2008.
so 2008 kind of sucked for me, actually, for a number of reasons - the writer's strike, sarah palin, and many personal disappointments, just to name a few. but, fortunately, there were a few choice people and things that actually made the year worthwhile and, in some cases, even special.
2008.
TV SERIES
TV-watching pretty much failed this year, partly due to my own work schedule and laziness, and partly due to the actual quality of the shows. i don't think i was really interested in a single pilot this fall, and i don't yet watch any of the apparent "best" shows of 2008 (the wire, the shield; and mad men i only just started), and i am currently way behind on the latest seasons of pushing daisies, supernatural, how i met your mother, friday night lights, and the office. and the shows that i did watch this year were not all-together that impressive. there were really only two stand-outs for me that are actually having very near-perfect seasons:
battlestar galactica
| chuck
lost | project runway
lost was actually very good this year too, especially by its own standards, but i've never bought into all the hype surrounding this show, so i still think it's overrated.
project runway was half fantastic this year. season 4 was probably my favorite season yet, because i actually had a hard time deciding which person (except ricky) was the awesomest; but season 5 was populated with such completely unlikable (and often talentless) people who just bitched about everyone behind their backs all the time, so that season i usually had a hard time deciding which person was actually the worst.
doctor who | torchwood
despite the AMAZING FUCKING AWESOMENESS THAT IS DONNA NOBLE, doctor who actually had its weakest season yet, by far. its biggest merit is that it hardly ever actually felt like the weakest season yet, due solely to the aforementioned awesomeness of donna.
torchwood actually started off really great: the team was actually working together! the plots no longer hinged on the characters being idiots! and jack and ianto actually got to be like an actual couple for a while... but then everything completely fell apart in the second half. the writing was just bad. really, really bad.
TV EPISODES
battlestar galactica: "the hub"
everyone's picking "revelations" as the best episode of this season, but i really think that, despite the brilliant fucking ending (see below), most of that episode is actually horribly rushed and lacking in a lot of significant emotion. "THE HUB," HOWEVER, is absolutely brilliant through and through. sure, it's missing basically every other character except laura, helo, and baltar, but how can you even care when everything about it is this fucking good?
lost: "the constant"
i had never truly loved an episode of lost until i saw this. i love desmond, i love penny, i love daniel, i love time travel. it's epic and romantic and tense. just brilliant storytelling.
doctor who: "midnight"
it is absolutely ridiculous to me that, with donna being the greatest thing about this season, the greatest episode would actually be the one where she barely even appears at all. mostly for that reason, i was not at all looking forward to this episode when i first saw the preview for it... AND THEN IT TOTALLY FUCKING BLEW ME AWAY. it's engaging, it's creepy, and it's emotionally raw. the most brilliant episode since "blink."
dr. horrible's sing-along blog
dr. horrible isn't nearly long and involving enough for me to consider it as a series, and all together it's just about the length of an episode of hour-long television, so i'm putting it here in this list. it's an adorable genre piece and a brilliant work of innovation, and it's oh so totally joss.
TV MOMENTS
no commentary, so as not to spoil people (even more than just the pictures)! but if you've seen them, you know what these moments are.
battlestar galactica: "revelations"
house: "wilson's heart"
lost: "the constant"
doctor who: "the fires of pompeii"
the U.S. presidential election: november 4th
MOVIES
i barely saw any movies at all this year, either in the theater or on DVD, which was another major disappointment of the year. but a lot of the ones i did see were excellent. and all are from the past three years, so i'm only a little bit behind the times.
AND ONE AMAZING ONE FROM FURTHER BACK (2001):
I CANNOT BELIEVE I NEVER SAW THIS MOVIE BEFORE A FEW FUCKING WEEKS AGO. OH, AAMIIIIIIIR.
2008 movies to see in 2009
MUSIC
most of these artists i was introduced to by my beloved captaincatapult. ♥
laura marling | guillemots
bon iver | angus & julia stone
frightened rabbit | miracle fortress
ingrid michaelson | she & him
TV on the radio | antony and the johnsons
FASHION
i worked retail at kohl's for a while this year... needless to say, i bought a lot of clothes.
and i think i finally became a girl.
pink!
plaid! skirts!
tees!
heels!
PEOPLE
barack obama | michelle obama
robert downey, jr. | neil patrick harris
simon amstell | lee pace
it makes me sad that michelle's the only woman on this list, but i couldn't think of any other women that i really spazzed over.
