A Little Late - Year End Fandom Memes
I meant to do this on the first, and then I meant to do this on the second...
Borrowed from spikedluv:
Your main fandom of the year?
Sherlock. Period. Hands down. No contest. It's the entire reason I got back on LJ. Not that I don't love all my friends here, of course, but I'd been a way for a good while and gotten out of the habit of it and without a shiny new fandom I probably would have continued to have vaguely guilty thoughts about not being on LJ and that's as far as it ever would have gotten. Now, of course, I want all my friends who have also drifted away to other places to come back.
Your favorite film watched this year?
Probably Skyfall. I've been resisting getting into the Bond/Q, although I have read a few stories. If I didn't know that I cannot for the life of me focus on more than one fandom at a time (at least insofar as a fandom produces a lot of fic which I read and possibly think about writing) I probably would be looking for Skyfall communities and fic rather than just relying on the occasional recommendation from friends.
Your favorite book read this year?
I read two books that I think are exceptionally important this year, which isn't quite the same thing as having a favorite. I've often thought about With Liberty and Justice for Some:How the Law is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful by Glenn Greenwald. If you're interested in government or current events or figuring out how we got to this morally bankrupt corrupt place, this is the book for you. I really cannot recommend this book enough.
The other book I consider very important is Twilight of the Elites:America After Meritocracy by Christopher Hayes. He really made me think about how we prize meritocracy and how we believe with an almost religious fervor that equality of opportunity is enough while completely ignoring equality of outcome and how if you have enough inequality of outcome over time it makes equality of opportunity something that exists in name only. He also made me think about institultionalists (which up until this point I have always been) versus insurrectionists (a school that I find myself identifying with more and more). It's no secret I'm a big fan of Up w/Chris Hayes but whether you watch his show or not I think his book is really worth reading. (I love Rachel Maddow and her show, too, but Drift didn't have nearly the same impact on me, in fact, I really wished she'd somehow incorporated some of what Greenwald was talking about in her book).
As far as favorites go, perhaps Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Although I grew up with video games, I missed many of the ones referenced in the book. I know enough about them to know that they were important though and I thought that whole aspect of the book was pretty interesting. It's certainly the book I've recommended to all my gaming friends.
Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?
Some Nights by Fun.
Your favorite tv show of the year?
Sherlock. Obviously. But honorable mentions go to Game of Thrones and The News Room.
Your favourite LJ community of the year?
Probably sherlockbbc
Your best new fandom discovery of the year?
There is this show I may have mentioned. It's called Sherlock.
Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
The Reichenbach Fall. I think I had it overhyped by fandom and I had a completely different impression of what the episode was about than what it was actually about and I'm still trying to find a way to fix it.
Your TV boyfriend of the year?
Probably Sherlock, though god knows, if we met in real life he'd tear me to shreds and I'd probably never recover. John's a close second. But it's not like you can have one without the other. Even if you believe they're platonic I really don't think you can date John without also dating Sherlock, in a way.
Your TV girlfriend of the year?
I'm not sure. In previous years I would have said Kate Beckett from Castle but the truth is that I haven't really been watching this season. If Arya Stark (Game of Thrones) were older, it would totally be Arya Stark.
Your biggest squee moment of the year?
Hm. Most of A Scandal in Belgravia, maybe. Or, "I'm was so alone and I owe you so much."
The most missed of your old fandoms?
I'm going to agree with spikedluv and say Numb3rs. It's not so much the show that I miss, but I miss about the first half (in time) of that fandom when I knew pretty much everyone and we were often good friends. I miss feeling like a part of a fandom rather than being kind of on the edges of it. That said, I've started to make a friend or two in the Sherlock fandom, for which I am extremely grateful. Although I very much enjoy the not for public consumption stuff I'm doing with my slashwife, penguingal I also miss writing for public consumption stuff with her. There are just not enough hours in the day.
The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?
I'm not sure there is one. One day I may get more into the surely existent Skyfall fandom. I enjoy the casual if not quite fandomy communities dealing with Game of Thrones, The News Room, and Longmire.
Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?
Season 3. (And if it doesn't air until 2014 we will be having words). I'm looking forward to the new Star Trek movie, for obvious reasons. World War Z. It doesn't look like it follows the book very well (and the book is quite possibly my favorite book of all time) but it still looks like a fun movie. The return of Game of Thrones. I'm curious how they'll split book 3. I really want to hear "Hands of Gold." The return of The Newsroom although God knows someone needs to sit Aaron Sorkin down and fix his female character problem. Justified. I didn't dislike last season, but I didn't think it was as incredible as season 2. On the video game side, the reboot of Tomb Raider and Bioshock:Infinite. I'm a little worried because part of what made one so awesome was the focus on Randian philosophy, and the failure to understand how to incorporate a political philosophy in a meaningful and interesting way was a big part of the problem with Bioshock 2 and they haven't focused on that much in Infinite (not to mention the upteen delays) but we'll see.
Borrowed from earlgreytea68
Favorite Show of the Year: Sherlock, obviously. It gave me a fandom again and dear god how I had missed having a fandom and all the attendant excitement. I knew in a vague, intellectual way that fandom was a nice thing to have but I didn't realize how much I'd been missing it and how much it added to my life until I had one again. For that reason alone it would be my show of the year. But the writing and acting are simply brilliant, even if I do have my occasional minor (and not so minor) quibbles. It's only 9 hours in total and yet there is so much fic, videos, images, discussions, etc. to be had it's astonishing. I love it. I love watching it with friends who are here and I love watching it with friends while we're on IM. I love the complexity of the characters and all the subtleties of their relationships. I love the unexpected moments that can seem somehow both out of character and yet totally in character at the same time. I love that it brought me back to LJ, even as LJ is falling apart, and it brought me back to friends who I had been neglecting. I love that penguingal and I are writing together again. I love that there's this whole canon out there that I haven't even scratched the surface of. I love that there are awesome authors and artists and people who are passionate about the show. I love that people do things with Sherlock that people just didn't do with Numb3rs. Who knew I could find so many magical realism fics I'd love? Most of all I love that it makes me happy and that it gives me something to be passionate about in a good, happy way instead of a way that is prone to send me into bouts of despair (politics).
