{"id":658,"date":"2013-12-31T19:40:29","date_gmt":"2014-01-01T03:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/?p=658"},"modified":"2015-01-13T23:38:28","modified_gmt":"2015-01-14T07:38:28","slug":"the-2013-kalev-year-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/2013\/12\/31\/the-2013-kalev-year-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2013 Kalev Year in Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s the time of year where most if not all of the websites I follow regularly do their &#8220;Best\/Worst&#8221; lists so I thought I&#8217;d join in on the fun. Most of this is about TV and movies, and there are some SPOILERS so please don&#8217;t read if you aren&#8217;t up to date on\u00a0<em>Homeland<\/em>,<em> Person of Interest<\/em>, <em>Breaking Bad<\/em>, or\u00a0<em>Game of Thrones<\/em> (I think those are the only real spoilers).<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;\">Hidden Gem Movie:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><em><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2431286\/\">Philomena<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I should have known any movie featuring Dame Judi Dench was going to be good but I was unconvinced that I would be able to tolerate Steve Coogan as her co-lead. (He also wrote the movie, which is based on a true story.) How wrong I was! Not only was Dench amazing, Coogan kept up with her. Throw in a touching gay angle to the film and this is likely the most under-the-radar film of 2013 that you really should go see.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Best Sequel That Avoids &#8220;Middle Movie&#8221; Syndrome and Exceeds the Original:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1951264\/\"><em><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>The Hunger Games: Catching Fire<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Somehow\u00a0<em>Catching Fire\u00a0<\/em>managed to not only to be better than\u00a0<em>The Hunger Games<\/em> (dropping &#8220;shaky cam&#8221; was a huge step in right direction) but also an excellent movie in its own right. Perhaps most importantly, it avoided feeling like filler, which &#8220;middle movies&#8221; in a sequence of films can often do (Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I, I&#8217;m looking at you!). It will be interesting to see if the next movie, which will be the first half of the final novel <em>Mockingjay<\/em>, will be able reach the bar set by this installment.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;\">Worst Movie That Was Far Too Critically Lauded:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> <em>Captain Phillips<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Why <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0000158\/\">Mr. Dull and Dreary<\/a> continues to get any attention as an actor (as opposed to, say, as an all-round &#8220;nice guy,&#8221; which I am far more willing to buy into) is completely beyond me.\u00a0 This &#8220;rah rah US military&#8221; film should never have been made.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Worst On-Going Ad Campaign:<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><em><strong>We are all Canucks<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Seriously, no, we&#8217;re not! I&#8217;m not a Canuck.\u00a0 I hate hockey and I hate the Canucks in particular. It is <em>beyond<\/em> insulting to be continually confronted by this forced inclusion, which only serves to exclude any Vancouverite who <em>*gasp*<\/em> doesn&#8217;t like a sport where the main &#8220;entertainment&#8221; is grown men beating on each other as if that represents either skill or sportsmanship.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Runner-up:<\/span> <em>Telus<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Telus stole its white background\/cute animals ad campaign in the NINETIES when it bought 3rd party cell provider Clearnet and it still hasn&#8217;t run out of members of the animal kingdom to CGI-exploit, 15 years later. We get it: animals are cute!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Best Single Episode of an Ongoing TV Series (and possibly of all time, ever):\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><strong><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">&#8220;Hitting the Fan&#8221; (season 5, episode 5 of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1442462\/\"><em>The Good Wife<\/em><\/a>)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you aren&#8217;t watching <em>The Good Wife<\/em> by now, well, you really should catch up. Few shows last 5 seasons these days, let alone reach their apogee this far in, but this already amazing show has pulled out all the stops this season with a status quo shake-up that has pushed an already superlative ensemble to new heights. In a season of fantastic performances (including the Season 5 premiere), the show&#8217;s fifth episode blew away the rest of this year&#8217;s competition. It&#8217;s no surprise <em>The Good Wife<\/em> is the only network drama nominated for Best Drama by the Golden Globes. While <em>Game of Thrones<\/em>, <em>Breaking Bad<\/em>, and <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> have all produced amazing episodes this year, inherent in the succcess of those episodes were multiple major character deaths&#8212;literal bloodbaths. <em>The Good Wife<\/em>&#8216;s fifth episode this season blew them away, no fatalities required.