Rank your 2019 TV shows throughout the year

[Dragon in the North]

2 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

I am surprised how low down you have iZombie. I think the final season was great. What werent you keen on?

I liked the final season a lot, but I was disappointed with the finale, which dampened my view on it.

IZombie spoilers:

 

I absolutely hate death fake outs, and the finale had three of them. I feel it’s a really cheap way for a writer to attempt to add stakes without adding any stakes at all. I also felt Blaine’s demise could  have been better, but I do like him spending the rest of eternity with Don E. I’m also not a huge fan of complete happy endings in general. I’m fine with most of the characters finding the perfect job and living the perfect life, but not all of them. I like finales to be tinged with at least a little sadness. It’s all a matter of personal taste.

[Corvinus85]

25 minutes ago, Dragon in the North said:

I liked the final season a lot, but I was disappointed with the finale, which dampened my view on it.

IZombie spoilers:

  Hide contents

I absolutely hate death fake outs, and the finale had three of them. I feel it’s a really cheap way for a writer to attempt to add stakes without adding any stakes at all. I also felt Blaine’s demise could  have been better, but I do like him spending the rest of eternity with Don E. I’m also not a huge fan of complete happy endings in general. I’m fine with most of the characters finding the perfect job and living the perfect life, but not all of them. I like finales to be tinged with at least a little sadness. It’s all a matter of personal taste.

But, but you have GoT at #1. Arya had 3 death fake outs, among a slew of other problems in that finale.

[Dragon in the North]

16 minutes ago, Corvinus said:

But, but you have GoT at #1. Arya had 3 death fake outs, among a slew of other problems in that finale.

Arya had 3 close calls, but with death fake outs, I either have to actually believe them to be dead, or the show was really pushing the idea that they are dead. Besides, GOT did have two death fake outs with Jon and the Hound, but it’s not as troubling as it is with IZombie and other shows because they had already established early on that there were stakes. Still, I would have preferred if they avoided those death fake outs. And I only had one problem with the GOT finale, which is unusual for me. Finales are difficult to pull off, and I find myself more disappointed than not. To me, there has only been one perfect finale that I’ve seen, and that is The Shield.

[Nictarion]

1 hour ago, Dragon in the North said:

Arya had 3 close calls, but with death fake outs, I either have to actually believe them to be dead, or the show was really pushing the idea that they are dead. Besides, GOT did have two death fake outs with Jon and the Hound, but it’s not as troubling as it is with IZombie and other shows because they had already established early on that there were stakes. Still, I would have preferred if they avoided those death fake outs. And I only had one problem with the GOT finale, which is unusual for me. Finales are difficult to pull off, and I find myself more disappointed than not. To me, there has only been one perfect finale that I’ve seen, and that is The Shield.

I’m guessing you’ve never watched Six Feet Under...

[Mladen]

14 minutes ago, Nictarion said:

I’m guessing you’ve never watched Six Feet Under...

I second that... Adding "The Americans" to that.

[Dragon in the North]

1 hour ago, Nictarion said:

I’m guessing you’ve never watched Six Feet Under...

No, I have not, though I’ve heard great things. Six Feet Under is on my “To Watch” list.

[HexMachina]

I suspect there is less agreement on this one but i feel like Orphan Black ended perfectly too

[Annara Snow]

On 8/30/2019 at 2:12 AM, Nictarion said:

I’m guessing you’ve never watched Six Feet Under...

 

On 8/30/2019 at 2:27 AM, Risto said:

I second that... Adding "The Americans" to that.

I agree with all of these. Six Feet Under, The Americans and The Shield had perfect series finales. The Leftovers finale was also great.

A lot of people say that 12 Monkeys had a great series finale, too. I've just stated watching the show, so I'll see if I agree with that.

