Best of 2014: TV – Best Character

Another year is in the books, and we here at Hush Comics couldn’t pass at the chance to rank our favorites of this year’s releases in all types of mediums. Some of the winners will surprise you; heck, some of the results surprised  us. The results are completely subjective, and therefore were chosen with infallible logic. We would love to hear your opinions on what we have chosen, or if you thought we missed anything. This should be a fun review before we gear up for 2015.

Click on the link to take you to the “Best of 2014” homepage.

Best Characters on TV

• Carol (The Walking Dead)
• Felicity (Arrow)
• The Inquisitor (Star Wars Rebels)
• Jax (Sons of Anarchy)
• Troy and Abed (Community)

WINNER – Troy and Abed (Community)

Yep, you read that correctly; Troy and Abed from Community are one. The connection these two have could send peanut butter and jelly to couples counseling. Before being canceled by the idiots at NBC, the same idiots that almost canceled Constantine not too long ago, Troy and Abed said goodbye to one another in one of the saddest moments of television I can remember. The series wasn’t over, but a part of the show’s spirit died a little when Troy boarded the Childish Tycoon with LeVar Burton and left Greendale. Gone are the pillow forts, Dreamatorium and tandem Halloween costumes. No one character is bigger than the show, but these two definitely were. – Sherif

Second Place – Carol (The Walking Dead)

Carol Peletier on The Walking Dead is a one-woman arsenal.  She blew up Terminus by herself!  She gunned down Denise Crosby with no qualms!  She shot Lizzie with some qualms!  Carol has had the most character development in the series, and between the end of season four and the beginning of season five, it has become clear that this is not the same women whose husband beat her in season one.  But Carol also revealed her sensitive side (to Daryl, of course), proving that she is more than a machine, she is a human. – Adrian

Third Place – The Inquisitor (Star Wars Rebels)

So everyone is making a big deal about the three pronged broadsword-lightsaber wielded by the mysterious dark figure in the recently released Episode VII teaser trailer.  That’s fine and all, but if anyone should be making a big deal about any lightsaber it should be The Inquisitor’s lightsaber.  Have you seen that thing?!  No?!  Google it right now!  DO IT!  Better yet, watch Rebels and tape your eyelids open during any moment The Inquisitor is on screen.  Talk about a lethal and lovable character.  Here’s a list of words and phrases that describe The Inquisitor: awesome, scary, charming, charismatic, powerful, limber, has really cool outfits/gear, deep understanding of the force, cunning, has really sharp teeth, good posture, and deadly with a lightsaber.  In many fewer words The Inquisitor is bad-ass.  His actions in just a few short episode of Rebels has firmly placed him as one of the coolest force-sensitive bad guys among the stars.  That’s why we nominated him for best character of the year.  Be afraid rebels.  Be very afraid. – Taylor

RUNNER UP – Jax (Sons of Anarchy)

From day one, Jackson “Jax” Teller has stay true to two things and two things only, his family, and his club. Although, he has constantly struggled with the angels and demons climbing up his shoulders, he would sooner meet the Reaper before allowing harm to come his “sons.” It has been poetic in nature to see Jax mature and grow through the years. Balancing between who he wants to be and who he truly is, regardless of where his character finished, his love was unwavering. No one through out the series has loved as hard as Jax, and it’s hard to believe anyone could ever match his level of love.  Jax was a bad man who loved hard, and followed his truths though thick and thin. – Evan

RUNNER UP – Felicity (Arrow)

Everyone loves Felicity. Sometimes I think fans like her more than they do Oliver. Hell, if it was just Felicity with her own show I would be all over that. Sometimes I fantasize she’s the Oracle and I get my Birds of Prey show. I mean, the show keeps highlighting the clock tower, Laurel is becoming Black Canary, so maybe we can redeem the Huntress and have a fucking awesome kickass female fronted superhero show.Also, I’m sorry but I have to talk about her fashion. Her dresses… I want them! Or rather I want her tailor. Anyway, I digress. I think the other aspect that so many fans are drawn too is the alternative to a strong female character. I like a woman who can kick ass along with everyone else, but that’s not me. I am the woman behind a computer who uses my words to fight, which is just as valuable if more than a pair of fists. For Felicity, her power is not what’s under her dress, nor in the shape of her fist but rather her mind and her intelligence. And that’s why so many of us want her with Oliver, because she the sidekick the one who saves him through her ingenuity. Not to mention she’s a role model for all the girl programmers out there who want to do what she does. The more we see these smart savvy women in media the more women will feel comfortable pursuing their dreams.  – Jené

