Dan’s Top 100 Everything: Where Were We?

dan-pointing-at-dans-top-100-everything

Dan showing off his Top 100 Everything

I took a summer hiatus from putting together my Top 100 Everything, as my full-time job has a considerable uptick in stress and effort. But now that it’s back-to-school season, I can start planning my autumn free time, which will include a significant number of hours wrapping up my seemingly interminable countdown.

Here’s a refresher on everything I’ve covered in my “Top 100 Everything” thus far — all but the Top 20:

(You can also peek at my Breakdown By Medium, which I just put together, as a refresher.)

Kicking off the countdown at #100, I supported Count Gauntly’s Horrors From the Public Domain, the magnificent creation of Earn This writer Brian.

The 90s

I lamented the short, strange life and unmarketable premise of HBO’s curious Enlightened.

I weighed Rolling Stone‘s upsides and downsides, and remembered the many arguments it caused in college.

I slammed and jammed along with these Space Jam Remixes.

I praised both the book and movie of It’s Kind of a Funny Story, a reflection on depression, shortly before author Ned Vizzini took his own life.

I basked in the engrossing “grand strategy” of Paradox Development Studio‘s huge, addictive games.

I begrudgingly admitted the appeal of LOST, even though I never finished the series.

I admired the roguish career of piano man Ben Folds.

I learned the correct pronunciation of the word “youths” in My Cousin Vinny.

I swooned over the unconventional romance and well-acted adaptation of The Spectacular Now.

I chronicled the evolution of the 2D Mario Platformers, and revealed my favorite in the series.

The 80s

I admitted a guilty pleasure of the pristine pop craft of ‘N Sync and Justin Timberlake.

I wondered if New Girl would still be on the list if I made it a few years from now.

I tackled the “art vs. artist” dilemma of pop producer legend Phil Spector.

I reminisced about my mornings reading The Washington Post Sports Section.

I scaramouched along with the crazy-fun rockers Queen.

I pondered the haunting drama novel Never Let Me Go.

I tipped my hat to the warm chemistry and gentle barbs of Nickelodeon sitcom Drake and Josh.

I cited Taylor Swift as my favorite pop musician of the past decade.

I honored the intelligent criticism (and dick jokes) of Zero Punctuation reviews.

I revisited the heart-melting effect that coming-of-age graphic novel Blankets had on me.

The 70s

I traced my musical taste to “Dad’s Classic Rock” musicians like Stevie Wonder.

I expressed my mixed reaction, but ultimate appreciation for Weezer‘s strange career arc.

I parsed Judd Apatow‘s film career, sharing my movie-by-movie opinion.

I thanked TV critic Alan Sepinwall for his indispensable episode recaps.

I pined for California courtesy that fantastic first season of The OC.

I selected The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker as my favorite in the 27-year-old game series.

I deferred proper effusion towards U2 to Grant, our resident Bono-head.

I recounted the curious path to greatness of The Social Network.

I remembered the good old days of game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly.

I sighed that, yes, of course I love Arrested Development.

The 60s

I narrated the story of all-time great power pop group, Big Star.

I celebrated the goofy, upbeat fun of spy-action-comedy show Chuck.

I soaked in the craziness of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, the bonkers and brilliant animated gem.

I “played a Village, drew a Village” in Dominion and its expansions, one of my favorite games.

I appreciated the understated tone of coming-of-age winner Adventureland.

I enumerated the wacky ways I extended the shelf life of the NBA 2K series.

I addressed The Wire‘s reputation as the greatest TV show of all time… and why it lives up to the hype.

I encouraged readers to watch The Usual Suspects before reading my post.

I reveled in the addictive computer game series, Mount and Blade.

I shared fifteen of my favorite moments from the Harry Potter Movies.

The 50s

I jumped around to the punk-cover bashings of supergroup Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.

I soared away with the adventure-filled How to Train Your Dragon.

I skanked around with the relentless ska stalwarts Reel Big Fish.

I immersed myself in my favorite Final Fantasy sagas.

I guffawed at the funniest quotes from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

I made a note here: “Huge success,” when considering the Portal games.

I mourned the early demise of singer-songwriter Jim Croce.

I found a lot to like in both the comedy and the creative spirit of Louis CK.

I embedded a lot of YouTube clips from the sophomoric comedy Dumb and Dumber.

I listed some of my favorite songs by non-favorite artists in my personal “one-hit wonders.

The 40s

I broke down the reasons I enjoy and admire the work of sportswriter Bill Simmons.

I embraced the drama (and theme song) of the HBO show Game of Thrones.

I considered the digital crack cocaine that is PopCaps’ Peggle.

I walked through the first of three consecutive geeky film trilogies on my list, Indiana Jones.

I continued my exploration of geeky film trilogies with Back to the Future.

I capped my trilogy of geeky film trilogies with a look at Star Wars. (There’s only one Star Wars trilogy to speak of.)

I eulogized the late, great film critic — and general inpsiration — who is Roger Ebert.

I didn’t give a damn about my bad reputation as I discussed cult classic, one-season wonder Freaks and Geeks.

I marveled at the sprawl and depth of pop culture analysis site The AV Club.

I stuck up for the oft-criticized, seminal sportswriter Rick Reilly.

The 30s

I tried to figure out why the hell I love The Sims 3 so much.

I acknowledged that life finds a way in my appraisal of the eternal dino flick Jurassic Park.

I analyzed why Agricola is my favorite board game.

I cheered on fantastic protagonist Lyra Belacqua in fantasy book trilogy His Dark Materials.

I cringed (gloriously) at the British comedy masterpiece The Office (BBC).

I recalled my many glorious college nights playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

I waxed nostalgic over the Newbery Medal Winners of my youth.

I wished that more people would remember how great Oasis was their first few years.

I paid tribute to the superhero series that Gotham deserves, not the one it needs right now, The Dark Knight Trilogy.

I figured the sublime first few seasons of How I Met Your Mother outweighed the average later seasons.

The 20s

I felt infinite like Charlie in the one-of-a-kind epistolary novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

I “let the word paint a thousand pictures” courtesy Kanye West‘s trailblazing career.

I poured adulation upon the Disney Renaissance movies that defined my childhood.

I confessed, though, that A Goofy Movie deserves its own special memorial on my countdown.

I gave my love to Parks and Recreation, perhaps the best pure sitcom of the past decade.

I told the up-and-down saga of Community, the unique TV sitcom.

I promised not to lie about my love of ’90s rock band Eve 6.

I singled out Avatar: The Last Airbender as one of the best examples of all-ages storytelling and entertainment.

I said “screw it” and ranked the strange kids’ comedy Ned’s Declassified just one spot out of the top twenty.

The Top 20

 

So, what things will crack my top 20? You’ll get to see this fall!

I’ve put together a “sneak peek” of sorts on my Breakdown by Medium — You can see how many entries remain in the different media.
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Dan and Brian from Earn This now have a film review site and podcast:

The Goods: Film Reviews

The Goods: A Film Podcast

Available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, and more.

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