Top 7- Best TV shows of 2015 (and a few video games as well)

Time for some TV and also some Video Games. I can actually report that Star Wars was fantastic but you probably know that by now. I kind of wish that I could have put it on the list but I'll make that sacrifice for Fargo.. That's not what we're here for though so let's get going with Video Games first. I didn't play many this year so they're part of this post as well and I'm not ordering them because I love all these games in equal but very different ways.

Fallout 4

Fallout 4 is going to prove the biggest barrier to my education. I could spend days on end losing myself in the Commonwealth. I'll admit that as an RPG, it's somewhat sparse but it's enough for me and it's become a really solid shooter compared to the previous games. It's various stories keep me coming back and I think it'll be a damn long time before I finish with this game, so much so that it'll probably also be one of my games of 2016. It's the most wonderful wasteland and I'm wasting too much time writing this when I should be playing it.


Broforce

I love this game, and not just because of it's ridiculous sense of humour and no holds barred action. It's also important because it shows that Early Access games can work and not only make it out of development hell but also become fantastic. It's concept is simple: you play as a variety of Bros who are shameless rip offs of everyone's favourite action heroes, trying to get to the end of the level, killing terrorists. It's as American as it gets but it's the little details that always get me in this game, like when Predator melees an enemy, they are skinned and strung up. Throw in both co-operative and competitive multiplayer and you have one of the most endlessly re-playable games of the year.


Just Cause 3

With Just Cause 2 being one of my favourite games ever, I was understandably pumped for this game and I can happily say, it didn't disappoint. It brings all the stupid fun of the last game and puts it into a bigger, more beautiful and more explosive environment. I'm not going to deny that it's flawed. The story missions are repetitive, the frame rate tanks noticeably a lot and it's a little bit shallow. Thing is, those are the exact same flaws that Just Cause 2 had and I can happily forgive all of them for the amount of fun I get out of the game. I feel like this game is the Video Game equivalent of Furious 7, in all the right ways.


With the Video Games done, let's get down to TV. I'm going to do some honorable mentions here because there are too many shows to limit it to seven and there are some shows that haven't wrapped up their seasons yet or I'm just not done with them but they still deserve recognition. So let's get those honourable mentions underway. And to clarify, these entries here are in no particular order.

Bojack Horseman Season 2

An animated comedy that keeps surpassing itself in laughs, feels and attention to detail.


The Last Man on Earth Seasons 1 and 2

Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Will Forte work together to create a lovable oddball of a character who I delight in seeing screw up the new world every week.

Daredevil Season 1

While I haven't seen all of it, Daredevil deserves credit for pushing Marvel into the world of grit and violence in an exciting way that has changed superhero TV.

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp Season 1

The prequel series we never knew we wanted or even deserved, it was everything I could hope for and stupider.

Scream Queens Season 1

Far better than it has any right to be, this show is stylish, funny and gory in that order and it relishes in each and every one of those.


Inside No. 9 Season 2

While not perfect, this season had some incredible episodes and it'll be hard to see anything top 12 Days of Christine any time soon.


It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 10

A season that deserves recognition for Charlie Work is nothing else, it also had hysterical rage and a Family Fortunes episode with stupider answers than the normal show. Nothing new but that's not bad.

Now let's get down to some rankings!

7. Mad Men Season 7.5

I only got into Mad Men this year but I did it with enough time to finish it pretty much on schedule and binge the entire final season in one night. So yeah, I'm coming at this as someone who saw the last episodes under serious sleep deprivation but I still feel like I can remember at least a little bit. It was the last season and that's part of the reason it's on here. As someone who hasn't seen the show before this year, I wanted to recognise the show's quality. Thankfully, the finale of this show was everything it should have been. It was moving, it gave it's characters enough of a send off and gave us what I think will become an incredibly iconic shot in it's final moments. I'll be the first to say that this season of Mad Men wasn't it's best but it was fantastic and sent the show off in the way it truly deserved.


6. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 1

Now here was an amazing surprise. One of Netflix's first original comedies, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was the stupid story about some "mole women" who escaped from the bunker they had been kept in for years and we follow Kimmy as she journeys into New York City. The show was made in part by Tina Fey so it would never be bad but no one was expecting it to be quite this good. The humour was all good hearted and aside from the adorkable Ellie Kemper, there's also a fantastic ensemble of characters both lovable and bizarre that will enchant you. It's weird but for anyone who loved 30 Rock, this is must watch TV.


5. Community Season 6

For what may be the last time, I will now sing the praises of fresh episodes of Community. I was a little overwhelmed at the time I wrote my review by the possibility of there being no more episodes and I may have rather hastily slapped a 10 on the season but that said, it was still a really good season. If this season is the end (and I think we may well have to assume so), then we got a really fitting end to the show because Community Season 6 managed to be everything I adore about it. We had funny moments, we had some really weird moments and we had some true spine tinglers of moments. Plus, any fans who ship Annie and Jeff had the moment they've been waiting six seasons for. All in all, it was a great final season that could only be improved in one way: a movie. Dan Harmon, let it be known that myself and the other two rabid Community fans would crowd fund the shit out of a movie. Just putting it out there.

4. Better Call Saul Season 1

Another show that was a total surprise, Better Call Saul was far better than it had any right to be. Being the huge Breaking Bad fan I am, I knew I'd watch the show regardless of quality. What delighted me was how fantastic it actually was, even though it was a spin off and based around a largely comic character. Bob Odenkirk has had a real revival recently and Better Call Saul advanced the already beloved character of Saul Goodman to one who was an actual character. There was depth to this guy, we cared about him and it was all good. Plus, the episode Five-O was just stellar, making me miss Breaking Bad even more. I love this show and I am so excited for the next season, all because of the fantastic job done here in establishing it all. Vince Gilligan took no half measures here and of that we're grateful.


3. Hannibal Season 3

Another show I was sad to see leave but loved to watch go, Hannibal satisfied my hunger for stylish violence and food that looks so good you can taste it. Many will criticize the start of this season and I can't really argue against that. It was pretty slow and there was none of that exceptional violence we love the show from but it was important for character development and built up the season. It does get better, even if most people had stopped watching by that point and I loved the directions it took. We got the famous Red Dragon story which I knew very little about. I can't comment on how accurate it was but as someone seeing it for the first time, it was creepy but gripping in that special Hannibal way. It would always be hard to top Season 2 but Season 3 was great and gave us an ending that I don't mind leaving the show on. Ciao Hannibal, and bon apetit.

2. Fargo Season 2

The final deliberations for this final two were agonising for me. I've been going back and forth between them since I started thinking about the list and only now, just after the season finale, I have a ranking. Fargo Season 2 was spectacular and in many ways, it was better than the first. In fact, I'd go as far to say that it was. It had a confident swagger in every shot, it told it's story with a stylised swish of it's pen and gave us some fight scenes to remember. While the whole UFO thing was confusing and a little bit distracting, it doesn't detract from the fact that one of the best shows of last year has been narrowly beaten to becoming one of this year's best.

1. Rick and Morty Season 2

So what could possibly beat Fargo? Community's gone, Hannibal's gone and we've just seen the last of Fargo. Well, you've just scrolled past the picture and title so you already know it's Rick and Morty but I was trying to be suspenseful. Attempts at tension aside, Rick and Morty's second season simply blew me away. I enjoyed the first season but not quite as much as some others, hence my delight when every episode brought a new twisted, exciting yet dark idea to the table and played around with it in ways that no other TV show would ever dare do. The closest thing to this is Dan Harmon's own Community but Rick and Morty gets the luxury of being animated and able to push ideas into new realms. Literally. Every week, I was excited to see what new concept we were going to get and I was never dissapointed. It was a show that could tackle anything and do it with the skill of a show that only specialises in that. To any fans of either adult animation or bizzare comedy, Rick and Morty is essential. To the rest of you, it's still pretty god damn essential.