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It's here again for another year. Like sands through the hour glass, the streaming wars continue with even more players, COVID continues to cause havoc on TV productions and there is a new sex-pest revelation evey other week. On the off weeks we lose another of our beloved stars from yesteryear and Atlanta Season 3 continues to not be out. These are the days of our lives. Join us in celebrating the best that 2021 had to offer in our Annual Poll. Deadline is 11:59PM US EST Friday 18th of FebVOTING RULES1. Every show you pick must have had a first time airing in its country of origin in full or in part during 2021. This could be a network show, a cable show, an online show, a TV movie (not movies from streaming services), it could even be a Youtube thing if you're down with what the kids are calling 'it'. 2. The joy of this thread is in getting to shout about your favourites and hear about the hidden gems that you missed and we can only do that if you talk about why you've chosen the shows you have. You can write a sentence, you can write an essay, whatever you like as long as you write something. Any lists posted without reasons for their picks will not be counted in the final vote. 3. If you want to list more than ten shows go for it but I'll only count your top ten. If you want to list less than ten shows then go for that too but I won't count it at all. If you don't want to rank your picks then that's fine as well but again, I won't count it. 4. Don't be a dick about other people's choices. This is a positive thread to celebrate the best of TV, not a place for people to get lost in an argument over which genre show in its third season poo poo the bed worst. If you want to be critical then take it elsewhere. 5. If you want to talk about spoilers in your post then by all means go for it but put a spoiler warning at the start of your list. 6. If you want to go back and edit your list after the fact then go for it, just shoot me a PM or post in the thread to let me know you have or I might not count it. Please ensure you edit your original post, don’t create a new list. I will periodically link user posts in the second comment of this thread. 7. Deadline for submissions is 11:59 on Jan 31st . I'll then do a live countdown of the final results some time after that at a time that suits the thread (that I'm able to do from the other side of the world.) There you have it, it's as simple as that! Previous Polls TVIV Poll 2012: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3523734 TVIV Poll 2013: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3591552 TVIV Poll 2014: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3686396 TVIV Poll 2015: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3754622 TVIV Poll 2016: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3800289 TVIV Poll 2017: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3840812 TVIV Poll 2018: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3876499 TVIV Poll 2019: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3905825 TVIV Poll 2020: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3952217 Far from exhaustive list of shows that debuted this year that people might be interested in including: Girls5eva Lupin WandaVision Squid Game Yellowjackets Hacks Only Murders in the Building The White Lotus Reservation Dogs Loki Hawkeye Schmigadoon! Blindspotting Ultra City Smiths Brand New Cherry Flavour Time Kevin Can gently caress Himself Mare of Easttown Mr. Mayor M.O.D.O.K Sweet Tooth Heels Y: The Last Man Chucky Arcane Mayor Easttown Mayor of Kingstown Cowboy Bebop Wheel of Time Station 11 Reminder Please come by and visit the Best of the Decade Poll and make a submission. The results of that poll will be announced a couple of weeks before this one.
Looten Plunder fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Feb 11, 2022 |
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Dec 20, 2021 23:38
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Hyrax Attack! bowmore Jerusalem BetterLekNextTime bagrada Big Bad Voodoo Lou Escobarbarian Nerdietalk TelevisedInsanity cant cook creole bream Rick RestingB1tchFace Hobbes Oasx cryptoclastic Bulky Bartokomous ShakeZula achillesforever6 punk rebel ecks bou Shneak Pillowpants Rarity Ishamael Chairman Capone Pan Dulce Yer Burnt Looten Plunder Open Source Idiom King Burgundy Looten Plunder fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Feb 22, 2022 |
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Dec 20, 2021 23:39
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Television! Hooray!!!!!
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Dec 21, 2021 22:15
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I thought I would struggle to get 10 shows on my list this year and now I have like 16 and at least one show I'm desperately trying to get through in time to add it to the mix. In other words:Escobarbarian posted:Television! Hooray!!!!! Also: Looten Plunder posted:1. Every show you pick must have had a first time airing in its country of origin in full or in part during 2020. Congrats to 2021 TV Show of the Year, 2020's Better Call Saul!  Edit: But seriously, thanks for the thread Looten, I look forward to it each year 
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Dec 22, 2021 00:36
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Jerusalem posted:
Fixed. The results this year are going to be interesting. I normally do a "here is the top 20 shows that aired last year that are eligible this year" list in the OP and I got through the top 50 from last year and only had about 7 shows.
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Dec 22, 2021 01:44
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Thanks for extending this until January 31. I've been trying to binge a bunch of poo poo I haven't finished in anticipation. Question: is Inside (Bo Burnham's special) eligible?
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Dec 22, 2021 15:41
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I would say.....no? I'll leave it to the thread to decide. Comedy Specials have never really come up in the thread from memory, but I see them as movies, more than I do TV shows. Maybe the boss of Cinema Discusso end of year poll (Rarity?) can weigh in if Inside is eligible on their poll? Although "TV Movies" are eligible according to the rules (I've just kept them the same ever since I took over the Poll). But, the aim of the thread is to celebrate TV and help people discover/try things they otherwise might not have, so I see no problem with you including it. I don't think it's going to ruin the integrity of the poll.
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Dec 23, 2021 01:39
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Chucky chucky chucky I want chucky! I want chucky!!!
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Dec 23, 2021 05:42
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I have seven shows on my list so far, but none quite stand out as much as last year.
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Dec 23, 2021 12:03
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I think including Inside is fine, although I’m personally not counting it.
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Dec 23, 2021 12:20
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It’s A Sin was an incredibly well done and moving series about the onset of AIDS in the UK in the 80s. It made me cry more than once.
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Dec 23, 2021 13:46
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Definitely recommend people check out It's A Sin for sure, at only 5 episodes it is a quick watch, and it's really goddamn good! By pure chance I was told a couple days ago about Lupin (inspired by the old books, not the anime... which was also inspired by the old books!) and ended up racing through all 10 episodes because it just caught me up immediately, it's another one well worth checking out if anybody is looking for more fodder for their lists... or just to watch a really enjoyable show!
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Dec 23, 2021 13:58
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10. Star Trek Lower Decks Felt like big improvement over season 1, with a story arc and the characters felt like they calmed down from a 10 to an 8. Lots of great Trek lore. 9. Wandavision Of the marvel shows had most interesting premise and mystery. 8. Invincible Was unsure about this knowing the plot twist, but excellent animation and universe building made it a winner. The scene of his dad wiping out the Justice league expys was crazy. 7. Resident Alien Fun light Alan Tudyk comedy drama. I like how he’s not a good guy but not a sociopath. 6. Squid Game Tense and messed up, the honey candy challenge was my favorite. 5. What We Do in the Shadows Still pretty good. 4. Great British Baking Show Hosts had better chemistry than last year and good group of contestants. 3. How To With John Wilson Fascinating to see where episodes will go and feels good hearted like he isn’t trying to make fun of people he finds but takes the time to let them explain their lives. 2. Swan Boy 2nd Funniest show of the year. Surprised how well it translated from the comic. 1. I Think You Should Leave Funniest show of the year. Was impressed how well season 2 worked, favorite sketches were tables and Karl Havoc. Hyrax Attack! fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Dec 23, 2021 |
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Dec 23, 2021 21:49
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Looten Plunder posted:2. The joy of this thread is in getting to shout about your favourites and hear about the hidden gems that you missed and we can only do that if you talk about why you've chosen the shows you have. You can write a sentence, you can write an essay, whatever you like as long as you write something. Any lists posted without reasons for their picks will not be counted in the final vote.
