2014 TV Highlights

After a very stressful semester, I have some time off for winter break. I thought I'd try to play catch up and look back at the year in TV. So without further ado, here are my 2014 TV highlights.

DC Comics TV

I'll begin with perhaps my favorite thing to come out of this year: the rise of TV adaptations of DC comics. The CW's Arrow has been on the air for two years now, but this year saw the debut of not one, not two, but three DC TV shows: The Arrow spin-off The Flash, FOX's Gotham, and NBC's Constantine. The Flash quickly became my favorite new show of the fall. It is everything I wanted it to be and more. I love it so much that I could probably write a thousand words about it, which I may end up doing when the season ends in the spring. But in the meantime I will impatiently await it's return in January. I was less impressed by Gotham, which follows a young James Gordon as a detective navigating the crime and corruption of Gotham before Batman. The show sometimes spends too much time hinting at Batman and his villains, but I still do enjoy the show. Robin Lord Taylor is a stand out as Oswald Cobblepot (who will become the Penguin), and the mob war between Falcone and Maroni is enough to keep me engaged. As of the time of my writing this, I've only seen the pilot of Constantine, but I liked what I saw. It's a darker corner of the DC universe that hasn't been seen in film or TV since the Keanu Reeves movie, so I look forward to catching up over break.

Looking Ahead: DC will continue to take over TV as more projects have been announced. CBS has ordered a Supergirl series from Greg Berlanti, the man behind Arrow and The Flash; Syfy is developing Krypton, which will take place on Superman's home planet and follow his grandfather; and TNT is working on a live action Teen Titans adaptation. I am always on board for anything DC-related, so I am looking forward to all of these shows, should they end up airing. It seems that while Marvel dominates the box office with its movies, DC will continue to throw its properties at TV, and given its current track record, it's looking like they will continue to stick.

Marvel TV

Marvel only has one TV show to DC's four currently on air, but 2014 has been a good year for it. ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. got off to a rocky start last year, but it picked up steam in its second half, especially following the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier back in April. S.H.I.E.L.D. takes place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), so anything that happens in the movies can affect what happens in the show. Without spoiling anything, I will say that Winter Soldier had huge ramifications for S.H.I.E.L.D., infusing new life into the show. Now in its second season, the show is better than ever. It ended the year with a gamechanging midseason finale that introduced a new element from the comics into the MCU, and I am very excited to see what happens next.

Looking Ahead: Marvel will add two more TV shows to the MCU in 2015. ABC will air the entire eight-episode run of Marvel's Agent Carter in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s normal timeslot starting in January. This series takes place after the events of Captain America: The First Avenger and will see Hayley Atwell reprise her role as Peggy Carter. She has been seen in a couple of episodes of S.H.I.E.L.D. this season via flashbacks, so I am excited for her to carry her own show. Meanwhile, Netflix has been working on the first of its five Marvel series, Daredevil, which will become available sometime in 2015. Starring Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, the show, because it is on Netflix, will get away with a darker tone. While I didn't hate the Ben Affleck movie (probably because I saw it when I was young and I liked everything back then), it will be nice to see a new, darker take on the character.

Game of Thrones

This season of HBO's Game of Thrones was easily my favorite so far. There were so many breathtaking moments (both for the characters and the viewers) that I can't believe it all happened in one ten-episode season. I don't want to spoil anything, so I will vaguely touch on the ones that immediately come to mind. It all started with a certain wedding of a violet hue and things only escalated from there. There was Tyrion's speech, the Viper vs Mountain fight, the Battle of Castle Black (which was perhaps the most beautifully executed episode to date), and the entire finale. Oh, and Arya's laugh was a standout moment for me. It was quite the eventful season, so I wonder if they can top it with season five.

Looking Ahead: I haven't read the books, so I don't know what is coming next. But with so many cliffhangers, I can't wait to find out.

