picspam: tv in 2009 (aka I watch way too much tv)
I've always enjoyed television. It's a fun outlet and these last few years there have been some awesome shows. I guess in a way this picspam could be viewed as my decade in tv, but really a lot of these shows I watched or rewatched this last year, so instead of doing two different spams I just compounded them into one. After all, this was a pretty huge year for tv. Shows ended, shows began, some of them made me utterly their bitch with some of the things they pulled out, and I can only hope the next year is as epic. (Well, LOST is ending next year, so it's looking pretty epic already.)
SHOWS I WAS LATE TO THE PARTY TO:
Ah, these four shows. It seemed that like forever people were talking about them and basically going nuts of how awesome they were. Well, this year I can add myself to the pack. I actually started True Blood back when it started, but sadly the first season didn't manage to grab my attention enough for me to download the show each week. This year I mainlined it, which really for me was the way to go, and then kept going on until I finished season 2. Man, season 2! This season won me over completely and partly I blame Jason Stackhouse and his wack-ass ways. 30 Rock and HIMYM just make me laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh, and my life wasn't complete with Marshmellow and Kenneth entered it. Mad Men is just fantastic television and while I have to wait until s3 comes out in the UK (because yes, I can get that lazy) the first two season are so bloody good it hurts. Idk, it's not my normal type of show, but there's just something about it I love. Drama at its finest. (OH, THE BIG BANG THEORY!!! IT SHOULD BE HERE TOO. I'M SORRY SHOW, I LOVE YOU THOUGH. Sheldon is so arrow, colon capital O right now. >:O )
SHOWS THAT ARE WINNING ME OVER, SLOWLY BUT SURELY, LIKE A TURTLE RACING THE HARE THAT IS MY FICKLE HEART:
Expect for SPN, obviously, these are all newer shows, but they're also shows that I'm slowly finding myself fall in love with. In SPN's case, once more, since I kinda dropped the show in s3. They haven't reached the level of some of the others on the list but they're strong contenders. Community and Modern Family are some of the best comedies I've seen all year--Modern Family is laugh out loud hilarious and I continue to find myself utterly delighted by Phil and all he chooses to be, and Cameron! I love Cameron sfm, and Gloria! Sofia Vargas wonderful here!--and I can't wait for them to come back. V is just really good scifi and I always love me some scifi and it's only four episodes in. I'm honestly losing a little interest in Flashforward, because it's just getting a bit too tedious for me, which is a shame because the premise was really promising. And Supernatural is just winning me over even after "Abandon All Hope" because the over arching plot line is just that. good.
MOST EVERYTHING FROM HERE ON OUT WAS EPIC IN SOME WAY, TRUST ME:
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Holy shit, season four of this show just motherfucking breaks you in every fucking way and I hated it, but at the same time I loved it. IDK, I have conflicting feelings, but "Daybreak 1&2" just owned my soul in every way possible, and actually did A LOT to save some the unhappy feelings I had towards the rest of the season. (DEE! GAETA! WHY?!) Plus my OTPs MADE IT. HOLLA. They were happy going off to be a families living on farms. This show took everybody that watched on a ride for as long as it was one and really did something to break the happy little molds that people had on how scifi "should" be. I don't necessarily miss it, because I feel it ended as best that it could have given everything its characters went through, but I won't deny that it was some pretty epic tv.
DOLLHOUSE
This is one of the shows I talk most about in my journal. It was (yes, this show is now cancelled) a show with such potential and for the most part it was reaching it. It was about morals, ethics; every episode always left you with something on your mind, good or bad, even when it left you wanting. Unfortunately it took it's time getting to its really meaty issues, but it built up such an intricate world. World building is were Joss really shines imo; that and witty banter, even if DH never reached the levels of BtVs. I wasn't a huge fan of it's two main lead (Echo and Paul), but that was okay because the secondary character were just so rich, flawed and amazing in their own rights. Adelle DeWitt was so HBIC and Dominic and Boyd her BAMFs, but my favourite was Claire Saunders and her entire plotline, and one I wish we had seen more of.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
CAN WE SAY FLAWLESS?! The shooting style, the story, the mythology, the fucking music. Seriously this was honestly one of THE BEST show--drama, scifi, whatever--to come out and sadly while we lost it this year, it did something amazing to television, not to mention it's season/series finale was one of the most perfect things EVER. (I think only Alias and Buffy's s2 match it in perfectness.) It did such wonderful things for the characters in the Terminator verse, old ones and new ones, adding upon them and just brought out such rich and layered performances out its actors. Unlike BSG I do and will miss this show for a long time because just when I think I'm over it I read a fic or think back on an episode and there I am, left wanting more out this show.
