My Top 3 Favorite TV Shows

Yes, I am a day late. I apologize, for I started my new full-time job this week. Yesterday when I got home, I turned on my laptop, and stared at Blogger, waiting for a post idea to strike. But I was simply too tired, which is why I'm only posting now.

Today I'd like to talk about my top 3 favorite TV shows and why I love them. Now, I'd like to mention that I don't have cable, so I don't usually watch a lot of shows. I've seen various LEGO shows, Austin & Ally (due to the convincing of my younger sisters), and a few episodes of things like Duck Dynasty and The Clone Wars. I've even watched part of the Kirby anime series! But three shows I've viewed have stuck out to me as being my favorites, because they do a lot of things right. So why don't I stop wasting and get on with the list? (And before you ask, no, they're not in any particular order.)

No, Samsung did not sponsor me to show a picture of one of their TVs.

LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu

This is the show that got me hooked on TV shows in the first place. It's, obviously, based on the Ninjago theme. To be honest, I'm not sure if it were the toys that made me like the show, or vice versa. But when LEGO gave a teaser picture of a ninja with a skeleton in the background, I just knew this was something I'd be interested in.

So what's the plot of this show? Well, it starts off with a young man and his sister--Kai and Nya, respectively--who run a blacksmith shop in a small village. All of a sudden, an army of living skeletons (I'm refraining my nerdy side by not calling them Skulkin), led by the ferocious and four-armed Samukai, attack the village. They're looking for a special map, and their boss has ordered them to capture Nya. A mysterious stranger shows up to help in the fight, but to no avail. The skeletons get away with what they came for.

And thus, Kai meets Sensei Wu, who adds him to his small team of ninja with elemental powers. They must stop Wu's brother, Lord Garmadon, from finding four sacred weapons. This all happens in the pilot episodes! Things get even better in the next seasons, where there's stuff such as:

• Snake people who wish to reawaken a giant serpent who will consume the entire land
• Elemental Masters and powers like earth, lightning, nature, wind, and time
• An ancient evil with an army of indestructible stone warriors
• Great action sequences
• An underground fighting tournament held by a lunatic with sinister motivations
• Interesting characters with well-done character arcs
• A phenomenal score (seriously, it's totally fantastic!)

The show isn't perfect. In the first couple of seasons, there are several instances where the one character is saying a line in the voice of a different character. (No idea how that happened.) Occasionally, there are plot holes and whatnot, but I still love Masters of Spinjitzu to pieces--pun intended. If you haven't seen this show yet, go do so. I get annoyed when people call it a kid's show. Just like its source, it's timeless and can be enjoyed by any age.

In fact, I think the writers eventually caught on that their audience included older viewers, because they started adding darker or more mature elements, if you will, though not in a bad way. Character deaths have become a thing; season 4's plot is actually one of my favorites because of the intrigue and suspense involved.

Did I mention the show's humor? Because that's awesome as well. One of my favorite bits is in the first episode of season 4. One character, upon arriving at an island, says, "I swore never to return to this place." Another character quips, "You know, you should never swear. It's a sign of weak verbal skills."

Do it. Watch the show. I know you can find at least some of the episodes online; all of the seasons are available on Amazon. It's a show that's worth your time.

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Once Upon a Time

This was a show that I thought I'd never watch, much less love. My sisters would fangirl over it constantly, and to be honest, it turned me off. Then I found out that, for one of my media classes in college, I had to watch an episode of Once.

Now, saying that I had to is actually not true. We could choose whether or not we wanted to watch the movies they suggested, though they recommended that we did. I had already seen the others, and I wanted to be a good student. With an unhappy heart, I told my sisters I was watching the first episode.

You should've seen me during those 45 minutes. I sat there with my arms folded, grouchy look etched on my face like I had sucked on a lemon for at least a few centuries. I was unimpressed to the extreme. But afterwards, I felt so bad. I knew I had reacted wrongly, so I apologized and told them I would continue watching because they liked it. But after a while, I actually began enjoying it.

If you don't know the plot, here's the long and short of it. Emma is a no-nonsense bail bond agent who has an unexpected guest one night. A young boy named Henry claims to be her son, and he carries with him a book of fairy tales--which he says are all real. There's another world where the Evil Queen set in motion a curse that brought everyone to Earth, where they live false lives in a town known as Storybrooke. Emma is to come and break said curse to give everyone their happy endings.

