A Decade of Fangirling!
Right around New Years, I saw all these "Top _____ of the Year/Decade" picspams popping up, and I thought: you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna picspam the past 10 YEARS of stuff that I fangirl-flailed over - no limit, no one category - EVERYTHING! YEAH! .... A month and a half later, and here we are!
And I would just like to disclose, here at the outset, that as this picspam covers a decade or so of fangirling, there could, perhaps, be some sort-of embarrassing things listed? Some of which that, after seeing, may cause some of you on my f-list to wonder why you ever made and/or accepted that friend request.... But hey, at least I'm owning up to them! - that should count for something, right?
Just thought I'd give you fair warning going in :)
Quick note: Yeah, I may not post or participate in online fandom for: most of these, but I still love them lots!
The TV
Veronica Mars
One of the most AWESOME seasons of television I’ve ever seen, and then one of the most awesome examples of FAILING AT FOLLOWING UP an incredibly awesome season of television I’ve ever seen. Srsly, Rob Thomas got all our hopes up for this EPIC SHOW after his first season of GOLD, and then comes at us with the complete FAIL of season two. Sure, the season had it’s moments, as did the following season, but the show never got near recapturing the all-encompassing magic of it’s debut. If the first season hadn’t been so OMGAMAZING I probably would have loved S2 and 3 just fine (although my annoyance w/ Veronica/Duncan would have most likely still existed), but b/c the first season set the bar so high you just couldn’t help but be disappointed by what came after it - plus it didn’t help that RT seemed intent on flip-flopping pretty much EVERYTHING that made S1 so great. Ugh. BUT LOGAN/VERONICA YOU WILL ALWAYS BE A VERY SPECIAL SHIP TO ME - YOU AND YOUR YEARS/CONTINENTS-SPANNING, LIFE-RUINING, BLOODSHED-CAUSING EPIC LOVE
Ryan & Taylor, the o.c. season 4
RYAN + TAYLOR = SQUUEEEEEEE! (or, the DEFINITION OF A FANGIRLY FANTASY COME ALIVE). These two produce far too much fangirlish-induced flailing for this post, so I will be succinct. Ryan was more than just a broody, angst-ridden teen from the wrong side of the tracks? - WHO KNEW?? And Taylor Townsend for the most AWESOMEST OWNER OF THE UNIVERSE CHARACTER EVAR?! YES²!=)
Friday Night Lights
This show is just so incredibly honest about small town life , the people who live there and the relationships they have. Yes, the premise is centered around a high school football team, but the sport really only serves as a backdrop for the extremely intimate storytelling that takes place. It introduced the most compelling characters and stories ever and deserves ratings 100000000x better than what it gets. WHAT IS WRONG W/ YOU AMERICA??? On any other show, I would have loathed Smash and his arrogance but the way they allowed his character to be written and developed over the years made me love him; I was pretty indifferent to - borderline disliking - Tyra for much of the first season, but she also completely won me over. I bet any other teen drama would have kept her character pretty one note, as she was in the early eps of S1 and I would have hated her always.; and while I’ve never been a huge fan of Julie on her own, but liked her well enough, her and Matt Saracen were just sooooo adorable in portraying that first real high school boyfriend/girlfriend relationship - and they used The Lemonhead’s “Eyes” for the first “I love yous”! and “THEY’VE GOT A BLANKET!”. I mean, I could go on about this show and it's incredible cast/characters for ever. MATT/LANDRY! LANDRY/TYRA! EVERYONE/EVERYONE!
And yeah, I loved Riggins/Lyla - WHAT? I know a lot of people in fandom didn’t and were annoyed by Lyla and her trying to appear like Miss Perfect before-during-and after her screwing around with Riggins behind her paralyzed boyfriend’s back, which was so sleazy and wrong BUT THEY WERE SO HOT and Lyla/Street bugged me AND WHATEVER I LOVE THEM OK?!? Plus they were so uberly adorbs and couply in S3. And I don’t think anyone’s going to argue the point of Mr. & Mrs. Coach being the best parents/mentors/couple/people ever…..anyone? No? Didn’t think so.
The Office
Yeah, it’s in it’s 6th season(? - is that right? The writer’s strike messed me all up) and has lost some of it’s mojo, as shows do when they enter the arena as amazing as the office did. It’s still better than half of what is on right now and it really brought the US a whole new brand of comedy tv. I love each character for a completely different reason b/c they are all completely and ridiculously crazy, in their completely ridiculous ways - even the “straight ppl” like Jim/Pam - who yes, I enjoyed immensely. And has there ever been a character as genius as Dwight Shrute? I think anyone would be hardpressed to come up with one. And the addition of Andy “the Narddog” Bernard reeealy was a brilliant move b/c he adds such a distinct flavor to the cast and you begin to forget what the show was ever like without him lol. But yeah, S2 was TEXTBOOK for one srsly amazing season of television, and for that I will always &heart it.
