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Sweet! I don't watch a lot of TV, but some. Hopefully I can finish Sense8, Hannibal s3, and Mr. Robot the next couple weeks, as well as watch a few of the shows already mentioned. Ideally at least a few of Narcos, The Man in the High Castle, 12 Monkeys, iZombie s2 thus far, Better Call Saul, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Galavant. maybe even Fresh Off the Boat or Blackish. Strong contenders for my list: Hannibal, Mr. Robot (but I've only watched four episodes), Sense8, Fargo, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Survivor: Cambodia, Jane the Virgin, Doctor Who, Master of None, iZombie, UnREAL, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Agent Carter, Another Period. OH NO THAT'S SEVENTEEN SHOWS. I'm bitter enough about the most recent episode of Agents of SHIELD to not list it, and I won't.  #fridging there's lots of acclaimed shows in, what, their 3rd, 4th, 5th seasons, but I don't feel inclined to try to catch up on them. Spatula City fucked around with this message at 05:39 on Dec 6, 2015 |
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Dec 6, 2015 05:36
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Rocksicles posted:No anime in the top ten lists should be the only rule. This is a good rule that everyone should abide by. Also it's frustrating having like, 17 super high quality shows to choose between and some people are putting random crap on their list. I don't even watch that much TV, you guys. I AM DISAPPOINT. I do know Fargo's probably #1. holy poo poo let's make this happen people.
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Dec 8, 2015 09:40
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IRQ posted:This could not be further from the truth. yeah, ugh. Now I don't think I can put Survivor on my list if it counts for both seasons. Nope nope nope. also ugh I forgot about Bojack Horseman and Rick & Morty on my longlist, I think. gently caress, I'm just going to have to leave out a lot of things I love. May be able to make a top 20.
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Dec 9, 2015 20:54
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I would like to remind everyone here about the existence of two excellent shows, Another Period and UnREAL. A few of you have remembered them, but sadly many of you have not. also wtf nobody's mentioned either Steven Universe or Gravity Falls. LET US CHANGE THIS.
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Dec 11, 2015 09:44
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oh good it's midnight PST, not EST. jolly good then. My list is done because I can't be bothered to watch anymore shows on my list at the moment, and probably won't tomorrow. sorry, Hannibal, Sense8, Jane the Virgin. If I didn't see all your episodes, you can't be on my list.  but the writeups, well, I want to write at least 200 words for each show. This is peak TV times, I would feel remiss if I only had a short blurb. 3 down, seven to go, but I have to go to bed now. list will be up prior to deadline.
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Dec 31, 2015 09:11
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well, I was intending to watch a bunch of shows to catch up with this, but that just turned watching shows into homework, which then made it psychologically undesirable somehow to my crazy brain. at least I finished Mr. Robot! HONORABLE MENTIONS: 25. Agent Carter - Haley Atwell  24. Rick and Morty - I know I SHOULD love it, but I don't. because I don't need its relentless cynicism right now. 23. Empire - caveat: I have not seen any of season 2. But I thoroughly enjoyed season 1, although I wasn't always paying attention because other people were watching it while I was in the room. 22. Doctor Who - I like individual episodes, but I'm not sure about the overall season. Heaven Sent would definitely make my top ten episodes of the year. 21. Another Period - this is an exceptionally silly show, and I love it to pieces 20. Brooklyn Nine-Nine - consistently funny, but that very consistency means it never reaches for greatness. 19. Catastrophe - I am now in love with Sharon Horgan. 18. The Flash - great end of first season, but the second season is...lacking in energy. 17. Survivor: Cambodia - if I could list only season 31 on here, I would, but it's been said that a mention of Survivor would mean both seasons aired this year, and I cannot abide that. 16. Hannibal - did not finish season, but that's not a referendum on show's quality. 15. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - watched this all last week, loved it, but I think it's taken a while for it to really find its footing after an excellent pilot. I'm hopeful that when it comes back, it will be firing on all cylinders. 