Board 8 > ~~SephG's decennial "Best of" topic: the 2010s!~~

(+) Yeah! (+)

for an actual comment on bjh: ironic it's here (given eeiteups) since it's so clearly a dramedy! i'd say more than one episode hasn't been very funny, more "go for the feels."
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SeabassDebeste posted...

for an actual comment on bjh: ironic it's here (given eeiteups) since it's so clearly a dramedy! i'd say more than one episode hasn't been very funny, more "go for the feels."

Yeah but it's structured as a comedy, and that's the differentiator for me. TV is weird and I probably am doing a poor job articulating myself. But tv comedies and tv dramas to me are as different as a tv series and a movie or a movie and a play.
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good stuff so far

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I'll get to more tomorrow if I feel like procrastinating at work
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I guess my Alabama point is moot now!
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Best TV Episode of the 2010s: Twin Peaks: The Return - "Part 8"
Runners Up: Breaking Bad - "Face Off," Game of Thrones - "Blackwater," True Detective "Who Goes There," Atlanta - "Champagne Papi"

The 2000s saw the rise and apex of Golden Age television--shows that mastered the art of the slow burn, shows that shed decades of serialized television orthodoxy in favor of a deeper, more complete season-long (or longer) arcs that were a perfect fit for the medium. The 2010s, as I mentioned, saw a different trajectory. Streaming capabilities geared the average viewer more toward binge-watching, where those gradual, 20+ episode arcs were sliced down to satisfy our bloodthirsty desire for media consumption. To me, this has been a negative change in the overall quality and philosophy of television; however, it did open up one new advent: the "prestige" episode.

These are episodes that many shows (particularly dramas) throw their entire budgets and all of their creative thinking at in order to generate buzz and entice any late-comers to join in on the binge-watching zeitgeist. This has led to a decade of the best single episodes in television history, even if the seasons and shows overall may have featured dips in quality.

The best of these fall into two camps. Episodes like Game of Thrones's "Blackwater" (yes, this was better than Hardhomme or Battle of the Bastards) or the midseason thriller of True Detective's "Who Goes There" are those big-budget, highly choreographed masterpieces that can convince even the most snobbish of reviewers that TV now has as much power as the big screen. In the other camp are episodes like "Champagne Papi" in Atlanta and "Part 8" of the Twin Peaks revival--highly avant garde, narratively unique episodes where the show runners were given full creative liberty to do something different and cool, which would never have happened in decades past. (Breaking Bad's "Face Off" is the exception to this rule, as this was one of the last examples of the Golden Age structure--a tremendous build-up to create one of the most perfect season finales ever made.)

The winner of episode of the decade is hands-down the greatest episode in television history. Twin Peaks: The Return took all of the strange charm of the original Twin Peaks and removed the awful ABC executives to allow David Lynch to David Lynch. And what transpired is one of the most mesmerizing things ever put to screen--a 2001: A Space Odyssey-like trip through the desert to find the abstract and surreal origins of the show's main antagonist. For fans of the show, it was an intensely satisfying entrant in a mythology that many thought would be left unexplained. For fans of art, you will find one of the most unique and brilliant metaphors for good and evil in any medium. It's an art film that serves as a bottle episode in the middle of a season, but somehow wraps everything together perfectly without sacrificing the abstract mysteries we've grown to love. All due respect to Breaking Bad, but nothing will ever top this.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

this has been a negative change in the overall quality and philosophy of television

agreed! quality is far less consistent in long-running network shows, but i feel like that amount of time and being forced to put out stuff often results in some really cool ideas - particularly one-off episodes. supernatural isn't really prestige television, but like lost, it could really fire off one-off clever ones in its prime.

couldn't really get into even the first episode of the 1990 twin peaks so i haven't seen the followup series, obviously. fwiw, my pick for best GOT episode is actually winds of winter, and best breaking bad would likely be ozymandias. could probably make a list of like twenty amazing BB episodes.
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SeabassDebeste posted...