Robin Hood
Robin was all cheeky and hipster-rogue-ish (or just British) along with a great ensemble cast. It had a resourceful, intelligent Marian and um, RICHARD. ARMITAGE. They took full advantage of the current events and drew blatant parallels btw the Christian/Muslim conflict of then and the Christian/Muslim conflict of now. But those were WAY overshadowed by the adventure/guest star of the week and the utter cheezetasticness of the storylines - but whatever it was fun and swashbuckley and hilariously earnest AND WHO DOESN’T LIKE GUYS IN TIGHT LEATHER PANTS??? But then 2x13 happened and the producers decided to destroy 1000 years of canon and me and probably everyone else in the fandom were all like SRSLY WTH SHOW??? and I originally decided that 2x13 would be considered my finale. But curiosity and love for Richard Armitage got the better of me and I eventually gave in and watched S3 - which wasn’t terrible? But it just wasn’t the same show. And despite the marked difference in tone (DARKNESS AND WOE) Guy just totes owned the last series. They intro’d a ton new characters, some (or one) of which worked, others, notsomuch. Why they concentrated on new pointless characters and pale replacements rather than the characters they’d already had that I actually cared about - I’m looking at you Allan/Will/Djaq - I’ll never know. Even Topy Stephens couldn’t save it (though it was greatly appreciated), and Isabella/Robin/Kate = *HEADDESK*. SO glad Robin died and that’s over.
Mad Men
So I don’t get all fangirl flaily over this show (although I guess I got semi-flaily over Don/Rachel way back in s1) but I LOVE IT SO HARD just for it’s stylistic genius and it’s amazing cast and it’s hyper-masculine 60’s male lead who is a total douchebag but for which no woman watching cares a SHIT ABOUT - HAI DON DRAPER/JON HAMM! AND JOAN! ROGER! PETE & TRUDI! “I’M PEGGY OLSEN AND I’D LIKE TO SMOKE SOME MARIJUANA”! And I mean THE WARDROBE and THE TONE, the TOTAL UNDERLYING DESPAIR, and the HAVING SCENES W/ BASICALLY NO LINES B/C THESE PPL TALK WITH THEIR FACES AND SILENCES. God it is amazing.
Jackie & Hyde, That 70s Show
Noooobody saw this ‘ship comin’ - at least not those stuck in canon fandom. But they showed up FOR REAL in season 5 AND TOOK OVER THE SHOW WITH THEIR AWESOMENESS. They’re the classic case of polar opposites (personality wise) who hate each other but actually have a lot in common and end up having smoking hot chemistry and upstaging the actual “root for” pairing on the show. Starting with their super sekrit summer hook-up, the natural metamorphosis of they’re relationship was PURE. GOLD. Oh SEASONs 5 & 6 (and some of 7)…And lets just pretend that season 8 never happened, ‘kay?
Being Human
I’ve already written a massively long love letter to being human in the form of a series 1 picspam (plus pretty much every post since then), so, to be brief - THIS SHOW IS AMAZING AND EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT. Srsly, who wouldn’t want to at least watch an episode of a show that’s described as “A werewolf, a vampire and a ghost live together in a flat” just to see if it’s really as crap as it sounds? [*note: IT ISN’T]
True Blood
This show is so. camp. - it basically takes camp to a whole new level and says WHATS THAT, TV? YEAH WE’RE GOING TO FLATOUT OUT-CAMP ANYTHING THAT’S EVER BEEN CRITICIZED AS “CAMP”, EVER AND WE’RE NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE FOR IT - IN FACT WE’LL JUST SAY LETS MAKE IT EVEN MORE FUCKING CAMP AND IT WILL BE AWESOME AND MAKE PPLS BRAINS EXPLODE FROM THE OMGTHATSINSANE-NESS and it is fucking amazing. The characters are all completely fucked up in completely fucked up amazing ways. Sookie’s like Bella on Southern-Fried Prozac and Tara is the best shit-talking BFF ever. Jason doesn’t have an inch of fat on him or a brain cell in his head, and Lafayette - well, I think we all wish we could be as awesome as Lafayette. Bill is such a MASSIVE GIANT DORK that I love to lolz at, and I admit I was totally rooting for Sam in S1. Why do I always root for the underdog (*sigh*SAM *facepalm*). But JESSICA/HOYT and their breaking hicktown barriers complete with sweet “Bleeding Love” sex and general “aw they make me so giddy!”ness. And WOAH didn’t think I’d be so into Sookie/Eric as I was but hot damn she’s got better chem w/ him than w/ her fiancée! And of course - PAM! Oh you and Eric are vamp-FABULOUS
Spooks
Another Brit show to add to the list! I really just started watching the last couple series b/c Richard Armitage joined the cast, but it’s always been a really entertaining show, following Britain’s MI-5 secret service (kind of like the UK equivalent of our NSA). There’s ESPIONAGE! TICKING CLOCKS! EXPLOSIONS! HOSTAGES! INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE! LOTS OF RUNNING! It’s BRILLIANT. picspam of Raamitage’s character, Lucas North in the S7.
Community
Best new comedy in AGES. So irreverent but with heart and pop culture references GALLORE, and the cast/characters go together like chocolate and beer (unexpected but completely DELIGHTFUL), HILARIOUS secondary characters and built-in shipper CRACK THAT IS CANON NOW. And every combination of characters WORKS. ‘Ship-wise, My roommate wants Britta/Jeff, and I eeeee! over any hint of Jeff/Annie - INTERAPARTMENT BATTLE OF THE SHOW SHIPS! Also, HI JOEL’S BICEPS. You really wouldn’t think it to look at him, but WOW.
I’M SORRY FOR UNDERESTIMATING YOU JOEL - plz forgive me.
