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Laure's Best of 2014

2014 is coming to a close, and this has been a strange year for me, televisionwise. I moved half-way across the country and forfeited having a T.V. in my room. So, instead of the typical 'Best Of' this year, I'm also going to include a quick outline of the survival guide that's worked for me should anyone ever find themselves in the dire situation of being without easy, unlimited access to a T.V.

First- I had to make sure that I had timely access to the shows that I was responsible for reviewing. The Originals was easy since The CW rocks by posting new episodes at midnight on the day they air. Bless you CW. This also meant being able to stay caught up with Supernatural, The 100 (which has really grown on me), The Vampire Diaries and all of their friends. If I remember correctly, Witches of East End was a bit more of a headache. I needed network account info to be able to access the show the day that it aired. Otherwise, I had to wait an entire week, which as a long time Doux Reviews reader, I know is an unbearably long time to wait for a review.

I continue to be enthralled by the world of The Originals. The writing, acting, directing and beautiful way this show is shot suck me in week after week. Each element is more exquisite than the last and I can never get enough. I. could spend days talking about TO, but I won't. At least, not in this post

I was torn about WoEE throughout the entire second season. Falling in love with the Edgar Allan Poe storyline while simultaneously still hating the blue rape monster is what I remember when I think back on it, and I think it perfectly encompasses how I felt throughout. I was basically indifferent after the finale aired about whether or not I wanted it renewed, but as soon as the news came down that WoEE would be no more I realized that I wanted resolution at the very least. Not that it matters since it looks like the online campaign for saving it has fizzled out even faster than it came about. Bye Beauchamps, we'll miss you. Sort of.

NOTE- This first step can be tricky. Especially if your computer isn't entirely reliable. There have been more than a couple times that I wanted to pull my hair out this year simply because my computer was acting like a spoiled brat.

TIP- Don't pull your hair out. It's painful, and not everyone can pull off that look.

A quick note about SPN... I'm realizing that there is no good way for this show to end for me. After everything these boys have been through, they deserve to put their feet up and relax for longer than a winter break. Anything less than cozy retirement will leave me feeling sad, but that doesn't make sense for them as characters. They've proven that they will not stop saving people and hunting things as long as there are people to be saved and things to be hunted. This realization has made me anxious about the series finale.

Step Two- I embraced Netflix with a violent fervor that I might not be able to articulate, and should probably be embarrassed about. Sometimes, I was more grateful for my Netflix account than my car. I jumped on The Walking Dead and Orange is the New Black band wagons and fell in love, I finally watched Firefly and became obsessed, and stumbled across The Killing and devoured that show in a matter of days.

I honestly don't know how you guys waited in between episodes of TWD. I officially dub them (because I have the authority to dub) king of the cliffhanger. Every exchange of every scene of every episode makes you think on some philosophical level all while being a thoroughly engaging story only to end with at least a dozen unanswered questions. It's a show that makes you genuinely fall in love with characters just in time for you to watch their bloody demise, and the cherry on top is that it almost never feels gratuitous. Especially in the beginning, I remember watching one of my favorite characters die and thinking 'yea, I can't imagine someone like that would survive very long in a world like this.' As the show goes on, I'm worried that the writers will run out of stories to tell, but for now I'll continue singing it's praises. If you watch this show, and don't read Doc's reviews you must be confused about life.

OitNB is something I was introduced to by a friend. The rock I apparently live under doesn't get news on awesome television, in addition to not having a T.V. Piper and company made me laugh right from the start. Every character is painted with such vibrancy that I feel like they are all friends of mine. Any show that can make you angry, happy, sad and cringe in the span of every episode has to be doing something right. Also, finding Billie's reviews was seriously delightful, and what eventually pushed me into this orange-clad world.

There is nothing I can say about Firefly that hasn't been said 89752489579 times. It's amazing. Dare I say, even better than Buffy. Gasp! You should watch it.Oh, I want to be Kaylee when I grow up. I don't know if that's been said before.

The Killing is the only new show I jumped into that I don't remember reading about here on Doux Reviews. There is nothing sci-fi or fantasy about it, but it is exceptional storytelling layered with interesting characters and sprinkled with intriguing plots. It's a show that will keep you guessing to the bitter end, they never drop plot threads and the bleak and rainy backdrop paints the perfect picture for the hideousness that is child murder. If your looking for a show that will keep you on the edge of your seat, The Killing might be for you!

