2016 was a terrible year because we lost a lot of the greats.  From Ali to Prince, from Alan Rickman to Gene Wilder, 2016 brought sadness to many.

We salute these amazing individuals who brought joy and drama to all of our lives.

EYG- In Memoriam

EDIT

Unfortunately, 2016 is not done.  Two more have since passed.

Edit 2

Well, Hell.

I had hoped that the heart attack she suffered would not claim her, but unfortunately, Carrie Fisher succumbed after all.  RIP Princess Leia.

Just a few more days of 2016, which has seen way too many people taken before their time.

Edit 3

Okay, this is just getting ridiculous now.

Edit 4

Dammit.  The year is almost over, but it had to claim one more. #2016MustGo

If you don’t have great villains, your heroes suffer.  Every year we look at the best of the antagonists from the year past.

SPOILERS TOO BY THE WAY

BEST of 2016

#10.  The Evil Queen and Mr. Gold (Once Upon a Time).  These two together have created quite the stir in Storybrooke.  The Evil Queen was forcibly separated from Regina, but was able to stay around.  Mr. Gold (aka the Dark One, aka Rumpelstiltskin) had relationship troubles with Belle.  Together, they are trouble.

#9.  The Butcher/Agnes (American Horror Story: Roanoke).   Kathy Bates played two roles.  She played the supernatural creature known as the Butcher on the “show within a show” My Roanoke Nightmare and she played the actress playing the Butcher on My Roanoke Nightmare.  Agnes found herself sinking deeply into the role, taking the idea of method acting too far.

#8.  Gordon Rimmer (Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency).  Probably one of my favorite scenes on tv this year happened with Gordon.  He had Dirk and Todd prisoner and they were sure that he would give them answers…only to find out that he didn’t know what was going on either.  Classic!!!

#7.  The Man in Black (Westworld).  He turned out to be William, but the Man in Black was such a problem all year long.  He was in search of the maze, but he was after more than that.  He was after the challenge.  He got it too.  A great portrayal by Ed Harris.

#6.  Cottonmouth (Luke Cage).  Cornell Stokes, played brilliantly by Mahershala Ali, was the first antagonist in the Luke Cage Netflix series, and he was perhaps the best one.  There were layers about this character and when he died at his cousin’s hand, the series went in an entirely surprising and different direction.

#5.  Zemo (Captain America: Civil War).  Some people complained that this was just another weak MCU villain, but I disagree.  Zemo was great.  He was a manipulator.  He worked in the shadows.  He could not fist fight with the Avengers, so he got them to do it for him.  You understood why he did what he did and you could even relate to him.  Daniel Bruel was great and, even better, this was like Zemo’s origin.  More from him please.

#4.  Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad).  One of the best parts of Suicide Squad was the portrayal of Harley Quinn by Margot Robbie.  While some people disliked Jared Leto’s Joker, everyone loved Harley.  She brought a special charm to Suicide Squad and is in line for a movie of her own.

#3.  Norman Bates (Bates Motel).  This has been a slow burn.  We knew that Norman would go psycho one day, but we hoped against it because Freddie Highmore was so damn charming and enjoyable.  Well, he has succumbed to his insanity as he killed Norma in a failed murder-suicide attempt.  His jealousy over Alex and Norma’s wonderful relationship finally pushed Norman to the side of evil.  He had been moving that direction, but now there is no going back.

#2.  Jervis Tetch (Gotham).  The Mad Hatter has done the impossible.  He made Gotham great again.  Tetch and his craziness has been the driving force behind the new season of Gotham and he has brought that menace and that wickedness that they had been lacking among their other villains.  The writing got better too, but Tetch stood out among them all.

#1.  Negan (The Walking Dead).  We waited all season 6 for him.  We heard that Jeffrey Deam Morgan was cast as Negan and we all couldn’t wait.  And then they dragged it out until the finale.  AT the finale, we see him bludgeon someone to death.  We had to wait for months before we found out it was Abraham.  And then he killed Glenn too.  And he broke Rick by almost having him cut off Carl’s hand.  And he walked around with charisma to spare, being just downright evil.  You hate the guy, but you love him as well.  Negan is the villain of the year.