REST IN PEACE
heath ledger | paul newman
sydney pollack | george carlin
AND ON TO 2009!
2008.
TV SERIES
TV-watching pretty much failed this year, partly due to my own work schedule and laziness, and partly due to the actual quality of the shows. i don't think i was really interested in a single pilot this fall, and i don't yet watch any of the apparent "best" shows of 2008 (the wire, the shield; and mad men i only just started), and i am currently way behind on the latest seasons of pushing daisies, supernatural, how i met your mother, friday night lights, and the office. and the shows that i did watch this year were not all-together that impressive. there were really only two stand-outs for me that are actually having very near-perfect seasons:
battlestar galactica
| chuck
lost | project runway
lost was actually very good this year too, especially by its own standards, but i've never bought into all the hype surrounding this show, so i still think it's overrated.
project runway was half fantastic this year. season 4 was probably my favorite season yet, because i actually had a hard time deciding which person (except ricky) was the awesomest; but season 5 was populated with such completely unlikable (and often talentless) people who just bitched about everyone behind their backs all the time, so that season i usually had a hard time deciding which person was actually the worst.
doctor who | torchwood
despite the AMAZING FUCKING AWESOMENESS THAT IS DONNA NOBLE, doctor who actually had its weakest season yet, by far. its biggest merit is that it hardly ever actually felt like the weakest season yet, due solely to the aforementioned awesomeness of donna.
torchwood actually started off really great: the team was actually working together! the plots no longer hinged on the characters being idiots! and jack and ianto actually got to be like an actual couple for a while... but then everything completely fell apart in the second half. the writing was just bad. really, really bad.
TV EPISODES
battlestar galactica: "the hub"
everyone's picking "revelations" as the best episode of this season, but i really think that, despite the brilliant fucking ending (see below), most of that episode is actually horribly rushed and lacking in a lot of significant emotion. "THE HUB," HOWEVER, is absolutely brilliant through and through. sure, it's missing basically every other character except laura, helo, and baltar, but how can you even care when everything about it is this fucking good?
lost: "the constant"
i had never truly loved an episode of lost until i saw this. i love desmond, i love penny, i love daniel, i love time travel. it's epic and romantic and tense. just brilliant storytelling.
doctor who: "midnight"
it is absolutely ridiculous to me that, with donna being the greatest thing about this season, the greatest episode would actually be the one where she barely even appears at all. mostly for that reason, i was not at all looking forward to this episode when i first saw the preview for it... AND THEN IT TOTALLY FUCKING BLEW ME AWAY. it's engaging, it's creepy, and it's emotionally raw. the most brilliant episode since "blink."
dr. horrible's sing-along blog
dr. horrible isn't nearly long and involving enough for me to consider it as a series, and all together it's just about the length of an episode of hour-long television, so i'm putting it here in this list. it's an adorable genre piece and a brilliant work of innovation, and it's oh so totally joss.
TV MOMENTS
no commentary, so as not to spoil people (even more than just the pictures)! but if you've seen them, you know what these moments are.
battlestar galactica: "revelations"
house: "wilson's heart"
lost: "the constant"
doctor who: "the fires of pompeii"
the U.S. presidential election: november 4th
MOVIES
i barely saw any movies at all this year, either in the theater or on DVD, which was another major disappointment of the year. but a lot of the ones i did see were excellent. and all are from the past three years, so i'm only a little bit behind the times.
AND ONE AMAZING ONE FROM FURTHER BACK (2001):
I CANNOT BELIEVE I NEVER SAW THIS MOVIE BEFORE A FEW FUCKING WEEKS AGO. OH, AAMIIIIIIIR.
2008 movies to see in 2009
MUSIC
most of these artists i was introduced to by my beloved captaincatapult. ♥
laura marling | guillemots
bon iver | angus & julia stone
frightened rabbit | miracle fortress
ingrid michaelson | she & him
TV on the radio | antony and the johnsons
FASHION
i worked retail at kohl's for a while this year... needless to say, i bought a lot of clothes.
and i think i finally became a girl.
pink!
plaid! skirts!
tees!
heels!
PEOPLE
barack obama | michelle obama
robert downey, jr. | neil patrick harris
simon amstell | lee pace
it makes me sad that michelle's the only woman on this list, but i couldn't think of any other women that i really spazzed over.
REST IN PEACE
heath ledger | paul newman
sydney pollack | george carlin
AND ON TO 2009!