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Best Performance(s) of an Actor in Seven Plus Roles:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm1137209\/\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><em>Tatiana Maslany<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Canadian Tatiana Maslany is the antithesis of another Canadian actor: William Shatner. While Shatner is capable of playing only a single character in any endeavour, Tatiana Maslany has shown us just exactly what acting is, so convincingly playing multiple clones on Canadian\/American BBC America production <em>Orphan Black<\/em> that you forget there is only one person behind the 3, 4, or more performances each episode. Orphan Black takes one of the major conceits from fellow sci-fi show <em>Fringe<\/em> and blows it out of the water every week (sorry Anna Torv). And as much as I enjoy Nina Dobrev&#8217;s double performance as Elena and Katherine on <em>The Vampire Diaries<\/em>, anyone who whines that she was doing &#8220;the same thing&#8221; as Maslany well before\u00a0<em>Orphan Black<\/em> aired&#8230; uh&#8230; yeah, NO. Dobrev is good, I&#8217;ll grant her that, but the biggest distinction between Katherine and Elena is that Katherine is bitchy and Elena is (generally) sweet.\u00a0Forget actors whining about the difficulty of playing against green screens: try playing against yourself week after week, complete with at least 3 different accents, different body language, different energies, and a variety of insane wigs. Then try playing one of those characters impersonating one of the other characters. <em>Orphan Black<\/em> redefines the concept of &#8220;meta&#8221; on a variety of levels and it&#8217;s Maslany who serves as the lynchpin (lynchpins) that make that possible. After the Emmy snub heard &#8217;round the world (which one critic called the best publicity a show could hope for), the Hollywood Foreign Press was the first major awards show sponsor to sit up and take notice of Maslany, nominating the relative newcomer for &#8220;Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama&#8221; at the Golden Globes. In an industry where sci-fi and fantasy shows and performances are criminally overlooked and ignored, Maslany will be rubbing shoulders with such industry heavyweights as Julianna Margulies (<em>The Good Wife<\/em>), Robin Wright (<em>House of Cards<\/em>), and the much-buzzed-about Kerry Washington (<em>Scandal<\/em>). In a rational universe, Maslany would win hands-down but no matter what happens in reality, her nomination is groundbreaking&#8230; which is fitting because that matches the astonishing achievement of her performance.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Most Homosexual Show Not Actually About Homosexuals:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1567432\/\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><em>Teen Wolf<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It borders on uncanny just how gay\u00a0MTV&#8217;s\u00a0<em>Teen Wolf<\/em> is. Whether it&#8217;s the two main characters cracking wise in a gay bar or the initially off-screen imagined but now moving winkingly on-screen romantic &#8220;tension&#8221; between Stiles and Derek,\u00a0<em>Teen Wolf<\/em> is a super-gay show without actually being, well, a gay show. Which makes the next category so frustrating&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Worst Exit Because The Show I&#8217;m On Is Way Too Gay and I Don&#8217;t Want People to Keep Bringing Up My Past Modelling for Gay Teen Magazine XY:\u00a0<\/strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm2686262\/\">Colton Haynes<\/a> leaving <em>Teen Wolf<\/em> for <em>Arrow<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This one is pretty self-explanatory. See a recent likely related case of an exit from a show over the gay ick:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/tvline.com\/2013\/12\/30\/true-blood-season-7-luke-grimes-leaving-james-recast\/\"><em>True Blood<\/em>\u00a0Exclusive: Luke Grimes Exits Prior to Seventh and Final Season, Role Will Be\u00a0Recast<\/a>\u00a0(okay, to be honest, it&#8217;s not clear that Grimes is leaving\u00a0<em>True Blood<\/em>\u00a0because they are going to take his character in a lavender direction but that&#8217;s where I&#8217;d put my money)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Most Surprising Venue for Insightful Commentary on Class Difference in America:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>ABC Family&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1758772\/\"><em>Switched At Birth<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Leaving aside the fact that\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Switched At Birth<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\"> is a stellar, groundbreaking show on completely different merits (first show to do an episode nearly entirely in ASL, first show to regularly feature diverse Deaf characters played by actual Deaf actors, etc. etc. etc.), it&#8217;s pretty amazing that a show from the family-friendly arm of the most family-friendly world dominant corporation (Disney) actually acknowledges class differences. But even more amazing is that they have Daphne, one of the show&#8217;s two teenage protagonists, school the show&#8217;s resident GOP supporter&#8212;her biological father John Kennish&#8212;on how people from a disadvantaged class background