14. Sense8 - same as Hannibal, did not finish season, but I love it. Just can't put show I haven't finished on my list. 13. Jane the Virgin - haven't seen any of season 2 yet. 12. Daredevil - juuuuust missed the list 11. Master of None - Oh my god how am I not putting this on the list, I loving hate myself. But there's no room. THE LIST 10. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - "That's gonna be a, you know, a fascinating transition." - Walter Bankston Last year, after a long time not watching 30 Rock, I bingewatched the last two seasons of it that I'd missed over two weeks in the summer. It was a wonderful time, returning to the wonderful wackiness created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. and it was crushing when it ended, although of course it ended perfectly (and with arguably one of the best series finales EVER). but I was hopeful when I learned Fey and Carlock would be producing another show. I was less sure about Ellie Kemper, who I'd seen in bit parts in other shows and movies. But the concept gave me serious pause. A show about a woman who was held captive underground by a creepy dude for many years? How is that a comedy? But I should have known - Fey and Carlock delivered. We may not have Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy back, but Kimmy Schmidt and Titus Andromedon are just as wonderful, and the show around them contains that same goofball energy. It has some weird moments and a few false notes, but the highs are high enough to place it on this list above more consistent shows. It's a ray of sunshine led by the unbreakable, unstoppable Kimmy Schmidt. She reminds me of one of my favorite film characters, Poppy in the Mike Leigh film Happy-Go-Lucky. She stays positive, dammit, as hard as she can, even when the world tries to force her into cynicism. During a time when I really needed cheering up, she was there for me.  also, PINOOOOOOOT NOIR! 9. Mr. Robot - "You knew all along, didn't you?" - Elliot Alderson What did you think when you first heard the title "Mr. Robot"? Did you think it was goofy? You probably did. It is goofy, but it has an important meaning, a meaning the series builds to over eight episodes before finally revealing, and then letting it sink in over the last two. but you have to trust it, and you have to trust that the show isn't going to go where you expect. You will learn, if you watch the show, that Sam Esmail is a magician, a master of misdirection. You think you know how this story goes; "oh, it's a reference to the movie _________!" you think it's a Gibson-inspired cyperpunk hacker fight-the-system thing. You come to expect the reveal, and the moment of triumph, but the magician has made you look in the wrong places. Rami Malek has landed the role of a lifetime with this, and puts his bulging, haunted-looking eyes to expert use. and this also might be the role of Christian Slater's career, as he proves that he doesn't deserve to be languishing in DTV wasteland or in lovely TV pilots when he's capable of this kind of layered, charismatic work. And I can't forget Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin, or Martin Wallstrom either, who are all in their own way as essential to the functioning of the show as Malek and Slater, even if the former is the protagonist and the latter is the titular character. And the filming style of this show is unusually cinematic for television; the shot framing, the lighting, the movement of the camera, the tricky editing, and most memorably the choice of shot for the title drop. When you see that Mr. Robot logo, you know hours and hours of deliberation were put into where it was placed (Esmail says as much in interviews). That level of care and detail extends to the show as a whole. 8. Bojack Horseman - "It gets better. But you have to do it every day." - Jogger I am clinically depressed. It's not something I like to talk about, but not talking about it doesn't make it go away, and it informs everything about my life, including how I view the media I consume. For a long stretch of time, probably 2013 to late 2014, I had serious trouble even watching dramatic shows, and it's only gotten somewhat better since then. It'd be pretty hard for me to view a serious dramatic show about depression. Like, I hear about something like The Leftovers, and that sounds great, but I can't imagine myself watching it anytime soon. And yet, I still want to see narratives about depression. To me, it's only bearable when there's some sort of counterweight. For the show Bojack Horseman, that counterweight exists, and it is silly, mostly animal-based humor in a bright and wacky world. It makes the darkness bearable, but it doesn't diminish the condition of living your entire life feeling like garbage all the time, and not ever really knowing why. What Bojack goes through is a gradual, crushing realization that no external change to his life can allow him to run away from his own self-loathing. Not playing his childhood hero in a movie, not having a cool girlfriend that likes him, and not ditching LA and insinuating himself into the family of an old friend. Wherever you