Next Category: Best Anime

Best of 2014: TV – Best Series

Another year is in the books, and we here at Hush Comics couldn’t pass at the chance to rank our favorites of this year’s releases in all types of mediums. Some of the winners will surprise you; heck, some of the results surprised  us. The results are completely subjective, and therefore were chosen with infallible logic. We would love to hear your opinions on what we have chosen, or if you thought we missed anything. This should be a fun review before we gear up for 2015.

Click on the link to take you to the “Best of 2014” homepage.

Best TV Series

• Arrow (The CW)
• Game of Thrones (HBO)
• Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
• Sons of Anarchy (FX)
• The Walking Dead (AMC)

WINNER – The Walking Dead (AMC)

The Walking Dead stepped it up a notch in season five.  But let’s not forget the second half of season four, either.  While much of it was slow because everyone was on the road, we also were given one of the best season finales of the series in “A”, and there was also the now infamous line, “Look at the flowers, Lizzie.”  However, season 5 have had so many non-stop episodes, it felt like descending down a roller coaster for the majority of it.  Comic fans were appeased with Bob’s “tainted meat!” line and the story veered enough away from the comic that there were some truly suspenseful episodes with no way to predict the future.  Sundays seem bleak without our survivor heroes, but I’m happy with how the show went this year. – Adrian

Second Place – Arrow (CW)

There isn’t a cast on television that has the type of chemistry that Ollie’s Scooby Gang does on Arrow. The CW show got off to a promising start, but after nipping at the excessive displays of inner-torment and tucking away the “that’s so C-Dub” moments of eye-rolling almost-romance… I promise that is not a jab at Laurel’s plastic surgery… this show has become the best on television. Stealing Batman’s villains and giving them a place among Green Arrow’s new rogues gallery was genius; throw in some hints at a gigantic world on the horizon (credit to The Flash for triggering that), and you have the best TV show tandem since Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. And don’t even get us started on the Season 3 mid-finale. – Sherif

Third Place – Game of Thrones (HBO)

Hodor hodor hodor hodor. Hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor. Hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor, hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor? Hodor! Hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor; hodor hodor hodor… hodor hodor hodor. Hodor, hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor. – Hodor

RUNNER UP – Orange is the New Black (Netflix)

Writing about Orange is the New Black is sort of strange because many other TV shows envelop our lives.  They come on once a week and we think about them often in between those new episodes.  But with OITNB, binge watching it (the most preferred method), makes you watch it intensely – so intensely that it almost feels like you might be at Litchfield, and then 13 hours later, it’s over and we move on.  Season Two was a good follow-up to the highly acclaimed first season.  While it felt good to be back at Litchfield, and the writing is still better than most shows on today, it did feel like we were missing a lot of the essence of the first season, particularly with the inclusion of villainess Vee.  However, Poussey, Red and the season opener made the entire season a must-watch. – Adrian

RUNNER UP – Sons of Anarchy (FX)

Sons of Anarchy has proven to be more than a television show about motorcycle boys and violence. After seven years, the final ride has hit me in the face like a semi-truck. It’s hard to express the level of emotions Jax and crew has taken the audience on from the first scene to the last. After years of violence, love, blood, bullets, family and alarming amounts of man butt, the audience is forever changed wondering what the hell to do on Tuesday nights now. Through all the pain the club has experienced, the deaths we all have mourned, and the war zone Charming has become, The Sons of Anarchy Motor Cycle Club Redwood Original chapter will be with me till the day I meet Mr. Mayhem. – Evan

Next Category: Best Animated TV Series

Best of 2014: TV – Best New Series

Another year is in the books, and we here at Hush Comics couldn’t pass at the chance to rank our favorites of this year’s releases in all types of mediums. Some of the winners will surprise you; heck, some of the results surprised  us. The results are completely subjective, and therefore were chosen with infallible logic. We would love to hear your opinions on what we have chosen, or if you thought we missed anything. This should be a fun review before we gear up for 2015.