couldn't really get into even the first episode of the 1990 twin peaks so i haven't seen the followup series, obviously

If you don't like the pilot, then you won't like the show. It's one of those rare cases where the pilot really sets the bar for the other episodes in the series, and it's probably in the top 5 of either run.
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Still vacillating over the best TV drama of the decade

Arbitrary time-points are annoying because I am trying to judge each show only by its run from 2010 on!
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Still vacillating over the best TV drama of the decade

Arbitrary time-points are annoying because I am trying to judge each show only by its run from 2010 on!

This is why I think awards like the Oscars are ridiculous.

You shouldnt have to beat other films that came out in an arbitrary time frame. It should be more like a Hall of Fame sort of thing where any number of films/performances/etc can get voted in instead of just one in each category per year
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you're not wrong, but this sort of competition is obviously more appealing to the "winners/losers" mentality that drives interest!
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I'm not so much complaining about the nature of "best ofs." Rather, I'm just bemoaning the timing of shows like Breaking Bad, which fall half into the 2000s and half in the 2010s and are therefore make comparisons difficult. The Wire and The Sopranos made my job much easier last decade!
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"Face Off" and "Blackwater" are good runner-up picks for Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones respectively. My personal picks would be "Granite State" for Breaking Bad - which doubles as my favorite episode of television period - and "The Watchers on the Wall" for Game of Thrones.

As for comedy? My favorite episode of the decade would be the Community finale, followed closely by Archer - "Placebo Effect."

Great thread btw, looking forward to the rest!
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Man I need to watch more Archer. It's probably the only animated series in the past 10 years besides Bojack that doesn't make me feel like an out of touch old man.

Like I literally cannot watch Rick and Morty or Stephen Universe despite both of those being for adults (sort of)? I guess Bob's Burgers is okay enough.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Man I need to watch more Archer. It's probably the only animated series in the past 10 years besides Bojack that doesn't make me feel like an out of touch old man.

Like I literally cannot watch Rick and Morty or Stephen Universe despite both of those being for adults (sort of)? I guess Bob's Burgers is okay enough.

The first three seasons of Archer are especially excellent. I started rewatching it recently, and they fully hold up. The cast chemistry is tops and the dialogue is razor-sharp.

I concur about Bob's Burgers just being "okay." I've watched episodes from various points in its run, and while I can tolerate the show (unlike fuckin' Big Mouth >_>), I don't particularly enjoy it. Love me some Rick and Morty though.
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Best TV Drama of the 2010s: Breaking Bad
Runners Up: Mad Men, Fargo, Game of Thrones

While I, and probably everyone else in the country, watched way more TV than was probably healthy this decade, there were only four dramas that I could legitimately give the shortlist to. Part of that was due to the nature of a lot of TV shows in the streaming era. There were many really great, interesting series with big-name actors, but these shows were often vanity projects or launch-pads for these actors between films. And therefore, you get a dozen episodes or two seasons of quality entertainment, only never to see them again. But these shows I listed are real TV. Shows that had real runs and felt like actual series instead of long binge-worthy movies (Fargo excepted).

The winner of this category ultimately came down to a numbers game. Breaking Bad and Mad Men were, along with The Sopranos, The Wire, LOST, and Deadwood, the elite TV programs of the Golden Age, which really reflected the previous decade more than the 2010s. However, in doing some cursory research, both shows actually had the majority of their runs this decade, and thus opened up a complicated decision process.

Let's get #3 and #4 out of the way first though. Fargo is one of the most criminally underrated series I have ever watched. It's a loosely interrelated anthology, but is just teeming with creativity and drama unlike anything I've seen before. But like I said, this category is a numbers game. Fargo released 3 perfect seasons of television in the 2010s, which was enough to warrant an honorable mention here. But that is only 30 episodes. That's a season and a half of The Sopranos. As immaculate as the show is, it just doesn't have the meat to warrant a Best of the Decade honor.

