Happy First Birthday to Us!! Our Greatest Hits (So Far)

Posted by Kim and Sage

As Jonathan Larson asked in Rent, “How do you measure a year?”

In 219 blog posts?

In over 112,500 page views?

In 313 Twitter Followers and 252 Facebook Likes?

In the end, I think Larson gets it right.  You measure in love.  And we’ve had a LOT of love this past year.

A year ago today we launched Head Over Feels.  I know I can speak for Sage when I say that it was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.  This year has been challenging, intense, frustrating, exciting and above all rewarding.  And it’s been all the better that we have done it together.  I know I could have never kept this up for a year without Sage.  We’ve kept each other accountable.  We’ve talked each other through writer’s block and difficult posts.  We’ve flailed about over every form of social media.  We’ve tortured our friends with news of our adventures.  We bought our domain name and upgraded our photobucket accounts to premium ones to maintain all our gifs.  We’ve laughed and we’ve cried and we’ve memorialized all of our feels for all the internet to see.

Most of all we’ve been OVERWHELMED by the response to our site.  I never in a million years dreamed that we would have posts linked on such sites as Awards Daily, TV Without Pity, and Buzzfeed or that cast members and writers of some of our favorite shows would read the posts and retweet them to their followers.  Obviously, I had hoped it would happen, but to see it become a reality is a dream come true.  So whether you are a friend of ours or a complete stranger who googled “Rose and The Doctor love each other”…THANK YOU for reading!!

We’ve got some big plans for the year ahead.  New York Comic-Con.  CommuniCon 2.  The 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who.  Recapping as much television as possible.  Maybe finding a show that we love to hate watch as much as we loved to hate watch Smash.  An epic seven part series on Harry Potter.  Gallifrey One.  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Even as we look forward, we thought we would take today to reflect on the past year.  We selected the 12 posts (or series of posts) we were most proud of this year.  Some we chose because they were the ones that went viral, others because we just think we did a damn good job writing them.  After all, if there is ever a day to celebrate yourself, it’s your birthday isn’t it?

Thanks again for going on this journey with us!  We hope to provide you with many many many more feels in the years to come!

And someone tell Buzzfeed to hire us already.

–Kim

–  Our Top 15 Episodes of The X-Files

Our X-Files series was probably the most intense week of our blogging life.  We marathoned our top 25 or so episodes over the course of a weekend.  Sage and I yelled at each other over Twitter about the selections and then ranking of the episodes.  The battle over what should be number one (#SHOWDOWN) was one of the greatest tests our friendship has endured.  And all of that happened BEFORE we started writing.  We got these posts up in three consecutive days leading up to the 20th Anniversary Panel at San Diego Comic-Con.  I wept and screamed and derided my writing skills as I struggled over writing the section for our top episode as I raced to get it up before the panel started.  I did…5 minutes before.  I have loved the response these posts have gotten from friends and strangers alike.  Friends have been inspired to rewatch or watch for the first time.  One stranger even commented that this series was among the best and most comprehensive X-Files lists out there.  And since a stranger said it, you know it’s true.  –Kim

–  Our Top 10 Episodes of The Office

I was a former Office super-fan turned ambivalent viewer, so the solid final season and the exercise of coming up with our list of definitive episodes was like falling back in love. I remembered how much the show meant to me in its first few seasons (one of them PERFECT), and, though it’s long disappeared from our lists of favorite shows, Kim and I were able to send it off as passionate admirers once again. Also, we completed the posts just in time to watch the series finale and retrospective together. All those emotions the pieces brought back to the surface manifested themselves in many tears. And some screaming. That’s what she said. –Sage

–  “I love you and I like you.” – Parks and Recreation Recap

One winter evening, I was walking out of my gym and casually checked my phone for any texts I might have gotten while I was suffering through my workout. I was greeted by a dozen flail-y tweets and several capslock texts from Kim. “RETTA.” “YOUR RECAP.” I cried on the street.