Best Show I Watched This Year: Quibbles with Reichenbach Fall and to a lesser extent, The Hounds of Bakerville aside, it's still Sherlock. Quite apart from fandom I think the show is, for the most part, superbly done. It is astounding what they accomplished with a little under 4.5 hours. As mentioned above, all the characters have layers and are richly performed by talented actors and actresses. They do the big things right but they do the little things right, too. It's a show that makes being smart sexy. It's not the first time, of course, The West Wing did that too, although it was less obvious about it. But a significant part of the show is based around the fact that brainy really is the new sexy. Except that as far as I'm concerned brainy isn't the "new" sexy it's always been sexy. Nearly everyone has a moment to shine and moments of vulnerability and humanity (Anderson is perhaps the exception and probably the closest thing the show has to a one dimensional character, but Aris does a wonderful job with him. Anderson has vulnerability and humanity but never gets a moment to shine). It's a show that revels in complexity and dares to treat its audience as though they are intelligent human beings worthy of watching intelligent television. Who could ask for more than that?
Favorite Show that Wasn't Sherlock: Hard to say. There are parts of The Newsroom that I really loved. And I loved the idea of a news show that treats its audience like they're intelligent human beings and is more concerned about getting it right then getting it fast. That said, it's easy to be right months after the event and it is a drama, not a news show. There are also many, many problems not the least of which are Sorkin's treatment of female characters, Will's mission to civilize the world (which somehow has only applied to women), acting like some of the important stories weren't getting covered anywhere else (MSNBC covered voter suppression exhaustively so the idea that it was something that every network was ignoring was ludicrous), seriously, his problem with writing intelligent, confident, capable women, the whole idea that there was a golden age of America where it was happy and shiny for everyone, etc. But it had its moments, too. Moments where it tried to inspire, to show what a news show could be. To show what we could be. There's value in that.
Game of Thrones is another strong contender. The Battle of Blackwater nearly equals A Scandal in Belgravia for the best episode on TV this year. I didn't always love what they did or the changes they made (or how certain things probably didn't make sense if you hadn't read the book) but there were powerful moments, too. It's another show with superb acting that often enjoys complexity. Yes, there's a lot of gratuitous sex, but like Sherlock, Game of Thrones assumes an intelligent audience who can keep track of multiple threads and follow smart dialog. A show (and obviously, the books) that asks the audience to treat Tyrion as any other character, he's not regulated to comic relief because of his stature, nor is he relegated to evil villain. He is simply a man, more complex and intelligent than most, trying to balance competing loyalties and duties and the reality of his situation in life.
Most Disappointing Show: The Newsroom. Because again, it has these wonderful, intelligent moments, moments where it asks us to pay attention and engage in civic life and think about our responsibility to be an informed citizen and what that means. And then it has these stupid, stupid moments with its female characters who seem universally incompetent and lacking in confidence for no reason (Sloan has what was it 3 PhD, tons of education and experience and she teaches at Columbia but when she's offered the chance to inform people about the economy her immediate reaction is to offer the names of "some really qualified people?" What the--seriously. Just--what? I get what MacKenzie says about Sloan's legs being the attraction, and in the sense that sadly that's a reality I'm fine with that nod in the show. I'm not okay with Sloan not immediately jumping on the chance to reach a broader audience in prime time because she know she's eminently qualified. She certainly has more intelligent and insightful things to say on election night than Eliot does). I'm not okay with the fact that every single woman on that show (with the possible exception of Neal's girlfriend, who has a very minor role) exists only to support some guy, whether that guy is Will, Don, Charlie or Eliot. Leona might be considered an exception, I guess, but even she's trying to put her clearly incompetent son in charge. This show could be so much better than it is if Aaron Sorkin could just get over himself and HBO could make him fix his female character problem. And no, firing all the other writers except Sorkin and his ex-girlfriend does not count as addressing the problem. Not even a little.
There are several shows that I wouldn't necessarily say are disappointing exactly, I just seem to have stopped watching them. Among them, Castle, White Collar, Hawaii 5-0, and Burn Notice. For Castle I think it's more about the fact that Monday is a night I usually end up gaming with a lot of people than anything else. I watched the season of White Collar where Neal spent the entire season betraying Peter but I never got past it or forgave it. I was never that into Hawaii 5-0. I used to adore Burn Notice. I loved Michael and the voice overs, his thing with yogurt, his relationship with Fi and Sam and especially his mom (someone give Sharon Gless an Emmy, please). But the last couple season I feel like it's just gone on too long and it really needs to wrap-up. Season 5 is often a point where I feel like a series should end. But it's just getting ridiculous. I get that they couldn't have Michael looking for the person who burned him forever, but I think once that was discovered it needed to stop. Instead we've lost the lighthearted part of helping people from week to week and the lengths they go to in order to have an overarching plot are just silly. No, we caught the guy, but um, there's a guy behind him, yeah, and um, okay, so you got that guy but there's totally a guy behind that one! It went from being fun (and obviously in keeping with the "Blue Skies" initiative) to being dark and serious and while that's not necessarily a bad thing I don't think it made that transition smartly or gracefully. So I suppose that counts as disappointed.
Show I'm So Glad is Out of Its Misery: I don't know that I have one, really. I can't even think of any shows I was watching that ended this year, though I'm sure there must have been some. I started watching Last Resort but it got all torture-y and didn't even last a season so I don't think it counts. I feel like maybe there was something on Showtime but I can't think of what it might have been.
Show Whose Finale Made Me the Most Nostalgic: Still can't think of a show I watched that ended.
Show This Year Going Out With the Most Dignity: I'm don't think I'm watching anything that I know for sure is ending. Oh, wait, Fairly Legal got canceled but I doesn't really fit going out wit dignity or going out of its misery. Ah, and Eureka ended, I suppose, which was too bad.
