So it’s come to this.
Hulu’s Best In Show for the year is down to its final two competitors, and you have the chance to cast as many votes as you like for the series you think most deserves the title of “Best In Show” for 2014, whatever that might mean to you. You can vote on the match here, and as always, I will explain to you why I made the choice I did below.
The finals feature…
Hannibal vs. Game Of Thrones: If you were asking me to seed all 16 competitors that we started out with, Hannibal would have been my number two seed, and Game Of Thrones would have been my number three seed. (Poor, abandoned The Americans would have been number one.) So I’m very pleased with this matchup, especially because there were times when I thought it would be, like, Scandal versus Sherlock, and I would have to choose a winner by reading the entrails of a chicken.
For me, though, the choice is Hannibal, both because I think it’s the better show right now (and is on a roll that will only continue through the next few episodes) and because it’s the show that could most use this win. I don’t really think NBC is going to look at the results of the Hulu Best In Show poll and say, “Y’know what? That Hannibal Lecter kid deserves another chance!” then run out of 30 Rock carrying Mads Mikkelsen on the shoulders of a giant peacock (though it should). But we’re rapidly approaching a point where “fan passion” is almost as important to shows as actual ratings data (about which more in an upcoming FOC), and this is as good an example of fan passion as you can find. If Game Of Thrones wins, a terrific TV show will have won. But if Hannibal wins, a show that could benefit in some small way from winning has won. My pick: Hannibal
Come back next week when I reveal the winner several hours after Hulu does, then explain my thoughts on the tournament as a whole!