Top 10 TV 2014

With 2014 at a close I figured it would be nice to have a quick little year in review – The 10 best things to happen on TV in 2014. There was definitely a lot to choose from, but I’ve put together a nice little list of my personal faves … Check it out!

#10 – The Flash

The newest hit show on the CW featuring the iconic crimson clad speedster. It’s a comic book show done right. Fun, action packed, dramatic and surprisingly well acted, DC has been firing on all cylinders lately in the television dept. Marvel could take some notes. If you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend it. Its every bit as enjoyable as everyone has been saying it is and one of the best new shows of the Fall.

#9 – The Simpsons on FXX

Back in August the FXX network did something unprecedented by airing a Simpsons marathon to end

all marathons – Back to back episodes of the Simpsons – every episode ever. That was 552 episodes that spanned over 12 days to watch. God bless anyone that was able to sit through the whole thing, but even if you dipped in and out and caught just a few episodes here and there, it was a huge hit for FXX and a huge treat for Simpsons fans everywhere.

#8 – Z Nation

Best zombie show on TV. Yes, better than The Walking Dead. When SyFy premiered Z Nation I thought – Ok. A little hokey. But then that was part of its charm. It was the tv show version of the B horror movie. And let’s face it - “surviving zombies in a post apocalyptic world”? That’s pretty much the definition of a “B-movie”. But as opposed to taking itself too seriously as the Walking Dead does, Z

Nation embraces the wild west chaos of an undead outbreak and gives us fresh, endearing characters with multiple layers and varying tones for the show, all wrapped inside very original storytelling. If you thought Z Nation was just a ‘Walking Dead ripoff”, you are VERY much mistaken. It actually exceeds Walking Dead in every way.

#7 – Brock Lesnar’s 15 German Suplexes

Ok, you probably have to be a little bit of a WWE fan to TRULY appreciate this, but ...  John Cena... He’s the ‘Hulk Hogan” of today – The face, and the unbeatable hero of WWE professional wrestling. However, when the 2014 SummerSlam pay-per-view came around and he had to defend his World Championship against the ferocious arch-villain known as Brock Lesnar, we got something completely unexpected … Something that has never happened before – a totally one-sided fist fight, where the bad-guy WIPED THE FLOOR with the hero. Eat, Sleep, Suplex, Repeat. Suplex, Repeat. Suplex, Repeat. Suplex, Repeat. 15 of them. New WWE World Champ Brock Lesnar. And it was awesome.

#6 – Selfie

Oh, so short-lived. The poorly titled and tragically mis-marketed ABC comedy starring Karen Gillan and John Cho. It was a modern telling of the classic play Pygmalion where stuffy & tightly wound boss (Cho) tries to help remake the image of his social media obsessed  subordinate (Gillan). It was either to be a brainless comedy trying too hard to reel in hip young viewers by attempting to speak their language, or it was to be another weekly half hour long social commentary decrying the increased over-dependence of our smart devices and growing detachment from genuine human interaction. … Fortunately, Selfie was neither of those terrible things. It was a sharp and witty comedy with zany and lovable characters. Unfortunately, not enough people gave it a chance to find that out, so ABC gave up on what was easily the best new sitcom of the year.

#5 – Sharknado 2

Following the surprise hit – the entertainingly abysmal Sharknado on the SyFy channel – came probably the laziest named sequel of all time – Sharknado 2: The Second One, and it was every bit as amazing as its predecessor. Ok. I know what you are thinking right now – Isn’t it a “bad” movie? Yes. Oh, GOD, yes. But it’s so epic and unapologetic in its “badness” that it became an outstanding piece of television to behold. From its gratuitous guest stars (Kurt Angle, Andy Dick, Kelly Osbourne, Biz Markie, Matt Laurer, Downtown Julie Brown, and Billy Ray Cyrus, just to name a few … seriously, I could go on and on) the cringe-worthy dialogue, the eye-rollingly ridiculous action scenes, and plot-holes in a plot that made no sense to begin with, Sharknado 2 was simply a work of art.

#4 – The Purple Wedding

Truly, Game of Thrones could have encompassed this whole list by itself. This episode reiterated what(such a huge turn in just the 2nd episode of the season!), which had EVERYONE talking for weeks on end.
is turning into an unfortunate rule of thumb – Do NOT attend a wedding in Westeros. Unless you’ve been reading the novels, who could have foreseen the death of awesomely disgusting tyrant boy-king Joffrey Baratheon? I mean, I guess we knew he was gonna get his comeuppance at one point or another, but so suddenly poisoned at his own wedding … It was such a fantastic way to get the new season rolling this past Spring

#3 – Gotham

DC Comics is 2 for 2 this season with its new TV series and even better than the Flash is FOX’s Gotham. It’s a Batman prequel focusing on Detective James Gordon, (played by Ben McKenzie) and quest to clean up crime-ridden Gotham, its corrupt police force, and solve the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents. Preteen-ish Bruce along with Selena Kyle who will eventually become Catwoman are so much more likable than you would expect them to be, even as side characters, but the real joy is seeing the “before they were baddies”. Penguin is fantastic as a petty mobster lackey, clawing and scratching his way through Gotham’s underbelly. Riddler is my favorite and is actually working on the side of the police. We’ve seen Harvey Dent (the future Two Face), the little girl who will eventually grow up to become Poison Ivy, and Jada Pinkett Smith is unbelievable as mob underboss Fish Mooney. The look and feel of the show and the world they built is outstanding. Maybe the best new show overall of the 2014.

#2 – Felicity Smoak

 I’ve been patting DC comic shows on the back a lot with this list, cuz these shows are just that damn good! And, truly, I couldn't have had a list for what stood out in 2014 without Felicity Smoak. CW's Arrow, now in its 3^rd season, features Emily Bett Rickards as the computer tech sidekick of the emerald archer. What started out as only a minor role on the show gradually evolved into one the show could no longer live without. Felicity’s beautiful, witty, sarcastic, funny, brilliant, and the heart and soul of the series. She’s my favorite character on broadcast TV.

#1 – The Viper vs. The Mountain

Yes. The best show on television had the best thing happen on television in 2014. Game of fuckin Thrones. The battle between Prince Oberyn and Gregor Clegane was one of the most dynamic, thrilling, and unbelievable things I have ever watched. Again, unless you’ve read the books, its one of those scenes that you have NO IDEA how it is going to turn out! Battling to the death, with Tyrion Lannister’s fate hanging in the balance, the growing tension as the fight neared its climax is beyond description. A scene filmed so expertly, it had viewers at the very edge of their seats … And then the outcome was truly mind-blowing.

Merry Christmas ya filthy animals! … And Happy New Year!

See you in 2015!!

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