Rueben’s Ramblings is celebrating its 10th Anniversary!!
In honor of that I decided to highlight some of the big events that took place during each year of the past 10 years.
Today’s salute is focused on 2012:
Some memorable shows that debuted during that year included:
* Smash – The NBC musical drama focused on all the people involved in bringing a Broadway play, based on the life of iconic actress Marilyn Monroe, to life, including the rivalry for the lead role between a beautiful novice and a stage veteran, the tenacious producer, the songwriting duo, the director and all the other players. Among the cast was Debra Messing, theatre veteran Christian Borle, Broadway star Megan Hilty, American Idol alum Katharine McPhee, box office veteran Anjelica Huston, Pirates of the Caribbean actor Jack Davenport and future Hamilton star Leslie Odom, Jr. [among countless others];
* Scandal – The Shonda Rhimes drama that made Kerry Washington a household name started out focusing on Olivia Pope, a former White House Communications Director who starts her own crisis management firm only to realize her clients are not the only ones with secrets. The show became a juggernaut, and its storylines were crazier each year than the previous;
* Longmire – Based on the popular book series by Craig Johnson, the A&E series centered on Walt Longmire (Australian actor Robert Taylor), a sheriff in fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming. The show became the highest rated original drama series on the network, later moving to Netflix for its final three seasons. The show featured Battlestar Galactica alum Katee Sackhoff and Lou Diamond Phillips [among others];
* Arrow – The show that started it all for The CW. The founding father (if you will) of the Arrowverse that led to the following shows all airing on the network: The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Batwoman and, most recently, Stargirl. Canadian actor Stephen Amell landed the coveted lead role of Oliver Queen (aka Green Arrow) that would make him a household name all over the world in a show that would also introduce viewers to Emily Bett Rickards, who quickly became a fan favorite;
* Nashville – The ABC drama – or more to the point night-time soap opera – followed the lives and tragedies of rising and fading country music stars that featured Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, first as rivals and later as friends, that had viewers flocking to iTunes (and other online music outlets) to download the new shows that were featured nearly every week; and,
* The Lizzie Bennet Diaries – The online streaming series was a modern-day retelling of the characters in the classic Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice told in “vlog-style” by Lizzie Bennet (Ashley Clements), who narrated the trials and tribulations of her family life with the help of her best friend (and aspiring filmmaker) Charlotte. The regular cast of characters were there including Mr. Darcy and his best friend Bing Lee and Lizzie’s sisters Jane and Lydia.
I should also make note that one of my favorite shows that year that seemed to be lacking in viewers was The CW remake of Nikita that starred Maggie Q in the title role and Shane West as Michael. The show consistently created unique and interesting stories for our lead character and plenty of kiss-ass moments. It definitely filled the Alias-sized hole in my heart.
On the opposite side of things the following shows came to an end during 2012:
* Eureka – The endearing Syfy series came to an end in July of that year, and here is the article that I wrote about the series five year run.
* Chuck – The fan favorite NBC series about an unlikely nerd turned spy that became a cult classic and was saved by fans (with a big assist from Subway), came to an end in January of 2012; and just like Eureka, I had to pay tribute to the show here.
* Leverage – The show came to an end on Christmas Day of that year, mainly due to low ratings, but not because fans didn’t love the show. In fact a couple weeks later, Leverage won the Favorite Cable TV Drama at the 39th Annual People’s Choice Awards.
Among some of the big TV moments that took place during 2012 included:
* The introduction of Kevin Tran (the adorable Osric Chau) as a prophet in Supernatural, who became a fan favorite character in the long-running thriller;
* The Vampire Diaries was in its 3rd season and was still a big hit during 2012; and the heat between human Elena and vampire Damon was pretty intense, culminating in Elena finally kissing Damon. Let the following video show you:
* Amy and Rory dying in the October episode of Doctor Who entitled “The Angels Take Manhattan,” where the couple sacrificed themselves to the Weeping Angels only to wake up in a graveyard in New York. Just as they thought they had won, a surviving weeping angel displaced Rory and a crying Amy said goodbye to her and Rory’s grown daughter Melody (aka River Song) and her raggedy man – the Doctor. You can see that final scene below:
Speaking of Doctor Who, the long-running series won the 3rd Fan Favorite cover of TV Guide Magazine in 2012. Check out the cover below:
In the summer of 2012, the first ever ATX Television Festival was held in Austin, Texas, celebrating and showcasing the past, present and future of the TV industry with screenings, Q&As, cast reunions and industry panel discussions that was described by its organizers as having “the functionality of a traditional film festival, and a blending of industry and fan events.”
On a more personal note, it was on Leap Day of 2012 that the world learned that singer-actor Davy Jones, a member of the 1960’s band The Monkees, had passed away. I had been (and continue to be) a fan of The Monkees – and especially Davy – since I was 8 years old when their TV show was reaired on Saturday mornings, along with my favorite cartoons, and I was hooked because of how fun and silly the show was; and I really enjoyed the music.
Later that year, the remaining members of the group – the late Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith – went on tour for the first time in over 15 years as a tribute to Davy. I went to one of those shows with two dear friends of mine, who were big fans of the group just like me.
[Left to right: Peter, Davy and MIcky]
As for the top box office movie, that honor went to Marvel’s The Avengers while the sleeper hit of 2012 was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Whereas, two of the worst movies of the year were John Carter and That’s My Boy.
I began making it a tradition in my year-end round-ups to highlight the faces of the year as well as faces to be on the look-out for in the year to come.
The following are just some of the faces that I picked for 2012 and 2013: Chadwick Boseman, Tatiana Maslany, Theo James, Alden Ehrenreich, Stephen Amell, Jenna-Louse Coleman and Sutton Foster.
The pictures didn’t come through on that year’s posts, like the previous two years (sorry!), so I apologize for that, but I’m pretty pleased with some of my selections:
COMING SOON: Salute to 2013
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