A Year In Review: Katie Loves Her T.V. Part 1
Dearest friends,
It has been so long since I signed into LJ that I must admit the new format is creeping me out! How long has it looked like this? It's all modern and not like something from 2003. And here I thought I was the only one growing up.
But onto the true matter at hand, my television watching of 2012. Twelve being my favorite number, I had high hopes for this year, both in terms of my TV and my personal life. But this is no time to dwell on such things as my personal life. That will be for later when I drink too much on New Years. So encouraged as I am by your desperate need to know how I wasted spent my time, here are my favorite shows of the year, separated by category.
Favorite New Shows of 2012
Like in 2011, Korean TV was good to me this year. I saw some old classics and experienced the angst of trying to keep up with currently airing programming. This is not something I recommend. Korean dramas are laced with crack and even though you get two episodes a week, it's never enough to satisfy. No, better to wait till all 16-25 episodes air and marathon the sucker. You aren't good for anything or to anybody until you race your way to the finish line. Of all the shows that aired this year, I have special feelings for three of them, here listed in the order I watched them.
Queen In-Hyun's Man
Damn this Time Travel Romance. Now I know some of you don't feel this way, but the words Time Travel Romance inspire more fear than anticipation in me. And after The Time Travelers Wife (the book) I was pretty sure I wanted to avoid this subgenre entirely. I am so glad the lovely girls at Dramabeans convinced me otherwise. Let me try to break this story down for you.
Kim Bong-do (Super Scholar) and Hee-Jin (Bubbly Actress) are from different times. He's a scholar loyal to an exiled queen who wants revenge for the betrayal and murder of his entire family in Joseon Korea. She's an actress working in Seoul who who happens to be staring as the very same exiled Queen he serves. Her biggest problem is that this is her first big gig and her ex (Asshole Actor) is playing her Ex-husband the King. Asshole actor is real piece of work and has decided that he and Bubbly Actress should give their relationship another shot, regardless of her opinion on the matter. Our two leads are blissfully unaware of each other's existence until a talisman given to Super Scholar transports him into the future and onto the drama set. Hijinks ensue! Sort of. The talisman only takes him to the future when he's about to die, but getting to the past is as easy as reading the inscription. Being the Super Scholar he is, rather than panic and act ridiculous in the future, he relies on his photographic memory and ability to read Chinese guide books to navigate modern technology and use his time hopping abilities to save his Queen and exact revenge. He's just so industrious. Our Bubbly Actress for all she's a goof is smart enough to know hot stuff when she sees. While acting as his guide, she uses his naivete about modern customs to, how should I put this? Hit that. And by "Hit that" I mean insist that kissing someone goodbye is totally normal and everyone does it. All the time. Totally normal. Super Scholar soon sees through that, but why stop a good thing? Thus beginning one of the most winning romances in all Korean Drama History. Seriously.
Bring on the evidence!
Drama happens too. The course of time travel never did run smooth. And yes, the ending was flawed and could have used more...explanation. But why stress about that. Particularly when it gave us the very end. That part was hot.
Arang and the Magistrate
More supernatural shenanigans abound. Arang (Ghost Girl) is dead. It is Joseon Korea and Arang is a ghost, a ghost with AMNESIA (how much do dramas love their amnesia!) She cannot remember anything about her life before she died. And this is unusal. As a ghost, she runs around trying to eat the little food that has been left for ghosts (it must be given) gets into fights with other ghosts and runs from Grim Reapers (scary eyeliner). Though invisible to most people, there is one person who can see her, and like Haley Joel Osment before him, he's not too thrilled about it. Our hero, HJO meet-cutes Ghost Girl when he is on his way to a remote village to find his missing mother. Meanwhile, the Jade Emperor (God of Heaven) and Hades (Do I have to explain this one) are in the middle of a game that may effect the entire balance between life and death. And it all centers on this creepy ass village. Arang and the Magistrate is like a Korean Gothic. Damsal in distress who spends most of her time running through the forest at night. Her fiance in life who maybe killed her. The rich lord in town who's hiding something scary in his house. A village full of terrified men and women who can't or won't talk. Together Ghost Girl and HJO must play detective and navigate that always uncomfortable moment when you realize you've fallen in love with someone who's dead. Sigh.
Shut Up Flower Boy Band
What can't I saw about this show! Hot boys! Daddy issues! Mommy issues! Girls who say what they want and get it! Hell, they are in a BAND! Guyliner! Feelings! Actually good music. (It's true). This show really had it all. There were moments, especially in the begging, when it made me remember the good old days that were series 1 and 2 of Skins. It has that whole lost boys feel where wayward teens hold each other up and a friendship that is the only thing keeping them afloat in a world that wants to dismiss them. The story isn't complicated. No time travel, gods or ghosts, but it has a magic of it's own. Seriously. Ignore the terrible name, it's part of a branding campaign in Korea that probably makes more sense if you are fluent in the language. The Hulu title, Shut Up and Let's Go is the title that really nails the essence of the show. (Boys running headlong into their future without communicating very well with each other).