[Corvinus85]

Updates

1. Dark - powerful, enigmatic, mind-bending, with an excellent cast, and well-written characters; easily as strong as season 1, if not better.
2. Stranger Things - some of the plot premises were more ridiculous than anything we got so far, and the 80s stereotyping reached new levels; but I loved the character chemistry between multiple groups, it had tight pacing, great acting, good visuals, and as always a great soundtrack.
3. The Boys - this was pretty damn good. Great premise, and for the most part excellently executed; a lot of setup that needs a second season, so really glad it got renewed.
4. Kobra Kai - at least as excellent as season 1; really well written characters, and good plot twists; some of the stuff is exaggerated and unrealistic, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the show
5. Jessica Jones - a really strong finish, for now at least; much better than season 2, and an improvement of secondary characters, while Ritter's performance is as good as ever.
6. Zone Blanche - sometimes silly, but I really enjoy the characters, the mysteries and the atmosphere; it started slow, but built up really strongly; the end was almost a series finale, but I hope it's not. 
7. Kingdom - one of this year's surprises; a Korean GoT, if you will, with an interesting plot, written fairly well, though silly at times. The action has good build up and tension. Not much character development, though, other than the main character.
8. Russian Doll - the first episode nearly turned me off, but it picked up after that, with a strong mix of dark humor and close-to-the-heart messages; not really sure about the ending, a lot of ways to interpret it, which kinda makes it fun
9. Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance - quite good, with strong visuals and music, though the puppetry didn't always work for me. A pretty good fantasy story, overall.
10. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD - not as strong as the previous two seasons; while the stakes were supposed to be high, they didn't feel that high, given past plots. I enjoyed the last batch of episodes.
11. The Punisher - a mix of good and bad, strong on the action, but the plot has issues; the discussion in the show's thread has all the points.
12. Carnival Row - I had low expectations for this, so was pleasantly surprised that it was better than I thought it'd be. Still a ways to go, not enamored yet. 
13. iZombie - a good final season, and solid final episode; the season overall had a mix of its usual silliness, while it built up nicely towards the end.
14. The Umbrella Academy - this one was a bit disappointing; given the character driven narrative, the characters really weren't likable; it took a while to really get going, too; good visuals and music.
15. Game of Thrones - enough has been said already; really disappointed with this final season; but there was still strong quality in the visual effects, cinematography, and music departments.
16. Designated Survivor - shorter, tighter, with a bigger budget, I think, and allowance for swear words. But it was still all over the place most times, mainly because the writers wanted to give the major characters stuff to do outside the main arc. Almost not sure why it's still called Designated Survivor.
17. Love, Death + Robots - some of the episodes were great, visually and story-wise; others were meh.
18. Star Trek Discovery - I really hoped too much from this; some new enjoyable characters, and a few really solid episodes; pretty good on the visuals; but it's riddled with plot holes.
19. Hanna - I found I didn't care much about the characters, though the actor performances were generally solid; I liked the filming locations, and the story was sometimes engaging, but I didn't find it riveting; even the action scenes fluctuated between good and stupid.
20. Supergirl - as silly in its execution as usual, but the plot and villains were better this season.
21. Project Blue Book - disappointing; a lot of cringe worthy dialogue, and the mystery portions are pretty blunt and obvious. The popular meme "I'm not saying it's aliens, but it's aliens" really applies to this show. It's not The X Files, if anyone is wondering.
22. Arrow - when at the end of last year, we had the prison plot, I had hopes for this; these hopes were quickly dashed by yet another round of circle jerking drama, weak villains, and stupid flashbacks forwards.

The list is getting long. hmm, what I else do I plan to watch for the rest of this year: The Expanse and Jack Ryan on Amazon; The Witcher on Netflix if it comes out this year; no word on Lost in Space yet. The Mandalorian on Disney+ If I decide to re-sign up for HBO, then His Dark Materials, and likely I'll catch up on Chernobyl, too.

[Annara Snow]

I've finally managed to finish as many as 6 shows from this year (...yay?), so I'll post my first list. (I'm really surprised it's been this few, but I've started many seasons that I haven't finished, and have watched some shows from previous years.)

