Remembering 2015: TV analysis

The year 2015 has been quite an impact for our daily lives ranging from the good news, better news, the best news, the bad news, the worst news, and everything we laid our eyes on. Now it's the ideal time for this blog to write down the analysis on what's what over the year 2015.

From newest additions, returning favorites, and bitter ends, nothing can amaze the televiewers than the best of television moments of the year 2015. Let's analyze what's what.

According to Facebook, the ten best TV shows watched by viewers in 2015 were HBO's Game of Thrones, AMC's The Walking Dead (including its origin series Fear The Walking Dead), Comedy Central's The Daily Show (from Jon Stewart's departure to the arrival of new presenter Trevor Noah), NBC's Saturday Night Live (which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year), WWE Raw, The Simpsons, 19 Kids and Counting, Grey's Anatomy, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black.

In the tumblr side, the twenty most reblogged live action TV shows of the year are Supernatural, Parks and Recreation, Orange is the New Black, Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, Doctor Who, Teen Wolf, Game of Thrones, Once Upon a Time, The 100, Sherlock, Pretty Little Liars, The Walking Dead, Hannibal, Orphan Black, RuPaul's Drag Race, Agent Carter, How To Get Away With Murder, Daredevil and Agents of SHIELD.

Also, the most reblogged cartoon shows of the year, according to tumblr, are Steven Universe, Gravity Falls (thanks to the Weirdmageddon specials, with the series finale due next year), The Legend of Korra (on its final chapter of the show), Avatar, Bob's Burgers, Spongebob Squarepants (anyone seen the Sponge out of Water film?), The Simpsons, Over the Garden Wall mini-series, Adventure Time (following the Stakes special episodes discovering Marceline's secret origins), Adult Swim's Rick and Morty, Disney XD's new show Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Nickelodeon's TMNT, Teen Titans series (the Teen Titans Go TV show sparked huge interest on it), Cartoon Network's new show We Bare Bears, The Powerpuff Girls (due for a reboot in next year), Danny Phantom, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (the 100th episode is a milestone to this show), Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, South Park, and Invader Zim.

As reality stars come and go, the year 2015 brought some of the biggest impact on reality TV stars but the Kardashians nailed it big time as well as the infamous sex change from Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner as every observers knew it.

We had so many newcomers in TV, which some viewers may find it to have a possibility to become a new favorite, such as Mr. Robot, Into The Badlands, Miles from Tomorrowland, Jessica Jones, The Grinder, Best Friends Whenever, The Expanse, Supergirl, Blaze and the Monster Machines, The Expanse, The Last Man on Earth (most are starting to love that show not because of Will Forte playing the titular character but also the woman who voiced Mabel from Gravity Falls appeared in this show), We Bare Bears, and many other new arrivals. Apart from that, we braced farewell to ever popular shows such as Mad Men, Phineas and Ferb, Jessie, Kickin It, and other shows left the TV land for good. No matter the outcome, the year 2015 is a golden year for binge watchers.

Check back on this segment as I'll be tackling on the movie analysis through the year 2015.

Let's Do The News (December 28, 2015)

- Presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe and running mate Senator Chiz Escudero thanked the Supreme Court for issuing temporary restraining orders against COMELEC's rulings that disqualified Poe.

- Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte promises that if elected, he will rid the Philippines of half of the estimated 3,000-5,000 drug lords operating in the country, according to his running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

- Twenty-seven mountaineers who got stranded over the Christmas weekend in Mount Pinatubo were rescued by local disaster management teams. Based on a TV report, the team got stranded at Mt. Pinatubo Delta 5 Sapang Uwak, and area located within Porac town. Details of their whereabouts were received by local authorities via text message sent by one of the mountaineers, saying some of the mountaineers were hurt and the team ran out of necessities.

- The Iraqi military successfully regained control of a government complex in the city of Ramadi from the Islamic State militants. According to the spokesman for the Iraqi government forces, the hostile militants are retreating and their operation to recapture Ramadi were successful.

- The governments of Japan and South Korea finally reached an agreement to resolve the wartime issue that strained bilateral ties. Foreign ministers from both nations finished talks on the comfort women issue and said they have resolved the issue definitely and irreversibly.

- Protests continue against the death sentences handed down by a Thai court to migrant workers from Burma. The court sentenced two men last week for the murder of two British tourists on the island of Koh Tao in September of last year. The defendants denied their charges but they are arguing they were forced to confess under police brutality.

