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End of the year picspam time!
TOP 10 TV SHOWS OF 2012
Honorable Mentions: Dexter, The Good Wife, Veep, Community, Haven, Go On, The Mindy Project, Happy Endings, Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23, Castle, and Archer.
10. Homeland
Carrie: It fucked me up, Saul, being wrong about Brody. It fucked me up. Because I've never been so sure and so wrong.
I first want to briefly mention Dexter and The Good Wife specifically, because I was debating between those shows and Homeland for the longest time to finish this list. Dexter had a very solid season, definitely better than last season, but I ended up not choosing it primarily because even though I feel like Homeland actually had some worse moments/episodes in its season, Dexter's high points didn't reach nearly as high as Homeland's. Plus, I'm still not sure how I feel about the thing that happened at the end of the Dexter finale. It felt really weird not including The Good Wife since it's been at least one of my top 5 shows since I started watching it, and I did really love the 2nd half of season 3. But I'm just too nervous about a lot of the things the show's choosing to do this season, and while I do think the latter half of their seasons tend to be much stronger than the first halves are, I couldn't put it on the list without knowing how things are going to play out the rest of the season. But I did enjoy both Dexter and The Good Wife quite a bit this year.
As for Homeland, the show kind of fell off the rails a couple of times this season. There were a lot of contrivances and stupid plot decisions that made no sense, and as much as I love Carrie and Brody's relationship, it started getting a bit too melodramatic/saccharine by the end of the season. But that being said, the episode where Carrie interrogates Brody, the moment where she finds out she was right about Brody, and the moment I quoted when she's telling Saul how unsure she is of herself after everything with Brody, were enough just on their own for me to want to include the show. I do think the show should have slowed the pace down this season a bit (I mean, I was looking forward to multiple episodes of Carrie and Brody playing each other early on, trying to figure out how much the other knows and not being sure how real their feelings are themselves before Brody was brought in, but we only got one), but when the show was great this season, it was really, really great, and I'm definitely still on board for season 3.
9. Game of Thrones
Cersei: Power is power.
Overall I didn't enjoy this season as much as season 1. But that being said, there were still some brilliant episodes and moments throughout the season, especially Blackwater, and I still love this show quite a bit. And I did enjoy AGOT a lot more than ACOK, so I can't be too surprised that I didn't find this season to be as strong. There were things that they changed from ACOK that I thought were bad changes, but then they also improved some things from the book, so overall it was a bit of a wash in terms of new material. I did particularly love how Shae's role was expanded this season and her relationship with Sansa. And we got to meet characters like Margaery (!!!) and Brienne and Asha and so many others, and see new settings. Anyways, I'm ridiculously excited for season 3, and since ASOS is my favorite book, I'm pretty confident my enjoyment of the show will go up with season 3.
8. Mad Men
Megan: What is wrong with you people? You’re all so cynical. You don’t smile, you smirk.
While I didn't love this season quite as much as I loved seasons 3 and 4, there were some really brilliant individual episodes. They did some interesting things, like the episode with the nonlinear narratives, and I really loved seeing Joan finally get to leave her husband and Peggy quit. (Although she better be back for season 6 -- and as a regular, not just for one episode -- or else my interest in this show is going to plummet.) The season ended on an interesting note, and I'm excited to see where things will pick up in season 6.
7. Elementary
Joan: As someone once said, once you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.
Sherlock: Sounds like a windbag.
This show!!! Sometimes I still can't believe it exists!!! When it was first announced, I was hoping it would be good, but I really never expected to love it as much as I have! The procedural elements aren't incredibly strong, but I do think they've improved over the course of the season so far, and tbh I'm never going to care particularly much about the procedural elements. But the characters and their relationships!!!!!!!! Everything I've ever wanted!!!! Joan is just amazing, and I love that she gets to call Sherlock out and be right and Sherlock will apologize when he's being an ass and will mean it, and just. Their dynamic is the greatest!!! And while the show is obviously very focused on Joan and Sherlock, I love the minor characters as well! Bell is definitely one of my favorites, but I also enjoy Gregson, and seeing Joan's family was wonderful, and I really liked Alfredo (hoping he'll return!!!), and just... every character is so well drawn and wonderful and I just have a lot of love for this show!!!
6. Cougar Town
Jules: Ellie, I love you so much. I want to ask you something.
Ellie: Are we finally running away together? Because I keep a bag in my truck.
Jules: Me too.
Ellie: Awesome.
This show is always just such a delight!!! I can't really think of a single weak episode this season; they were all just so enjoyable. There's not a character I don't like, and the relationships between every combination of characters is so great! I think my only complaint was Grayson's surprise child was a bit of an overly convenient way to resolve the issue he and Jules had about kids, but it's not really a huge complaint, and it's not like I wanted them to break up, so I'm okay with how everything turned out. All the Travis/Laurie stuff completely killed me, and the two of them seriously need to have makeouts at some point in the near future. Anyways, I'm just so glad this show is going to finally be on my screen again soon!!!!!
5. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Charlotte: Are you fake texting?
Jane: It's super important.
Okay, I'm kind of cheating including this because it's not technically a TV show, but whatever, I have been obsessed with this series for the past few months beyond the vast majority of TV shows I'm actually watching, and I had to include it here somewhere. It's close enough to a TV show for me. Anyways, if you hadn't noticed by now, I am crazy in love with this adaptation. The long version of all my feelings can be found here, but basically, I love everything this series chooses to be. I just love how they've really adapted things to work in a modern setting rather than just lift exactly what happens in the book and put it in modern times. And as much as I love Lizzie/Darcy and everything they've chosen to do with Darcy's character so far, what really makes this series special to me is how they've chosen to fully develop the 4 main girls and their relationships with each other. It's just such a beautiful thing to me, and I can't stop giving this series enough praise. And of course the writing is excellent, but I'm also really impressed with all the acting considering this is a webseries and the actors are all basically unknown; they all need to be in all the things after this is over. I'm ridiculously excited for everything that's coming up, and I'm going to be super bummed when the series ends in 2013.
4. Breaking Bad
Skyler: Walt, I want my kids back. I want my life back. Please tell me, how much is enough? How big does this pile have to be?
I feel a little weird talking about this season, just because... it wasn't a complete season! It's hard to know how to judge some of the things that happened in these 8 episodes because I still want to see how everything plays out first. That being said, I don't think I enjoyed this season quite as much as I did seasons 2-4, but this show is still one of my favorite things on TV (obviously). This season didn't focus on Jesse as much as I would've liked or as much as the past couple seasons did, but then there was some absolutely wonderful stuff with Skyler that helped make up for that, and Mike got some great things to do as well. I'm ridiculously looking forward to the final 8 episodes, especially after how the last episode left off, and I'm going to be sad when this show is finally over.
3. New Girl
Winston: "No one in the sleepy mountain town of Rythem City--"
Nick: That's "Rhythm City."
Winston: "--knew what the meteor meant, but one thing Mike Jr. did have was a whole lot of 'rittems.'"
Nick: "Rhythm."
Winston: "'Whoa! What bit me in the face?' Mike Jr. said to his dad, Mike Sr., who sucks."
Nick: Mike Sr. sucks. It's a major theme throughout this.
Winston: "Mike Sr. sucks a whole bunch, much more than his neighbor, Rollo."
Schmidt: Never stop reading this.
Winston: "Zombie zoo, zombie zoo. Zombie zoo, zombie zoo. Who let them zombies out that damn zombie zoo? Uh oh, watch your back, Laura." And I guess Laura's another character that he introduces, but that's it. And here's the word search.
Nick: Yeah, good luck, you idiot!
Oh god, this show! I don't know how it became one of my absolute favorites, but somehow it did! I adore everyone in this apartment and all their friendships so much. Every combination of characters is wonderful, and the show is consistently hilarious. It's just such a delightful show, and it brings me joy with every episode, and even those that aren't my absolute favorite episodes I would still gladly rewatch over and over.
2. The Hour
Freddie: I wrote you two letters, one from San Diego, one from New York, and I said… just get on a plane. Just get on a plane and come. And I said… And you, you didn't write back. And I told myself, of course, it's because you love news more. That doing this would always be more important than any… man. So I will see you tonight at El Paradis. Because this is what we do.
Oh god, this show. I'm still not entirely capable of being coherent about it. I did love season 1, but man, somehow season 2 was even better on every single level. The Bel/Freddie stuff was absolutely beautiful and wonderful and killed me over and over. I loved that Lix got her own storyline this season, and Randall was a great addition to the cast. And somehow this season even had me shipping Hector and Marnie by the end of it, which I would've never thought possible. Marnie's arc over the course of the season was just so excellent. Even the overarching storyline of the corruption worked so much better than the spies stuff did in season 1. I pretty much just want to watch this show on a constant loop forever, and I will die if there isn't a season 3.
1. Parks and Recreation
Leslie: Ron, for the last 6 months, my friends have worked so hard. Every 5-minute coffee break at work, every night, every weekend, every spare moment of their lives, they gave to me. If I lose, I’ll never forgive myself. You deserve to win.
Ron: We didn’t volunteer for you because we wanted to wrap ourselves in personal glory. We did it because we... care. About you. You had a dream, and we wanted to support your dream. That’s what you do when you care about someone. You support them, win, lose, or draw.