1. The 100 season 6 - the best season of the show so far. Completely changing the location and doing something of a mini-reboot at the end of season 5 (I'm trying to say this without spoilers) worked wonderfully. In the past, the show sometimes suffered from the same problem as many post-apocalyptic dramas, flirting with grimdark and occasionally coming close to falling fully into The Walking Dead type of storytelling, where protagonists are always fighting new groups of people, humans are a-holes and everything looks shabby and gloomy (even literally so). Season 6 avoided that in several ways - by using the new setting to make the show visually stunning (this season had really beautiful, colorful cinematography), have a heavily SciFi plot with many hallucinations and mind-bending scenes (without making it too confusing), and combine that with a really dark and disturbing plot, focusing on the characters and their inner life and relationships. It was completely different in style from the previous seasons, but referenced and build up on so many of the past events and the way they have affected the characters. It also avoided the grimdark nihilism by giving he protagonists strong motivation from start to try to do hope for a better life and try to be better people, even when this turned out to be incredibly difficult, since this season had the show' best and creepiest villains since season 2 (or arguably ever). The only letdown was the season finale felt more like a mid-season finale, leaving many of the suplots and character arcs unresolved, but that's because it's obviously just the first part of a two-season story. Season 7 was confirmed and planned to be the last before S6 even aired, so the final verdict on season 6 will depend on how the show wraps up the next year.
2. Russian Doll season 1 - This show reminds me a lot of The Good Place, another favorite of mine. It's another 20 minute comedy (though I'd maybe classify it as a dramedy as it's not quite as comedic as TGP) that uses a supernatural/SciFi premise to explore existentialist issues of life and death, how people live and waste their lives, how connections between people can help them turn things around and change their lives. The first episode almost turned me off because many of the characters were so obnoxious, but I'm glad I stuck around, since it turned out that was kind of the point in some cases, and in others, characters got more relatable or other, more likable characters get more space. This season had a story that could have easily been self-contained, but can also continue - and I'm looking forward to season 2. I'm putting it slightly above TGP season 3 because, while I love TGP a lot more as a whole, season 1 of RD had a stronger story than season 3 of TGP.
3. The Good Place season 3 - only the last 3 episodes aired this year, but it still counts. Season 3 may not have been as great as season 1, and I'd probably place it slightly below season 2, too, but it was still amazing. The show keeps reinventing its premise, and while the middle part of season 3 was not my favorite, the ending was strong. Season 4 is starting in a couple of weeks, and will be the show's last. Since most of it will air in 2019, the show may go up or down on the list.
4. The Passage season 1 - an intriguing SciFi  drama with a 'scientific' take on vampires, this show was promising and had several interesting and/or likable characters and a good cast. With its shocking ending, it set up a post-apocalyptic season 2. and further seasons...which will never happen, because the show was cancelled. Why? Well, it was on Fox. That tells you all you need to know. The show was based on a book series, which I haven't read, but according to those who have, season 1 covered only a small part of the first book, and the real story was only supposed to start there. Pity. But as it is, season 1 can still be seen as a good self-contained story with an open ending.
5. Agents of SHIELD season 6 - After the disappointment that I found season 5 to be (specifically, its last third, which wrecked the entire season and had several horrible writing decisions). season 6 came off as fun and refreshing - especially in its comedy and/or character-focused episodes early on. I've really enjoyed the fact that the show has gotten so much more SciFi with years, and its outlandish plots have usually worked really well (especially in the last part of season 3 and in season 4, when the show peaked). However, the overall plot of season 6 was contrived and ultimately kind of forgettable. AoS usually has strong villains, the villains this season were very weak - with one exception, and of course, that character was the only one with a strong connection to the protagonists. The season was fun to watch, but it didn't really grip me. Also, while the show has mostly found great ways to use actors for multiple roles, without resurrecting characters and cheapening deaths Heroes-style, the season 5 finale and now the season 6 finale both had "deaths" that fall into that category.
6. Veronica Mars season 4 - The cult show's Hulu revival is my biggest disappointment of this year. (The last season of GoT is that for many, but it couldn't be for me, since I was already disappointed by GoT before, and wasn't expecting anything from it since season 5, and had dropped it already.) To be honest, season 3 and the kickstarter-funded 2014 movie also weren't that good, but this is a new low. The ending has angered many fans, for a good reason, but that's not the only problem with this season. For a mystery show, the actual murder mystery it followed for all of its 8 episodes was mediocre and predictable. The people that I suspected immediately or early on turned out to be the culprits, many of the "twists" weren't really all that surprising, and it was stretched over 8 episodes with a lot of contrivances, plot holes, pointless subplots and incredibly stereotypical side characters (caricatured Mexican gangsters, caricatured 'white trash' family..) What's worse, while the show seemed to be trying to make the main villain an evil genius who outsmarts everyone. all it succeeded instead was to make everyone, including Veronica, look stupid. I could have lived with Veronica being unlikable this season, with her old flaws exaggerated 10 times, if she had been smart and great at solving cases as she used to be. The problem is, Rob Thomas isn't good at writing mysteries. But much of the show's appeal came from the characters, their relationships and the portrayal of the class issues in the community. This time, many of the major characters either didn't return, returned but had 10 minutes of screentime, didn't change at all (though season 4 is set 15 years after the original show) and even regressed for no good reason, or had actual character development but then were killed off in a stupid way for shock value, with an explanation from the showrunner that it's "boring" to watch people who are anywhere close to well-adjusted or happy. What does actually feel boring is to see the main character never being able to develop, never grow (other than changing from a teenager to a 35 year old), and instead heap more trauma and misery on her (as if she hasn't had already - season 1 started with an already traumatized and hardened protagonist) so we could then admire her for the fact that she's survived. Now, it's not that there weren't good moments this season - I found some of the character moments interesting, I would have enjoyed the show focusing on Veronica's flaws and damage, if the point was to see her grow from it, but that's not what the show seems to be about at this point.

