First of all let me begin this second half of my TTS4N with
an apology for anyone who is a regular reader and wondered why my last post may
have felt a little different. It was simply that I put more effort into posting
an article instead of the content of the article. This post should be more
along the lines of what people who regularly check out this blog are used to reading,
and I’m sure you expected nothing less as I end my Top Ten Series for Nerds!
5 – BABYLON
5
Now this may come as a surprise to a lot of people and I can
understand why. The series was poorly acted, the special effects were sub par
and it was so absorbed in itself that it didn’t know when to quit. The reason
this has taken the number five spot on my TTS4N is that the storyline was
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of its time (I apologise to those of you who play the Taped
Up Glasses drinking game while reading this blog, where you drink every time I
use the letter A. Although I imagine you’re unconscious and may be reading this
sentence the day after you read the previous sentence. Anyway, welcome back! Let’s
finish this tangent here).
“Way ahead of its time?!” I hear you say, sceptically and
full of hate. Yes, way ahead of its time. The story contained really odd occurrences
that were never explained until later on in the series (J.J. Abrams style) for
example, the disappearance of Babylon
4 right at the beginning of the storyline. This series is by no means
underrated, just underfunded and shown to the world a decade too early.
4 – NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
This is a series I watched without very high expectations, I
expected it to be the same as most animes. As Sean ‘Day 9’ Plott describes them:
“In anime the main protagonist is the fourth most
interesting character…there is another character that informs us about the
current emotional and physical state of the characters and situations by
shouting about it.”
And while that is true this series is one that always keeps
you guessing, whether it is about the origins of Rin, the reason for Shinji’s distanced
relationship from his father or why Asuka is just so damn angry, Evangelion is
not afraid to say “Well I’ll give you a clue. Oh no it was a red herring. Well
here’s another. Actually, you’re just not ready yet.” It treats nudity and
sexualisation in a very adult and mature manner, not necessarily limiting it to
storyline progression but treating it the same way films do, to advance
character development. I could talk for ages about Evangelion but then we
wouldn’t get to the final three in this countdown so I will summarise by saying
that there is a reason the band Fightstar have been so heavily influenced by
this series and even devised a concept album on its story.
3 – GAME OF THRONES
You knew it had to appear as some point didn’t you? Game of
Thrones has been a staple of avid TV watchers since its genesis in 2011 and
there is no wonder why. Sex, violence and Peter Dinklage. For those of you who
haven’t seen it, the basic idea is that it is a politically driven, medieval
twistfest. The crown of the kingdom had been seized, given, taken, usurped and
lost hundreds of times and we as viewers are “throne” (see what I did there? Ok
fine I’ll spell it properly) thrown into the middle of this centuries old game
of tug-of-war. Some of the major selling points this series has to offer is its
underlying rule that no character is inherently good or evil (apart from Joffrey
who let’s be honest, everyone loves to hate). Each character acts as they
believe to be in accordance with what is best for their kin and the kingdom
they are trying to take control of. Also Tyrion (Played by Dinklage) is
fantastically portrayed, very rarely is a dwarf seen as anything other than
comic relief, and while most comic moments in Game of Thrones are provided by Dinklage
it is not because he is silly or a buffoon or stupid, it is because he is one
of the most knowledgeable of all the characters we meet and is also one of the
most strong willed. I can’t wait to see every episode and I gather most of the
world is in agreement on that fact.
2 – FIREFLY
Now some of you may have no idea this series even existed.
Let me describe it to you very simply. Space cowboys. See? Now you’re hooked.
Firefly is the creation of Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and
Cabin in the Woods), a story of a group of unlikely acquaintances that are all
running from the law for some reason or another. Running from the law is what
gives this series its momentum and why each one is running gives the
series its depth. Unfortunately Firefly was cancelled after just one season
with many of its questions unanswered and though some answers came in the form
of Serenity, a movie that tried to squeeze the second season down into one and
a half hours and others came in the form of graphic novels, fans of the series
(myself included) believe that this funny, tense, deep and downright badass
series still has some life in it that with the right people behind it (and the
right money) could continue the story and satisfy browncoats everywhere. I don’t
want to say too much about Firefly as there isn’t much you can say before you
ruin someone’s attempt to discover its treasures for themselves. What I will
say is…gorram it, there’s no more shiny boat in the ‘verse than the lady that
is Serenity.
1 – TWIN
PEAKS
Did this surprise anyone? If you haven’t seen it then it
probably did, but David Lynch’s Twin Peaks has got to be the finest piece of
film out there, and the best thing is…it was all a middle finger directed at a
critic who basically said that “Any film director who decides to direct for TV
has failed” (I’m paraphrasing here) Lynch began his work on Twin Peaks which
was not only a TV series, but the most stigmatised of all TV series, a soap
opera. Despite being a soap opera it also points fun at them, everyone in the
small town of twin peaks is having an affair, the situations characters are
involved in start off as larger than life but end up incredibly surreal (as
Lynch does best). Without revealing too much one character near the end of the
second series not only suddenly believes that she is seventeen again but also
develops superhuman strength.
I imagine that some people are very lost while reading this.
The story of Twin Peaks is as follows. Twin Peaks is a small rural town in the mountains that is
a typical soap opera town, people have affairs, people make threats and people
threaten each other. Until their lives are turned even more upside down by the
discovery of the body of local girl, Laura Palmer. Agent Dale Cooper is called
in to figure out what happened to Palmer and on his arrival, events in Twin Peaks start getting stranger and stranger.
With thirty episodes at just under an hour you’ll have your
work cut out for you if you want to session this series but I heartily
encourage it. It didn’t change my life but it certainly made me distrust owls a
little.
Well there we are, my Top Ten Series for Nerds. Complete. I
know that normally I would end saying something to help you get some life XP
but let’s face it. If you manage to trawl your way through all the series that
are on this list then you’ve probably gained more life XP than I could give you
in a concluding statement. As always, questions, comments and all manner of
lovely things are encouraged, including following the blog @Tapedup_glasses.
I’ll see you on the other side of a coffee and a slice of
pie.
