Summer has recently ended and I wanted to reflect on my year so far, and the one thing I kept thinking about was just how many TV shows I watched, either fully or mostly to the end, this year. There is no theme across them. I have watched everything from true crime to comedy, and everything in between. So here’s an overview of what I watched, how I would rate it and if I would recommend it or not.Â
The first show I watched was The Fall of the House of Usher. This show is based on famous Edgar Allen Poe stories such as The House of Usher and The Mask of the Red Death, but retold through the story of a powerful family in the pharmaceutical business. Each member of the family has their own episode that follows a different one of Poe’s stories, but with a modern twist. What I really liked about this show was how creative they were with the stories. For someone who has read Poe’s original stories, it was so cool to see how they had inspired each episode and yet had expanded upon each one to make a cohesive show. If you’re a fan of The Haunting of Hill House, then this is a good show for you as it has many of the same actors and a similar feel in terms of its scares. Overall, the show isn’t so much scary as it is disturbing. There aren’t jump scares, just gore and some disturbing deaths. In my opinion it has the same fear factor as Smile. I would give this show 5/5 stars, just because it made my inner nerd happy and I felt the show was really well done.
Next, I watched Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This is a comedy that follows the Brooklyn 99 police squad through their days in the station. The humor is oftentimes very childish or dirty, but it is never offensive. It’s so fun to watch the background stories progress while each episode has its own plot. It reminds me of Friends or Bones, where while each episode is different, they all still pretty much contribute to the overarching stories that develop over each season. You’ll fall in love with each character, hoping for good outcomes for couples, and hating other characters with a passion. I highly recommend this show for people who love cop shows but not the violence, as the fighting that does take place is very comical in theme with the show. I definitely give this 5/5 stars.Â
Some of the shows I watched this year were rewatches though, but I would recommend all of them. The first is Once Upon a Time, which is based on classic fairy tales, but the characters have been trapped in the real world with no idea who they are. Their fates lie in the hands of Emma Swan, whose son brings her back to Storybrooke, the fictional town, to try to break the curse. I love rewatching this show because it’s one of those shows where it’s so ridiculous sometimes but you can’t stop watching it. I love rewatching this show over the summer, usually with friends. It’s one of those shows where the characters are so lovable and the plot is actually interesting that you are invested from the beginning. I will warn you, the more seasons you watch, the more characters there are that are still relevant to the plot, so it’s hard to keep up sometimes. 4/5 stars just because the plot can be hard to follow sometimes.
Another show I love to rewatch is Supernatural. The show follows two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, who hunt down ghosts and other supernatural beings. The first season centers mostly around them trying to find their father while facing off against monsters such as a lady in white, Bloody Mary, and the Hook Man. Mostly urban legends and cryptid type monsters. By season two they have adopted the main plot that stays for the rest of the show which is them facing off against demons and more biblical threats. The show can be incredibly funny but also incredibly sad, and is not for the faint of heart. In my opinion, seasons 1-5 are good, and then the show picks back up at season 13. The in between seasons can feel like filler and like they drag on, but I found it easy enough to stick out as I love the characters. Plus, if you make it to season 13, there is a Scooby Doo/Supernatural crossover episode that is amazing. 4/5 stars, but I would give seasons 1-5, 7, and 13-15 five stars, it’s just the seasons in between that can seem to drag on. I will admit, I didn’t make it entirely through either of these as they are very long, but I revisited at least the first two seasons of each!
I also finally finished Bones this year. Bones is a true crime, forensics show about a forensics lab and their lives both in and outside the lab. The show is full of tons of crazy crime investigations from cannibals to underwater murders and so much more. Every episode is a new crime and investigation, while the entire show has overarching plot lines such as relationships, trauma and friendships. The main character, Dr. Brennan (aka Bones) has a fiery personality and takes everything literally, leading to some funny scenes throughout the show. Overall, the show can be quite gruesome at times, not censoring dead bodies and gory details, but I have found that it isn’t as bad as some modern horror movies. The main characters are forensic anthropologists, so the bodies they are dealing with are often deceased for some time before they are performing investigations, and thus there isn’t so much gore as there is just disgusting details. For any true crime/horror fans, I would recommend this show for your next watch. 5/5 stars all day!
While these shows may not peak your interest as much as mine, I hope you give some of them a chance as they really are so good (I’m totally not biased) and I feel that they each give you a good resolution when you finish them.