- Suzuki will display specially prepped versions of their recently launched Alto Works as well as its upcoming Ignis compact crossover at this January's Tokyo Auto Salon.

- Remember the cartoon movie The Croods? Guess what, they'll be spawning a Netflix original series titled Dawn of the Croods. Check out the trailer of the upcoming 2D cartoon show coming soon to Netflix subscribers.

- Shocking news to Lovelivers everywhere as Yoshino Nanjou, the fripside vocalist and the seiyuu behind our favorite μ's member Eli Ayase from Love Live! School Idol Project, will not attend at the New Year's Kohaku song battle. The seiyuu is suffering from knee injuries.

- The Directors' Guild of the Philippines, Inc. condemned the disqualification of Erik Matti's Honor Thy Father film, which starred John Lloyd Cruz, from the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival awarding night's best picture category last Sunday night. The DGPI called the film's disqualification "A DISHONOR TO THE INDUSTRY".

TTFN!!!

Remembering 2015: Global analysis

The year 2015 has been quite an impact for our daily lives ranging from the good news, better news, the best news, the bad news, the worst news, and everything we laid our eyes on. Now it's the ideal time for this blog to write down the analysis on what's what over the year 2015. Now it's time to take on the world's top headlines occurred this year.

Paris, the capital city of France, once known as the city of love has became the city of death for some. First, there was the infamous Charlie Hebdo attack last January 7, 2015, when two assailants killed 12 people and injured 11 others at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper, over their depiction of prophet Mohammed. Three days later, millions of people staged unity rallies all over France, using the phrase "Je suis Charlie" in remembrance of the Charlie Hebdo victims. 

However, there is nothing more so than the November 13 attacks, which is known to be the deadliest attack in France since World War II.  Terrorists unleashed a barrage of attacks through numerous sites in the French capital such as nearby Stade de France, where the soccer match between France and Germany occurred, Avenue de la Republique, Rue de Charonne, Rue Bichat, and the hardest hit on the deadly Paris attacks is the Bataclan concert hall where a rock concert occurred and then terrorists taken dozens of people hostage. In response, French president Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency to the capital and staged retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State militants who are held responsible for the attacks.

Of course, the Islamic State made headlines throughout the year and across the world, everyone condemned the actions of the militants' actions, shared news and information on the latest developments, and mourned those who've been fallen by the Islamic State.

As conflicts in Syria continue, the great migration is also one of 2015's key topics recorded. According to the United Nations, over 4.1 million refugees are registered. Most of them have migrated to neighboring countries and over 500,000 refugees and migrants have applied for asylum in Europe.

In the 25th of April, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 struck parts of Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, and the city of Pokhara. It is known to be the deadliest of the Nepal earthquakes in over eight decades and it's not just Nepal that's affected. It's also parts of India, Bangladesh, Tibet, and Mount Everest, where avalanches were triggered. With the death toll reported at over 8,800 people, it is the worst since 1934 which killed over 8,500 people. In response, the entire globe responded quickly to provide aid and show their support for Nepal.

Another key topic in 2015 is the Greek debt crisis. Last June, Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister who was elected on an anti-austerity platform, urged his citizens to vote against a renegotiated bailout agreement, raising awareness of the nation's possible exit from the eurozone, but a month later, Greece accepted the negotiations from the top European officials on the 86 billion Euro bailout package that will save the nation from impending bankruptcy.

In the United States of America, there has been so many headlines sparked in the world superpower. One news is the topic of same-sex marriage. A historical 5-4 ruling in Obergefell vs. Hodges has led the US Supreme Court officially declared that same-sex marriage is legal all 50 states. Gay marriage, which is the most important civil rights case in a generation, in the USA is now well and truly LEGAL, because those politicians who supported it pointed out that marriage equality is part of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. It's not just the politicians who supported marriage equality that prompted the USA to legalize gay marriage, it's the LGBT community that rejoiced the historic decision, saying that "Love has won".

In terms of black lives matter, the death of a black man named Freddy Gray, who was fatally injured in police custody, sparked violent protests in Baltimore for two weeks but even more questioning in the topic of black lives is the Charleston shooting where a gunman killed nine people, mostly black, at a church. When photos of the suspect posing with the Confederate Flag emerged, fears of white supremacy beliefs have emerged and the South Carolina representatives voted to rid the flag for good.