Honorable mention has to be made for Sleepy Hollow. After high praise from people I trust, a.k.a. Doux Reviewers, I tried desperately to find it. The most I could find were three episodes. They were three fabulous episodes. Enough to make me genuinely upset that I couldn't keep watching.

Lastly- Meditate, pray or somehow otherwise come to terms with the fact that you'll be a week behind the rest of the world when it comes to shows on certain networks (I'm looking at you ABC), and others will become completely impossible for you to keep up with on any kind of scheduled basis.

As someone that's never seen Frozen, I have enjoyed this season of Once Upon A Time. Anna and Elsa are sweet and genuine in a way that adds the perfect amount of fairytale back into OUAT for me, but if someone doesn't give Elsa a more comfortable outfit soon, I may have to mail her something myself.

While watching the series finale of Sons of Anarchy, I gave my dog a bath, washed dishes and made lunch plans on Facebook. All of this was at least a week after it aired. I'm glad I stuck with it until the end, but even more so that I don't have to stick any longer. The longer TVD goes on, the more I worry it will suffer the same end. Bye SOA.

Forever is not without its first season problems, but I'm enjoying it. I can't wait to see where it goes if it gets picked up. I'll admit, though, most of this has to do with Abe. I just can't get enough of that guy. I think this is the only new show that I've enjoyed this year. Unless I'm forgetting something. I'm probably forgetting something.

Merry Christmas, everyone!
I wish you all a happy year of television viewing in 2015.

Laure.

6 comments:

  1. What a great read, Laure. :) I loved what you said about Supernatural and The Walking Dead, and laughed at what you said about WoEE, the clothing on Once Upon a Time, and the finale of Sons of Anarchy.

    BTW, once upon a time when it was new, our own Mark Greig covered The Killing. The end of the first season turned us off to such an extent that I think we all dropped it. Sounds like it got better.

    http://www.douxreviews.com/2000/01/killing.html

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  2. Thanks for the survival guide, Laure! I love getting to see what everyone loved and discovered over the course of the year.

    I've gotta think that binge-watching The Killing really took the edge off the problems that frustrated (and sometimes enraged) those of us who watched that first season week-to-week. When stretched out that way, it became more and more tedious and made the S1 finale issues seem even more egregious. Plus, you got to watch it without all the external marketing hype, which I'm sure helped it go down better, too. When it originally aired, the AMC marketing created lots of expectations that the show completely failed to deliver on. I'm glad you got to enjoy the series in the absence of all that expectation.

    If you still want to catch up with Sleepy Hollow, you should consider subscribing to Hulu Plus for a month. I believe the entire series is still available there. That's how I did a binge catch-up on it in October.

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  3. Great post, Laure. I second what Jess said. Hulu Plus is cheap and it airs most network shows the next day. CBS seems to be the last holdout, but they tend to get their shows up on their site quickly.

    I am enjoying Forever as well. It's beginning to come into its own, but I am not committing completely as I have doubts about it being renewed.

    Interestingly, my sister was talking about The Killing over the weekend. She loved it and was surprised when I told her that others had been less than enthusiastic. I wonder if a binge watch is the way to go with it.

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  4. Excellent advice, especially on the hair thing ;)

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  5. Fun read Laure and thanks for the shout out! Firefly is one of my all time favourites and I remember thinking when it came out - a sci-fi western? I don't think even Joss can pull this off but boy did he ever. I also live without a TV and can't get Hulu up here in the frigid north so I buy my favourite shows from iTunes and get them at 2am so watch them the next day. For my second favourites I have Netflix and stalk the stations' internet sites. It means I have to wait for TV but it also means that I only watch what I like and when I have time. It really has changed my viewing experience but I think mostly in a good way. I've thought about watching 'The Killing' but shied away because of the comments on here but now it seems the green light has been given and yes Doux Reviews does decide most of my television viewing.

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  6. Laure:
    I love your post. So many helpful tips. I love Billie's OitNB reviews too! And I agree with your sentiments that Netflix tops all else in value at times. :)

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