go, there you are. Bojack's friend and biographer Diane faces a similar darkness as a consequence of her faith in both her ability to make a difference in the world and her satisfaction with her marriage collapsing. god, just describing all this, can you imagine a live action version? Wouldn't it be absolutely crushing? Fortunately Bojack and Diane also exist in a world with Hollywoo Stars: What Do They Know?: Do They Know Things?: Let’s Find Out!, the best, most nonsensical game show, hosted by none other than JD Salinger. The episode centered around the game show touches some raw nerves, but also does a pretty good parody of both game shows and the work of Aaron Sorkin. And it brings enormous depth to Mr. Peanutbutter, who had previously been something of a one-note character (though that note was really good, and never really got old thanks to Paul F. Tompkins' consistently endearing voice work). I should also note that no show, or really anything has made a plotline about three children pretending to be one adult in a trenchcoat so compelling and moving. It's an enormous credit to the writing of the show and the voice work of Alison Brie and Amy Sedaris. 7. iZombie - "I know you can't fully control your actions when you're on a brain, but I really need you to try and rein in the bro. We would be in serious trouble if someone came in and saw how you arranged the medical skeletons. And this, this is unacceptable. What if someone came in to identify their loved one and the medical examiner had "fart" written on his forehead? It isn't funny." - Ravi Chakrabarti Most of these I'm writing sweeping, heartfelt praise. but I feel like I'm entitled to one show that I just flat out enjoy without needing any philosophizing, that I just go ''yaaaaaaay, this rules" the whole time. For me, that's iZombie. Generally, I don't like zombies. But...Rose McIver. I REST MY CASE. Well, actually a lot of it is also Rahul Kohli, who you can tell is just having the best time always. Most things Ravi says are funny even when they're not Buffy-esque quips. and David Anders has been an entertaining villain in everything I've seen him in, but here he's sleazy perfection. aaand, Blaine's World alone solidly pushed this into the top ten above other pure pleasure shows that didn't produce an episode as singularly good. and then after an excellent first season, there was no second-season slump! It's a miracle! 6. Steven Universe - "I'm still learning. I hope you understand. I want to understand. I'm sorry." - Peridot As a rule, I dislike fandoms. Devoting yourself obsessively to one media property, making fan art and fanfiction all the time, buying all the merch, speculating like crazy, getting whipped into a frenzy wondering when the next episode/book/film is coming? not my scene at all. But there's an odd recent tendency to judge media properties by their weird, insane fandoms. I don' think that's fair, and yet, driven by the GBS mockery mentality, a lot of people on this site have decided Steven Universe is garbage. I'm here to tell you that they are wrong, so very very wrong, but I don't think that type of people would like that show even if they bothered to watch it. Because it's a show that celebrates empathy and love and sincerity, the polar opposite of everything those jaded douches stand for. Many cartoons for kids, even the ones that aspire to be more, put less of a premium on character development than on wacky scenarios to entertain the children. And that's okay! But for a show to succeed in appealing to both a kid and adult audience, it needs to be more. Steven Universe succeeds as a show because it's always about its characters, and it never lets them remain stagnant. Sure, Steven starts out as an annoying kid with too much exuberance and naivete to spare. but poo poo happens. Throughout the first and second seasons, he's slowly matured, and the show has fleshed out what really makes him a good, heroic person - his boundless capacity for empathy, even for those that don't seem to deserve it. Steven wants to be everyone's friend, and sometimes that can get him into trouble, but he never gives up, and if one idea backfires, he tries something else. But Steven's journey wouldn't work if it weren't for the parallel development of his parental figures - the Crystal Gems and his dad Greg, the girl that becomes his best friend (and maybe more someday?) Connie, and the many eccentric residents of Beach City. The first run of episodes built up Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst a certain way, but the subsequent episodes have, slowly at first, and then rapidly dismantled those first impressions. Pearl seems like the responsible rulemaker, maybe a bit uptight and overprotective, probably the most mom-like. but her facade of having it together breaks, and we've seen now her resentment towards Steven (who on some level she blames for his mother Rose's death), her emotional fragility, and her state of being in deep mourning for the person who meant everything to her. Garnet's positioned as the leader, the stoic cool one. It takes a lot longer to break down her facade, but when it happens, boy does it happen. Amethyst I guess has the most predictable set of issues, but the way things happen, the reveals still feel surprising. and Greg is just the loving best dad. He has a cool van and plays guitar! and Connie has become more and more important to the series, cemented by Sworn to the Sword, where she learns how to use a frickin' sword.  