The Craigy's Twenty Sixteen!

Live from Craig's Dining Room comes the twenty sixteen Craigy Awards! Can you believe it has been a year already?! I know I can't. We have truly been blessed with some of the television we have recieved over the last twelve months. I like to champion those shows that may not get recognitions they derserve [cough - The Emmys - cough] and also some of my own damn favourites that I would like to give awards to to show my love.  So let's get on to our first category and here to present it is ... the voice in your head whilst you read it.

The Nominees

Love

Orange is the New Black

Stranger Things

Doctor Who

Pretty Little Liars

Scandal

Empire

iZombie

Girls

The Winner

Orange is the New Black

The Nominees

Veep

The Big Bang Theory

Bob's Burgers

New Girl

The Mindy Project

Baby Daddy

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Broad City
Crazy Ex Girlfriend

The Winner

Baby Daddy

The Nominees

Jean-Luc Bilodeau - Baby Daddy

Finn Wolfhard - Stranger Things

Max Greenfield - New Girls

Peter Capaldi - Doctor Who

Jake Johnson - New Girl

Paul Rust  Love

Tituss Burgess - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Simon Helberg - The Big Bang Theory

The Winner

Max Greenfield

New Girl

The Nominees

Lena Dunham - Girls

Winona Ryder - Stranger Things

Abbi Jacobson - Broad City

Gillian Jacobs - Love

Ellie Kemper - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Rachel Bloom - Crazy Ex Girlfriend

Lori Petty - Orange is the New Black

Ilana Glazer - Broad City

Jenna Coleman - Doctor Who

The Winner

Lori Petty

Orange is the New Black

The Nominees

Orange is the New Black

Scandal

Broad City

Doctor Who

Stranger Things

Baby Daddy

The Big Bang Theory

New Girl

The Winner

Stranger Things

The Nominees

Ellen's Design Challenge

The Great British Bake Off

Masterchef US

Ink Master

The Next Food Network Star

The Amazing Race

RuPaul's Drag Race

Big Brother Canada

The Winner

RuPaul's Drag Race

The Nominees

The Bad Girls Club

Catfish

MTV: Suspects

The Real Housewives of New York

Mob Wives

Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Dance Moms

The Real Housewives of Atlanta

The Winner

The Real Housewives of New York

The Nominees

Emma Willis

Arisa Cox

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins

Caroline Flack

RuPaul

Ant and Dec

Julie Chen

Ryan Seacrest

The Winner

Emma Willis

The Nominees

Bob the Drag Queen - RuPaul's Drag Race

Sonja Morgan - Real Housewives of New York

Kourtney Kardashian - Keeping Up with the Kardashians

Kim Chi - RuPaul's Drag Race

Tiffany Pollard - Celebrity Big Brother

Nadiya Hussain - The Great British Bake Off

Nikki Grahame - Big Brother Canada

Bethenny Frankel - Real Housewives of New York

The Winner

Bob the Drag Queen

RuPaul's Drag Race

The Nominees

Ellen Degeneres

Jimmy Fallon

Seth Meyers

James Corden

Samantha Bee

Graham Norton

Chelsea Handler

The Cast of The Talk 

The Winner

Samantha Bee

The Nominees

American Idol - The Finale

The Brit Awards

Grease Live

Super Bowl Halftime Show

The Oscars

Eurovision

The Winner

Eurovision

The Nominees

Willam

Grace Helbig

Jenna Marbles

Mamrie Hart

Trixie Mattel & Katya Zamolodchikova

Jeffree Star

Hannah Hart

Colleen Ballinger

Drew Monson

The Winner

Trixie Mattel & Katya Zamolodchikova

Congratulations to all the winners!

The Craigy's 2014

It is that time once again ladies and gentleman.  Welcome to the 2014 Craigy's! An award celebrating the shows that may get overlooked or for the simple reason I love them. I feel over the years I have become an opinion on TV as I have put more hours into it then most will in their life time.

I have limited each category to 7 nominees each, this was tough as I feel I may have missed a few, but I am not as flawless - so take your drama outside.

Congratulations to all the winners.

