The Decade (Part 2)

Here is the second part of the decade's bests and most memorable things. View the first part here.

Best Computer Games
10. Poker Stars (PC). It was poker frenzy dating back to 2005 as the World Poker Tour was avidly watched by a lot of people. We were playing poker by writing the scores/number of chips in a piece of paper (thus, testing our mathematical skills). Poker Stars was the favorite then because we are usually online anyway and we love to chat. I can still recall Jeb trashtalking the foreigners in our poker table.
9. Bioshock (XBox 360)
8. Marvel Ultimate Alliance (XBox 360). I love to play superhero games ever since I was a child (I used to try borrowing my friend’s SNES Spider-Man game even if it does not have a cartridge cover anymore). However, there were several failed superhero titles. Thus, MUA was the perfect game for superhero fans who want to play all their characters together in one game. Also, Marvel > DC.
7. Guitar Hero World Tour / Beatles Rock Band / Guitar Hero 5 (XBox 360)
6. Grand Theft Auto 4 (XBox 360)
5. NBA 2K8 (XBox 360)
4. Utopia (PC)
3. Warcraft III (PC). The game that started our college barkada.
2. Fantasy NBA (PC)

1. Defense of the Ancients (PC). If Warcraft III was the game that built our friendship, DotA was what made it even stronger. Heck, we got to bond with our batchmates better because of this game. It was that phenomenal.

Best TV Shows

On the cusp: Prison Break, Mad TV

10. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I may have overrated this or not, but Buffy was that TV show that I tried to follow when I was not yet into foreign TV shows. It is quite ironic that the decade started with the craze on a hot vampire slayer but it ended with every girl going gaga on vampires.
9. The Family Guy. My favorite cartoon show of the decade. Yes, The Family Guy trumps The Simpsons this decade because of the former’s wickedly, straight-to-the-point humor.
8. Entourage. Very addictive show about an actor and his buddies living in one roof. Rating the awesomeness level from one to Christina Hendricks nude scene, this show is Christina Hendricks nude scene awesome because of the following reasons: Ari Gold-E arguments, nude scenes, party scenes, and a unique central plot.
7. Mad Men. One of the best plots ever. Very good screenplay as well
6. American Idol
5. Heroes
4. That ‘70s Show. Awesome show + 70s theme setting + Very funny punchlines
3. Grey’s Anatomy
2. Lost
1. How I Met Your Mother. This show edges the other two from the Top 3 because of one reason: HIMYM never had a weak season. There was always something memorable on each season. Also, this is the show that has the highest rewatchability for me.

Favorite TV Characters
The Best Actors and Actresses were rated based on their acting abilities. In this category, I am ranking my most liked or the coolest characters. There is no definitive criteria in here other than my favoritism on them. Of course, I prefer female celebrities because they have boobs but I will try to be fair here and put more premium on those characters I could relate more/or are just awesome
10. Donald Draper (Mad Men). How does a lying and a womanizing guy become likeable as a character? Uhmm… when he is Donald Draper – the mind of Sterling Cooper. Mad Men showcases flawed and very flawed characters anyway.
9. Dr. Lexie Grey (Grey’s Anatomy). Prettiest chick in TV today.
8. Buffy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The only reason why I watched the show. I do not even remember the plot.
7. Ari Gold (Entourage). He is a conniving and a badass guy. He also cusses a lot. So? What’s important is that he is funny.
6. Elle Bishop (Heroes). This is the last time I will take into account my shallowness by putting an irresistible cutie in this list. Of course, it is Kristen Bell! My Top 4 chick of the decade.
5. Jack Shephard (Lost). He used to be the role model of this superb TV series by being the leader of the castaways. However, his flaws and his emo attitude then was the reason why I was able to relate with him.
4. Ted Mosby (How I Met Your Mother)
3. Brian (The Family Guy). The dog is the funniest character in the family! Yes, Brian is very hilarious because of his monotonous, low voice and serious attitude which becomes extremely funny whenever he switches to his funny side. We all love serious characters when they become comic.
2. Eric Forman (That ‘70s Show)
1. Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother). Yup, I am putting him on top of this list even if I do not fully relate to him. Why? Because the Barney character is on a level of its own.