HBO

Unlike previous years, Game of Thrones wasn't the only HBO show I watched this year. Over the summer I caught up on True Detective and Silicon Valley, and I was able to watch The Leftovers as it aired. I loved all three shows. I don't know what to say about True Detective except that it lived up to the hype that it has received. Both Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson gave fantastic performances, and the structure of the men recalling a closed case allowed for an interesting use of narration. Silicon Valley, starring Thomas Middleditch and T.J. Miller as the founders of a startup company, was absolutely hilarious. The cast had great chemistry, and while some of the more technological dialogue went over my head, I was still able to follow the plot and catch the majority of the jokes. The algorithm scene in the finale had me cracking up, and it made me recall so many of the detailed discussions about trivial things that I've had with my friends. Finally, The Leftovers, created by Lost's Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta and based on Perrotta's novel of the same name, follows the residents of a small town in New York three years after the mysterious simultaneous disappearance of two percent of the world's population. The series is very bleak and depressing, so it is not for everyone, but for whatever reason, I was mesmerized throughout the season. The third episode, "Two Boats and a Helicopter," followed Christopher Eccleston's Rev. Matt Jamison and was one of the best hours of TV I've seen in a while. The novel does not explain the reason for the disappearance and Lindelof has said that he doesn't plan to explain it in the show, but while that may turn some people off, I'm much more interested in the characters, and they've done a great job defining them.

Looking Ahead: All three shows have been renewed for a second season. Silicon Valley and The Leftovers will continue where they left off, and although neither ended with a big cliffhanger, I'm looking forward to more of both shows. The second season of True Detective, however, will have a new setting and cast, so I don't know what to expect. HBO has recently confirmed that the cast will include Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell, Taylor Kitsch, and Rachel McAdams, so I'm excited to see what they bring to the show.

The Legend of Korra

This year we got two complete seasons (Books 3 and 4) of Nickelodeon's The Legend of Korra, the sequel series to the popular Avatar: The Last Airbender. Unfortunately, they were the last two, and they came with some behind-the-scenes drama. In the middle of the Book 3, Nick pulled the show from its schedule with no warning. The rest of the episodes were then released online weekly. Luckily, this happened right before San Diego Comic-Con, so the creators were able to clear everything up to the fans and the press at the SDCC panel. They knew it was going to happen, but they didn't know when; so they were just as surprised as we were. But that didn't stop the fans from watching the show. Another surprise came when Book 4, the final book of the series, premiered just over a month after Book 3 ended. On the one hand, fans got more episodes much sooner than they were expecting, but on the other hand, the show would be ending sooner than they were expecting. Despite the confusion, the show delivered two fantastic seasons. Book 3 saw the rebirth of the air nomads and the rise of a very powerful villain, and Book 4, which took place three years after Book 3, saw politics play a major role and a favorite character from The Last Airbender return for a few episodes. Korra was a great continuation of the Avatar story and helped expand the universe in ways I had never expected. I am sad to say goodbye to this world, but it was a great ride.

Looking Ahead: Creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have no plans to continue with the Avatar world, and I think that is for the best. If at some point down the road, they get an idea of how to continue the story, I will fully support them, but for now I look forward to their next projects.

Obviously there was plenty more notable TV this year that I didn't get to. Fargo was a brilliant show with amazing performances from Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, and Allison Tolman. Bojack Horseman was an...interesting addition to Netflix's lineup of original programming. Psych ended its eight-year run in true Psych fashion. How I Met Your Mother ended its nine-year run in...a fashion (more on that here). Sherlock and Hannibal, two of my favorite current shows, both delivered outstanding seasons. And in its midseason finale, Arrow made perhaps the most ambitious creative choice I've ever seen. There are also plenty of shows that have been highly praised that I haven't seen yet, as well as shows that I wish I hadn't seen (I'm looking at you, Under the Dome). Overall it was a good year to be a TV junkie, and I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store.

As always, feel free to share your own 2014 highlights in the comments. Until next time, I'd like to wish you all the happiest of holidays.

'How I Met Your Mother' Series Finale Reaction: How We Met the End

After twenty hours of avoiding all social media and entertainment sites, I finally watched the series finale of How I Met Your Mother on Tuesday. Luckily, I was able to make it through the day without having the ending spoiled for me (I felt like I was reenacting the season two episode "Monday Night Football"). Having read the online reactions and taken time to figure out my thoughts, I'm ready to pitch in. Obviously SPOILERS follow, so if you haven't seen the finale, stop reading immediately.

Let me begin by saying that I fully understand the rage that many people are experiencing at the finale. We've spent nine years waiting for Ted to meet the mother of his children, expecting her to be his soulmate and them living happily ever after. Then we spent all of this last season learning about the mother, whose name we find out is Tracy, and seeing her and Ted together in flashforwards. I know I'm not alone in thinking that Tracy was perfect for Ted. But after all of that, Tracy dies from a terminal illness and six years later Ted goes after Robin one last time. It's hard not to feel cheated by this ending, so I understand why people are upset.