Worst Villains

#2.  Lex Luthor (Batman vs. Superman).  Jesse Eisenberg was the wrong choice… or perhaps the direction of Eisenberg was wrong…but this was not Lex Luthor.  And that would have even been okay if they had just gone all in.  As it was Eisenberg was playing a better Riddler or Toyman than Lex.  Lex Luthor is too iconic of a villain to do that to.

#1.  The Enchantress (Suicide Squad).  She was just horrible.  I did not hate the Suicide Squad, but this villain is just the worst of the year.  Every one of the weak Marvel villains was much better than the Enchantress.

Trailers are big business these days.  We see trailers released months in advance of the movie.  It has come to the point where we are 10-12 months away from some movie and the fans are wondering why there has not been a trailer released.  In fact, several of the trailers on this list have been trailers for movies from 2017.  It could be about the most recent memory.  Still, this is the list of best and worst trailers released in 2016.

Best

#5.  Spider-man: Homecoming.  This is a personal pick.  This looks as if Marvel/Sony has finally gotten Spider-man right.  And the Vulture looks awesome.

#4.  10 Cloverfield Lane trailer 1 .  I loved this trailer with John Goodman and the surprise aspect that this was a Cloverfield sequel (albeit a slight one).  Plus, the fact that it came out just a few short months before the film did…amazing.

#3.  Wonder Woman trailer 2.  I was not a huge fan of the first trailer for Wonder Woman coming out of ComicCon, but the second one really came through.  I have high hopes for the Amazon princess.

#2. Guardians of the Galaxy trailer 1.  This is the one with Baby Groot and Rocket and a atomic bomb.  This trailer does a brilliant job of reminding us why we fell in love with these characters in the first place.  And the end with Drax and his laughing…just wonderful.

#1.  Logan.  No comparison.  This is a brilliant trailer.  The use of Hurt by Johnny Cash and the images of a broken and battered Logan and Xavier are artistically perfect.  Plus, we see who is believed to be X-23.  Could watch this on a loop.

Worst

#5. Neighbors 2.  I hated this film and I was so tired of seeing this trailer that I was happy when the film finally came out.  Then, most of the best comedic moments were from the trailer.  Just horrid.

#4.  Star Trek Beyond trailer 1.  This one felt wrong.  The song with the Beastie Boys just did not fit (even though it was great in the film itself).  They missed with this trailer (although trailer 2 was much better).  It was just not a Star Trek trailer.

#3.  Deepwater Horizon.  Another trailer that annoyed me to no end, only to have the movie turn out awesome.

#2.  Ghostbusters trailer 1.  This led to just a terrible backlash among online fans.  There was already a problem with the recasting of Ghostbusters, but then they put out this travesty of a trailer that was not funny and seemed to signify everyone’s worst fears.  I actually enjoyed the film, but this trailer did not help it one bit.

#1.  Ouija: Origins of Evil trailer 1.  It has a Herman’s Hermits song on it.  It was ridiculous.  Almost unwatchable.  And then the movie was awesome.  How much money did this trailer cost the film?  All I know is that I hated this trailer more than any trailer I saw this year.

There are several shows that I watch regularly on YouTube and on Screen Junkies Plus.  I did not feel as if I wanted to include these in the streaming section, but to ignore them would do a huge disservice to some very entertaining shows.  So I bunched these together under the banner of “YouTube” and pushed forward.

Here is my list of favorite ten shows from YouTube/Screen Junkies Plus

#10.  Fatman on Batman.  Kevin Smith and LA Times writer Marc Bernardin give their opinions on multiple pop culture references, not just the Caped Crusader.

#9.  YouTube movie reviewers.  This includes my three favorite movie reviewers: Jeremy Jahns, The Schmoes, and Chris Stuckmann.  I watch all three of these channels when I am wondering about a movie, and I enjoy comparing my own thoughts to these four men.  I am usually pretty close in opinion to Jeremy Jahns (although our thoughts on Nocturnal Animals seems to be quite off-kilter).  I respect all of their opinions.  They are definitely awesometacular.

#8.  Collider Movie Talk.  Hosted by John Campea, there is a rotating list of commenters including Mark Ellis, Kristian Harloff, Jeremy Jahns, Jon Schnepp, Peri Nemiroff, John Rocha, Ken Napzok, Dennis Tzeng among many others talk movies.  They give opinions on movie news as well as buy or sell, Twitter Questions and Mail Bag.