can&#8217;t just &#8220;work hard&#8221; and achieve the same impressive accomplishments that he, a former MLB star, has. \u00a0The show has never shied away from the awkward clash of cultures resulting from Daphne being raised by Regina, a single Latina mother from &#8220;the wrong side of tracks,&#8221; while Regina&#8217;s biological daughter Bay&#8217;s was brought up amidst the stratrospheric wealth of the Kennish&#8217;s lives&#8230; and the show is that much stronger for it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Show That Shockingly Makes You Pine For The Early 1980s:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2149175\/\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><em>The Americans<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cold War period spy show <em>The Americans<\/em>\u00a0marks the welcome return of\u00a0<em>Felicity<\/em>&#8216;s Keri Russell to series TV. Her heartwrenching, kickass performance&#8211;alongside TV husband Matthew Rhys (<em>Brothers &amp; Sisters<\/em>), who turns in an equally kickass and moving performance&#8211;as KGB deep cover spies Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings does what I would have thought impossible: casts America in the early 1980s in a warm nostalgic glow. \u00a0During the episode that dealt with the failed assassination of then-President Ronald Reagan, though, I was still rooting for an alternate history version where Reagan actually bit it. Oh well. Russell and <em>The Americans<\/em>\u00a0delievered perhaps the most brutal knockdown fight of 2013 when Elizabeth loses it on her KGB handler Claudia, admirably played by the super-versatile Margo Martindale. If anyone had any doubts that JJ Abrams&#8217; first female hero could hold her own against his second, <em>Alias&#8217;<\/em> Jennifer Garner, <em>The Americans<\/em>\u00a0puts those doubts firmly to rest.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Most Respect Shown to Actresses Past A Certain Age:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/American_Horror_Story:_Coven\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><em>American Horror Story: Coven<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ryan Murphy&#8217;s &#8220;adult&#8221; TV anthology, somehow more gripping and realistic despite its supernatural goings-on than\u00a0<em>Glee<\/em>, has always been a great showcase for female talent but\u00a0<em>Coven<\/em>\u00a0takes a group of actresses often shamefully jilted by Hollywood&#8211;the over-50 set&#8211;and puts them front and centre. Any one of Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy, or Patti LuPone are total acting powerhouses but put them all together and you have a powder keg of dramatic flair just waiting to ignite. This collection of acting greats is like Golden Girls on meth.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Current Overused TV Trope That, Well, Needs to Die:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>&#8220;nothing ever gets better and then everyone dies&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Between\u00a0<em>Breaking Bad<\/em>, <em>Dexter<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Game of Thrones<\/em>, and\u00a0<em>The Walking Dead<\/em>\u00a0(and, to a lesser watered-down extent, <em>Revolution<\/em>),\u00a0you&#8217;d think the majority of TV writers and creators feel that the only way to engage with today&#8217;s ostensibly over-stimulated audiences is to feed them an ever-worsening series of situations set in post-apocalyptic conditions that culminate with every character you&#8217;ve been encouraged to connect with being horribly slaughtered. \u00a0Look, I&#8217;m the last person who wants everything to end with an &#8220;and they lived happily ever after&#8221; ending but there&#8217;s a lot of room between everyone getting unrealistic happiness and the pure misery so many shows seem to think they have to put their characters through. \u00a0Just like everyone getting everything they&#8217;ve ever wanted isn&#8217;t realistic, either is having everyone&#8217;s life go downhill, then more downhill, then hit rock bottom, and then having them be killed after they&#8217;ve been forced to watch everyone they&#8217;ve ever loved be killed first.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Best Vancouver-Filmed Show Actually Set In Vancouver:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1954347\/\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><em>Continuum<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This one is a bit of a cheat because\u00a0Space&#8217;s <em>Continuum<\/em> is the\u00a0<em>only<\/em> Vancouver-filmed show set in Vancouver. But apart from that interesting distinction, it is a great show and finally gives Rachel Nichols, who spent years playing second-fiddle replacement on shows like\u00a0<em>Alias<\/em> and\u00a0<em>Criminal Minds<\/em>, a chance to shine.