Favorite Television Scene of the Year: As much as I agree with earlgreytea68 about the morgue scene, I think I'm going to have to go with the scene at the grave. "I was so alone and I owe you so much." That line just absolutely kills me. Although I have to say, that scene between Sherlock and Irene where he's plucking the violin strings and then is taking her pulse (which is interesting at the time but later, in retrospect is so incredibly hot is pretty good, too). And from Game of Thrones the men are singing The Rains of Castomere.
Television Scene This Year that Still Makes Me Cry: The Grave Scene. "I was so alone and I owe you so much." That whole thing. "One more miracle, Sherlock. Please. For me." Oh, God. And just for fun, all time, the 21 gun salute in In Excelsis Deo (The West Wing).
Television Scene This Year Most Relevant to My Life: I love that category although I can't think of anything at the moment. Probably there was some rant in The Newsroom that I totally agree with but can't think of at the moment. I certainly identified with Neal wanting to punch Rush Limbaugh's smug face but I've never been tempted to actually do it (and given his broken fingers that's probably a good thing)
Favorite Relationship of the Year (Non-Romantic)): Good question. Maybe Tyrion and Varys (Game of Thrones). I love how they play off each other. Particularly that scene, I think from Battle of Blackwater, where Tyrion is getting suited up and they make all these snide comments about each other. And the scene in the last episode where Varys tells Tyrion that his name won't go down in history and he won't be remembered except that a very few number of people know what he did to save King's Landing and they appreciate it. Random thought, you know who I want to see having a conversation? Sherlock and Tyrion. Tell me that wouldn't be epic.
Favorite Relationship of the Year (Romantic)) Sherlock/John (Sherlock). "We're not a couple!" "Yes, you are." Because seriously, they are. In every way that matters. And like earlgreytea68 I love that after that John stops even trying to deny it, he just changes the subject. One of these days maybe I'll do something with the fact that Sherlock never once denies it and the closest he gets to suggesting anything is that John is his friend (The Blind Banker) and even that John immediately denies.
Favorite Male Character This Year Who's Not on Sherlock: Tyrion Lannister, because he is probably just as smart and can be just as cutting and ruthless. He wears his insults like armor, too, but he seems less...something than Sherlock. Bitter? Desperate to prove he doesn't care what you think? Something. As much joy as Sherlock displays at times it seems more pervasive in Tyrion's life somehow, though his is hardly a carefree existence. He can make it seem like it is though, in a way that Sherlock never quite manages. Seriously, someone needs to write them having a conversation. Runner Up: Neal Sampat (The Newsroom). He is passionate and earnest and he believes in the power of the Internet to be transformative. He's adorably geeky. Second runner-up: Q. He's adorable and smart and could easily be the youngest Homles.
Favorite Female Character: Although I haven't been watching Castle Kate's still pretty awesome. So is Elizabeth Burke (White Collar). I really liked April from House of Lies. I suppose in the end I'm going to go with Arya Stark from Game of Thrones. There is a young woman who could grow up to rule Westeros and she'd make sure shit got done. She's young but very smart, resourceful and independent. She certainly doesn't let her gender influence what she wants from life or of what she believes herself capable (ouch, twisted grammar). She is fierce and determined and setbacks only make her fight harder.
Best Acting Performance This Year Not on Sherlock: I'm going to go with Timothy Olyphant, Justified. I don't think this season was as strong as last season (but in fairness I think last season was among the best in television). I still think he nailed his part this year. For all that Raylan might try and project a simple man, he's actually a very complex character. And that bit at the end about "he just knew it was a guy in a hat." Damn.
Favorite Returning Show that Wasn't Sherlock: Game of Thrones. I often find myself watching the clock anxiously because there's not enough time in each episode and there's so much to pack in! Some episodes are stronger than others, but the series as a whole is very good and every time it ends I can't believe how much longer I have to wait for more.
Favorite Returning Show But Not Really: I don't know that I have a show that's been retconned this year.
Favorite Show I Keep Forgetting How Much I Love Until it Comes Back: Tie. Southland had an exceptional season this year. They went interesting places with the characters and the acting was superb, particularly Lucy Liu, Michael Cudlitz, and Regina King. Suits. I like that show but I forget about it until it starts up again. Good times.
Favorite Old Show That I Watched for the First Time This Year: I'm not sure if Scandal counts but I just started that thanks to darksylvia's recommendation and I'm enjoying it so far. It's not that old and still airing so it probably doesn't really count but I'm claiming it anyway.
Favorite New Show of the Year: Probably Nashville, though I feel like I'm forgetting something. It's silly and soapy but whatever. I didn't think I'd be into it despite the reviews because I'm not a Country person but I was pleasantly surprised.
Favorite Moment of Moffat-ian Pure Ridiculousness: N/A
Most Fun Episode of the Year: I should definitely be able to think of something but I'm coming up empty. I watch more dramas than comedies and it's late and my brain has apparently stopped functioning.
Show This Year with the Stupidest Protagonists: Another good category that I should be able to come up with something but am blanking. There's Will MacAvoy and his campaign to civilize people, I suppose. That's more superior jerk than pure stupidity though. I tend not to watch shows with a lot of stupid because it's unbearable. I occasionally watch Two Broke Girls so that probably counts.
Sherlock Award for Being Gone Too Long: Game of Thrones or Warehouse 13 But also The Daily Show every time they go on a break for two weeks or more because something horrible nearly always happens. I'm sorry, but for the sake of our nation they can't have two weeks or more off ever again. Real Time with Bill Maher when there's political stuff going on. Predictable political stuff. Like the fiscal cliff/curb/gently descending slope or the debt ceiling.
Show That Made Me Laugh the Most This Year: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I ♥ them. I truly do. Sometimes they make me laugh so hard I'm nearly crying. For non-variety scripted shows probably New Girl or The Big Bang Theory.
