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December 28, 2012

Heather Bremer: Favorite things from 2012

By Heather Bremer For The Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON, Ind. — Before we start looking forward to all the geeky goodness coming our way in 2013, let’s take a look back at an amazing year in entertainment. Here are a few of my favorite things from 2012, the year we weren’t annihilated by Mayan, zombie or any other apocalypses.

1. “Avengers” assemble and Hulk-smash the box office — Was there any doubt Joss Whedon’s “The Avengers” would be No. 1 on this list? A rollicking ride with comics’ greatest superheroes, the film raked in $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office and proved a great team film was possible. It was a dream come true for comics fans and shwarma makers everywhere.    

2. Mickey and Minnie welcome Vader and Yoda to the family — With Disney’s purchase of George Lucas’ entire Star Wars empire, there are once again new SW movies on the horizon, not to mention TV series and other special projects. It may seem like joining the Dark Side but I couldn’t have imagined one of my favorite franchises falling into better hands.

3. Indy the Super City — The arrival of Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis transformed the heart of the city into a football fan’s playground. I spent a super 33rd birthday celebration at a live taping of “The Dan Patrick Show,” watched celebrities come and go in the media center, had my picture taken with the Lombardi Trophy and crowded into Georgia Street with 10,000 of my closest friends for the Darius Rucker concert. Super, indeed.

4. Castle + Beckett = Caskett — Sometimes uniting two love interests can be a show’s downfall. But the clever writers of “Castle” have kept the show rolling, the highlight being the sci-fi convention episode with plenty of nods to “Firefly.”

5. “Hunger Games” finds the odds in its favor — A teen novel series worth exploring, “The Hunger Games” outshines “Twilight” in every way. Here’s to the fantastic beginning of this great franchise and the end of sparkly vampires and mopey heroines.

6. HIMYM Christmas episode leaves us in tears, again — “How I Met Your Mother” fans were sobbing after last year’s Christmas episode revealed that Robin could never have children. This year, fans were weeping tears of joy as Barney ran the last play in his playbook, The Robin, and proposed to Robin on a rooftop overlooking the city. Best holiday episodes on TV.

7. Spidey reborn in “Amazing” skin — Darker with less Sunday funnies sheen, the reboot featuring Andrew Garfield as “Amazing Spider-Man” was closer to the “Ultimate Spider-Man” web-slinger I’d come to love.

8. Batman saga reaches epic conclusion — “The Dark Knight Rises” capped a three-film Batman franchise that changed the way we think of the comic book film genre. It’s hard to image where the Caped Crusader goes from here without Christopher Nolan.

9. Here comes a pageant princess with attitude — I’m not a fan of “Toddlers & Tiaras.” But when the series inspired “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” it added something worthwhile to the world. The series and its tiny star may be all that’s wrong with reality TV, but it makes me laugh. And sometimes that’s all you need.

10. #CHUCKSTRONG — It was amazing to see a team, city, state and nation rally around Colts head coach Chuck Pagano when he was diagnosed with leukemia. Now that Coach is back, let’s carry the spirit of #CHUCKSTRONG into 2013 and the playoffs!

Heather Bremer, a former Herald Bulletin reporter/designer, writes a weekly column on movies, television and pop culture. Contact her at heatherebremer@yahoo.com.

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