Now that we tackled Korean TV of 2012, It's time for the U.K. Guys, I used to be such a good anglophile, but I feel I've really let the side down since I met Korea. But be that as it may, The U.K. did give me something really wonderful this year. A kick to the gut.
The Hour
The Hour is like Mad Men and a 1960s British Spy thriller had a baby. Beautiful 1950s sets. Domenic West (the smoulder), Ben Whishaw (the hair), Anna Chancelor (the pants), Ramola Garai (the class act). Can I go on? I think I can. Over arching plots, thoughtful commentary on the role of the press, ladies who kick ass in spite of patriarchy, complicated well rounded characters none of whom are pinnacles of virtue. Spies! Murder! Classism! Clothes! And, I told myself I wouldn't bring this up, but yes, a love story. A love story about two people in a codependent unhealthy relationship who don't make the leap beyond friends for completely legit character driven reasons and not trumped up plot driven excuses (mostly). They were so dysfunctional and could be so casually cruel to each other I didn't even know if I shipped it till it started to fall apart. And then in series 2 I fell apart. I possibly should be counting this in my next section, "new but not new tv of 2012", but series two just finished up airing so I'm keeping it here.
Now you may well ask, did you even watch American T.V.? I did. And it mostly didn't go well. There was Nashville that I flirted with before giving up. There was Revolution which I openly mocked. Arrow with it's terrible voice over. Ugh. I don't want to think of it. But there are two bright spots on my TV schedule.
The Mindy Project
Mindy is a OBGYN and things could be going better. She wants a nice boyfriend. She wants some respect in the office. She wants to enjoy her early 30s now that she's no longer in school. But somehow things are kind of a mess. The show isn't perfect, not yet. But there was an entire episode in which Mindy played a game of chicken against her colleague/sparing-partner/future love-interest Danny about his ability to preform on her a gynocological exam. Any show that can bring the funny to that is a keeper.
Ben and Kate
I find that the best U.S. shows are always the simplest. Gang hangs out at a bar. Gang works together. Gang are 20 something friends in the big city. Ben and Kate is just about a brother and sister who live together in the suberbs and work to raise her kid. And it's funny. I wish more people watched because this show just nails so many things. I'm thinking in particular of the extended sequence in which Ben called the principal of his niece's school Joff once discovering he spelled Jeff Geoff. You know you think that every time you read the name Geoff. And I work with a Geoff.
This brings us to the end of new shows in 2012. Next I'll talk about my favorite returning shows and my favorite new to me shows. Finally I'll explain what shows I broke up with. Hint, one rhymes with Swantown Tabbey.
It has been so long since I signed into LJ that I must admit the new format is creeping me out! How long has it looked like this? It's all modern and not like something from 2003. And here I thought I was the only one growing up.
But onto the true matter at hand, my television watching of 2012. Twelve being my favorite number, I had high hopes for this year, both in terms of my TV and my personal life. But this is no time to dwell on such things as my personal life. That will be for later when I drink too much on New Years. So encouraged as I am by your desperate need to know how I wasted spent my time, here are my favorite shows of the year, separated by category.
Favorite New Shows of 2012
Like in 2011, Korean TV was good to me this year. I saw some old classics and experienced the angst of trying to keep up with currently airing programming. This is not something I recommend. Korean dramas are laced with crack and even though you get two episodes a week, it's never enough to satisfy. No, better to wait till all 16-25 episodes air and marathon the sucker. You aren't good for anything or to anybody until you race your way to the finish line. Of all the shows that aired this year, I have special feelings for three of them, here listed in the order I watched them.
Queen In-Hyun's Man
Damn this Time Travel Romance. Now I know some of you don't feel this way, but the words Time Travel Romance inspire more fear than anticipation in me. And after The Time Travelers Wife (the book) I was pretty sure I wanted to avoid this subgenre entirely. I am so glad the lovely girls at Dramabeans convinced me otherwise. Let me try to break this story down for you.
Kim Bong-do (Super Scholar) and Hee-Jin (Bubbly Actress) are from different times. He's a scholar loyal to an exiled queen who wants revenge for the betrayal and murder of his entire family in Joseon Korea. She's an actress working in Seoul who who happens to be staring as the very same exiled Queen he serves. Her biggest problem is that this is her first big gig and her ex (Asshole Actor) is playing her Ex-husband the King. Asshole actor is real piece of work and has decided that he and Bubbly Actress should give their relationship another shot, regardless of her opinion on the matter. Our two leads are blissfully unaware of each other's existence until a talisman given to Super Scholar transports him into the future and onto the drama set. Hijinks ensue! Sort of. The talisman only takes him to the future when he's about to die, but getting to the past is as easy as reading the inscription. Being the Super Scholar he is, rather than panic and act ridiculous in the future, he relies on his photographic memory and ability to read Chinese guide books to navigate modern technology and use his time hopping abilities to save his Queen and exact revenge. He's just so industrious. Our Bubbly Actress for all she's a goof is smart enough to know hot stuff when she sees. While acting as his guide, she uses his naivete about modern customs to, how should I put this? Hit that. And by "Hit that" I mean insist that kissing someone goodbye is totally normal and everyone does it. All the time. Totally normal. Super Scholar soon sees through that, but why stop a good thing? Thus beginning one of the most winning romances in all Korean Drama History. Seriously.