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Not With A Bang But With a Whimper &#8220;Award&#8221;:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Brody&#8217;s death on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1796960\/\"><em>Homeland<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">As lots of people have pointed out, Season 3 of <\/span><i style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Homeland<\/i><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\"> was uneven (although I didn&#8217;t hate the Dana storylines like most people). But even though I knew they had to be heading towards losing their leading man, the actual loss of Brody left me strangely&#8230; empty. It wasn&#8217;t that I didn&#8217;t like the character, and Damian Lewis is a fantastic actor, but the character&#8217;s demise just didn&#8217;t create any pain. Maybe because after all he&#8217;d been through, it seemed like a welcome release? The only part of the <\/span><i style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Homeland<\/i><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\"> finale that had any emotional impact was Quiver McQuiverLips&#8217; breakdown in front of her father and sister.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Most Moving Death On A Show Not Known For Killing 30 Characters An Episode:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Carter, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1839578\/\"><em>Person of Interest<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Without a doubt, Carter&#8217;s shooting on\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Person of Interest\u00a0<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">was perhaps the most moving death on TV this year (among shows not known for repeated character funerals). Even though to me it felt like her apparent love affair with John came out of nowhere, and even though I knew for weeks that it was coming, it was just <\/span><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">so<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">. <\/span><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">sad<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Most Moving Death On A Grim Reaper Show:\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Catelyn Stark, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0944947\/\"><em>Game of Thrones<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Catelyn Stark&#8217;s demise during the bloodbath of the Red Wedding on\u00a0<em>Game of Thrones<\/em> somehow stood out.\u00a0Probably only because <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0265610\/\">Michelle Fairley<\/a> is beyond talented. It takes a lot of talent to draw focus away from a pregnant woman who was just slaughtered a few feet away. But please, someone&#8230; ANYONE&#8230; kill Joffrey! I don&#8217;t care whether or not he lives in the novels&#8211;he. must. be ended.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Best American Remake of a British Show:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>SyFy&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1595680\/\"><em>Being Human<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Say what you will about the American penchant for remaking British TV but\u00a0<em>Being Human<\/em> is a great example of it being done extremely well.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Best Zombies-As-Gay-Metaphor Show:\u00a0<\/strong><strong>BBC Three&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2480514\/\"><em>In The Flesh<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Do yourself a favour: even if you&#8217;re not into zombies or gay stuff, go watch\u00a0<em>In The Flesh<\/em>. You won&#8217;t be disappointed you took the time to introduce yourself to one of the most poignant shows currently on TV.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Most Odious Overused Guest or Recurring Actor:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0460694\/\">Robert Knepper<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0671032\/\">Mark Pellegrino<\/a> (tie)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I used to like Robert Knepper when he was on <em>Prison Break<\/em>. But since then, when he&#8217;s shown up on an insane variety of shows playing pretty much exactly the same smarmy character, I&#8217;ve gotten over it. And now he&#8217;ll be on <em>Arrow<\/em> and in the <em>Mockingjay<\/em> movies. *sigh*<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, I have never for a second liked Mark Pellegrino or the generally exact same smarmy characters he plays either. And some fool made him a main cast member of the CW&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2660734\/\"><em>The Tomorrow People<\/em><\/a>. *sigh*<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><em>Moonlighting<\/em> Award for Best &#8220;Will They\/Won&#8217;t They&#8221;:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oliver and Felicity on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2193021\/\"><em>Arrow<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t &#8220;ship&#8221; people because &#8220;ship&#8221; is not a real verb but if I were to &#8220;ship&#8221; two people together, it would be these two.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Grammatical Trend That Needs To End:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>the abandonment of the subjunctive in English<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>There are so many possible contenders here, from the moronic use of apostrophe-s to form plurals to the lack of the use of &#8220;whom&#8221; all the way to people confusing discrete with discreet (primarily on gay location-based hookup apps like Grindr). But I knew this was the winner for 2013 when every single time I listened to One Direction&#8217;s &#8220;I Wish,&#8221; I couldn&#8217;t help cringing whenever they sing &#8220;Oh how I wish that was me.