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 2017:
A couple of the more memorable shows that debuted during that year included:
* The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – In the late 1950s Miriam “Midge” Maisel has everything she has ever wanted: the perfect husband, two kids and an elegant apartment on New York’s Upper West Side. Her seemingly idyllic life takes a surprising turn when she discovers a hidden talent she didn’t previously know she had — stand-up comedy. This revelation changes her life forever as she begins a journey that takes her from her comfortable life on the Upper West Side through the cafes and nightclubs of Greenwich Village as she makes her way through the city’s comedy industry on a path that could ultimately lead her to a spot on the “Tonight Show” couch.
* The Handmaid’s Tale – Based on the 1985 novel, the streaming series is set in a dystopian future, where a woman (Elizabeth Moss) is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship. The first season won 8 Emmy Awards among countless others.
It was in 2017 that the end came for the following drama:
* Grimm – This fairytale drama came to an end after 6 seasons on NBC with a very twisty series finale that found Nick literally losing everyone he cares about because of the final season’s big bad: Zerstorer. But in the end, Nick – with a little unexpected help – he is able to defeat this devil; but then he’s swept through a vortex back to moment before the final war with Zerstorer was waged without the devil coming with them. In the final scene, it’s 20 years later with the second generation – little Diana all grown up, baby Kelly grown up and looking much like his dad and the triplets of Monroe and Rosalee – working together with their parents to continue the work of the grimm.
There were also a couple of disappointments that year as well:
* Marvel’s Inhumans – Given all the success of the Marvel films, ABC was determined to get a successful series on the air – other than the mediocre success of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. [primarily in terms of ratings] – and you would think that the new 2017 series Marvel’s Inhumans would have done just that given how famous these characters are in the comic book world. Unfortunately, the show was disappointing, a ratings failure and for many it was dull.
* Prison Break: Resurrection – When Prison Break debuted in 2005 it was a breakout (no pun intended) hit; but the same cannot be said for this limited event series that took place 8 years after the series finale in 2009.
There were a couple big TV events that took place in 2017:
Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak AND Barry Allen and Iris West got married in a joint impromptu ceremony with John Diggle preceding. This event took place during the big crossover episode of all the DC Comics-based shows that were airing on The CW at the time entitled ‘Crisis on Earth-X.’
Here is the video of that ceremony:
Fans of Downton Abbey and the character Matthew Crawley saw a VERY different side of actor Dan Stevens when he starred in the new FX series Legion where he played David Haller, the mutant son of Professor Charles Xavier (of the Marvel franchise X-Men) and Gabrielle Haller. David was a troubled young man diagnosed as schizophrenic, but after a strange encounter, he discovered special powers that would change his life forever.
The remarkably moving albeit short-lived series Underground featured amazing performances by actress Amirah Vann, who portrayed Ernestine and Aisha Hinds, who portrayed Harriet Tubman.
Hinds was so moving, in fact, she was chosen by the folks at TV Line as the Performer of the Week.
Another big event to take place in 2017 was the resurrection of the NBC series Timeless that was cancelled by NBC but then three days later the network changed course, giving the show 10 more episodes. This kind of rescue is extremely rare, but the cast, creative minds and fans were very happy about the additional episodes.
Our photographer Dom was in attendance, once again, at that year’s ATX Festival in Austin, snapping pictures of the reunion of Battlestar Galactica.
You can see his pictures from that panel here.
It was also in 2017 that I attended – for the last time for quite some time – both Wonder Con in Anaheim, California and San Diego Comic Con. I have to admit it was hard to give up attending the events after going to them every year for so very long, but the expense was just getting to be too much. However, I quickly learned how much easier it is to cover the events right from home thanks to all the outlets that are covering the two events, as well as coverage from Roz and Dom who have helped out with pictures and stories from both cons.
The top movie at the box office in 2017 was Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens while Wonder Woman thrilled audiences all over the globe. Meanwhile two of the worst movies for the year were CHiPs and Father Figures.
Following in the tradition, I had started a number of years earlier, I selected a group of interesting people as part of my faces of the year and new faces to be on the look out for in the new year.
Some of the people I picked for 2017 included: Florence Pugh, Keala Settle, Zoey Deutch, Dafne Keen, McKenna Grace, Kathryn Newton and Kumail Nanjiani.
COMING SOON: Salute to 2018
