2015 TOOBITS AWARDS (PART THREE)

2015 TOOBITS AWARDS

It's that time of year again, when we all make lists and think back over the past year, in whatever field of interest concerns us, and chronicle the high points and the lows. For the past few years I've been presenting this compilation as an awards show, the Toobits, which of course celebrates my two bits about Toobworld.

As it is with any such list you'll find in TV columns across the country these last few weeks, these are my opinions. You're welcome to your own and I hope you'll share them, but I'm sticking to my weapons of choice. (It could be you won't see something that was a favorite of yours because I just never got around to seeing it. There's only so much time in the world - even for a do-nothing-else-anyway sort like me! - and I've only got the two eyes, even if they do operate independantly of each other at times.)

Unlike the Emmy Awards which will just keep handing out trophies to some shows forever, only shows, characters and what-not that debuted in 2015 can be considered. (And by "debuted", I mean that which I first came in contact with in 2015. It could be a few years old, but if it's my first time seeing it, it's new.)

This one-time-only rule includes characters who have been recast; those are still the same characters who already exist in Toobworld. (But there were a few notable appearances that deserved honorable mention, and they get it.)

So without further ado, let's have at it:

THE BEST CHARACTERS OF 2015

BEST RECASTAWAY

OVERALLJason Gideon, 'Criminal Minds'

FEMALE

'Jessica Jones'

The casting agents for this show went all out to make the 13 year old Jessica look just like her adult self.  And kudos to Elizabeth Cappucino for making us believe she was Jessica after Kristen Ritter had indelibly made the role her own.

MALE

IMPORT:
Ross Poldark, 'Poldark'
Robin Ellis will always be Poldark for me, but Aidan Turner certainly brought um... certain qualities to garner modern appreciations for his interpretation.

DOMESTIC:
Matt Murdock, 'Daredevil'
Anything would have been better than the Daredevil who met the Hulk back in the Eighties (Being TV fixated, I don't have to render a verdict on Ben Affleck's version.), but Charlie Cox neatly differentiated the blind lawyer from his avenging do-gooder.

WORST RECASTAWAY
Pop Pop Goldberg, 'The Goldbergs'

BEST HISTORICAL RECASTAWAY
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 'Arthur & George'

WORST HISTORICAL RECASTAWAY

Mark Twain, 'The Murdoch Mysteries'

BEST NEW MALE CHARACTER

DRAMA
Brian Finch, 'Limitless'

COMEDY
Senator Gil John Biggs, ;Alpha House'

BEST NEW FEMALE CHARACTER

DRAMA
Jessica Jones, 'AKA Jessica Jones'

COMEDY
Kimmy Schmidt, 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'

IMPORT
Dicte Svendsen, 'Dicte'

SPECIAL CATEGORY 
Gigi Rotblum, 'Gigi Does It'

WORST NEW CHARACTER
Robyn, 'Jessica Jones'
I wasn't crazy about her twin brother Reuben either, but at least he got killed off early on by Kilgrave.  I don't want to say it was Colby Minifie's acting that made this character so annoying, because I was not a very good actor myself back in the day.  (I'd have to see Minifie in something else to be sure.)  It's more likely Robyn was ill-served by the dialogue and plot actions given to her.  I'm afraid we'll see more of her in season two, as I got the feeling they were setting her up to be a girlfriend for Malcolm Ducasse......

BEST NEW MALE SUPPORTING CHARACTER

DRAMA
"The Gentleman", 'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell'

COMEDY
Titus Andromedan, 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'

BEST NEW SUPPORTING FEMALE CHARACTER

DRAMA
Tricia "Patsy" Walker, 'Jessica Jones'

COMEDY

Lillian, 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'

BEST NEW RECURRING MALE CHARACTER

Karl Weathers, 'Fargo'

BEST NEW RECURRING FEMALE CHARACTER

Eve Rothlow, 'How To Get Away With Murder'

BEST NEW CHARACTER ADAPTED FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM

Killgrave the Purple Man, 'AKA Jessica Jones'

BEST CROSSOVER CHARACTER FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM

Senator Edward Morra, 'Limitless'

BEST NEW CAST ENSEMBLE

IMPORT
'Fortitude'