&#8221; No! You wish that\u00a0<em>were<\/em> you!<\/p>\n<p>Learn the subjunctive. Love the subjunctive. Suffice it to say, use the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/English_subjunctive\">subjunctive<\/a> lest you be taken for a fool!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Best Grindr Profile Line:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>&#8220;I wish there were a Grindr for single people&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Oh Grindr&#8230; how we love to hate thee. And there are so many, many reasons why. But this line so eloquently and succinctly sums up one of the big ones.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Best Discrediting of Natural Foods:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Walt poisons Lydia&#8217;s Stevia,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0903747\/\"><em>Breaking Bad<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Who knew a natural sugar alternative could be deadly? I mean aspartame we hear about all the time, but on\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Breaking Bad<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">, Stevia&#8217;s pretty damn dangerous.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><em>FlashForward<\/em>\u00a0&#8220;Award&#8221; for Fastest Derailing of a Promising TV Show:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2647258\/\"><em>Hostages<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I really love\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0001057\/\">Toni Collette<\/a>. \u00a0I mean, I&#8217;ve loved Toni Collette since Australian gem\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0110598\/\"><em>Muriel&#8217;s Wedding<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in the mid-90s. \u00a0I LOVED gone-far-too-soon\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1001482\/\"><em>United States of Tara<\/em><\/a>. \u00a0So I really, really wanted to like\u00a0<em>Hostages<\/em><em>.\u00a0<\/em>But after a promising pilot, this show went downhill from &#8220;enthralling&#8221; to &#8220;stupid&#8221; faster than\u00a0award-namesake\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1441135\/\"><em>FlashForward<\/em><\/a>. That show at least managed to maintain its momentum for 6 or so episodes;\u00a0<em>Hostages<\/em>\u00a0started coming apart at the seems in Episode 2.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><em>Felicity<\/em>\u00a0Award for &#8220;Let&#8217;s Obsess About Something Completely Irrelevant to the Show&#8221;:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2647544\/\"><strong><em>Sleepy Hollow<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Sleepy Hollow<\/em>\u00a0should be one of the most ridiculous shows on TV. It should be as mindlessly insipid as\u00a0<em>Charmed<\/em>. And somehow, some way&#8230; it&#8217;s just not. \u00a0It&#8217;s simply really fun, gripping television. So apparently to balance this out, entertainment writers have decided to provide the ridiculous by continually questioning if and when the main character, a resurrected 18th century Ichabod Crane, will ever stop wearing his distinctive, circa 1770s coat. &#8220;Doesn&#8217;t it need to be washed?&#8221; &#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t it smell?&#8221; These are ostensibly serious questions I&#8217;ve seen asked in several entertainment publications in a display of journalistic insanity that rivals the crazy that surrounded\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0005392\/\">Keri Russell<\/a>\u00a0when she cut her hair for the 2nd season of Felicity and was blamed (in a fit of sexist, misogynistic lunacy) for somehow causing the show&#8217;s ratings to suffer.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Most Deliberate Non-Attention to Period Details &#8220;Award&#8221;:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2056366\/\"><em>The Carrie Diaries<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>So even if you could somehow overlook the 9-11 insanity-fuelled fact that the people in charge of\u00a0<em>The Carrie Diaries<\/em>\u00a0have essentially decided the World Trade Towers that would have dominated Manhattan&#8217;s skyline in the 1980s simply did not exist (great way to honour your dead, Americans&#8212;let&#8217;s just pretend it never happened!), it borders on the criminal that the same producers can have an ongoing plotline involving a main cast member&#8217;s character coming out as a teenaged gay guy in the mid-1980s in New York and somehow have never breathed the words &#8220;AIDS.&#8221; The Walt storyline has been handled really well otherwise but the fact that the show is set at the\u00a0<em>height<\/em>\u00a0of panic over AIDS and NO ONE has mentioned it even ONCE in conjunction with Walt&#8217;s discovery of his sexuality and his first tentative attempts to date is\u00a0<em>mind-blowing<\/em>. \u00a0Apparently in the world of the show, if chronologically accurate aspects of the show&#8217;s setting are too touchy, they&#8217;ll just pretend they don&#8217;t exist. \u00a0Come to think of it, that&#8217;s pretty much exactly the approach of the American government to AIDS when it was first devastating hundreds of gay men in America, particularly in big cities with significant gay populations like San Francisco and&#8230; wait, what was that other one? Oh right: NEW. YORK. \u00a0Shame on this show and its creators for this Pollyana historical revisionism.