Podcasts - THE LEAGUE OF EXTREMELY ORDINARY GENTLEMEN: Volume 9, Issue 7: Best TV of 2012

The League takes on television, which may very well have outshined film in 2012, and for these purposes, we bring to the table The TV Dudes (including the elusive and collectible Greg) to define the unmissable tubular moments of the last 8,765 hours labeled as '12.

Tags:  leog, leon, cyrus, podcast, spill, spill.com, comics, tv, movies, best 2012

• 
  

  January 12, 2013 at 9:03 PM, said ...

  Best of Television 2012 and no mention of Dexter Season 7  ??? That's just tragic   !!! 

• January 11, 2013 at 12:44 AM, ZimMan2 said ...

  I know I'm most likely gonna get shit for this from this crowd, but I don't really care.  I'm loving the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

  It's got potential to go to some really interesting story places that it's not tapping into right now, but it's a really fun watch and the action scenes are some of the best the franchise has ever seen. 

  
  
• 
  

  January 09, 2013 at 8:18 PM, said ...

  I am actually surprised to hear so much love for Fringe: Season 5 with Cyrus going as far as to call it the best season of the show.  I really wanted to love this season.  I held on for the first few episodes, but the storytelling is a train-wreck this season of mismanaged ideas that never gel together for a coherent season arc.  Sure, there's some awesome ideas getting tossed around with the "monsters episode" and the brain implant, but ultimately nothing ever happens!  The show has lost its clever spark and it feels like a completely different show with different characters.  These are not the same people from the first four seasons and that is a travesty.

  I love Walter, but there's nothing for Noble to do this season (beyond the CD mobile scene early on, which was epic) except be grumpy.  Even the daughter storyline never really took off like I hoped it would.  There's too much missing for me to even care about anybody at this point.  What was the deal with the portals?  That never came up again.  Too bad Desmond turned into a puppet.  Sure the LCD episode was fun, but it was done better in Mad Men.  The created universe reeked of leftover Inception ideas.

  This is all coming from a big fan of the show.  The alternate universe goes down as one of the best ideas for a science-fiction show in quite some time.  Season 5 feels like cliff's notes on Terminator, The Matrix, "New Caprica" on BSG.  Nothing works.

  Here's hoping they find some glue for the final few episodes.  I liked the final season of Lost way more than this.

• January 09, 2013 at 1:52 AM, said ...

  I would just like to point out that Rocket Raccoon has already had a damn good voice for a while now in the video game Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. If its not this voice in the Guardians movie I'll be pretty disappointed.

  
  
• 
  

  January 08, 2013 at 7:54 AM, said ...

  Well actually, the origin story behind the land of Ooo in 'Adventure Time' is much more complex.

  They have actually been implying a lot and building up exponentially since at least half of the first season, but also kept enough mystery in it all to make it even more fascinating.

          'Adventure Time' is an aftermath of the 'Mushroom War', which was very much so implied. The reason why it is called the 'Mushroom War' is because it was a mass nonsecular war. So basically, it is not the past, it is the future; implied in virtually all episodes, significantly and minor, such as background items. During the time before the great war, the world was actually what we would consider "normal", but for most of our species existence, there were supposed times when man lived in a world where humans in general supposedly lived with magic and a world of wonder, but just like nowadays in reality, it is generally all deemed as myths and legends. However, just what if it was all real, but we have just forgotten the ways; long past since such times leads in doubts.

          As implied by the show, it would be rediscovered by an intelligent and curious antiquarium. Simon Petrikov (Ice King), was actually a scientist who studied such things and the crown was a relic enchanted with dark magic from an even more ancient past; making Simon a lot more retentive to the origins of the land of Ooo. This meant that magic was not as imaginary as they may had though. It had appeared that Simon was also famous for his work, but with a catch. The crown does protects him by making him powerful, resilient and long lasting; he is over 1,000 years old in their present time in the show. It however is not without consequences as for the crown also makes the wearer lose their sanity and corrupts them. It would generally ruin their lives -even causing him to lose his beloved Betty- and cause them to forget who they even were.

  An image based on a piece of newspaper that the Ice King had in his old scrap-book/journal. As you can see, he is going crazy and is scribbling nonsense over it; you can also see a Betty -his fiance- in the car:

  

  The Ice king's last secret tape that was found by Finn and Jake;

          Simon's studies on ancient and forgotten magic may have actually influenced other scientist to create the greatest testament to human's evil side of terror which is where the Lich comes into play. As with many other inventions, there will usually be someone that would looks at something and devise it as a weapon in some way. With Simon fascination and discoveries becoming more pron and also known amongst other scientists, a lot of things could have been rediscovered. There had even been some implements -though may be wrong- that there was still existing magic known by even more secret cults for ages, such as illuminati-like but very secretive from the general public; may have even discovered how to open different dimensions. The Lich is an embodiment, a manifestation that represents the violence and evil in human nature of what became an ancient evil (humans). In a human world of which both science and magic can now be used together, the Lich was created due to the 'Mushroom War'; implied in the episode 'Jake the Dog'.

