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With thousands of TV shows being released every year, it is becoming more and more difficult (and impossible) to track, catch up, and pick your favorites. The quality of shows in 2017 in particular was ridiculously high that it would be torture to list down my top 30 shows without cutting a number of others I was extremely fond of. But I did anyway.
Here are 5 other recommendations I did not have room for in the list:
So You Think You Can Dance (Season 14, FOX) : This dance reality show has released its strongest season since 2008 (Season 4), and finally found its way back after a couple of uninspired and confused seasons – kids and stage vs street. On top of having unbelievably strong and memorable contestants (Lex, Logan, Taylor, Kiki), this season also ushered the return of some of the most beloved choreographers of the show’s 14 seasons (Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, etc).
Mindhunter (Season 1, Netflix) : For a show about the most dangerous serial killers of our time, MIndhunter surprisingly did not show us any bit of blood or murder. Instead, Fincher, Theron and company focused on a patient and methodical exploration of the start of criminal profiling in the US. It also witnessed the birth of one of 2017 TV’s most memorable characters – Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton).
Great News (Season 1-2, NBC) : Not shocking that the people behind 30 Rock created one of the most promising new comedies in 2017. Great News takes place behind-the-scenes of a cable news show where a promising producer’s career is challenged when her mother applied for an intern position in the same company. In a span of one year, the show was able to produce two hilarious seasons – the first one developing the silly dynamics in this workplace, and the second season welcoming Tina Fey’s evil boss and giving the show enough breathing space to jab at more relevant issues including office politics and sexual harassment.
Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (Season 1, Netflix) : A sequel to both the 2001 movie and the First Day of Camp 2015 TV prequel, this instalment is unapologetically silly and just a LOT OF FUN. A camp reunion that ended with a presidential conspiracy and a very elaborate alien invasion plan sold by the best comedy talents working today. I have a feeling it might not work for everyone, but all Camp Firewood diehards would love every second of it.
Australian Survivor (Season 4, Ten) : 26 one-hour episodes of the reasons why this franchise is still alive until now – this season is littered with amazing moves, bad strategies, backstabbing, shifting alliances, best friends, great challenges, a KFC challenge, cookie secrets, a spy hatch, super idols, fake idols, and some of the most memorable (and beautiful) castaways in one season.
TOP 30:
30. THE DEUCE (Season 1, HBO)
David Simon (The Wire) created a scarring tale of sex trade, porn, and power shifting on the streets of 1970s New York. We follow different night owls hustling the streets and telling their war tales through the dark alleys, under the colorful city lights, inside dirty motel rooms, and within the four corners of a struggling bar in Manhattan.
Watch for: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s stunning Eileen, a freelance prostitute in Times Square that became involved in the early days of the porn industry – not as an actress, but as a director.
Bear with me on this. I love lists, and I used to do it A LOT. But the last 3 years or so, I got really really lazy with anything that has to do with blogging. But that does not mean I ever stopped watching. Not one bit. I’ve been watching as much TV as I can – and I’m telling you, you’ll never run out. People have been proclaiming the last few years as the golden age of television, and they’re probably right. Every network, cable channel, streaming site, even ancient relics like Yahoo are producing good-to-great shows. 2015 is the year of Peak TV. No one has seen them all, for sure. But whether you follow five shows, or 40 shows, you will find greatness along the way. Even the most inconsistent show can surprisingly come up with an episode that changes everything. So this made me come back to list-making. I was reading some year-end lists last week and I saw how different the lists could be from one person to the next. It’s such an exciting time to watch TV – but also such a difficult commitment.
For my rundown of 2015 TV, I will try to list my favorite shows of the year, my favorite television episodes of the year, and other random finds from excessive TV watching. Let’s do this!
By Sanriel Chris Ajero
Same drill as with films, here are my 20 favorite TV shows of the past year. No rules and basis, just shows that aired within 2011 that had me glued to the TV and became culprits to why I spent more time watching 20 to 40 minuter episodes than watching films.
Before the 20, there are a few shows that missed the cut because I have not seen enough of it or because I failed to catch the season that aired in 2011 – Treme, Sons of Anarchy, Friday Night Lights, Luther, Doctor Who and Justified. In addition to that, just outside the 20 are Boss, Hell on Wheels and Junior Masterchef: Pinoy Edition.
By Sanriel Chris D.J. Ajero
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Wow it’s been almost 10 months since I last opened this blog. I may not have been blogging, but I have not failed to do my film watching duties. I’ve seen a decent amount of film and I’m really impressed with how 2011 turned out. For 2012, I promise to post more and this year-ender list officially seals my 2011 and kickstarts that promise.
What follows is a list of the 20 films I liked most during the past year. No write-ups, I’m afraid. I’ll also be posting lists on TV and music in the coming days. Here’s to a less lazy me this 2012!
By: Sanriel Chris Ajero
More than Christmas tradition to the Filipinos, the annual Metro Manila Film Festival is host to launching a good selection of local mainstream cinema. Its reputation propelled when it started producing some of the most unforgettable local films of all time. Within its 36 years of existence, the festival spawned the creation of such all-time gems as Burlesk Queen (1977), Kisapmata (1981), Himala (1982) and Bulaklak ng City Jail (1984) . Unfortunately, the festival also accommodated the production of lacklustre mainstream efforts that now defines the Philippine cinema for the majority of the Filipinos. The decline furthered during the past decade, as the festival yielded series after series of film franchises (Shake, Rattle and Roll; Enteng Kabisote; Mano Po) with only profitmaking as its main rationale and a slew of just crappy WTF productions (Hula Mo, Huli Ko; ‘Di Kita Ma-Reach; Hesusmaryosep!) that question its very existence.
It has been, therefore, quite a daunting and difficult task to skim over all the MMFF entries of the last decade and choose my favourite film for each year (Case in point: the last 4 years when not even one film was good.) Personally, I believe the last glimmer of MMFF hope stroke during the 2003 festival and it went nowhere but downhill since. And quite a fall it has been.
Without further blabber, here are my picks for the best MMFF films for each year of the last decade. PS: I cheated on some years.
By Sanriel Chris Ajero
For the final installment of the October ‘Manila’ series of Cinematon! Cinematon!, I give you one of the best Filipino films of all time, Lino Brocka’s Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag.
by Sanriel Chris Ajero
Kûki ningyô
Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda
Cast: Doona Bae, Arata, Itsuji Itao
125 mins
Japan
By Sanriel Chris Ajero
As my weekdays have been gradually jam-packed with work, and no time has been allotted for the slightest bit of rest, my typical film marathon-bound weekends were replaced by few glimpses of short films. Here are my short thoughts on the recent short films I’ve seen.
Another Sani Day 
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