I feel like this show is going to be my favorite for as long as it airs. There's just so much about it that speaks directly to me, and I have infinite amounts of love for it. The episodes this year overall probably weren't as strong as the episodes in 2011, but it would be practically impossible for a show to maintain the consistent awesomeness that was season 3. Despite it maybe not being quite that good this year, I still adored the show, and the end of Leslie's campaign storyline was beautiful, and I started tearing up just reading the above quote because I'm a ridiculous person. I feel like season 5 has been incredibly strong so far, an even better start than season 4 had. Leslie and Ben's engagement was so perfectly and beautifully handled, we've been getting amazing development for April (everything with her and Ben in D.C. was my favorite, and the Leslie vs. April episodes was so incredibly relevant to all my interests and I'm still not over the fact that that episode exists), Tom's getting to finally pursue his dreams and maybe even be successful at it, and Ron's dating Xena! I will be so sad if this show gets cancelled this season, but at least it would be going out on a high note.
TOP 10 SHIPS OF 2012
Honorable Mentions: Laurie/Travis (Cougar Town), Nathan/Audrey (Haven), Carrie/Brody (Homeland), Will/Alicia (The Good Wife), Donna/Harvey (Suits), Eleven/Amy (Doctor Who), and Schmidt/Cece (New Girl).
10. Dan/Blair (Gossip Girl)
Blair: I told Chuck he doesn’t have my heart anymore. I realized it belongs to someone else.
I debated for the longest time about including them on this list, especially after I heard what happened in the series finale since I was super bitter towards the writers and this show. But these two pretty much consumed me for the first few months of this year, and it felt disingenuous not including them on this list. Because they really were wonderful for awhile! Their build-up was so much greater than I ever would have expected from this show. And of course they were ruined, which I was expecting from the start, although not to the extent of what the show did (not sure why I was surprised, since this show has always been amazing at making the worse choices than I ever could've imagined possible). But first we got stuff like Dan rescuing Blair from her own wedding, and Blair telling Dan how wonderful he had been to her all year and how could Serena not fall for him if he was like that with her, and the Valentine's Day kiss, and Blair trying to prove she didn't have feelings for him but ultimately proving that she did, and Blair telling Dan he had her heart, and elevator sex and the Met steps and them just being a lovely, supportive couple. And since I haven't watched a single episode since 5.23, I can always just pretend that that's how the show ended, with them together and happy.
9. Liz/Criss (30 Rock)
Liz: I have never been with someone for longer than nine months. You and I have been together for six, so I assume something will go wrong soon. You'll tell me you believe in ghosts, or I'll reveal that I am terrible at expressing my feelings. But it's not because I don't have them, it's just because I'm used to being let down. But this isn't fair to you, Criss. This is the happiest I've been in a long time and I'm sorry that I can't just be a normal person and tell you stuff. Nice stuff. Like, greeting card stuff.
Criss: You're right there buddy, come on. Home stretch. Come on.
Liz: GUUUUUH! Okay. I love you.
Criss: I know.
Liz: You Solo'd me!
Oh man, okay. I actually kind of surprised myself putting them on this list. I mean, the last time I got seriously invested in a Liz ship was Liz/Floyd, and I was never really able to completely get over them after they broke up. I've also never been as invested in this show as I know a lot of people are? I always find it entertaining, but I've never been into it enough to want to discuss it at length or rewatch episodes or anything. So these two completely took me by surprise last season, and for a little while I tried to stop myself for getting too invested because this show sometimes has issues with letting Liz be happy. But then he Solo'd her, and now I can't look back. I just love what a sweet guy Criss is, and how he can be a little weird/crazy himself but is totally there for Liz as well. LIFE IS HAPPENING! And their wedding was the sweetest, most absolutely perfect-for-Liz wedding there could possibly be.
8. April/Andy (Parks and Recreation)
Andy: If you ever need me, you know where to find me. In bed, next to you, probably having sex with you.
awww, these two!!! They've come so far since the start of the show. I have a tag on Tumblr for "Best married couple" which I use pretty much exclusively for these two. They didn't get as much to do this year maybe as they did in 2011, but we got from them was just wonderful. And storylines like their one in 5.08 with the return of Burt Macklin just remind me of how much I adore them.
7. Castle/Beckett (Castle)
Castle: So what if we don’t make sense on paper? We don’t live our lives on paper. And if we did, we’d never be astounded or surprised.
I don't talk about this show or these two nearly enough, but I do really love them! As much as I always loved their interaction before they got together, somehow they're even better together now that they're officially a couple. Partners is one of my favorite shippy tropes, and they really just epitomize everything I love about it. I just love how much they believe in each other, even when no one else does or will.
6. Scott/Allison (Teen Wolf)
Allison: Scott, I’m trying to break up with you.
Scott: I know. And it’s okay.
Allison: How is that okay?
Scott: Because I can wait.
Allison: I can’t make you wait for me. I’m not going to do that.
Scott: You don’t have to, because I know we’re going to be together.
Allison: There’s no such thing as fate.
Scott: There’s no such thing as werewolves.
I have no idea how this happened to me!!! The whole star-crossed lovers in high school thing is not the sort of thing I'm usually into at all, and the show as a whole is frequently ridiculous. BUT THEY'RE SOMEHOW THE GREATEST. I really wasn't expecting this even a little bit, I wasn't even this into them at the start, but by the end of season 1, somehow I was rooting for them to get back together, and when they're together and happy, it just makes me so happy! I DON'T KNOW!!! HIS USERNAME AND HIS PASSWORD ARE BOTH "ALLISON." I CAN'T EVEN. I don't know, I just... I love how equal they feel in this relationship and how ridiculously and completely devoted he is to her. There's also something about their physicality that I just adore. They are the actual greatest.
5. Joan/Sherlock (Elementary)
Joan: If there's some place else you have to be...
Sherlock: Not tonight, Watson. Not tonight.
This is the kind of thing where if I felt like the show was pushing them more as a ship, I would ship it less? But because the show has made it clear they want to keep it platonic (...I'm hoping that's just for now and not forever) and has developed their friendship so gradually and wonderfully, I'm ridiculously into them. I just love that he actually does respect her and thinks she's wonderful and shows it in his own way, and she takes absolutely no crap from him. I'm definitely looking forward to the point when Sherlock asks her to stay on even when her time as his sober companion is up, because you know that's absolutely going to happen.
4. Lizzie/Darcy (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries)
Lizzie: You… watched my videos.
Darcy: It was illuminating. You called me a robot. And a newsie.
Lizzie: Yeah, that probably wasn't… the best descriptor. I saw you in the hat once, I just ran with it.
Darcy: It's fine. I don't care about that.
She spent months insulting him, but HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THAT. ughhh their faces. Granted, a lot of my love for them is knowing the story and how things are going to go; we haven't actually seen that much of them in the actual series. Everyone's already talked about these two in greater length and much better than I can, so I'll just echo how much I love them and this series and how wonderfully they chose to adapt Darcy for a modern context. And I'm going to die when we finally get Pemberly (NOT TOO LONG NOW!!!).
3. Bel/Freddie (The Hour)
Freddie: I am tired of it not being possible. It is possible. You are possible. You are possible with me.
I've already flailed about these two a ridiculous amount at this point, but I just. THEY ARE PERFECT. He understands her so well; that conversation in 2.05 where he tells her that he knows the news is more important to her than any man is actual perfection. I keep turning into an incoherent mess whenever I think about them. All I can say is that there better be a season 3 and more makeouts because we definitely need more than just the one!!!
2. Nick/Jess (New Girl)
Nick: I think you're the kind of girl a guy would come back for.
Oh god, these two. I mean, I shipped them last season, but somehow it's just gone into hyperdrive this season, and the show's not even being overtly shippy with them, but just casual, friendly moments between them are somehow insanely shippy to me now!!! I think part of it is that last season, Nick was still a little grumpy about Jess moving in and her quirks, but this season they just feel like friends. They're so comfortable and casual and domestic with each other and I love it so much. Half the time they seem like they're already dating. I love that even when their storylines in an episode aren't actually overlapping, they still go to each other and talk about what's going on, and they're just there for each other, and it's so wonderful. And Nick went into a haunted house for her and he put together her dresser and they admitted they're sometimes attracted to each other, and I just can't with them. When I was marathoning season 1, I was like, "I want them to get together someday, but not anytime soon," but at this point I seriously need them to start making out soon or I might die.
1. Leslie/Ben (Parks and Recreation)
Leslie: Oh my god, what are you doing?
Ben: I'm thinking about my future. I'm deeply, ridiculously in love with you, and above anything else, I want to be with you forever. So, Leslie Knope, will you--
Leslie: Wait! I need to remember this, give me a second. I need to remember every little thing about how perfect my life is right now at this exact moment.
Ben: Leslie Knope, will you--
Leslie: Yes!
I just adore these two. I mean, I've talked about them so much at this point that I don't know what else there is for me to say, but they're just such a solid, wonderful couple. I've loved seeing them actually be a couple this year, and how they deal with issues like adults, and just how much they love each other. And this proposal was so absolutely perfect and made me tear up a ridiculous amount. They're pretty much always going to be my OTP of all OTPs.