Thing That Made Me Laugh Most Embarrassingly in Public This Year: Does giggling inappropriately at The Hobbit every time there's something that might be interpreted in the slightest way as relating to Sherlock count?
Best Thing I Watched for a British Actor This Year: Martin Freeman's interview with Stephen Colbert. I watch The Colbert Report semi-regularly so I probably would have seen it anyway, but I did make it a point to see that episode and I loved the interview. Which reminds me, I need to send that whole week to Georgia.
Worst Thing I Watched for a British Actor This Year: I wanted to like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. I didn't hate it, it was just kind of there. I feel like I should watch it again and maybe I'll like it more. Or something.
Show I Just Didn’t Get This Year: I've only seen the first couple episodes of Downton Abbey. It's been fine and I'll probably watch some more but honestly, if everyone wasn't all, OMG BEST SHOW EVER!!11!! I think I would have been content to watch the first couple episodes with Anna and call it good.
Best Movie I Saw This Year: Skyfall I suppose. I'm having another moment where my brain shut down but I didn't really see all that many movies this year. I saw Frankenweenie for Katie's birthday movie, Skyfall, and The Hobbit in theaters. I know I must have seen more. I'm sure I saw more new movies on DVD/on Demand, too, but I just can't think of any that stood out. The Campaign and Bourne Supremacy. Oh, that's right, Rent-a-Cat and Tornado Alley. I really liked Rent-A-Cat but I think I'm still going to go with Skyfall. The best Bond movie to date, in my humble opinion. Daniel Craig and Dame Judy Dench were wonderful and I adore the new Q.
Favorite Move I Saw This Year: Still Skyfall though to be honest, I feel like now I should be better about documenting the movies I see in preparation for answering this question at the end of the year.
Favorite Album This Year: Some Nights by Fun. I had that on repeat in my car for a long time. I really enjoyed several tracks. I also discovered Florance + The Machine this year and quite liked both those albums.
Most Listened-to Song This Year: Probably Some Nights by Fun. For a while it was We Are Young which is how I first heard of Fun.
Song I Did the Most Writing To This Year Sadly, not applicable.
Song I Was Most Happy to Encounter on the Radio This Year: I Don't Wanna Fall in Love by Ken Yates. This is the song that inspired my John/Sherlock soundtrack which I never actually finished. But every time I heard it I thought of Sherlock. Honorable Mention: Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri which is another Sherlock song. That one I discovered in a vid but I've heard it on the radio a few times since then.
Song I’ll Like Again When It Stops Being Overplayed: I don't listen to music radio often enough for this to be an issue. My radio is set to MSNBC unless it's time for prison, although I occasionally switch it when it's someone other than Rachel Maddow because she's the only one who is part of their primetime driving lineup who doesn't seem to be full of herself. (Ed and Lawrence mean well, I'm sure, but they make it all about them in a way that Rachel never does).
Best Concert I Went to This Year: I only went to one, which makes it rather easy. I really enjoyed The Seattle Mens Chorus' holiday concert, especially since they had the surprise of the two marriages which were performed It really was quite moving. I think Captain Smartypants is going to do a concert this year though so I'll probably go to at least two concerts.
Favorite Book I Read This Year: I'm just going to repeat what I said above: I read two books that I think are exceptionally important this year, which isn't quite the same thing as having a favorite. I've often thought about With Liberty and Justice for Some:How the Law is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful by Glenn Greenwald. If you're interested in government or current events or figuring out how we got to this morally bankrupt corrupt place, this is the book for you. I really cannot recommend this book enough.
The other book I consider very important is Twilight of the Elites:America After Meritocracy by Christopher Hayes. He really made me think about how we prize meritocracy and how we believe with an almost religious fervor that equality of opportunity is enough while completely ignoring equality of outcome and how if you have enough inequality of outcome over time it makes equality of opportunity something that exists in name only. He also made me think about institultionalists (which up until this point I have always been) versus insurrectionists (a school that I find myself identifying with more and more). It's no secret I'm a big fan of Up w/Chris Hayes but whether you watch his show or not I think his book is really worth reading. (I love Rachel Maddow and her show, too, but Drift didn't have nearly the same impact on me, in fact, I really wished she'd somehow incorporated some of what Greenwald was talking about in her book).
As far as favorites go, perhaps Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Although I grew up with video games, I missed many of the ones referenced in the book. I know enough about them to know that they were important though and I thought that whole aspect of the book was pretty interesting. It's certainly the book I've recommended to all my gaming friends.
Best Thing the Internet Gave Me This Year: The Sherlock fandom and the awesome people in it.
Thing This Year I Still Haven’t Gotten Over: Congress.
Most Adorable Thing I heard This Year: Hammish. John Hammish Watson. If you're thinking of baby names.
The Year’s Most Quotable Character: John Watson.
Most Used Quote This Year: I can't really think of anything besides "obvious." I'm quite sure there are other quotes I've used more often but I can't think of them at the moment. The one that's been in my head is Douglas Adams' "I love deadlines. I love the wooshing sound they make as they fly by." Can't imagine why I've been thinking about that. Oh, the goals/resolution post was supposed to be made before New Year's? Well, it's 5 a.m. It's going to have to wait. Deal with it it.
The Year’s Most Annoying Little Face: Oliver. Because you should be angry when he chews through the wire to your brand new headset. Or the lights on the Christmas tree. But then he just curls up in a ridiculously cute cat pose and what can you do?
Seriously, how? I encourage you to read earlgreytea68's original version of this because in many places we agree only she says it much more eloquently and awesomely than I ever will. So go do that.
I was going to try and do my resolution/goal list but did I mention it's 5 a.m? Later today then.
I probably need to change my theme, too, what with Christmas being over and all.
Has anyone tried to get a custom userhead? Whenever I click on it in the LJ store nothing happens. I've tried Firefox, IE, and IE 64-bit. The IE browsers keep trying to open it to do something like e-mail the picture as opposed to buying the damn thing and putting it in a cart. I have no idea why but it's very annoying. Or I'm almost comically inept. That might be an explanation, too.