LEVERAGE
And now we move onto shows that are still continue to be on the air (yes, DH is still on the air too, but not for long). Leverage is just such a fun show, full of wonderful characters. It's like having the Oceans' films meet Robin Hood (oh, BCC, why did you ruin it!) on your television screen, but better. These characters aren't just looking out for themselves, they actually help people and become this rag-tag little family of quirkness. Also, Parker/Hardison are adorable together, but this show is very multiship friendly, and while it can be taken that Nate is the main character everyone gets equal treatment and development.
DEXTER
This show moved up the list in the last two days because the season four finale just blew EVERYTHING OUT OF THE WATER AND LEFT US IN A STATE OF HOLYSHITWFT, DID THEY JUST DO THAT? And yes, yes, they did, because that's what Dexter does. It takes everything you think is normal and turns it on its head. One of the best things about the show is how it manages to take such dark issues and presents them in almost an aloof manner--maybe that's because of Dexter himself, and we see the show mostly through his POV and his morals are skewed at best--and goes through many dark themes but you just sit there completely immersed in it forgetting you're rooting for a serial killer. This last season got a little slow during the middle and I was just counting the seconds until Dexter killed Trinity, but the finale just took everything the show had built for the last for season and throw in the blender and... now we have to wait to see what came out it.
MERLIN
OH, MERLIN! This show also ended its second season with a lot of things up in the air, but god the journey it took on before it got there was amazing. In good and bad ways. It flipped everything from last season on it's head, most importantly every single character and their relationships with each other. Another show I talk about extensively on my journal, I won't go into everything, but my little OT4! They're all in such different places in regards to themselves and each other and while I hate how some of it was handled, I can't help but keep watching because (in vain) I hope to see them all together again. But it wasn't all sadness, there were some hilariously awesome episode (Beauty and The Beast, I'm looking at you!!!), and it managed to pull of Arthur/Gwen is such a lovely way (something that I was wary of last season since they hardly shared scenes together).
FRINGE
I'm sucker for good scifi and apparently JJ Abrams verses, so Fringe is like beyond perfect for my inner scifi geek. The Monster of the Week episodes are fine, but what keeps me in this show is everything else. The mad science, the crazy plot, the characters. OLVIA FUCKING DUNHAM, so badass she can kill you in multiple universes. And Walter! I love Walter Bishop and his crazy ways. Really an episode can be meh, but then Walter can come in with ONE LINE and make it all about a million times better. Peter Broyles is such a BAMF, as is Peter, and Astrid, only the best lab assistant to ever grace a television screen. I love this team!
CHUCK
THIS SHOW. I'M JUST GOING TO DIRECT YOU ALL THIS THIS PICSPAM SO I DON'T REPEAT MYSELF. But. I adore this show to an unhealthy degree! It's just sooo the perfect mix of humour, lite!scifi, and SPIES. GUYS, IT'S LIKE ALIAS MEETS IDK... THE TBBT, and it has Zachary Levi (who I love a ridiculous amount. No, seriously, I need to get this under control.) and the Hero of Canton and a dude named Awesome! (Anyone of my flist that is reading this post I apologise now because Chuck is coming back in January and I'm pretty sure you're all going to hate me when it starts airing.) I just love everyone on this show and everything about it makes me happy and okay, I'm done.