Which TV shows did you start watching in 2012?
In terms of brand new shows, Smash, The Legend of Korra, New Girl (I mean, I did watch the pilot in 2011, but I wasn't planning on watching more after that, and I didn't start watching the show for real until this year), Scandal, Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23, Veep, Bunheads, Elementary, The Mindy Project, The New Normal, Ben & Kate, Go On, Once Upon a Time, and Nashville. For shows that weren't in their first season this year but were new to me, Avatar: the Last Airbender, Life, Rome, The Wire, and Teen Wolf. ...that's actually a lot more than I thought it would be.
Which TV shows did you let go of in 2012?
How I Met Your Mother (although I'm pretty sure when it's finally over for good, I'll just marathon the whole series), Pretty Little Liars (maybe? I haven't watched any episodes since the season 2 finale, but I might pick it up again at some point), Up All Night, Downton Abbey (I wasn't really planning on quitting it, but I was an episode behind and got spoiled for Sybil's death, and even though she wasn't my favorite, I was still pissed that the show would choose to kill her off and leave characters like Bates and Robert. And I've heard what they chose to do to Matthew as well, which, no thank you, I think I'll just have my canon for the show end with the season 2 Christmas special), Fringe (WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL, STILL BITTER), and Gossip Girl (thank god I was finally able to quit before the season 5 finale, but I probably should've given it up long before that to save myself a lot of heartache). …I think that's it. I mean there are some shows that I missed most if not all of the most recent season, like Shameless and Justified and The Legend of Korra, that I'm still planning to catch up on at some point in the future.
Which TV shows did you mean to get into but didn't in 2012? Why?
I watched up to 4.09 of Six Feet Under like 3 years ago and every year since I've planned to finish out the series, but that still hasn't happened yet. I was planning on checking out more older HBO shows, like The Sopranos and Deadwood, since I discovered how to access HBOGo this summer, but I didn't get around to anything but Rome and The Wire. There are also shows like The X-Files and The Sarah Connor Chronicles which have been on my To Watch list for years and years and someday I'll get to them, but that didn't happen this year. For all of those shows, I think I'm just waiting to be in the right mood to check them out, and I just haven't been yet. For the most part, if there's a show I've heard good things about that other people have seemed to be liking, I'll check it out right away. I don't have a long list of TV shows to check out like I do for movies and books.
Which TV shows do you intend on checking out in 2013?
This is pretty much the same list as the stuff I meant to get to this year but didn't? Someday I'll finish Six Feet Under, and someday I'll watch The Sopranos and Deadwood and The X-Files and The Sarah Connor Chronicles and so on, and I probably won't get to all of them this year, but there's a good chance I'll get to at least one of them. Oh, and maybe Bob's Burgers. And I've also seen a little about Some Girls and Fresh Meat on Tumblr that seems interesting, so I might check those out at some point.
Which TV show impressed you least in 2012?
There are a lot, but Gossip Girl really has to win the prize. I mean, I still can't believe what a beautiful, healthy relationship they developed wonderfully between Dan and Blair, and how quickly they decimated it. Even though I didn't watch season 6, I still heard what happened, and it's like the writers were doing everything they possibly could to crush the spirits of Dan/Blair shippers and reward Chuckistans, and making Dan Gossip Girl, despite the hilarity it provided on Tumblr the night of the finale, made me think that the writers have never watched their own show or write their scripts while high. Honorable mentions go to Fringe (HOW DID WE NEVER GET MAKEOUTS????? I HATE ALL THE THINGS YOU CHOSE TO BE, SHOW) and Glee (always, and yet I'm still watching it). There are others I found disappointing in one way or another, but nothing to the extent that those shows disappointed me.
Which TV show do you think you might let go of in 2013 unless things significantly improve?
I'm actually way more likely to drop shows I'm finding boring or I'm just not invested in at all for whatever reason than shows that make me rage, which means Glee is probably still here to stay. I would say Modern Family, but it's a show my mom watches with me, so she'll always remind me when the episodes about to come on and force strongly encourage me to watch with her, so I guess I can't quit it yet. White Collar also falls under the category of watching with my mom so I can't quit it, although I do like it more than Modern Family. Maybe Revenge since I'm like 5 episodes behind and haven't missed it at all or really cared to find out what's been happening. Smash, although I did somehow make it through season 1 even though the vast majority of it was awful, so it's probably here to stay like Glee since I am apparently a sucker for anything with musical numbers (plus, I do have a bit of an obsession with Christian Borle after discovering the Legally Blonde musical, so). The Legend of Korra I haven't watched past 1.07, and I didn't hear great things about the rest of season 1, so if I don't hear great things about season 2, I might not be inclined to catch up (plus, I keep forgetting that it was a show that existed this year that I watched, which is not a good sign).
Which TV shows do you think you'll never let go of no matter how crappy they get? Why?
Glee, apparently. I mean, the last episode I watched was the one before the break up episode because I was spoiled for that a day or two before it aired and knew I needed time to prepare for the events of that episode, and now I'm at a point where I'm pretty sure I can handle it, but I just haven't had the time to catch up. But I will at some point, because I'm a sucker for anything with a musical number, and I still just care too much about certain characters. Plus, I am a little obsessed with Darren Criss and need him to continue to be on my screen. Also Doctor Who, because as bad as it gets, the structure of the show is such that with each new companion and new Doctor, it's like the show is reset, so I know if I just stick it out a season or two, things might get better, and there are always isolated episodes I enjoy. I also find it hard to imagine Parks and Rec ever getting terrible enough for me to want to quit it, but you never know.
Your main fandom of the year? I haven't really had just one main fandom in a really long time. Parks and Recreation would probably be closest since I discuss the episodes pretty consistently, and it is my favorite show of the year, although I wasn't as involved in fandom this year as I was in 2011. For the first like 5 months of the year, Gossip Girl (or more specifically The Dair Show) was probably my biggest fandom. For the second half of the year, definitely The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and New Girl. And The Hour too probably the past few months. Elementary, too, to a lesser extent.
Your favorite film watched this year? ugh I don't know. There were quite a few I really enjoyed. My favorite that actually came out in 2012 would probably be Beasts of the Southern Wild (although I still have a lot left to see from this year). My favorite stuff that came out in previous years but I watched this year... I don't know if I can name just one, but some particular favorites would be Mildred Pierce, How to Steal a Million, and In the Mood for Love.
Your favorite album or song to listen to this year? I could probably just copy and paste what I wrote when I filled out this meme last year, the gist of which is: I pretty much listen to Glee to the exclusion of almost anything else? I am super lazy when it comes to discovering new music. The only other things I listened to a good amount would be Fun.'s new album, the Legally Blonde OBC (shut up), The Gaslight Anthem's new album, Mumford & Son's new album, and the Pitch Perfect soundtrack. Oh, and I was pretty obsessed with "New York City" by Among Savages. Oh, and two songs from the actress who plays Mary on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, "Another Year" and "October."
Your best new fandom discovery of the year? The Lizzie Bennet Diaries was obviously a major one. New Girl wasn't quite a discovery since I did watch the pilot in 2011, but it was a major discovery how great the show had become mid-season 1. Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Wire were pretty great discoveries (I mean, discovery isn't quite the best word since it's not like I hadn't heard about them before this year, but I had never seen anything from them before this year).
Your TV boyfriend of the year? …Dan Humphrey, somehow, is one of them (keeping in mind that my headcanon ends after 5.23). Definitely Nick Miller, and of course Ben Wyatt, always. Jesse Pinkman, Freddie Lyon, Gary Preston (I don't care if only one Mirand ep aired in 2012!!!)… that's probably about it.
Your TV girlfriend of the year? Leslie Knope (always), April Ludgate, Jess Day, Bel Rowley, Alicia Florrick, Sansa Stark, Allison Argent, Skyler White, Joan Watson, Debra Morgan, Ruby/Red, and I could probably go on forever (too many feelings about ladies if you hadn't noticed!!!), but that's good enough.
Your biggest squee moment of the year? All the Dan/Blair stuff before they were destroyed was actually greater than I ever hoped from this show, particularly their first real kiss in the Valentine's ep, and then absolutely everything in the episode after that with Blair being in denial and then realizing her feelings. Loads of moments on Parks and Rec, but in particular, Leslie and Ben getting engaged, Leslie winning the election, and everything to do with April caring about things. Pretty much every moment that Nick and Jess interact on New Girl, especially in season 2, but in particular, that time he put together her dresser, when he told her she's the type of girl a guy would come back for, when they were sitting on the hood of the car at the end of the season 2 premiere, and… basically every other moment ever, they're the greatest!!! The couple of Cougar Town episodes that focused on Laurie/Travis had me simultaneously squeeing and dying ridiculous amounts. Pretty much everything about Joan/Sherlock has me squeeing these days, but definitely "You know I favor you more," and when he talked Joan's job up to her family, and when he came and sat with her at the clinic and, again, just everything. Also (this is getting long, but what can I say, I squee a lot, okay???) everything about The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but definitely the proposal and the letter stand out, and finding out Pemberly is just around the corner!!! Oh, and of course all the Bel/Freddie stuff on The Hour, particularly "The story and you," and "And I said…," and "You are possible."