Also, this is in no way related to community, but I got sucked into the YouTube vortex of doom and have been watching clips of Joel on Craig Ferguson, and LULZZZZZ
[edited to add]
The Black Donnellys
I really don't know how I could have forgotten about this one, b/c I was COMPLETELY sucked into the HOLY SHIT THIS WHOLE SHOW IS SO EPIC-ness of this, sadly, very-shortlived show :( Jonathan Tucker as Tommy was a-maaazing, and I LOVED the dynamic btw the four brothers - especially Tommy/Kevin. OH KEVIN. Most of my TBD-fangirling days were spent OTP-ing Kevin w/ any sort of inanimate object he was given as a prop - which was usually food - B/C HE WAS SO ADORBS! Oh and Tommy/Jenny - so hot, but so doomed. And it had "JOEY ICE CREAM"! - the bestest, most unreliable narrator EVER! AND "SMALLS" FROM THE SANDLOT!! And when Kirk Acevedo showed up I was all JOE TOY! b/c the last thing I had seen him in had been band of brothers, (IN WHICH HE WAS AWESOME) AND HE CONTINUED TO BE AWESOME HERE, TOO. This show really had everything going for it - great story, great cast, great cinematography - AND THE PILOT HAD A MASSIVELY EPIC ORIGINAL ENDING - but it just never clicked with a big enough audience for NBC, and I still believe that it totally would have survived, at least for the whole season, if it had aired on FX or HBO/SHO or something. and there was also the brief stint of a pre-true blood Andy Bellefleuer. So if that doesn't make it worthy of this list, I don't know what does.
Oh God, This is Embarrassing
Soap ‘ships
These were like my gateway ships to fandom - so THANKS NAN for always having to watch your “stories” when you stayed during the summer! - except, y’know, not. I’ve already done a huge emo post commemorating 2 of my first ships, Mike/Katie & Dusty/Lucy of as the world turns when I found out about the show’s cancellation. Even though I hadn’t watched in YEARS, atwt will always hold super special memories for me.
Mike & Katie - BFFs that go on fun/angsty adventures together as one falls for the other while the other is grieving their runaway/dead husband, then realizes they’ve fallen for their BFF too and they get together for like 5 seconds only for the “dead” husband to show back up and ruin everything, as per usual. BUT AT LEAST THEY GOT TO HAVE SUPER HOT SEX.
Dusty & Lucy - CHEMISTRY LIKE WOAH. Older con man and sort-of spoiled young girl go on the run together and end up falling in love while they fight each other and others for their against all odds relationship - this inevitably gets destroyed by a stupid plot point in the shape of a 6-3 giant dork the second Dusty & Lucy get their act together and then it’s all angst and woe and then Lucy “goes away to college” ending the ‘ship a short 6 mos. after it began.
John & Natalie, one life to live - THESE TWO ARE SOOO STEAMY, SRSLY. They butt heads A LOT but manage to be BFFs with SERIOUS sexual tension and attachment issues even though they both have other relationships b/c the timing is never right, and he saves her (multiple times) and she wants him but he fights it then she ALMOST DIES and he has an I ALMOST LOST YOU moment and they finally get together for real and then 2 months later her “dead” husband shows back up and she finds out that her bff/boyfriend knew and is suitably pissed and there’s months of them bitching at each other and John brooding over his dad's death from 50 million years ago and then they have ANOTHER near death experience AND REPEAT. Then they both do their own thing for 3 years but now have been ONCE AGAIN thrown together in EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES (sensing a pattern? lol) and are admitting they still HAVE FEELINGS but there are OBSTACLES and yeah that’s where they are now. This is the longest lasting soap couple I ever fandomed - 7 years after it started it’s STILL going on.
Yeah - typical soap fair. It’s ridiculous but it can be awesome
The Twilight Saga
I really have no excuse for this, except to lay the blame soley at the feet of my f-list, which was RIDICULOUSLY flaily over it for AGES before it went mainstream. I mean, I got caught into the whole “Twilight”/Edward/Bella maelstrom back around the time it was rumored Mtv had a film version in the works that had Bella shooting/killing James and zero Cullens aside from Edward (srsly, whut?), and I l-o-v-e-d the first two books, hardcore - meaning I totally binged on both multiple times like any self-respecting/loathing junkie. Stephanie Meyer can’t write for shit, but the woman srsly knows how to tell a story that turns me into a 13 year old girl. But then Eclipse got way too angsty, Bella got way too “woe is me” and Edward in Breaking Dawn got way too emo-ey, and I just couldn’t love the last ½ of the series as much as I did the first. Oh, and I LOL'D my way through both movies, b/c srsly, HOW COULD YOU NOT?!
Zac Efron
There was a brief period a couple summers ago, after I saw The Today Show’s live preview of Hairspray and around the time HSM2 came out, that I got slightly flaily over Zac Efron (YES I KNOW). I was completely shocked to find myself going OMG ZAC EFRON WTH?!! as he was singing “Ladies Choice” - guys that sing.. I can’t help it. Thank god he was legal by then. But I have to say, I’m intrigued by Me and Orson Welles and 17 Again was totally enjoyable. HSM2 was good for a lot couple of laughs (*LAKE!REFLECTION!BWAH!*), and I was thisclose to doing a picspam, which thank god THAT never came to fruition, b/c then my shame would have been documented here, in detail, forever. People will just pass right over this and never really notice it, right?