LOST
Best fucking show to come out of television in the last ten years, I don't care what anyone says. And season five? Just drove the point home. I loved s5 sfm, it's ridiculous, everything, just everything about it just blew me away. That finale!!!! But no, really, before s5 I always LOVED the show but never really got into the fandom or anything like that, but this season changed everything for me. Idk I guess it's because my favourite characters were at the fore front (hey there Desmond, Juliet and Sawyer, and wonderful, amazing things happened with each of them) and the divide between the island and the Real World was closed, and things were just getting to a point you felt was going to blow your mind, and boy did it! Now, this is a show I KNOW I'll miss when its over. One more season, guys! Ah!
GLEE
Okay, full disclosure: these last three are pretty much Numero Uno in my heart, but the previous two lost the number one spot on the picspam because they haven't been on the air since April... and Glee has taken over my heart and soul since May. I just find it so delightful! I know it has its weaknesses, and I'm not blind to them, but honestly, I can't help but love it insane amounts. It makes me happy whenever I watch it and IT'S A MUSICAL IN MY TV EACH WEEK. I'M WEAK TO PRETTY PEOPLE SINGING AND HAVING ANGST. Because this show has so much angst, more than you expect out of its premise, but it does. It just manages to make it adorable by having people sing about it. The characters are portrayed as stereotypes, but when you really take the time with them you see that they all have all these layers and complexities that you don't expect from them. (I know that one of the critiques is that its hasn't been giving all it's characters equal screen time, but I say, it's a cast of 12--and that's just the kids-- and its only been 13 eps, lets give the show time to be able to explore them all and not rush it. Not every show can be like LOST who has a cast of 10+ and it manages to give every single character an intricate and interesting story line while managing to keep it's plot on mark. And at least now the two pregnancy storylines :\ have been more or less dealt with, so we can take focus off them.) Also, this show did something a show hasn't done since SG-1 with Vala Mal Doran, and gave me, and the world, Rachel Berry, who for all her flaws and even more for her strengths, I absolutely love. One of my favourite female characters to come out of tv this year. :D The shows soundtracks also pretty much are on constant repeat on my iTunes, so yeah, it's sorta the perfect show to me right now.
and lastly:
SHOWS I LOVED THIS PAST DECADE BUT ENDED BEFORE 2009 AND IT STILL MAKES ME SAD TO SEE THEM GONE:
Alias, Firefly, Rome, Studio 60, Stargate: SG-1 and Atlantis, Veronica Mars, FARSCAPE!!, and The West Wing. I loved Alias (see what I mean about JJ verses?), the Spy!Family, Will Tippin and his rockstar accent, Eric Wiess and his magic tricks, the epicness that was Sydney and Vaughn, the hotness that was Sark and Lauren (OTP!), and the pure delicious evil that was Solane. Rome was also an amazing show that ended too soon, but it was fucking amazing when it was on. Veronica Mars and The West Wing, only some of the smartest and wittiest shows on tv, completely of amazing characters and interesting plot lines. Season one of VMars was perfection, and don't even get me started on how much I love The West Wing because I could give you quotes and essays on everyone. (Sam/Ainsely, why did we never see the awesome you could have been? I blame David Caruso! Josh and Donna's relationship will always be one the best ones ever. Charlie WINS AT LIFE. AND I WANT TO BE CJ CREGG. Bartlett and Leo? Besties for life!) Then there was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which I watched before I spent months slowly going through TWW, and god, I still love this. It only got one season, but it was ROBBED, because I still look back on this one season have yet to find a single episode that sucked. Every single episode just hit its mark, and keeps hitting them on rewatches. Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry also had some amazing chemistry together and there was no more prefect casting than Amanda Peet as Jordan McDeere.
And finally, my scifi shows. Honestly, I think Firefly and Serenity were exactly what they needed to be and didn't need to be anything more. When Firefly ended, yeah it sucked because everyone wanted to know what happened next but I think Serenity did a nice job giving us the answers that we needed, leaving the verse in place that let you imagine what you wanted for the characters. SG-1 and SGA (s1-3). Oh, shows, I loved you. Sometimes at varying degrees but you were my first fandoms, gave me my two most epic (in my heart) OTPs, and thus will always have a special place in my heart. Finally Farscape. FUCK, ONLY THE MOST PERFECT SCIFI SHOW TO GRACE MY SCREEN. I love this show sfm. Everything about it is amazing: the characters, their relationships, the story, the universe it sets up and breaks and puts back together. And even in the "lighter" episodes there's just always *something* that just flips you on your head. And John/Aeryn, only the most epic ship to ship ever.
and because I'm always curious to see what's out there... any recs?
