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Awesome, this year has taken forever but I still can't quite believe this thread is back already. Man, there's at least a couple more series I wanted to check out before the end of the year, like Queen's Gambit, but I don't know if I'm gonna have the time to fit them in.
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Dec 21, 2020 16:05
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 14:23 |
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I wanna give a shoutout to Lovecraft Country, which almost made the list but was slightly hampered by a couple of episodes that took away from an overall very strong season - had the season been a couple episodes shorter I think this could have been excellent. Instead it was only very, very good. I wavered between it and my #9 and #10 picks and in the end settled on leaving it out, but I wish I could have fit it in somewhere. 10. The Crown: The 4th season of this incredibly well-produced and gorgeous looking show suffered a little this year from a surprising lack of stories focused on the Queen herself - even the excellent Fagan is more about the episode's titular character. This wouldn't be such an issue if it wasn't for some episodes seemingly going nowhere and achieving nothing in the meantime: sure The Hereditary Principle reminds of a rather callous decision from the Royal Family's personal past.. but Margaret's part in it goes nowhere and seems to have no bearing on anything else that happens in the season, and the assassination of Lord Mountbatten in the first episode is a shock to the Royal Family and promises a focus on the IRA that... simply never comes. Instead, the focus of much of the show is on the arrival of two new female characters who couldn't be more different from each other or the Queen herself: Margaret Thatcher and Princess Diana. The former - wonderfully played by a near unrecognizable Gillian Anderson - comes on strong and dominates only to fade away to nothing as once again another Prime Minister comes and goes under the seemingly eternal reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The latter comes on quiet and ends powerfully, as Diana and Charles dominate media coverage and attention unlike anything seen since Elizabeth's own early run as the young Royal darling. Diana wows the public and the media, and the Royal Family are left looking monstrous or uncaring as a result (particularly Charles). It does however lead to a spectacular quote from Philip to the frustrated and emotionally fraught Diana as she navigates the hypocrisy and paranoia of her marriage: Prince Philip posted:Everyone in this system is a lost, lonely, irrelevant outsider apart from the one person, the only person, who matters. She is the oxygen we all breathe, the essence of all our duty. Your problem, if I may say, is you seem to be confused about who that person is. It's a great line. It's just a shame that the series doesn't really back that up in season 4, and it is a real shame to "waste" the talents of Olivia Colman in this her final season.  9. Fargo: Too many characters introduced too soon hurt this series, but it pulled it all together in the mid-range of the season to surpass season 3 and start to approach the magic of season 1 (nothing on the glory of season 2, however) only for everything to fall apart in a final episode that was surprisingly pedestrian and predictable for a Noah Hawley show. Before that happened though, we got East/West in episode 9, a phenomenal road trip episode between Rabbi and Satchel that pays (rather obvious, to be fair) homage to The Wizard of Oz as well as offering an interesting peek into the unrealized potential of an alternate Season 4 we never got. But whatever the highs and lows of the rest of the season, however, it was always beautifully shot, incredibly well-edited, spectacularly cast, usually well-acted, and sounded fantastic. The show just needed a bit more focus, a few less characters, and a stronger ending. It's a show that I will remember for the middle rather than the start or the finish, but sadly I think the latter in particular will color the way the show is remembered for some time to come.  8. The Good Place: This season was on my list last year, but makes it back through again in 2020 thanks to the final 4 episodes airing near the start of the year. It was a pretty spectacular 4 episodes though, and holy poo poo that finale was absolutely incredible. It was that rarest of shows, one where the high expectations generated by the quality of the preceding seasons was met and/or exceeded in the finale. Seeing Eleanor and her crew "solve" the afterlife and achieve peace/contentment in each of their own very special and unique ways was an utter joy. The realization of what happens when you are no more was stunningly beautiful, and of course even the simple revelation of Michael's last name was handled with such breathtakingly simple perfection that it boggles the mind even to this day. A show that started, maintained and ended on such a sustained high note is more than remarkable, it is a miracle. That's what The Good Place was, and I am so happy I got to experience it.  7. Raised by Wolves: The trailer for this show had me rolling my eyes at the line,"You will be raised atheist!" but on strength of word-of-mouth alone I decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did, because this show wasn't what I expected. Ever. Every episode took the show into unexpected and surprising directions, but very welcome ones. Watching Mother and Father's earnest efforts to raise their children against a backdrop of things beyond their (or anybody's!) comprehension, seeing the shift from protagonist to antagonist and back again, the introduction of religious elements, the rejection of the spiritual to it's embrace (in a number of different ways by different and unlikely people), the revelations of deeper puzzle pieces and the suggestion that perhaps all this is doomed to happen over and over, right the way to the unlikeliest of Adam and Eves who only arrive into the Garden AFTER the serpent... well, it was a bit of a mindfuck. But in a good way. There are no saints in this show, everybody's moral compass is skewed in some respect with perhaps the exception of Campion, but everybody is doing what they think is best. That's the problem, whether you (were programmed to) believe in it or not, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.  