I didn't want to include Game of Thrones on this list at all. The latter half of the show was such an embarrassing disappointment to me that it started ruining the series at large. But revisiting some of the earlier seasons really changed my mind on that. Those first 2-3 seasons completely changed the scope and scale of TV, and are so brilliant and entertaining that it's no wonder the show had the cultural footprint that it did. I honestly think that in 30 years, when we reflect back on culture/entertainment of the 2010s, we will remember Game of Thrones more than any other single piece of media (maybe with the exception of the MCU). But, alas, it cannot be rewarded for only having 3 or 4 out of 8 quality seasons, even if the highs were as high as they were.

So that brings us to Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Two of the greatest shows ever made, and two shows that I hold in equal regard. If I could give them a tie, I would. But I don't believe in it!

Breaking Bad's first two seasons were in the 2000s. Seasons 3, 4, and 5 (which was really 2 seasons) occurred in this decade. Mad Men had a bit of a longer run. Its first three seasons were in the 2000s, and the 2010s were home to seasons 4, 5, 6, and 7 (also a split season).

This is where the "math" comes in. Breaking Bad's seasons continually got better with each year until (in my opinion) season 4, and then the latter half of season 5 was a slight dip in overall quality (but not by much). Mad Men, on the other hand, saw its best episodes in seasons 2-4. The later seasons were still fantastic, but the quality didn't match the consistent peak of Mad Men ca. 2009.

And there you have it. Breaking Bad showcased 10/10 television from 2010-2013, whereas Mad Men had a longer run of 5 years of 9.5/10 television. It saddens me to be so clinical about two of the best shows ever made, but perhaps that's the way it must be now. The Golden Age of television is over, and all we can do is the autopsy.
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I'm not surprised by that call, but mad men > breaking bad forever. i rewatched mad men front to back for the first time this year and was stunned to realise that I'm no longer sure if the wire is my #1 show anymore.

I'd probably argue for mad men in the decade too (I certainly don't agree that it peaked early; seasons 4-5 are my favourites and 7 was incredible too), even though that's a tougher call. BB had more cultural impact and inarguably peaked this decade, and part of me wants to choose something that "belongs" to the decade anyway. but what would that be? game of thrones? hannibal? the leftovers? none of them quite feel right to me. who knows, maybe I haven't yet seen my favourite show of the decade!

p.s. the best breaking bad episode is crawl space, fight me

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Giggsalot posted...

p.s. the best breaking bad episode is crawl space, fight me

Ozymandias. I think season 5B was the best of Breaking Bad, though it did peak 3 episodes before the end.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

the latter half of season 5 was a slight dip in overall quality

couldn't disagree more
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Giggsalot posted...

I'm not surprised by that call, but mad men > breaking bad forever. i rewatched mad men front to back for the first time this year and was stunned to realise that I'm no longer sure if the wire is my #1 show anymore.

Yeah I could be swayed in putting Mad Men as the overall superior show. The earlier seasons in particular are knockouts, even though my favorite episode (season 5 finale UGH) was later on.

However, like I said, Breaking Bad just has the better run this decade in particular (by a hair).

I'd probably argue for mad men in the decade too (I certainly don't agree that it peaked early; seasons 4-5 are my favourites and 7 was incredible too), even though that's a tougher call. BB had more cultural impact and inarguably peaked this decade, and part of me wants to choose something that "belongs" to the decade anyway. but what would that be? game of thrones? hannibal? the leftovers? none of them quite feel right to me. who knows, maybe I haven't yet seen my favourite show of the decade!

That was the annoying part about this category. Mad Men and Breaking Bad were its best series, but they feel so "2000s" despite running more in the 2010s. Sort of like how Friends is inarguably a 90s sitcom despite running halfway into the 2000s. But if there was any "2010s" show, what was it? Downton Abbey or Mr. Robot maybe? As much as I enjoy those series, they still just don't belong in the same breath as Mad Men or Breaking Bad.
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MysticBrohan posted...

