Today marks the first annual J and J Productions Television awards! For my first TV Awards, I have many different categories ranging from Best Overall Television Series to Best Hero in the year of TV. For my awards, a tie in an award category is acceptable and it happens often due to the sheer amount of great television 2013 presented. Also, this is only the first part of my awards post.
To note, I have yet to watch Breaking Bad (I will eventually) and since I do not have subscriptions to any expensive movies channels like HBO and Showtime, do not expect to see any of those shows winning awards, even if they are of high quality. Also please remember that these awards are based on the episodes that aired in 2013, and most of this post was written in 2013, therefore Sherlock will not be winning any awards, however it is likely to win Best Series of 2014 unless something comes out that is incredibly impressive.
Best Television Series: "The Walking Dead" and "Fate/Zero"
The Walking Dead: The Walking Dead had an excellent second half of season three in the beginning of 2013, and an equally strong second half of season four. Despite the disappointing season three finale, it was a strong end to the series' best season. The beginning of season four felt a little odd at times, but overall, it is a great first half to a season that had an amazing mid-season finale.
Fate/Zero: Many of you have probably never heard of Fate/Zero if you are not familiar with Japanese animation, but Fate/Zero is one of the few series that I believe would appeal to many that are not familiar with Japanese animation. The series has few, if any, of the typical cliches of the genre that often are a turn off for the casual viewer. No weird cartoony scenes, no fan-service, and it is not about a high school student. Fate/Zero is a series about a battle to death for a the ultimate wish granting device, the Holy Grail, by mages that use heroes from the past to battle. The series is comparable to the quality of shows that AMC. Sometimes the show can be a little dialogue heavy and the first episode is exposition heavy, but give it a try. You can watch the first half of the series at this link. Additionally, I believe TV critic Gigguk said it, if Fate/Zero on a channel like AMC or HBO it would become incredibly popular because of the quality the show demonstrates (paraphrasing).
Honorable Mentions: Doctor Who, Agents of SHIELD, Sword Art Online, Hell on Wheels, The Blacklist,
Best Actor: Sam Spader
When Sam Spader was cast as Ultron in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron, my first thought was: "Spader? Why would he be a good villain" and then I watched The Blacklist. Sam Spader gives one of the best performances I have seen in a long. He has a menacing presence that instantly grabs your attention every time he is on screen. His presence and performance is so fantastic that almost anytime he is not an essential aspect of an episode, the episode suffers.
Honorable Mention: Norman Reedus, Matt Smith, Clark Gregg, Karl Urban, Andrew Lincoln,
Best Comedy/Action Comedy: Almost Human
Honorable Mention: Last Man Standing,
Best TV Sci-Fi Series: Marvel's Agents of SHIELD
Being a major sci-fi geek that will watch almost anything science fiction, therefore seeing so many science fiction series in 2013 was awesome! From Almost Human to Sword Art Online, there were so many to chose from, but Agents of SHIELD takes it as my favorite. Although a comic book based series by the strictest of definitions, the series featured many trappings of the sci-fi genre.
Note: Since I wanted to have a show other than Doctor Who win the award for once, I have decided not to include it since only half of a season was actually aired last year.
Honorable Mention: Sword Art Online, Falling Skies, Almost Human
Show We Will Miss the Most: The Clone Wars
2013 featured a saddening, and unexpected end to one of the shows that has created an entirely new generation of Star Wars fans, and one that showed us just how much we needed Star Wars to be great again. Despite a rocky first half of season, The Clone Wars ended with one of episodes ever, not just of the series. At least we will have conclusion with the release of those final episodes in some format unknown format. The end of The Clone Wars, Young Justice, and a few other good animated shows marks the end of an era where American animation was actually good, now all we have are poorly written goofy kid's shows. At least the cancellation forced me to discover a substitute, the superior anime genre.
Honorable Mentions: Young Justice
Most Anticipated Returning Series: The Walking Dead Part 2/Doctor Who Season 8
Even though most of these awards were written last year, I have updated my most anticipated series award, which was Sherlock, since I have already seen all of season three of Sherlock and the first episode of season three officially aired in America yesterday.
The Walking Dead Season 4 Part 2: After the shocking and intense mid-season finale, The Walking Dead's second half of the season will hopefully not disappoint.
Doctor Who Season 8: With Peter Capaldi playing the new incarnation of the Doctor, my excitement to see the new Doctor is growing. Hopefully Steven Moffat will go back to a more classic Doctor Who format where not ever season has to be about universe altering plot devices and Moffat "Space Magic."
What were some of your favorite shows in each category? Do you agree with any of my choices? Please comment below and let me know.
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