DOMESTIC
'Fargo' - Season Two

COMEDY
'Alpha House'

BEST ADDITION TO AN EXISTING CAST

MALE

DRAMA
The High Sparrow, 'Game Of Thrones'

COMEDY (MORE OR LESS)
Ray Spiewak

FEMALE

Jocelyn Knight, 'Broadchurch'

BEST NEW GUEST APPEARANCE

FEMALE
Karsi, 'Game Of Thrones'

MALE
Stick, 'Daredevil'

BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER

Kublai Khan, 'Marco Polo'

WORST HISTORICAL CHARACTER

Mark Twain, 'The Murdoch Mysteries'

BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER REVISION

Ariq Böke, 'Marco Polo'

BEST NEW ALIEN CHARACTER

Karellan, 'Childhood's End'

And by "new", I mean new to television; the book has been around for decades.  For thirty-five years, my imagination's rendering of the Overlords was based on Wayne Barlowe's depiction in his "Guide to Extraterrestrials".  But even if the overall design suggests Tim Curry in "Legend" (which is another universe anyway), Charles Dance's acting overcomes the make-up and prosthetics to make Karellan believable.

BEST NEW ALIEN RACE
The Overlords, 'Childhood's End'
See the remark above regarding Karellan.

BEST NEW PUPPET CHARACTER
Julia, 'Sesame Street'

CHARACTER MOST DESERVING TO BECOME A REGULAR/
CHARACTER MOST DESERVING TO GET THEIR OWN SPIN-OFF

Lady Me, 'Doctor Who'

BEST NEW COMMERCIAL CHARACTER

Hannah's Horse, 'DirecTV'

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE

DRAMA

Bob Schieffer & Madeleine Albright, 'Madam Secretary'

COMEDY

Adam Nimoy, 'The Big Bang Theory'
Cindy Crawford, 'Cougar Town'

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN A COMMERCIAL

Lenny Kravitz & James Franco, Guitar Hero

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN SKITLANDIA
Biff Henderson, 'Late Night With Jimmy Kimmel'

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN THE TOONIVERSE

Conan O'Brien, 'Archer'

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE ONLINE
Jim Morris, 'Alpha House'

BEST TELEVERSION
(SKITLANDIA)
Senator Bernie Sanders, 'Saturday Night Live'

(TOOBWORLD)
Governor Ronald Reagan, 'Fargo'

SPECIAL CATEGORY
Rin Tin Tin, 'Drunk History'

BEST CHARACTER RETURN

Drama:

Riggsy, 'Doctor Who'
Osgood, 'Doctor Who'

Sitcom:

Former Senator Vernon Smith, 'Alpha House'

Skitlandia:
Ed Grimley, 'Saturday Night Live'

BEST CHARACTER RETURN IN A CROSSOVER
MALE
John Constantine, 'Arrow'

FEMALE
Claire Temple, 'Jessica Jones'

BEST CHARACTER RETURN ONLINE

Mary Ann Summers, "She's Still On That Freaking Island"

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES RETURN

All of the "reporters" (plus Craig Kilborn, former host!), 'The Daily Show'

BEST ALIEN RETURN

The Zygons, 'Doctor Who'

BEST NEW MALE VILLAIN

Kilgrave ("The Purple Man"), 'AKA Jessica Jones'

Close runner-up:
Wilson Fisk ("The Kingpin"), 'Daredevil'

BEST HISTORICAL VILLAIN

Jia Sidao, 'Marco Polo'

BEST NEW FEMALE VILLAIN
Madame Gao, 'Daredevil'

BEST NEW SERLINGUIST
The Prince and the Unicorn, "Potty Pooper" commercial

BEST THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY
OVERALL
Tag & Dutch Spence, 'The Middle'
Who better to play brothers than two actual brothers?  Jerry Van Dyke is a recurring character on the show and Dick Van Dyke showed up as his brother.

SKITLANDIA
'The Soup' finale
Joel & his "grandmother"

BEST RELATEEVEETY CASTING
'Better Call Saul'
Jimmy and Chuck McGill

BEST THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY BETWEEN DIFFERENT MEDIUM
Prince Kuragin, 'Downton Abbey'
(Linking him to Prince Kuragin of "War And Peace")