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Sunday, June 30, 2019

How Is My 2019 TV Watching So Far

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
CLICK HERE for my full thoughts on it.

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
CLICK HERE for my full thoughts on it.

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
CLICK HERE for my full thoughts on it.

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
CLICK HERE for my full thoughts on it.

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
CLICK HERE for my full thoughts on it.

Our Planet
CLICK HERE for my full thoughts on it.

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
CLICK HERE for my full thoughts on it.

The Big Bang Theory Season 12
CLICK HERE for my full thoughts on it.

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
CLICK HERE for my full thoughts on it.

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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