Other shows that have aired this year I hope to maybe finish by the end of this year: Chernobyl, The Name of the Rose, Jessica Jones season 3, Black Lightning season 2 (I have just a few episodes left, but I'm not that into the show, so they have been waiting for months for me to come back). What We Do In the Shadows season 1, American Gods season 2, Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Roswell: New Mexico season 1, Deadwood (I have to finish season 2 and 3 and then see the movie), Cloak and Dagger season 2, Outlander season 4.

I've also recently started to watch Dark (amazing) and Fear the Walking Dead (pretty good, and so far better than TWD ever was), but I'm still in season 1 of both.

Haven't started, but plan to: The Punisher season 2, The Handmaid's Tale season 2, Big Little Lies season 2, Catch 22, Good Omens, Umbrella Academy, Gentleman Jack, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Carnival Row, The Boys, The Terror season 2, True Detective season 3, Pennyworth.

[Annara Snow]

Is anyone else still doing this? 

 

1. The 100 season 6 
2. Russian Doll season 1 
3. The Good Place season 3 (we'l see if it will go up - or maybe down - based on season 4)
4. What We Do in the Shadows season 1 - as fun as the movie. Kayman Novak is particularly funny as Nandor, and Colin Robinson the energy vampire (and the emotional vampire who appeared in one episode) is a great idea. I loved the guest appearances in The Trial episode, though I'm side-eyeing them for not trying to get any of the Buffy (the show) vampire actors, but got that guy from the silly Buffy movie.
5. The Passage season 1 
6. Agents of SHIELD season 6
7. Veronica Mars season 4 

[Annara Snow]

1. The 100 season 6 
2. Russian Doll season 1 
3. The Good Place season 3 (we'l see if it will go up - or maybe down - based on season 4)
4. What We Do in the Shadows season 1 
5. The Passage season 1 
6. Roswell: New Mexico season 1 -I didn't watch much of the original, but this reimagined version, with new versions of characters who are now 10-15 years older and as opposed to high school kids, does some interesting things like make the main character the daughter of Mexican immigrant and adding racial and LGBT issues to the main plot of aliens trying to pass as humans, to fit with the theme of othering and being an outcast. The characters are well drawn (Michael Vlamis is particularly good as Michael) and the plot was interesting enough, but the dialogue can be clunky and there's maybe too much of spelling things out for the viewers. Not a great show, but a solid enough and entertaining one.
7. Agents of SHIELD season 6
8. Veronica Mars season 4 

[Corvinus85]

On 10/1/2019 at 10:15 AM, Annara Snow said:

Is anyone else still doing this? 