also the show has a deep pool of fun supporting characters, including the cool kids Buck, Jenny, and Sour Cream; the super-unsettling Onion; Lars and Sadie; and Jamie the Mailman/Amateur Actor. Oh, I kinda almost forgot the most important bit - PERIDOT (the character from my avatar). Peridot starts off as an ominous super-geek antagonist, devolves into a Team Rocket-style ineffectual antagonist, and now, through the power of Steven's empathy, may (or may not) be on a path to redemption. She remains a petty rear end in a top hat throughout. it is beautiful. ALSO ALSO, almost all the voice cast can sing, and so some episodes have awesome songs. Maybe a bit of a spoiler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpMSwgPKWd4 5. Gravity Falls - "I mean, who would sacrifice everything they've worked for just for their sibling?" - Bill Cipher When I was a kid, I didn't always have the best relationship with my younger sister. We'd fight, steal each other's things, badmouth each other to our parents, and sometimes go weeks without speaking to each other. But, dammit, we loved each other, and we still do. So for me, it's not really the conspiracies or the jokes or the terrific animation that make Gravity Falls so compelling to me. It's the unbreakable bond between siblings at the core of the show. Dipper and Mabel have their differences - he's more into solving mysteries, she's more into having a good time. Often those desires conflict, but at the end of the day, they have each other's back, and there will be an awkward sibling hug. And then the series dropped a bomb, something fans had been speculating about for eons, finally confirmed, and the show introduced a second sibling dynamic that was instantly effective, helped immensely by JK Simmons. Gravity Falls has had bizarre release schedule throughout its run, and this year was no different, with only eleven episodes aired, and the grand finale not until February. But of those episodes that did air, the quality of Not What He Seems, A Tale of Two Stans, Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future, Weirdmageddon Parts 1 & 2 are enough to warrant its placement on my list. 4. Fargo - "Camus says knowing we're gonna die makes life absurd." - Noreen What do we want out of television? Do we want it be a warm blanket that wraps us around and tells us everything will be fine? Do we want to turn on the TV and see the president reassuring us that we can get through this? Do we want neat endings where everything is resolved in the tidiest way possible, where the bad are punished and the good are rewarded, and the safety of the world is assured? Fargo season 2 denies us those comforts. It gives us what we need rather than what we want. It mashes up the work of the Coen brothers, late 70's pop culture, and existentialist philosophy to create a postmodern masterpiece of television. I could write a long sweeping explanation of why it's so great, but I don't have time (maybe if I hadn't decided to wait until the last day to do this, lol). I'll just touch on elements of it worth noting. First, the deep ensemble cast, anchored by Patrick Wilson in a role that SHOULD finally get him the wide mainstream attention he deserves. Kirsten Dunst is also a revelation, essaying a unique, complex character that easily could have come off as irritating and infuriating with the wrong actress, but in Dunst's hands becomes loving iconic. Bokeem Woodbine is the third great revelation. I can't say enough good things about the way he portrays Mike Milligan. But maybe showing is better than telling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr1XyVABabM And then major shoutouts to Zahn McClarnon, Ted Danson, Jesse Plemons, Jean Smart, Jeffrey Donovan, Cristin Milioti, Nick Offerman, Brad Garrett, Angus Sampson, Rachel Keller, Allan Dobrescu, and Emily Haine. Outside the amazing ensemble cast, the MVP of the show is the music, which is never less than perfect for the scene. There's a lot of 70's prog rock, like in this scene that uses Jethro Tull WARNING, SPOILERS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpljpQFIe_Q Also read this awesome interview with the music supervisor: [url] http://www.avclub.com/article/music-supervisors-treasure-hunt-found-70s-tunes-fa-229845 [/url] Obviously the cinematography, production design, editing, writing, and directing are film-level quality; and the show does right by its association to the work of the Coen bros. I don't know if they've said anything about Fargo in its second season, but if I were them, I'd be immensely impressed by what Noah Hawley has accomplished. 