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.

2013 Fall Pilot Battles

I was hoping to write another post about the fall TV season earlier, but it has been difficult to keep up with all of my shows. So I decided to wait until I watched all of the pilots that I wanted to watch and briefly review them all in a single post. I only watched the pilots whose trailers interested me, so keep in mind that there are several other new shows this season that I will not discuss. Also, some of these shows are a few episodes in because the pilots aired at different times. Therefore, I will try to limit my reviews to the pilot episodes. Finally, since there are six pilots that I watched, I decided it would be fun to pair them up by genre and say which one in each pair I liked better. That's about all I have to say as an introduction, so let's get to it.

The Sitcoms: The Millers (CBS) vs Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)

The Millers: The only reason I watched this pilot is because it stars Will Arnett. Arnett plays a recently divorced man whose mother (Margo Martindale) moves in with him after separating from his father (Beau Bridges). The pilot was very predictable and many of the jokes fell flat. However, I did think Arnett was very good as the straight man, and his reactions to his irreverent parents were pretty funny. That said, this show will have to hook me in the next couple of episodes for me to continue watching it.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Andy Samberg leads the cast of this workplace comedy as goofball detective Jake Peralta whose NYC precinct comes under new command when hard-ass Captain Ray Holt (Andre Braugher) takes over. I thought Samberg was hilarious as the childish-yet-effective detective, and Braugher was great as the stoic, seasoned captain. I look forward to seeing their relationship take shape. The rest of the characters each have their quirks and were only mediocre in the pilot, but I think that with time and character development, this show can be great.

Winner: Brooklyn Nine-Nine wins by a long shot, but I do hope that The Millers can find its footing, if only for Will Arnett.

The Monday Night Thrillers: The Blacklist (NBC) vs Hostages (CBS)
The Blacklist: James Spader stars as elusive criminal Raymond "Red" Reddington who turns himself into the FBI and offers to help them catch other terrorists and criminals under the condition that he speaks only to new recruit Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone). I enjoyed this pilot and thought Spader was great as the cryptic fugitive. Something about Spader's delivery makes me question everything that Reddington says, which I'm sure is the point. I'm not sold on Boone quite yet, but I think she'll grow on me in time. The episode had several twists and set up multiple plot points, so I am interested to see where this show goes.

Hostages: Dr. Ellen Sanders (Toni Collette) is a day away from operating on the president when her family is taken hostage by a group led by FBI Agent Duncan Carlisle (Dylan McDermott). The acting in this pilot was solid all around, and the plot is new and exciting. The twist at the end sets up for an interesting dynamic between Ellen and Duncan, and I look forward to seeing how it plays out. My only problem with the show is that Ellen's husband, son, and daughter each have a secret that is very predictable, so I hope the show doesn't dwell too much on those subplots.

Winner: I have to give a slight edge to Hostages because of the plot and acting. Even though The Blacklist had better twists, there may have been too many. Also, Hostages seems to be more of a serial, which I prefer to procedurals.

The "Superhero" Dramas: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC) vs The Tomorrow People (The CW)
S.H.I.E.L.D.: Marvel's TV spinoff of its movie franchise, S.H.I.E.L.D. takes place after the events of The Avengers and Iron Man 3 and sees a revived Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) lead a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they deal with extra-normal situations. This was easily one of the most hyped shows of the season, and sadly, the pilot didn't live up to the hype. However, I still enjoyed it and I think the show has potential. Gregg gives a good performance, but the rest of the cast needs to find some chemistry. The best part of the pilot was Fitz-Simmons, a pair of scientists, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons, who deliver some of the funniest lines of the episode. Given some character development and strong storylines, I think this show could be a hit.

The Tomorrow People: Strange things have been happening to high school student Stephen Jameson (Robbie Amell, cousin of Arrow's Stephen Amell), who finds out that he is a member of a superhuman race called "Tomorrow People." These people have the powers of teleportation, telekinesis, and telepathy, and they are being hunted by an organization called Ultra, led by Dr. Jedekiah Price (Mark Pelligrino). I originally wasn't planning on watching this pilot because it is on The CW and the only CW shows I've liked are Smallville and Arrow, both based on DC Comics characters, but I decided at the last minute to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised. While not a great show, the plot kept me interested and the action sequences, though not Arrow quality, were pretty good. Also, the ending surprised me, and it seems that the show is going in a direction that I had not expected for this type of show. I'm intrigued, so I will keep watching for now.

Winner: Based solely on the pilots, this one is a draw. S.H.I.E.L.D. was over-hyped and fell short, while The Tomorrow People didn't seem too interesting but was a surprise. If I could only watch one, I would probably choose S.H.I.E.L.D. simply because of the Marvel brand, but quality-wise, these pilots were pretty even.

That's it for now. There are more pilots that I'm looking forward to this season, but they don't air for a while. In the meantime, I'll be trying to catch up on these shows and all of the returning shows that I watch. If anything strikes me as exceptionally noteworthy, I'll write about it, but since I'm very behind, don't expect another post any time soon. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts on these or any other pilots in the comments.