- please don't steal the caps, they took forever to clean up and colour.
SHOWS I WAS LATE TO THE PARTY TO:
Ah, these four shows. It seemed that like forever people were talking about them and basically going nuts of how awesome they were. Well, this year I can add myself to the pack. I actually started True Blood back when it started, but sadly the first season didn't manage to grab my attention enough for me to download the show each week. This year I mainlined it, which really for me was the way to go, and then kept going on until I finished season 2. Man, season 2! This season won me over completely and partly I blame Jason Stackhouse and his wack-ass ways. 30 Rock and HIMYM just make me laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh, and my life wasn't complete with Marshmellow and Kenneth entered it. Mad Men is just fantastic television and while I have to wait until s3 comes out in the UK (because yes, I can get that lazy) the first two season are so bloody good it hurts. Idk, it's not my normal type of show, but there's just something about it I love. Drama at its finest. (OH, THE BIG BANG THEORY!!! IT SHOULD BE HERE TOO. I'M SORRY SHOW, I LOVE YOU THOUGH. Sheldon is so arrow, colon capital O right now. >:O )
SHOWS THAT ARE WINNING ME OVER, SLOWLY BUT SURELY, LIKE A TURTLE RACING THE HARE THAT IS MY FICKLE HEART:
Expect for SPN, obviously, these are all newer shows, but they're also shows that I'm slowly finding myself fall in love with. In SPN's case, once more, since I kinda dropped the show in s3. They haven't reached the level of some of the others on the list but they're strong contenders. Community and Modern Family are some of the best comedies I've seen all year--Modern Family is laugh out loud hilarious and I continue to find myself utterly delighted by Phil and all he chooses to be, and Cameron! I love Cameron sfm, and Gloria! Sofia Vargas wonderful here!--and I can't wait for them to come back. V is just really good scifi and I always love me some scifi and it's only four episodes in. I'm honestly losing a little interest in Flashforward, because it's just getting a bit too tedious for me, which is a shame because the premise was really promising. And Supernatural is just winning me over even after "Abandon All Hope" because the over arching plot line is just that. good.
MOST EVERYTHING FROM HERE ON OUT WAS EPIC IN SOME WAY, TRUST ME:
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Holy shit, season four of this show just motherfucking breaks you in every fucking way and I hated it, but at the same time I loved it. IDK, I have conflicting feelings, but "Daybreak 1&2" just owned my soul in every way possible, and actually did A LOT to save some the unhappy feelings I had towards the rest of the season. (DEE! GAETA! WHY?!) Plus my OTPs MADE IT. HOLLA. They were happy going off to be a families living on farms. This show took everybody that watched on a ride for as long as it was one and really did something to break the happy little molds that people had on how scifi "should" be. I don't necessarily miss it, because I feel it ended as best that it could have given everything its characters went through, but I won't deny that it was some pretty epic tv.
DOLLHOUSE
This is one of the shows I talk most about in my journal. It was (yes, this show is now cancelled) a show with such potential and for the most part it was reaching it. It was about morals, ethics; every episode always left you with something on your mind, good or bad, even when it left you wanting. Unfortunately it took it's time getting to its really meaty issues, but it built up such an intricate world. World building is were Joss really shines imo; that and witty banter, even if DH never reached the levels of BtVs. I wasn't a huge fan of it's two main lead (Echo and Paul), but that was okay because the secondary character were just so rich, flawed and amazing in their own rights. Adelle DeWitt was so HBIC and Dominic and Boyd her BAMFs, but my favourite was Claire Saunders and her entire plotline, and one I wish we had seen more of.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
CAN WE SAY FLAWLESS?! The shooting style, the story, the mythology, the fucking music. Seriously this was honestly one of THE BEST show--drama, scifi, whatever--to come out and sadly while we lost it this year, it did something amazing to television, not to mention it's season/series finale was one of the most perfect things EVER. (I think only Alias and Buffy's s2 match it in perfectness.) It did such wonderful things for the characters in the Terminator verse, old ones and new ones, adding upon them and just brought out such rich and layered performances out its actors. Unlike BSG I do and will miss this show for a long time because just when I think I'm over it I read a fic or think back on an episode and there I am, left wanting more out this show.