Best Sportsmen/Athletes
This ranking is just limited to NBA-UAAP-MLB-Boxing-Golf-Formula One. I used to watch Tennis and I believe that Roger Federer deserves to be in the Top Three of this list but I did not follow the sport this decade. Let’s not be hypocrite so I will stick to the sports I have followed. You may contest that Floyd Mayweather should be in here but because he was not that good of a role model as Manny Pacquiao was, Pretty Boy Floyd slips out just like KG.
10. Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat). Playing a Jordanesque performance in the 2006 NBA Finals warrants him a spot in this list. Oh wait, MJ never had such a performance either! Wade was your modern-day Spider-man in that series because despite the fact that they were down 0-2 and the Mavs were the better team on paper, he was able to carry his team singlehandedly.
9. Arwind Santos (FEU Tamaraws). Best UAAP basketball player of the decade.
8. Fernando Alonso (Renault). The other important F1 player in the double-zero decade. Well, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen were also remarkable but Alonso won the championships while Schumi was still racing.
7. LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers). He singlehandedly resurrected hoops in Cleveland and has been such a dominating force in the NBA today. His leadership and charisma were also unbelievable because LBJ is so young yet he plays more mature than most old guys in the league.
6. Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals). Best baseball player of the decade.
5. Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs). I hate him but he truly belongs here. The Big Fundamental has also been
4. Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers). He is not a good role model because of the rape incident but his accomplishments are just too great to be left out. Let’s just say that he should be in the Top Two if he did not mess up.
3. Tiger Woods. Should be Numero Uno but his latest debacle downgrades him. But going down just two spots just shows that Tiger was the dominating force of the decade. Professional Golf generally suffers without him.
2. Manny Pacquiao
1. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari). Schumi became the best driver in Formula One ever in the past decade by winning five driver’s championships. There were some controversies but as compared to other athletes in this list, these controversies paled in comparison.

Best Albums
10. Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane
9. My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge
8. Fall Out Boy - From Under The Cork Tree
7. Fall Out Boy - Take This To Your Grave
6. The Used - The Used
5. Paramore – Riot
4. The Smashing Pumpkins - Rotten Apples: Greatest Hits
3. Paramore - All We Know Is Falling
2. Paramore - Brand New Eyes
1. Jimmy Eat World - Futures

Best Movies

On the cusp: The Blind Side, Spider-man, Adaptation

10. Stranger Than Fiction.
9. The Matrix Reloaded. Very philosophical.
8. Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith. This generation’s Star Wars trilogy was considerably weaker than the ‘70s and early ‘80s trilogy but the last effort was the best for this generation’s trilogy. Of course, it had nothing to go but up after the disappointing Star Wars 2. Thus, the dark tale that surrounded Star Wars 3 appealed me (this is notable because my expectations were high as I am a huge Star Wars fan since I grew up watching the flicks in VHS)
7. Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King. The LOTR books were snoozefests to me but the blockbuster films made the franchise stronger. Movie versions are normally weaker than the book versions but LOTR was the exception as LOTR 3 was well-played and well-made (Thank God, the gay acts of Frodo and Sam were downplayed in the movies – yes, if you think that they were gross in the flick, you have to be thankful that you did not read those parts in the novels)
6. Ratatouille
5. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. This movie was very influential to me as I initially used the ‘stay classy’ line in my Multiply site. Will Ferrell also had a stellar acting as Ron Burgundy in here that put him into the legendary list of best comedians of all-time. This is a must-watch for comedy lovers.
4. Spider-man 2. The best flick in the trilogy of the decade.
3. (500) Days of Summer
2. Remember the Titans. Most heartwarming sports flick this decade. Remember the Titans crosses socio-political and historical barriers. Ending was also realistic and was able to resolve the best aspect of the movie (camaraderie – not achieving in sports)
1. The Dark Knight. I am not a Batman fan and I have grown to get sick of mediocre Batman movies in the ‘90s. Yet, I am ranking this movie the best of the decade. Why? Because it’s got everything – plot, acting, action sequences, the ‘it’ thing and the message.

To be continued... (yes, you read it right. I am not yet finished. Last decade was just so memorable that it deserves three separate blog entries)