As usual of
this blog at the halfway mark of the year, I list down all the TV shows I’ve
watched and been watching so far, arranged from what I enjoyed the most to the
least. However, this time around, there aren’t
any anime in this list since I intend to do a separate thing for them – either
a separate mid-year list or one for the year-end that will cover all of 2019.
In addition, Good Omens, iZombie (final season), and Swamp Thing are shows that came out this
first half that I’ve been meaning to see but unfortunately haven’t got around
of doing so at the time of writing – and thus, they aren’t on this list,
obviously (but, again, I intend to watch them asap).
So, without further
ado, let’s jump into it…
Romance Is a
Bonus Book
Young Justice
Outsiders
After years of heartbreak
from
its cancellation, and then years of restless anticipation after its
revival
was announced, the third season of
Young
Justice finally dropped in early 2019.
And to my immense elation, it was as delightful, exciting, and twist-and-turn-y
as before.
Chernobyl
Cobra Kai
Season 2
The overarching
rivalry between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-do – which culminated in a visceral school
rumble – was the best part of this superb season, which once again featured 80’s-style
atmosphere and narrative techniques, tons of references (both subtle and
on-the-nose) to the original
Karate Kid
films, engaging karate action, riveting soap-opera-for-a-male-audience drama, adequately-placed
funny moments (Johnny discovering the Internet was gold!), and a thoughtful
exploration of the murky waters of right and wrong through the arcs of its various,
multi-layered characters (except for John Kreese, who is just a pure villain).
The only thing missing from it was an
extensive throwdown between Johnny and Daniel (they had a fight, but it was
rather too short).
The season ended at
an excellent but depressing note, but hopefully, season 3 will have a lot of
fist-pumping goodness to make up for it.
The Orville
Season 2
I didn’t have
time for both
The Orville and
Star Trek: Discovery this year, so I
just picked the better show, which is the former.
Overall,
The
Orville only got better with its second season.
The stories became more thoughtful and
thrilling.
The silliness was toned down,
but at the cost of not having as many and memorable jokes as the first
season.
Still, the humor remained a
significant part of its identity.
Moreover,
when Halston Sage stepped down from the show, there wasn’t much sense of
unsteadiness because Jessica Szohr filled in smoothly and flawlessly.
Doom Patrol
Season 1
CLICK HERE for
my full thoughts on it.
What We Do in
the Shadows Season 1
The Dragon
Prince Season 2
The improved
animation in season two definitely improved its stock further.
The writing got stronger, too, as the
worldbuilding continued to invite much fascination, the plot became more and
more engrossing by the episode, the themes gained depth, and the characters
grew complex.
Moreover, I also felt that
season two was funnier than how I remembered season one.
There were even unforgettable bits that
referenced
Sailormoon and
Lord of the Rings.
Now, with two great seasons under its belt,
The Dragon Prince has solidified its
reputation as a terrific high fantasy show as well as a legit spiritual
successor to
Avatar: The Last Airbender.
It deserves to be more popular than it
currently is.
True Detective
Season 3
Arrow Season 7
It’s been a
while since the last time
Arrow was
the best Arrowverse show around.
And in the 2019 half of this past season, it was once again so.
The
action was fantastic, the themes hit, and the storylines were dynamic.
Moreover, the use of flash forwards this time
around to serve as “B story” was an inspired idea.
It was a genuinely solid season as a whole,
and was capped by an amazing season finale.
The Flash
Season 5
The Cicada
stuff was a bit messy.
But the Thrawn
stuff was pretty good.
And the excellent
season finale just made everything click well into place.
Legends of
Tomorrow Season 4
Still
entertainingly zany.
And I’m constantly
amazed how it unfailingly manages to reinvent itself and push the envelope in
order to keep itself continuously offering something fresh with each new
season.
That being said, I felt that the
2018 leg of this season was a lot better than its 2019 leg, which was largely bogged
down by Mona and Gary’s increased screen time.
I found them very insufferable, and their combined presence was truly
detrimental to my enjoyment of each episode.