Obviously, things get a lot more convoluted as the show progresses. One thing remains truly constant: family. It's the biggest emphasis of the series. Characters will go great lengths to ensure that they get their family back, or so that their family is safe. It's an interesting plot point to choose to repeat throughout the show's numerous episodes.

I will mention that most of the CGI I've seen so far (I'm almost done the second season) is not very good. And there are some really cheesy/cliché moments. Not to mention the lesbian couple in season 5, and the frequent low-cut female tops. But despite its flaws, I still thoroughly enjoy the show.

Wanna guess who my favorite character is? It's Rumpelstiltskin, AKA Mr. Gold. I think it's his quirky-yet-sinister nature that intrigued me the most. He's a very complicated man, one reason for that being his representation of multiple fairy tale characters. There's just something oddly appealing about him, odd as that may sound. I also really love Charming and Hook--Charming because of his heroic nature and devotion to his wife, and Hook because he's a devious pirate and rogue. No further reason necessary.

If you enjoy fairy tales, you'd probably enjoy Once Upon a Time as well. I recommend you watch it ASAP, before it gets even more seasons and you make the excuse that you don't have time for it. As Nike would say, "Just do it."

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The Flash

I did say that this list was in no particular order, but I think this show might be my all-time favorite. What DC lacks in their movies, they made up for in their TV shows, or at least this one.

I don't know how we got to it, but one of my best online friends mentioned how he and his sister were watching The Flash and really enjoying it. I trusted his opinion, so I looked into it a bit, then took a risk: I ordered the first season off of Amazon. I figured that since I liked superhero movies, the show would be right up in my alley. Little did I know just how much I would fall in love with the series and its amazing characters.

The plot goes like this: Barry Allen is a CSI investigator for Central City's police department. His main reason for joining, though, involves a tragic incident in his life: the murder of his mom and accusation of his dad several years ago. Taken in by his father's cop friend, Joe West, Barry is determined to catch the killer.

Then one night, an explosion at the city's big lab grants Barry super-speed. He joins forces with the lab's tiny crew to take on metahumans and figure out the mystery behind the murder of his mother. But deep, dark, and deadly secrets abound everywhere, and things might be more complicated than Barry originally thought.

I love everything about the show, from the well-written plots to the intense action to the amusing banter to the emotional moments. And just as Once focuses heavily on family, The Flash places its emphasis hugely on relationships. I think that's one reason I love the show so much. It's not just about the typical superhero elements; it gets you invested in the characters and their interactions, so that the peril and tension is heightened. The music also adds a lot to the episodes. Blake Neely, who's composed for all of DC's shows if I'm not mistaken, knows how to create memorable themes and use them at all the right moments.

What's wrong with the show? Well, the first season featured a gay couple, who thankfully did nothing more than hug. Occasionally females don't wear shirts, and there's two scenes with (mostly) clothed characters making out. Season two removes virtually all of those problems, so good on the writers. Again, like the other two, I still love the show despite its flaws. The good points far outweigh the bad.

I could go on and on about this show, but I feel like I might accidentally spoil stuff. Suffice it to say that the first season was epic, and the second season took things up a few notches. I cannot wait for season 3. I pre-ordered it, and it's coming out on September 5th. (Yay!) You'll fall in love with all the characters and become emotionally involved in their struggles.

Could I pick a favorite character? Eh . . . no. You can't make me choose just one. For example, I really love Barry because he wants to be a noble hero, yet he has just enough awkwardness to make him relatable. Plus, his struggles are ones that you can easily get caught up in. But then I also someone like, say, Cisco, because he brings a lot of comic relief with his wit and pop culture references. Don't let that fool you. He's a deeper character than you might think.

And do I even want to start how many times I've cried/almost cried while watching this show?! It just brings on the feels like you wouldn't believe it. No other movie or TV show has done this to me. I am not ashamed to say that the waterworks have flown at least a few times. Even when I'm rewatching episodes, my throat still tightens up, and tears threaten to be released.

If you decide to watch only one of the shows I suggested, WATCH THIS ONE. I'm not joking. You may not even care for superhero stories all that much, and I would still tell you to see it. It has plenty of elements that allow for a broader audience than your typical action-packed hero flick. So stop wasting time and watch The Flash. You may just become a devoted fan yourself.

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There you have it! I apologize again for being late, but I hope the post was worth it. Have you seen any of these shows before? If not, are you now interested? Are there any shows you'd recommend to me? Tell all in the comments!