LEVERAGE
And now we move onto shows that are still continue to be on the air (yes, DH is still on the air too, but not for long). Leverage is just such a fun show, full of wonderful characters. It's like having the Oceans' films meet Robin Hood (oh, BCC, why did you ruin it!) on your television screen, but better. These characters aren't just looking out for themselves, they actually help people and become this rag-tag little family of quirkness. Also, Parker/Hardison are adorable together, but this show is very multiship friendly, and while it can be taken that Nate is the main character everyone gets equal treatment and development.
DEXTER
This show moved up the list in the last two days because the season four finale just blew EVERYTHING OUT OF THE WATER AND LEFT US IN A STATE OF HOLYSHITWFT, DID THEY JUST DO THAT? And yes, yes, they did, because that's what Dexter does. It takes everything you think is normal and turns it on its head. One of the best things about the show is how it manages to take such dark issues and presents them in almost an aloof manner--maybe that's because of Dexter himself, and we see the show mostly through his POV and his morals are skewed at best--and goes through many dark themes but you just sit there completely immersed in it forgetting you're rooting for a serial killer. This last season got a little slow during the middle and I was just counting the seconds until Dexter killed Trinity, but the finale just took everything the show had built for the last for season and throw in the blender and... now we have to wait to see what came out it.
MERLIN
OH, MERLIN! This show also ended its second season with a lot of things up in the air, but god the journey it took on before it got there was amazing. In good and bad ways. It flipped everything from last season on it's head, most importantly every single character and their relationships with each other. Another show I talk about extensively on my journal, I won't go into everything, but my little OT4! They're all in such different places in regards to themselves and each other and while I hate how some of it was handled, I can't help but keep watching because (in vain) I hope to see them all together again. But it wasn't all sadness, there were some hilariously awesome episode (Beauty and The Beast, I'm looking at you!!!), and it managed to pull of Arthur/Gwen is such a lovely way (something that I was wary of last season since they hardly shared scenes together).
FRINGE
I'm sucker for good scifi and apparently JJ Abrams verses, so Fringe is like beyond perfect for my inner scifi geek. The Monster of the Week episodes are fine, but what keeps me in this show is everything else. The mad science, the crazy plot, the characters. OLVIA FUCKING DUNHAM, so badass she can kill you in multiple universes. And Walter! I love Walter Bishop and his crazy ways. Really an episode can be meh, but then Walter can come in with ONE LINE and make it all about a million times better. Peter Broyles is such a BAMF, as is Peter, and Astrid, only the best lab assistant to ever grace a television screen. I love this team!
CHUCK
THIS SHOW. I'M JUST GOING TO DIRECT YOU ALL THIS THIS PICSPAM SO I DON'T REPEAT MYSELF. But. I adore this show to an unhealthy degree! It's just sooo the perfect mix of humour, lite!scifi, and SPIES. GUYS, IT'S LIKE ALIAS MEETS IDK... THE TBBT, and it has Zachary Levi (who I love a ridiculous amount. No, seriously, I need to get this under control.) and the Hero of Canton and a dude named Awesome! (Anyone of my flist that is reading this post I apologise now because Chuck is coming back in January and I'm pretty sure you're all going to hate me when it starts airing.) I just love everyone on this show and everything about it makes me happy and okay, I'm done.
LOST
Best fucking show to come out of television in the last ten years, I don't care what anyone says. And season five? Just drove the point home. I loved s5 sfm, it's ridiculous, everything, just everything about it just blew me away. That finale!!!! But no, really, before s5 I always LOVED the show but never really got into the fandom or anything like that, but this season changed everything for me. Idk I guess it's because my favourite characters were at the fore front (hey there Desmond, Juliet and Sawyer, and wonderful, amazing things happened with each of them) and the divide between the island and the Real World was closed, and things were just getting to a point you felt was going to blow your mind, and boy did it! Now, this is a show I KNOW I'll miss when its over. One more season, guys! Ah!
