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.

Freshman Show Roundup Part 1: 'Revolution,' 'Arrow,' and 'Last Resort'

Like myself, most new shows of the 2012-2013 TV season have finished their freshman year. I decided that in order to save time, I will write brief assessments of all of the new shows that I watched. These include the ones that I highlighted back in September (with the exception of Elementary, whose pilot didn't hook me enough to keep watching) as well as a few that I picked up along the way. To avoid information overload (and also to give my fingers a break), I will do this in two posts, each one briefly summarizing and assessing three shows. I won't include spoilers since my hope is that you might decide to watch one or more of these shows if you haven't seen them.

For my first post I will discuss NBC's Revolution, The CW's Arrow, and ABC's Last Resort.

Revolution
Brief Summary: Fifteen years after a mysterious blackout rid the world of electricity, Charlie Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos) must rescue her brother Danny (Graham Rogers) from the militia of the Monroe Republic, one of the republics that arose to replace the United States government. Along the way, Charlie learns about her family's involvement in the blackout.
Assessment: Revolution began as one of my favorite new shows, but in the middle of the first half of the season it lost some steam. Not much happened as Charlie, Miles (Billy Burke), and the rest of their gang made their way to Philadelphia to rescue Danny. The show picked up again for the midseason finale (you can read my review for that episode here), but then the second half was the same as the first. It started out strong, was a little slow in the middle, then picked up toward the end. For the most part, I really enjoyed the last few episodes, especially the season finale. The end of the finale made me very excited for the next season. It seems like they're going in a completely different direction for the second season, which I think is a smart move.
Overall Rating for the Season: 3.5/5

Arrow
Summary: (Based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow) After being stranded on an island for five years, wealthy playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) returns to Starling City to right the wrongs of his father as a masked vigilante. Flashbacks reveal what happened to Oliver during his time on the island.
Assessment: As a fan of DC Comics, I was very excited for Arrow, and it did not disappoint. In fact, it quickly became my favorite new fall show. The acting and writing were both very good, and the action sequences were excellent. What made the show even better for me was the inclusion of several minor DC characters and subtle references to the comics. The island flashbacks started out somewhat weak, but they became much better once Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett) was introduced. I would recommend this show not only to fans of DC Comics but also to people who like exciting, action-packed TV shows. Because the show is on The CW, there is of course a love triangle subplot, but that is overshadowed by the rest of the show.
Rating: 5/5

Last Resort
Summary: After U.S. Navy Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) refuses an order to fire a nuclear missile from his submarine, he is attacked by another US sub. He and his crew, including his second-in-command Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman), take refuge on a small island.
Assessment: Power struggles and government conspiracies abound in this short-lived ABC drama. Last Resort was canceled about halfway through its 13-episode run, but fortunately that gave the writers time to craft an ending that gave some closure to those who stuck with the show. I was one of those people. I don't think it was good enough to deserve a second season, but I enjoyed the show while it lasted. Braugher and Speedman were both great in the lead roles, but there were too many minor characters to keep track of. The conspiracy plot was intriguing but also somewhat confusing. Overall, I liked the show, but I'm not sad to see it go.
Rating: 2.5/5

That's it for part one. Stay tuned for part two, where I will discuss Go On, The Following, and Nashville.

Arrow "Legacies" Review: A Break from the Norm

It's been far too long since my last post, and there are two reasons for that. 1) I've been quite busy the last month, so I haven't had much time to write. 2) For most of my shows, I don't watch them until the night after they air, so sometimes I feel like it's too late to write about them. However, I'm making an exception today because I watched Wednesday's episode of Arrow last night, and I thought it was a very strong episode and worth writing about.

First, I want to recommend this show to any of you who haven't been watching it. You don't need to be a comic book fan to enjoy it (although there are some nods to DC Comics, but those are irrelevant). Also, it's not your typical CW-style show. It has a darker tone and it isn't directed at teenage girls. It could easily be on any other broadcast network, and I would even go so far as to say it's better than some shows on the Big Four (CBS, FOX, NBC, and ABC). Arrow is a great story of a man correcting the wrongs of his father and starting a new life as an entirely different person after five years of solitude. Plus, the action sequences are brilliantly shot and choreographed. So I recommend at least giving it a shot.