#7.  Movie Games with Jeremy Jahns.  From Screen Junkies Plus, Jeremy Jahns hosts this movie trivia game bi-weekly.  Each episode is different, with other well-known movie talk personalities competing in a rotating set of movie trivia games.  Ends with a one on one movie question showdown.

#6.  Top Ten.  John Rocha and Matt Knost brought this show from their podcast to Collider this year.  Rocha and Knost would each create their own top ten list of movies within a certain topic (example:  Top Ten Westerns) and they would go through each list and discuss it.  Then they would combine the lists into one list for the show.  This show was placed on hiatus earlier this year, but with both Rocha and Knost still at Collider, I have hope that the Top Ten Show will return.

#5.  Collider TV Talk.  Hosted by Josh Macuga, Sasha Perl-Raver, David Griffin and Sinead De Vries, this always opinionated crew discuss television shows from across all mediums.  They must always be watching tv shows.  The chemistry between these four are some of the best on Collider.

#4.  The Schmoes Knows Show.  Streaming live every Thursday night, the Schmoes talk about more than just movies.  Kristian Harloff and Mark Ellis lead a group of oddball characters and movie experts including JTE, Sasha Perl-Raver, Finnstock, Ken Napzok (and the Newwwwwwwwwwwwwwwws), Cobbster, Brett Sheridan, RV3, Tiffani Smith, among many other rotating stars.

#3.  Movie Trivia Schmoedown.  One of Collider’s best shows, the Schmoedown pits two individuals (or teams) against one another in a trivia contest, but they play this up like they are in the WWE or the UFC.  Colorful nicknames are given and championship titles are won.  Current singles champ is “Dangerous” Dan Murrell and the team champs are “Team Top Ten”- “The Outlaw” John Rocha and Matt Knost.  They put out a weekly top ten contenders show and they continue to have an active league.  The Schmoedown is a lot of fun to watch and just as fun to try your own hand at answering questions.

#2.  Movie Fights.  One of the original shows that helped kick off the Screen Junkies Plus, Movie Fights is shown live every Thursday on Plus and then drops on Saturdays on YouTube.  Judge Andy Signore scores the argument between three movie experts on questions such as “What is the worst prequel?” and “What is the best movie alien?” The debate is often loud and always fun.  The show ends with the top two point getters competing in a Speed Round.  Dan Murrell is also the Movie Fights Champion as well as the normal fact checker.

#1.  TV Fights.  This one started as a second show to Movie Fights and, at some point, it surpassed it.  Roxy Striar hosts and judges the show, and she does a great job judging.  I may not always agree with her, but I always understand where she is coming from.  Originally Ken Napzok was the fact checker, but when he left to go to Collider, Billy A. Patterson stepped in without missing a beat.  The same format as the Movie Fights program, TV Fights has been consistently entertain every week, streaming live on Tuesdays.

Moving in the world of television, here are the best of the small screen.  The limits of the television world has expanded over the last few years with cable television, Netflix, multiple streaming services, pay networks and the such.  Last year, I split the best tv shows into short seasons and full season.  This year, I have split them into shows from network tv, cable tv and streaming services (which will include the paid tv like HBO and Showtime etc).

On we go…

Best Return:  The X-Files.  These episodes were not the greatest of the series, but it was such a kick to see Mulder and Scully back together, that I was happy to give a bit of leeway to it.  Runner-ups:  Keifer Sutherland, OJ Simpson, Gotham

Most anticipated return for 2017:  Twin Peaks.  No contest.  I cannot wait for the Showtime series where we finally get to see what happened to Agent Cooper.

Show that Fell Flat:  Conviction.  So we lost Agent Carter for this?  ABC’s Conviction, starring the wonderful Hayley Atwell, lasted just a handful of episodes.