6. What We Do In The Shadows: This beautiful show followed up on a fantastic first season with the benefit of knowing that the characters/setting had more than lived up to the excellent movie the series is based on. The writing and acting alike felt more confident, allowing the show to really play around with some fun ideas in the knowledge the characters/actors. The vampires very deliberate failure to grow and develop as people contrasts wonderfully with Guillermo the Familiar developing a thoroughly unwanted aptitude for vampire-hunting/killing, which comes to a head perfectly in the final episode as all his efforts to hide his heritage and skillset are undone and the vampires - predators all - are left with the uncomfortable realization that they owe their lives (and live with) somebody who is effectively THEIR predator. But the lack of (lasting) growth by the vampires doesn't mean they're boring, anything but, each episode that focuses on a specific vampire is a joy to watch, and Colin Robinson in particular really shines, such as in the episodes where he gets a promotion or goes toe-to-toe with an Internet and actual Troll. It's On The Run that stands out as perhaps the best episode of the season though, as we are introduced to Jackie Daytona: Regular Human Bartender, and his love of High School Volleyball and efforts to get them through to State. Matt Berry is a phenomenon, his earnest efforts to enjoy his new life made all the better by Mark Hamill's guest turn as Jim the Vampire, on an endless quest for vengeance his great rival was completely unaware of. Please watch this show.  5. The Queen's Gambit: I came late to this wonderful show, but I'm so glad I did before the end of 2020 so I could put it on a suitably high place on my list. It is certainly not without its flaws - mostly the surface level substance abuse stuff - but the characters, setting, cinematography etc are all top notch. All of the actors are operating at a higher level than almost anything I've seen any of them in before, as if they understood they were part of something of quality and rose to the occasion. It's a compelling story, part sports movie, part coming of age drama, part faux biography. The sport in question is chess, and in particular chess in the 1960s, which you would think would limit the appeal. Hell no, whether you have any interest in chess or not, the story and characters are absolutely fascinating, and the way the games are shot, structured and incorporated into the storytelling is phenomenal. It's meticulously made, quality drama produced at the highest level... but as great as all that is, the thing that REALLY makes this show something special comes from its lead actor. Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon is amazing in this, giving one of the most mesmerizing and spectacular acting performances of the year, if not THE most mesmerizing and spectacular. Every single time she is on the screen she dominates, just as her character does in every room she walks into (even rooms with the mighty Vasily Borgov in them), peoples eyes are drawn to her, people want to know what she is thinking and feeling... and more often than not, what she is thinking is something at a level far beyond what even the best chess players can manage. Watching Harmon as she reaches a point of maturity to understand that she can both ask for help but also that she can and should rely on her own incredible and unique talent at the appropriate moments is a wonder. Her realization that her mental image of the chessboard was not generated by the drugs or the booze, that Borgov is as intimidated by her as she is by him, that nobody has any claim or control of her as a person, all culminating in the beautiful final scene where she figuratively returns to her roots (playing against old men who enjoy the game purely for the enjoyment of it) and finds pure acceptance and admiration... well it's just an incredible experience, and one everybody should have for themselves.  4. The Mandalorian: I've seen it said a lot, and I think it is pretty accurate: this show recaptures the feel of watching the original Star Wars trilogy as a kid. There's something magical about it, there's a sense of this big loving galaxy and a shitload of things happening in and around the more intimate story we're seeing. It's a Western but it's a Samurai film too, which kinda fits in perfectly with George Lucas aping Kurosawa in the first place. Part of that magic is that the titular Mandalorian wants no part of all that grand nonsense, he's just trying to look after his kid. This is Lone Wolf and Cub... in space. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni execute an amazing balancing act between the main storyline and a bunch of continuity/canon references/callbacks and developments. You've got tie-ins to the original trilogy, to the Rebels animated series, to books from the Extended Universe books etc... and it doesn't matter if you've never heard or seen any of that because the context of whatever you're seeing tells you everything you need to know. They even manage to indulge in some "smashing action toys together" stuff that not only doesn't feel out of place, but is actually genuinely exciting: perhaps the best example of this being the return of Boba Fett as an active Star Wars character. The pacing of this second season was far stronger than the first season which had a bad stretch of standalone episodes that felt a little too samey. There's more variety in this season, each episode felt like a winner, even the shortest and "worst" overall episode stands out brilliantly because of the aforementioned return of Boba Fett, just loving brutalizing some Stormtroopers. Hell, Bill Burr comes back from his one-off last season and ends up being a very compelling character. Most talk about this season though will focus understandably on the last few minutes of the final episode, even in spite of some rough CGI, as the Mandalorian, his team and their hostage watch in awe as the Darktroopers are dealt with. THAT was a moment that made so many feel like they were little kids again, that they were seeing something they'd always dreamed of seeing in Star Wars. The Mandalorian has been incredible so far at making people feel this way, and it's this among other reasons that makes me rate this season of the show so high even while acknowledging that it's really pretty pulpy by comparison to something like, for instance, The Queen's Gambit.  