 

2013/14 TV Winners and Losers

It is a dark time in the TV world. Many shows have wrapped for the summer so we are left in a comatose state until september when all major American Networks grace us with more yummy TV goodness. Of course we are all left with our fingers crossed that our favourite shows will return. If I could just have a moment of silence for 'Suburgatory', the amazing show lead by the equally amazing Jane Levy has been cancelled in the worst way - there was no final episode, no big tearful send off and many questions left unanswered, may you rest in peace (or get bought by a rival network). As good as TV has been this last season there has been some doozies. Below I have picked my winners and losers for the fall 2013/14 schedule.

Winners

Orange Is The New Black

How could I talk about this last years great TV and not mention this little nugget. All 13 episodes were put online at the same time so my binging qualities were fully nourished. This year we saw a lot of growth from all the major players. My favourite story-lines may have been finding out about Morello and Suzanne some more. Great acting, great plots and beautiful ladies - nothing else required.

Veep 

I never had any doubts this show would get better and better. Julia-Louis Dreyfus is perfection and deserves the multiple awards she has received for this role. She is written perfectly and for a show about American politics it doesn't slap you in the face with it, it is more about the movers and shakers in the political world more than what they do. Couldn't be happier that where we left the show she is the President. 

Parks and Recreation

Leslie Knope is possibly the most inspirational character in TV history. A strong willed woman, that only wants to use her powers for good. She just wants to help people. This year did not disappoint. What I liked about this season, especially towards the end, was that she finally is looking out for herself and now we got a glimpse into what her future with Ben will be like. With the small jump into the future in the last 5 minutes of the finale this show could go anywhere now, and I for one am very excited.

Playing House

This show came out of nowhere, I didn't even hear about it until a few episodes in. It is my favourite kind of comedy - plenty of laughs mixed with a few tears. It has touching moments a plenty with full on belly laughs. It is purely a show showing the power of friendship, a friendship so huge that they are sharing a life together. Plus it has Valerie from 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' in it, so it's nice to know she is still working.

Big Brother Canada

I am a reality show junkie, so of course I watch other countries versions of Big Brother. This years Canadian version was so good, full of game players, shady folk and good people. Heather, Ika, Neda and John were my favourite players, they each played the game right, often the victim of cliques but still prevailed with their dignity in tact.

Other hits

Brooklyn 99

Saturday Night Live

Ink Master

Project Runway: Under the Gunn

New Girl

Girls

The Mindy Project

2 Broke Girls

Mom

Baby Daddy

Modern Family

Scandal

Losers

Glee

I have watched every episode, until this season. For me it has lost its magic. Maybe I have grown up or maybe it just isn't the shame anymore. A show that started out with taboo subjects, great musical performances and heart wrenching characters has now just turned into an even more unbelievable show. I get that shows aren't always realistic as they need to entertain but I just feel Rachel's storyline too far fetched - to the point where I just didn't care anymore. All I do now is watch the YouTube music videos. I actually have no clue what happened in the second half of the season.

Grey's Anatomy

Another show I gave up on, I lost interest. This show is famous for its key scenes and amazing storylines yet this year I didn't find any. It came to a point where I put them on for background noise, and then that eventually stopped. Then they let Sandra Oh leave?! She was the saving grace of this show that may have peaked 3 years ago.

The Vampire Diaries

 For me, every show that starts in High School but lasts longer than High School generally loses its appeal and magic (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Saved By The Bell, Sister Sister, The OC, Gossip Girl, Glee for example). The storylines take a huge leap into adulthood and suddenly these characters are grown. I got lost in this show if I am honest. There was influx of new characters and new situations that I seriously didn't know what was happening. Plus I was so tired of all this doppelganger nonsense. I did however watch the final just to see how it wrapped. I had no idea what happened. Someone may need to hold my hand and talk me through it.