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Dec 23, 2021 22:34
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Jerusalem posted:By pure chance I was told a couple days ago about Lupin (inspired by the old books, not the anime... which was also inspired by the old books!) and ended up racing through all 10 episodes because it just caught me up immediately, it's another one well worth checking out if anybody is looking for more fodder for their lists... or just to watch a really enjoyable show! Yeah, Lupin got a bit of love in the chat thread when it was on. It's fun. If you want more Lupin but don't want to watch the whole anime, Miyazaki's directorial debut for Ghibli was a Lupin movie. The Castle of Cagliostro.
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Dec 24, 2021 02:53
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Do limited documentary series count? Like one's split into 4 to 6 episodes?
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Dec 24, 2021 03:39
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Shneak posted:Thanks for extending this until January 31. I've been trying to binge a bunch of poo poo I haven't finished in anticipation.
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Dec 24, 2021 04:41
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punk rebel ecks posted:Do limited documentary series count? Like one's split into 4 to 6 episodes? Yes, the one The Jinx from a few years ago polled quite well
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Dec 24, 2021 05:24
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10. Loki Loki carried the first Avengers movie on his shoulders so it's no surprise he got his own show. The Loki/Sylvie/Mobius dynamic is great. Incredibly high production values mixed with a charismatic cast. Big "Brazil" vibes. It's shame they had to mix it into the overall narrative as a trailer for new movies that are coming out - as disney is inclined to do. They hosed up the season end, you greedy bastards. 9. Squid Game Probably the "phenomenon" show of the year. It's like Battle Royale but with extra critiques of capitalism. There are some fantastic characters in here, Squid Game would be nothing without the tangled web of character development that unfolds every minute on the screen. 8. Star Trek: Lower Decks A lot more confident than the first season and made me want to watch more Star Trek. The characters feel like they are coming into their own and as a result, the writing and comedy are stronger. 7. Invincible A very solid superhero show. There are some quite shocking moments that I still haven't forgotten months on - and if you've seen Invincible you know what I'm talking about. 6. Reservation Dogs More Indigenous representation on television is great. The young actors are very impressive. It's lowkey and has deadpan humor but is also very poignant at times. You enjoy it more and more as the characters start to grow into their roles in the story. 5. What we do in the shadows More adventures of the gang. What I wouldn't do to be a slice of ham in a Nadja and Lazlo sandwich. Honestly, anything with Matthew Berry in it has a chance of being in a top 10 of the year list. I agreed with this take from Vulture: "What We Do in the Shadows continues to alternate between deadpan, dark, physical, and scatological humor, sometimes within a single scene, with ease and effectiveness. It also remains delightfully weird, acted by pros with impeccable timing, and Goth-gorgeous in every detail, including production designs that demand viewers hit pause in order to absorb everything in the frame." 4. Tuca & Bertie Strikes a chord with me as a slightly drifting millennial. Covers a lot of taboo* topics incredibly well. I haven't seen a show that is so funny also explores trauma and grief so well. Ali Wong and Tiffany Haddish are incredible. The animation is fantastic. *to mainstream media 3. Can't Get You Out of My Head: An Emotional History of the Modern World It's a leftist mini-series that focuses on power and who has it and why they have it. It's a wild mix of storytelling, conspiracy theory, politics - it's incredibly dense and ambitious in scope. Adam Curtis's mixture of archival footage, sound, and narration is incredibly engaging. You can watch it here for free: https://thoughtmaybe.com/cant-get-you-out-of-my-head/ 2. Ted Lasso The most wholesome show of 2021? We all need a Ted Lasso in our lives. Spoiler > The heel turn from Nate genuinely pissed me off. What an absolute piece of poo poo. 1. I Think You Should Leave  The funniest show on TV at the moment. It's delightfully absurd. It's already got its own lore. The scariest thing is it is only one slight veil over reality from being the real.
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Dec 24, 2021 05:57
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gently caress I forgot about can’t get you out of my head. I don’t think it’ll make my top 10 but what a fantastic thing it was. Love the rest of your list too
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Dec 24, 2021 11:09
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Escobarbarian posted:gently caress I forgot about can’t get you out of my head. I don’t think it’ll make my top 10 but what a fantastic thing it was. Love the rest of your list too thank u <3
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Dec 24, 2021 11:13
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Who is all in for escapist TV? First some honorable mentions. HM. We Are Lady Parts (Peacock). Fun crass show about a Muslim female punk band in England. It's a quick watch, and the songs are actually pretty good. HM. Sex Education (Netflix). We binged the three seasons of this show this year. It's one of those shows that I expected to hate as mostly cheap crass teen humor. It ended up having a lot more depth for a high school comedy. HM. Colin in Black and White (Netflix). This show is a tough sell given how polarizing Kaepernick is, and the preachy bits of commentary/narration won't win over any new fans. If you can look past this, the majority of the show focusing on high school Kaepernick and is well acted. The interactions with his parents pretty fascinating. If I thought a 3-sports star picking his career was a more interesting premise this might have gotten closer to my top-10. HM. The Wheel of Time (Amazon Prime). I read the book maybe 20 years ago, which probably gives me the perfect amount of background to fill in general backstory without getting hung up on which details have been altered or not. I'm not sure the casting of the kids shines for me but I dig Moraine and Lan. The show is a fun ride so far and the scenery and production value have been mostly impressive. My main criticism is that the story feels a little rushed, but given that the showrunners are condensing eight billion pages into an episodic tv show it's much better than the alternative. Consider me completely on board for Season 2. HM. The Witcher. The Ciri/Geralt relationship in this season is great, and this show continues to be fun when it gets weird and dark. This season felt more linear than S1 but still very enjoyable. HM. Ted Lasso (Apple TV+). Late to the party on this show. I think I prefer S1 to S2 but when I needed a new #10 because something higher up on my list was not actually released this year, and I couldn't choose between Wheel of Time and Witcher, I went with this one. I enjoyed the journeys of the supporting characters and as much as there are villains in this show, like where they're apparently going for S3. HM. The Detectorists. It's not a 2021 show but it's the best show we watched in 2021 (released on Acorn this year), and I just want to mention it because it's so dang good and kind of under the radar. Thanks to the top shows of the decade poll for mentioning this. 10. The Wonder Years (ABC). I can count on two fingers the network shows I sought out this year (the other was Ghosts on CBS). This show feels like an example of a reboot done right. It keeps the same wholesome tone and premise as the original. At the same time, the change in family and setting make it fresh and not just a retread. 9. Lucifer (Netflix). I'm putting this here since they managed to give us basically two seasons this year. Neither were perfect but I'm not overthinking it. Season 5B had some great stuff and a reasonable season ending, and was even better on a re-watch. The Dennis Haysbert arc, although really only 4 or 5 episodes, delivered in spades. For me Season 6 was all about the emotional tone of a series farewell. The plot had some problems and I don't love the finale, but the penultimate episode is probably one of my favorites of the show. 8. What We Do In the Shadows (FX). This season felt uneven to me but most of the episodes were still hilarious as heck. There's been more character growth this season, and I particularly like the development of the Colin/Lazlo friendship. 7. The Expanse (Amazon Prime). After 4 seasons of increasingly out-there sci-fi, S5 turned more into early-Game-of-Thrones with politics and family loyalties than out-there space monsters but setting all this in front of the backdrop of impending doom just amped up the tension that much more. Season 6 is here and looks pretty solid, keeping the story tight and gritty even within the big stakes 6. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu). I am not a huge fan of any of the leads, which makes the alchemy of this show really amazing. The premise is a trio of tenants solving mysteries in a posh Manhattan apartment building and make a podcast about it. The writers get the tone just right, it's silly but with surprise reveal after surprise reveal to keep it engaging through to the last episode. 