Like its sister shows, it also had a tremendously solid season finale,
but my heart sank in the end because it was clear that Mona and Gary are going
to be a regular part of the show next season.
Barry Season 2
Season 1 was
an excellent mix of dark comedy and character drama, and season 2 is more of
the same.
Carmen Sandiego
Season 1
Last Man
Standing Season 7
It’s back!
Although I felt that the jokes didn’t have
the usual ballsiness and bite as it used to, it still served as a periodic
source of undemanding sitcom entertainment that warms the heart a certain way.
Moreover, Molly McCook was effortless in
inheriting the role of Mandy from Molly Ephraim.
The Twilight Zone Season 1
The original
Twilight Zone is
one of my most favorite TV shows of all time, and thus, I was very excited for this revival by Jordan Peele.
However, although it has been a full month since the first season ended, I’m somehow still not caught up with it (because, yeah, I’m watching so much stuff).
So far, I’ve only seen the first two episodes, and its placement here is simply based on those two.
Of course, this show would have definitely been ranked differently – whether higher or lower – if I was able to see all ten episodes and evaluate them as a whole.
Nevertheless, I intend to catch up with it, and make a ranking of its episodes.
The Umbrella
Academy Season 1
The Big Bang Theory
Season 12
Riverdale
Season 3
It was
basically another typical Riverdale
season. Random. Goofy. Wild. Ludicrous.
Stupid. Batshit. But entertaining. And was mostly kept from becoming a total dumpster
fire by the mystery-solving power couple known as Bughead and the Arrow-cosplaying bombshell known as
Cheryl Blossom.
Jessica Jones Season 3
Season 3 failed to match the fantastic quality of season 1, but I still felt it was better than season 2. As the de facto finale for Netflix’s Defenders universe, it was unsatisfactory, though to be fair, it was most probably not intended to be so. There were times that it got me deeply engrossed, and it had great moments (the Hellcat costume cameo was awesome, and I love Luke Cage’s brief but emphatic scene in the final episode), but it was just okay at best.
The Punisher Season 2
The season started strong. However, it went downhill after its premiere. It was kept occasionally entertaining by a number of entertaining action sequences and character dynamics, along with Jon Bernthal’s winning, growling take on the eponymous character, but overall, the season was a disappointment. It made the mistake of having two independent story arcs – both not making any sense in parts and as a whole, cluttering up the entire season. One of those arcs centered on Ben Barnes’ Jigsaw character, and it horribly mishandled the character (that’s a disfigured face? Really?). It ended on an exciting note – the character finally becoming the true embodiment of his comic book counterpart after three seasons (one season of Daredevil; two seasons of The Punisher) – but because of the cancellation of Netflix’s Marvel shows, there won’t be a new season that can finally explore this properly.
Game of Thrones
Season 8
Black Mirror Season 5
I made rankings for
the previous two seasons’ episodes, but I forewent doing one for season 5 because: a.) it only had three episodes (which, by the way, is the same amount of episodes for each of its two original seasons that aired in Channel 4), not enough to make a worthwhile ranking out of; and b.) it was hands down the weakest season of
Black Mirror so far, and thus, wasn’t worth giving attention to. Still, season 5 wasn’t totally mediocre as there were still cerebral traces here and there. The worst episode of the three might probably be the last one, “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too”, but it also had my most favorite part of the entire season: a tiny robot doll voiced by a snarky Miley Cyrus.
American Gods
Season 2
It was a dull and
messy season.
It obviously suffered from
the reported behind-the-scenes problems of its production as well as the
prevailing intention of needlessly stretching the story out.
Rebooting Media, after Gillian Anderson left
the show, into New Media – the personification of social media and digital
content – was a nice touch, though.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 6
I already gave
up on this show last season. But I
decided to continue watching anyway since it’s about to end.
Ken Jeong: You Complete Me, Ho
CLICK HERE for my full thoughts on it.
Kim Possible
(Live-Action TV Movie)
CLICK HERE for
my thoughts on it.
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