It's hard to believe, but the tumultuous, emotionally uneven year of 2012 has finally come to an end. Rather than focusing on how rough this year has been, I thought I'd do a list of pop culture moments that made this year suck way less. Full disclosure: I'm not caught up fully on Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Justified, or Downton Abbey for that matter. I'm sure these shows have been amazeballs, but I can't speak with authority, and I HATE SPOILERS. So there's that. This list comprises TV, movies, and events I (I'm) loved (loving) this year.
THE GENERAL'S TOP 10 OF 2012 (OR, STUFF I LOVED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
10.) ABC's Nashville - I scoffed at the idea of this show when I first heard about it: why would anyone want to watch a dramatized version of CMT? I had visions of story lines involving one character burning another's Lynyrd Skynyrd album collection because his/her tractors were stolen, etc. Turns out that this show is actually well written, and in my opinion, one of the strongest entries in the 2012-2013 television season. It's lovely to see Mrs. Coach (Connie Britton) as Rayna back in a starring role (I also haven't watched American Horror Story), as well as Charles Esten (who before this played Josh from the Stamford branch on The Office, and more importantly, went by Chip on Whose Line?). Plus, I don't even irrationally dislike Hayden Panettiere anymore--I think she's, as well as the rest of the cast, doing a fantastic job on the show. The drama never feels too heavy handed, the music and singing is great, and most importantly, there hasn't been mention of a single tractor theft yet. The only downside: no Coach Taylor. Otherwise, I'll definitely be tuning in next year.
9.) CW's Arrow - Up until now, the only show I watched religiously on the CW was Reaper (and, now that I think about it, that one where SMG played twins; whatever, Buffy fan 'till I die), and the only superhero stuff they were associated with was Smallville, which I never bothered with. Admittedly, though, I have a bit of a superhero issue, so I gave Arrow a shot. The show has some issues, but as far as CW standards go, it's really, really good. There's intrigue, tons of drama, a lot of shirtless training scenes with Oliver, and the relationships aren't the worst either. Even though Oliver's sister looks like she's at least 25 rather than 17, I'm really enjoying their brother-sister bonding scenes, and I absolutely love Diggle as Oliver's reluctant mentor. Plus, CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS! There's definitely a lot of white collar issues, and the familiar CW television tropes, but the action scenes are just as good as the addictive drama. Special props to Emily Bett Smoaks, who plays the IT expert at Oliver's dad's company. Every time she's on screen, I crack up. Her interactions with Oliver are hilarious. If you're not watching this yet, what's wrong with you?
8.) The London Olympics - Okay, admittedly, the opening ceremony was a little . . . odd. But it did feature Bond skydiving with the Queen, Professor Lockhart, and a massive Voldemort puppet of sorts. Plus, the village-y part looked a bit like the Shire. What do you want from me? I'm only human. I can't remember many of the names from people, but the whole thing was just fun. U.S. swimming was in fine form (is there possibly a more adorable person than Missy Franklin?), and I watched Rhythmic gymnastics for the first time in my life (those girls are unnaturally flexible). I also watched five hours straight of men's cycling for, like, the first day. That's how dedicated I was to the Olympics this year. Seeing Gabby Douglas win gold in the all-around and Misty Mae-Traynor and Kerri Walsh win their third consecutive gold filled me with joy, tears, and national pride. For at least two weeks, it was okay, nay encouraged even, to "USA!" chant. God Bless, America.
7.) FOX's The Mindy Project - Anyone who knows me understands that The Office played a significant part in my life during high school. Obsession may not be a strong enough word. All I know is that the summer of 2005 is when I realized I loved comedy, and that someday, I wanted to incorporate it into whatever I did as an adult. Mindy Kaling played a huge part in that. I know a lot of critics have felt lukewarm toward her new show, but I kind of love it. It's not what I was expecting, but Kaling's voice is so strong, there's no doubt that it's all hers, and that's definitely a good thing. It's a little rough in patches, but the entire cast is wonderful and hilarious, and the chemistry between Mindy and Danny (played by Chris Messina) is so Han/Leia, I can't even handle it without totally fangirling. B.J. Novak is supposed to guest star next year, so all those Kelly/Ryan feelings will most likely resurface as well. Highlight: Mindy asking Danny to be her gynecologist, and the subsequent survey and breast exam.