The most missed of your old fandoms? I can't really think of much, actually? I miss Glee being decent enough at times for me to get really invested in it (although it's probably better that I'm not, but still, at one point it did bring me a lot of happiness). And I miss when Gossip Girl hadn't ruined Dan/Blair yet. And Downton Abbey to a certain extent.
Your biggest fan anticipations for the New Year? PEMBERLY!!!!!!!!! The Hour being renewed for a season 3 BECAUSE IT BETTER BE. NICK AND JESS PUTTING THEIR MOUTHS ON EACH OTHER'S MOUTHS because I have to imagine that's going to happen, right? SEASON 3 OF GAME OF THRONES, ESPECIALLY THE RED WEDDING!!!! Sherlock asking Joan to continue with him even after her time as his sober companion is up. The rest of this season of Miranda, and Gary and Miranda finally having makeouts. Oh, and the end of Breaking Bad!!!
TOP BOOKS OF 2012
For some reason I had the feeling that I had read fewer great books this year than last year, but last year I managed to narrow down my favorites out of the 100 books I read to about 30, and somehow this year I couldn't get any lower than 40. I think I definitely read more bad books this year (I definitely rated more books 2/5 on Goodreads this year than last), but I also think overall I read more good to great books, so it kind of balances out. Anyways, here are 40 of my favorites (in no particular order):
(Some of these I've discussed and posted about in the past, but most I know I never mentioned, so feel free to ask me about my feelings or which ones I'd recommend most out of these! I'd love discussing any of them!)
And a meme:
The last book you finished this year: The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress. It wasn't brilliant or anything, but it was just a lot of fun! It's steampunk, and it's about 3 ladies in Victorian times (…I think? I can't remember now exactly when it was set, but I think that's about right) who band together and solve a series of murders that are happening and it's primarily about the development of their friendship, and it was just really enjoyable.
The first book you will finish in the new year: I'm not 100% sure since I've been taking a break from reading since I reached my goal of 100 books for this year, but it'll probably be Touch of the Demon by Diana Rowland because it's the 5th book in her Kara Gillian series which I've been following, and it's coming out today, so I imagine I'll want to get to that before anything else.
Your favorite "classic" you read this year: I'm pretty sure the oldest book I read this year was one that came out in 2000? I read nothing even remotely resembling a classic, tbh. It's not even that I don't like older books, I just… wasn't in the mood at any point this year, and I know I won't enjoy a book nearly as much if I'm forcing myself to read it, no matter how good it is, so… it just seems pointless to try to read one if I'm not in the mood. Maybe I'll read some more this year? We'll see.
The book series you read the most volumes of this year: If you count rereads, then definitely Seanan McGuire's October Daye series since I read all 6 books twice, but that was almost entirely rereads; only 1 of the books was a first time read. Not counting rereads, then I guess the Karina Halle Experiment in Terror series since I read all 6 books for the first time this year.
The genre you read the most this year: If YA counts as a genre, then definitely YA, but I don't really consider it as a genre usually since that includes so many different types of books and subgenres. So without actually counting how many I read fell into which genres, I'd say it's a tie between fantasy and contemporary. I read way more contemporary romance than I have in the past.
The book that disappointed you: Out of 100 total books, there were definitely several that were disappointing. I wanted to like Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire more than I actually did because I love everything she's written, and it wasn't bad, but it was more clearly something she had written longer ago before her writing had matured more. After reading reviews, I also thought I would like A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray more than I did, but I found a lot of it kind of annoying. The Montmaray series by Michelle Cooper also didn't capture me in the same way it seemed to have captured a lot of people; I still have the 3rd book left to read, but I've been spoiled for stuff in that book that hasn't made me more inclined to read it. Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht wasn't something I thought would be like one of my favorite books, I was only reading it because it was nominated for a Campbell and I got a free copy, but then it actively offended me, which I wasn't expecting. And then there were a lot of contemporary books that I took a chance on that I wasn't expecting a huge amount from, but were just not very good, so that was disappointing; Slammed by Colleen Hoover in particular, since the reviews for it were so great, but I had so many issues with that book.
The book you liked better than you expected to: The Sea of Tranquility in that I hoped to like it and then it CONSUMED MY SOUL and I still need everyone to read it. A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison; it's the 10th in the Rachel Morgan series, and I had major issues with a lot of that series, and so much of it frustrated me, but this was the first book in the series that I was able to just love and enjoy and didn't really have any problems with (AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE SHIPPING MIGHT ACTUALLY GO MY WAY IN THIS SERIES, YAY!!!). The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson had a lot of conflicting reviews, and I thought I might enjoy it, but I absolutely adored it. Angelfall by Susan Ee I also wasn't sure about since I'm not usually much for books about angels, and it was billed as a paranormal romance which isn't really my thing (I tend to go more for urban fantasy with romantic undertones where the romance isn't the focus but it is there), but it was actually really wonderful. Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, because it was another one I thought I would like, but not nearly as much as I actually did, and there were so many things that could've gone so wrong with it, but it was just so wonderfully done, and that really impressed me.
The hardest book you read this year (topic or writing style): I don't think I really read much that was difficult to read in terms of length or writing style or anything. The things that were hard to read were probably more because of boredom with the book but wanting to make it through it (I know some people are fine with quitting a book halfway through if it's not working for them, but once I start a book, I just have to finish it). Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey was a bit difficult since it was rather long and I was just reading it for Hugo voting purposes, but I didn't care that much for the story or the characters. Same with Embassytown by China Mieville, although that was a better book than Leviathan Wakes. Of Blood and Honey also fits into that, as it was difficult to read because I didn't care for the characters/plot, and also the subject matter in some parts was hard to read through. Something about the language in Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier made it difficult to get through, and the fact that I didn't care much for the characters/plot didn't help. What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton was a book I really enjoyed overall and thought was well done, but the subject matter did make it really difficult to get through because I kept tearing up all over the place.
Funniest book you read this year: I read a lot of books that had humorous bits, but I don't know that I read anything that I'd consider a funny book? Maybe something like Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie.
The saddest book you read this year: The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness was definitely soul crushing in numerous places. What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton was also devastating in parts (I already mentioned that I was pretty much constantly tearing up while I read it), although its ending was hopeful/happy. Same for The Sea of Tranquility. I don't think there was anything I read this year that had a tragic/sad ending, though? Everything ended happily or at least with some amount of hope. What can I say, I like happy endings.
The shortest book you read this year: Well, I'm counting 2 of the novellas I read this year as books (I mean, I read a bunch of short stories and novelettes and novellas for the Hugos, but I only ended up counting 2 of the novellas since they were long enough to have italicized titles rather than titles in quotation marks, so that's where I ended up drawing the line for if they should be counted or not), and the shorter of the two was Countdown by Mira Grant. The shortest novel I read was Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord.
The longest book you read this year: Countdown by Mira Grant, which was about 650 pages. Most of the stuff I read this year was short to medium length; there wasn't anything like last year with the ASOIAF books this year.
A book that you discovered this year that you will definitely read again: The Sea of Tranquility, definitely (I already am kind of planning to reread it in 2013 at some point). I reread the Toby Daye series by Seanan McGuire twice this year, so I'm guessing it's safe to say I'll reread Ashes of Honor, the 6th book in the series which came out this year, at least several times in the future. Same with Angelfall and The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, as I reread those books this year in addition to reading them for the first time. And same with A Perfect Blood, the 10th book in the Rachel Morgan series. Some of the cute romantic contemporary books I read, like I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella, Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, Easy by Tammara Webber, and Speechless by Hannah Harrington I'll probably reread sometime in the future if I need something to put me in a good mood. I also really enjoyed the Demon King series by Cinda Williams Chima (I actually had a lot of feelings about those books that I planned on posting at some point but never got around to it. I might still make a post about them in the future), so I can see myself rereading those books.
A book that you never want to read again: Definitely Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht, which, as I said earlier, actively offended me. I also disliked more than liked Charade by Nyrae Dawn, Slammed by Colleen Hoover, and The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski, so I have no inclination to reread them.
And finally, make a New Year's Resolution: This year my goal was 50 books, because even though I made it to 100 in 2011, that was with quite a few months of being out of school and being unemployed, and I figured having a full-time job for the entire year would make it impossible to reach 100. …obviously that wasn't the case! So I think I'm just going to try to for 100 this year, since I was able to do it for the last 2 years (and if you count the rereads I did this year, I'm actually at 119). I also have wanted for like the past 5 years to read at least one book a month, and I've never been able to stick to that (even this year, I didn't read anything in June), so I want to try again this year. And same with movies; I want to try to get at least 50 in 2013, since I managed to do that this year, and at least one a month.
TOP MOVIES OF 2012
(By top movies of 2012, I meant in general movies I watched in 2012, not only ones that came out this year, since I have not seen nearly enough films that have come out this year yet to make a 2012-only list yet!)
I managed to get to 100 books, 50 movies, and a whole lot of TV for the year. My Scrapbook has full lists of everything I watched and read with ratings for the movies and the books.
And now I'm off to work (and hopefully will get to leave early)! Hope everyone has a nice New Year's Eve!!!
