Best Episode of the Season: Broad City Season 1

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Season Analysis: A big deal is often made when female voices emerge in male-dominated genres, and Broad City accomplished that, but not because that was what it was specifically attempting.  It worked out that way because Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson – who conveyed their unique, optimistic, and pleasantly skewed perspective on young adult life in New York City – just happen to be women.

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“Hurricane Wanda”
Bottle episodes– those half-hours that take place entirely within one physical location – continue to be sitcom staples because they continue to work so well.  Keeping everyone stuck in one spot raises the pressure and thus the emotions that have been simmering over the course of the preceding episodes.  When a hurricane keeps Abbi and Ilana stuck in Abbi’s apartment, they are forced to deal with the overwhelming presence of Abbi’s crush Jeremy, the overwhelming (in a different way) presence of Abbi’s roommate’s boyfriend Bevers and Bevers’ sister (UCB stalwart Shannon O’Neill in an energetic performance befitting an episode named after a hurricane), and a malfunctioning toilet.  There wasn’t much development on the Jeremy front (although we did get a memorable threesome dream sequence thanks to Ilana).  The Bevers siblings, while freakishly aggressive to most everyone else, were mostly destructive towards each other, thanks to the mystery plot of the shit in the shoe.  Ultimately, like all of Broad City, this episode was about the power of friendship, with a coda showing Ilana’s duct tape-aided adventure in disposing of Abbi’s turd that would not be flushed.

What Won TV? – July 20-July 26, 2014

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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 – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Whose Line is it Anyway?
Tuesday – Nathan For You
Wednesday – The Meltdown Show With Jonah and Kumail
Thursday – You’re the Worst
Friday – Girl Meets World is a little silly, but I’m still entertained.
Saturday – N/A

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 7/26/14

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

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

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 7/22/14

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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. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
3. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
4. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
5. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
6. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
7. Sia – “Chandelier”
8. Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg – “Wiggle”
9. Fifth Harmony – “BO$$”
10. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
11. Calvin Harris – “Summer”
12. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
13. Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
14. MKTO – “Classic”
15. Becky G – “Shower”
16. Pharrell – “Happy”
17. DJ Snake & Lil’ Jon – “Turn Down For What”
18. Ed Sheeran ft. Pharrell – “Sing”
19. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
20. Tiësto ft. Matthew Koma – “Wasted”

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

What Won TV? – July 13-July 19, 2014

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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 – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Whose Line is it Anyway?
Tuesday – If 4 people were to watch Nathan For You at the same time, would it only take 6 minutes?
Wednesday – Jeopardy!
Thursday – You’re the Worst (Around! Nothing’s ever gonna bring you up!)
Friday – So, the week before, Disney Channel showed episode 3 of Girl Meets World online, even though episode 2 aired on TV.  So, this week I watched episode 2 on demand.
Saturday – N/A, essentially

Best Episode of the Season: True Detective Season 1

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Season Analysis: A mystery that focused on its characters but wisely chose to also allow its mystery to be solved, True Detective succeeded on the strength of its acting, directing, and detours into mysticism.

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“The Secret Fate of All Life”
A time jump is a nifty trick employed by television shows that more often than not works to re-energize series that have lost a bit of their edge.  This trope has avoided falling into cliché because it still immediately subverts a show’s established expectations.  The time jump in “The Secret Fate of All Life” works especially well by taking the subversion even further.  A time jump is unexpected with just about any show, but even more so of an anthology series with a narrative contained in one season.  Add to that the fact that True Detective was already jumping back and forth between 1995 and 2012; it had not to this point offered any indication that it would be visiting a third period in between those two.  Then there was the surprise of Rust Cohle walking out of his interview with Papania and Gilbough.  It was almost fourth-wall breaking; the 2012 interviews had seemed to merely be framing devices, but now they were headed in the direction of continuing the narrative.  “The Secret Fate of All Life” even subverted the narrative rules TD had set for itself, with the one-two-three punch of Marty and Rust’s covered-up killing of Reggie and DeWall Ledoux in 1995, the introduction of the Yellow King in 2002, and the implication of Rust as a suspect in 2012 leading the show to focus on plot in defiance of the character study established in the season’s first half.  It was still a devastating study of tragic personalities, but this was the point when it became clear that it was not satisfied with keeping matters so simple.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 7/19/14

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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. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
2. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
3. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
4. Magic! – “Rude”
5. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
6. Calvin Harris – “Summer”
7. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
8. Sia – “Chandelier”
9. Lorde – “Tennis Court”
10. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
11. MKTO – “Classic”
12. Ed Sheeran ft. Pharrell – “Sing”
13. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
14. Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg – “Wiggle”
15. Katy Perry – “Birthday”
16. Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd – “Really Don’t Care”
17. Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
18. Rixton – “Me and My Broken Heart”
19. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
20. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”

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

Best Episode of the Season: Axe Cop Season 1

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Season Analysis: As Axe Cop’s title shot prominently declares, it was co-created by a 5-year-old.  Its first season certainly felt like it was, and – thanks hugely to Nick Offerman as the titular hero – it was an ideal realization of a show co-created a 5-year-old.

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“The Rabbit Who Broke All the Rules”
An area in which Axe Cop the TV series largely excels is its well-considered mythology, which serves to establish layer upon layer of Axe Cop’s motivations.  When Axe Cop becomes a foster father to a strange orphan boy, it is revealed that the boy is possessed by the ghost of the first creature that Axe Cop ever killed: the unconventional titular rabbit.  Axe Cop’s opposition to this hind-leg standing, coconut-eating hare is a little fascistic, almost uncomfortably so.  But it works as well as it does because it is such a strong character choice.  Axe Cop’s black-and-white ethical code may be too simplistic and too intensely applied, but he is committed to it so firmly, and that makes him interesting as a fictional personality.  As all-powerful as he may seem, and despite how unassailable his results tend to be, the appropriateness of his methods or lack thereof are worth considering, even though he obviously exists in a fantasy world.  Sometimes, dispensing with subtlety proves to be fruitful.

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 7/16/14

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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. Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg – “Whistle”
7. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
8. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
9. Calvin Harris – “Summer”
10. Ed Sheeran ft. Pharrell – “Sing”
11. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
12. Sia – “Chandelier”
13. Pharrell – “Happy”
14. DJ Snake & Lil’ Jon – “Turn Down For What”
15. MKTO – “Classic”
16. John Legend – “All of Me”
17. Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
18. Paramore – “Ain’t It Fun”
19. 5 Seconds of Summer – “She Looks So Perfect”
20. Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd – “Really Don’t Care”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Summer
3. Fancy
4. Happy
5. Come With Me Now
6. Latch
7. Turn Down For What
8. Stay With Me
9. Ain’t It Fun
10. Am I Wrong
11. Boom Clap
12. Problem
13. Love Runs Out
14. Sing
15. Really Don’t Care
16. Maps
17. All of Me
18. Wiggle
19. She Looks So Perfect
20. Classic

What Won TV? – July 6-July 12, 2014

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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 – Is it possible for a Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Final to not be exciting?
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – We don’t need an award from the East Los Angeles International Film Festival to know that was a classic episode of Nathan For You.
Wednesday – Jeopardy!
Thursday – Comedy Bang! Bang!
Friday – Girl Meets World showed a bit more promise in its second episode.
Saturday – I caught some of the World Cup 3rd place game.

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