Week in Geek: The Best of 2011 Geekery

It’s a new year; to celebrate we cast a look back at 2011. While not the best year ever (anybody else?), it did give geekdom everywhere some mighty fine presents. Here it is, the top 10 geeky things of 2011. 

10. American Horror Story - It’s not often that a horror TV show can actually freak horror fans out. American Horror Story managed it repeatedly. It blended a combination of horror tropes and true stories to make a wildly fascinating and obsession-inspiring show. Between the appearances of the Black Dahlia and the Columbine shooting, there was a lot to disturb audiences. If nothing else, the grace and style with which Jessica Lange both seduces and unnerves the audience is remarkable. The show was recently nominated for the Best Television Series category at the Golden Globes, as well as Jessica Lange for Best Supporting Actress. 

9. Tiger & Bunny - What would a list on an anime site be without some anime? Of the shows that inspired obsession this year, “Tiger & Bunny” certainly makes my list. Based off a lot of American comic book tropes but with a definite Japanese flair, the buddy hero action show brought us one of the more shocking moments this anime season, as well as a cast of good guys worthy of cheering for. The wait between episodes was painful and the resolution of the drama was always sweet. The show had excellent action while warming fan’s hearts; 2012 brings us sequels - one of the reasons why 2012 looks to be shaping up nicely. 

8. New 52 - DC comics took a major step towards revitalizing a struggling industry by rebooting 52 of their best books. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and all the DC superstars reeled back to a place of not of origin stories, but beginnings nonetheless. The timeline was wobbly, Harley got slutted up, Batman got his freak on and Lois Lane got a new love interest. It was almost enough to make a fan wonder if DC did it knowing  that comic fans would buy books by the ton just to bitch about how bad the reboot was. But by God, it drove sales and was all anyone could talk about for a good long while. Mission accomplished. 

7. Madoka Magica - It wasn’t the magical girl anime we were expecting; it was something far better. From the strange and fascinating art to the storyline that put magical girls in a whole new predicament - one where their intentions count for nothing - “Madoka” blew us all out of the water. It also brought us Kyubey, a cat-thing whose motives are hotly debated and merchandising potential is unmatched. The moe coursed through that show like the force through a Jedi, and when it came to Saimoe time, the girls swept, with Mami taking the crown. 

6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - The first wave of mourning for the end of the “Harry Potter” series came after the publication of the last book. Many fans got by telling themselves that at least the movies were still coming. With part two of “Deathly Hallows,” even that last little thread of hope was taken away. What fans got instead was two plus hours of the biggest battle mugglekind had ever seen. If watching Neville bloom into a badass didn’t make fans well up, the deaths did the trick. Snape’s final scene in the film was forceful, and easily the most powerful scene in the entire movie. It was a remarkable adaptation, well worth the hype and the wait. What we lost in more stuff to look forward to we gained in seeing our heroes meet their sweet ending, and a feeling that finally, whether on the page or the screen, the day was won and our heroes lived happily ever after. 

5. Who is River Song? - It was a mystery three years in the making. She stepped out of her space suit, gave David Tennant’s tenth Doctor a knowing smile and said, “Hello, sweetie.” From that moment, fans were taken. Who was this curly-haired misfit who knew The Doctor’s secrets? How does her timeline work against his? How does she fit in with the other companions? River Song has been the biggest mystery in the reign of the eleventh Doctor (as portrayed by Matt Smith and designed by show runner Steven Moffat). In “A Good Man Goes To War,” we got what we waited so long to know. Time traveler, daughter, wife. River Song’s secret is out, and though it should lessen some of her allure, it makes her feel even more like a member of the family of companions. She is an enigma no more - now she is loved for being known. 

4. Nyan Cat - He may be irritating now, but by God, in April of 2011 that damned cat was everywhere. With a happy smile, a Pop Tart body and a rainbow tail, Nyan Cat zoomed through space and into that magical place in pop culture where adoration and annoyance are one and the same. He appeared on commercials, in Android and iPhone downloadable games, on infinite loop on YouTube and in every nook and cranny of the internet. Whether it was his whimsy that caught the world’s attention or that earworm of a song, he came, he nyaned, he conquered. Nyan Cat joins Rick Astley and rage faces in that level of pop culture saturation that is reserved for stuff you’ll still remember when you’re suffering from old-age dementia, far after you forget your own name. 

3. Thor - Who saw that coming? In the early days of the film, we understood the necessity of a Thor movie, to set up The Avengers. But man, all those thous and wilts, and then Shakespearian actor/director Kenneth Branagh was brought on board to direct? It could have gone very, very wrong. I mean, it’s not like it’s Iron Man. What happened instead was a thing of beauty (and I don’t mean Natalie Portman). Chris Hemsworth buffed up to the point where his costume didn’t fit right anymore and they put Idris Elba on the rainbow bridge, cast Sir Anthony Hopkins as Odin and gave Hemsworth a big goddamn hammer. Amongst a summer of “Green Lantern” and even fellow Avenger “Captain America,” Thor ruled. We watched Hemsworth beat the shit out of a lot of guys and Loki act like a sneaky little fucker. It was pure, unadulterated geeky delight, and by God, it was good. 

2. Skyrim - When the world was taken with the launch of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,” (which sold 6.5 million copies in 24 hours in the US and UK making it the biggest video game release of all time), not a lot of people were talking about the fifth “Elder Scrolls” game that landed just 6 days earlier. Boy, did that change. It was most apparent on sites like Memebase, wherein the front page was suddenly overwhelmed with “And then I took an arrow to the knee” jokes. You know, when they weren’t “Fus ro dah!” jokes. “Skyrim” quickly took over the video game world; often lauded as the Game of the Year. In this gamer’s mind, it was. It would take an awful lot to de-throne “MW3,” but “Skyrim” was armed for battle. It may not have made as much money, but it’s 300+ hours of gameplay, vast world and utterly gorgeous graphics made it untouchable. 

1. Game of Thrones - This year may as well have been the year of George R.R. Martin. Between the HBO series and the fifth book in the “Song of Ice and Fire” series, “Game of Thrones” makes the top of my list as the geekiest thing to happen in 2011. In April, HBO unveiled one of the best shows that ever hit TV (yeah, I said it). For ten glorious weeks we lost ourselves in Westeros, in a world of White Walkers and Dragons, Direwolves and Lions, Mountains and Hounds. The show, like the series, showed us it meant business by killing off main character after main character. It brought incest to television, monsters, child-murder, and more political intrigue and backstabbing than “The Oval Office” crossed with “Gossip Girl.” The series garnered 13 Emmy nominations, including outstanding drama series and a win for Peter Dinklage for best supporting actor in a drama series for the role of Tyrion Lannister. When the Golden Globe nominations came down just a few weeks ago, Dinklage was nominated again for his role as Tyrion - the show was also nominated for best drama series. “Game of Thrones” made a new wave of devoted fans who tore into the series like rabid dogs. For the faithful, Martin gave another gift: book five, “A Dance With Dragons.” After book four, which left out some of the most beloved characters in the series, fans welcomed them back in book five and watched several of the main characters begin their spin into each other’s orbit and the story begin aligning itself for the big end. While there are still two more books to go (unless Martin changes his mind and lengthens it again), his methodic, intricate plot is coming together; he may have taken us places we did not see coming, but we are mightily pleased to be there.