3. Jessica Jones - "It's called whiskey." - Jessica Jones I'm not a comic book guy, and yet, somehow I watch most of the comic book TV shows. I can't really explain it other than to say that they're pure escapism, light and fluffy nonsense that I can just sit back, relax, and wash over me. Granted not all of it is "light" really so much as it is surface-level. There may be "dark" plot twists, characters may die or suffer, but it's not in any way threatening or challenging, the way say, for example, Mr. Robot or Fargo can be. Which is a long way of explaining why none of Daredevil, Agent Carter, Agents of Shield, The Flash, or Arrow made my list. but, there was one comic book show this year that dared to be truly upsetting and at times confrontational - Jessica Jones. It's loosely based off a comic book story involving super-powered characters, but it grounds the superpowers with a complex story about control, addiction, PTSD, and rape. Jessica Jones would be the best female character of the year, were it not for the characters in #2 on my list. She's everything you could hope for in a female antihero, combining heroism, self-destruction, excessive alcohol consumption, and a relentless drive to defeat the villain by whatever means possible. Some people didn't think Krysten Ritter was the right choice for this part, and THOSE PEOPLE ARE MORONS. She proved not only right for the part, but that she deserves to be considered a terrific dramatic actress in addition to her already proven comedic chops (everybody watch Don't Trust the B-, now). and what is a hero without a worthy opponent? With Kilgrave, the show has created the most unsettling TV villain in years. David Tennant transforms his charm into something toxic; it's not Evil Doctor Who, but maybe somewhere close. It's narcissistic male privilege personified. and the show effectively portrays the menace of Kilgrave's powers in the paranoia it establishes. He can control anyone - anybody could be a danger. We become party to Jessica's mounting paranoia. The other best thing worth mentioning is the strong friendship between Jessica and Trish "Patsy" Walker (Rachael Taylor), the kind of close female friendship these shows pretty much never depict. It takes a bunch of risks, some of which don't pay off, leaving as a less consistent show, but gently caress it, consistency is overrated. Pound for pound, Jessica Jones is the best television show based on a comic book of 2015. 2. UnREAL - "I need princess fantasy footage out the rear end." - Quinn King Does it sound insane to say that UnREAL was more horrifying to me than the last season of Hannibal? Maybe it is, but where Hannibal trucks in body dismemberment, UnReal's thing is emotional apocalypse. A satire of reality television could go in a number of directions; a light frothy goof, a soap opera, an over the top parody, a futuristic satire. While the show does have soapy elements, it eschews the other options and goes for the jugular. It's about nothing less than how the media perpetuates destructive expectations of femininity, enabled by two powerful female characters. In the first episode, its protagonist Rachel Goldberg (Shiri Appleby) wears a shirt that says "this is what a feminist looks like", which is a pretty funny joke that becomes something far darker as the show unfolds. For, despite her protestations and stated principles, Rachel's actions destroy women. Her singular talent is emotionally manipulating people into actions that will produce entertaining television, in service of a show that promotes unreasonable ideals about romance and how men and women should interact. After a long hiatus due to an on-camera meltdown, Rachel is dragged back into the business by the show's producer Quinn King (Constance Zimmer), a ruthless cynic - at least, that's the way it appears at first. Rachel and Quinn engage in a sort of dance between love and hate, in the most complex and compelling relationship of two women on TV in 2015. Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer should, and won't win Emmy awards. Together they show how women are equally capable of hurting women as men, and in more insidious ways. We see them ultimately triumph and produce a great show, but have to sacrifice their own personal lives, and the literal life of another, all for a false image of love everlasting. 