3. The Boys: Season 1 was a wonderful and genuine surprise, given how awful the source material was. Season 2 thankfully followed up by once again keeping the heart of Garth Ennis' characters/storybeats without indulging in his often juvenile grossout humor and soldier-worship. Avoiding the typical trope of characters just forgetting the lovely things another character did, Hughie refuses for a long time to just accept Butcher's return to the group after callously abandoning them to a fate of HIS making. The relationship Hughie started with Starlight isn't just smooth sailing after their reconciliation at the end of season 1, and hanging plotthreads from season 1 like A-Train's discovery of Starlight's relationship don't just get glossed over. There's also the introduction of a new character in Stormfront (an incredible performance by Aya Cash), a monster of a completely different (and old school) bent, which also leads to an incredibly cathartic moment and a hilarious and perfectly timed line that turns a committee-produced catchphrase into a genuine  moment: "Girls do get it done!". But while Stormfront, Butcher, Hughie, Starlight, Maeve, Frenchie, MM, Kimiko, A-Train, The Deep, Black Noir, Edgar etc all get plenty of interesting things to do, and some get whole episodes dedicated to them that are a lot of fun to watch... it's really Homelander's season. Antony Starr continues to blow me away with his performance. The ease with which he embraces fascism the moment it is offered to him as an option is no great surprise but still incredibly unsettling. His poison relationship with Stormfront and the complete openness with which she espouses her white supremacist views to him make him even scarier, as is the utter ease with which he discards those views the moment he no longer sees them as a pathway to the adoration he desires (and demands). He's scary precisely because he has no real ethos, no beliefs or ideology beyond wanting everybody to worship him as effectively a God. Where he goes in season 3 will be fascinating, because he's now lost the last thing that might have sparked even a modicum of empathy from him (his son) and he's fully aware of who in Vought International gave the OK for that to happen.  2. Harley Quinn: I missed the first season of this show, and the few clips I saw made it look like yet another DC property that mistook swearing, sex and violence as "mature" or "adult". Enough people talked it up that I finally gave it a chance, and ending up devouring everything before being left having to wait each week to eagerly see the latest episode. It became appointment television, a rare event as myself and friends would make a point of settling in to watch it together (only The Mandalorian got similar treatment this year). Yes there is swearing, sex and violence... but what makes this show sing is that it's a story about a character who has finally ended a toxic relationship and now finds herself torn between the person she knows she wants, wanting to do right by that person, and also fearing that she's just seeking co-dependency elsewhere. This beautiful, complicated and dangerous relationship is at the heart of an extremely dark and funny cartoon series that has a hell of a lot of fun playing around in the DC Universe and doesn't mind talking poo poo about some usually untouchable characters like Batman and Superman. Seeing how far Harley and her love interest will go to try and keep the ones (and especially THE one) they love happy, even at the cost of their own happiness, and how they eventually reach a point of decision on what they REALLY want... well it's just lovely. Really, genuinely lovely. Despite the show's black comedy it isn't cynical. There is a genuine, almost wistful sense of longing for something better, even from so-called "supervillains". Hell, the fact that the show is able to take a jokey twist on Bane and turn him into a wholesome and caring bad guy is reason enough to marvel (sorry) at it. They even make the Joker interesting, and do successfully what I've been hoping for a long time now: make the Joker/Harley split permanent instead of trying to celebrate that toxic and revolting relationship as has too often been done in the past. Also I haven't even mentioned Kite Man yet, and he is one of the best parts of the show. Hell yeah.  1. Better Call Saul: It's the best show on television. No qualifiers, no ifs, ands or buts. Nothing is better on television than this show, this marvelous spin-off/prequel to another extraordinary show. This season sees Jimmy having finally made the switch to Saul Goodman... legally at least. But Jimmy McGill isn't dead yet, and the conflict between his desire to finally put Chuck and the McGill name behind him for good, and his desire to be a success with and alongside Kim Wexler continues on unabated. As Jimmy hunts down every scumbag client he can find to build up a large base of repeat customers, Kim goes from strength to strength as a high powered corporate lawyer. You would think this would pull them apart, and indeed both are paranoid that this will be the case. Instead, even in spite of a hilarious subplot where they end up taking opposite sides of a property dispute it only ends up bringing them together more strongly than ever. Jimmy doesn't want to lose her but also fears corrupting her, while Kim fears Jimmy's attempts to run from the pain of his family and past means he'll want to leave her behind too. This all gets resolved in a simply phenomenal penultimate episode, Bad Choice Road, where the series antagonist - Lalo - confronts the two in their apartment only to bite off WAAAAAY more than he expected. Rhea Seehorn continues to go from strength to strength as Kim Wexler, every single season she is the best thing in the season (and the other actors are GREAT!) but every season she is better than she was in the last. The next season will sadly be the last, and everybody fears for Kim given she is nowhere to be seen in Breaking Bad. Her thrillseeking behavior as she ends the season excitedly telling Jimmy/Saul about her desire to sabotage their former mutual employer - Howard Hamlin - adds to the sense of concern, but that is what good television does. It makes you care about the characters, even ones you already largely know the "fate" of thanks to the show's status as a prequel. Better Call Saul is more than good television. This was the best show of the year. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Dec 31, 2020 |
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Dec 29, 2020 07:20
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It really is an incredible show, every season just seems to get better which is loving crazy given how great it already was in season 1. The show SHOULD have peaked at Jimmy vs. Chuck and somehow it's just increased in quality AFTER what would have been the ultimate conclusion of most other shows.
