If you are reading this feature, it means the world didn't end on the 21st December and I have recovered from the family Christmas madness. I know some of you are disappointed about the end of the world -- especially one super X-Files fan who believes in Chris Carter for the past 20 years. The truth is most of us are happier to see other people saving the world from the apocalypse or living in one or killing zombies on TV shows and movies. I don't know about you, but my entertainment is set for the next few years! The world is not perfect, but at least we are giving the opportunity to escape into another dimension the moment we turn on our entertainment devices.
An affogato isn't the same without ice cream. When it's Supernatural, if there is no angst no drama, it isn't fun.
One of the biggest changes that we saw this year was the changing of the guard from previous showrunner Sera Gamble to Jeremy Carver. I was very sad and worried to see Sera go but the announcement of the return of Jeremy Carver at the same time was comforting. Apart from Ben Edlund, I cannot think of anyone else but Jeremy Carver to helm the show I love so much.
I am very happy with the direction of season eight. The core of the show still remains the same -- it is about the brothers saving people hunting things, the family business! But Jeremy and the writing team are putting details under the microscope. We are digging deeper into details within details, just like when we write academic papers -- we dig, we research, we focus on different aspects, but the paper is still the same subject matter. On Supernatural, we are seeing our heroes -- Dean, Sam and Castiel -- gaining different perspectives about each other, family, life, friendship, hunting and monsters. These new perspectives are hovering over the core theme of the show -- the brother relationship.
Off the set, the cast has a very busy and fun year too -- Jensen's Angeles is like one of the best songs I've heard all year; Jared and Gen became first time parents; Misha, Vicky and West welcomed a new family to the family; Supernatural was in Hall H once again at Comic Con; and I am proud to be an attendee at one of the conventions this year in Chicago. The magnitude and charisma of Supernatural is unbelievable. As Eric Kripke said, Supernatural is like seeing his kids growing up and going to colleague. We are proud to be fans of Supernatural.
In terms of other shows, I was really sad to see the end of Lost, 24 and Smallville. I asked myself: what am I going to watch and blog about now? I was desperately looking
for good new shows to watch and I was concerned that I won't find any. But time has changed! We live in the beginning of the golden era of the genre shows!
We are seeing a wave of awesome genre
shows in recent years and most of them are worthy to stick around -- Arrow, A Game of Thrones, Once Upon A Time, The Walking Dead, The Vampire Diary, Grimm, True Blood, Revolution, Dr Who, Falling Skies, Being Human and Warehouse 13. With S.H.I.E.L.D is in development, television is going to be better! And I hope we will see medical dramas and procedural cop shows to die down a little, because I think TV viewers have enough of them! They are all the friggin same! And if anyone is looking for a new reality show idea, STOP! JUST STOP! Unless it involves the Ghost Facers or Derren Brown, I don't want to know!
Eric Kripke's new show, Revolution, is kicking ass! Comparing the show with Lost and Supernatural is not unheard of, but Revolution is the new Lost in terms of the scale and epicness. I told myself, this show cannot fail! Kripke's work deserves to be seen by more people and people need to know he is very good at what he does! Now we have to wait until March to see the second half of season one of Revolution.
Apart from Revolution, I most look forward to the return of A Game of Thrones. I love a HBO show and I hate a HBO show. The hiatus of A Game of Thrones is as long as a season of Supernatural being on air. How is that NOT insanity? I am currently reading A Dance With Dragons, I probably will revisit A Storm of Swords soon to get ready for season three of A Game of Thrones. The TV series is known that the TV series will not follow the book chapter by chapter, in fact I am a little disappointed how little Dany's prophecies were covered in season two, but it is still more than acceptable for television. A Game of Thrones is a great show! The book series is much bigger than Lord of the Rings. It is the most epic thing I've read. I hope season three will be really epic. Mr GRRM, please hurry up and finish writing The Wind of Winter and A Dream of Spring.
Once Upon A Time is becoming a favorite show of mine. I really look forward to the arrival of Hook and Cora, and how things will develop with Emma. I hope we get to see Baelfire. Please! Please let Nail be Baelfire! I am rewatching season one now, and I want to get up to speed so that I can blog about theories and my wishlist.
2012 has been a game-changing year for Joss Whedon and Marvel going forward.
The battle between DC and Marvel intensifies in 2013 as Superman, Iron Man III and Thor 2, and more to follow in 2014 and 2015 with Captain America II, The Avengers II and (hopefully) Justice League.
Marvel's phase II is in place, and DC is playing catch up. But this battle will set the trend and define the entertainment business for the next decade. It will also be the decade that belongs to the geeks!
But who will
come out as the winner? Let's not kid ourselves, it is war! Fans love
Whedon, it was the best decision from Marvel to involve him for The Avengers and other projects such as S.H.I.E.L.D.
What would the complacent DC do to compete? We will compare them, we
will criticize them, we will see Comic Con as the main PR battle ground
for the studios. This is exciting for fans! I cannot wait to see Twilight to get out of the way (and I wish the 50 Shades movie will never see the living daylight). I want more superheroes movies.
What do you most look forward to in 2013 and beyond?
As this is the last post of the year, I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for sharing and caring this year. I wish you all a wondering New Year and a very awesome 2013.
I blog about Supernatural and everything else relating to the show a lot! However, there are many other things that make me happy and appreciate life more. I wanted to dedicate this feature to other things I love that are not Supernatural related. I have named the year's best dress, photo, actors, person of the year etc. So, here they are, my version of something like a 'best of...' according to yours truly.
Photo of the year is...
Can you guess where this photo was taken? Don't peak!