As Obama's administration is nearing its end, the whole world kept their eyes on who's going to be Obama's successor for the November 2016 elections. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump made the most headlines but honestly, it's Trump that made headlines, especially his infamous remarks to ban all Muslims from entering the United States following the Paris attacks and the San Bernardino shootings, led by a Muslim couple who were suspected as Islamic State supporters.

Other key topics of 2015 reported include the downing of a Russian plane in Egypt, the Turkish forces shot down a Russian warplane heading for Syria, the inauguration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy at St. Peters Basilica, the explosion at Yasukuni Shrine, the Japanese government signing new security bills that will boost their Self Defense Forces' presence globally, the rare appearance of the Super Blood Moon in late September, Tianjin factory explosions, the COP21 Climate Conference in Paris, the FIFA scandal, and many others to list here.

Check back on this segment as I'll be tackling on the TV analysis through the year 2015.

Remembering 2015: Philippine analysis

The year 2015 has been quite an impact for our daily lives ranging from the good news, better news, the best news, the bad news, the worst news, and everything we laid our eyes on. Now it's the ideal time for this blog to write down the analysis on what's what over the year 2015. To start, let's start on what happened in the Philippines. Of course, there are many many events occurred during the year 2015 but it would be best to jot down some of the most impacting moments.

One of the most inspiring moments Filipinos observed in the year 2015 is the extraordinary Papal Visit of Pope Francis. Last January, Pope Francis spent his five day visit to welcome Filipinos and deliver his message to all of those devoted to their Christianity. What's also inspiring for Filipinos in the year 2015 is the reprieval of Mary Jane Veloso by the Indonesian government before her execution since April after numerous negotiations. El Gamma Penumbra winning Asia's Got Talent is also inspirational as well.

The crisis at Iglesia Ni Cristo, the Kentex factory fire, the death of the Philippine Eagle Pamana, and the ongoing tanim-bala scam are what made Filipinos lashing about in the year 2015 but nothing is more so than the death of 44 Philippine National Police Special Action Force units during the Mamasapano Clash last January.

As disasters come and go, typhoons have been the sidelines for this year but the typhoons that made impact in the sidelines of the Filipinos in the year 2015 is Lando (where it reached 9.8 billion pesos of damages and killed 47 people) and Nona (which killed 41 people and cost 4.9 billion pesos of damages). Meanwhile, in terms of quake preparedness, the entire Philippines, as well as Metro Manila, engaged a shake drill to train people to be aware in case a more powerful quake hits the Philippines, like the one occurred in Nepal.

In terms of traffic, looks like the Filipinos did faced the worst traffic ever and upon the reading of the Filipino mentality, they've lashed the government by any means necessary to complain about how harsh the traffic really was.

In the world of Philippine showbizness, Filipinos are enamored over two beauty queens winning beauty pageants such as Miss Earth's Angelia Ong and Miss Universe's Pia Wurtzbach. We even got salivated over iconic love teams such as LizQuen of Forevermore, KathNiel in the 2015 reboot of the legendary drama Pangako Sa 'Yo, and JaDine of On The Wings Of Love but the love time that caused the most impact for Filipinos is none other than AlDub. The invention of kalyeserye on the noon time show, Eat Bulaga, sparked the birth of the love time of Alden Richards and Maine "Yaya Dub" Mendoza. For five months, Filipinos witness how the AlDub story unfold as well as enjoying with their favorite Kalyeserye characters from Lola Nidora, Tidora, Tinidora, and many others. They even got their wishes come true with "Sa Tamang Panahon" live performance at the Philippine Arena last October, which scored the most number of tweets worldwide. The force of the AlDub nation is strong with that one.

Another dream come true for us Filipinos is the megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May. Although controversial, the fight between the two boxing superstars has been a historic one, as long as infuriating fans didn't count Mayweather's questionable but dirty tactics that defeated Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision.

There are many good Filipino movies shown in theaters through the entire year but the Filipino made films that caused the biggest impact were A Second Chance and the Heneral Luna biopic.

President Noynoy Aquino's final state of the nation address is considerably one of the biggest news that impacted the Filipinos this 2015 and what's even more impacting are the candidates running in the May 2016. Senator Grace Poe made the most headlines due to COMELEC's decision to disqualify her from presidency as well as Davao mayor Rodrigo Duterte who made a surprise entry to the presidentiables despite numerous statements of himself not running for president of the Philippines.