I meant everything I said in my recap of the Beslie wedding about the power of this kind of comedy, so it was amazing to see Retta describe it as “a sweet review of the #WyattKnopeNups.” It was amazing that Queen Retta tweeted the link to all of her followers, resulting in our biggest traffic day EVER, but it was even more amazing that we hadn’t sent it to her. She found it herself through a Google Alert, read it, and thought enough of it to share it with everyone. I still dream a little bit that maybe Mike Schur or one of her castmates might have clicked that link too. –Sage

– “One Nominator to Rule Them All” – SmashBash

We love all our #SmashBashes equally and will miss them dearly this upcoming season.  We chose this particular post, which was my recap of part one of the series finale, because it was picked up by the TV Without Pity forums.  We love when our posts go viral and it was especially rewarding when one of the comments on the forum said “What a treasure trove of Smash recaps there is on headoverfeels.com!”  That made enduring the madness that was Smash entirely worth it. –Kim

– The Ballad of Josh and Donna

The success of our West Wing posts has a little to do with my obsessive love for that show and everyone in the Bartlet White House and a lot to do with timing. I started marathoning right as the series was added to Netflix streaming and the fandom arose like a phoenix from the ashes. And, like me, most of that fandom was driven half-mad by the sa-looooooooow burn of certified idiots Joshua Lyman and Donnatella Moss. This post continues to be one of our big sellers, as almost every day, someone finds the blog by searching (probably holding a glass of hard liquor in a trembling hand), “WHEN do Josh and Donna get together?” Be patient, bbs. It’s worth it. –Sage

– 45 Days – A Ted Mosby Appreciation Post

If Monica Geller is the female TV character most like me, then Ted Mosby is the male one.  How I Met Your Mother is another show that is incredibly special to me and this post is both a love letter to the show and to Ted Mosby himself.  I intensely identify with Ted and his journey to not only find love but to become the man worthy of the love of his life.  “The Time Travelers” aired when I was going through some personal and it really struck a chord in me.  We’re in the home stretch of HIMYM now, and I’ll be recapping every last step.  It will be legend…wait for it…  –Kim

– “We Own Tonight” – The Package Tour Hits New Jersey

I was out in LA for work, running around and generally being crazed when Kim (again) texted me a blog alert. “Your NKOTB post went viral.” The Blockheads had found and shared (and shared, and shared) my review of The Package Tour with each other and with the band. I’m humbled, but not really surprised. Boy band fans aren’t used to seeing reviews that aren’t snark-filled, verbal eye-rolls from “better-than-you” critics. I hope that I accurately captured the escapist joy that all Blockheads, Directioners, and everyone in between feels when they get to see their favorite guys in person and have a big party. –Sage

– Your Weekly Dose of Rose and The Doctor Feelings #19

The two biggest life-ruiners on the internet.  The world’s GREATEST playlist.  A whole lot of feelings.  We chose this post as it was the one I wrote right after our greatest dreams (and let’s face it…fears, since it is being written by Steven Moffat) came true: David Tennant and Billie Piper were returning to Doctor Who for the 50th Anniversary special.  I’m certain these posts will resume after it airs.  And if Steven Moffat destroys them, we will refuse to acknowledge it as canon.  –Kim

– Unpopular Opinion: Rachel Green Should Have Ended Up With Joey Tribbiani

I have a sneaking suspicion that this post may have sparked Kim’s desire to defend Ross, thus resulting in our 6-part “In Appreciation Of” Friends character posts. You’re welcome, and I’m still right. –Sage

Sage is right. It did.  I was a diehard Joey/Phoebe shipper right up until she started dating Mike, but this post damn near convinced me to cross to the dark side. Plus, there was far too much Ross Geller hate on the internet at the time.  –Kim

– Kim’s Love Letter to Community

I wrote this on the day of the Season Four premiere and the day before I flew out to attend CommuniCon.  The sentiment remains the same.  Now we are less than a month away from CommuniCon 2, Dan Harmon is back at the helm of the show, and the Human Beings are more united than ever.  Community and its fandom changed my life.  No matter what happens, it will always hold an incredibly special place in my heart.  #sixseasonsandamovie –Kim

– “Cabbages and Kings” – Doctor Who Recap

Doctor Who recaps are exhausting. They involve re-watches and research of classic Who history and much wailing and gnashing of teeth. But I’m most proud of this one because it portrays – accurately, I think – the season seven struggle between Moffat’s shenanigans and Matt’s brilliance. And I got to quote The Walrus & the Carpenter, which is always a good time. –Sage

– In Appreciation of Monica Geller

I know, I know.  I JUST posted this…how can it possibly be worthy of our greatest hits?  I chose my Monica post cause I am incredibly proud of it and the response it got from our readers.  I was dealing with a rather nasty case of writer’s block for a good part of the summer and I feel this one broke it.  I also call this post a deconstruction of my psyche, so to read it is to know me.  –Kim

Those are our favorites.  How about yours, dear readers.  COME ON IT’S OUR BIRTHDAY, TELL US HOW MUCH YOU LOVE US.

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