The BBC Miniseries
North & South
And so began my love affair with Richard Armitage, b/c seriously?.... Yeah. And I’m just gonna say it - this is what Pride & Prejudice WISHES it were. Yeah, I went there. P&P always held the title of my favorite novel, even before the whole Austen mania set in - and then I saw this. And it was INCREDIBLE. And the story is intricate and has a passion and depth in it’s characters and there's a gritty historical context that is absent from P&P’s tale of manners and misunderstandings - there is struggle and suffering and it presents a picture of Victorian England that in the world of Austen, almost doesn’t exist. The two leads clash, while harboring feelings for each other, right up until the end, like in P&P, but it just feels more organic or, I don’t know. And the miniseries - OH THE MINISERIES…. THE ACTORS. THE CINEMATORGRAPHY. THE DICHOTOMY OF BACKDROPS. THE SCORE. THE EPICNESS. This will always be at the top of my “Favorite Films EVER TO BE CREATED” list. ALWAYS.
Jane Eyre
The richest adaptation of the novel I’ve ever seen. They did such a beautiful job fleshing out the characters and were so masterful at building and portraying the love and passion felt between Jane and Rochester - something that puts it miles beyond what other film versions have done or tried to do. PLUS A BEAT UP/BROODY/SARDONIC TOBY STEVENS.
Persuasion
Over the years this one has come to edge out pride and prejudice as my favorite Austen novel. The story is so filled with regret and so heart-wrenching that the emotion thrumming throughout the book is physically palpable. And then the ending is just so satisfying and not “over done” and JUST RIGHT AND PERFECT and the wonderfulness of it just settles into your chest and you just feel warm and glowy from the long-awaited and well-earned, but understated, romance of it.
[wow, pride & prejudice is really taking a beating in this post lol]
“I want to go to there”
Richard Armitage
See previous posts for robin hood, spooks and north & south. Does this one really require further explanation? He’s like, srlsy tall dark and handsome, w/ a deep rich voice w/ just a hint of a northern accent that totally oozes sex - and GAH I pretty much just *swoon* the second he appears on my screen and am then full out on the floor as soon as he opens his mouth. What I wouldn’t give…. I’m just sayin’.
And RA playing the sexiest bookworm alive! on vicar of dibley makes me squeee! like a schoolgirl like woah
Orlando Bloom
Remember, 10 years lol
This one could definitely go into my embarrassing section. Yes, I dug LotR (the first 2, at least), but Orlando as “Legolas” did absolutely nothing for me. But then he got all dirty and scruffy in Pirates, and despite the fact that he couldn’t really act and insisted on using the same awkward sounding generic English accent in all his films (why he didn’t just speak with his normal, slightly accented English, I’ll never know) something about him just drew me in. He had those beautiful brown eyes and gorgeous hair and I dug his dorky/goofball personality, but I was never super sexually attracted to him - he was just a little too scrawny and a lot too pretty. But I was still all LETS TOTALLY HAVE A COMPLETELY ASEXUAL/SLIGHTLY SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP, K? And then he did a little movie called Elizabethtown with Kirsten Dundst that I fell in love with b/c it was completely and utterly charming and not at all what I expected going in. And then he disappeared but has now come out of hiding and has like, 10 movies going on at ONCE, so the next year or so should be interesting.
James McAvoy
Five words: The. Last. King. Of. Scotland.. SO INCREDBLE and one of my favorite films. Plus, it’s the only film he’s done where he got to speak with his own accent (aside from the Beeb’s televised Shakespeare ReTold “Macbeth” - and which, funnily enough, co-starred a Mr. Richard Armitage.)
As far as I’m concerned, this guy hasn’t made one misstep his entire career. Yeah, he’s done some lower-key, lower budget films (e.g. penelope, becoming jane, some would say starter for 10) that weren’t all grandscale epic that he got known for, like atonement or wanted, but they weren’t total fail either - OR AT ALL. And he was on the racy brit dramedy shameless and has EXTREMELY GRAPHIC SEX in like, his second scene - with an actress who ends up being his future wife, just fyi lol. PLUS, he’s all Scottish and charming and quirky and I just wanna hang out and have a pint with him and maybe have some fun sexytimes after… And because I’m a giver, please witness the Scottish vacuum of charm!
…. Huh, I just noticed they’re all British/Scottish. Interesting.
Honorable Mentions
- felicity: This was my show during high school - back before I even knew what “fandom” was. I was a freshmen when the show started so it was like I was following a 4 year journey that mirrored Felicity’s character's - only it was a much lamer version. Oh, and I never liked Ben - except when he was with Sean or Javier. Sorry, but no - he was a dick.
- pushing daisies: The whimsy! The megawatt coloring! The cast! The quick semi-ironic dialogue! The dead ppl w/ hideous (but hilarious!) death deformities! THE PIE MAKER/HOLE/HOS! EMERSON CODD, KNITTING P.I! BEJEWELED EYE-PATCHES AND PIDGEONS! DIGBY AND PIGBY! THIS IS WHAT THIS SHOW REDUCES ME TO - SHORT OHMYGODY EXCLAMATIONS! But despite all that I never fangirled or fandomed it - WEIRD.
- bones: I &heart this show and have always loved it lots, except for the FOULs I called on the first eps of S1, but I’ve never really sought out fandom for it. I don’t know why, B/C IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE MADE ENTIRELY OF INCREDIBLE WIN, so idk. And I mean, srsly:
[figures - now that I’m officially saying I don’t fandom bones I have the urge to picspam it]
- legend of the seeker: This one is pretty new and still falls into the “OH LOOK HOW SHINEY!” category. And it’s not so much the quality of the storytelling that has made me all fangurl all of a sudden (I mean srsly, pfffffft), but it’s more the EPIC BATTLES!/EPIC SHIP!/ EPIC HAIR! and the stunning use of the New Zealand scenery. SO PRETTY.