Of course, who wouldn't forget about the 2015 APEC Summit held last November? Despite the heavy traffic caused by the summit, Filipinos have been greeted by some of the world's top leaders including USA, Japan, China, Mexico, Canada, and many others, discussing about territorial disputes, counter-terrorism, economic reforms, and many others.

There has been so many events occurred in the Philippines throughout the year 2015 and no matter how good or bad the reports are, Filipinos have been bound by their sense of observation to observe what's happening.

Check back on this segment as I'll be tackling on the global analysis through the year 2015.

Forza Motorsport 6: Wild Cats

When the ultra-powerful Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat emerged from the shadows, most car enthusiasts went insane over its wide reputation of being the most powerful V8 car in the world and because it's so powerful, they want to take the SRT Hellcat against a wide range of supercars. Whether you bring it a Lambo or a Bimmer or a Merc, or whatever you got, this 707HP beast will always eat it like an eat-all-you-can buffet.

With the Challenger Hellcat in the Forza Motorsport 6 roster, it's the perfect time to find out what makes the Hellcat the Hellcat every driver went nuts about.



In a bold surprise move for Chrysler Group LLC's Dodge brand, they've unveiled the flagship version of the facelifted Challenger muscle car called the Challenger SRT Hellcat.

Since its introduction, this ultimate Challenger is powered by the newly-developed and supercharged Hellcat 6.2L HEMI V8 engine. It's the most powerful engine ever made by the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Dodge claims it can produce over six hundred horsepower but it's been verified to produce 707HP, the most powerful V8 engine ever made in a production car.

The secret of unleashing its highest power output is via a red key fob because the Challenger SRT Hellcat comes with two key fobs. There's a black key fob that restricts the Hellcat's engine power output of just 500HP but with the red key fob engaged, all of the power output from its supercharged V8 engine is released. To survive the monstrous power output, a specially-made 8-speed automatic gearbox is developed to handle the extra power and torque.

Thanks to its powerful engine, the SRT Hellcat is capable of reaching 0-60mph in less than four seconds and onwards to 199mph.



This car is all about straight-line performance unlike any other. When racing in the straight line against any other production car in almost any other class, the Dodge Challenger Hellcat will simply get away from them and because of all that power implied in its supercharged V8 engine, those European sportscars will think twice about how are they going to make a car as powerful as the Hellcats. Truth be told, the Europeans already retreating, even BMW.

What about handling? Well, even with all that power, some drivers might find the Hellcat to be extremely tricky to handle in the same way someone's taking on his favorite idol girl song in an expert difficulty setting. Generally speaking, you need a lot of practice to find the perfect way to handle the Hellcat like a pro but because it's heavier than any other European sports cars, it doesn't feel as sophisticated as its opposition.

The better way to exploit the Hellcat's biggest weakness is to compare it against one of America's powerful machines made for the next generation of drivers and I know what they are...



As you can see, I have been joined by the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the all-new Ford GT and with these powerful American machines on hand, they're here to demonstrate just how 707HP worthy the Hellcat is. And because the SRT Hellcat has been too much for me since car lovers love to push this car to the limit, it's the perfect time for the Hellcat to don the chicken hat I made up...



If by chicken hat, I mean, of course, my handcrafted design inspired by THE IDOLM@STER's Hibiki Ganaha in her 10th live outfit. Although my half-decent creativity looks more appealing to the average producer who attended the 10th live last summer, this could be the ideal chicken hat for the Challenger Hellcat because...I don't know what the outcome is when I send it to Laguna Seca and pit it against the best of Ford and Chevy.



After one lap around Laguna Seca, the results are in. The Ford GT did it in 1:43.265 while the Corvette Z06 did it in 1:45.078. So, care to guess how good the Challenger Hellcat did? Well, you're wrong because it did it in a rather humiliating 1:52.058, meaning I have successfully exploited its main weakness and it involves track capabilities.

Of course, the Challenger Hellcat is one heck of a machine slipping past luxury cars on the straights but when it comes to driving in the tracks where it has so many corners involved, well, the weakness is on it. So, why would Dodge ever make a car that has more power than any other supercar but doesn't handle as well as a supercar? Is this the main reason why the Dodge Viper faced its imminent death in the foreseeable future and want the Hellcat to be the perfect Viper successor on the road and on the track? Well, I'm not much of a Mopar man here but to be honest, there's so much stuff to learn for the Challenger Hellcat.

