year. But to me, The Leftovers is an incredibly brave program, one that does something that most tv shows don't: it's in open conflict with its audience. Most TV shows want you to like them. By the nature of what a TV show is, by the time investment it demands, they try to create connections with their audiences, create a form of empathetic or relational layer to the show itself so that you, as a viewer, become invested into the show as well. They're trying to, subconsciously or not, honestly or not, sell you something: the show itself. The Leftovers does not care, at any moment, if you like it. Most of the characters are at least moderately unlikeable. There's no explanation for its central premise- 2% of the world's population disappearing with no explanation of where they went. The show will spend large stretches of time on no arcing progression, or progression that it (and not you) deems important. The pacing can fluctuate between sudden and nonexistent, seemingly at will. Many episodes don't even have a strong grasp on whether things are happening are 'real' within its narrative; the main character might be suffering schizophrenia. Or a religious experience. Or he may be dreaming. It's...never very clear. Many times plot lines are hinted at and introduced with zero followup or followthrough; the show decides when and how it wants to proceed. But above all, and most importantly, it's an intensely, unremittingly, intensely dark show. This is maybe people's biggest turnoff to why they don't like or even hate it; it's very bleak, 99.99% of the time. Happy endings won't and don't happen on this show; there's never a promise that things will get better or even explained. And this is why I love it so much. I love it so much because it was written not for me; it's not packaged to me, or to anyone. I am watching, purely and without compromise, the intentions of its creators. I am seeing, from a completely untainted viewpoint, the pure expression of what the show The Leftovers wants to be. And because this isn't for me, it paradoxically is; I think back to the emotional highs and lows I experienced when watching this and it's an unparalleled viewing experience. I think back to the finale, one of the most heart-wrenching and bleak season finales I've seen, and how the moment at the very end of the season, the little, tiny, near-insignificant win that the Harvey family experienced on their front porch, nearly made me burst into tears. The Leftovers is a hard, near impossible show to watch; one that by any conventional measurement is flawed to the extreme. But that's rather the point of it, I think; it forces its audience to think, really think, really dwell on the sobering realities of the rotten, dying universe it built. And in so doing, in doing the genuine hard work that is watching this show, I've had one of my most rewarding viewing experiences ever. And incredible show, and my number one with a bullet.
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Dec 29, 2014 10:23
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Everyone who made a qualifying post up to timp should be linked in the second post spatula city, yours needs to be in ascending and not descending order; irish joe let me know whenever youre done so i'll include you everyone else besides for the two people after timp should be on though also spatula city you need to finish your list
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Dec 30, 2014 00:32
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You got like 17 hours left to submit, so, yeah
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Dec 31, 2014 16:31
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Everyone who voted for Hannibal disgusts me
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Jan 1, 2015 21:37
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Regy Rusty posted:At some point maybe you should really consider that you might actually be wrong about it. You're right actually; I'm gonna go watch every good episode of Hannibal before making fun of it any more
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Jan 1, 2015 21:50
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Aaaaand done.
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Jan 1, 2015 21:52
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realtalk i know that...man, this is hard to say...i know that hannibal is a good show that i just happen to rabidly hate, i'm just legit surprised that it toppled fargo since like, at least from what i've anecdotally heard about hannibal s2 it doesn't measure up to fargo, at all
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Jan 1, 2015 22:02
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