So yeah, that's what I've been doing with my time the past 10 years, and wow this thing was kind of massive lol
And I would just like to disclose, here at the outset, that as this picspam covers a decade or so of fangirling, there could, perhaps, be some sort-of embarrassing things listed? Some of which that, after seeing, may cause some of you on my f-list to wonder why you ever made and/or accepted that friend request.... But hey, at least I'm owning up to them! - that should count for something, right?
Just thought I'd give you fair warning going in :)
Quick note: Yeah, I may not post or participate in online fandom for: most of these, but I still love them lots!
The TV
Veronica Mars
One of the most AWESOME seasons of television I’ve ever seen, and then one of the most awesome examples of FAILING AT FOLLOWING UP an incredibly awesome season of television I’ve ever seen. Srsly, Rob Thomas got all our hopes up for this EPIC SHOW after his first season of GOLD, and then comes at us with the complete FAIL of season two. Sure, the season had it’s moments, as did the following season, but the show never got near recapturing the all-encompassing magic of it’s debut. If the first season hadn’t been so OMGAMAZING I probably would have loved S2 and 3 just fine (although my annoyance w/ Veronica/Duncan would have most likely still existed), but b/c the first season set the bar so high you just couldn’t help but be disappointed by what came after it - plus it didn’t help that RT seemed intent on flip-flopping pretty much EVERYTHING that made S1 so great. Ugh. BUT LOGAN/VERONICA YOU WILL ALWAYS BE A VERY SPECIAL SHIP TO ME - YOU AND YOUR YEARS/CONTINENTS-SPANNING, LIFE-RUINING, BLOODSHED-CAUSING EPIC LOVE
Ryan & Taylor, the o.c. season 4
RYAN + TAYLOR = SQUUEEEEEEE! (or, the DEFINITION OF A FANGIRLY FANTASY COME ALIVE). These two produce far too much fangirlish-induced flailing for this post, so I will be succinct. Ryan was more than just a broody, angst-ridden teen from the wrong side of the tracks? - WHO KNEW?? And Taylor Townsend for the most AWESOMEST OWNER OF THE UNIVERSE CHARACTER EVAR?! YES²!=)
Friday Night Lights
This show is just so incredibly honest about small town life , the people who live there and the relationships they have. Yes, the premise is centered around a high school football team, but the sport really only serves as a backdrop for the extremely intimate storytelling that takes place. It introduced the most compelling characters and stories ever and deserves ratings 100000000x better than what it gets. WHAT IS WRONG W/ YOU AMERICA??? On any other show, I would have loathed Smash and his arrogance but the way they allowed his character to be written and developed over the years made me love him; I was pretty indifferent to - borderline disliking - Tyra for much of the first season, but she also completely won me over. I bet any other teen drama would have kept her character pretty one note, as she was in the early eps of S1 and I would have hated her always.; and while I’ve never been a huge fan of Julie on her own, but liked her well enough, her and Matt Saracen were just sooooo adorable in portraying that first real high school boyfriend/girlfriend relationship - and they used The Lemonhead’s “Eyes” for the first “I love yous”! and “THEY’VE GOT A BLANKET!”. I mean, I could go on about this show and it's incredible cast/characters for ever. MATT/LANDRY! LANDRY/TYRA! EVERYONE/EVERYONE!
And yeah, I loved Riggins/Lyla - WHAT? I know a lot of people in fandom didn’t and were annoyed by Lyla and her trying to appear like Miss Perfect before-during-and after her screwing around with Riggins behind her paralyzed boyfriend’s back, which was so sleazy and wrong BUT THEY WERE SO HOT and Lyla/Street bugged me AND WHATEVER I LOVE THEM OK?!? Plus they were so uberly adorbs and couply in S3. And I don’t think anyone’s going to argue the point of Mr. & Mrs. Coach being the best parents/mentors/couple/people ever…..anyone? No? Didn’t think so.
The Office
Yeah, it’s in it’s 6th season(? - is that right? The writer’s strike messed me all up) and has lost some of it’s mojo, as shows do when they enter the arena as amazing as the office did. It’s still better than half of what is on right now and it really brought the US a whole new brand of comedy tv. I love each character for a completely different reason b/c they are all completely and ridiculously crazy, in their completely ridiculous ways - even the “straight ppl” like Jim/Pam - who yes, I enjoyed immensely. And has there ever been a character as genius as Dwight Shrute? I think anyone would be hardpressed to come up with one. And the addition of Andy “the Narddog” Bernard reeealy was a brilliant move b/c he adds such a distinct flavor to the cast and you begin to forget what the show was ever like without him lol. But yeah, S2 was TEXTBOOK for one srsly amazing season of television, and for that I will always &heart it.
Robin Hood
Robin was all cheeky and hipster-rogue-ish (or just British) along with a great ensemble cast. It had a resourceful, intelligent Marian and um, RICHARD. ARMITAGE. They took full advantage of the current events and drew blatant parallels btw the Christian/Muslim conflict of then and the Christian/Muslim conflict of now. But those were WAY overshadowed by the adventure/guest star of the week and the utter cheezetasticness of the storylines - but whatever it was fun and swashbuckley and hilariously earnest AND WHO DOESN’T LIKE GUYS IN TIGHT LEATHER PANTS??? But then 2x13 happened and the producers decided to destroy 1000 years of canon and me and probably everyone else in the fandom were all like SRSLY WTH SHOW??? and I originally decided that 2x13 would be considered my finale. But curiosity and love for Richard Armitage got the better of me and I eventually gave in and watched S3 - which wasn’t terrible? But it just wasn’t the same show. And despite the marked difference in tone (DARKNESS AND WOE) Guy just totes owned the last series. They intro’d a ton new characters, some (or one) of which worked, others, notsomuch. Why they concentrated on new pointless characters and pale replacements rather than the characters they’d already had that I actually cared about - I’m looking at you Allan/Will/Djaq - I’ll never know. Even Topy Stephens couldn’t save it (though it was greatly appreciated), and Isabella/Robin/Kate = *HEADDESK*. SO glad Robin died and that’s over.