GLEE
Okay, full disclosure: these last three are pretty much Numero Uno in my heart, but the previous two lost the number one spot on the picspam because they haven't been on the air since April... and Glee has taken over my heart and soul since May. I just find it so delightful! I know it has its weaknesses, and I'm not blind to them, but honestly, I can't help but love it insane amounts. It makes me happy whenever I watch it and IT'S A MUSICAL IN MY TV EACH WEEK. I'M WEAK TO PRETTY PEOPLE SINGING AND HAVING ANGST. Because this show has so much angst, more than you expect out of its premise, but it does. It just manages to make it adorable by having people sing about it. The characters are portrayed as stereotypes, but when you really take the time with them you see that they all have all these layers and complexities that you don't expect from them. (I know that one of the critiques is that its hasn't been giving all it's characters equal screen time, but I say, it's a cast of 12--and that's just the kids-- and its only been 13 eps, lets give the show time to be able to explore them all and not rush it. Not every show can be like LOST who has a cast of 10+ and it manages to give every single character an intricate and interesting story line while managing to keep it's plot on mark. And at least now the two pregnancy storylines :\ have been more or less dealt with, so we can take focus off them.) Also, this show did something a show hasn't done since SG-1 with Vala Mal Doran, and gave me, and the world, Rachel Berry, who for all her flaws and even more for her strengths, I absolutely love. One of my favourite female characters to come out of tv this year. :D The shows soundtracks also pretty much are on constant repeat on my iTunes, so yeah, it's sorta the perfect show to me right now.
and lastly:
SHOWS I LOVED THIS PAST DECADE BUT ENDED BEFORE 2009 AND IT STILL MAKES ME SAD TO SEE THEM GONE:
Alias, Firefly, Rome, Studio 60, Stargate: SG-1 and Atlantis, Veronica Mars, FARSCAPE!!, and The West Wing. I loved Alias (see what I mean about JJ verses?), the Spy!Family, Will Tippin and his rockstar accent, Eric Wiess and his magic tricks, the epicness that was Sydney and Vaughn, the hotness that was Sark and Lauren (OTP!), and the pure delicious evil that was Solane. Rome was also an amazing show that ended too soon, but it was fucking amazing when it was on. Veronica Mars and The West Wing, only some of the smartest and wittiest shows on tv, completely of amazing characters and interesting plot lines. Season one of VMars was perfection, and don't even get me started on how much I love The West Wing because I could give you quotes and essays on everyone. (Sam/Ainsely, why did we never see the awesome you could have been? I blame David Caruso! Josh and Donna's relationship will always be one the best ones ever. Charlie WINS AT LIFE. AND I WANT TO BE CJ CREGG. Bartlett and Leo? Besties for life!) Then there was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which I watched before I spent months slowly going through TWW, and god, I still love this. It only got one season, but it was ROBBED, because I still look back on this one season have yet to find a single episode that sucked. Every single episode just hit its mark, and keeps hitting them on rewatches. Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry also had some amazing chemistry together and there was no more prefect casting than Amanda Peet as Jordan McDeere.
And finally, my scifi shows. Honestly, I think Firefly and Serenity were exactly what they needed to be and didn't need to be anything more. When Firefly ended, yeah it sucked because everyone wanted to know what happened next but I think Serenity did a nice job giving us the answers that we needed, leaving the verse in place that let you imagine what you wanted for the characters. SG-1 and SGA (s1-3). Oh, shows, I loved you. Sometimes at varying degrees but you were my first fandoms, gave me my two most epic (in my heart) OTPs, and thus will always have a special place in my heart. Finally Farscape. FUCK, ONLY THE MOST PERFECT SCIFI SHOW TO GRACE MY SCREEN. I love this show sfm. Everything about it is amazing: the characters, their relationships, the story, the universe it sets up and breaks and puts back together. And even in the "lighter" episodes there's just always *something* that just flips you on your head. And John/Aeryn, only the most epic ship to ship ever.
and because I'm always curious to see what's out there... any recs?
- please don't steal the caps, they took forever to clean up and colour.