Nelson_Mandela posted...

the latter half of season 5 was a slight dip in overall quality

couldn't disagree more

Once the Nazis got involved, it sort of felt like the show lost some of its stride. Not much, but some.
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But anyway, it's a moot point since I named it best show of the decade lol
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I'm definitely with Seph on this, season 5 of breaking bad in general left a slightly sour taste in my mouth. the premise is wonderful but the characterisation feels flat to me - lydia is never interesting, the nazis feel like ludicrous cardboard villains after gus, and I find walter's a much more compelling character in earlier seasons when he's actually wrestling with his decisions and not just embracing his darkness.

there are a lot of great moments in there - the cinematography remains wonderful, the tension throughout is pretty masterful and ozymandias is obviously a landmark episode - but it falls into grotesqueness and action movie silliness a little too much for me

all that said, I never unconditionally adored the show even in what I consider to be its better seasons, so maybe that's not all that meaningful. clearly I'm in the minority anyway!

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no question that BB/MM are 00-style shows and not 10s. fargo is neat but anthology-style shows aren't really my jam. i have no particularly strong desire to see S3 at all, nor to go beyond S1 of true detective.

long-running stories get me going. i want to grow to love characters like a family over weeks and years, not just basically see a few vignettes like a long movie.

i think even though it's not necessarily the best of the decade, the show of the decade is unquestionably game of thrones.

crawl space is a great pick for best BB. faceoff caps off S4 with an excellent final scene, but as an episode i think crawl space beats it. also my most rewatched scene from BB is the "crystal blue persuasion" montage from 5x08.
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SeabassDebeste posted...

i have no particularly strong desire to see S3 at all, nor to go beyond S1 of true detective.

Fargo season 3 is glorious though

Smart man not going beyond TD S1. Now that was an iconic 2010s show in all the wrong ways.
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Season 5 of breaking bad does not hold up as strongly upon rewatch.

I feel like a lot of the reasons people loved s5 was the hype and the anticipation that had built up so strongly, and they do a great job of building up the tension. Once you get past that, it's just grim and violent drama. Still great, but diminished.

However, the whole Gus arc is so incredible and well-crafted. It's some of the best TV ever made.
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That takes care of TV

Honorable mention goes to the original "Serial" podcast, which was more riveting and entertaining than any TV documentary in an age where that genre absolutely exploded
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up
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

That takes care of TV

Honorable mention goes to the original "Serial" podcast, which was more riveting and entertaining than any TV documentary in an age where that genre absolutely exploded

A "best podcasts" section of this topic would actually be super appropriate and interesting to read!

Also, in the dark is basically the wire of true crime podcasts, that shit is incredible (and quite a bit better than serial IMO)

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My podcast tastes change with my moods so I don't actually think about them from a critical lens. However, Hardcore History's Blueprint for Armageddon (world war I podcast) and Serial season 1 stand out as the two champions of the medium for me.
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Movies then music then current events
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Walt is the bad guy of season 5
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yes neon
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Deep stuff I kno
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Best Filmmaker of the 2010s: Denis Villeneuve
Runners-Up: Martin Scorsese, Alfonso Cuarn, Yorgos Lanthimos, Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino

A decade is not a long time for a director. Stanley Kubrick, for example, is probably the greatest ever, but I don't think there's a single decade you can say he "owned," since he only averaged about two films every five years. There are certainly more prolific filmmakers out there, but few are able to bang out high-quality stuff with every attempt. We have to remember as another counterpoint: for every great film Woody Allen has made, there are 3 or 4 lousy ones.