5. For All Mankind. (Apple TV+). So glad to have finally found this show! Mix a fun cast of complex characters with tantalizing alt-history and a space race that ended up being way more exciting than what we got in our own boring timeline. The sfx in the show really welcome you in, whether it's astronauts doing their thing or subtlety tweaked news reals. 4. Wandavision (Disney +). I'd consider myself a casual Marvel fan and I didn't know these characters before watching the show. This was my favorite thing on Disney+. The combination of campy pop culture satire, surrealist fantasy, and a legitimate main story about coming to terms with grief really worked for me. I'd probably like it even better if it didn't get Marvelized in the later episodes but really one of my favorite superhero shows ever. 3. Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix). What a fun ride! The creators really hit the nail on the head. Dark but not morose, weird without being off-putting, and sexy without getting too gratuitous. And funny! (like how unremarkable the supernatural goings on are in a coke-fueled LA). Kind of David Lynch light in best/most entertaining way possible. 2. The White Lotus (HBO). There was something just so delicious about this dark comedy. Rich people come to a posh resort to escape their problems, problems somehow still there, poo poo happens (literally). The way the anticipation of the disasters built towards the last episode just made this show for me. I also loved how the characters, even the objectively terrible ones, were written so that you could almost always empathize with them. 1. Reservation Dogs (FX). I'm not I can fully articulate why this show tops my list, but it just seemed to hit every note for my wife and I. Endearing banter and peer/cross generational relationships, sweet and funny. It also feels like an important work for representation of indigenous artists. e: removed the Crown because it's not a 2021 release, shifted everything up and put Ted Lasso at 10. e2: inserted For All Mankind at 5, shifted The Expanse to 7, and dropped Ted Lasso back to Honorable Mention. BetterLekNextTime fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Jan 13, 2022 |
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Dec 26, 2021 06:53
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Great list, but The Crown s4 was 2020.
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Dec 26, 2021 09:35
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Escobarbarian posted:Great list, but The Crown s4 was 2020. Wow, how did I screw that up. I could have sworn that was a mid-2021 release. I blame pandemic time warp. Edited the list above.
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Dec 26, 2021 17:44
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I saw a hell of a lot more television this year than I expected, and there were a lot of great shows in that mix. Of everything I watched, perhaps the only true sour note - mostly because if had such potential - was Foundation, which was... I don't know what the hell it was, but it sure wasn't good! Even Falcon & The Winter Soldier at least was generically "okay", as opposed to the awful fumble that was Foundation, wasting the talents of Lee Pace, Terrence Mann and, most unforgivably, Jared Harris. There were a bunch of shows that I initially had in my Top Ten that slowly but surely slipped out as I saw something else that had either just come out or that I'd missed. Hawkeye, What If? and sadly Doctor Who were all entirely watchable but not good enough to make the cut. Wheel of Time doesn't quite seem to know what it is yet, but has a lot of potential. I was sure Invincible would make it, WandaVision absolutely would have if they hadn't crapped out on the final couple episodes. Then there was Arcane (incredible animation!) and finally the show that I really, really wanted to include in my Top Ten but in the end couldn't quite make it: For All Mankind, the alt-history series about the space race: a great show that feels like it is on the cusp of breaking free from its mold... but hasn't quite made it yet. Anyway, enough about that - here's my Top Ten for 2021!  10. Mare of Easttown In a lovely little Pennsylvania town, a middle-aged divorced police detective slumps her way through life, continuing a long-cold investigation of a missing young woman while trying to juggle raising both her teenage daughter and her young grandson, the last link she has to a drug-addict son who committed suicide. Played by Kate Winslet in an incredible performance, Mare Sheehan is just miserable and worn-down by life in general, and when another young woman goes missing and a hotshot young county detective (Evan Peters) is brought in to "assist" her on the case she feels like her grip is slipping. Mare of Easttown's setting is a squalid, run-down little town and the inhabitants are themselves showing signs of that decay setting into themselves. We're frequently shown the worst of the place, the drug addicts, teenage drinking, sexual abuse, exploitation and an underlying suspicion that everybody seems to have that everybody always has an ulterior motive. Mare herself is the town "hero", not for some crime she solved or great task fulfilled, but because she was the star of the High School Basketball team when they made the State Champs 25 years earlier. This is her claim to "fame", though she herself has little time for basking in the memory... it's just that there really isn't much else to celebrate in Easttown. Which isn't to say the show is an exercise in misery-porn. Mare has friends, she has family, she loves her daughter and grandson and even her mother (the wonderful Jean Smart) and yes even her ex-husband who lives in the house behind her own. She often holds them at arm's length, but one friend in particular, Lori (Julianne Nicholson) is always there for her. She even, surprising herself, has a bit of a love life, after she allows herself to be picked up by a newly arrived and very lonely academic (Guy Pearce). Where the show stands out, outside of Winslet's fantastic performance, is in seeing how people persevere through the tough times and refuse to let their friendships/relationships end even when strained seemingly to the breaking point. The show's core mysteries - the two missing young women - unravel in a satisfying way. The various twists - while a little contrived at times - have real emotional impact. This show is probably what Gracepoint (the American version of Broadchurch) should have been... but then they didn't have Kate Winslet.  9. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia The second show set in Pennsylvania, and also about squalid little people... but with a very different tone! 15 years in and still going as strong as ever, Sunny returned very late in 2021 for an 8-episode run. While the first four episodes were good, in the back half of the season the final episodes were right up there with the best this show has ever done... and that covers a lot of ground! The season starts with a recount of what happened to the Gang in 2020 during COVID (which still isn't over!), their own hosed-up Forest Gump style adventure through the last year of the Trump Administration, the election, and the attempted coup on January 6th. Next they do a meta-style episode around the use of blackface in television, as they endeavor to make yet another (beautifully) terrible sequel to Lethal Weapon and we discover that their new moral stance is, of course, entirely self-serving. A flashback episode about their attempts to buy an ice skating rink proves to be a shaggy dog story about how they ended up buying Paddy's Pub. Then in the set-up episode for the final four, the Gang purchase a monkey that proceeds to get them drunk and... well, you should watch it. But while each of those four episodes was fine, the sudden uptick in quality for the final four was remarkable. The boys piggyback their way onto Dee finally getting an acting gig and infect her trip to Ireland, both figurative and literally. COVID, cheese, castles, bog monsters, priests, piss, psychotic breaks and a running joke about the restorative powers of stew make the Ireland episodes of Season 15 an utter delight to watch. There's Dennis trying to forcefully control his body's response to COVID and having a complete mental breakdown; Dee's frantic attempts to salvage her one-ever acting gig followed by at least hoping to get laid and having even that taken away from her. Mac loses all sense of his own identity and throws himself headfirst into trying to find something upon which he can base his entire personality: being Irish, being gay, being a Priest, being Dutch, being a problem-solver.... something, ANYTHING, so he can feel like he understands his place in the world. Then there is Charlie and Frank, in a storyline that is somehow the most disgusting AND the most heartwarming (and at one remarkable point in episode 8, heartbreaking) as Charlie goes in search of an old pen-pal and discovers something much, much more. Look, it's a great show, and the writing is extremely clever, and the actors are just great and throw everything they have into this. But hell you should just watch it if only to watch Danny DeVito eat a turd he slipped into soup as part of a deranged revenge scheme.  