4B — Thursday, January 8, 2015 the b-side The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Best TV Shows of 2014 2. The Good Wife CBS “The Good Wife” continued to blow away audiences in 2014, from the tail end of season five to its season six mid-season finale. With razor-sharp writ- ing and a newly-trained focus on character, Michele and Robert King’s legal and political drama proved that Will’s death was a springboard into new narrative heights. Its brilliance showed, sweeping up a bevy of awards at the Emmys and Golden Globes. Season six saw Alicia move out of her grieving funk and make the decision to run for State Attorney (plus a Gloria Steinem cameo!). Cary’s long criminal trial heartbreakingly unfolded; and after the January premiere, viewers will have only a hand- ful of episodes to savor Kalinda before she departs. Indeed, the writers’ treatment of Kalinda has been the weakest part of the show as of late, but if Will’s departure has shown anything, “The Good Wife” is a constantly evolving and flexible show. -CATHERINE SULPIZIO 3. Orange is the New Black Netflix once again succeeds in dominating our lives. For 13 straight hours of our summer, we became introverts, never peeling our eyes from the screen, captivat- ed by “Orange is the New Black”’s sophomore season. The series brings a stigma- tized, condemned community of convicts to the forefront – illumi- nating a complexity and human- ity behind their crimes. The show teaches us to be empathetic, and gives insight into characters behind the superficial. It forces us to be introspective, and demands that we analyze the human condi- tion as well as the despicable, yet neglected, failures of institution- alization. In the second season, creator Jenji Kohan shifts the show’s narrative attention to indi- viduality, an aspect that makes the show relatable despite its uncon- ventional characters. The charac- ter development is fluid, and the season focuses on portraying the multi-dimensionality in not only Piper, but in the secondary and tertiary characters, too. “Orange is the New Black” is progressive, emotional, enlight- ening – and certainly one of the best television programs of the past year. -KAREN HUA 4. Game of Thrones Consistent oversight by the Emmys isn’t hurting the ascen- sion of “Game of Thrones” into a pop-culture phenomenon. This past season included some of the series’ strongest moments and maintained an average viewer- ship of 18.6 million across all plat- forms. The show continues to chart new territory in the realm of genre and television. Despite living in a world populated by dragons, “Game of Thrones” ’s characters ditch clichés in favor of astute psychological realism. The visu- als, from the effects to the cinema- tography, rival the vast majority of big-budget blockbusters. In every frame, an inescapable feeling of unease and dread plays the nerves of the audience like a fiddle. The multi-cultural, multi-tal- ented cast and crew have rendered one of the finest screen adapta- tions of a source material in recent memory. -DREW MARON 5. True Detective In an industry flooded with crime shows and bound by yel- low caution tape, it takes a certain ingenuity to make a whodunit series stand out. First, it needs a brilliant storyteller to weave in the twisting plots that we crave, someone like novelist- turned-screenwriter Nic Pizzo- latto. Then add two Hollywood big-shots with a penchant for darker projects, like Matthew McConaughey and Woody Har- relson. The result is “True Detec- tive,” HBO’s groundbreaking series that follows detectives Rust (McConaughey) and Marty (Har- relson) in their search for a serial killer with a fetish for sacrificing women in the willowy plains of Louisiana. What differentiates “True Detective” from other crime shows is not its frontrunners’ edgy chemistry. It’s because it has an expiration date. Each season brings a different cast and story. Season two, airing this summer, will feature Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams, and will be set in California. -HAILEY MIDDLEBROOK HBO WHAT’S NEW ON Best Community Events of 2014 2. Alice Walker Lecture In November, critically acclaimed author Alice Walker spoke at Hill Auditorium for this year’s Zora Neale Hurston Lecture, an annual lecture sponsored by the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies and the Center for the Education of Women. Walker was the first African-Ameri- can woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her ground- breaking novel “The Color Purple.” While best known for her work as an author, Walker is also very passionate about social justice issues and women’s rights. In her lecture, Walker touched on several different topics including the political system, war, friend- ship and the necessity of empa- thy as a stepping-stone toward world peace. -REBECCA GODWIN 3. Espresso Royale’s November Write-a-thon Whether it be Tea Time in the Hopwood room, readings in the basement of Literati or poetry slams at coffee shops you’ve never heard of, Ann Arbor’s literary scene has a place for everyone. There’s no better example of this than the November Write-a-thon. Each fall, for 10 hours, poets and authors, professors and stu- dents, professional writers and professional coffee-drinkers gather in Espresso Royale on State Street for free donuts, free coffee and free electrical outlets. There for a minute or the full 10 hours, participants work on their writing – often on manual typewriters – and meticulously craft their pieces: from formless poems to dia- logue-heavy short stories to the first paragraphs of novels that will be deleted as soon as they’re finished. It’s about the process, after all, not the prod- uct. The event isn’t high bud- get, and it isn’t fast-paced; well, unless you consider the typing “fast-paced.” The November Write-a-thon is just one more example of how Ann Arbor has a vibrant, inclusive literary scene. -ALEX BERNARD 4. 52nd Annual Ann Arbor Film Festival After 52 years, the Ann Arbor Film Festival has estab- lished an integral presence in the community’s film scene. This past March brought the newest crop of independent and experimental films to the Ann Arbor community, attracting visitors from all over the country to witness the latest in experimental and independent filmmaking. The 52nd festival highlighted over 200 full-length films, short films and performances, more than 30 of which were premiered at the event. 