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Dec 29, 2020 09:43
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Big Bad Voodoo Lou posted:AEW Dynamite aired my favorite TV moment of 2020: “Le Dinner Debonair,” a taped segment where two pompous heel (bad guy) wrestlers tried to psych each other out over a steak dinner, only to transition into an old-timey Hollywood musical number with full choreography, where they both sang and danced. It was entrancing. This past week, a wrestler who went by the character name Brodie Lee died suddenly. He was a year younger than me, but in peak physical condition, unlike me. He was a giant man who played a convincing heel (bad guy) who I never appreciated enough on screen, but was apparently the nicest guy ever, with a wife and two young sons. Last night I watched the most beautiful episode of Dynamite, a fitting tribute to the man’s career and life, both cut far too short. I cried when they showed a montage of his best moments, set to my musical hero Tom Waits’ song “Ol’ 55.” It was a wrestling show made with care, pride, and love, from people who seem to love their jobs, their craft, and their co-workers. AEW doesn’t seem to suffer from the massive egos and backstage politics of the WCW and WWE, that I used to watch and get frustrated by. The veterans constantly “put over” (elevate) the young talent of tomorrow, and everyone collaborates and supports each other, even while pretending to cause each other grievous bodily harm. That Brodie Lee tribute really was something special, somebody in the wrestling subforum called it a Viking Funeral and I loved that idea: a celebration of joy and love for a man taken too soon.
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Dec 31, 2020 23:44
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TelevisedInsanity posted:8) Taskmaster Well it's hard to blame them, as we all know every single hit television show ever made all were getting enormous ratings right from the very first episode 
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Jan 6, 2021 12:58
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I am so glad people are out there spreading the message of the joy that is Jackie Daytona: Regular Human Bartender.Escobarbarian posted:But I mean, the Kim stuff, the Kim stuff!!!!!!! gently caress!!!!!!!!!!!! Already my favourite character in this franchise, the writers took Kim to new levels, with her making shocking and unexpected decisions that nonetheless feel like they follow on completely naturally from what we've seen from her arc throughout the show, while the incredible, incomparable Rhea Seehorn (STILL not Emmy-nominated what the gently caress) makes giving the best performance on TV look loving easy. It is baffling to me that she doesn't have a giant collection of Emmys, let alone that she doesn't have any nominations. I pray her career just takes off to new heights after this final season, she's just spectacular.
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Jan 9, 2021 22:55
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I need to check out Dispatches from Elsewhere, it's gone completely under my radar. Thanks lists!
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Jan 11, 2021 01:45
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I know the latest season of Fargo wasn't to everybody's cup of tea but man seeing it at 35th place is depressing given how beloved the first couple of seasons were.
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Jan 22, 2021 02:29
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Man I somehow completely missed that The Good Lord Bird even existed until like a week ago and it looks goddamn incredible.
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Jan 22, 2021 05:03
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Oh thank God BCS won, it deserved it so much but it was so early in 2020 I worried it would suffer as a result. Thanks for the work, Looten!
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Jan 22, 2021 05:54
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It's also so great to see What We Do In The Shadows ranking so high, it's such a good show, so much better than it has any right to be, and I love that such a talented cast gets to be in such a strong show that audiences love.
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Jan 22, 2021 07:01
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Yay Fargo! 
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Jan 22, 2021 12:58
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cant cook creole bream posted:One day I might give that Saul show a chance. Next season is the last and given the COVID timing it might be a little bit before it comes out, so you have time to get caught up and then be mad like the rest of us that Rhea Seehorn doesn't have an Emmy!
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Jan 23, 2021 00:09
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 14:23 |
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I remember when I would devour anything Louis CK did 
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Jan 23, 2021 15:21
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