8. Squid Game For awhile it seemed like Squid Game was everywhere, when it came out it captured the public imagination in a way usually reserved for giant blockbuster movies or TV series, and certainly not for a Korean drama series, written by a man who spent years trying to sell people that his idea had merit. It's hardly a unique idea, either. It's a death-game series, in which contestants take part in games where victory means another chance at a remarkable prize and defeat likely means execution. So why did Squid Game make such a connection with people? The creator - Hwang Dong-hyuk - told what he thought was a very Korean story: people in enormous debt willing to be exploited by the super-rich for the chance to take control of their lives. What he discovered, and it isn't a good thing, is that this was sadly a story that was not unique to South Korea. Certainly the private debt in that country is astonishing, but the overall story was a global one: capitalism creating such an enormous wealth gap that the super-elite can act with utter impunity while the poor are left between a rock and a hard place, where the choice they were given to compete was barely any choice at all. It helps that the central characters of the series are all interesting, well-written and make the viewer invested in seeing them survive. Seong Gi-hun is the clear lead, a gambling addict whose irresponsible attitude is maddening in spite of his charisma until we start to see the PTSD that underlies it, as well as the (based on true events) back story of how the Government/Courts destroyed the lives of exploited workers who made a desperate attempt to unionize. But there is also the "local kid who made good", a financial whizkid who screwed up on an investment and is now trying with everything he can to make enough money to cover up his failure and maintain the illusion of his success to his mother and the community that reveres him. There's the North Korean defector who is trying to get her parents out as well to reunite with her and her little brother. The old man with a brain tumor who just wants to feel the excitement of his youth. The Pakistani immigrant who has basically found himself a slave laborer in a country that was supposed to provide for he and his family. The con-woman whose age is making it harder for her to work her schemes. The gangster enforcer who stole from his Boss and now needs a lot of money VERY fast. Plus a variety of supporting characters who get 1-2 episodes to further the theme of how debt/pride/fear has left them vulnerable to exploitation. Unfortunately, while the actual Squid Game portion of the series is very strong, the show is let down by its final episode. This has been a regular complaint from viewers, mostly based around the clear intention to be sequel bait for another season. This itself - unintentionally - demonstrates in a meta-sense the themes of the show: Hwang Dong-hyuk finally got his work made after years of trying, but he didn't get any extra cut from the massive success the show ended up being. Should there be a second season, one imagines he could negotiate a far stronger deal, but whether he did it intentionally for that purpose or not, the sequel set-up/hook dilutes the strength of the overall season. Even before that, the reveal about the truth behind one of the central characters - while in keeping with the themes of the show - detracted from the strong relationship developed across the course of the series. Squid Game is a fascinating, if flawed, single season of television. Can it sustain more than one season before the gimmick wears thin? I guess we're going to find out, because for all the capitalist reasons mentioned earlier, you can bet that Netflix will want to make a second season.  7. The Expanse I only caught up on The Expanse as a series earlier this year. According to some, the first 3 seasons are the best, but my favorite was probably Season 4, I've greatly enjoyed what aired this year too. Season 5 mostly aired in 2021 and the bulk of season 6 is airing this year too. Telling the story of a future where humanity has colonized the solar system (and, of course, immediately set about creating entirely new racism as a result), the Expanse mainly focuses on a small crew of survivors of a destroyed ice hauler who end up in command of a little freighter salvaged from the Martian Navy's flagship. Caught up in events between Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA), they discover a "proto-molecule" of seemingly extra-solar origins which leads to the creation of a giant ring in space that in turns opens the way to 1000+ habitable systems, more than enough for every human in the solar system to live in peace and harmony with more than enough resources for everyone forever. So of course the rich people take control of who gets to go through it. Season 5 (and 6 so far) mostly cover the long overdue cost of the exploitation and racism that underlies the system as seen since season 1. A particularly militant branch of the OPA, lead by Marcos Inaros, orchestrates multiple asteroid strikes on the Earth thanks to the assistance of a breakaway faction of the Martian Navy who take control of the Ring and leave the rest of the solar system to Marcos. This unfortunately marks the major problem with these two seasons.... Marcos Inaros isn't a particularly great villain. I won't blame the actor, based on the writing he's giving exactly the performance asked of him, but he's a one-dimensional cartoon supervillain who has survived this long purely due to plot armor as highly competent killers have had him dead to rights multiple times and allowed him to escape. The idea is that he's supposed to be so charismatic and magnetic that people can't help but let him speak and then get caught up in the spell of his words... except that doesn't come across on the screen at all so they just end up looking kind of stupid. In spite of this, I still rate The Expanse highly. Even in spite of the obvious COVID limitations on filming that hit season 5 so hard, the characters and the world continue to draw me in, and season 5 included some absolutely fantastic stuff. There was Amos' visit to his hometown and prison visit that coincided with the attack on Earth, and then his attempt to get off-planet as everything went to poo poo. There was Holden narrowly escaping a trap and going in pursuit of the proto-molecule yet again. There was Drummer and her small crew having to eat poo poo and join Inaros only for her to turn it all around at the end. There was Alex and Bobbie racing to the rescue of Naomi... and then of course there was Naomi's whole story. Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper) is the high point of season 5, getting probably the best storyline she's had the entire show and absolutely knocking it out of the park with her performance. Her history with Inaros ties in with her storyline going all the way back to season 1, and while Inaros might not be a great villain, she more than makes up for it in her utter disgust and loathing for him. Watching her trapped on his ship, forced into a horrific pantomime of the family she has created with the Rocinante Crew, is heartbreaking stuff. But it's the incredible episode where she escapes by leaping into the vacuum of space for the chance to make it to Inaros' booby-trapped bait ship and the follow-up where she slowly uses the bare resources at her disposal to send out a warning and to eventually escape is just phenomenal television. It makes a similarly themed episode of The Foundation stand out even more for how bad that was, both by itself but especially in comparison to this. The Expanse gets a little smaller each year, with less episodes, fewer cast (Cas Anvar is gone from the show after Season 5 and though I liked his character, he's gone for very good reason, gently caress that guy) and sadly less time in this remarkable world they've created. But while some think the show peaked in its early seasons, I still think that season 5 and what I've seen of season 6 so far make it still made it one of the best shows on television this year.  6. The Witcher I liked the first season of The Witcher, changes to the source material and all, though it did try to be a little too clever for its own good with the (unnoted) different time periods various episodes took place in. I think the second season is a big improvement though, even if Geralt doesn't take on anywhere near enough monster cases for my liking. Even for those who have never read the books or played the video games, the setting is easy enough to understand. A long time ago, there was a "conjunction of the spheres" that brought various races from different realities/worlds/universes to a single great continent. Humans were newcomers to this realm and quickly became the dominant force on it, much to the chagrin of the elves who lost most of their land and all of their status, though dwarfs fared a little better. With the Conjunction came magic (Chaos) and monsters, and sorcerors/sorceresses created Witchers - enhanced humans with long lifespans, heightened reflexes and minor magical abilities - to hunt and kill the monsters. Season 1 was all about setting the scene, establishing the characters, providing a backstory for Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri before bringing them together in the finale. Except it turns out Yennefer wasn't there, and so much of season 2 ends up being about Geralt and Ciri bonding while he quietly mourns for what he thinks is his now dead love. Yennefer, of course, is alive, and much of the season is about her attempts to regain the magic she burned out of herself at the end of season 1, tempted all the way by a demon called The Deathless Mother who has offered deals (that were taken) by two other sorceresses also trying to regain something that was lost. Part of what makes The Witcher so interesting (to me at least) is that between the monster killing/magic, the show is packed with political intrigue. There is the obvious politicking around nations between Kings and Queens of course, but also within