2014’s AAFF also featured retrospec- tives of iconic independent filmmakers like Thom Anders- en (“Los Angeles Plays Itself”) and Penelope Spheeris (“The Decline of Western Civiliza- tion”), honoring their impact on the world of film and its greater impact into other artistic mediums. The festival also promoted local artists in media outside of film. -KATHLEEN DAVIS 5. Françoise Mouly Lecture Françoise Mouly spoke as a guest lecture at the Michigan theater as part of the Penny Stamps Lecture series. Mouly, art director for The New York- er, took an especially personal approach to the lecture, bring- ing her accomplishments down to earth for her audience. She discussed her early years in Paris studying architecture, and how her desire to be more involved in the final product of her work led her to move to New York and pursue print making. She encountered a comic artist, Art Spiegelman, whom she would later marry and work with. The couple made their first New Yorker cover together, which led to her employment and eventu- ally to her role as Art Director. Mouly’s lecture felt more like a friendly and nostalgic conver- sation, giving a crowd insight into the personal life of one of the leading women in the art world. -FRANCESCA KIELB Best Viral Videos of 2014 1. Too Many Cooks A video created for “Adult Swim” titled “Too Many Cooks” was released in October as a par- ody of classic sitcoms. It begins by recreating the opening titles of many familiar sitcoms from the ‘80s and ‘90s. However, it doesn’t stop after one cast of characters is introduced, but continues to introduce more, with each set’s introductions growing more ridiculous. The parody consists of many stock characters, including a puppet and a slasher villain, mocking the over-the-top acting that the era is notorious for. Watching the video derail from family- friendly to plain bizarre was like watching a car crash: we couldn’t look away and neither could the rest of the world. The video went viral and even received a Twitter shout out from Zach Braff (“Scrubs”). It left us with a theme song stuck in our heads, with more ques- tions than answers and a strange feeling of nostalgia. -KIM BATCHELOR 2. Jimmy Fallon’s lip sync battle with Emma Stone The setup of a lip sync battle is simple: there are two competitors, one stage, one mic. In a “Tonight Show” lip sync battle, whoever can upstage Jimmy Fallon is the winner – a feat in and of itself. While promoting “The Amazing Spider Man 2,” Emma Stone was invited to the superhero-sized challenge of battling Fallon off the stage. Fallon stepped to the mic first, breaking out a gyrating version of “Fancy” by Iggy. Stone wasn’t fazed though, and as the determined diva that she is, she ripped out a deadpan rendering of “Hook” by Blues Traveler. In clas- sic Fallon fashion, he retaliated with a hilariously theatrical “Mr. Roboto” by Styx. But Stone kicked in for the win, syncing “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled, with a performance so head-bangingly intense that her lyrical accuracy was unques- tioned. Fallon was brought to his knees in laughter and awe under the power of Emma Stone, as was the rest of the nation. -HAILEY MIDDLEBROOK 3. The “Apparently” Kid Give him a few years and English teachers will be lay- ing into Noah Ritter (i.e. The “Apparently” Kid) for his repet- itive lexicon. In 2014, though, 18 million plus viewers became so enamored with the five- year-old that he made the req- uisite pit stops for all internet sensations: “The Ellen Show” and “The Colbert Report.” Rit- ter gained viral status when a local news station interviewed him at a county fair – a natu- ral logorrheic, Ritter managed to use the word ‘apparently’ many, many times (probably not worth counting) in a min- ute-and-a-half clip. His act was equal parts neurotic crank and precocious tot, and it enamored America. Later down the fame road, he even got to chat with Sofia Vergara (“Modern Fam- ily”), but declined a kiss from her, no doubt leaving the collec- tive Internet – male and female – scratching its head. -CATHERINE SULPIZIO 4. Mile-high performance of “The Lion King” A video posted to YouTube on April 1st captured the profes- sional cast of “The Lion King” singing “The Circle of Life” on an airplane about to leave Bris- bane for Sydney. The pure talent alone is enough to merit a spot on our list – “The Circle of Life” is one of the most difficult songs to pull off a capella, let alone when the singers are sitting squished between other passengers and scattered throughout the plane, making for less than optimal acoustics. But the act is just as fun to watch as it is to listen to – the passenger reactions, find- ing themselves in the middle of a real life, “Glee”-like occurrence, are hilarious. Some enjoy the impromptu performance, taking their own grainy iPhone videos; others are simply bemused, and the last third of the passengers sit stony-faced and unamused throughout the whole thing – perhaps determined not to let Disney on Broadway’s cast hijack their April Fool’s Day. -SOPHIA KAUFMAN 5. Strangers kiss for the first time Last fall, WREN and Tatia Pilieva produced a short film for a social experiment that asked 20 strangers to kiss for the first time. Under the lights, before a white backdrop and in front of multiple cameras – the subjects introduced themselves briefly, then gradually moved toward a very intimate act of connection. Though the couples were quite cognizant of the initial awkwardness, they soon let themselves go – they allowed their innate human vulnerabili- ties to emerge. Once kissing, it was as if the cameras and pro- duction crew disappeared – and the tenderness and passion of human attraction overpowered all else. This was no typical meet-and-greet hook-up, but it showcased a simple, beautiful bond humans may have with any other human. In addition, the video show- cased diversity, a silent com- mentary on how connection can merge demographic barriers. The experiment included both homo and heterosexual couples, both the young and elderly and various cultural backgrounds. This opened up a fruitful discus- sion in the comments section, and elucidated differing opin- ions about the nature of attrac- tion. -KAREN HUA COLUMBIA READ THE DAILY ARTS BLOG