Sleep now, more later.
Borrowed from spikedluv:
Your main fandom of the year?
Sherlock. Period. Hands down. No contest. It's the entire reason I got back on LJ. Not that I don't love all my friends here, of course, but I'd been a way for a good while and gotten out of the habit of it and without a shiny new fandom I probably would have continued to have vaguely guilty thoughts about not being on LJ and that's as far as it ever would have gotten. Now, of course, I want all my friends who have also drifted away to other places to come back.
Your favorite film watched this year?
Probably Skyfall. I've been resisting getting into the Bond/Q, although I have read a few stories. If I didn't know that I cannot for the life of me focus on more than one fandom at a time (at least insofar as a fandom produces a lot of fic which I read and possibly think about writing) I probably would be looking for Skyfall communities and fic rather than just relying on the occasional recommendation from friends.
Your favorite book read this year?
I read two books that I think are exceptionally important this year, which isn't quite the same thing as having a favorite. I've often thought about With Liberty and Justice for Some:How the Law is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful by Glenn Greenwald. If you're interested in government or current events or figuring out how we got to this morally bankrupt corrupt place, this is the book for you. I really cannot recommend this book enough.
The other book I consider very important is Twilight of the Elites:America After Meritocracy by Christopher Hayes. He really made me think about how we prize meritocracy and how we believe with an almost religious fervor that equality of opportunity is enough while completely ignoring equality of outcome and how if you have enough inequality of outcome over time it makes equality of opportunity something that exists in name only. He also made me think about institultionalists (which up until this point I have always been) versus insurrectionists (a school that I find myself identifying with more and more). It's no secret I'm a big fan of Up w/Chris Hayes but whether you watch his show or not I think his book is really worth reading. (I love Rachel Maddow and her show, too, but Drift didn't have nearly the same impact on me, in fact, I really wished she'd somehow incorporated some of what Greenwald was talking about in her book).
As far as favorites go, perhaps Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Although I grew up with video games, I missed many of the ones referenced in the book. I know enough about them to know that they were important though and I thought that whole aspect of the book was pretty interesting. It's certainly the book I've recommended to all my gaming friends.
Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?
Some Nights by Fun.
Your favorite tv show of the year?
Sherlock. Obviously. But honorable mentions go to Game of Thrones and The News Room.
Your favourite LJ community of the year?
Probably sherlockbbc
Your best new fandom discovery of the year?
There is this show I may have mentioned. It's called Sherlock.
Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
The Reichenbach Fall. I think I had it overhyped by fandom and I had a completely different impression of what the episode was about than what it was actually about and I'm still trying to find a way to fix it.
Your TV boyfriend of the year?
Probably Sherlock, though god knows, if we met in real life he'd tear me to shreds and I'd probably never recover. John's a close second. But it's not like you can have one without the other. Even if you believe they're platonic I really don't think you can date John without also dating Sherlock, in a way.
Your TV girlfriend of the year?
I'm not sure. In previous years I would have said Kate Beckett from Castle but the truth is that I haven't really been watching this season. If Arya Stark (Game of Thrones) were older, it would totally be Arya Stark.
Your biggest squee moment of the year?
Hm. Most of A Scandal in Belgravia, maybe. Or, "I'm was so alone and I owe you so much."
The most missed of your old fandoms?
I'm going to agree with spikedluv and say Numb3rs. It's not so much the show that I miss, but I miss about the first half (in time) of that fandom when I knew pretty much everyone and we were often good friends. I miss feeling like a part of a fandom rather than being kind of on the edges of it. That said, I've started to make a friend or two in the Sherlock fandom, for which I am extremely grateful. Although I very much enjoy the not for public consumption stuff I'm doing with my slashwife, penguingal I also miss writing for public consumption stuff with her. There are just not enough hours in the day.
The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?
I'm not sure there is one. One day I may get more into the surely existent Skyfall fandom. I enjoy the casual if not quite fandomy communities dealing with Game of Thrones, The News Room, and Longmire.
Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?
Season 3. (And if it doesn't air until 2014 we will be having words). I'm looking forward to the new Star Trek movie, for obvious reasons. World War Z. It doesn't look like it follows the book very well (and the book is quite possibly my favorite book of all time) but it still looks like a fun movie. The return of Game of Thrones. I'm curious how they'll split book 3. I really want to hear "Hands of Gold." The return of The Newsroom although God knows someone needs to sit Aaron Sorkin down and fix his female character problem. Justified. I didn't dislike last season, but I didn't think it was as incredible as season 2. On the video game side, the reboot of Tomb Raider and Bioshock:Infinite. I'm a little worried because part of what made one so awesome was the focus on Randian philosophy, and the failure to understand how to incorporate a political philosophy in a meaningful and interesting way was a big part of the problem with Bioshock 2 and they haven't focused on that much in Infinite (not to mention the upteen delays) but we'll see.
Borrowed from earlgreytea68
Favorite Show of the Year: Sherlock, obviously. It gave me a fandom again and dear god how I had missed having a fandom and all the attendant excitement. I knew in a vague, intellectual way that fandom was a nice thing to have but I didn't realize how much I'd been missing it and how much it added to my life until I had one again. For that reason alone it would be my show of the year. But the writing and acting are simply brilliant, even if I do have my occasional minor (and not so minor) quibbles. It's only 9 hours in total and yet there is so much fic, videos, images, discussions, etc. to be had it's astonishing. I love it. I love watching it with friends who are here and I love watching it with friends while we're on IM. I love the complexity of the characters and all the subtleties of their relationships. I love the unexpected moments that can seem somehow both out of character and yet totally in character at the same time. I love that it brought me back to LJ, even as LJ is falling apart, and it brought me back to friends who I had been neglecting. I love that penguingal and I are writing together again. I love that there's this whole canon out there that I haven't even scratched the surface of. I love that there are awesome authors and artists and people who are passionate about the show. I love that people do things with Sherlock that people just didn't do with Numb3rs. Who knew I could find so many magical realism fics I'd love? Most of all I love that it makes me happy and that it gives me something to be passionate about in a good, happy way instead of a way that is prone to send me into bouts of despair (politics).
