borg.com Best of Movies, TV, and Print 2015

Well it’s been one long year, with plenty to do and see, plenty of good and not-so-good to read and watch, and as with last year we’re certain we reviewed more content this year than ever before. This year was a big year for borgs in TV and film, so we had some difficult decisions to make. All year long we sifted through all that Hollywood had to offer and honed in on the genre TV, films, comics, and other books we thought were worth examining. We went back and looked at it all and pulled together our picks for our annual Best of the Best list.

Today we reveal the entire list–the best genre content of 2015–with our top categories Best Sci-Fi Fix, Best Fantasy Fix, Best Superhero Fix, Best Animated Fix, and Best Borg selected regardless of medium. A dozen properties garnered multiple mentions.

We hope you agree with many of these great creations of the entertainment industries, and wish everyone a great 2016!

Best Sci-Fi Fix – Killjoys (Syfy). Surprised? Killjoys pulled together great worldbuilding, characters and actors in a year of a dozen new sci-fi shows to provide us the closest thing to the next Firefly we’ve seen in a long time.

Best Fantasy Fix – Galavant (ABC); Runner-up The Librarians (TNT). It aired early in 2015 but nothing surpassed Galavant’s medieval high adventure and all-out Princess Bride-style fun.

Best Superhero Fix – The Flash (CW). Of all the Marvel movies and TV series from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to Agent Carter and from Arrow to Supergirl, nothing had us coming back for more each week like the superhero world in The Flash.

Best Animated Fix – Star Wars Rebels (DisneyXD). Compare it to Star Wars: The Force Awakens and see if you think this animated Star Wars galaxy had an even better story and characterization, along with the return of its own group of original trilogy actors, compelling visuals and rousing music.

Best Borg – Pops (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from Terminator Genisys (Paramount). Schwarzenegger created yet another borg that could stand up against his prior successful characters from the series. A cool, moving character in a big year for borgs on screen!

Best Borg Movie – Ex Machina (DNA Films). Incredible storytelling and a small cast of talented actors provided a classic science fiction story and Oscar-worthy film about our favorite subject.

Best Borg TV Series – Humans (AMC). On television the most in-depth look at life as a borg and among borgs has never been portrayed more dramatically than on this year’s surprise sci-fi hit series from AMC.

Best Kickass Genre Movie Heroine – Rey (Daisy Ridley), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney); Honorable Mentions: Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), Terminator Genisys (Paramount); Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), Mad Max: Fury Road (Village Roadshow)

Best Kickass Genre TV Heroine – Liv Moore (Rose McIver), iZombie (CW); Honorable Mentions: Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), Killjoys (Syfy); Helena (Tatiana Maslany), Orphan Black (BBC)

Want to know who we picked for best villain and best comic books of the year? Take a look after the cut…

Best Movie Villain – Victoria Vinciguerra (Elizabeth Debicki), Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner Bros.); Runner-up T-1000 (Byung-hun Lee), Terminator Genisys (Paramount)

Best Imaginary Friend – Pupok the Scorpion, Orphan Black (BBC); Runner-up Mr. Robot, Mr. Robot (USA)

Best Father-Daughter Team-up – Vaughn Du Clark (Steven Weber) and Gilda (Leanne Lapp), iZombie (CW); Runner-up Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope (Evangeline Lily), Ant-Man (Marvel Studios).

Best Sci-Fi Movie – Ex Machina (DNA Films)

Best Fantasy Movie – Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney)

Best Action Movie, Best Retro Fix, Best Reboot, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Soundtrack, Best Movie Trailer – Man from U.N.C.L.E.(Warner Bros.). The best film of the year even up against the other brilliant spy movie of the year, SPECTRE. Forget that it’s a reboot–it’s simply a perfect action/spy movie.

Best Superhero Movie – Ant-Man (Marvel Studios)

Best Movie Sequel, Best Action Sequence – SPECTRE (Columbia). Not only is the opening scene in the Day of the Dead parade through the hand-to-hand combat in a helicopter battle over the bustling Mexico City city plaza the best and most-exciting action sequence of the year, it may be the best action sequence in any film of the James Bond franchise. A true triumph.

Best Special Effects/CGI – Michael Douglas is transformed into his younger self in Ant-Man (Marvel Studios). Want to see the future of filmmaking? It’s all in this single scene of backstory at the beginning of the film.

Best Movie Actress – Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina (DNA Films) and Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner Bros.); Runner-up Jessica Chastain, Crimson Peak (Legendary Pictures)

Best Movie Actor – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terminator Genisys (Paramount) and Maggie (Lionsgate); Runners-up Michael Douglas, Ant-Man (Marvel Studios) and (Armie Hammer), Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner Bros.).

Best TV Series – iZombie (CW); Runner-up Mr. Robot (USA). Are you looking for the next Veronica Mars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer? It’s right here on iZombie, with great writing each week and all the fun of those classic series.

Best TV Episode – “Under the Lake/Before the Flood,” Doctor Who (BBC) two-parter. Without a doubt this was the best science fiction story arc of the year. It’s Doctor Who at its finest.

Best TV Survivor – Grimm (NBC), Season Five. Just when you think the producers of Grimm have done all they can with these characters they come back even better, destined for a season seven.

Best TV Actress – Rose McIver as Liv Moore, iZombie (CW); Runner-up Hannah John-Kamen as Dutch, Killjoys (Syfy)

Best TV Actor – Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, Mr. Robot (USA); Runner-up Robert Buckley as Major Lilywhite, iZombie (CW)

Best TV Writing, Best TV Comedy – The Muppets (ABC). Nothing was written for the screen in any genre this year that made us laugh like this new series. Truly the best comedy on TV today.

Best TV Villain – Blaine (David Anders), iZombie (CW); Honorable Mentions: Kilgrave (David Tennant), Jessica Jones (Netflix); Khlyen, Killjoys (Rob Stewart) (Syfy)

Best Homage – Star Wars Rebels (DisneyXD) episode “Lost Commanders.” Look for a great homage to the main shark hunt sequence from Jaws in this episode, including musical cues similar to John Williams’ rousing score.