and between the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and Lodge of Sorceresses, within the hierarchical structure of the Nilfgaardian Empire, even between Elves in their rapidly declining populations. Spies, intrigue and disinformation is the order of the day, and though the show sometimes plays fast and loose with the rapidity in which people can cross geographical distances (if you want an excuse, it's magic!) you do get a real sense that there is always a ton going on beneath the surface of even the most obvious powerplays, wars and pushes for territory. It also makes the various plays for power all the more satisfying when they blow up in people's faces, as seen in the final scene of the final episode of this season, which was intensely gratifying to see happen. At the heart of the show though is Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri. Yennefer, as mentioned, is largely doing her own thing or interacting with others (her team-up with the bard Jaskier is a delight) while Geralt tries to get to the truth of what Ciri won't tell him even as he finds himself growing to care for her more and more. Ciri's immediate adoption of him as a mentor/father-figure feels a little off at first given everything she has been through in season 1, but it all comes into sharp focus when she reveals during a heated moment that she envies what she has mistaken for a lack of emotions in him, which ironically ends up deepening the strength of their connection. For a show with such a devoted audience, whether it be for the books or the games or both, it is a difficult balancing act to try and tell a story without immediately drawing comparisons with the source material. The show doesn't always get it right, and sometimes it stumbles when trying to be different (Eskel really stands out), but for the most part as adaptations go this is a strong one, that clearly recognizes the heart of the characters/story it is telling and works well towards showcasing that. I liked season 2 better than season 1, and now that the Geralt/Yennefer/Ciri team is together at last (albeit in a much more strained way than any of them would prefer) I have high hopes for season 3.  5. What We Do in the Shadows With Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement no longer leading the writers' room, the fear was that the show would lose the magic that made the first two seasons so strong. Thankfully, season 3 proved things were still in good hands (Paul Simms has a fantastic track record, to be fair), with the experiment of working through a season-long arc paying dividends in the final episode, particularly in the final sequence when everything comes together in incredible fashion. A parallel story of sorts to the (delightful) movie of the same name, the series tells the story of 4 Vampires living together in Staten Island with familiar Guillermo, a human who longs to be a vampire and has been promised he will be made one at the end of 10 years of service (which he long ago passed). The vampires, just like in the movie, are... idiots. Spectacular idiots. And they're not alone! Almost every vampire we meet in this series is a loving moron, and it's fantastic. This season looks somewhat deeper into the systems in place and history of vampires in this world, but mostly through the lens of hilarious bickering and selfish, destructive antics of the various vampires. As usual, there are a series of great cameos - Donal Logue in particular is great - but the core cast remain the major selling point of the series, and the season plays around with some interesting new cast dynamics. Nadja & Nandor's power struggle for supremacy over ALL vampires (in the Tri-state area) is great, but it is really the surprising growth of friendship between Colin Robinson the Energy Vampire and Laszlo that steals the show, working its way from the background to the foreground over the course of the season. It bubbles away beneath the surface, and when everything culminates in the final couple of episodes and Laszlo reveals the unseen story and his motivations behind what might otherwise have been considered slightly out of character behavior (for one thing, showing any interest in Colin Robinson at all!) everything comes together wonderfully, leading to one hell of a hook for Season 4. But at its core, the show is just a very, very, very funny show about horrible, powerful, deadly and VERY stupid people who in spite of everything actually care for each other. There are some great concept episodes but the common denominator through all of them is that they're just extraordinarily funny: the episode where the vampires go hang out at Atlantic City and meet "The Rat Pack" is a standout for sure, but they aren't really any weak episodes. That the show exists at all was a surprise, moreso that it was genuinely good and funny, and most wonderfully of all that quality has remained in place through multiple seasons now and doesn't really show any signs of dropping anytime soon.  4. Lupin I had no idea this show existed until barely 2 weeks ago, and when I first heard of it (in the context of the Cowboy Bebop adaptation) I assumed it was an adaptation of the Japanese anime. Not so, this extremely French production is inspired by the Arsène Lupin stories from the start of the 20th Century (as was the Japanese show) but very much tells its own story... and it's a good one! I watched all 10 episodes in roughly 3 days, it's one of those shows that gets its grip on you quickly. Assane Diop (played by Omar Sy, who is fantastic in the role) is the son of a Senegelese Immigrant who came to France in hopes of a better life for his son. He appears to have found it, having become employed by one of France's wealthiest men - Hubert Pellegrini - until his life falls apart when he is accused of the theft of a priceless necklace and commits suicide in prison from the shame of his downfall. What follows across the course of 10 episodes (split into 2 parts, each of which aired in 2021) are two parallel stories as we see young Assane's education, obsession with Lupin, romantic relationships and development of friendships alongside the fully grown Assane who has become a "Gentleman Burglar" like his role model. As the series starts, the adult Assane takes the opportunity to steal the recently recovered necklace his father was accused of stealing as his "one last job" before retiring to concentrate on being a better father to his own son (he and the boy's mother are separated but on good terms). Instead he unravels a conspiracy that makes him question everything he thought he knew and turn his sights (and his anger) on Hubert Pelligrini himself. The show delights in playing with the framework of the stories of Lupin, often drawing attention to this through flashback/narration/voiceover to remind of some of the core concepts of Lupin as a character: he is a master of disguise, nobody knows who he REALLY is, he doesn't take advantage of women, his victims are often unaware he has stolen from them for quite some time, and even when he loses... he wins. Assane follows the same pattern, as does the series, and what makes it work is that despite the trappings and the theatrics the show never forgets that this is "real", and that Assane is NOT Lupin, and in real life the villains get to play by their own rules. Omar Sy is fantastic as Diop, but so is Hervé Pierre as Pelligrini, an absolute monster of a human being whose selfish, self-serving ways are signposted remarkably early when his estranged wife bitterly explains that if you are not 100% on his side then you are automatically his hated enemy. Coupled with a great supporting cast of various friends and foes for Diop, including the small team of cops trying to link seemingly unconnected crimes while keeping a clearly corrupt boss happy, the show just buzzes along at a breakneck pace that keeps up the excitement/tension throughout. It's not perfect, in fact at times the events that unfold and the reliance on certain people doing certain things at certain times is overly convoluted and far too convenient, but it is a show carried by the (significant) charisma of its lead, slick production values, and manages to say some important things both about wealth disparity but also the still present open (or barely hidden) and infuriating racism that permeates much of French society both in the 1990s and the present day. If you missed this series, check it out, it's an easy watch, there aren't many episodes, and its drat good!  3. Loki There were a bunch of Marvel TV series this year, each interesting or with potential in their own way. Of all of them, it was Loki that I felt had the most consistent quality across the course of its season, but more than that it was just a genuinely good show, regardless of its origins. They help, of course, the character of Loki is one we've seen develop across multiple movies, but the setting, the stakes and the general feel and look of the show all contributed to make this feel like something special. The series makes some interesting choices, picking up from Loki's cameo in the Avengers: Endgame film and thus showing a Loki before his quasi-rehabilitation and reconciliation (of sorts) with Thor, as well as his death (of course!) at the hands of Thanos. This means we're seeing a monstrous, callous Loki at first, which makes his utter frustration and impotent rage at the bureaucratic machinery of the TVA all the more enjoyable to watch. It wouldn't make for much of a show if he stayed that way though, and the show does attempt to have its cake and eat it too by trying to cram a lot of the progression he went through in the movies into the first couple of episodes via his discovery of Asgard's fate as