Click on the link to take you to the “Best of 2014” homepage.

Best New TV Series

• Constantine (NBC)
• The Flash (The CW)
• Gotham (Fox)
• How to Get Away With Murder (ABC)
• Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)

WINNER – Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has done one thing for Americans who subscribe to (or steal) HBO: made them feel down right stupid.  Me included.  But you know what is so great about that?  John Oliver gets to educate us on our own country, and many other countries, too!  Being British makes him sound automatically smarter than us young Yanks, but there is a lot of research to back up his exposés.  Thanks to John Oliver, I now know about FIFA, mass incarceration, payday loans, beauty pageants, and of course the Russian Space Sex Geckos.  It could be construed as a comedy, but John Oliver and crew are masters at educating through humor, and sometimes, even doing something about the issues they have talked about. – Adrian

Second Place – The Flash (CW)

DC and Marvel have been duking it out on the big screen for years now, but this year DC has declared an early victory in the battle of the small screen. Jumping off the success of Arrow, the CW’s newest superhero show, The Flash, made its debut in November. Since then, the series has introduced a butt-load of DC characters – and hinted at even more to come. I love this show because it has BALLS.The Flash is still susceptible to the “that’s so C-Dub” tropes, but it has an enjoyable cast, impressive special effects, and more Easter Eggs than we know what to do with at times. After only two months, The Flash can already keep pace alongside Arrow. – Sherif

Third Place – Constantine (NBC)

John Constantine is one bad man, and it’s about damn time we get a television show that shows us that. The best way I can describe the show Constantine is that it’s the guy version of Charmed, but much more terrifying. Or a way better version of the 2005 Keanu Reeves movie. The show itself has even dug itself out of an early grave, as it was handed the time slot most associated with shows sentenced to death – Friday nights. Anybody with a social life or without a DVR was almost guaranteed not to be able to catch Constantine, so the fate of the series rested on the hardcore fans of the demon hunter. In spectacular fashion, the voices of the fans (and a surprising amount of casual viewers, as well) convinced NBC, the same jerks that canceled Community, to move the show to a more feasible time slot. So there’s one demon down; now they just have to get renewed for a second season. – Sherif

RUNNER UP – How to Get Away With Murder (ABC)

Well, I’m not surprised us at Hush felt that How to Get Away with Murder was one of the year’s best shows. For me personally I was hooked by the first episode, and since I don’t have a television, I found every which way possible to watch it as soon as it was available. I never hit fast forward and always found myself hovering at the edge of my seat holding my breath. I was riveted by the storyline, the characters and the nature in which everything unfolded. And I was honestly and genuinely surprised by the mid-season finale. What I find most intriguing about the show is how it articulates its reality and the ways different characters deal with murder. The emotion is raw and intense and at times hard to stomach, not to mention the sexy-time is wonderful. If it’s not a show on your watch list it should be. Binge it right away so you’re ready for when it comes back. Because we are all wondering what is to come next for all of these dynamic characters. – Jené

RUNNER UP – Gotham (Fox)

I’m not going to lie… new TV this year was pretty bad, but somewhere near the top of this pile of suck is Gotham, a show all about the humble, murderous roots of Batman’s hometown.  Joy!  Kinda.  As my brother so aptly put, “it’s a show about Batman without any Batman.”  That’s not completely true.  Adolescent Bruce Wayne is a part of this show, but this series focuses primarily on Jim Gordon pre-Commissioner title and his police partner Harvey Bullock.  The show had its moments – mostly anytime Robin Lord Taylor (Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin) was on screen.  Strung together by a series of fairly unrelated events and peppered with B-list (maybe even D-list: Balloon Man?) villains, Gotham provided mild relief from the boredom plaguing Monday night primetime.  It wasn’t a bad show.  It wasn’t a great show.  But for trying something new and delving into the DC universe, Fox and Gotham get props and for at least an earnest attempt at creating something special. – Taylor

Next Category: Best TV Series