However, I'm okay with this ending, for the most part. When fans started speculating about the mother being dead when Ted tells the story, I didn't want to believe it. I was still holding onto the hope that they would have their happy ever after. But when it turned out to be true, I realized that it made sense, especially given the clues that the writers have been dropping since last season. What I didn't like was that Tracy's death came and went. I would have liked some sort of goodbye scene between Ted and the woman that he has been searching for for nine years, but instead we get a brief voiceover about her being sick and a shot of him reading to her in a hospital bed. I know that a scene like that would have been really heavy, but it would have made Ted's moving on at the end more powerful. That being said, I can look past this because how they handled Tracy's death was fine given the ultimate reveal that the story was really about Robin.

But that's where my main problem with the finale comes in. Actually, it's not even a problem with the finale but more with the series as a whole. I'm not angry that Ted went after Robin at the end, mostly because that is clearly what the creators had in mind from the beginning. The final scene with the kids was shot close to the beginning of the series because the actors needed to appear the same age. Plus, looking back, the pilot is all about how Ted meets Robin, so coming back to that in the finale makes perfect sense. My issue is that it has been made clear multiple times throughout the series that Ted and Robin are not right for each other, so that's what makes the ending unrealistic to me. Ted has also said on several occasions that he is over Robin. I know that I can't take Ted for his word on that because he's Ted, but I felt that this season's "Sunrise" provided closure in that regard. Even if Ted never did get over his feelings for Robin, that doesn't change the fact that she's always been focused on her career while he always wanted to settle down. Ted found someone who was able to give him everything that he wanted, and he clearly loved her, but now I'm supposed to believe that after being with Tracy for ten years he still thinks Robin is the one? I don't buy it. Maybe if Robin had shown some sort of change in character, I would be more inclined to believe it, but she still seemed very career-focused at the end. Like I said, the finale made sense logistically, but I wish they developed Robin's character a little more at the end so that I could more believably see them together.

Now on to the other characters. I'll start with Barney. Personally, I loved how Barney has grown so much over the course of the series. I thought his proposal to Robin was great and, although I may be alone in this, that they were good together because they each had their own issues with commitment. Then when he and Robin get divorced, he makes a complete reversal to the guy he was at the beginning of the series. I don't think that was the best choice, but giving him a daughter was a great touch. Seeing him as a devoted father was touching, even if it was the result of a one-night stand. I just wish that they could have gotten there a different way, but I don't know how else it could have happened.

Lily and Marshall have pretty much been the only constants in the series, except for when Lily went to San Francisco. But once they got married, the only issues they had were career-related. Their relationship never wavered, so there wasn't much for them to do in the finale because they had their biggest closure in "Daisy" when we found out Lily was pregnant. However, I will say that I'm glad Marshall got to be a judge and that they have a big happy family.

One more complaint that I've read that I must address is more about this final season as a whole. Many people have complained that this whole season was focused on a marriage that only lasted three years (and about fifteen minutes on screen). This comes on top of the complaints that this season dragged on and shouldn't have spanned a 72 hour period. I am in the small group of people who actually liked this season overall, but I agree that it seems weird that the divorce came so soon. Personally, I liked the idea of the season taking place within one weekend because it made for a more serialized season that led up to Ted meeting the mother. I always figured that that meeting wouldn't happen until the series finale anyway, and I never expected to get to know the mother as much as we did, which was a nice surprise. I agree that this season wasn't the greatest, but I didn't hate it nearly as much as a lot of other people did.

That said, I think that the finale could have been better served if the end of the wedding happened a few episodes previously and the divorce could have been announced more gradually. Then the finale could have spent some more time on Ted and Tracy's relationship and made her death more powerful as well as make us believe that Ted and Robin would work together.

I know that all of this sounds like I didn't like the episode, but that's not true. Although there was a lot that they tried to fit into one hour, as finales go, it was pretty good overall. It hit all the right notes: I laughed, I cried (not really, but I did get choked up a bit), and I was surprised. The writers did a great job of bringing back recurring gags, including my favorite running joke, the Private Joke (when someone says a phrase that includes a military rank, Ted and Robin repeat it and salute, e.g. "Major pleasure"). The emotional scenes were all great as well, especially the gang's goodbye to Ted before he supposedly leaves for Chicago and the titular meeting between Ted and Tracy.