6.) Mass Effect 3 - My first introduction to RPGs was in 2003 with BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It rocked my video gaming world. It was the first time I was fully submersed and emotionally invested in the universe of a video game. I wouldn't experience that same feeling again until 2010, when BioWare's other sci-fi epic, Mass Effect 2, was finally released for the PS3. This year marked both the release of the third and final installment of the trilogy featuring Commander Shepard finally confronting the Reaper invasion face to face. Many have complained about the ending, and I totally get that, but a small part of me didn't even care. The journey up to that point was everything I could have wanted from a game: I laughed, I cried, I "oh, snap"-ped at some of the more intense action sequences, and I was invested in the story and the characters. Seeing Garrus, Tali, Liara, and Joker for the last time was like having to say goodbye to dear friends.
5.) Saturday Night Live - Lately, this show has really been a hit or miss, and there seems to be a massive Kristin Wiig shaped hole. However, there have been some solid moments, and most of those have been due to some talented MVPs. Bill Hader is always amazing, but Taran Killam has pretty much killed everything he's done, including those hilarious Brad Pitt ads, and the super creep Mokiki. Also, I don't know how much love is out there for Jay Pharoah, but I am always so blown away by his impressions. Plus, his inner city, high school principal character KILLS me to the point of bladder control issues. Let's not forget the ladies, though. Kate McKinnon was fantastic as Jodie Foster and Ellen DeGeneres, and Cecily Strong's "Girl you wish you hadn't started a conversation with at a party" is so absurdly funny every time. Highlights for me this season so far included: Eastwood and Chair; Undecided Voter; the Dylan McDermott or Dermot Mulroney gameshow; and finally, Swarvoski Crystals.
4.) Telltale's The Walking Dead - Now, while I'm not caught up on the TV show, I have played through Telltale's game, and even more so than Mass Effect 3, this game was an emotional roller coaster. It served as a nice respite from your typical FPS or even your typical zombie shooter. Like Robert Kirkman's graphic novels, the idea for the game was to focus on the human element of the story, while also including some satisfyingly creepy zombie gore. My mom's not a fan of the genre or video games at all, but I even got her into it. I would argue to say that Lee and Clem's relationship was one of the most moving ones of the entire year.
3.) Pitch Perfect - I fought against watching this movie. I was like, "No, thank you. I have had enough of Glee to last me a lifetime." But then I started hearing positive critical reviews, and my friends finally roped me into seeing it. In short, it was one of the funniest things I watched this year. Anna Kendrick was surprisingly funny and endearing in her role, and I'd be completely remiss if I didn't mention the true MVP of the show, Rebel Wilson as Fat Amy. There were a lot of great cameos, too, by Jason Jones and Donald Faison. And admittedly, the singing was acca-awesome. I finally understand what it means to be truly pitch-slapped.
2.) ABC's Castle - I'll admit it: when this show started, I only watched it for Nathan Fillion, and I never admitted it out loud because I felt it was too embarrassing. Four years later, and I have completely changed my tune. I think this show works because the cast and crew understand exactly what their show is: it's not trying to reinvent the wheel, it's simply concerning itself with solid characters and story lines, while appealing to fans. It's also fun, which I think some shows forget is the whole point of TV. Stana Katic continues to impress me this season, balancing drama and comedy so well, and while Castle will never be Malcolm Reynolds, Fillion does his character justice. The best part is that even though the two are finally a couple this season, they're still totally fangirl worthy, which I think is due to their acting and Marlowe's showrunning. Special props to Esposito and Ryan who are always charming and hilarious. Not ashamed anymore: I love this show.
1.) The Avengers and The Hunger Games - This year seemed to be the year of fantastic, action adventure blockbusters. I feel like the Hunger Games proved that a female lead could carry a major franchise without resorting to smut or vampires of any kind. Jennifer Lawrence was awesome in X-Men: First Class, and she seriously kicked butt as Katniss. I am totally psyched for Catching Fire, regardless of Liam Hemsworth's marital status in real life. As for The Avengers, it's about damn time Joss Whedon gets his due. I mean, between Buffy, Angel, Dr. Horrible, and the greatest thing to hit the FOX network, Firefly, this man has created some of the coolest universes ever. I have never left a movie feeling as excited, exhilarated, and entertained as I did leaving The Avengers at 2 a.m the week of finals before graduation. Mark Ruffalo as Bruce was truly something to behold, and Coulson, well, I can't actually talk about it without getting misty eyed. Well played, Whedon. Well played.
SPECIAL MENTION: On a personal note, I got a call back from Conan O'Brien's show in regards to an internship I applied for back in April. I didn't actually get the gig, but it was seriously the most exciting thing to happen to someone who has been a huge fan of Coco's since middle school. It can truly only go up from here!
Happy New Year, and Keelah Se'lai!
The General
No comments:
Post a Comment