TOP 10 TV SHOWS OF 2012
Honorable Mentions: Dexter, The Good Wife, Veep, Community, Haven, Go On, The Mindy Project, Happy Endings, Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23, Castle, and Archer.
10. Homeland
Carrie: It fucked me up, Saul, being wrong about Brody. It fucked me up. Because I've never been so sure and so wrong.
I first want to briefly mention Dexter and The Good Wife specifically, because I was debating between those shows and Homeland for the longest time to finish this list. Dexter had a very solid season, definitely better than last season, but I ended up not choosing it primarily because even though I feel like Homeland actually had some worse moments/episodes in its season, Dexter's high points didn't reach nearly as high as Homeland's. Plus, I'm still not sure how I feel about the thing that happened at the end of the Dexter finale. It felt really weird not including The Good Wife since it's been at least one of my top 5 shows since I started watching it, and I did really love the 2nd half of season 3. But I'm just too nervous about a lot of the things the show's choosing to do this season, and while I do think the latter half of their seasons tend to be much stronger than the first halves are, I couldn't put it on the list without knowing how things are going to play out the rest of the season. But I did enjoy both Dexter and The Good Wife quite a bit this year.
As for Homeland, the show kind of fell off the rails a couple of times this season. There were a lot of contrivances and stupid plot decisions that made no sense, and as much as I love Carrie and Brody's relationship, it started getting a bit too melodramatic/saccharine by the end of the season. But that being said, the episode where Carrie interrogates Brody, the moment where she finds out she was right about Brody, and the moment I quoted when she's telling Saul how unsure she is of herself after everything with Brody, were enough just on their own for me to want to include the show. I do think the show should have slowed the pace down this season a bit (I mean, I was looking forward to multiple episodes of Carrie and Brody playing each other early on, trying to figure out how much the other knows and not being sure how real their feelings are themselves before Brody was brought in, but we only got one), but when the show was great this season, it was really, really great, and I'm definitely still on board for season 3.
9. Game of Thrones
Cersei: Power is power.
Overall I didn't enjoy this season as much as season 1. But that being said, there were still some brilliant episodes and moments throughout the season, especially Blackwater, and I still love this show quite a bit. And I did enjoy AGOT a lot more than ACOK, so I can't be too surprised that I didn't find this season to be as strong. There were things that they changed from ACOK that I thought were bad changes, but then they also improved some things from the book, so overall it was a bit of a wash in terms of new material. I did particularly love how Shae's role was expanded this season and her relationship with Sansa. And we got to meet characters like Margaery (!!!) and Brienne and Asha and so many others, and see new settings. Anyways, I'm ridiculously excited for season 3, and since ASOS is my favorite book, I'm pretty confident my enjoyment of the show will go up with season 3.
8. Mad Men
Megan: What is wrong with you people? You’re all so cynical. You don’t smile, you smirk.
While I didn't love this season quite as much as I loved seasons 3 and 4, there were some really brilliant individual episodes. They did some interesting things, like the episode with the nonlinear narratives, and I really loved seeing Joan finally get to leave her husband and Peggy quit. (Although she better be back for season 6 -- and as a regular, not just for one episode -- or else my interest in this show is going to plummet.) The season ended on an interesting note, and I'm excited to see where things will pick up in season 6.
7. Elementary
Joan: As someone once said, once you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.
Sherlock: Sounds like a windbag.
This show!!! Sometimes I still can't believe it exists!!! When it was first announced, I was hoping it would be good, but I really never expected to love it as much as I have! The procedural elements aren't incredibly strong, but I do think they've improved over the course of the season so far, and tbh I'm never going to care particularly much about the procedural elements. But the characters and their relationships!!!!!!!! Everything I've ever wanted!!!! Joan is just amazing, and I love that she gets to call Sherlock out and be right and Sherlock will apologize when he's being an ass and will mean it, and just. Their dynamic is the greatest!!! And while the show is obviously very focused on Joan and Sherlock, I love the minor characters as well! Bell is definitely one of my favorites, but I also enjoy Gregson, and seeing Joan's family was wonderful, and I really liked Alfredo (hoping he'll return!!!), and just... every character is so well drawn and wonderful and I just have a lot of love for this show!!!
6. Cougar Town
Jules: Ellie, I love you so much. I want to ask you something.
Ellie: Are we finally running away together? Because I keep a bag in my truck.
Jules: Me too.
Ellie: Awesome.
This show is always just such a delight!!! I can't really think of a single weak episode this season; they were all just so enjoyable. There's not a character I don't like, and the relationships between every combination of characters is so great! I think my only complaint was Grayson's surprise child was a bit of an overly convenient way to resolve the issue he and Jules had about kids, but it's not really a huge complaint, and it's not like I wanted them to break up, so I'm okay with how everything turned out. All the Travis/Laurie stuff completely killed me, and the two of them seriously need to have makeouts at some point in the near future. Anyways, I'm just so glad this show is going to finally be on my screen again soon!!!!!
5. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Charlotte: Are you fake texting?
Jane: It's super important.
Okay, I'm kind of cheating including this because it's not technically a TV show, but whatever, I have been obsessed with this series for the past few months beyond the vast majority of TV shows I'm actually watching, and I had to include it here somewhere. It's close enough to a TV show for me. Anyways, if you hadn't noticed by now, I am crazy in love with this adaptation. The long version of all my feelings can be found here, but basically, I love everything this series chooses to be. I just love how they've really adapted things to work in a modern setting rather than just lift exactly what happens in the book and put it in modern times. And as much as I love Lizzie/Darcy and everything they've chosen to do with Darcy's character so far, what really makes this series special to me is how they've chosen to fully develop the 4 main girls and their relationships with each other. It's just such a beautiful thing to me, and I can't stop giving this series enough praise. And of course the writing is excellent, but I'm also really impressed with all the acting considering this is a webseries and the actors are all basically unknown; they all need to be in all the things after this is over. I'm ridiculously excited for everything that's coming up, and I'm going to be super bummed when the series ends in 2013.
4. Breaking Bad
Skyler: Walt, I want my kids back. I want my life back. Please tell me, how much is enough? How big does this pile have to be?
I feel a little weird talking about this season, just because... it wasn't a complete season! It's hard to know how to judge some of the things that happened in these 8 episodes because I still want to see how everything plays out first. That being said, I don't think I enjoyed this season quite as much as I did seasons 2-4, but this show is still one of my favorite things on TV (obviously). This season didn't focus on Jesse as much as I would've liked or as much as the past couple seasons did, but then there was some absolutely wonderful stuff with Skyler that helped make up for that, and Mike got some great things to do as well. I'm ridiculously looking forward to the final 8 episodes, especially after how the last episode left off, and I'm going to be sad when this show is finally over.
3. New Girl
Winston: "No one in the sleepy mountain town of Rythem City--"
Nick: That's "Rhythm City."
Winston: "--knew what the meteor meant, but one thing Mike Jr. did have was a whole lot of 'rittems.'"
Nick: "Rhythm."
Winston: "'Whoa! What bit me in the face?' Mike Jr. said to his dad, Mike Sr., who sucks."
Nick: Mike Sr. sucks. It's a major theme throughout this.
Winston: "Mike Sr. sucks a whole bunch, much more than his neighbor, Rollo."
Schmidt: Never stop reading this.
Winston: "Zombie zoo, zombie zoo. Zombie zoo, zombie zoo. Who let them zombies out that damn zombie zoo? Uh oh, watch your back, Laura." And I guess Laura's another character that he introduces, but that's it. And here's the word search.
Nick: Yeah, good luck, you idiot!
Oh god, this show! I don't know how it became one of my absolute favorites, but somehow it did! I adore everyone in this apartment and all their friendships so much. Every combination of characters is wonderful, and the show is consistently hilarious. It's just such a delightful show, and it brings me joy with every episode, and even those that aren't my absolute favorite episodes I would still gladly rewatch over and over.
2. The Hour
Freddie: I wrote you two letters, one from San Diego, one from New York, and I said… just get on a plane. Just get on a plane and come. And I said… And you, you didn't write back. And I told myself, of course, it's because you love news more. That doing this would always be more important than any… man. So I will see you tonight at El Paradis. Because this is what we do.
Oh god, this show. I'm still not entirely capable of being coherent about it. I did love season 1, but man, somehow season 2 was even better on every single level. The Bel/Freddie stuff was absolutely beautiful and wonderful and killed me over and over. I loved that Lix got her own storyline this season, and Randall was a great addition to the cast. And somehow this season even had me shipping Hector and Marnie by the end of it, which I would've never thought possible. Marnie's arc over the course of the season was just so excellent. Even the overarching storyline of the corruption worked so much better than the spies stuff did in season 1. I pretty much just want to watch this show on a constant loop forever, and I will die if there isn't a season 3.
1. Parks and Recreation
Leslie: Ron, for the last 6 months, my friends have worked so hard. Every 5-minute coffee break at work, every night, every weekend, every spare moment of their lives, they gave to me. If I lose, I’ll never forgive myself. You deserve to win.
Ron: We didn’t volunteer for you because we wanted to wrap ourselves in personal glory. We did it because we... care. About you. You had a dream, and we wanted to support your dream. That’s what you do when you care about someone. You support them, win, lose, or draw.