This episode, titled "Legacies," really showcases the supporting characters, especially Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell). So far in the series, Tommy has mainly provided comic relief and given a glimpse of Oliver's life before the island. However, in this episode we see a deeper side to Tommy and that he has feelings for Laurel (Katie Cassidy). He tries to win her over, but we can tell that she has reservations because of her past with Oliver. This sets up what will likely become a love-triangle. Donnell and Cassidy played those scenes very well and we can see via their acting the complications of their relationship. Also, although Laurel is ultimately supposed to end up with Oliver (at least according to comic canon), we can't help but be sympathetic for Tommy thanks to Donnell's portrayal.

Another supporting character that has gotten more screen time lately is John Diggle (David Ramsey). He is now working with Oliver in his fight against corruption, and it is great that Oliver has someone in whom he can confide (it also gets rid of the need for the voiceover, which was my biggest complaint from the pilot). Ramsey is one of my favorite actors on the show and Diggle one of my favorite characters, so I'm glad he has a larger role. In this episode, Diggle convinces Oliver to stop the Royal Flush Gang, a family of bank robbers loosely based on a group of the same name from the comics. Oliver is reluctant because he wants to focus on the task given him by his father, to stop the corruption of Starling City's wealthy, and finds street crime a distraction from that task. However, Diggle is able to convince him that by stopping the Gang, he is still saving the city.

I really like this plot because it provides a nice deviation from the plots of the previous episodes, in which Oliver takes down a corrupt billionaire every week. By giving Oliver a different motivation, we see a different side to him. However, the father of the family was a former employee of Oliver's father and got laid off, which led to the life of crime of his family. I have a problem with this because Oliver was atoning for the sins of his father, which means that his motivation was not as selfless as I would have liked. That said, this episode provided a bridge to what will hopefully happen in the future: Oliver stopping street crime.

The only other thing I want to say is my one issue with this episode. I didn't completely buy the scene in which a drunk Thea (Willa Holland) throws herself into Tommy's arms. It wasn't really the scene itself that bothered me but rather Holland's acting at that moment. I thought her drunkenness was a bit overdone, which is a shame because I thought Holland did great in her other scenes, especially those with Donnell. I understand that this is part of the character, but I thought Holland just overdid it this time.

Other than that, I thought this was one of the strongest episodes so far. And that's saying a lot because I thought every episode has been good so far. The show is off to an excellent start and I look forward to the rest of the season.

A few minor notes:
-Tommy invites Laurel to Coast City, which is the hometown of Hal Jordan, AKA the Green Lantern.
-The burger joint seen a few times in the show, including the end of this episode, is called Big Belly Burger, and that is taken from the comics, where it is a well-known burger chain.
-We see Felicity Smoak again in this episode. I really like her character, and I hope that she too becomes part of Oliver's team as the tech expert.

'Arrow' Pilot Review: Meet the Emerald Archer

Last night The CW aired the pilot of its new show Arrow. The show follows the life of DC Comics superhero Green Arrow (although here he simply goes by Arrow) in his early years. This is The CW's second superhero show, the first being Smallville, which finished its run in 2010.

In the pilot, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), a rich twentysomething who had spent most of his time partying, is finally rescued after spending five years on an island after a shipwreck that killed his father and the sister of Oliver's (now ex-) girlfriend Dinah "Laurel" Lance (Katie Cassidy). Oliver returns to find Starling City corrupted, so he decides to take matters into his own hands. He dons a green hood and a bow and arrow to save the city from corruption. Meanwhile, he is hunted by Laurel's father, Detective Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne).

One aspect that was created for the show is Oliver's family. In the comics, both of Oliver's parents are dead, and he has no siblings. In the show, however, Oliver's mother Moira (Susanna Thompson) is alive, and Oliver has a younger sister Thea (Willa Holland), whom Oliver has nicknamed Speedy. (If you're familiar with the Green Arrow comics, you know how important this nickname is. If not, and you want a peek at what may happen later in the series, look up Speedy on Wikipedia.) Also in the picture is Moira's new husband Walter Steele (Colin Salmon), Oliver's best friend Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), and Oliver's new bodyguard John Diggle (David Ramsey). As you can see, there are many supporting characters, each, I'm sure, with their own role in the overarching story. Some roles are hinted at by the end of the episode, some may be guessed by those who know the comics, and some have yet to be revealed. Hopefully the writers can make good use of all of these characters.