well as his "interrogation" sessions with Mobius (Owen Wilson, who is wonderful, by the way). Remnants of his arrogance remain, of course, but this season is a journey of self-reflection and discovery for Loki, and in his narcissistic way of course this literally means facing himself: he encounters many other Lokis throughout the show, which is both comedic but also leads to some remarkably poignant moments. Loki literally gets to see the result of himself making mistakes HE would make and how HE would turn out if HE made them. Which leads to the she. Because across the infinite potential timelines that the TVA (Time Variance Authority) are trying to prune to maintain the "sacred" timeline, the deadliest and most dangerous Loki they've encountered is a she. Loki meets himself as a woman, a "variant" pruned as a child who escaped being disintegrated and seemingly has a grudge against the TVA. When Loki finally catches up to her, he finds out he's still a long way behind, as she reveals so much more going on behind the scenes than even he - a naturally paranoid person - suspected. The chemistry between Loki and "Sylvie" (Sophia Di Martino) is tremendous, carrying much of the emotional weight of a series (Mobius and the Judge do some heavy lifting too) that could have easily relied on its crazy visuals and the recurring gag of different variant Lokis. Together the two fight against fate, and especially against the notion that there is fate at all, battling to establish something that should stand true for all: nobody is inherently evil or "wrong", everybody deserves a chance to try and change for the better. There will inevitably be a season 2 (it was announced before the credits had even finished rolling on season 1!) and the new status quo set up at the end of the first season is intriguing. Mostly though I'm going to watch because I want to see Loki and Sylvie reunite, and for Loki to continue to try and figure out just who he really wants to be when he's not trying to mask his insecurities with his "God of Mischief" front. Tom Hiddleston does wonderful things with this character, and its great that he is getting a chance to explore it further in a series this good, this interesting, and most importantly this weird.  2. Only Murders in the Building I love Steve Martin, I think he's the bees knees and if he's in something, I'll give it a shot. I like Martin Short, I think he's fun but I'm probably not going to watch something just because he is in it. I know next to nothing about Selena Gomez, but also there's nothing to indicate that she's a detriment to any show. Put the three together and you have a show... that'd I'd probably only watch because it has Steve Martin in it! Luckily I did, because this show was one of my most surprising finds of the year. The trio are a delight together, their chemistry is excellent and remains just as strong no matter which of the various pairings are together for any given episode. They all work wonderfully with the multiple supporting cast members too, but the series is carried on the strength of their chemistry, and not a one of them lets the side down, and indeed each easily carries scenes solo as well. The concept of the show is "simple" enough: three true crime podcast enthusiasts who happen to live in the same (wonderful) building meet by chance and decide to start their own podcast about a suicide that took place in the building, which they are convinced was actually a murder. But the show is so much more than that, and the mysteries they encounter and the secrets they reveal spiral out from there in crazy directions that begin to affect their personal lives and their own safety... and reveal some secrets of their own. Part of what I love about the show though is that it doesn't indulge in one of my pet peeves: characters who don't talk to each other. Each time we the viewer learn that one of the main cast is holding something back, or the others discover some mystery around their new friend... it gets quickly resolved. They talk to each other, they confront or get caught snooping around or they just out and out explain things themselves. The pointless and easily avoidable drama gets sidelined and they focus on what is really important, which means the drama that ensues is around actual substantial narrative issues and not pointless sitcom misunderstanding bullshit. Each of the three main characters have plenty going on in their own lives. Charles (Steve Martin) is the now long-unemployed former star of a long-running police detective drama who dislikes socializing and is resigned to being alone after a painful breakup. Oliver (Martin Short) is a Broadway director who hasn't worked in years after a disastrously over-budget production of Splash! destroyed his career (and he destroyed his marriage), desperately trying to cling on to his beloved apartment despite having no money to pay his building fees. Mabel (Selena Gomez) is an artist living in her aunt's apartment while she renovates it, trying to come to terms with a tragedy she was involved in at the building several years earlier that she suspects links to the current murder (or suicide?). There are a ton of great supporting cast members too, various building inhabitants including Amy Ryan and the ever delightful Nathan Lane, and even Sting (the singer, and Oliver's #1 suspect in the murder!). But there's also Tina Fey as Cinda Canning, the true crime podcast queen who the trio idolize, and Jane Lynch makes a tremendous cameo as Charles' old stunt double who takes getting into his mindset/skin a little too far at times. In general, this show was just a delight to watch. Every week was just so enjoyable, kind of like listening to a favorite podcast, just settling in and watch them struggle to figure out the mystery. Just like they did when they listened to Cinda's podcasts, they thrilled to coming up with all kind of crazy or out there theories, finding solutions that fit all the facts but having to admit that it was all mostly conjecture built from jigsaw pieces when they weren't even sure what picture they were supposed to be making... or if they even had all the pieces. When the truth finally does come out, of course, it bears little relationship to what they first thought or most of the crazy ideas they came up with... but it's been built to, it's been earned, and it recontextualizes so much of what we saw beforehand. The show ends on a cliffhanger but it doesn't feel like this was a last minute addition or unearned, such as in Squid Game for example. In fact, rather cleverly the final scene of the first season was also the first scene of the first episode, this was all planned! Happily it's also a cliffhanger that has me pumped up for the second season, because I can't wait to see more of the adventures of this goofy, in-over-their-heads trio in that beautiful building, solving murders and basically making each others lives better. For a long time, this topped my list as the best show of the year, and even though it ended up dropping to two, I'd say it's still the show I enjoyed the most, even if it wasn't the best.  1. It's a Sin This was the best. At only five episodes long, this is an easy watch... but it's not an easy watch! Funny, energetic, fast-paced and enthralling, it is also a series that tackles some deeply unsettling and at times maddening subjects, all phenomenally put together by Russell T Davies in some of his best ever writing, featuring a cast of mostly young actors just giving their all for a show they know is special. It's a show about AIDS, but that's reductive. AIDS permeates every aspect of every episode, but to simply say it is about AIDS ignores just how broad a spectrum that covers. Because of course it's about life, about love, about freedom and being yourself, but also the stultifying, depressing misery of having to hide who you are from the ones you love and who should love you back. Set in Britain (mostly London) between 1981 and 1991, several young gay men and their female friend find each other and the exhilarating freedom of getting to be themselves openly for perhaps the first time in their lives. They come from different backgrounds, status and interests, but together they are a family, living together, partying together, studying or working or just enjoying being together. There's Ash, tall and handsome and experienced who helps newcomers find their way, which leads to a fantastic scene where he has to gently explain sexual hygiene to an enthusiastic virgin. There's Roscoe whose hyper religious father wants to take him "home" to Nigeria to "cure" him of being gay, who learns early on to be fiercely proud of his sexual orientation even at the cost of his family and holds true to his ideals. There's Colin, a sweet young Welsh boy who has come to London to take up a tailoring apprenticeship and seems happy to just stare on from the sidelines at the excitement of the London gay scene. There's Jill, an aspiring actress and "mother/sister" to the boys, who loves the energy and excitement of being with them but is among the first to start being concerned about the so-called "gay cancer". And finally there is Ritchie, played by Olly Alexander, a fascinating and often frustrating character, utterly convinced of his own status as the main character of the world. He comes to London knowing he is gay but with zero real-life experience, but takes to it like a duck to water, quickly becoming the frontman of the group, the (sometimes overbearing) personality who is convinced they can and will shine brighter than everybody else. For four episodes, this is a great television series, showing the early exhilaration suddenly tempered by the stories and rumors about the "gay cancer", turning