          The crown corrupts with mental manipulation and temptations. Simon was actually a very intelligent adult who did had somewhat of the willpower to resist. This is why he kept his sanity much longer than expected. He gave in what little bit of sanity he had left eventually for the sake of others, due to the Mushroom War. To access the crown's full potentials, you must be submissive to the crown's manipulation and face the mind corrupting cost so that it would share its magical secrets. A lot of this was implied in 'the episodes Holly Jolly Secrets', 'I Remember You' and the two-parter, 'Finn the Human' and 'Jake the Dog'. Basically, Simon played a major and noble role towards their modern lifeforms and the survival of Marcelline.

          But because of Simon's selfless act to save what little chance of life to go on and to care for Marcelline in a child form, he had sacrificed himself and gave in to the dark mind manipulative magic of the crown. With what little ounce of sanity he had left. The crown however is now his ultimate, tragic curse that will affect him for the rest of his life:

  

  Simon would never get out from his curse, unless he dies; his only salvation is death.

  Sadly for Simon, he is now too mentally changed by the crown for any return. The cruel irony for the last hope who made the difference in what is now Ooo. He was an intelligent expert scientists who also had 'his perfect one', Betty( A.K.A his princess), and who was actually a very good and selfless man; but now, he is now the most disrespected and hated person around, personified as a worthless evil villain who deserves to die. He is pitiful and lonely

  Only Marcelline knew him as as better person, as implied in 'I Remember you'

          Ultimately, this is why there is now magic again in thew world and the end of humanity. It is a catastrophic end result of a mass world war based upon the usage of science and magic, which to some, can be viewed as a kind of science that we humans do not fully understand. However, it was the great 'Mushroom War' that lead to the extinction of all pure and normal humans. At the time period Finn exists in, it has been over 1,000 years since the 'Mushroom War'. Why was it over 1,000 years? For one, Marcelline said that she is over 1,000 years old, yet was alive during the 'Mushroom War' as a child. this would meant that Finn's existences should not be possible, right?

          Truth is, the creatures and beings that you see are either magical, from other dimensions, mutants, experiments, descendants of experiments or evolved creatures; this show does somewhat implies evolution. Many of the beings are actually 'mutants' as I explained, thus though all normal humans were wiped-out over 1,000 years ago, their genes still exist. Finn's existence was implied to be a result of this. There were two episodes that implied his potential biological family. There was a tribe of beings known as the Hyoomans/'fish-humanoids' that were shown with the supposed mother of Finn. They still had a lot of very strong distinctive human traits and with the right combination of genes, Finn came to existence. Hence the name Finn, which was likely a great name amongst the hyoomans.
  
  

  Image of hyoomans:

  

  

          In other words, Finn is actually the closest thing to a normal human that is alive. That is, unless you count out -the implied to possibly be Finn's biological mother- Susan Strong. Though the hyoomans have still existing, strong human genes, they all generally have gills, because they all live in an ancient sewer. It was implied that they were not as mutated as much as others because they were actually in a vault that was damaged but held enough for their ancestors to live. They are all too used to their underground, water land and thus this is likely why Finn was offend as a bay to Jake's parents. however, though Susan has never actually taken off her hat, it is uncertain if she has any kills either, but there was an episode where she allowed him to put his hand underneath it which implied that she too had no gills. She however is still not quite considered to be a normal human due to her behaviors, extensive muscle mass growth through development, etc.

  Image of Susan Strong:

  

  Then again, it is rumored that she may actually be Finn's sister; the infant baby from 'Finn the Human'. It is possibly that she is actually younger than Finn but is larger and more powerful due to her composure of genes, mutation, etc. It may also explain some of her behaviors, but it is not confirmed. She is left to be a mystery to ponder on, but all that can be said is that she likely has some relations with Finn biologically.

  I could go on, and on, and on, and on, explaining more, but I had already explained a lot as it is.

  Enjoy

• January 08, 2013 at 4:54 AM, The Real Scar Face said ...

  @Vyce Victus

  I could continue debating this with you, but at this point we are just going in circles.  Let's just agree to disagree. 

  
  
• 
  

  January 08, 2013 at 3:39 AM, said ...