Yes, but I don't have anything new to watch until November.

[Annara Snow]

19 hours ago, Corvinus said:

Yes, but I don't have anything new to watch until November.

I guess I forgot that there are people who manage to see the shows when they are released.  While I'm still watching the shows from earlier in the year that I didn't have the time to finish or even start. I usually end up seeing most of them in autumn and winter.

[dbunting]

I may have missed a few things but here we go so far.

Top group that I like, not for you to judge, ahem GOT...and Big Bang final season

GOT, Big Bang Theory, Mind Hunter, Peaky Blinders, Dark, The Boys, The Duece

Tier 2

Stranger Things, Flea Bag, Big Little Lies, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, The Walking Dead

Tier 3

Bosch, Ballers, Derry Girls, Hanna, True Detective, The OA Working Moms, Young Sheldon

Tier what the f am I watching 4

Fear the walking dead

Started but still haven't gone back to

Wu Assassins, Man in High Castle

Adding a new list for me, you tube series(seasons) I enjoy

Good Mythical Morning - goofy show discussing nothing important. Favorites are the blind taste tests

Hot Ones - Hot sauce centered show with celebrities eating hottest wings while being interviewed. Takes them out of fake mode so you can see a little more of the true personalities.

 

[Annara Snow]

1. The 100 season 6 
2. BoJack Horseman season 6a (So many people seem to be sleeping on this amazing satirical animated dramedy that's one of the best shows of recent years. Season 6 is the last season, but instead of the usual 12 episode season that drops on Netflix at once, it has 16 episodes and is  split into two 8 episode parts. This is the first half, and the second will be released in January.  The show has been getting better each season. This half-season doesn't have a standout episode that I'd put next to Time's Arrow from season 4 or Free Churro from season 5, but is is very solid, with great jokes, satire and great character development for everyone. It's a good continuation to season 5 and a great set up for the ending, especially with the cliffhanger episode 6x08 ended with. I really can't predict if things will go well or terribly wrong for the main character and I can't wait to see it!)
3. Russian Doll season 1 
4. The Good Place season 3 (and what has aired so far of season 4)
5. What We Do in the Shadows season 1 
6. The Passage season 1 
7. Roswell: New Mexico season 1
8. Agents of SHIELD season 6
9. Veronica Mars season 4 

[DireWolfSpirit]

Okay so we are getting toward the tail end of the 2019 calendar so ive finally seen enough shows to post something in this thread.

Will add one caveat right away that the list is of shows I've seen in 2019 to the best of my recollection, a few (Last Kingdom S3, Ozark S2 and Suburra Blood on Rome S2) are either late 2018 or early 2019 when I viewed them so I'm including them here because I can't recall the exact viewing date and I couldnt find the 2018 version of this thread to see if I posted them there?

1. Suburra Blood on Rome S2

2. Peaky Blinders S5

3. Bad Blood S2

4. Game of Thrones S8

5. The Last Kingdom S3

6. Mars S2

7. Kingdom S1

8. Ozark S2

9. Russian Doll S1

10. Mindhunter S2

11. Shameless S9

12. TWD S9

13. El Chapo S3

14. The Assassination of Gianni Versace S1

15. Ted Bundy Tapes

16. Designated Survivor

 

 

[Zorral]

I haven't gone back through the journal of what I've read and watched in 2019 so far, but off the top of my head 2019 had very little that I'd put on a top 10 list, with the exception of The Last Kingdom and Bosch, and Showtime's Escape at Dannemora, and, maybe, it's City On A Hill.  US critics were fairly meh about City On A Hill, but evidently the UK is much more impressed.  I like it a lot; I'd probably have liked it even more if I hadn't had to watch it one niggling episode a week. Maybe, Carnival Row, though I hate the title.  There might be more, but I'd have to go through the journal.