to the rejection and denial that it is a real thing, followed by the acceptance and fallout of AIDS devastating the people they know and love and then even those in their close-knit family group. They don't come to it evenly or in lockstep, not helped by the utter barren landscape of medical help available early on, the active suppression of information, the reliance on a telephone-chain of hearsay to figure out what was happening, how to help, how to avoid, and perhaps most importantly how to manage it when it finally came. We see the horrible early treatments: the abandonment of patients to empty wards devoid of all human contact; the spiriting away of the sick to family homes to die in secret before all their worldly possessions were burned from fear of infection; the horror of those close to the victims who didn't even know if they could touch them or breath the same air; the various different ways the virus affected victims, including turning young previously virile men senile and causing them to say and do things they would never have dreamed of. Worst of all though, we saw those who didn't want to admit they had it, avoiding testing or - when they no longer could - seeking refuge in insane home remedies so they could continue to enjoy the lifestyle they'd only so recently gotten to enjoy after a lifetime of repressing who they were: in one (horribly) memorable scene, a man literally drinks bleach thinking it will prevent him catching the virus. But for all that the first four episodes are so great, episode 5 is an absolute masterpiece. Valerie (Keeley Hawes), a character almost entirely in the background or quietly unassuming for much of her brief appearances in the first four episodes, suddenly dominates much of the final episode in a distressing battle of wills with Jill over how to handle her son having AIDS. Her discovery that not only is her son gay but that he has AIDS sends her off the deep end, and what makes the actions that follow so terrible and traumatizing is that they come from a misplaced sense of love and duty. She does what she thinks is the right thing, and other characters - Jill in particular - find themselves torn between wanting to help their friend but also respect the fact that Valerie IS his mother. This all culminates in a devastating but beautiful final discussion between mother and son, which in turn leads to the absolute best scene in the entire series, when Jill and Valerie meet in person and Jill finally unloads all of her own frustrations and anger. Not on Valerie in particular, but on all mothers. All fathers. All family. All those who created an environment where young boys (and girls) couldn't be honest with them. Where they were made to feel something was wrong with them, that something needed to be hidden. Where all they wanted to do was escape so they could finally be themselves, and so of course once they tasted that freedom they then didn't want to lose it when AIDS came along... but AIDS also couldn't help but make some of them feel that maybe it was right that they were made to feel wrong all that time? Maybe there WAS something wrong with them? Something impure. A sin. Jill lets her have it, and though Valerie continues to think in terms of herself and her own feelings, Jill's point is a larger one relating to society itself. The final scene of the show reminds the viewer of what was lost, of the happiness and love these people felt together as a found family, because they found in each other what was lacking to some extent in their own families. They found acceptance. They found happiness. They found they could be who they really were, and that there was nothing wrong with that. This was the best show of the year. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Feb 18, 2022 |
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Dec 27, 2021 22:33
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That’s a very cool list. But just wanted to remind you that the deadline for this poll is January 31st. Which is plenty of time for you to watch all of Succession. Just sayin. Also gotta admit I’m legitimately surprised that For All Mankind’s season 2 finale wasn’t enough for it to bump Always Sunny at least. The Ireland episodes were good but that dreadful roller rink episode was bad enough to ensure this season isn’t making it anywhere near my list.
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Dec 27, 2021 23:08
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Without spoiling anything, while I loved that second season and really liked the ending, part of how they get there felt off to me, particularly regarding Ed and his big decision. In the end it came down to between FAM and Mare of Easttown and while FAM I think had higher highs (Gordo and Tracey's "run" in particular) Mare was just consistently stronger all the way through.
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Dec 27, 2021 23:35
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I think the “run” alone would catapult the show into my list. I was crying my eyes out. There’s too much TV at the end of the year, Station Eleven has two more eps dropping on Thursday and season 4 of Cobra Kai drops on literally New Year’s Eve so I’m very grateful for the late deadline for this poll.
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Dec 28, 2021 00:16
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I watched more twitch and youtube than tv this year, especially when I got laid up by covid for a few weeks. I did watch a lot of really great shows that would replace some of these on the list but they were older ones and not eligible. 11 Cowboy Bebop - just barely better than the only other tv shows I've watched this year. It was a fun watch, could have been much better, but they did better than I expected. Main thing that weirded me out was where is all the traffic. These broke bounty hunters seemed to zoom around the solar system at will so space should be crammed with people zipping around. Maybe I missed something though. I'm disappointed it got cancelled but not surprised. 10 Wheel of Time - I want to rate this higher but between trying to adapt the first book while looking ahead, COVID issues, and the loss of a main actor for reasons, they really kind of screwed this up. It did have some great moments and a lot of promise though, and I'll watch the whole thing even if it goes bad, and I hope it runs all 8 seasons or whatever they need. Amazon should have given this 10 episodes and an extra half hour on the pilot. 9 Wandavision - Been a while but this one was fun and my favorite of this year's disney tv onslaught. 8 Evil - X-Files with an edge, I'm never quite sure where this show is going, including a bit towards the cartoony side sometimes. I'm reminded I have a few episodes to go to catch up. 7 Midnight Mass - this was the office water cooler show for the year (besides Yellowstone and whatever Chicago cop/lawyer show is running right now, I tune those conversations out out) so I loaded it up. Almost everyone got weirded out by the ending but a couple of us immediately went on to Hill House and Bly Manor. I dig the style and soundtrack to these shows and I don't care if he continues to use the same melody for his big moments across his next few shows. 6 What We Do In The Shadows - probably the actual best show on the list but I have to be in the right mood to watch. Just such a fun show and cast. 5 Star Wars Visions - more franchises need to let other people play around in them, especially when the main line goes bad. 4 Arcane - insanely well animated, this got me to care about a franchise that didn't interest me at all, and I'm upset that the brands I like more aren't doing shows like this. I'll forgive them Imagine Dragons since I liked the Ramsey song at the end of episode 3. 3 The Witcher - This has some glaring issues like Yennefer stealing all the storylines from other characters from the books but it is still the best looking high fantasy show on right now and I can't help but root for Henry Cavill as he makes the promotional rounds talking about painting his warhammer 40k figurines. I still like the cast if not some of the storylines and am looking forward to season 3. Much like Wheel of Time I like all the cast. Witcher has enough episodes unlike WoT, but both shows rewrite too much that they should have kept intact from the books. I'll see how they play out. 2 The Nevers - Even with everything that came out about Whedon and Buffy I still like his style of show and hopefully Espenson keeps things going for the second half of season 1 this year. The heroine was a bit too much with her zeal in diving into a melee but after the last episode I'm fully on board Always a fan of Claudia Black. 1 Station Eleven - This is the new season of Lost I've been waiting for. It's not quite up to the highs of Lost (and is probably closer to the Leftovers) but it definitely has the same feel to me and I'm captivated. I'm enjoying the character moments and watching some puzzle pieces get filled in by flashbacks. It could use a smoke monster or two but otherwise it has been consistently great. Episode 3 was where it got me. I just finished #7, the last of the 2021 episodes. Hopefully the rest of the season sticks the landing, and I'm looking forward to reading the book as well since I've already noticed it's a bit different thanks to the preview chapters. bagrada fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Jan 28, 2022 |
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Dec 29, 2021 02:16
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I always want to watch "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" but it isn't streaming in any services I have.