  @Lady Stark, I am saying that these particular rich white girls not having colored friends is the point of the characters, and it is a situation that very much exists, especially in NY, because I've seen the willful segregation  all to often, like in all those neighborhoods I gave examples of because that was my home. Maybe it's all chronic and palm trees and racial diversity in Cali, but it aint all melting pots and rainbows here.

  You know whats funny? Part of the reason that Girls is so acclaimed is that she kinda does speak to a specific aspect of the generation. In other forums and conversation, I have heard mid twenties white women proclaim how the show resonates very deeply with them and issues they have faced. You lament the willful ignorance, but force fed multiculturalism a la captain planet is not the way to fix it. The example you gave doesn't really compare because the ensemble of Pretty Little Liars is as much a fantasy as the Planeteers. You cant do affirmative action for how people are raised. In my time in the service I have met people from all over the country. In this day and age, i met kids who never met a black person until they encountered them in boot camp. Is that willful ignorance, is that their "fault"? No, it's just their reality. Is it acceptable? We may not think so, but it is understandable. This show Girls is, to a point, her reality and I understand at least where she's coming from. Whether I actually give a fuck about her reality is a separate matter, but it's her right to make those stories and the right of people like her who do care and do understand to see those stories continue because apparently it's their reality too. Enough so that there is audience demand, hence HBO's continued support of the series.

• January 08, 2013 at 2:13 AM, said ...

  Young Justice and Green lantern animated are shows I'm looking forward to. Not a fan of adventure time, I don't like the animation style. GL needs to add Dex-starr.

  I'll admit you've all talked me giving walking dead another shot. Breaking Bad is making me redo my dvd shelf so it can be a centerpiece next to the Shield and Babylon 5.

  
  
• 
  

  January 08, 2013 at 1:08 AM, said ...

  I found blue mountain state on netflix this year and I have to say I rather enjoyed it. Really over the top scenarios with some really good humour. Lots of sports sex and drugs in reverse order. Main character reminds me of Jeff from community and the show has that kind of random feel to it. A lot of fun.

• January 07, 2013 at 11:47 PM, JJ Speros said ...

  
  
• 
  

  January 07, 2013 at 11:22 PM, Jef said ...

  LONG LIVE THE LEAGUE! Great show again guys. 

• January 07, 2013 at 10:49 PM, The Real Scar Face said ...

  @TheDarkAdonis

  Yes, "voice of her generation" was a joke within the show, but HBO marketed the show under that premise apart from that joke. Also, the hype around the show is largely part of that premise. Girls isn't being the "sacrificial lamb" for its lack of diversity. As others have said Friends, Sex in the City, and others have all been criticized for the exact same thing, however perhaps because of social media the criticisms of girls is getting more attention and is more well known. Or perhaps people are shocked at the lack of progress.

  I think people who are critical of Girls understand that it isn't a "social outrage" and by having a conversation about its lack of diversity on spill, is hardly treating it as such. However Girls is part of a much larger problem and the fact you and others seem to think its understandable and/ or acceptable for a 26 year old woman to be so willfully ignorant, that to her writing a "black chick" would be like asking her to write a mystical creature, proves just that.

  
  
• 
  

  January 07, 2013 at 10:23 PM, Jef said ...

  You can blame Jennifer's body being meh as much on the directing than the writing though. 

• January 07, 2013 at 10:15 PM, Rodney Hart said ...

  @Lady Stark Isn't it a bit unfair to conflate all writers? Dunham writes autobiographical mumblecore tripe which is hardly diving in the deep end inspiration-wise. Certainly not worldbuilding on par of Lord of the Rings. Asking her to write a black chick probably is like asking her to write a mythical creature. And as loathe as I am to defend the show, the race criticism (while valid) is a bit of a red herring. What makes this show the. sacrificial lamb for its lack of diversity when it's an unfortunately common trend? Even a show like Breaking Bad, despite a fair bit of diversity, strikes me as a "white" show. And I always took the "voice of a generation" line as self-deprecatory and ironic. Now personally, I don't feel drawn to a show about listless 20somethings being shitty where consensual sex is portrayed with all the warmth and mutual respect of a scene from Irreversible. That, and it not being particularly witty/funny. No need to pretend it's social outrage. Just boredom.

  
  
• 
  

  January 07, 2013 at 9:48 PM, Jef said ...

  I love Elementary, i love how they make the villains smart, how they make Sherlock a prick sometimes but have the other characters not take his shit and even forcing him to apologize. I love the slow building relationship between Joan and Sherlock. I love how they made Sherlock's drug problem a big part of the show. etc. 

• January 07, 2013 at 9:32 PM, Jef said ...

  Cyrus, rewatch the whole series you will see hints that the observers are preparing something. It's VERY subtle but it's there.

