Noel and Kate continue their celebration of the best of TV in 2016 with The Televerse’s yearly Smorgasborgy, a Best Of bonanza covering every category we can think of (and a few we probably shouldn’t have). There is so much to discuss and celebrate this year, in fact, that for the first time, The Televerse will be presenting our Best Of Smorgasborgy over two weeks, starting with our awards for the best performances, production elements, writing, and music on TV in 2016. Post your thoughts on the year’s TV, and your picks for any or all of our categories, in the comments below, and come back next week for our favorite characters, sequences, moments, seasons, and more!
Performance Awards (7:52)
Best Lead Performance
Best Supporting Performance
Most/Least Acting
Best Voice Acting
Best Reality Personality
Most Novel Casting
Best Use of Ensemble
Most Underrated Ensemble
Best Cameo
Best Guest Appearance
6th Wo/Man Award
Production Awards (33:40)
Notable Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Costuming
Best Set Design
Best Hair and Makeup
Best Editing
Most Inventive Animation
Writing Awards (45:05)
Writing for a Comedy Series
Writing for a Drama Series
Best Sketch
Most Memorable Line/Delivery
Best Monologue
Best Single Episode
Best Crafting of a Season
Music Awards (1:16:46)
Best New Theme Song/Credits Sequence
Catchiest New Theme Song
Best Score
Best Soundtrack
Best Original Song
Best Musical Moment
Best Dance Sequence
Best Deployment of a Pre-Existing Song
Best Montage
Music Featured: The Get Down Brothers battle Notorious 3, The Get Down; “My Name Is Jake” and “Rather Be Anything” from Adventure Time; “Bad Stuff Happens in the Bathroom” from Bob’s Burgers; “It’s Over, Isn’t It?” and “Here Comes a Thought” from Steven Universe; “It Was a Shit Show” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
As 2016 winds down (and not a moment too soon), the List-ening begins! This episode, Noel and Kate count down their Top 20 TV Series (or TV Movies) of 2016. While plenty of other aspects of life have let many of us down recently, there’s been a plethora of terrific TV, so join us as we celebrate the 30+ shows we most enjoyed this calendar year.
Top 20–11 Series (10:41)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Supergirl
Jane the Virgin
Atlanta
Survivor’s Remorse
People of Earth
American Crime
Adventure Time
black-ish
Looking: The Movie
RuPaul’s Drag Race and Drag Race All Stars 2
Yuri On Ice
Limitless
The Nightly Show
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Top 10–6 Series (51:04)
Orange is the New Black
OJ: Made in America
Halt and Catch Fire
Rectify
The Great British Baking Show
The Good Place
Stranger Things
Lady Dynamite
Top 5–3 Series (1:28:24)
iZombie
Veep
Underground
Queen Sugar
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Top 2–1 Series (1:56:23)
The Americans
American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson
Steven Universe
Music Featured: “This is as Good as it Gets” from Galavant; “Lullaby of Takeda” and “Ordinary” from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; “Puppies are the Answer” from Lady Dynamite; “Maybe This Dream,” “Getting Bi,” and “You Stupid Bitch” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; “Love Like You,” “Peace and Love (On the Planet Earth),” and “Still Not Giving Up” from Steven Universe
It’s our final regular episode of the year, and helping us send out the year in style is former cohost and friend of the show Sean Colletti, currently of TV Roundtable, who returns to the podcast to help us discuss HBO’s introspective and optimistic, and cancelled-too-soon, Enlightened. Before that, however, we talk through a rather truncated week in TV, including Noel’s roundup of the ABC comedies’ midseason finales, People of Earth, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a long-awaited turn for Shinwell on Elementary, and a lengthy discussion of the series finale, and final season in general, of Televerse favorite Rectify.
DVD Shelf: Enlightened with Sean Colletti (1:22:37)
Our Week in TV
ABC Comedies Roundup: The Middle, black-ish, Speechless, Fresh Off the Boat (10:19)
People of Earth (19:42)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (22:10)
Elementary (36:37)
Rectify finale (46:50)
Music Featured: “Research Me Obsessively” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
It’s been a difficult week in our personal lives, so we’re keeping the podcast simple this episode, focusing on our week in TV without a DVD Shelf or special segment. There’s still plenty of TV to discuss, however, as we catch up with finales from this week and last. First up is drama, with Kate giving her spoiler-free thoughts on the Pitch finale, followed by comedy, as Kate catches up with the Insecure finale and Noel and Kate talk through last week’s standout episode of black-ish and another fun Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Then we head over to reality, with Kate’s thoughts on Hairspray Live! and a baking and cooking showdown courtesy of the premieres of The Great American Baking Show and Top Chef. Last, we round out our week in TV are the genre offerings, the midseason finales of The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow.
Our Week in Drama and Comedy
Pitch finale (7:45)
Insecure finale (14:27)
black-ish (17:29)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (21:42)
Our Week in Reality and Genre
Hairspray Live! (30:42)
The Great American Baking Show premiere (36:58)
Top Chef premiere (52:09)
The Flash (59:38)
Arrow (1:06:42)
Legends of Tomorrow (1:11:44)
Music Featured: “Friendtopia” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray Live!
We’re still in our post-Thanksgiving food comas here at The Televerse (or we would be, if we weren’t both traveling). Fortunately, there’s plenty of interesting and entertaining TV this week to re-energize us as we recover from one holiday and prepare for the next. First up, Noel gives his thoughts on Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life and Noel and Kate break down Bob’s Burgers’ latest holiday episode and the midseason finale of Jane the Virgin. After the comedies, it’s a miniscule week in drama, but the finale of Queen Sugar gives us plenty to discuss. Then we head over to genre, with Kate talking Steven Universe, Noel looking at the premiere of Incorporated, and both of us diving in with the big CW DC crossover, first Supergirl’s mostly standalone episode, and then the “Invasion!” on The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow. Afterward, friend of the show Caroline Siede of The A.V. Club returns to help us round out our Star Trek DVD Shelf cycle with the final, and canonically first, series in the franchise, Enterprise.
DVD Shelf: Enterprise with Caroline Siede (1:40:26)
Our Week in Comedy and Drama
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (8:48)
Bob’s Burgers (30:46)
Jane the Virgin (35:15)
Queen Sugar finale (47:05)
Our Week in Genre
Steven Universe (1:08:50)
Incorporated premiere (1:13:04)
Supergirl (1:19:09)
The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow (1:24:05)
Music Featured: “Working on Building Stars Hollow” from Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life; “Ready for This” from Steven Universe