Best Show I Watched This Year: Quibbles with Reichenbach Fall and to a lesser extent, The Hounds of Bakerville aside, it's still Sherlock. Quite apart from fandom I think the show is, for the most part, superbly done. It is astounding what they accomplished with a little under 4.5 hours. As mentioned above, all the characters have layers and are richly performed by talented actors and actresses. They do the big things right but they do the little things right, too. It's a show that makes being smart sexy. It's not the first time, of course, The West Wing did that too, although it was less obvious about it. But a significant part of the show is based around the fact that brainy really is the new sexy. Except that as far as I'm concerned brainy isn't the "new" sexy it's always been sexy. Nearly everyone has a moment to shine and moments of vulnerability and humanity (Anderson is perhaps the exception and probably the closest thing the show has to a one dimensional character, but Aris does a wonderful job with him. Anderson has vulnerability and humanity but never gets a moment to shine). It's a show that revels in complexity and dares to treat its audience as though they are intelligent human beings worthy of watching intelligent television. Who could ask for more than that?
Favorite Show that Wasn't Sherlock: Hard to say. There are parts of The Newsroom that I really loved. And I loved the idea of a news show that treats its audience like they're intelligent human beings and is more concerned about getting it right then getting it fast. That said, it's easy to be right months after the event and it is a drama, not a news show. There are also many, many problems not the least of which are Sorkin's treatment of female characters, Will's mission to civilize the world (which somehow has only applied to women), acting like some of the important stories weren't getting covered anywhere else (MSNBC covered voter suppression exhaustively so the idea that it was something that every network was ignoring was ludicrous), seriously, his problem with writing intelligent, confident, capable women, the whole idea that there was a golden age of America where it was happy and shiny for everyone, etc. But it had its moments, too. Moments where it tried to inspire, to show what a news show could be. To show what we could be. There's value in that.
Game of Thrones is another strong contender. The Battle of Blackwater nearly equals A Scandal in Belgravia for the best episode on TV this year. I didn't always love what they did or the changes they made (or how certain things probably didn't make sense if you hadn't read the book) but there were powerful moments, too. It's another show with superb acting that often enjoys complexity. Yes, there's a lot of gratuitous sex, but like Sherlock, Game of Thrones assumes an intelligent audience who can keep track of multiple threads and follow smart dialog. A show (and obviously, the books) that asks the audience to treat Tyrion as any other character, he's not regulated to comic relief because of his stature, nor is he relegated to evil villain. He is simply a man, more complex and intelligent than most, trying to balance competing loyalties and duties and the reality of his situation in life.
Most Disappointing Show: The Newsroom. Because again, it has these wonderful, intelligent moments, moments where it asks us to pay attention and engage in civic life and think about our responsibility to be an informed citizen and what that means. And then it has these stupid, stupid moments with its female characters who seem universally incompetent and lacking in confidence for no reason (Sloan has what was it 3 PhD, tons of education and experience and she teaches at Columbia but when she's offered the chance to inform people about the economy her immediate reaction is to offer the names of "some really qualified people?" What the--seriously. Just--what? I get what MacKenzie says about Sloan's legs being the attraction, and in the sense that sadly that's a reality I'm fine with that nod in the show. I'm not okay with Sloan not immediately jumping on the chance to reach a broader audience in prime time because she know she's eminently qualified. She certainly has more intelligent and insightful things to say on election night than Eliot does). I'm not okay with the fact that every single woman on that show (with the possible exception of Neal's girlfriend, who has a very minor role) exists only to support some guy, whether that guy is Will, Don, Charlie or Eliot. Leona might be considered an exception, I guess, but even she's trying to put her clearly incompetent son in charge. This show could be so much better than it is if Aaron Sorkin could just get over himself and HBO could make him fix his female character problem. And no, firing all the other writers except Sorkin and his ex-girlfriend does not count as addressing the problem. Not even a little.
There are several shows that I wouldn't necessarily say are disappointing exactly, I just seem to have stopped watching them. Among them, Castle, White Collar, Hawaii 5-0, and Burn Notice. For Castle I think it's more about the fact that Monday is a night I usually end up gaming with a lot of people than anything else. I watched the season of White Collar where Neal spent the entire season betraying Peter but I never got past it or forgave it. I was never that into Hawaii 5-0. I used to adore Burn Notice. I loved Michael and the voice overs, his thing with yogurt, his relationship with Fi and Sam and especially his mom (someone give Sharon Gless an Emmy, please). But the last couple season I feel like it's just gone on too long and it really needs to wrap-up. Season 5 is often a point where I feel like a series should end. But it's just getting ridiculous. I get that they couldn't have Michael looking for the person who burned him forever, but I think once that was discovered it needed to stop. Instead we've lost the lighthearted part of helping people from week to week and the lengths they go to in order to have an overarching plot are just silly. No, we caught the guy, but um, there's a guy behind him, yeah, and um, okay, so you got that guy but there's totally a guy behind that one! It went from being fun (and obviously in keeping with the "Blue Skies" initiative) to being dark and serious and while that's not necessarily a bad thing I don't think it made that transition smartly or gracefully. So I suppose that counts as disappointed.
Show I'm So Glad is Out of Its Misery: I don't know that I have one, really. I can't even think of any shows I was watching that ended this year, though I'm sure there must have been some. I started watching Last Resort but it got all torture-y and didn't even last a season so I don't think it counts. I feel like maybe there was something on Showtime but I can't think of what it might have been.
Show Whose Finale Made Me the Most Nostalgic: Still can't think of a show I watched that ended.
Show This Year Going Out With the Most Dignity: I'm don't think I'm watching anything that I know for sure is ending. Oh, wait, Fairly Legal got canceled but I doesn't really fit going out wit dignity or going out of its misery. Ah, and Eureka ended, I suppose, which was too bad.