Doctor Who 2015 Christmas special

The Husbands of River Song

The recently returned River Song, played by Alex Kingston, sparked excitement and shivers in the 2015 Christmas special episode of BBC's Doctor Who, titled The Husbands of River Song. This episode maybe all about the hunt for the diamond inside King Hydroflax's head but this episode triggers chains of events involving who is The Doctor and who is River Song. It was one heck of a ride until it reached the climax of this episode where everything Whovians are wondering about have been revealed. From the singing towers of Darillium to the part where The Doctor gave River Song a sonic screwdriver as a Christmas present for her (which explains a lot to some veteran Whovians), all the truth between these two has left us quite a shock to the very end.

Well, I guess that's all the time and space left in the world of Doctor Who. The story's finished but The Doctor will return in the foreseeable future. Until then, happy holidays.

BMW X1 F48 vs. Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class

2016 BMW X1

As the crossover craze keeps on lingering since the dawn of civilization, BMW's range of crossovers are never far behind when it comes to update their lineup in various ways to keep them prepared for the competition ahead. One of it is the X1, now on its newly regenerated form, and while this crossover looks nearly identical to the previous model, what lies underneath is worth a tale to tell.

For this new generation, it now utilizes the UKL1 platform used on the sacrilegious BMW 2 Series Active Tourer/Gran Tourer, resulting to a front-wheel drive crossover that some Bimmer enthusiasts wouldn't agree on but because this is just a crossover, who cares about it. What this car is is like an oversized Mini Countryman but with some refined dynamics and a bigger space for five people and stuff at the back, so it's good but question is, does its front-wheel drivetrain worth it being a commoner's Bimmer? To show you the idea of what would the front-wheel drive BMW X1 feel like, you have to take a look at its chief rival for some inspiration and I found one...

2016 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class

This ain't your auntie's GLK because the GLK is dead and in replacement, the brand new Mercedes GLC-Class is born. Of course, the GLC is basically front wheel drive at first (only in a base model, that is) and when you experience it first hand, driving one of these is broadly similar to the new X1. However, when you gave these two crossovers a four-wheel drive setup, no weather will keep these two feeling moody, not even on a wet asphalt or at a sandy beach but dynamics can get a bit moody because of the mild driving feel that will impact its fun and usability. In other words, too much grip.

Although a little moody to drive, the four-wheel drive in the new X1 and the GLC really fits its cruising status as a family getaway vehicle, suitable on your next getaway to a faraway place or at the beach or at grandma's house. Anyway, let's not keep it too long because time to check out under the hood.

Sure, both the X1 and the GLC have different petrol and diesel engines available but let's narrow to something powerful and something economical. In the new X1, the most powerful version is the xDrive25i with its 2.0L Valvetronic turbo engine producing 231PS of power and 350Nm of torque, going from 0-100kph in 6.5 seconds and onwards to 235kph. The most economical in the range (and not always the wisest) is the sDrive18d with its 2.0L turbodiesel engine that promises fuel consumption of 4.1L/100km and CO2 emissions of less than 109g/km. Onto the GLC, the most powerful is the GLC 250 4MATIC with its 2.0L turbo engine producing 211PS of power and 350Nm of torque. 0-100kph takes 7.3 seconds and onwards to 222kph. Economical in the range? For now, it's the GLC 220 d 4MATC with its 2.1L diesel engine that promises combined fuel consumption of 5.0l/100km and CO2 emissions of less than 129g/km/

In comparison, looks like the new X1 bags it but the battle goes on for the GLC because pretty soon, it will unveil a more powerful AMG version as well as a more economical PHEV variant next year.

2016 BMW X1

2016 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class

In terms of pricing, these two German luxury crossovers are giving customers the stiff neck because the new X1 starts at 29,950 Euros while the new GLC starts at 44,506 Euros, meaning the X1 is a lot cheaper to own than the GLC but the question is, why would you want to have one? At either way, in its front-wheel drive state, both of these crossovers aren't what you call good but with four-wheel drive implemented, these crossovers synched to their lifestyles. Whether if its in tarmac, gravel, or snow, you would knew nothing would go wrong with them until its moody dynamics get the better of you. Try both and you decide.