Television | Jmunney's Blog

Best Episode of the Season: Arrow Season 2

August 12, 2014

jmunney Arrow, Best Episodes of the 2013-2014 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Television Leave a comment

Season Analysis: With its cast getting better and better and its action continuing to be exciting, Arrow made a case for itself as the best live-action superhero series of all time.

“Streets of Fire”
To know why Arrow’s penultimate Season 2 episode was the show at its best, all you have to do is watch this scene:

Felicity’s defiant declaration of her belief in Oliver’s righteousness and ability is the best possible reminder of his duty to the city, effectively re-establishing the Arrow’s mission statement. At Oliver’s bleakest hour, the show takes a moment to emphasize how far our protagonists have come and why they deserve faith in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Almost succumbing to despair in response to all the loved ones he’s lost, Oliver is reassured by Felicity, who responds that “you honor the dead by fighting,” counteracting his list of the dead with a list of all those who meant harm to Starling City that he has stopped. Oliver Queen has come a long way: he was on his own when he became the vigilante, but now, as one as of his closest partners makes clear, he could not be farther from solitude: he is not alone, and she believes in him.

What Won TV? – August 3-August 9, 2014

August 10, 2014

jmunney Music, Television, What Won TV? Leave a comment

In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

Sunday – Masters of Sex
Monday – Gravity Falls (Monday was the day that Gravity Falls aired on Disney X D, but I kind of want to assign it to Friday, the day it aired on regular Disney, since Whose Line is it Anyway? was also so great on Monday.)
Tuesday – (Whoop!) I assume most of you are impressed by how much Nathan For You accomplishes every week.
Wednesday – The Meltdown Show With Jonah and Kumail
Thursday – Rectify
Friday – Girl Meets World (Although I’d like to pretend that Friday was the first day Gravity Falls aired, since GMW wasn’t at its best.)
Saturday – I caught a little bit of the PGA Championship.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 8/9/14

August 9, 2014

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Magic! – “Rude”
2. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
3. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
4. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
5. Sia – “Chandelier”
6. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
7. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
8. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
9. Calvin Harris – “Summer”
10. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
11. Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd – “Really Don’t Care”
12. Pharrell Williams ft. Miley Cyrus – “Come Get It Bae”
13. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
14. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
15. Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
16. American Authors – “Believer”
17. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
18. Kiesza – “Hideaway”
19. Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”
20. Andy Grammer – “Back Home”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Summer
3. Fancy
4. Come With Me Now
5. Hideaway
6. Latch
7. Stay With Me
8. Come Get It Bae
9. Rather Be
10. Am I Wrong
11. Boom Clap
12. Problem
13. Love Runs Out
14. Really Don’t Care
15. A Sky Full of Stars
16. Maps
17. Rude
18. All About That Bass
19. Believer
20. Back Home

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 8/5/14

August 6, 2014

jmunney Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment

Each week, I check out FUSE’s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Magic! – “Rude”
2. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
3. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
4. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
5. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
6. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
7. Becky G – “Shower”
8. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
9. Sia – “Chandelier”
10. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
11. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
12. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
13. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
14. Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg – “Wiggle”
15. Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
16. Calvin Harris – “Summer”
17. 5 Seconds of Summer – “She Looks So Perfect”
18. Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
19. John Legend – “All of Me”
20. Pharrell ft. Miley Cyrus – “Come Get It Bae”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Summer
3. Fancy
4. Come With Me Now
5. Latch
6. Stay With Me
7. Come Get It Bae
8. Rather Be
9. Cool Kids
10. Am I Wrong
11. Boom Clap
12. Problem
13. Love Runs Out
14. Maps
15. All of Me
16. Rude
17. All About That Bass
18. Wiggle
19. She Looks So Perfect
20. Shower

What Won TV? – July 27-August 2, 2014

August 3, 2014

jmunney Television, What Won TV? Leave a comment

In this dumb feature, I look back at each dumb day of the past dumb week and determine what dumb shows “won TV” for the dumb night. That is, I consider every dumb episode of dumb television I watched that aired on a particular dumb day and declare which was the dumb best.

Sunday – Dumb Masters of Sex
Monday – Dumb Jeopardy!
Tuesday – Nathan For You
Wednesday – Dumb Sharknado: The Dumb Second One
Thursday – You’re the Dumb Worst
Friday – The dumb final of the Jeopardy! Dumb Teen Tournament
Saturday – N/A

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 8/2/14

August 2, 2014

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Magic! – “Rude”
2. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
3. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
4. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
5. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
6. Sia – “Chandelier”
7. Calvin Harris – “Summer”
8. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
9. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
10. Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd – “Really Don’t Care”
11. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
12. Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
13. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
14. Pharrell Williams ft. Miley Cyrus – “Come Get It Bae”
15. Lorde – “Tennis Court”
16. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
17. American Authors – “Believer”
18. Tove Lo – “Habits”
19. Kiesza – “Hideaway”
20. Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg – “Wiggle”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Summer
3. Fancy
4. Come With Me Now
5. Hideaway
6. Latch
7. Stay With Me
8. Come Get It Bae
9. Rather Be
10. Tennis Court
11. Am I Wrong
12. Boom Clap
13. Problem
14. Love Runs Out
15. Really Don’t Care
16. Maps
17. Habits
18. Rude
19. Wiggle
20. Believer

Best Episode of the Season: Archer Season 5

July 30, 2014

jmunney Archer, Best Episodes of the 2013-2014 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Television Leave a comment

Season Analysis: Re-branded as Archer: Vice, the season-long transformation of ISIS into drug runners did not produce laughs as consistently as in previous years, but it was always admirable in its ambition.