Favorite Television Scene of the Year: As much as I agree with earlgreytea68 about the morgue scene, I think I'm going to have to go with the scene at the grave. "I was so alone and I owe you so much." That line just absolutely kills me. Although I have to say, that scene between Sherlock and Irene where he's plucking the violin strings and then is taking her pulse (which is interesting at the time but later, in retrospect is so incredibly hot is pretty good, too). And from Game of Thrones the men are singing The Rains of Castomere.
Television Scene This Year that Still Makes Me Cry: The Grave Scene. "I was so alone and I owe you so much." That whole thing. "One more miracle, Sherlock. Please. For me." Oh, God. And just for fun, all time, the 21 gun salute in In Excelsis Deo (The West Wing).
Television Scene This Year Most Relevant to My Life: I love that category although I can't think of anything at the moment. Probably there was some rant in The Newsroom that I totally agree with but can't think of at the moment. I certainly identified with Neal wanting to punch Rush Limbaugh's smug face but I've never been tempted to actually do it (and given his broken fingers that's probably a good thing)
Favorite Relationship of the Year (Non-Romantic)): Good question. Maybe Tyrion and Varys (Game of Thrones). I love how they play off each other. Particularly that scene, I think from Battle of Blackwater, where Tyrion is getting suited up and they make all these snide comments about each other. And the scene in the last episode where Varys tells Tyrion that his name won't go down in history and he won't be remembered except that a very few number of people know what he did to save King's Landing and they appreciate it. Random thought, you know who I want to see having a conversation? Sherlock and Tyrion. Tell me that wouldn't be epic.
Favorite Relationship of the Year (Romantic)) Sherlock/John (Sherlock). "We're not a couple!" "Yes, you are." Because seriously, they are. In every way that matters. And like earlgreytea68 I love that after that John stops even trying to deny it, he just changes the subject. One of these days maybe I'll do something with the fact that Sherlock never once denies it and the closest he gets to suggesting anything is that John is his friend (The Blind Banker) and even that John immediately denies.
Favorite Male Character This Year Who's Not on Sherlock: Tyrion Lannister, because he is probably just as smart and can be just as cutting and ruthless. He wears his insults like armor, too, but he seems less...something than Sherlock. Bitter? Desperate to prove he doesn't care what you think? Something. As much joy as Sherlock displays at times it seems more pervasive in Tyrion's life somehow, though his is hardly a carefree existence. He can make it seem like it is though, in a way that Sherlock never quite manages. Seriously, someone needs to write them having a conversation. Runner Up: Neal Sampat (The Newsroom). He is passionate and earnest and he believes in the power of the Internet to be transformative. He's adorably geeky. Second runner-up: Q. He's adorable and smart and could easily be the youngest Homles.
Favorite Female Character: Although I haven't been watching Castle Kate's still pretty awesome. So is Elizabeth Burke (White Collar). I really liked April from House of Lies. I suppose in the end I'm going to go with Arya Stark from Game of Thrones. There is a young woman who could grow up to rule Westeros and she'd make sure shit got done. She's young but very smart, resourceful and independent. She certainly doesn't let her gender influence what she wants from life or of what she believes herself capable (ouch, twisted grammar). She is fierce and determined and setbacks only make her fight harder.
Best Acting Performance This Year Not on Sherlock: I'm going to go with Timothy Olyphant, Justified. I don't think this season was as strong as last season (but in fairness I think last season was among the best in television). I still think he nailed his part this year. For all that Raylan might try and project a simple man, he's actually a very complex character. And that bit at the end about "he just knew it was a guy in a hat." Damn.
Favorite Returning Show that Wasn't Sherlock: Game of Thrones. I often find myself watching the clock anxiously because there's not enough time in each episode and there's so much to pack in! Some episodes are stronger than others, but the series as a whole is very good and every time it ends I can't believe how much longer I have to wait for more.
Favorite Returning Show But Not Really: I don't know that I have a show that's been retconned this year.
Favorite Show I Keep Forgetting How Much I Love Until it Comes Back: Tie. Southland had an exceptional season this year. They went interesting places with the characters and the acting was superb, particularly Lucy Liu, Michael Cudlitz, and Regina King. Suits. I like that show but I forget about it until it starts up again. Good times.
Favorite Old Show That I Watched for the First Time This Year: I'm not sure if Scandal counts but I just started that thanks to darksylvia's recommendation and I'm enjoying it so far. It's not that old and still airing so it probably doesn't really count but I'm claiming it anyway.
Favorite New Show of the Year: Probably Nashville, though I feel like I'm forgetting something. It's silly and soapy but whatever. I didn't think I'd be into it despite the reviews because I'm not a Country person but I was pleasantly surprised.
Favorite Moment of Moffat-ian Pure Ridiculousness: N/A
Most Fun Episode of the Year: I should definitely be able to think of something but I'm coming up empty. I watch more dramas than comedies and it's late and my brain has apparently stopped functioning.
Show This Year with the Stupidest Protagonists: Another good category that I should be able to come up with something but am blanking. There's Will MacAvoy and his campaign to civilize people, I suppose. That's more superior jerk than pure stupidity though. I tend not to watch shows with a lot of stupid because it's unbearable. I occasionally watch Two Broke Girls so that probably counts.
Sherlock Award for Being Gone Too Long: Game of Thrones or Warehouse 13 But also The Daily Show every time they go on a break for two weeks or more because something horrible nearly always happens. I'm sorry, but for the sake of our nation they can't have two weeks or more off ever again. Real Time with Bill Maher when there's political stuff going on. Predictable political stuff. Like the fiscal cliff/curb/gently descending slope or the debt ceiling.
Show That Made Me Laugh the Most This Year: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I ♥ them. I truly do. Sometimes they make me laugh so hard I'm nearly crying. For non-variety scripted shows probably New Girl or The Big Bang Theory.
Thing That Made Me Laugh Most Embarrassingly in Public This Year: Does giggling inappropriately at The Hobbit every time there's something that might be interpreted in the slightest way as relating to Sherlock count?