Overall I did like the finale. It's just some of the plot choices that bothered me, but that's going to be the case with any show. After spending years getting emotionally invested with a cast of characters, you're never going to be completely satisfied when you have to say goodbye. I got to see Ted meet his soulmate and some of their life together, and that's more than I could've hoped for. I'm sure that when I watch the episode again, I'll feel differently than I do now and appreciate the ending more. But these are just my initial reactions. I may not agree with all of the decisions that the creators made, but I'm glad to have been witness to their legendary creation.

'Sherlock' Review: The Best Best Man Speech

On Sunday PBS aired the second episode of Sherlock's third season, "The Sign of Three." Although not the most exciting or action-packed, it was quite possibly the funniest and most heartwarming episode to date. Spoilers follow, so if you have not seen the episode, you may not want to continue reading.

We open with a series of scenes spanning several months in which DI Lestrade (Rupert Graves) repeatedly fails to catch a group of bank robbers. When they are finally caught and Lestrade is about to arrest them, he gets a text from Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) saying "Help me." Lestrade leaves, calling for maximum backup on the way. He arrives a Baker St. to find Sherlock at his desk trying to write a best man speech while sirens and a helicopter are heard. This scene, though predictable, captures the nature of Sherlock Holmes and sets up the rest of the episode, which takes place at the wedding reception of John Watson (Martin Freeman) and Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington).

Almost the entire episode takes place during Sherlock's speech and includes several flashbacks to events that he discusses in the speech. These flashbacks provide the funniest moments in the episode, and some of them even provide some of the funniest moments in the series to date. The best of these comes as Sherlock recalls John's bachelor party, in which Sherlock and John had a drink at every street on which they had a case. Sherlock monitored their alcohol intake, but John secretly took a shot and slipped one in Sherlock's beer, resulting in a very drunk, very funny duo. After only two hours out, they ended up back at Baker St., where they were visited by a client who believed she had dinner with a ghost because her date never contacted her again. This entire sequence, especially Sherlock's drunken inspection of the crime scene, were hilarious, mainly because we have never seen this side of the pair before.

Cumberbatch and Freeman were both great in their drunken scenes, but they especially shined in the more emotional part of Sherlock's speech. After upsetting everyone at the reception by insulting both weddings and religion, Sherlock delivered the most heartwarming words he has ever spoken:

"The point I am trying to make is that I am the most unpleasant, rude, ignorant, and all-around obnoxious asshole that anyone could possibly have the misfortune to meet. I am dismissive of the virtuous, unaware of the beautiful, and uncomprehending in the face of the happy. So if I didn't understand I was being asked to be best man, it is because I never expected to be anybody's best friend. And certainly not the best friend of the bravest and kindest and wisest human being I have ever had the good fortune of knowing. John, I am a ridiculous man, redeemed only by the warmth and constancy of your friendship."

There is much more worth quoting, but these, I believe, are the best lines because they show that Sherlock is, in fact, aware of his flaws and that he both recognizes and appreciates John's friendship. This was a rare beautiful moment from Sherlock, and it was great to see a more friendly side to him.

The sentimentality and humor coincided at the end of the episode when Sherlock makes his "first and last vow" to John and Mary:

 "Whatever it takes, whatever happens, from now on I swear I will always be there, always, for all three of you.... I'm sorry. I mean two of you. All two of you. Both of you in fact. I just miscounted. Anyway, it's time for dancing."

This accidental deduction of Mary's pregnancy and quick retraction was a nice final touch to an already humorous episode. The episode was riddled with great quotes, both funny and sentimental, but this last one is my favorite because it combines both elements.

The mystery itself in this episode was nothing too exciting, but it was handled interestingly. After reminiscing about two of his cases, an unsolved murder and the "ghost date," he realizes that someone at the reception is going to be murdered. He prolongs his speech in order to stall while he works out who is the target. He finally realizes that the two cases, though seemingly unrelated, involved the same person, a person at the reception. The killer turns out to be the photographer, while the target is John's former commanding officer. While this solution was not very shocking, it was a clever way to tie the two cases together and also allow for a focus on the John and Mary's wedding.

While I won't go so far as to say that this is my favorite episode to date (that honor goes to "The Great Game," season 1, episode 3), I will say that no other episode has made me laugh so hard or feel so touched by Sherlock Holmes. It's always nice to see Sherlock's humanity shine through his sociopathic exterior, and what better way to show that off than in a best man speech?