A few of my favorite things – 2013 Style

Much Ado About Nothing

I am an unabashed Joss Whedon fan, and while I wasn’t familiar specifically with the play before the project was announced, the idea of Joss working with some of his – and my – favorite actors for a Shakespeare flick? Then you make the leads Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker, the folks behind one of my all time favorite television couples? I’m sold. The flick was great, and seeing Wesley Wyndam-Pryce and Winifred Burkle together one more time was worth the price of admission by itself.

San Diego Comic-Con

This was my third year taking the trek to the Mecca of pop-culture, and it was its usual five days of awesomeness. I’ve posted about the highlights of the week previously, but even six months later, the Joss Whedon Nerd HQ and Veronica Mars events were both great, and enjoying a brew with Keith and Wil Wheaton all stand out (Sorry, Michael, Perry’s was great, but it didn’t make the top three). Believe it or not, it is still December and we have already started talking about what SDCC 2014 is going to look like.

Orphan Black

Orphan Black caught me off-guard. I hadn’t heard about the show leading up the premiere, and didn’t bother with it until the buzz had started to grow. At this point, when people tell me they’ve never seen the show, I want to beat them upside the head with the DVD set. If you’re one of those people who haven’t yet experienced just how awesome Tatiana Maslani is then do yourself a favor: click this Amazon link now, and buy the DVDs. Thank me later.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I liked the first Hunger Games flick. Jennifer Lawrence embodied Katniss Everdeen so perfectly, it was easy to forgive the films – admittedly few – shortcomings (Though, I still think they missed on portraying the emotional impact of the Reaping, but that’s just me). The follow-up, with its increased budget, truly resolved just about every problem I had with the first film, as well as allaying a lot of the concerns I had about translating the second book in Suzanne Collins’ trilogy to the screen (I found the book to be a touch confusing at times, confusion born out of Katniss being kept in the dark for the plan). Most importantly, Catching Fire nailed those emotional moments that The Hunger Games sometimes struggled with.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I’m not cheating. Yes, The Perks of Being a Wallflower film was released in 2012 (and made my list then, though I’d now easily rank it above Pitch Perfect as my favorite flick), but I’m not talking about the film. I didn’t read Stephen Chbosky’s novel until March of this year. I’m not sure the last fictional character I’ve identified with as much with as Charlie – PSA: NOT because of the trauma he experienced; that is not something we have in common. The book was outstanding and a great companion to the film. Chbosky discusses the differences in one of the DVD’s two commentary tracks, and does a great job at explaining why those changes were made for the new medium.

Game of Thrones’ third season

It isn’t a big spoiler to say that for most Game of Thrones fans, the Red Wedding was the moment that they had been most excited for to see on-screen. While I wouldn’t necessarily put myself solidly in that group of people, I still very much-loved the show this year. Jaimie and Margaery in particular had great seasons (I’ve got to be honest … I was very close to giving Natalie Dormer a spot on this list by herself; between GoT, her excellent turn on Elementary and the announcement of her casting in the final two Hunger Games films, she had a good year).

Neil Patrick Harris

Well, it isn’t just Neil or just Andrew Rannells. I love both Megan Hilty and Laura Benanti, and they absolutely owned this moment at the Tony’s this year:

Glee’s “The Quarterback”

As outsiders, we can only imagine how difficult the prospect of filming “The Quarterback” was to the cast and crew of Glee. Dealing with their grief privately is one thing, but to do so publicly must have been hell. An hour many – including myself – were worried would come across as exploitive and petty, turned out far from. Sure there were moments that hit a little close to home or were a little on the nose, “The Quarterback” was for the most part an honest, moving tribute. I’m always going to love anyone’s version of “Seasons of Love” but it was Naya Rivera’s haunting cover of “If I Die Young” that continues to stick with me.