Best Game Show:  The Match Game.  This was such a surprise.  I thought this was going to be nothing more than a poor imitation, and yet, with Alec Baldwin and many celebrities who went out on the line, Match Game was hilarious.  Leslie Jones’s episodes were must see. Runner-Ups:  $100,000 Pyramid, Jeopardy, Family Feud

Best Late Night:  Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.  Samantha Bee was amazing for years on the Daily Show and when she lost out on the hosting job on Daily Show, she wound up on TBS and was fantastic.  Runner-ups:  The Daily Show, Late Night with Stephen Colbert, Last Week Tonight, Real Time with Bill Maher. 

Podcast of the Year:  Fatman on Batman.

Most Improved:  Gotham.  This is easy as well.  Gotham is so good right now.  Season one Gotham was pretty bad, way too convoluted and packed too full of stories.  Season two was better but really fell into too much camp.  Season three has been brilliant.  I think the best part has been the Mad Hatter.

Biggest Surprise from Out of Nowhere!:  Stranger Things.  Who knew anything about Stranger Things?  And it became a cultural phenomenon.  Fantastic.

Worst Musical:  The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Couldn’t get through this.  Just atrocious.

2016 has been a bloody year on television as there were a ton of characters who met their untimely demise.  Some were great use of drama and well-written.  Some were nothing more than wastes of talent and grab for ratings.  Which were which?  Here is the list for best deaths for 2016.

Honorable mention:   Grant War/Hive (Agents of SHIELD), Alice (Gotham), Robin Hood (Once Upon a Time), Meecham (House of Cards), the entire cast of American Horror Story: Roanoke, a number of people from Game of Thrones.

#5.  Cottonmouth (Luke Cage).  One of the best villains of the year met his death during the new Marvel Netflix series, which in itself, is not a surprise.  However, the fact that he died in episode #7 was a huge shocker.  Played perfectly by Mahershala Ali, Cornell Stokes ran a nightclub and a criminal organization in the wake of the power gap left by Wilson Fisk.  To see him die so early (and by the hand of his cousin, Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) was unexpected and really kicked the series into overdrive.

#4.  Wes (How to Get Away With Murder).  All season, we wondered who was beneath the blanket.  The body that they hauled out of the fire at Annalise’s house was male, but that was about all we knew.  Each week, we would discover another character who was “safe” but the producers of the show still had an ace up their sleeve.  They were not playing with normal narrative story telling.  When we thought Wes was safe, in reality, we were seeing a scene that happened before the discovery of the body.  That fake out made it all the more shocking when the cover was pulled back and there was Wes’s burnt face.

#3.  Poussey Washington (Orange is the New Black).  Prison can be a dangerous place.  Even the kind-hearted inmates could find themselves on the wrong end of fate.  That is what happened to Poussey (Samira Wiley).  She had spent most of the year in a happy prison relationship with Soso (Kimiko Glenn).  Unfortunately, Poussey wound up at the wrong place at the wrong time and was accidentally suffocated by a CO during the break up of an originally peaceful protest.  Poussey’s death has only started to affect the inmates on Orange is the New Black.

#2. Normal Bates (Bates Motel).  I almost made this one number one, but I just could not get it over the top.  We knew this was coming.  We know how the story ends.  Still, you couldn’t help bu hope that the canon of Psycho could be adjusted a bit.  Norman (Freddie Highmore) planned on killing both himself and his mother, but only succeeded in one.  What made this worse was that Norma had become happy with Alex Romero and this became the final point a jealous Norman needed.  The “Mr. Sandman” scene was beautiful and the final breakdown of Néstor Carbonell as Alex Romero was gut wrenching.  Vera Farmiga transcended this role and made it perfection.  Norma Bates was such a damaged woman who loved her son, going as far as making several mistakes in overlooking how sick he really was, and it cost her everything. 

#1.  Glenn and Abraham (The Walking Dead).  Who did Negan kill?  The cliffhanger angered many, but it created a huge sensation for the Walking Dead premiere.  And in the episode, the writers continued to taunt the audience before they finally revealed that Abraham was the survivor to taste the barbed wire from “Lucille.”  That was not unexpected and if that was it, Abraham’s death would not have made this list.  But Negan wasn’t done.  Thanks to a mistake in judgement by Daryl (Norman Reedus), Glenn became the second victim of Negan, and everyone lost it.  Very few if anyone expected Steven Yeun to die as well.  After Abraham’s death, there was a release of tension.  I know that I thought “Okay, Glenn’s safe.”  The death of Glenn from the comics was at the hands of Negan and Lucille and this was going to be one of those examples of where the tv show and the comics took different paths.  Except… then we saw the brutal murder.  Glenn’s death left everyone devastated and looking for answers.  These were answers that we have yet to get.

