Jump to content

Playa Playa's Best of 2017


Playa Playa

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 220
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Playa Playa

    45

  • Wicked

    34

  • Maddox

    16

  • Allstar

    10

Perfume Genius is my favorite in the Top 5. The Lil Uzi track was nice too.

Have yet to watch The Deuce & Big little lies :cm: 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

UaszELZ.jpg

 

Y5zUpNO.jpg

 

Quote

7. I loved the first season of this show and didn’t want a second one. No way they had more to say, I thought. No way they could top the first. But somehow, by transforming into an Hitchcock-esque psychological thriller, the TBS comedy hit new heights. It picked up where the first season left off, with the thrills of the “Where's Chantal?” mystery proceeding directly into investigations of the psychologies of the principal characters, formerly the amateur vigilantes, now the perpetrators. Last year I described them as characters you'd find from your usual indie films, but as we watch them spiral through guilt, paranoia, denial, etc. they come out as fascinating and multifaceted beings. And as the show is a marvel in tonal balance, it makes for hilarious performances, especially from John Early as Elliott, who fully collapses under the weight of his lies in a manic fashion. I can't say if the show will accomplish a three-peat but I'm fully onboard for another season.  The ending leaves so many possibilities and that's what makes it great. In short: “How to Get Away With Murder” lost.

YqKZweu.jpg

 

Quote

6. I bingewatched the first season of The Good Place just a few days before the second season was to start. Yeah, it was a good sitcom with an interesting concept, but I didn't quite understand the acclaim it was receiving during the earlier episodes. I was constantly waiting for that spark to ignite the concept anew...and well, you know the rest. The second season has followed through on the brilliance of the finale by sticking the landing on some conceptual leaps while managing to explore staples of philosophy like the trolley problem and utilitarianism without sacrificing complexity or humour. The show's humour is broad but is carried off by a versatile ensemble that became even better the second time around, most prominently D'Arcy Carden as the all-knowing humanoid assistant Janet and Ted Danson as TV's most endearing monster Michael. My favourite episode “Dance Dance Resolution,” burned through what felt like season's worth of plotlines in 25 minutes in a spectacular manner. It, of course, made me a little wary of the show's future but I know Michael Schur has a much better idea of what he's doing than expected.

wECTq0J.jpg

 

Quote

5. While the first season of Better Things was a solid, and often brilliant, achievement, the show became much more ambitious and self-assured in its second year. It settled into a steady groove in terms of both its voice and its lush filming style, established by Pamela Adlon as the sole director of the season. From the degenerating mental health of “Phil” to the mock funeral of “Eulogy” to the song-and-dance number of “Graduation”, Adlon mastered the ability to weave together a collection of vignettes that portray the erratic love-hate relationship between three generations of mothers and daughters. The stories were, by turns, charming, frustrating, and honest, and always kept me hugely invested in seeing how this family interacts. One of my favourite “non-family” related arcs was about Sam's romance with a fellow single parent, but, of course, it was still about family and how it's made all the more complicated when you have to worry about your kids. It's an auteur's reinvention of the family sitcom in many ways and an incredible one at that. 

vxLTdJa.jpg

 

Quote

4. Two years after its breakout first season, Master of None remained a strikingly well-made television series, with vivid direction, idiosyncratic performances, and writing that makes even the most frustrating aspects of romance into a journey we want to follow. But the show’s second season is most noteworthy for how it pushes its innovative approach to episodic television forward. The season played out like a collection of short stories defined not only by the subject (religion, first dates, sexuality) or stylistic choice (black-and-white, seamlessly editing, silence) but also by referencing a film in the Criterion Collection. The premiere “The Thief” was a beautiful ode to Vittorio De Sica’s “Bicycle Thieves”; it's follow-up “Le Nozze” is full of references to Michelangelo Antonioni; my personal favourite “New York, I Love You” descends from Jim Jarmusch, and the finale ends with a nod to Mike Nichols' “The Graduate”. It was a neat way of giving the season a cohesive identity along with the continued use of romance as its driving force. I liked the classic will-they-or-won't-they romance of Dev and the engaged Francesca, even though she was a slightly underwritten character with qualities of a MPDG. I'm very excited about the possibilities of another season with the experiences of the late-30s, possibly married with kids Aziz Ansari.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • ATRL Moderator

I didn't watch a comedy in such a long time, maybe I should try watching one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Search Party ha acclaim continues, absolutely looooved the second season. I didn't expect to be blow away again but they did that. The Good Place is also extremely solid.