I feel like this show is going to be my favorite for as long as it airs. There's just so much about it that speaks directly to me, and I have infinite amounts of love for it. The episodes this year overall probably weren't as strong as the episodes in 2011, but it would be practically impossible for a show to maintain the consistent awesomeness that was season 3. Despite it maybe not being quite that good this year, I still adored the show, and the end of Leslie's campaign storyline was beautiful, and I started tearing up just reading the above quote because I'm a ridiculous person. I feel like season 5 has been incredibly strong so far, an even better start than season 4 had. Leslie and Ben's engagement was so perfectly and beautifully handled, we've been getting amazing development for April (everything with her and Ben in D.C. was my favorite, and the Leslie vs. April episodes was so incredibly relevant to all my interests and I'm still not over the fact that that episode exists), Tom's getting to finally pursue his dreams and maybe even be successful at it, and Ron's dating Xena! I will be so sad if this show gets cancelled this season, but at least it would be going out on a high note.
TOP 10 SHIPS OF 2012
Honorable Mentions: Laurie/Travis (Cougar Town), Nathan/Audrey (Haven), Carrie/Brody (Homeland), Will/Alicia (The Good Wife), Donna/Harvey (Suits), Eleven/Amy (Doctor Who), and Schmidt/Cece (New Girl).
10. Dan/Blair (Gossip Girl)
Blair: I told Chuck he doesn’t have my heart anymore. I realized it belongs to someone else.
I debated for the longest time about including them on this list, especially after I heard what happened in the series finale since I was super bitter towards the writers and this show. But these two pretty much consumed me for the first few months of this year, and it felt disingenuous not including them on this list. Because they really were wonderful for awhile! Their build-up was so much greater than I ever would have expected from this show. And of course they were ruined, which I was expecting from the start, although not to the extent of what the show did (not sure why I was surprised, since this show has always been amazing at making the worse choices than I ever could've imagined possible). But first we got stuff like Dan rescuing Blair from her own wedding, and Blair telling Dan how wonderful he had been to her all year and how could Serena not fall for him if he was like that with her, and the Valentine's Day kiss, and Blair trying to prove she didn't have feelings for him but ultimately proving that she did, and Blair telling Dan he had her heart, and elevator sex and the Met steps and them just being a lovely, supportive couple. And since I haven't watched a single episode since 5.23, I can always just pretend that that's how the show ended, with them together and happy.
9. Liz/Criss (30 Rock)
Liz: I have never been with someone for longer than nine months. You and I have been together for six, so I assume something will go wrong soon. You'll tell me you believe in ghosts, or I'll reveal that I am terrible at expressing my feelings. But it's not because I don't have them, it's just because I'm used to being let down. But this isn't fair to you, Criss. This is the happiest I've been in a long time and I'm sorry that I can't just be a normal person and tell you stuff. Nice stuff. Like, greeting card stuff.
Criss: You're right there buddy, come on. Home stretch. Come on.
Liz: GUUUUUH! Okay. I love you.
Criss: I know.
Liz: You Solo'd me!
Oh man, okay. I actually kind of surprised myself putting them on this list. I mean, the last time I got seriously invested in a Liz ship was Liz/Floyd, and I was never really able to completely get over them after they broke up. I've also never been as invested in this show as I know a lot of people are? I always find it entertaining, but I've never been into it enough to want to discuss it at length or rewatch episodes or anything. So these two completely took me by surprise last season, and for a little while I tried to stop myself for getting too invested because this show sometimes has issues with letting Liz be happy. But then he Solo'd her, and now I can't look back. I just love what a sweet guy Criss is, and how he can be a little weird/crazy himself but is totally there for Liz as well. LIFE IS HAPPENING! And their wedding was the sweetest, most absolutely perfect-for-Liz wedding there could possibly be.
8. April/Andy (Parks and Recreation)
Andy: If you ever need me, you know where to find me. In bed, next to you, probably having sex with you.
awww, these two!!! They've come so far since the start of the show. I have a tag on Tumblr for "Best married couple" which I use pretty much exclusively for these two. They didn't get as much to do this year maybe as they did in 2011, but we got from them was just wonderful. And storylines like their one in 5.08 with the return of Burt Macklin just remind me of how much I adore them.
7. Castle/Beckett (Castle)
Castle: So what if we don’t make sense on paper? We don’t live our lives on paper. And if we did, we’d never be astounded or surprised.
I don't talk about this show or these two nearly enough, but I do really love them! As much as I always loved their interaction before they got together, somehow they're even better together now that they're officially a couple. Partners is one of my favorite shippy tropes, and they really just epitomize everything I love about it. I just love how much they believe in each other, even when no one else does or will.
6. Scott/Allison (Teen Wolf)
Allison: Scott, I’m trying to break up with you.
Scott: I know. And it’s okay.
Allison: How is that okay?
Scott: Because I can wait.
Allison: I can’t make you wait for me. I’m not going to do that.
Scott: You don’t have to, because I know we’re going to be together.
Allison: There’s no such thing as fate.
Scott: There’s no such thing as werewolves.
I have no idea how this happened to me!!! The whole star-crossed lovers in high school thing is not the sort of thing I'm usually into at all, and the show as a whole is frequently ridiculous. BUT THEY'RE SOMEHOW THE GREATEST. I really wasn't expecting this even a little bit, I wasn't even this into them at the start, but by the end of season 1, somehow I was rooting for them to get back together, and when they're together and happy, it just makes me so happy! I DON'T KNOW!!! HIS USERNAME AND HIS PASSWORD ARE BOTH "ALLISON." I CAN'T EVEN. I don't know, I just... I love how equal they feel in this relationship and how ridiculously and completely devoted he is to her. There's also something about their physicality that I just adore. They are the actual greatest.
5. Joan/Sherlock (Elementary)
Joan: If there's some place else you have to be...
Sherlock: Not tonight, Watson. Not tonight.
This is the kind of thing where if I felt like the show was pushing them more as a ship, I would ship it less? But because the show has made it clear they want to keep it platonic (...I'm hoping that's just for now and not forever) and has developed their friendship so gradually and wonderfully, I'm ridiculously into them. I just love that he actually does respect her and thinks she's wonderful and shows it in his own way, and she takes absolutely no crap from him. I'm definitely looking forward to the point when Sherlock asks her to stay on even when her time as his sober companion is up, because you know that's absolutely going to happen.
4. Lizzie/Darcy (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries)
Lizzie: You… watched my videos.
Darcy: It was illuminating. You called me a robot. And a newsie.
Lizzie: Yeah, that probably wasn't… the best descriptor. I saw you in the hat once, I just ran with it.
Darcy: It's fine. I don't care about that.
She spent months insulting him, but HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THAT. ughhh their faces. Granted, a lot of my love for them is knowing the story and how things are going to go; we haven't actually seen that much of them in the actual series. Everyone's already talked about these two in greater length and much better than I can, so I'll just echo how much I love them and this series and how wonderfully they chose to adapt Darcy for a modern context. And I'm going to die when we finally get Pemberly (NOT TOO LONG NOW!!!).
3. Bel/Freddie (The Hour)
Freddie: I am tired of it not being possible. It is possible. You are possible. You are possible with me.
I've already flailed about these two a ridiculous amount at this point, but I just. THEY ARE PERFECT. He understands her so well; that conversation in 2.05 where he tells her that he knows the news is more important to her than any man is actual perfection. I keep turning into an incoherent mess whenever I think about them. All I can say is that there better be a season 3 and more makeouts because we definitely need more than just the one!!!
2. Nick/Jess (New Girl)
Nick: I think you're the kind of girl a guy would come back for.
Oh god, these two. I mean, I shipped them last season, but somehow it's just gone into hyperdrive this season, and the show's not even being overtly shippy with them, but just casual, friendly moments between them are somehow insanely shippy to me now!!! I think part of it is that last season, Nick was still a little grumpy about Jess moving in and her quirks, but this season they just feel like friends. They're so comfortable and casual and domestic with each other and I love it so much. Half the time they seem like they're already dating. I love that even when their storylines in an episode aren't actually overlapping, they still go to each other and talk about what's going on, and they're just there for each other, and it's so wonderful. And Nick went into a haunted house for her and he put together her dresser and they admitted they're sometimes attracted to each other, and I just can't with them. When I was marathoning season 1, I was like, "I want them to get together someday, but not anytime soon," but at this point I seriously need them to start making out soon or I might die.
1. Leslie/Ben (Parks and Recreation)
Leslie: Oh my god, what are you doing?
Ben: I'm thinking about my future. I'm deeply, ridiculously in love with you, and above anything else, I want to be with you forever. So, Leslie Knope, will you--
Leslie: Wait! I need to remember this, give me a second. I need to remember every little thing about how perfect my life is right now at this exact moment.
Ben: Leslie Knope, will you--
Leslie: Yes!
I just adore these two. I mean, I've talked about them so much at this point that I don't know what else there is for me to say, but they're just such a solid, wonderful couple. I've loved seeing them actually be a couple this year, and how they deal with issues like adults, and just how much they love each other. And this proposal was so absolutely perfect and made me tear up a ridiculous amount. They're pretty much always going to be my OTP of all OTPs.