That being said, Denis Villeneuve has emerged as that rare director who can churn out a really good movie every 2 or 3 years, some of which have approached true levels of greatness. Let's break down the decade for him:

2010: Incendies - one of the 40 best films of the decade
2013: Prisoners - very good
2013: Enemy - one of the 20 best films of the decade
2015: Sicario - very good
2016: Arrival - very good
2017: Blade Runner 2049 - very good (and I know many would name this one of the best of the decade)

It's one hell of a resume that combines really grounded, smart, lower-budget dramas (Incendies, Prisoners, Enemy) with exceeding well-crafted sci-fi and action blockbusters (Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner). Villeneuve still hasn't found his masterpiece yet, but the dude is looking better and better every year, and if there's anyone in line to be the next James Cameron, it's him.

The runners up also deserve a whole heap of praise--in particular Scorsese and Tarantino, who continue to make movies that they really want to make deep into their careers. Until a new movement happens, these are probably the last throes of those big-budget auteurs, so I am going to enjoy them while I can.
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pretty good list of directors. maybe alejandro g. irritu should be on there? i actually haven't seen his '10s movies but they sure are critically acclaimed!

i'd also throw the russo brothers on there but i get that those movies aren't your jam.
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Mr Lasastryke posted...

pretty good list of directors. maybe alejandro g. irritu should be on there? i actually haven't seen his '10s movies but they sure are critically acclaimed!

i'd also throw the russo brothers on there but i get that those movies aren't your jam.

Birdman is a top 5-ish movie of the decade, so big points for that. The Revenant is fine. I haven't seen Biutiful. He's probably in the conversation, but the other guys just have more under their belts.

And the best thing the Russos have done is Arrested Development!
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i've heard of blade runner 2049
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Best College Sports Team of the 2010s: UConn Huskies Women's Basketball
Runner Up: Alabama Crimson Tide Football

Of the dozen or so categories I'll be presenting, this one was literally the hardest to decide between the winner and the runner up. No other major collegiate athletics programs even come close to touching these two in terms of dominance for the decade. And it's hard to imagine any other team will for many years to come.

There are a few factors at play in this one. On one hand, I think it's uncontroversial to state that it's much harder to win a college men's football game than to win a women's college basketball game. The physicality, the competition, and the stakes are just so much higher in the former. That's what makes Alabama's series of annihilation throughout the course of the decade (4 national titles and 10 solid years of being in the running) so impressive. But it's also what makes the UConn Lady Huskies' decade so fucking astounding as well.

It goes without saying that women's basketball is a little different than Alabama football. However, those differences and the success this team had in spite of them is why I am awarding them the Team of the Decade title. Alabama made millions and millions of dollars from their sports program. They enlisted dozens of the best recruiters to snatch up the best football players in the country, year after year, and their success only made them an even bigger juggernaut. UConn, on the other hand, doesn't exactly live and die by the success of their women's basketball team. Athletes are scouted, sure, but there isn't an entire industry made out of it. And because of that, many of the best female basketball players go to school based on where they want to go to school--not based on where they want to play. In short, UConn murdered everyone not because the best talent was drawn to them, but because their program was that unparalleled.

A few quick stats from this team in the 2010s:
-5 NCAA tournament championships
-4 consecutive titles
-4 undefeated seasons
-111-game winning streak, which is the longest winning streak of any college sports team in the history of college sports

We will not see anything like this again.

This write up is pretty wrong on the recruiting part. Uconn murdered people because everyone just stacked on uconn and competition for female basketball was very rough and has just started to get better. They had all the best talent in college basketball pretty consistently until recently.

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I'm sure they recruited well, but was it really on the level of any D1 football program, let alone Alabama?
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

I'm sure they recruited well, but was it really on the level of any D1 football program, let alone Alabama?

They were one of the few colleges even recruiting at all in women's sports. Them in Notre Dame was it. So they had the pick of the crop every year.