 

Better Things might be my second favorite watch of 2017 after The Handmaid's Tale, there was only one weaker episode the entire season and it constantly made me feel so many things at once.

 

edit: I really need to start MoN, I know im gonna like it, i just never started it

Edited by ChapelHooker
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just when Better Things couldn't get any better, they added the Christine dance sequence :jonny: I love this show so much, everything about it is so genuine, the acting, the writing. I'm sure next season will be just as good!

 

The Good Place is still going strong like i expected :clap3: i'm not ready for the finale.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't see this season of Search Party yet but the rest :clap3: Same thoughts for The Good Place. I love a good Manic Pixie Dream Girl but Francesca was even worse, whole relationship undercooked for me + Dev's nice guy syndrome was gag worthy. 

Edited by Wicked
Grammar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't believe I didn't get to finish this :emofish: I should've planned it in advance. 

 

I'm going to post the rest of the list and add write-ups over the course of today when I get the time.

 

Thank you to all who commented on my TV shows list :heart2:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

rXiwkkM.jpg

 

TygFMwT.jpg

 

Quote

6b.

xzIkdE9.jpg

 

Quote

6.

sMgUPzw.jpg

 

Quote

5.

zrrtveS.jpg

 

Quote

4.

Edited by Playa Playa
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now I'm wondering what the top 3 Dramas are, I know 2 of them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

0gAw7Ww.jpg

 

2TN2L7P.jpg

 

Quote

3.

Ggd7MPi.jpg

 

Quote

2.

20KstoR.jpg

 

Quote

1.

 

Top 10 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Songs of 2017:

1. The End of the Movie
2. A Diagnosis

3. Santa Ana Winds

4. Let's Generalize About Men
5. The Buzzing From the Bathroom

6. Strip Away My Conscience
7. First Penis I Saw
8. Heinous Bitch

9. We'll Never Have Problems Again
10. The Moment Is Me

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I need to catch up with HACF and Twin Peaks. The Leftovers :clap3: 

 

The End Of The Movie is a solid n°1 but Let's Generalize About Men is my anthem just because i didn't expect how much i'd enjoy it! A legit banger.

 

First Penis I Saw is hilarious :dies:  Champlin always manages to deliver some of the show's best songs each season.

 

Anyway loved following ur countdown :heart2:  i already bookmarked some of your songs to check for later!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm intrigued to see what you have to say about BoJack, HACF, Twin Peaks & Queen Sugar. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Wicked said:

Now I'm wondering what the top 3 Dramas are, I know 2 of them. 

12 minutes ago, Wicked said:

:eek:

:fan:

 

1-2-3 for Drama 2017 is the closet it's ever been for me. Each of them are A incredible.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad you've caught up with H&CF!! That's a PERFECT  Top 3 Drama and mine is the exact same, give or take a switch between H&CF or Twin Peaks but I don't know myself because it's way too close and I'm kind of glad I don't have to decide.

 

Legion would never even be remotely close to being this high for me but what do I know.

 

Your top 3 comedy hmm? OK, amazing top 2! And while Nathan's season was pretty perfect and the finale knocked it out of the park, as a season I wouldn't put it above some others you put it over due to its inherent structural/cohesive flaws. I definitely think some of the other shows right behind Nathan on your list are superior.

 

Glad to see Search Party s2 high, as well. It was a phenomenal feat to justify another outing and make it feel so organic, essential and actually not make me doubt it as a long-running series, at all.

Edited by Allstar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I need to catch up on the Leftovers

 

the rest of the list is all terrific :clap3:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.