The Big Bang Theory

First things first, I love this show and it will always have a place in my heart. The only reason this made the loser list is because I wanted more from season 7. We have known these characters for 7 years now and yet there has been no development. They are still pretty much the same from season 1 except Raj can now talk to women. A few issues I had were -

• Penny and Leonard are now engaged yet nothing has changed
• Sheldon and Amy have made no progress, would a woman like Amy wait this long?
• Raj is still an insecure mess even though at one point he was dating two women at the same time.
• Sheldon is still living as if he is single - quitting his job and then leaving home (again, why would Amy put up with this)
• Nothing really happened with Howard and Bernadette - they were just there or mainly occupying the B story of each episode. 

I still laughed at each episode and some favourite moments from the series occurred, but as a loyal fan I just wanted more. Some episodes felt lazy and just filler.

Orphan Black

I couldn't have sang the praises of the first season enough, it was new, exciting and a story that has never been told. The acting was superb and everything was on a level that it seemed believable. Then season 2 started, I was lost from the get go. There was a lot going on and I couldn't keep up. It is a show where you have to pay attention to everything, from the foreground to the background it feels, blink and you miss an integral part of the story. I was watching episodes and then had to read a review to know what I just watched. A couple of episodes in and I gave up, it was too much work.

Other misses
Sleepy Hollow
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
The Crazy Ones
The Walking Dead
Awkward

And the best supporting actress is ...

Main characters are great, but the characters I enjoy the most are the supporting roles. I think this because they are allowed to be the eccentric ones, the crazy characters that can say and do anything they want. In any show you need the comic relief, if it was left to the main characters then shows would be pretty boring and we would get over them pretty fast. So as the ever helpful person who is obsessed with lists I have taken the time to talk about 10 of my favourite supporting actresses (my top 10 male supporting actors might follow later).

1. Shoshanna Shapiro (Girls)

I know we are supposed to believe that all four 'Girls' are the main characters but lets face facts - Lena Dunham's favourite character is Hannah! She gives her own character about 80% of the screen time (I'm not mad about it at all - the show is amazing). My favourite character is definitely Shoshanna, to describe her in a sentence I would probably say she is woman with a unique look on the world, slightly naive, slightly immature but extremely loveable and hysterical. If you want a sneak peak of how great this character is then watch season 3 episode 2 - she was perfect.

2. Bonnie Wheeler (Baby Daddy)

Probably a show you have never watched or even heard of. It came out in 2012 in America and it is rather funny. The basic premise is that a young guy has a one night stand and 9 months later the mother drops off a baby and then she bolts. This show has many good moments and about 99% are Bonnie's. She is the Grandmother to the baby. She has no inhibitions, reckons herself as a bit of a cougar and she is absolutely hilarious. I hope to be as shameless as her as I age.

3. Amy Farrah Fowler (The Big Bang Theory)
Why this character was not written in from the start I will never know. She is perfection. I will forever be looking for my own Amy. She is a sexually frustrated scientist on her way to been comfortable in social situations. Her personality is flawless and her wit is beautiful. I love you Miss Fowler.

4. Dalia Royce (Suburgatory)
She is the dry, emotionless ultimate mean girl. She is played perfectly by Carly Chaikin. She makes me laugh every time she in screen. She doesn't care who she upsets aslong as she gets what she wants - and she always gets what she wants. There are so many great supporting female characters on this show but she is my favourite. She also has her moments where she touches you and she has brought a tear to my eye a few times.

5. Christina Yang (Grey's Anatomy)
For me she is the star of the show. Playing best friend to the title character can put her in a box of being the supporter and confidant - however she broke the mould. She is a sarcastic, straight talking son of a gun. She takes no shit and knows what she wants. My favourite thing will always be her wit, she just doesn't care.

6. Carol Miller (The Millers)
She could probably be considered a main role but lets be honest - its all about Will Arnett on that show. Carol plays his mother who is currently going through a divorce and she moves in with him. Cut to a montage of them being on the treadmill together - talk about laughing out loud, it got me. My favourite scene, possibly of any show, has to be when she and her kids almost re-enact the famous speech from 'A Few Good Men' - video below.

7. Karen Walker (Will & Grace)

The ultimate supporting character in my books. The bitch with a heart. She is the funniest character from any show. My love for her is unconditional - I don't know what else to say.