Bring on the evidence!
Drama happens too. The course of time travel never did run smooth. And yes, the ending was flawed and could have used more...explanation. But why stress about that. Particularly when it gave us the very end. That part was hot.
Arang and the Magistrate
More supernatural shenanigans abound. Arang (Ghost Girl) is dead. It is Joseon Korea and Arang is a ghost, a ghost with AMNESIA (how much do dramas love their amnesia!) She cannot remember anything about her life before she died. And this is unusal. As a ghost, she runs around trying to eat the little food that has been left for ghosts (it must be given) gets into fights with other ghosts and runs from Grim Reapers (scary eyeliner). Though invisible to most people, there is one person who can see her, and like Haley Joel Osment before him, he's not too thrilled about it. Our hero, HJO meet-cutes Ghost Girl when he is on his way to a remote village to find his missing mother. Meanwhile, the Jade Emperor (God of Heaven) and Hades (Do I have to explain this one) are in the middle of a game that may effect the entire balance between life and death. And it all centers on this creepy ass village. Arang and the Magistrate is like a Korean Gothic. Damsal in distress who spends most of her time running through the forest at night. Her fiance in life who maybe killed her. The rich lord in town who's hiding something scary in his house. A village full of terrified men and women who can't or won't talk. Together Ghost Girl and HJO must play detective and navigate that always uncomfortable moment when you realize you've fallen in love with someone who's dead. Sigh.
Shut Up Flower Boy Band
What can't I saw about this show! Hot boys! Daddy issues! Mommy issues! Girls who say what they want and get it! Hell, they are in a BAND! Guyliner! Feelings! Actually good music. (It's true). This show really had it all. There were moments, especially in the begging, when it made me remember the good old days that were series 1 and 2 of Skins. It has that whole lost boys feel where wayward teens hold each other up and a friendship that is the only thing keeping them afloat in a world that wants to dismiss them. The story isn't complicated. No time travel, gods or ghosts, but it has a magic of it's own. Seriously. Ignore the terrible name, it's part of a branding campaign in Korea that probably makes more sense if you are fluent in the language. The Hulu title, Shut Up and Let's Go is the title that really nails the essence of the show. (Boys running headlong into their future without communicating very well with each other).
Click to viewNow that we tackled Korean TV of 2012, It's time for the U.K. Guys, I used to be such a good anglophile, but I feel I've really let the side down since I met Korea. But be that as it may, The U.K. did give me something really wonderful this year. A kick to the gut.
The Hour
The Hour is like Mad Men and a 1960s British Spy thriller had a baby. Beautiful 1950s sets. Domenic West (the smoulder), Ben Whishaw (the hair), Anna Chancelor (the pants), Ramola Garai (the class act). Can I go on? I think I can. Over arching plots, thoughtful commentary on the role of the press, ladies who kick ass in spite of patriarchy, complicated well rounded characters none of whom are pinnacles of virtue. Spies! Murder! Classism! Clothes! And, I told myself I wouldn't bring this up, but yes, a love story. A love story about two people in a codependent unhealthy relationship who don't make the leap beyond friends for completely legit character driven reasons and not trumped up plot driven excuses (mostly). They were so dysfunctional and could be so casually cruel to each other I didn't even know if I shipped it till it started to fall apart. And then in series 2 I fell apart. I possibly should be counting this in my next section, "new but not new tv of 2012", but series two just finished up airing so I'm keeping it here.
Now you may well ask, did you even watch American T.V.? I did. And it mostly didn't go well. There was Nashville that I flirted with before giving up. There was Revolution which I openly mocked. Arrow with it's terrible voice over. Ugh. I don't want to think of it. But there are two bright spots on my TV schedule.
The Mindy Project
Mindy is a OBGYN and things could be going better. She wants a nice boyfriend. She wants some respect in the office. She wants to enjoy her early 30s now that she's no longer in school. But somehow things are kind of a mess. The show isn't perfect, not yet. But there was an entire episode in which Mindy played a game of chicken against her colleague/sparing-partner/future love-interest Danny about his ability to preform on her a gynocological exam. Any show that can bring the funny to that is a keeper.
Ben and Kate
I find that the best U.S. shows are always the simplest. Gang hangs out at a bar. Gang works together. Gang are 20 something friends in the big city. Ben and Kate is just about a brother and sister who live together in the suberbs and work to raise her kid. And it's funny. I wish more people watched because this show just nails so many things. I'm thinking in particular of the extended sequence in which Ben called the principal of his niece's school Joff once discovering he spelled Jeff Geoff. You know you think that every time you read the name Geoff. And I work with a Geoff.
This brings us to the end of new shows in 2012. Next I'll talk about my favorite returning shows and my favorite new to me shows. Finally I'll explain what shows I broke up with. Hint, one rhymes with Swantown Tabbey.