Mad Men
So I don’t get all fangirl flaily over this show (although I guess I got semi-flaily over Don/Rachel way back in s1) but I LOVE IT SO HARD just for it’s stylistic genius and it’s amazing cast and it’s hyper-masculine 60’s male lead who is a total douchebag but for which no woman watching cares a SHIT ABOUT - HAI DON DRAPER/JON HAMM! AND JOAN! ROGER! PETE & TRUDI! “I’M PEGGY OLSEN AND I’D LIKE TO SMOKE SOME MARIJUANA”! And I mean THE WARDROBE and THE TONE, the TOTAL UNDERLYING DESPAIR, and the HAVING SCENES W/ BASICALLY NO LINES B/C THESE PPL TALK WITH THEIR FACES AND SILENCES. God it is amazing.
Jackie & Hyde, That 70s Show
Noooobody saw this ‘ship comin’ - at least not those stuck in canon fandom. But they showed up FOR REAL in season 5 AND TOOK OVER THE SHOW WITH THEIR AWESOMENESS. They’re the classic case of polar opposites (personality wise) who hate each other but actually have a lot in common and end up having smoking hot chemistry and upstaging the actual “root for” pairing on the show. Starting with their super sekrit summer hook-up, the natural metamorphosis of they’re relationship was PURE. GOLD. Oh SEASONs 5 & 6 (and some of 7)…And lets just pretend that season 8 never happened, ‘kay?
Being Human
I’ve already written a massively long love letter to being human in the form of a series 1 picspam (plus pretty much every post since then), so, to be brief - THIS SHOW IS AMAZING AND EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT. Srsly, who wouldn’t want to at least watch an episode of a show that’s described as “A werewolf, a vampire and a ghost live together in a flat” just to see if it’s really as crap as it sounds? [*note: IT ISN’T]
True Blood
This show is so. camp. - it basically takes camp to a whole new level and says WHATS THAT, TV? YEAH WE’RE GOING TO FLATOUT OUT-CAMP ANYTHING THAT’S EVER BEEN CRITICIZED AS “CAMP”, EVER AND WE’RE NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE FOR IT - IN FACT WE’LL JUST SAY LETS MAKE IT EVEN MORE FUCKING CAMP AND IT WILL BE AWESOME AND MAKE PPLS BRAINS EXPLODE FROM THE OMGTHATSINSANE-NESS and it is fucking amazing. The characters are all completely fucked up in completely fucked up amazing ways. Sookie’s like Bella on Southern-Fried Prozac and Tara is the best shit-talking BFF ever. Jason doesn’t have an inch of fat on him or a brain cell in his head, and Lafayette - well, I think we all wish we could be as awesome as Lafayette. Bill is such a MASSIVE GIANT DORK that I love to lolz at, and I admit I was totally rooting for Sam in S1. Why do I always root for the underdog (*sigh*SAM *facepalm*). But JESSICA/HOYT and their breaking hicktown barriers complete with sweet “Bleeding Love” sex and general “aw they make me so giddy!”ness. And WOAH didn’t think I’d be so into Sookie/Eric as I was but hot damn she’s got better chem w/ him than w/ her fiancée! And of course - PAM! Oh you and Eric are vamp-FABULOUS
Spooks
Another Brit show to add to the list! I really just started watching the last couple series b/c Richard Armitage joined the cast, but it’s always been a really entertaining show, following Britain’s MI-5 secret service (kind of like the UK equivalent of our NSA). There’s ESPIONAGE! TICKING CLOCKS! EXPLOSIONS! HOSTAGES! INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE! LOTS OF RUNNING! It’s BRILLIANT. picspam of Raamitage’s character, Lucas North in the S7.
Community
Best new comedy in AGES. So irreverent but with heart and pop culture references GALLORE, and the cast/characters go together like chocolate and beer (unexpected but completely DELIGHTFUL), HILARIOUS secondary characters and built-in shipper CRACK THAT IS CANON NOW. And every combination of characters WORKS. ‘Ship-wise, My roommate wants Britta/Jeff, and I eeeee! over any hint of Jeff/Annie - INTERAPARTMENT BATTLE OF THE SHOW SHIPS! Also, HI JOEL’S BICEPS. You really wouldn’t think it to look at him, but WOW.
I’M SORRY FOR UNDERESTIMATING YOU JOEL - plz forgive me.