This was taken in October this year when I was at the bottom of the staircase of Apple Store on 5th Avenue in New York. I love this shot so much because it fits the definition of a great 'Kodak moment.' This is the background of my other travel and food blog -- Sunny Tiny.
Apart from Supernatural, my second favorite TV series of the year is...
Between Arrow, A Game of Thrones, Revolution, Homeland, Once Upon A Time, New Girl, The Walking Dead.. it is a very hard decision to make, but I have decided.
The winner is Once Upon A Time. It's just growing on me and I am really into the show and the mythology now! Arrow or Revolution could have been the winner, but I found the last few episodes of Arrow a bit repetitive, but they always reveal something in each episode and I do like what I saw in the mid-season finale. Revolution lost to OUAT by a hair. I just know OUAT a bit more than Revolution. Bottomline is, I can explain OUAT better and in great details to my brother than other shows. And that's the sign right there.
Apart from Jensen Ackles, the second best performance from an actor is...
Robert Carlyle! Surprise? Yes dearie, even I find my decision a little surprising! Carlyle's performance as Rumpledkiltskin/Mr Gold really make the show for me. His performance is.. well.. gold! Rumpledkiltskin/Mr Gold holds the key to everything that happens on the show. Mysterious Rumpledkiltskin/Mr Gold is mysterious!
I want to grow up just like her -- most inspiring female actress of the year is...
Hands down Zooey Deschanel! She is awesome as Jess in New Girl. She is a super cool chic. She is not your Miss Universe beauty, she is not the cliche Hollywood drop dead gorgeous hot chic with a hot body. This is a compliment, Zooey! Hehe.
Zooey is quirky, funny and nerdy. She is not the sexy lady type. She is one of a kind and she makes wearing glasses hot! Zooey is inspirational! I want to grow up just like her! I love WWZDW! Check this out my fellow quirky ladies.. This is a website called What Would Zooey Deschanel Wear. This is OMG awesome!
And I want a pair Oliver Peoples glasses! The closest I can find is one from Agnes B, which is what I am wearing now.
Biggest disappointment of the year is...
Apart from Instagram? It's Smash.. it could've been a great show, but it just lacks a lot of things. But still, I'll tune in for season two and see how it plays out.
The best burger of the year is...
Shake Stack from Shake Shack!! This, THIS, IS happiness! As I my teeth sank into the burger, a smile appeared from my face. OMFG... This burger is amazing!! Just amazing!! I went to New York for this!
Best dress of the year is...
Tangerine
Tango is the color of the year in 2012. Emerald Green is the color of
2013, in case you ask. Anyway. This year at the Emmy Awards, Ginnifer
Goodwin wore this STUNNING dress. I cannot get over how beautiful this
is! OMG! Move over Miss Universe!
Apart from Dean Winchester, my second favorite hero of the year is...
Apart from Dean Winchester, the green guy makes the list this year.
I've been Ruffalised. Hulk is misunderstood by me. I never get it. And what's with the pants? Joss Whedon's take on the Hulk in The Avengers changed the way I look at the character. And I think Mark Ruffalo is awesome. Although I still don't get the pants thing.
Favorite villain of the year is...
I could make another Facebook or Instagram joke, but even I won't find it funny.
My favorite villain of the year is Loki!! Thank you Tom Hiddleston for making Loki so enjoyable to watch. I can listen to his voice all day!!
Movie of the year is...
Two words: The Avengers!
Person of the year is...
Apart from Jensen Ackles, it comes down to this: between Joss Whedon and Barack Obama.
Really? OK. It's Joss! 2012 is a payoff year for Joss. After Firefly, I don't think Joss has recovered from such stupid brutality from the MAN. Joss totally deserves the success and his works deserve to be seen as a driving force behind the cultural movement of this generation. The Avengers may not be the best thing ever for many, but it is one of the best things ever. The Avengers is the shape of things to come. Look out! Joss will be Person of the Decade!
This year's most played song according to my iTune playlist is...
No! It's not Gangnam Style!
According to my playlist, it's a race between Zooey Deschanel's Hey Girl and Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass's Spanish Flea. I don't know how it happened, but Hey Girl was played 1544 times, and Spanish Flea was played 396 times.
The best goodbye from a TV series is...
CHUCK! I cried from the moment Casey gave Chuck a hug! Don't judge me but I think 007 is lame. I dislike the whole "I am Bond, James Bond. I am so hot, it's your lost if you don't fall into my arms and let me kiss you right now" thing. What is he? Fabio?
Chuck changed my perception towards spy things. It rocks! And I even like Tim Dalton and the twist about his character!
Convention of the year is...
I've only been to one convention this year but the winner is Salute to Supernatural, Chicago
How bias is that? I've had a stressful year, this is hands down the best weekend of the year. I wish I could stop time and never leave Chicago.
Project of the year
You have your mining booms and dooms, and I got my LEGO project!
Best people I met this year is...
Taxi drivers. I know! I know cabbies are not loved by many, especially my mother. But when you are engaged in a conversation with them, you will discover stories of the city. Only by engaging in a conversation with people, you will find out more about a culture. It's an enriching experience.
Best city of the year is...
New York! This city really inspires me and I would do anything to go there again! New Yorkers want you to love their city. It has a rich culture, it inspires you to do better things. It's great for walking, eating, shopping, reading, writing and taking photos. I return home with new attitude and new ideas. LOVE!
Jensen's best look of the year is...
You know I can't help it! Jensen's appearance at the CW Up-Front in NYC this year is epic! He looks like the man in charge! Give him the Godfather role and he can nail it! HOT HOT HOT HOT!
This is hands down the hottest look of Jensen in a public appearance.
Don Jensen.
So, there you do. What are your favorite things in 2012? What makes you happy?