Which TV shows did you start watching in 2012?
In terms of brand new shows, Smash, The Legend of Korra, New Girl (I mean, I did watch the pilot in 2011, but I wasn't planning on watching more after that, and I didn't start watching the show for real until this year), Scandal, Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23, Veep, Bunheads, Elementary, The Mindy Project, The New Normal, Ben & Kate, Go On, Once Upon a Time, and Nashville. For shows that weren't in their first season this year but were new to me, Avatar: the Last Airbender, Life, Rome, The Wire, and Teen Wolf. ...that's actually a lot more than I thought it would be.
Which TV shows did you let go of in 2012?
How I Met Your Mother (although I'm pretty sure when it's finally over for good, I'll just marathon the whole series), Pretty Little Liars (maybe? I haven't watched any episodes since the season 2 finale, but I might pick it up again at some point), Up All Night, Downton Abbey (I wasn't really planning on quitting it, but I was an episode behind and got spoiled for Sybil's death, and even though she wasn't my favorite, I was still pissed that the show would choose to kill her off and leave characters like Bates and Robert. And I've heard what they chose to do to Matthew as well, which, no thank you, I think I'll just have my canon for the show end with the season 2 Christmas special), Fringe (WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL, STILL BITTER), and Gossip Girl (thank god I was finally able to quit before the season 5 finale, but I probably should've given it up long before that to save myself a lot of heartache). …I think that's it. I mean there are some shows that I missed most if not all of the most recent season, like Shameless and Justified and The Legend of Korra, that I'm still planning to catch up on at some point in the future.
Which TV shows did you mean to get into but didn't in 2012? Why?
I watched up to 4.09 of Six Feet Under like 3 years ago and every year since I've planned to finish out the series, but that still hasn't happened yet. I was planning on checking out more older HBO shows, like The Sopranos and Deadwood, since I discovered how to access HBOGo this summer, but I didn't get around to anything but Rome and The Wire. There are also shows like The X-Files and The Sarah Connor Chronicles which have been on my To Watch list for years and years and someday I'll get to them, but that didn't happen this year. For all of those shows, I think I'm just waiting to be in the right mood to check them out, and I just haven't been yet. For the most part, if there's a show I've heard good things about that other people have seemed to be liking, I'll check it out right away. I don't have a long list of TV shows to check out like I do for movies and books.
Which TV shows do you intend on checking out in 2013?
This is pretty much the same list as the stuff I meant to get to this year but didn't? Someday I'll finish Six Feet Under, and someday I'll watch The Sopranos and Deadwood and The X-Files and The Sarah Connor Chronicles and so on, and I probably won't get to all of them this year, but there's a good chance I'll get to at least one of them. Oh, and maybe Bob's Burgers. And I've also seen a little about Some Girls and Fresh Meat on Tumblr that seems interesting, so I might check those out at some point.
Which TV show impressed you least in 2012?
There are a lot, but Gossip Girl really has to win the prize. I mean, I still can't believe what a beautiful, healthy relationship they developed wonderfully between Dan and Blair, and how quickly they decimated it. Even though I didn't watch season 6, I still heard what happened, and it's like the writers were doing everything they possibly could to crush the spirits of Dan/Blair shippers and reward Chuckistans, and making Dan Gossip Girl, despite the hilarity it provided on Tumblr the night of the finale, made me think that the writers have never watched their own show or write their scripts while high. Honorable mentions go to Fringe (HOW DID WE NEVER GET MAKEOUTS????? I HATE ALL THE THINGS YOU CHOSE TO BE, SHOW) and Glee (always, and yet I'm still watching it). There are others I found disappointing in one way or another, but nothing to the extent that those shows disappointed me.
Which TV show do you think you might let go of in 2013 unless things significantly improve?
I'm actually way more likely to drop shows I'm finding boring or I'm just not invested in at all for whatever reason than shows that make me rage, which means Glee is probably still here to stay. I would say Modern Family, but it's a show my mom watches with me, so she'll always remind me when the episodes about to come on and force strongly encourage me to watch with her, so I guess I can't quit it yet. White Collar also falls under the category of watching with my mom so I can't quit it, although I do like it more than Modern Family. Maybe Revenge since I'm like 5 episodes behind and haven't missed it at all or really cared to find out what's been happening. Smash, although I did somehow make it through season 1 even though the vast majority of it was awful, so it's probably here to stay like Glee since I am apparently a sucker for anything with musical numbers (plus, I do have a bit of an obsession with Christian Borle after discovering the Legally Blonde musical, so). The Legend of Korra I haven't watched past 1.07, and I didn't hear great things about the rest of season 1, so if I don't hear great things about season 2, I might not be inclined to catch up (plus, I keep forgetting that it was a show that existed this year that I watched, which is not a good sign).
Which TV shows do you think you'll never let go of no matter how crappy they get? Why?
Glee, apparently. I mean, the last episode I watched was the one before the break up episode because I was spoiled for that a day or two before it aired and knew I needed time to prepare for the events of that episode, and now I'm at a point where I'm pretty sure I can handle it, but I just haven't had the time to catch up. But I will at some point, because I'm a sucker for anything with a musical number, and I still just care too much about certain characters. Plus, I am a little obsessed with Darren Criss and need him to continue to be on my screen. Also Doctor Who, because as bad as it gets, the structure of the show is such that with each new companion and new Doctor, it's like the show is reset, so I know if I just stick it out a season or two, things might get better, and there are always isolated episodes I enjoy. I also find it hard to imagine Parks and Rec ever getting terrible enough for me to want to quit it, but you never know.
Your main fandom of the year? I haven't really had just one main fandom in a really long time. Parks and Recreation would probably be closest since I discuss the episodes pretty consistently, and it is my favorite show of the year, although I wasn't as involved in fandom this year as I was in 2011. For the first like 5 months of the year, Gossip Girl (or more specifically The Dair Show) was probably my biggest fandom. For the second half of the year, definitely The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and New Girl. And The Hour too probably the past few months. Elementary, too, to a lesser extent.
Your favorite film watched this year? ugh I don't know. There were quite a few I really enjoyed. My favorite that actually came out in 2012 would probably be Beasts of the Southern Wild (although I still have a lot left to see from this year). My favorite stuff that came out in previous years but I watched this year... I don't know if I can name just one, but some particular favorites would be Mildred Pierce, How to Steal a Million, and In the Mood for Love.
Your favorite album or song to listen to this year? I could probably just copy and paste what I wrote when I filled out this meme last year, the gist of which is: I pretty much listen to Glee to the exclusion of almost anything else? I am super lazy when it comes to discovering new music. The only other things I listened to a good amount would be Fun.'s new album, the Legally Blonde OBC (shut up), The Gaslight Anthem's new album, Mumford & Son's new album, and the Pitch Perfect soundtrack. Oh, and I was pretty obsessed with "New York City" by Among Savages. Oh, and two songs from the actress who plays Mary on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, "Another Year" and "October."
Your best new fandom discovery of the year? The Lizzie Bennet Diaries was obviously a major one. New Girl wasn't quite a discovery since I did watch the pilot in 2011, but it was a major discovery how great the show had become mid-season 1. Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Wire were pretty great discoveries (I mean, discovery isn't quite the best word since it's not like I hadn't heard about them before this year, but I had never seen anything from them before this year).
Your TV boyfriend of the year? …Dan Humphrey, somehow, is one of them (keeping in mind that my headcanon ends after 5.23). Definitely Nick Miller, and of course Ben Wyatt, always. Jesse Pinkman, Freddie Lyon, Gary Preston (I don't care if only one Mirand ep aired in 2012!!!)… that's probably about it.
Your TV girlfriend of the year? Leslie Knope (always), April Ludgate, Jess Day, Bel Rowley, Alicia Florrick, Sansa Stark, Allison Argent, Skyler White, Joan Watson, Debra Morgan, Ruby/Red, and I could probably go on forever (too many feelings about ladies if you hadn't noticed!!!), but that's good enough.
Your biggest squee moment of the year? All the Dan/Blair stuff before they were destroyed was actually greater than I ever hoped from this show, particularly their first real kiss in the Valentine's ep, and then absolutely everything in the episode after that with Blair being in denial and then realizing her feelings. Loads of moments on Parks and Rec, but in particular, Leslie and Ben getting engaged, Leslie winning the election, and everything to do with April caring about things. Pretty much every moment that Nick and Jess interact on New Girl, especially in season 2, but in particular, that time he put together her dresser, when he told her she's the type of girl a guy would come back for, when they were sitting on the hood of the car at the end of the season 2 premiere, and… basically every other moment ever, they're the greatest!!! The couple of Cougar Town episodes that focused on Laurie/Travis had me simultaneously squeeing and dying ridiculous amounts. Pretty much everything about Joan/Sherlock has me squeeing these days, but definitely "You know I favor you more," and when he talked Joan's job up to her family, and when he came and sat with her at the clinic and, again, just everything. Also (this is getting long, but what can I say, I squee a lot, okay???) everything about The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but definitely the proposal and the letter stand out, and finding out Pemberly is just around the corner!!! Oh, and of course all the Bel/Freddie stuff on The Hour, particularly "The story and you," and "And I said…," and "You are possible."