Also, this is in no way related to community, but I got sucked into the YouTube vortex of doom and have been watching clips of Joel on Craig Ferguson, and LULZZZZZ
[edited to add]
The Black Donnellys
I really don't know how I could have forgotten about this one, b/c I was COMPLETELY sucked into the HOLY SHIT THIS WHOLE SHOW IS SO EPIC-ness of this, sadly, very-shortlived show :( Jonathan Tucker as Tommy was a-maaazing, and I LOVED the dynamic btw the four brothers - especially Tommy/Kevin. OH KEVIN. Most of my TBD-fangirling days were spent OTP-ing Kevin w/ any sort of inanimate object he was given as a prop - which was usually food - B/C HE WAS SO ADORBS! Oh and Tommy/Jenny - so hot, but so doomed. And it had "JOEY ICE CREAM"! - the bestest, most unreliable narrator EVER! AND "SMALLS" FROM THE SANDLOT!! And when Kirk Acevedo showed up I was all JOE TOY! b/c the last thing I had seen him in had been band of brothers, (IN WHICH HE WAS AWESOME) AND HE CONTINUED TO BE AWESOME HERE, TOO. This show really had everything going for it - great story, great cast, great cinematography - AND THE PILOT HAD A MASSIVELY EPIC ORIGINAL ENDING - but it just never clicked with a big enough audience for NBC, and I still believe that it totally would have survived, at least for the whole season, if it had aired on FX or HBO/SHO or something. and there was also the brief stint of a pre-true blood Andy Bellefleuer. So if that doesn't make it worthy of this list, I don't know what does.
Oh God, This is Embarrassing
Soap ‘ships
These were like my gateway ships to fandom - so THANKS NAN for always having to watch your “stories” when you stayed during the summer! - except, y’know, not. I’ve already done a huge emo post commemorating 2 of my first ships, Mike/Katie & Dusty/Lucy of as the world turns when I found out about the show’s cancellation. Even though I hadn’t watched in YEARS, atwt will always hold super special memories for me.
Mike & Katie - BFFs that go on fun/angsty adventures together as one falls for the other while the other is grieving their runaway/dead husband, then realizes they’ve fallen for their BFF too and they get together for like 5 seconds only for the “dead” husband to show back up and ruin everything, as per usual. BUT AT LEAST THEY GOT TO HAVE SUPER HOT SEX.
Dusty & Lucy - CHEMISTRY LIKE WOAH. Older con man and sort-of spoiled young girl go on the run together and end up falling in love while they fight each other and others for their against all odds relationship - this inevitably gets destroyed by a stupid plot point in the shape of a 6-3 giant dork the second Dusty & Lucy get their act together and then it’s all angst and woe and then Lucy “goes away to college” ending the ‘ship a short 6 mos. after it began.
John & Natalie, one life to live - THESE TWO ARE SOOO STEAMY, SRSLY. They butt heads A LOT but manage to be BFFs with SERIOUS sexual tension and attachment issues even though they both have other relationships b/c the timing is never right, and he saves her (multiple times) and she wants him but he fights it then she ALMOST DIES and he has an I ALMOST LOST YOU moment and they finally get together for real and then 2 months later her “dead” husband shows back up and she finds out that her bff/boyfriend knew and is suitably pissed and there’s months of them bitching at each other and John brooding over his dad's death from 50 million years ago and then they have ANOTHER near death experience AND REPEAT. Then they both do their own thing for 3 years but now have been ONCE AGAIN thrown together in EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES (sensing a pattern? lol) and are admitting they still HAVE FEELINGS but there are OBSTACLES and yeah that’s where they are now. This is the longest lasting soap couple I ever fandomed - 7 years after it started it’s STILL going on.
Yeah - typical soap fair. It’s ridiculous but it can be awesome
The Twilight Saga
I really have no excuse for this, except to lay the blame soley at the feet of my f-list, which was RIDICULOUSLY flaily over it for AGES before it went mainstream. I mean, I got caught into the whole “Twilight”/Edward/Bella maelstrom back around the time it was rumored Mtv had a film version in the works that had Bella shooting/killing James and zero Cullens aside from Edward (srsly, whut?), and I l-o-v-e-d the first two books, hardcore - meaning I totally binged on both multiple times like any self-respecting/loathing junkie. Stephanie Meyer can’t write for shit, but the woman srsly knows how to tell a story that turns me into a 13 year old girl. But then Eclipse got way too angsty, Bella got way too “woe is me” and Edward in Breaking Dawn got way too emo-ey, and I just couldn’t love the last ½ of the series as much as I did the first. Oh, and I LOL'D my way through both movies, b/c srsly, HOW COULD YOU NOT?!
Zac Efron
There was a brief period a couple summers ago, after I saw The Today Show’s live preview of Hairspray and around the time HSM2 came out, that I got slightly flaily over Zac Efron (YES I KNOW). I was completely shocked to find myself going OMG ZAC EFRON WTH?!! as he was singing “Ladies Choice” - guys that sing.. I can’t help it. Thank god he was legal by then. But I have to say, I’m intrigued by Me and Orson Welles and 17 Again was totally enjoyable. HSM2 was good for a lot couple of laughs (*LAKE!REFLECTION!BWAH!*), and I was thisclose to doing a picspam, which thank god THAT never came to fruition, b/c then my shame would have been documented here, in detail, forever. People will just pass right over this and never really notice it, right?
The BBC Miniseries
North & South
And so began my love affair with Richard Armitage, b/c seriously?.... Yeah. And I’m just gonna say it - this is what Pride & Prejudice WISHES it were. Yeah, I went there. P&P always held the title of my favorite novel, even before the whole Austen mania set in - and then I saw this. And it was INCREDIBLE. And the story is intricate and has a passion and depth in it’s characters and there's a gritty historical context that is absent from P&P’s tale of manners and misunderstandings - there is struggle and suffering and it presents a picture of Victorian England that in the world of Austen, almost doesn’t exist. The two leads clash, while harboring feelings for each other, right up until the end, like in P&P, but it just feels more organic or, I don’t know. And the miniseries - OH THE MINISERIES…. THE ACTORS. THE CINEMATORGRAPHY. THE DICHOTOMY OF BACKDROPS. THE SCORE. THE EPICNESS. This will always be at the top of my “Favorite Films EVER TO BE CREATED” list. ALWAYS.