8. April Ludgate-Dwyer (Parks and Recreation)

The Queen of deadpan comedy and witty one liners. In a show with Amy Poehler in, it has been a challenge for me to notice other people (my love for Amy is deep and its real) but April stood out from the get-go. I think I resonate with April quite a lot as I have similar attitude as in I don't like doing what I should be doing, I question and moan whenever I am forced to do something. The fact she found love with Andy just multiplied my admiration for the girl.

9. Madison Montgomery (American Horror Story: Coven)

In a show jam packed with amazing actresses it was hard to choose one. I am so happy Ryan Murphy cast Emma Roberts in this role. She plays the heartless bitch flawlessly. She has been through a lot of shit in the show (been killed probably was the lowest point) but she got back up again (literally) and stuck a middle finger up to the world because at the end of the day its her world and we are just living in it. I really hope she is the Supreme.

10. Bonnie Plunkett (Mom)

She is the mother of the main character Christy. Bonnie is an ex-alcoholic and ex-drug addict, who has changed her ways and is now living on her daughter's couch. She is blunt, honest and  a strong willed woman. She takes no flack and will fight for everything that is important to her, plus she does it with hilarity and style. Her one liners make this show for me and she is with no doubt my favourite character from the show.

Funny People

'A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, with often humorous dialogue. Such programs originated in radio, but today, sitcoms are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms.'

After reality TV the sitcom is my favourite genre of television. It is 22 minutes of entertainment that doesn't require thinking and you can become a zombie and just watch and get some giggles. Here is a list of my favourite sitcoms

Friends

This is the ultimate sitcom in my eyes. It was perfect. They gave us an amazing 10 years of comedy. The premise of the show was simple - 6 friends. There are heart-warming moments and hysterical moments. 

Favourite Character - Phoebe

Will and Grace

I watch this show everyday. I put it on every night to go to sleep to. Not because it is boring but because it is comforting in a weird way. When this TV show was aired it was quite shocking - a show with a lead character who was gay. I don't know if its just me but I didn't notice. It wasn't even an issue for me. 

Favourite Character - Karen

Modern Family

This show is relatively new to me. I watched the pilot and it didn't grab my attention so I ignored it for a while (my TV rota is quite full). One day I decided to watch it, and I watched the first 2 seasons with in a week. I LOVE IT. Call me a wuss I don't care; I love a show that makes me cry and this has on multiple occasions. Not because it is sad but it can be so heart-warming at times that it just gets me. For example when Cam and Mitch were told they weren't going to get the baby boy, they were lying on the ground and I was in a flood of tears.

Favourite Character - Cam or Gloria

The Big Bang Theory

This was another show that I didn't catch on to very quickly, but once again I watched a lot in a row and became addicted - went out and bought all the available seasons on DVD. It can be considered quite a simple comedy as the idea is geeks vs. life. I think it is so much deeper than that. My favourite moments are between Sheldon and Penny. It is a friendship that shouldn't exist but I am so thankful that it does. The episode where Penny falls in the shower and only Sheldon is available to help is one my favourite episodes of any show. Later through the series they introduced more female characters and these were genius ideas.

Favourite Character - Amy

Parks and Recreation

Amy Poehler is everything! She was always one of my favourite cast mates on Saturday Night Live. Now she has her own show and it is about time! I feel she was always in Tina Fey's shadow and now she is in the spotlight. To explain the show doesn't sell it at all. It is a sitcom based in a Parks and Recreation department in middle town America. You have to watch it to understand. It is brilliant! So funny! So honest! The characters are amazing whether it be sarcastic, dark April or put-upon, loser Ron.

Favourite Character - Leslie

The Girls

Apparently there is a huge misconception that girls aren't funny - something I have never understood and believed (Golden Girls anybody?) In the last few years the women of comedy have certainly shut up their critics. Step forward Zooey Deschannel, Mindy Kaling, Beth Behrs and Kat Dennings - the stars of 3 of my favourite comedies; New Girl, 2 Broke Girls and The Mindy Project. They are witty, smart and have many levels. And most of all they are awkward - I enjoy awkward TV shows. Long live the female lead comedies.