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><b style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Shocking Unprecented Double Uncancellation Award:\u00a0<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><b>AMC&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1637727\/\"><em>The Killing<\/em><\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">I&#8217;m not sure I&#8217;ve ever heard of a show being uncancelled <\/span><i style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">twice<\/i><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">. Sure,\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Jericho<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">,\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Drop Dead Diva<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">, and\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Unforgettable<\/em><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">\u00a0<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">are all fairly recent examples of shows that were cancelled and then revived. \u00a0But while AMC revived\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">The Killing<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">\u00a0for a third season after dumping it once they\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">finally<\/em><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\"> resolved the two-season Rosie Larsen murder mystery, they said &#8220;third time&#8217;s the charm&#8221; after a pretty compelling Season 3. Enter Netflix playing the part of the 2nd Phoenix to resurrect the series a second time for a fourth (and final) 6-episode season. This must all be related to series star <\/span><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0257969\/\">Mireille Enos<\/a><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\"> starring on a certain fairly awful <\/span><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0816711\/\">zombie movie<\/a><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\"> this year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Best Character Who Should Be Gratingly Annoying But Is Instead Weirdly Engaging:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2281375\/\"><em>Nashville<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I have to give <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0659363\/\">Hayden Panettiere<\/a>\u00a0credit for somehow taking a character who could be fairly accurately described as an incredibly bitchy Taylor Swift-type and turning her into a really compelling human being. Even though Juliette regularly makes some terrible life decisions, you find yourself really rooting for her.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><em>Dexter<\/em>\u00a0Award for Making Us Root For a (Budding) Serial Killer:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2188671\/\"><em><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Bates Motel<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Vera Farmiga as Norma Bates gets the bulk of the attention showered on\u00a0<em>Bates Motel<\/em>, the delightfully creepy &#8220;prequel&#8221; about Norman Bates&#8217; (from Hitchcock&#8217;s <em>Psycho<\/em>) teenagehood before he became a cross-dressing serial killer. That&#8217;s too bad because British import <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0383603\/\">Freddie Highmore<\/a> is really doing amazing work getting people to cheer for Norman and secretly hope the series will deviate from its source material and somehow let Norman be redeemed. And let&#8217;s not forget this show has pretty much the hottest set of (half-)brothers since&#8230; well, a while. (HELLO, <a href=\"http:\/\/www3.pictures.zimbio.com\/gi\/Freddie+Highmore+Max+Thieriot+E+Bates+Motel+uB5eBe_ecvxx.jpg\">Max Thieriot<\/a>!)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Best Description of a Character by the Actor Portraying That Character:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm1083404\/\">Sarah Shahi<\/a>\u00a0on Shaw,\u00a0<em>Person of Interest<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If James Bond and Sarah Connor had a kid, Shaw would kick its ass.&#8221; And she is\u00a0<em>totally<\/em>\u00a0right.<\/p>\n<p>And that&#8217;s the very ecletic set of my &#8220;reviews.&#8221; Did I miss anything significant? Do you have alternate recipients? Hit the comments and let me know!<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, have a happy and fun New Year&#8217;s Eve; wishing you a fun and fulfilling 2014!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s the time of year where most if not all of the websites I follow regularly do their &#8220;Best\/Worst&#8221; lists so I thought I&#8217;d join in on the fun. Most of this is about TV and movies, and there are some SPOILERS so please don&#8217;t read if you aren&#8217;t up to date on\u00a0Homeland, Person of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[121,123,42,124,33,122],"class_list":["post-658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-121","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-opinion","tag-tv","tag-year-in-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":711,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658\/revisions\/711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalev.org\/kblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}