Jane Eyre
The richest adaptation of the novel I’ve ever seen. They did such a beautiful job fleshing out the characters and were so masterful at building and portraying the love and passion felt between Jane and Rochester - something that puts it miles beyond what other film versions have done or tried to do. PLUS A BEAT UP/BROODY/SARDONIC TOBY STEVENS.
Persuasion
Over the years this one has come to edge out pride and prejudice as my favorite Austen novel. The story is so filled with regret and so heart-wrenching that the emotion thrumming throughout the book is physically palpable. And then the ending is just so satisfying and not “over done” and JUST RIGHT AND PERFECT and the wonderfulness of it just settles into your chest and you just feel warm and glowy from the long-awaited and well-earned, but understated, romance of it.
[wow, pride & prejudice is really taking a beating in this post lol]
“I want to go to there”
Richard Armitage
See previous posts for robin hood, spooks and north & south. Does this one really require further explanation? He’s like, srlsy tall dark and handsome, w/ a deep rich voice w/ just a hint of a northern accent that totally oozes sex - and GAH I pretty much just *swoon* the second he appears on my screen and am then full out on the floor as soon as he opens his mouth. What I wouldn’t give…. I’m just sayin’.
And RA playing the sexiest bookworm alive! on vicar of dibley makes me squeee! like a schoolgirl like woah
Orlando Bloom
Remember, 10 years lol
This one could definitely go into my embarrassing section. Yes, I dug LotR (the first 2, at least), but Orlando as “Legolas” did absolutely nothing for me. But then he got all dirty and scruffy in Pirates, and despite the fact that he couldn’t really act and insisted on using the same awkward sounding generic English accent in all his films (why he didn’t just speak with his normal, slightly accented English, I’ll never know) something about him just drew me in. He had those beautiful brown eyes and gorgeous hair and I dug his dorky/goofball personality, but I was never super sexually attracted to him - he was just a little too scrawny and a lot too pretty. But I was still all LETS TOTALLY HAVE A COMPLETELY ASEXUAL/SLIGHTLY SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP, K? And then he did a little movie called Elizabethtown with Kirsten Dundst that I fell in love with b/c it was completely and utterly charming and not at all what I expected going in. And then he disappeared but has now come out of hiding and has like, 10 movies going on at ONCE, so the next year or so should be interesting.
James McAvoy
Five words: The. Last. King. Of. Scotland.. SO INCREDBLE and one of my favorite films. Plus, it’s the only film he’s done where he got to speak with his own accent (aside from the Beeb’s televised Shakespeare ReTold “Macbeth” - and which, funnily enough, co-starred a Mr. Richard Armitage.)
As far as I’m concerned, this guy hasn’t made one misstep his entire career. Yeah, he’s done some lower-key, lower budget films (e.g. penelope, becoming jane, some would say starter for 10) that weren’t all grandscale epic that he got known for, like atonement or wanted, but they weren’t total fail either - OR AT ALL. And he was on the racy brit dramedy shameless and has EXTREMELY GRAPHIC SEX in like, his second scene - with an actress who ends up being his future wife, just fyi lol. PLUS, he’s all Scottish and charming and quirky and I just wanna hang out and have a pint with him and maybe have some fun sexytimes after… And because I’m a giver, please witness the Scottish vacuum of charm!
…. Huh, I just noticed they’re all British/Scottish. Interesting.
Honorable Mentions
- felicity: This was my show during high school - back before I even knew what “fandom” was. I was a freshmen when the show started so it was like I was following a 4 year journey that mirrored Felicity’s character's - only it was a much lamer version. Oh, and I never liked Ben - except when he was with Sean or Javier. Sorry, but no - he was a dick.
- pushing daisies: The whimsy! The megawatt coloring! The cast! The quick semi-ironic dialogue! The dead ppl w/ hideous (but hilarious!) death deformities! THE PIE MAKER/HOLE/HOS! EMERSON CODD, KNITTING P.I! BEJEWELED EYE-PATCHES AND PIDGEONS! DIGBY AND PIGBY! THIS IS WHAT THIS SHOW REDUCES ME TO - SHORT OHMYGODY EXCLAMATIONS! But despite all that I never fangirled or fandomed it - WEIRD.
- bones: I &heart this show and have always loved it lots, except for the FOULs I called on the first eps of S1, but I’ve never really sought out fandom for it. I don’t know why, B/C IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE MADE ENTIRELY OF INCREDIBLE WIN, so idk. And I mean, srsly:
[figures - now that I’m officially saying I don’t fandom bones I have the urge to picspam it]
- legend of the seeker: This one is pretty new and still falls into the “OH LOOK HOW SHINEY!” category. And it’s not so much the quality of the storytelling that has made me all fangurl all of a sudden (I mean srsly, pfffffft), but it’s more the EPIC BATTLES!/EPIC SHIP!/ EPIC HAIR! and the stunning use of the New Zealand scenery. SO PRETTY.
So yeah, that's what I've been doing with my time the past 10 years, and wow this thing was kind of massive lol