Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996)

Anime Nerd?

I first watched Neon Genesis Evangelion in college or shortly after--some time around 2004. I loved it. It's one of the reasons I believed myself an anime fan, although that as a "genre" leaves something to be desired.* I recently had the chance to revisit the series, and it holds up.

Watching it now, it falls into that wonderful world of fiction which was set in a "future" that doesn't seem so futuristic. The series takes place next year--in 2015--and depends on events which were set in motion as early as 2000. I like that for some reason. It ostensibly falls into the genres of post-apocalyptic fiction and "giant robot" anime, but only the first is absolutely correct.

My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic

Brony

I recently talked about my favorite television series, which also happens to be a children's series. That's no surprise. I spend a good deal more time with children's TV than I do with TV for grown-ups. I've developed some pretty strong opinions on a lot of the shows out there. So here's another one.

Like most of you, I first heard about the new incarnation of the My Little Pony franchise when I heard about bronies. A brony is, of course, presumed to be an object of ridicule. A male, aged 13 or older, who enjoys a show that's aimed at girls aged 12 or younger. I thought it was kind of an odd thing, and mostly forgot about it.

Adventure Time

The Greatest Television Series Ever Created

Whatever you think Adventure Time is, you're probably wrong. Or, maybe you're partially right. But it's much more than you think it is. It's more than even I think it is. I've talked about the show before, briefly, but this is so important to me that I have to tell you more.

If you've dismissed it, I want you to forget that. Forget for a minute that the show is wildly popular, forget that it's got a huge following among the Hot Topic crowd. Come at this with an open mind.

Most fans of the show are probably watching it for the weird, random humor. It has that in spades. Outrageous characters like Lemongrab, Xergiok, the Ice King, and Lumpy Space Princess ensure that. And it isn't just for kids, either, or the great John Hodgman wouldn't be a likely choice as a guest voice. But humor is just the hook to draw you in. If humor was the be-all end-all of Adventure Time, I couldn't possibly tell you that it's a better show than, say, Firefly. I wouldn't have watched it nearly every night for the past three years.

This is going to sound like a cliche, but it's true: The show makes me laugh, and it makes me cry. That's no easy thing. It also makes me confused about what I'm supposed to feel, and that's even harder to do.

Thank You, Michael Westen

I deleted my number 1 priority DVR timer tonight.

I had been watching Burn Notice for the last three years, since a little while after I broke down and got satellite TV. I don't think it was really that great a show. The acting wasn't great (it did have Bruce Campbell in a central role), and if you thought about the plot too critically some of it just seemed a little too implausible. But it's entertained me a great deal. It had everything a show like this needs, with likable characters, plenty of twists, and lots of cheesy humor. I also found the main character's relationship with his mother to be extremely touching and powerful. The actress playing his mother won an Emmy for the role.

After jumping in mid-stream, I went back and watched every episode. The series ended earlier tonight, and they did a fantastic job of taking it there. After years of coming closer and closer to the truth of a conspiracy, finally facing it, they could only engage the possibility of becoming their own enemies. There was nowhere else for the series to go without taking it down the crapper, which thankfully they never did--even after seven seasons.

I'm going to ignore the minor plot hole that doesn't explain how the last scene ended up with all three of the characters who were there, instead of just the two, because I really loved the show.

Thanks.

Firefly: The Show, The Soundtrack

The Show

Before Joss Whedon directed blockbuster The Avengers, and toward the end of his highly successful Buffy series, he was the mastermind of TV's Firefly. The show bombed for the same reason that Family Guy initially bombed: Fox executives destroyed it. They played the episodes out of order, making it hard to follow, and often pre-empted it, so that its airing was unpredictable. The marketing for the show was also off-base. The result was that only 11 of the 14 episodes that had been created were aired, and the show was canceled after half a season in the fall of 2002.

But the show was extremely successful when released on DVD. I personally had no idea the show existed during its original run, being in college and not having easy access to TV at the time. But my brother convinced me to watch it, and I now own it on DVD, as well as the follow-up film Serenity released in 2005.

Firefly is, quite simply, the greatest television program ever. A space western, it combined all the excellent world-building of great fantasy with the action and relatability of old-fashioned westerns. It had themes of independence, moral obligation, loyalty, friendship, and rebellion. Like its two most obvious inspirations (Cowboy Bebop and the crew of the Millennium Falcon), it had great drama as well as just the right touch of humor. More importantly, it had what most sci-fi lacks: Compelling characters. A lot of compelling characters, each with an interesting back story.