[INSERT AWESOME BANNER HERE... ehh screw it]
Last year I wrote an extensive list of my favorite, and
least favorite, of 2013… and then never posted it. Why? Because.
Anyway, these are my favorite things of 2014… they may not be yours.
That’s cool. I don’t like things so you’ll think I’m awesome. I like them
because no one else is going to enjoy my life more than me.
TELEVISION
Half-Hour Shows
BLUESTONE 42 – This is MASH in Afghanistan but with Brits
and they’re not doctors but a bomb disposal unit. This show doesn’t wimp out on
content, context, humor, or crudeness. It is as adult oriented as anything on
HBO. It also tackles subjects American comedies would shit their pants thinking
about. Thanks go to an Australian for suggesting I watch it.
BROOKLYN NINE-NINE – I loved this one last year and this
year is no different. If anything, it’s getting better. As with all the shows
on my list, the casting director did a brilliant job hiring the best actors for
the job. I am glad to see this one doing well enough in its new slot that it
will likely get another season (and once you get a third, a fourth is pretty
much in the bag).
COMMUNITY – After the horrible 4th season… holy
hell that was terrible… Dan Harmon returned to make an EPIC SEASON! Thank the
gods.
THE GOLDBERGS – I am not a nostalgic person but I grew up in
the 80s and remember that decade very well. So when I heard a show about the
80s was happening, I had mild interest, but enough of it to check it out. Glad
I did. It’s to me what “The Wonder Years” (a show about the 60s) must have been
to people my age back in the late 80s. The cast is brilliant. The writing is
fun and touching. It’s a perfect reminder of why people are still stuck on the
80s today. It was one of the most influential decades in modern times… and is
still shaping films, shows, comics, and books we enjoy today.
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JON OLIVER – Comedy Central is
probably kicking and screaming knowing they missed out on this cat as the
replacement for Stephen Colbert. Sure, the show still, at times, feels like
it’s trying to figure itself out, but most of the time it is dropping nukes all
over the dipshit nature of scumbags who use and abuse the system. Sure, it’s a
comedy show, but it’s more relevant as a news source than most of the cable
“news” services out there.
INSIDE AMY SCHUMER – This human is my kind of feminist.
KEY & PEELE – I feel like these guys are only getting
better. Bring on season 4!
RICK AND MORTY – Dan Harmon can do no wrong! Well, unless
you’re a studio/network executive.
VEEP – It’s probably going to be on here every year until
they quit making it.
YOU’RE THE WORST – A friend kept telling me about this show
and I dismissed its potential because of the promos. I only checked it out
because I heard Janet Varney was in it, and she’s my jam. Turns out it’s a
killer show with instant chemistry between pretty much all the actors. The
writing is sharp and funny. Also, the story telling is (for the most part)
believable. This is how people with these personality issues behave. I’ve known
a few of them… and this show nails it. Not to mention it deals with a soldier
suffering from PTSD in hilarious ways… without mocking the problem.
Hour-Long Shows
COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODDYSEY – My greatest love is space;
time; physics; science in general. If only I was smarter, or had more of a
drive to work my ass off, I’d be a physicist of some kind. This show is the
foundation of my very being! And I’ve watched each and every episode more than
a dozen times. Having also watched the original many times, I can confidently
state that Neil deGrasse Tyson paid the greatest respect to his hero, Carl
Sagan. It is also my favorite single season series of the century.
GAME OF THRONES – Even though I felt season 4 had some
missteps in story telling (something I didn’t feel watching the first three),
it also had some of the most powerful and heartbreaking moments of the
television season. Hell, just the battles in episode 9 alone were worth the
price of HBO for a year! And then there are the one-on-one fights in episodes 8
and 10 respectively. Dear Lord of Light! Probably the two best fights in the
history of history!
THE LEFTOVERS – It took several episodes before this one got
things going but once it did… I was looking forward to each and every episode.
It’s also one of the few shows I’m really looking forward to seeing next
season.