“Arrival/Departure”
I will admit that my lack of laughs this season may have had to do with me watching the episodes at a time of night when I was tired and/or my mind was just elsewhere. But I think the arch humor of this show has not really evolved and has thus lost some of its zest. But as all the pieces came together in the season finale, and it was clear that this year had been designed by creator Adam Reed and his team like clockwork from the beginning, it began to click for me, and I was feeling the satisfaction that Archer: Vice was attempting to inspire in its viewers. It was like a real-life dream (or nightmare) that the ISIS crew actually lived through, as everything essentially reset at the end. The actual events at San Marcos seemed like they would have little long-term bearing (beyond the psychological effects), and that wasn’t because what had happened was going to be ignored but because everything was dealt with as it needed to be. There was a bit of a deus ex machina feel to the machinations, but they were as narratively justified as they needed to be. Then there was the surprisingly affecting final scene, in which Lana introduced Sterling to his daughter. The slow fade out of the sound as he struggled to process the news was audiovisual storytelling at its finest.

Best Episode of the Season: Scandal Season 3

July 30, 2014

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2013-2014 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Scandal, Television Leave a comment

Season Analysis: Scandal started to turn into Alias a bit in Season 3, which was good, because the subterfuge was a whole lot more interesting than Olivia and Fitz’s umpteenth attempt to make their impossible love affair work.

“Everything’s Coming Up Mellie”
Scandal is a sort of opera, insofar as every character has the biggest emotions possible at any moment. Thus, the best performances that can be wrung from that style are those that cover every the full range of big emotions. Bellamy Young is able to imbue First Lady Mellie Grant with just this range by playing her as villain, hero, victim, and manipulator. And she got to shine in all those roles like no other time with the flashback-heavy “Everything’s Coming Up Mellie.” This episode revealed that not only has Mellie been a victim of unfaithfulness, but also a victim of rape by her father-in-law. But she used that total loss of control to take charge like never before. The whole point of this episode is that you cannot peg anybody so easily. Even when people are direct and show their personalities so openly – and Mellie easily fits that description – you never know just what is in their past and who they really, fully are. And that is the trick of Scandal at its best: its operatic emotions make it seem like everyone can be easily judged, but its most revelatory moments make it clear that nobody can ever be so simply pegged.

Best Episode of the Season: Parenthood Season 5

July 29, 2014

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2013-2014 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Parenthood, Television Leave a comment

Season Analysis: Parenthood probably works better with shorter season orders, as the 22-episode fifth season allowed it to indulge in storylines that were not always working. Still, there was stellar acting throughout, particularly from Ray Romano and Max Burkholder.

“Promises”
Smack dab in the middle of the season, “Promises” was the point at which every Braverman story – the questionable and the sensible ones both – were all clicking. I was always skeptical of the Joel and Julia marriage troubles storyline, because the existence of their issues required some unusually unreasonable behavior. But when it produces scenes like Julia confiding in Adam about her problems, with Erika Christensen perfectly conveying how she cannot understand how her life is the way it is right now, it doesn’t really matter if the story didn’t make much sense in the first place. Then there is the weird, but totally engaging, love triangle with Drew, Amy, and Natalie in which it was kind of just fun to examine the personalities of these characters and analyze who really fits with whom. But the best moments of this episode – and really the whole season – come from the best storyline of the year, Max hanging out at Hank’s photography studio. The latest crisis with Max leads Hank to realize that he too might have Asperger’s, and Ray Romano delivers a whole host of reactions that convey how this revelation changes everything about his past and present. It is cathartic because everything finally makes sense but devastating because it might be confirmation that things will never be better. It is this sort of emotional conflict that is Parenthood’s bread and butter, the device that guarantees a few tears will be jerked every episode, and it is rarely pulled off more consistently than it was in “Promises.”

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 7/29/14

July 29, 2014

jmunney Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment

Each week, I check out FUSE’s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
2. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
3. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
4. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
5. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
6. Sia – “Chandelier”
7. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
8. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
9. Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg – “Wiggle”
10. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
11. Becky G – “Shower”
12. Calvin Harris – “Summer”
13. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
14. Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
15. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
16. Pharrell – “Happy”
17. MKTO – “Classic”
18. John Legend – “All of Me”
19. Shawn Mendes – “Life of the Party”
20. DJ Snake & Lil’ Jon – “Turn Down For What”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Summer
3. Fancy
4. Happy
5. Come With Me Now
6. Turn Down For What
7. Latch
8. Stay With Me
9. Rather Be
10. Am I Wrong
11. Boom Clap
12. Problem
13. Love Runs Out
14. Maps
15. All of Me
16. All About That Bass
17. Wiggle
18. Classic
19. Shower
20. Life of the Party

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