Odd too, as I watched maybe more this year than any year previous because this year I've been sick so very much, for so very long, and I've traveled a whole lot less.  

ETA -- I forgot My Brilliant Friend!  Though I'm not sure that qualifies as a 2019 series.

Still, my immediate reaction to the year's offering is that it was mostly mediocre.  Little stood out.  TV's pretty much gone back to what it used to be.

 

 

[Heartofice]

Updating this. 

My commute has meant I've seen A LOT of tv shows this year. There have been quite a few that I mildly enjoyed but wouldn't put on a best of list. These would include Peaky Blinders,  Stranger Things, Unbelievable and Dark Crystal.

1) Chernobyl - This was the most unexpectedly gripping show of the year for me, I was on the edge of my seat and thrown for hours after each episode. Everything about it was fantastic.

2) Dark - Just the most engrossingly tight show that holds my attention like a vice and keeps me thinking about it when its over.

3) The Boys- Comic book tv done properly. Blows everything else out of the water, including Daredevil

4) Mindhunter - Took a while to get into it, but once I gave it a chance I understood what all the hype was about. Every second of every interview with every sequence killer is a joy. 

5) The OA II - Such a strange show and thats why I love it, it takes a lot of risks and doesn't always make sense, sometimes its downright silly. But it works for me.

6) Happy - What a crazy, over the top, violent, cartoonish tv show. I love it. Why did they cancel it!!

7) The Umbrella Academy - Lots of people didn't seem to like this show, but I was hooked by it. I didn't really ever know where it was going and it was quirky enough to make me want to binge it.

8) Game of Thrones - Season 7 was a disaster enough for me to consider stopping watching the show. Despite S8's many flaws, I somehow found myself really enjoying it, and it was a bit of an improvement. A bit

9) Russian Doll - A show that I hated, then loved, then forgot about as soon as the the last episode finished. The mystery keeps you going, but by the end it all feels a bit functional. Good though.

10) Killing Eve - Loved the first season, second season not so much. It was a drop in quality I felt, despite some highlights, it never seemed to hang together quite as well and the plot wasn't enough to hold my interest.

[Annara Snow]

10 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Okay so we are getting toward the tail end of the 2019 calendar so ive finally seen enough shows to post something in this thread.

Will add one caveat right away that the list is of shows I've seen in 2019 to the best of my recollection, a few (Last Kingdom S3, Ozark S2 and Suburra Blood on Rome S2) are either late 2018 or early 2019 when I viewed them so I'm including them here because I can't recall the exact viewing date and I couldnt find the 2018 version of this thread to see if I posted them there?

 

6 hours ago, Zorral said:

I haven't gone back through the journal of what I've read and watched in 2019 so far, but off the top of my head 2019 had very little that I'd put on a top 10 list, with the exception of The Last Kingdom and Bosch, and Showtime's Escape at Dannemora, and, maybe, it's City On A Hill.  US critics were fairly meh about City On A Hill, but evidently the UK is much more impressed.  I like it a lot; I'd probably have liked it even more if I hadn't had to watch it one niggling episode a week. Maybe, Carnival Row, though I hate the title.  There might be more, but I'd have to go through the journal.

Odd too, as I watched maybe more this year than any year previous because this year I've been sick so very much, for so very long, and I've traveled a whole lot less.  

ETA -- I forgot My Brilliant Friend!  Though I'm not sure that qualifies as a 2019 series.

Still, my immediate reaction to the year's offering is that it was mostly mediocre.  Little stood out.  TV's pretty much gone back to what it used to be.

 

 

The Last Kingdom season 3 was definitely released in 2018 (and American Crime Story: Versace was too). It's OK to include them on this list, especially since it's hard to find the old one and almost a year has passed since anyone has updated it. I also finished The Last Kingdom in January, but I put it on the 2018 list (we continued updating it for a while early this year).

You can see it on my final 2018 list on the last page. Season 3 was the best so far, and it's "only" 5th on the list only because there were several other fantastic seasons I saw that year that I put above it (the final season of The Americans, season 5 of BoJack Horseman, Daredevil season 3, and Sharp Objects).