TRUE DETECTIVE – Just when you thought HBO couldn’t create
another epic show, they did. The story telling was nearly perfect, with hints
to the solution of the mystery early on (you can look for them online if you
like). I won’t say too much since there are several twists along the way, but
what I loved most is that the ending wasn’t about those twists… just about the
end of a journey. And I still maintain that’s what endings should be about… not
answering questions. If you didn’t answer questions before the final ten
minutes of your series (and since each season is going to be independent of the
other, then I consider this a series finale for these characters), then you’re
likely going to tell a shitty ending if you try to fit those answers into the
final scenes.
FARGO – While I do think this received overpraise, it also
received earned praise. I want to see more shows like this and TRUE DETECTIVE,
where there is a self-contained story every season. That was the original
intent for HEROES but they got scared and couldn’t see a way to abandoned
beloved characters… and in doing so, ruined the show.
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK – I liked this season a lot more
than I liked last season… and I did like last season a good deal (well, half
the episodes). This season was more consistently good than season 1, and also
used less cheesy cheats to tell the story (though that ending is ridiculously
convenient).
OUTLANDER – This show makes my list because I enjoyed the
style of storytelling and I think there are some terrific performances. Plus, I
am a softy for Ronald D. Moore projects.
BEST ACTING – TV
I don’t split categories by male and female performances.
That’s stupid. You don’t see “best male director” or “best female writer”
categories. Why do we still split actors up when handing out awards? Anyway… I
will, however, split them by half-hour and hour-long.
Half-Hour Shows
Stephanie Beatriz – BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
Andre Braugher – BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
Wendi McLendon-Covey – THE GOLDBERGS
Hayley Orrantia – THE GOLDBERGS
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – VEEP
Anna Chlumsky - VEEP
Hour-Long Shows
Rupert Friend – HOMELAND
Allison Tolman – FARGO (also THE MINDY PROJECT)
Samuel Anderson – DOCTOR WHO
Pedro Pascal – GAME OF THRONES
Maisie Williams – GAME OF THRONES
Tatiana Maslany – ORPHAN BLACK
Lorraine Toussaint – ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
FILM
I haven’t seen all the movies released in 2014 so there are
going to be some that I see in 2015 that would have made this list (perhaps
BIRDMAN is one of those). These are the movies I loved most in 2014… when I saw
them. Your favorite movie may not be on this list because I haven’t seen it.
FAVORITES
BOYHOOD
CAMP X-RAY
CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
GONE GIRL
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
THE LEGO MOVIE
NIGHTCRAWLER
BEST ACTING – FILM
I also don’t separate “starring” or “supporting” role.
They’re ALL roles supporting the story.
Payman Maadi – CAMP X-RAY
Juliette Binoche – CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
Kristen Stewart – CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA & CAMP X-RAY (I’m
on Team KS 2014 it seems)
Andy Serkis – DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Toby Kebbell – DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Rosamund Pike – GONE GIRL
Tyler Perry – GONE GIRL (what did I just say?! Yeah, he’s
awesome in it)
Dave Bautista – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (I had no idea who
he was, but he blew me away)
Chris Pratt – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY & THE LEGO MOVIE
Karen Gillan – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Jake Gyllenhaal – NIGHTCRAWLER
AND THE WINNERS OF THE 2014 THINGS IN VISUAL MEDIA AWARD
TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
Half-Hour
BLUESTONE 42 – This was such a surprise and so much fun to
watch that I can’t call anything else my favorite of the year.
Hour-Long
COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODDYSEY – I can’t fully express the joy
I felt watching this… and still feel revisiting it.
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR - TELEVISION
Half-Hour
Wendi McLendon-Covey – THE GOLDBERGS
Hour-Long
Tatiana Maslany – ORPHAN BLACK
MOVIE OF THE YEAR
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY – Not since the early 90s has a
movie made me feel like a kid again… over and over and over. Those who have
listened to my podcasts over the years know I was already a big James Gunn fan,
but he even blew me away with this movie. And though no one will nominate him
as best director… I will. And writer… what the hell. You know what? I’m gonna
make a category just for him.
CREATOR OF THE YEAR
James Gunn
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR - FILM
Juliette Binoche – CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
And that's it. What are your favorite things in the visual media from 2014?