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bumpo
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More tomorrow or Monday
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Best Movie of the 2010s: Boyhood
Runners Up: Parasite, The Social Network, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Whiplash, The Irishman

I did a whole big topic for my top 250 movies ever made, so I'll try not to repeat what I already typed up (it's in the b8 archives somewhere). You can find my thoughts on why The Social Network is David Fincher's best film, the genius meta-narrative of Birdman and how it is aging with stunning grace in the era of the MCU glut, and why Whiplash is one of the most endlessly rewatchable triumphs this side of Rocky. But two movies came out in the last few months that not only would have made the list, but make my top of the top for the decade.

Parasite is Korean director Bong Joon Ho's magnum opus, and one of the only movies that rendered me mute for about 30 minutes after watching. On the surface, it's sort of a Kafkaesque screwball comedy, with a really interesting blend of thriller/suspense and horror on top of it. But by the end of the film, you suddenly realize that you haven't just been watching a really unique and fun genre-meld; rather, Parasite is a brilliant allegory for social mobility--and it's ending will leave you completely breathless.

The Irishman also leaves you with that haunting feeling. In the brilliant career of Martin Scorsese, arguably the greatest filmmaker who ever lived, he has never made something so personal and introspective as this movie. It's one of those rare films that works even better when you take yourself out of it and watch it knowing that it's just a movie. I'll explain: having an aging De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino in a septuagenarian's final mob movie elevates the themes in a way that could only be done with this cast and this director. It's a film about reflecting back on a lifetime of glorifying violence and wondering what the point of it all was. I can't get into it any further without spoilers, so you'll just have to sit through the 3.5 hours of it and see for yourself.

Both of these are still playing in select theaters and are absolutely worth watching on the big screen, so do yourself a favor and buy a ticket to both this week. You won't regret it.

But alas, we get to our film of the decade: Richard Linklater's Boyhood. I've written about this movie at length, so I'll keep this brief. For anyone born between roughly 1988 and 1992, this movie is like watching your entire life unfold before you in the span of 3 hours. The irony is that the best movie of the 2010s is actually a real-time reflection on the 2000s--the music, the events, the culture. Linklater managed to curate these moments for us as he was editing the film across 12 years, and what we're left with is an absolutely gutting experience that I will never forget.
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For shits and giggles (and because I have them written down), here is my top 25 of the 2010s:

25. Hugo
24. Paterson
23. A Ghost Story
22. Django Unchained
21. The Wolf of Wall Street
20. Roma
19. Enemy
18. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
17. The Favourite
16. Coco
15. Midnight in Paris
14. Life of Pi
13. Blue Is the Warmest Color
12. Holy Motors
11. Moonlight
10. Melancholia
9. Toy Story 3
8. Mad Max: Fury Road
7. The Tree of Life
6. The Irishman
5. Whiplash
4. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
3. The Social Network
2. Parasite
1. Boyhood

Post your own!
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So much shit I haven't seen yet, I'll probably see a few more this week that could be on here (Irishman and Parasite I imagine). And I loved the book Life of Pi so idk why it's taken me so long to get to that movie...

25. Logan
24. Beyond the Black Rainbow
23. Loving Vincent
22. Sicario
21. First Reformed
20. Nightcrawler
19. Ex-Machina
18. Upstream Color
17. Whiplash
16. Holy Motors
15. Brooklyn's Finest
14. Guardians of the Galaxy
13. The Master
12. Gone Girl
11. Hereditary
10. Dunkirk
9. The Witch
8. Mandy
7. Lucky
6. Fury Road
5. Moonlight
4. Swiss Army Man
3. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
2. Under the Skin
1. The Lighthouse

Oh man I am seeing The Lighthouse this week

I suppose that could change my top 25 (or maybe even my runners up?)
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I have no idea what my #1 for the decade would be. The Force Awakens?
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neonreaper posted...

I have no idea what my #1 for the decade would be. The Force Awakens?

-__-
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Boyhood is my #1 of the decade as well

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