2015: My 50 shades of awesome, weird and mediocre

In the year 2015 Merlin slept with agent Scully (really, The Fall?), Paul Young became the President of the United States (or what’s left of it on The Last Ship) and I will never be able to look at Alicia Florrick’s brother the same way again (thank you Chicago PD). There were lots of beginnings but also some ends. One stings in particular. Adieu, Downton Abbey. You will be missed.  

I love sci-fi as a genre and I’m there for any apocalyptic series. Literally, anything supernatural/horror that the Powers That Be decide to throw my way, I will be watching. I love the shows centered on what happens after the earth is invaded, whoever is behind it, be that aliens, vampires, demons or just regular humans. There is something desperately beautiful about people trying to survive in horrible circumstances and build their life again and deal with all sorts of issues that come with that. The spirit of human nature is never more attractive. That is why a lot of series in my list are from this category. The only exception is still The Walking Dead. I tried it. Twice. Both times couldn’t get past the pilot. I guess zombies is where I draw the line. 

So here are my 50 shades of awesome, weird and mediocre. And all that falls in between. No spoilers, just some basic info and my random thoughts. So read on.

The awesome – like “OMG! It’s so cool!” 

Into the Badlands

New show from AMC is about post apocalyptic world of sorts. This one is a little bit strange, because whatever the apocalypse was it seemed to have happened somewhere in the 70’s of last century, judging by the cars. Guns were banished, probably with sole purpose of giving us those terrific and out of this world sword fights. It is unclear what happened to the rest of the world, beyond the territories of seven barons, but the story is interesting and the acting is solid. There is also mystery, magic, talismans and of course love. There is a minus, however - a very very short season. Only six episodes and it is definitely not nearly enough. 

12 Monkeys

They should have postponed until 2016 since this is the year of red fire monkey – that would have been cool. I have only seen Aaron Stanford in Nikita and Amanda Schull in Suits, both in support capacity, both definitely made an impression in their previous roles. Watch them try and carry the show as leads was interesting. Add to that brain hurting time travel, love and apocalypse and what more do you need? It comes back with second season in April, so if interested you still have time too catch up.

The Librarians

This one is a great series…. if you’re an 8-year old, or have an 8-year old (here’s your excuse) or you’re 38 going on 8. Alive Excalibur, immortal knight, love, gibberish science, Noah Wyle and Christian Kane – a fairy tale that came true.  It’s like a little piece of childhood and a perfect show for lazy Sunday morning. Little of magic never gets in the way.

Amongst strong favorites are still The Fall, The Last Ship, The 100, Outlander, The Americans, Homeland, House of Cards and especially Penny Dreadful.

The weird – like not the series weird, but rather “why do I watch this?”

Unreal

The premise of the series being about reality TV was rather a reason for me to ignore this one. And I did. I kept seeing positive feed back and reading raving comments, so one day I’ve decided to give it a shot. Thankfully by that time 5 or 6 episodes have already aired, so needless to say I ate them up in one rainy summer evening. Constance Zimmer and Shiri Appleby are simply marvelous in their roles and the way they play off of each other is mesmerizing. It turned out to be so sadistically addictive, that I started questioning my taste.

The Royals

Oh, my! How silly this show is. Let me count the ways…. It is absolutely ridiculous, yet I can’t seem to find the ‘stop’ button, nor do I want to. It is a good fun. Try it.

Telenovela

Not a fan of Eva Longoria but I find her quite funny and watching Amaury Nolasco in such unusual role after Prison Break is a delight. Nice recipe to cheer you up while you have a morning coffee.

Scream: the TV series

Being a huge fan of Scream movies, I naturally tuned in. Well, it isn’t a piece of art, but it is quite watchable.

I might be in the minority, but I will watch Pretty Little Liars until the very end. I don’t care how convoluted the story will get. I’m there no matter what. There is something that just pulls me in, every time. Call me weird, but this is the “weird” part of the article…. So you already knew that.

Jessica, Matt and the Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle is hard to watch, sometimes physically, like can’t really push ‘play’, maybe because it is against nature to watch an alternate unfolding of history after the World War II so close to Holiday Season… The huge attraction to me there is Rufus Sewell. I am a huge fan! And he is simply marvelous. The series was renewed for season two, I’m only half way through season one. This time next year, I’ll tell you if I’m still on board.

For someone who has never ever read a single comic book, I quite enjoyed what Marvel universe offered us this year. I probably liked Daredevil a bit more than Jessica Jones, though. Maybe because on some level it was darker. Maybe I’m just not a fan of the idea of mind control. I honestly couldn’t tell. Although Krysten Ritter did a wonderful job, I found myself to be less and less invested as episodes went by. And with Daredevil it was the other way around.

The mediocre – like pulling teeth

The Agent

Cool hidden chambers under the VP residence, unique premise of the existence of the special agent whose job description is literally written in the text of Constitution and of course Sharon Stone unfortunately weren’t enough to pull this off. I’m not alone in this, TNT canceled the series after one season. Don’t’ waste you time.

Limitless

With so many favorites in the cast, I thought this show is definitely for me. But the main lead - Jake   McDorman - just doesn’t work for me. Also Debra is all I see when I look at Jennifer Carpenter, so it ended up being a disappointment. I tried. I gave it 3 episodes and then dropped it.

Cancellations, goodbyes and wishful thinking

Forever  

I was sad to see it go, but am grateful for 22 episodes that we’ve got. A wonderful tale about an immortal, that has everything you could possibly want - fantasy, crimes, smart dialogue, magical characters, flashbacks to past events, immortal enemy, possible love that could possibly be the cure…. The cast was great, especially Ioan Gruffudd, who I strongly believe was born for that role. If you haven’t seen it yet, give it a chance. 

Haven

The first three seasons were particularly good. Season four went a bit off track, but was still entertaining. And season 5a was a set up for 5b where Emily Rose got some wonderful things to do. I will be posting series finale review in couple of days.

UnForgettable

Can someone please put this series out of its misery? Once a decent procedural drama with some twists and back story it is now only a pale shadow of it’s former self. Is it a spell? Is it its unforgettable nature that makes studios and channels forget they have already canceled it? Twice!

I must say I’m ready to say goodbye to Caskett and Salvatore brothers, however if they come back for another season, I will still be watching. Don’t ask me why. Or do. And we discuss.

How did the TV treat You this past year? What did you like or hate? What was scratched off your watching list and what was added? Sound off below in the comments section...