  
  
• 
  

  January 07, 2013 at 9:25 PM, said ...

  Loved the Game of Thrones and AHS discussions, but would have loved to hear more Community talk. I'd love to sit down with some of these shows you guys are mentioning, like Justified and Mad Men, but you're exactly right. There is just so much great stuff on television now, it's so hard to find time to catch everything. Entertaining show as always!

• January 07, 2013 at 9:05 PM, said ...

  Oki, since I don't seen much tv this year I though I list my favorites of the past year that I did see;
  The Walking Dead
  Broadwalk Empire
  The Borgias
  Person of Intrest
  Arrow

  
  
• 
  

  January 07, 2013 at 8:53 PM, The Real Scar Face said ...

  I love how writers can write all sorts of different creatures and worlds, but ask them to write a person with a different race or background as them, and suddenly we are expecting too much.  Whatever.

• January 07, 2013 at 8:51 PM, The Real Scar Face said ...

  @Dr. Detink I guess that's where you and I differ, because in this day in age I do expect a 26 year old college educated woman to be able to write people who happen to look different than her.  PoC are just like white people, with some different cultural norms and history, so it's not that hard.   So yeah, I expect more and if she couldn't do that HBO shouldn't have given her a show. Fuck even Pretty Little Liars has one of the main characters a Filipino girl, (she's a lesbian too!) and all her friends are rich and white.  It doesn't take anything away from the show and it's not "forced", but it allows more of the audience to feel represented, and having positive representation in the media is very important to a person's well being (see like 1000 studies).  That's on fucking ABC Family, so why HBO can't do it is beyond me.

  Still even if I could buy your point, it wouldn't change the fact that:

  1.) Girls is still problematic

  2.) people still have the right to call Girls out that it's problematic

  3.) hbo marketed the show to speak for all modern women, and they shouldn't have done that given Dunhum's limitations as a writer.

  4.) there are hardly any PoC in the background.  No one can really justify there way out of  that.

  5.) people are not out of line or overrating for not wanting to watch a show that lacks diversity, just because the writer is a sheltered rich girl with limited talent.  I say this because some have implied that Greg was overreacting or whatever to this issue, when he wasn't.

  
  
• 
  

  January 07, 2013 at 8:39 PM, said ...

  I still don't know why we feel obligated to force Lena Dunham to shoe horn in token colored folk into her show. She is writing from what she knows and that is what gives the show its spark. Sure we could remove the authenticity so we can have a black and Asian hang around the group or we could just watch a show that is a slice of her actual life.

  All your arguments about newyork being a melting pot and such are idiotic, go to Harlem or BK and see how many black folk you meet that don't have a white friend. People keep to their own sometimes and there is nothing wrong or racist about it.

  P.S Girls isn't even that good I don't mind sparing minorities the plight of being on that show, haven't they suffered enough already

• January 07, 2013 at 8:34 PM, Dr. Detfink said ...

  Lady Stark, I don't think any one is saying Girls is realistic but SOME of the facets of NYC she draws upon have merit. Lena Dunham's POV as a writer is no different than Woody Allen or any NY writer that sticks within the local confines of what they grew up with understanding.

  I wouldn't expect a 26 year old girl who admittedly said, she's not knowledgeable or comfortable enough to write other racial characters into the story..to feel comfortable without danger of sending the wrong message. She's VERY much going after a specific subculture of youth. 

  
  
• 
  

  January 07, 2013 at 7:59 PM, The Real Scar Face said ...

  @Vyce Victus You put racist in quotes like someone called Girl racist, and no one here did. Calling a show out for its problems relating to race is not the same thing as calling it "racist" and going there is why it makes it so hard for people to have conversations about race and diversity.   Also HBO doesn't get brownie points for being inclusive on other shows and doesn't change the problems that Girls has.

  Yours and others whole argument that "it's realistic! " to excuse the lack of diversity and well written minority characters is bullshit. In a TV show we suspend our disbelief about a ton of things, but a poc person being friends with a bunch of rich white girls in fucking New York is apparently too much and would be "disingenuous." Please. 

• January 07, 2013 at 7:56 PM, Daniel said ...

  Yeah "Season 2 of Walking Dead is worst piece of television" is too damn hyperbolic to take seriously. Automatically that puts shit like the Star Wars Holiday Special or Home Alone 4 or any crappy Sci-Fi original movie somehow on a higher pedestal. Give me a break.

  
  
• 
  

  January 07, 2013 at 7:28 PM, Kirk Morrison said ...

  plus....the dragons in the show officially make Game of Thrones....SKYRIM the television series.....i really enjoyed season 2.

Post Comment