1. You're the Worst - "I mean, the phrase doesn't translate easily to English, but it means... that there is not currently a problem." - Jimmy Shive-Overly Comedy often tends towards being mean, towards mocking and belittling others for the pleasure of the audience. Especially in this postmodern world, it's easy to be misanthropic and cynical. It's easy to lie about ourselves. It's easy to refuse to grow up. And perhaps the easiest thing for a comedy show to do is to become what its characters are. It takes tremendous grace to make a show about cynical, deeply hurting, immature people that isn't itself any of those things, and then, to make it funny on top of all that? I said earlier Sam Esmail is a magician, but Stephen Falk is a loving wizard. Fundamentally, You're the Worst is a show that loves its characters, even as they veer towards self-destruction. Falk's show represents the best of modern television because it knows that Jimmy, and Gretchen, and Edgar, and Lindsay, and Paul, and Vernon, and even Becca (uuuuugh) are the worst, but they can also be the best. I already talked about my depression in the Bojack Horseman entry, but I would have to admit You're the Worst wouldn't have the top spot if it wasn't for the way the show absolutely nails what depression is like. People that don't have clinical depression can't imagine how good it feels to see that condition portrayed accurately, in a way that people can understand. Depressed people often hold the conviction that they're garbage, and that they will inevitably disappoint or hurt the people around them. "I'm gonna leave you anyway" might just be a thought running through the head of a depressed person. They feel unlovable, and then through their actions create a situation where that's true. Gretchen doesn't explode at all those people because the depression's making her angry. It's a cold, calculated decision based on those bad cognitions. She wants them to leave, to abandon her. It's better this way. Because they can't fix her. They can never cure what's wrong with her. But ultimately Jimmy doesn't give up on her, and he builds a goddamn blanket fort. Hakuna matata. 
Spatula City fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Jan 1, 2016 |
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Jan 1, 2016 02:09
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Wanton Spoon posted:I've been keeping an eye on this thread because I don't watch much TV, but after watching through Bojack Horseman and falling in love with it, I've wanted to see if there are more shows like it that I'm just missing. So I've been checking the posts with Bojack in the top ten and seeing what else those posters recommend that look similar. It looked like You're The Worst fit the bill the closest (in terms of the type of tone I'm looking for, which is basically "depressed people attempting to forge better relationships") and tended to get ranked even higher than Bojack, so I've watched the first seven episodes of the first season, and... so far I'm just not seeing it. I dunno, I ranked it for the second season, the one that actually aired in 2015. I personally liked the first season a lot, but the second season is an improvement in every way. and I don't really get what you mean by "celebrating how much of a mess they are". I don't think that's the intent at all; rather, the show has empathy for these hosed up assholes where another show might go "hahaha look at these loving assholes!". but if you don't like it, you don't like it. I would say you should finish the first season, because the last three episodes are fantastic, imo.
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Jan 1, 2016 05:07
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 I'm very proud to be quoted on both Gravity Falls and Steven Universe. This rollout is awesome, Rarity, amazing job! also it seems like all shows on my list may have made the top 50. weird, I guess my tastes are pretty stereotypical for TVIV.
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Jan 2, 2016 20:16
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Toxxupation posted:mad men literally immediately below the flash throws into high relief how actually loving absurd that is It's such a tragedy that people like different things, and don't all have the same taste as you.  Mad Men is a show that I respect as well-made, good production values, classically "good" acting, writing, and directing, but it bores me to tears. It may be that it resembles a piece of literature more than most TV shows, and I've always been more into Asimov than Hemingway, more into Poe than Dickens, etc. I don't necessarily think The Flash deserves to be that high, but in principle I have no objections to that.
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Jan 2, 2016 22:26
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I am so pumped that UnREAL made the top 50. I knew it was a good call to strategically rank it #2! errybody needs to watch it. Don't be dissuaded because it's on lifetime. all you peoples that watch Agents of SHIELD, if you like Constance Zimmer in that show, you'll at least love her in UnREAL, if not everything around her. edit: also, lol, 7 of my top 10 are in the top 20. my hipster card is officially revoked.
Spatula City fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Jan 3, 2016 |
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Jan 3, 2016 00:44
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