Speaking of the writers, the men behind the show, Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Marc Guggenheim, did a great job with this episode. The dialogue was strong, and I like that they are using flashbacks to show Oliver's time on the island. My only complaint is Oliver's voice-over that they used throughout the episode. For some reason, it didn't seem to fit in some instances. I think I can get used to it, though, provided that they use it mainly in the flashback sequences, during which it is likely that Oliver will be the only character and there will be little to no dialogue. In any case, the voice-over writing could be sharper.

The acting was solid all around. I especially liked Amell and Cassidy, and I think the two have great chemistry. Throughout the series, Amell will have to play many different versions of the same character: the Oliver on the island, fighting to survive; the Oliver who interacts with his friends and family, hiding his secret; and Arrow, fighting crime in Starling City. After seeing the pilot, I think he will do a fine job. Cassidy's Laurel is a legal aid, so she represents the legal side of the war against corruption. Cassidy successfully portrays Laurel as both a powerful woman and an emotionally conflicted girl who just found out her ex-boyfriend, who was cheating on her with her sister, just came back from the dead. Blackthorne also stood out as the head detective in the Arrow case. I have a feeling that in the foreseeable future, Det. Lance will stop at nothing to catch this vigilante, and Blackthorne hinted at this through his acting in the pilot. The rest of the supporting cast did a fine job. No one else really stood out, but I don't have any complaints either.

Arrow might be my favorite show of the new season, not only because I am a comic book fan, but also because it was executed so well. I look forward to learning about Oliver's time on the island and how these characters will interact. Also, I'm excited to see what DC characters will be incorporated into the show (one of which was clearly hinted at very early in the episode). I have high hopes for this show, so hopefully in future episodes it can deliver as well as it did last night.

My Most Anticipated New Fall Shows

It's been quite some time since my last post, but, summer TV being what it is, there hasn't been much to say. Plus, I've been busy getting ready for and moving into college, so I haven't had much time. So today I figured I would do another list, this time of the new fall shows that I'm most excited for.

1. Revolution (NBC)
If you watched the Olympics, you probably saw the promos for this show many times. Taking place 15 years after a mysterious event rid the world of all electricity, this show promises to be the most complex of the new season. Early buzz has been that the pilot was very good, which makes me even more excited. However, NBC has a poor track record when it comes to high-concept shows like this one (see: Awake, The Event, My Own Worst Enemy), so we'll see how far this one goes. I am going to the advance screening of the pilot here in Boston on Thursday, so expect a full review this weekend. In the meantime, I believe you can watch the pilot on YouTube.
Premiere: September 17 at 10:00 (all times are Eastern time)

2. Arrow (The CW)
As I briefly mentioned in my first post , I am a big DC Comics fan, so when I heard that a show about the Green Arrow was in development, I was quite excited. This pilot has also been praised by both critics and fans who saw it at Comic-Con. The show is most likely an attempt by The CW to get back the male viewers that they lost when Smallville ended, which is a fine plan, as long as the show is good.  The show-runners have promised that other DC characters will show up in the series, so I will definitely be tuning in to this one.
Premiere: October 10 at 8:00

3. Last Resort (ABC)
I don't know much about this show except that it's about a submarine crew that refuses to follow an order to attack a country and are then considered enemies of the United States. I have no clue where the show will go from there, but, based on the concept and the generally good marks given by critics, it could become the network's most popular drama since Lost, provided that subsequent episodes don't drop in quality.
Premiere: September 27 at 8:00

4. Elementary (CBS)
This is the show about which I am the most skeptical. Centered around Sherlock Holmes, who moves to New York to solve crimes, it is sure to be a hit with the normal viewers of CBS procedurals. However, for people like me who are fans of Sherlock, it will inevitably be compared to the excellent BBC show. The oddest thing about the show is the casting of Lucy Liu as Dr. (Joan) Watson. It's an interesting twist, but I'm not sure how it will play out to the Holmes fans. I will definitely check it out, but the pilot is really going to have to hook me in order for me to continue watching.
Premiere: September 27 at 10:00