WORST DEATHS

#3.  Lincoln (Agents of Shield).  This was a who cares really.  When they promoted that someone was dying on Agents of SHIELD, I had hoped that it was Lincoln.  I got my wish.

#2.  Barb Holland (Stranger Things).  Poor Barb.  Forgotten and dismissed.  She is still in the Upsidedown and no one seems to care.

#1.  Eleven (Stranger Things).  This falls into my category because we know this death was anything but.  I hate when shows/comics/movies bring people back from the dead.  Eleven had a great, heroic send-off, but it was clear at the end of the great first season that Eleven was not gone.  It tempers what came before.

Best Couples

Honorable Mention:  Sheldon and Amy (Big Bang Theory), Penny and Leonard (Big Bang Theory), Howard and Bernadette (Big Bang Theory), Rick and Michonne (The Walking Dead), Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle (Gotham), Jim Gordon and Dr. Leslie Thompkins (Gotham)

#5.  Luke Cage and Claire Temple (Luke Cage).  This couple came together near the end of the first season of Luke Cage and helped make Luke forget about Jessica Jones.

#4.  Matt Murdock and Elektra (Daredevil).  Elektra arrived and we learned ab0ut the past relationship between college sweethearts and how it now involves ninjas.  Just like all great love stories.

#3.  The Underwoods (House of Cards).  The President and First Lady had their ups and downs this year, but it was clear that they were always stronger together than apart.

Unfortunately, our final two couples both featured tragic losses this year and will not be among this list again.

#2.  Glenn and Maggie (The Walking Dead).  Last year’s winner, Glenn and Maggie found out that they were expecting a child.  Always a dangerous occurrence during the zombie apocalypse.   However, the death of Glenn, witnessed by Maggie, sealed the couple’s end.  Perhaps the baby’s life can bring the hope back to the Walking Dead that the pairing of Glenn and Maggie originally covered.

#1.  Norma Bates and Alex Romero (Bates Motel).  A complete surprise.  Originally brought together for a way for Norma to get Norman into a quality mental institution, Norma and Alex blossomed together.  Both people were damaged, but together they found comfort and love and understanding.  The scene where Norma confessed her tragic backstory to Alex and he just accepts it makes you believe in love again.  I was really surprised at how much I loved these characters together which made it all the worse when Norma was killed by her son because he was afraid of losing her to Alex.  Alex’s grief over the loss of this woman was amazing and brought tears to my eyes.  Alex is ready to come after Norman in season five so I worry about his own fate.

Worst couples

#3.  Anyone on Scandal.  There could not be a worse show for failed couples.  I hate Olivia and Fitz.  There is Cyrus and anyone he is involved in.  David and V-P Susan had a chance, but the writers destroyed them.  Shondaland is no place for a healthy relationship.

#2.  Mr. Gold and The Evil Queen (Once Upon a Time).  Ugh.  Villains who are both wanting someone else.  I think even the show is appalled with this pairing.

#1.  Lincoln and Daisy (Agents of SHIELD).  Inhuman love.  Aah, how nice.  Not.  These two never had a chemistry and Lincoln was a waste of a power set.  Daisy had much more chemistry with her SHIELD partner Mac, but that was never explored.  Even Lincoln’s death was weak.  I have a hard time believing that Lincoln’s loss affected Daisy at all.

Starting our Year End Review off with the best comic books from 2016.  Now, again, I must clarify that this is my list and I know there are a lot of great comic books out there that I do not read.  I read exclusively Marvel Comics (basically) so there will be plenty of other lists that would include such comics as DC, Image, etc.  But this list is only those that I read, and those will only be Marvel.  I apologize to no one.  It is just what I like.

Honorable Mention:  Spider-Woman ( with Jessica Drew has been consistently solid all year), Death of X gave a very good pay off to the character of Cyclops, Daredevil has been very good after returning to New York (especially recently with the awesome new villain Muse).  Nova, despite the hate this gets online, is one comic that  I really have enjoyed.  I like Sam Alexander.