Best Thing I Watched for a British Actor This Year: Martin Freeman's interview with Stephen Colbert. I watch The Colbert Report semi-regularly so I probably would have seen it anyway, but I did make it a point to see that episode and I loved the interview. Which reminds me, I need to send that whole week to Georgia.
Worst Thing I Watched for a British Actor This Year: I wanted to like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. I didn't hate it, it was just kind of there. I feel like I should watch it again and maybe I'll like it more. Or something.
Show I Just Didn’t Get This Year: I've only seen the first couple episodes of Downton Abbey. It's been fine and I'll probably watch some more but honestly, if everyone wasn't all, OMG BEST SHOW EVER!!11!! I think I would have been content to watch the first couple episodes with Anna and call it good.
Best Movie I Saw This Year: Skyfall I suppose. I'm having another moment where my brain shut down but I didn't really see all that many movies this year. I saw Frankenweenie for Katie's birthday movie, Skyfall, and The Hobbit in theaters. I know I must have seen more. I'm sure I saw more new movies on DVD/on Demand, too, but I just can't think of any that stood out. The Campaign and Bourne Supremacy. Oh, that's right, Rent-a-Cat and Tornado Alley. I really liked Rent-A-Cat but I think I'm still going to go with Skyfall. The best Bond movie to date, in my humble opinion. Daniel Craig and Dame Judy Dench were wonderful and I adore the new Q.
Favorite Move I Saw This Year: Still Skyfall though to be honest, I feel like now I should be better about documenting the movies I see in preparation for answering this question at the end of the year.
Favorite Album This Year: Some Nights by Fun. I had that on repeat in my car for a long time. I really enjoyed several tracks. I also discovered Florance + The Machine this year and quite liked both those albums.
Most Listened-to Song This Year: Probably Some Nights by Fun. For a while it was We Are Young which is how I first heard of Fun.
Song I Did the Most Writing To This Year Sadly, not applicable.
Song I Was Most Happy to Encounter on the Radio This Year: I Don't Wanna Fall in Love by Ken Yates. This is the song that inspired my John/Sherlock soundtrack which I never actually finished. But every time I heard it I thought of Sherlock. Honorable Mention: Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri which is another Sherlock song. That one I discovered in a vid but I've heard it on the radio a few times since then.
Song I’ll Like Again When It Stops Being Overplayed: I don't listen to music radio often enough for this to be an issue. My radio is set to MSNBC unless it's time for prison, although I occasionally switch it when it's someone other than Rachel Maddow because she's the only one who is part of their primetime driving lineup who doesn't seem to be full of herself. (Ed and Lawrence mean well, I'm sure, but they make it all about them in a way that Rachel never does).
Best Concert I Went to This Year: I only went to one, which makes it rather easy. I really enjoyed The Seattle Mens Chorus' holiday concert, especially since they had the surprise of the two marriages which were performed It really was quite moving. I think Captain Smartypants is going to do a concert this year though so I'll probably go to at least two concerts.
Favorite Book I Read This Year: I'm just going to repeat what I said above: I read two books that I think are exceptionally important this year, which isn't quite the same thing as having a favorite. I've often thought about With Liberty and Justice for Some:How the Law is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful by Glenn Greenwald. If you're interested in government or current events or figuring out how we got to this morally bankrupt corrupt place, this is the book for you. I really cannot recommend this book enough.
The other book I consider very important is Twilight of the Elites:America After Meritocracy by Christopher Hayes. He really made me think about how we prize meritocracy and how we believe with an almost religious fervor that equality of opportunity is enough while completely ignoring equality of outcome and how if you have enough inequality of outcome over time it makes equality of opportunity something that exists in name only. He also made me think about institultionalists (which up until this point I have always been) versus insurrectionists (a school that I find myself identifying with more and more). It's no secret I'm a big fan of Up w/Chris Hayes but whether you watch his show or not I think his book is really worth reading. (I love Rachel Maddow and her show, too, but Drift didn't have nearly the same impact on me, in fact, I really wished she'd somehow incorporated some of what Greenwald was talking about in her book).
As far as favorites go, perhaps Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Although I grew up with video games, I missed many of the ones referenced in the book. I know enough about them to know that they were important though and I thought that whole aspect of the book was pretty interesting. It's certainly the book I've recommended to all my gaming friends.
Best Thing the Internet Gave Me This Year: The Sherlock fandom and the awesome people in it.
Thing This Year I Still Haven’t Gotten Over: Congress.
Most Adorable Thing I heard This Year: Hammish. John Hammish Watson. If you're thinking of baby names.
The Year’s Most Quotable Character: John Watson.
Most Used Quote This Year: I can't really think of anything besides "obvious." I'm quite sure there are other quotes I've used more often but I can't think of them at the moment. The one that's been in my head is Douglas Adams' "I love deadlines. I love the wooshing sound they make as they fly by." Can't imagine why I've been thinking about that. Oh, the goals/resolution post was supposed to be made before New Year's? Well, it's 5 a.m. It's going to have to wait. Deal with it it.
The Year’s Most Annoying Little Face: Oliver. Because you should be angry when he chews through the wire to your brand new headset. Or the lights on the Christmas tree. But then he just curls up in a ridiculously cute cat pose and what can you do?
Seriously, how? I encourage you to read earlgreytea68's original version of this because in many places we agree only she says it much more eloquently and awesomely than I ever will. So go do that.
I was going to try and do my resolution/goal list but did I mention it's 5 a.m? Later today then.
I probably need to change my theme, too, what with Christmas being over and all.
Has anyone tried to get a custom userhead? Whenever I click on it in the LJ store nothing happens. I've tried Firefox, IE, and IE 64-bit. The IE browsers keep trying to open it to do something like e-mail the picture as opposed to buying the damn thing and putting it in a cart. I have no idea why but it's very annoying. Or I'm almost comically inept. That might be an explanation, too.
Sleep now, more later.