The most missed of your old fandoms? I can't really think of much, actually? I miss Glee being decent enough at times for me to get really invested in it (although it's probably better that I'm not, but still, at one point it did bring me a lot of happiness). And I miss when Gossip Girl hadn't ruined Dan/Blair yet. And Downton Abbey to a certain extent.
Your biggest fan anticipations for the New Year? PEMBERLY!!!!!!!!! The Hour being renewed for a season 3 BECAUSE IT BETTER BE. NICK AND JESS PUTTING THEIR MOUTHS ON EACH OTHER'S MOUTHS because I have to imagine that's going to happen, right? SEASON 3 OF GAME OF THRONES, ESPECIALLY THE RED WEDDING!!!! Sherlock asking Joan to continue with him even after her time as his sober companion is up. The rest of this season of Miranda, and Gary and Miranda finally having makeouts. Oh, and the end of Breaking Bad!!!
TOP BOOKS OF 2012
For some reason I had the feeling that I had read fewer great books this year than last year, but last year I managed to narrow down my favorites out of the 100 books I read to about 30, and somehow this year I couldn't get any lower than 40. I think I definitely read more bad books this year (I definitely rated more books 2/5 on Goodreads this year than last), but I also think overall I read more good to great books, so it kind of balances out. Anyways, here are 40 of my favorites (in no particular order):
(Some of these I've discussed and posted about in the past, but most I know I never mentioned, so feel free to ask me about my feelings or which ones I'd recommend most out of these! I'd love discussing any of them!)
And a meme:
The last book you finished this year: The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress. It wasn't brilliant or anything, but it was just a lot of fun! It's steampunk, and it's about 3 ladies in Victorian times (…I think? I can't remember now exactly when it was set, but I think that's about right) who band together and solve a series of murders that are happening and it's primarily about the development of their friendship, and it was just really enjoyable.
The first book you will finish in the new year: I'm not 100% sure since I've been taking a break from reading since I reached my goal of 100 books for this year, but it'll probably be Touch of the Demon by Diana Rowland because it's the 5th book in her Kara Gillian series which I've been following, and it's coming out today, so I imagine I'll want to get to that before anything else.
Your favorite "classic" you read this year: I'm pretty sure the oldest book I read this year was one that came out in 2000? I read nothing even remotely resembling a classic, tbh. It's not even that I don't like older books, I just… wasn't in the mood at any point this year, and I know I won't enjoy a book nearly as much if I'm forcing myself to read it, no matter how good it is, so… it just seems pointless to try to read one if I'm not in the mood. Maybe I'll read some more this year? We'll see.
The book series you read the most volumes of this year: If you count rereads, then definitely Seanan McGuire's October Daye series since I read all 6 books twice, but that was almost entirely rereads; only 1 of the books was a first time read. Not counting rereads, then I guess the Karina Halle Experiment in Terror series since I read all 6 books for the first time this year.
The genre you read the most this year: If YA counts as a genre, then definitely YA, but I don't really consider it as a genre usually since that includes so many different types of books and subgenres. So without actually counting how many I read fell into which genres, I'd say it's a tie between fantasy and contemporary. I read way more contemporary romance than I have in the past.
The book that disappointed you: Out of 100 total books, there were definitely several that were disappointing. I wanted to like Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire more than I actually did because I love everything she's written, and it wasn't bad, but it was more clearly something she had written longer ago before her writing had matured more. After reading reviews, I also thought I would like A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray more than I did, but I found a lot of it kind of annoying. The Montmaray series by Michelle Cooper also didn't capture me in the same way it seemed to have captured a lot of people; I still have the 3rd book left to read, but I've been spoiled for stuff in that book that hasn't made me more inclined to read it. Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht wasn't something I thought would be like one of my favorite books, I was only reading it because it was nominated for a Campbell and I got a free copy, but then it actively offended me, which I wasn't expecting. And then there were a lot of contemporary books that I took a chance on that I wasn't expecting a huge amount from, but were just not very good, so that was disappointing; Slammed by Colleen Hoover in particular, since the reviews for it were so great, but I had so many issues with that book.
The book you liked better than you expected to: The Sea of Tranquility in that I hoped to like it and then it CONSUMED MY SOUL and I still need everyone to read it. A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison; it's the 10th in the Rachel Morgan series, and I had major issues with a lot of that series, and so much of it frustrated me, but this was the first book in the series that I was able to just love and enjoy and didn't really have any problems with (AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE SHIPPING MIGHT ACTUALLY GO MY WAY IN THIS SERIES, YAY!!!). The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson had a lot of conflicting reviews, and I thought I might enjoy it, but I absolutely adored it. Angelfall by Susan Ee I also wasn't sure about since I'm not usually much for books about angels, and it was billed as a paranormal romance which isn't really my thing (I tend to go more for urban fantasy with romantic undertones where the romance isn't the focus but it is there), but it was actually really wonderful. Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, because it was another one I thought I would like, but not nearly as much as I actually did, and there were so many things that could've gone so wrong with it, but it was just so wonderfully done, and that really impressed me.
The hardest book you read this year (topic or writing style): I don't think I really read much that was difficult to read in terms of length or writing style or anything. The things that were hard to read were probably more because of boredom with the book but wanting to make it through it (I know some people are fine with quitting a book halfway through if it's not working for them, but once I start a book, I just have to finish it). Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey was a bit difficult since it was rather long and I was just reading it for Hugo voting purposes, but I didn't care that much for the story or the characters. Same with Embassytown by China Mieville, although that was a better book than Leviathan Wakes. Of Blood and Honey also fits into that, as it was difficult to read because I didn't care for the characters/plot, and also the subject matter in some parts was hard to read through. Something about the language in Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier made it difficult to get through, and the fact that I didn't care much for the characters/plot didn't help. What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton was a book I really enjoyed overall and thought was well done, but the subject matter did make it really difficult to get through because I kept tearing up all over the place.
Funniest book you read this year: I read a lot of books that had humorous bits, but I don't know that I read anything that I'd consider a funny book? Maybe something like Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie.
The saddest book you read this year: The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness was definitely soul crushing in numerous places. What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton was also devastating in parts (I already mentioned that I was pretty much constantly tearing up while I read it), although its ending was hopeful/happy. Same for The Sea of Tranquility. I don't think there was anything I read this year that had a tragic/sad ending, though? Everything ended happily or at least with some amount of hope. What can I say, I like happy endings.
The shortest book you read this year: Well, I'm counting 2 of the novellas I read this year as books (I mean, I read a bunch of short stories and novelettes and novellas for the Hugos, but I only ended up counting 2 of the novellas since they were long enough to have italicized titles rather than titles in quotation marks, so that's where I ended up drawing the line for if they should be counted or not), and the shorter of the two was Countdown by Mira Grant. The shortest novel I read was Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord.
The longest book you read this year: Countdown by Mira Grant, which was about 650 pages. Most of the stuff I read this year was short to medium length; there wasn't anything like last year with the ASOIAF books this year.
A book that you discovered this year that you will definitely read again: The Sea of Tranquility, definitely (I already am kind of planning to reread it in 2013 at some point). I reread the Toby Daye series by Seanan McGuire twice this year, so I'm guessing it's safe to say I'll reread Ashes of Honor, the 6th book in the series which came out this year, at least several times in the future. Same with Angelfall and The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, as I reread those books this year in addition to reading them for the first time. And same with A Perfect Blood, the 10th book in the Rachel Morgan series. Some of the cute romantic contemporary books I read, like I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella, Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, Easy by Tammara Webber, and Speechless by Hannah Harrington I'll probably reread sometime in the future if I need something to put me in a good mood. I also really enjoyed the Demon King series by Cinda Williams Chima (I actually had a lot of feelings about those books that I planned on posting at some point but never got around to it. I might still make a post about them in the future), so I can see myself rereading those books.
A book that you never want to read again: Definitely Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht, which, as I said earlier, actively offended me. I also disliked more than liked Charade by Nyrae Dawn, Slammed by Colleen Hoover, and The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski, so I have no inclination to reread them.
And finally, make a New Year's Resolution: This year my goal was 50 books, because even though I made it to 100 in 2011, that was with quite a few months of being out of school and being unemployed, and I figured having a full-time job for the entire year would make it impossible to reach 100. …obviously that wasn't the case! So I think I'm just going to try to for 100 this year, since I was able to do it for the last 2 years (and if you count the rereads I did this year, I'm actually at 119). I also have wanted for like the past 5 years to read at least one book a month, and I've never been able to stick to that (even this year, I didn't read anything in June), so I want to try again this year. And same with movies; I want to try to get at least 50 in 2013, since I managed to do that this year, and at least one a month.
TOP MOVIES OF 2012
(By top movies of 2012, I meant in general movies I watched in 2012, not only ones that came out this year, since I have not seen nearly enough films that have come out this year yet to make a 2012-only list yet!)
I managed to get to 100 books, 50 movies, and a whole lot of TV for the year. My Scrapbook has full lists of everything I watched and read with ratings for the movies and the books.
And now I'm off to work (and hopefully will get to leave early)! Hope everyone has a nice New Year's Eve!!!