What to look for in 2017:  In particular, Champions, which I have seen issues #1 and 2, looks to be fantastic.  I loved issue #1 of Unworthy Thor, by Jason Aaron.  Mosaic has been a really solid first couple of issues as well.  It will be interesting to see if any of these comics makes next year’s top 10.

Top Ten for 2016:

10.  Pasty Walker aka Hellcat.  I did not think I would like this, and the art is a little too cartoony for my taste, but the story has been very solid, and the characterization of Patsy Walker and her supporting cast is top notch.  This is something original.  That will be a theme on this list.

9.  Thor.  Jason Aaron has been telling a great story with Jane Foster, cancer patient, as our new female Thor.  We also got an origin story this year for Mjolnir.  This felt like a stunt when it first happened, but the tale weaved by Aaron has been worthy of a Thunder Goddess.

8.  Nighthawk.  One of the series that was cancelled too soon.  It featured a new version of an old character dealing with very topical subjects.  Yes, I prefer my heroes to be non-killers and Nighthawk is certainly that, but the stories are the most important aspect of a comic, and Nighthawk was excellent every issue.

7.  Spider-man.  Miles Morales entered the 616 universe and took his place as a Spider-man.  Now, mind you, I think that he should be called something else, since Peter Parker is still running around also going by the name, but that is beside the point.  Miles Morales has been a breath of fresh air in the Spider-man universe and big things are going to happen with him (will he kill Captain America?)

6.  Squadron Supreme.  The group of anti-heroes coming from earths that had been destroyed was a weird concept.  Then, they killed Namor.  Squadron Supreme has a great mix of character development and teamwork, as this is the highest team book on the list.  With the soon return of Namor, it sounds as if the team might be taking a more heroic turn, which is welcome to me.

5.  Dr. Strange.  The Dr. Strange Last Days of Magic story was very well done, but I will admit it felt like the Thor God Killer storyline.  However, similar though it may have been, Dr. Strange was shown better in this series than he had ever been shown before.  It was a book that you could not miss and when was the last time that the Sorcerer Supreme was in that boat?

4.  Amazing Spider-man.  Spidey will always be near the top of this list.  Spider-man is my favorite character and, although I am not overly fond of making him “Tony Stark-lite”, the stories involving Spidey have been well done.  And the return of Doc Ock is overdue.

3.  Civil War 2.  This event series has been epic.  There have been a ton of shocking moments that make you think twice about the Marvel Universe.  The conflict between Carol and Tony feels natural and both characters faced big problems from their involvement.  I have not yet found out what is the resolution of the story, but it should be something that brings chaos to the Marvel Universe for years to come.

2.  Moon Knight.  I enjoyed the last Moon Knight series, but the new series with Marc Specter in an asylum, not sure what is real and what is not, has been amazing.  We still aren’t sure just what is going on and what is real.  I love that sort of intrigue.  We have known for years that Marc Specter was crazy.  Taking that and playing with reality is a brilliant move and created one of the best comics of 2016.  It would have been number one if it had not been for….

1. Mockingbird

   I loved this series.  I am still really pissed at Marvel for cancelling it.  I loved what Chelsea Cain created for Bobbi Morse.  This series was as creative and original as anything I have read in years.  The story was told in Bobbi’s POV and that meant that she might be making things up as she went.  Perhaps the story is told with Hunter in skimpy shorts because that is how Bobbi sees it.  Brilliant.  The first five issues were told in a format in which you could read them in any order and you might find something new.  Then the final 3 issues of the book delved back into Bobbi’s history and her relationship with Slade Wilson.  It was constantly funny.  It was dramatic.  It had strong characterization and a strong female led character that was not just a rebooted version of another hero.  It is a crime that Marvel Comics did not continue with Mockingbird past issue eight.  It was easily the best comic I read this year, and it is one of my favorite comic series from the last ten years.

Coming Soon…

The 2016 Year End Review!

What is the best movie?  The best Television show?

Who will win the “infamous” John Carter Memorial Award?

2016 has brought us….

Donald Trump as President Elect.

The Death of Glenn.

A Chicago Cub World Championship.

No More Mockingbird.

Could the year be worse????

Find out soon…coming in December!