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Dec 29, 2021 02:23
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The show was into its 10th Season when I decided to catch up on it and ended up zooming through those first 10 seasons in barely any time at all, it's a very easy show to watch and really, really loving funny. If you are able to find it anywhere, it's so worth catching up on, show has been consistently great for a crazy length of time.
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Dec 29, 2021 03:54
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I ran this thread six times in a row? Jesus loving Christ
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Dec 29, 2021 08:26
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Jerusalem posted:The show was into its 10th Season when I decided to catch up on it and ended up zooming through those first 10 seasons in barely any time at all, it's a very easy show to watch and really, really loving funny. If you are able to find it anywhere, it's so worth catching up on, show has been consistently great for a crazy length of time. This except 13th!!!! It’s extremely bingeable, and although it’s had up and down seasons it’s never had any major drop in quality and some of the later seasons have been among the best. NieR Occomata posted:I ran this thread six times in a row? Jesus loving Christ We appreciate your service. Now post a list bitch!!!!!!!!
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Dec 29, 2021 09:53
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NieR Occomata posted:I ran this thread six times in a row? Jesus loving Christ Let's be fair I really ran like 4 of those 
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Dec 29, 2021 20:37
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One of my favorite things about this thread is when it inspires me to start watching a show. This thread got me interested in Ted Lasso before and already this year it inspired me to watch For All Mankind. I"m halfway through season 1 and loving it. We'll see if it makes into my list but if season 2 is as good as season 1, it's looking pretty likely.
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Dec 31, 2021 04:28
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I dunno if I'm gonna be able to get this all done by the deadline. Is it okay to submit a partly completed list and then work on filling out some of the details over the next few days?
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Dec 31, 2021 05:24
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Deadline is the 31st of January, you have a month!
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Dec 31, 2021 05:46
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Big Bad Voodoo Lou's Top Ten TV Shows of 2021 10. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+). I almost listed the dire, depressing HBO miniseries Mare of Easttown instead of this six-episode Marvel show, because Mare of Easttown is better in almost every way. But The Falcon and the Winter Soldier humanized one of the best villains to appear so far in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (my dude Zemo), two supposed good guys had major heel turns (one expected, and one as a huge surprise), and they introduced an important new character who will hopefully lead into a new movie or show about one of my favorite Marvel concepts. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, congratulations on not being a nerd. Oh yeah, and Sam Wilson, one of the two biggest mensches in the MCU, Steve Rogers’ trusted friend and protégé, fulfilled his potential and rose to a well-deserved spot on the superhero A-list. I cried happy tears. If you haven’t watched it or haven’t been spoiled yet, I don’t want to ruin it for you, but it’s a beautiful, inspiring moment that reminded me why I love superheroes, even when their stories suffer from poor pacing, weird editing, relatively low budgets, and other factors that keep them from reaching their full potential, as this show did. Mare of Easttown had better performances and told a tighter, twistier tale, but all it did was make me depressed and hungry for hoagies, and that’s already how I feel every day of my life, baby. 9. Wynonna Earp, Season 4 (SyFy). I can’t wholeheartedly recommend this show to most people. It’s a low-budget, campy Canadian Western-fantasy-horror series that owes a great debt to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so if you think that sounds fun, then run, don’t walk. And if you think that sounds awful, then run in the opposite direction. Honestly, my least-favorite parts of this show were always the monsters of the week, and even the “big bads” of the season often disappointed. That said, I always enjoyed spending time with the main characters as they laughed, cried, drank, banged, fell in love, shot the poo poo, shot some demons, and drank some more in the cursed town of Purgatory in the Ghost River Triangle. This was the final season, and the series finale ended the only way it could have – with an adorable lesbian wedding and a little bit of happiness and hope springing from all the bleakness and blood these heroes had faced. 8. Bosch, Season 7 (Amazon Prime). Maybe the best modern detective/cop/neo-noir show, Bosch did an excellent job of telling gritty crime stories set (and filmed!) in beautiful Los Angeles, while balancing it with some good drama and much-needed comic relief to break the tension. You may have dismissed this as a “show for dads,” or “copaganda,” and you wouldn’t be completely wrong, but Bosch was always so much better than it had any right to be. This was the final season, but we haven’t seen the last of driven, hyper-competent detective Hieronymous “Harry” Bosch or his smart, tough, capable daughter Maddie. They will be returning in a brand-new series, but with a somewhat different status quo based on this series finale. I’ll miss the wonderful supporting cast, featuring many alumni of The Wire. I never read any of Michael Connelly’s Bosch novels that were adapted into the show, but the entire series had a sprawling, detailed, novelistic feel. L.A. felt like another main character, and I sure hope the next Bosch series is shot on location as well. 7. AEW Dynamite (TNT). This has been airing for just over two years, and it may be the best televised wrestling show of all time. I ranked it much higher last year, only because I had a lot more going on this year and fell so far behind keeping up with All Elite Wrestling. But there is also a staggering, overwhelming, intimidating amount of weekly content to watch: the Elevation and Dark shows on YouTube (usually featuring lesser-known wrestlers who often amaze and astonish), and the bigger cable shows that push the stars and advance the story arcs, Dynamite on Wednesdays and Rampage on Fridays. It’s just too much to watch, so I started reading spoilers and fast-forwarding on the DVR to get to my favorite performers and the more interesting matches. In 2021, everyone continued to work their asses off to put on a great show, people seem to still be getting along and avoiding behind-the-scenes drama and politics, long-term storytelling that built over months and even years finally paid off (World Champion Adam Page had an incredible story arc), and the return of live crowds (who are much less risk-averse than I) injected even more excitement and enthusiasm into the shows. Also, a few high-profile hires took screen time away from some of the less-popular wrestlers who are my favorites, but it also finally made me a fan of the great C.M. Punk, who I missed out on completely during his long reign in WWE, when that company turned me away from watching wrestling for 15 years. I am so glad there’s a real, viable alternative to WWE, especially because AEW also seems like a happy, functional workplace. 6. Snowpiercer, Season 2 (TNT). You can feel some of the nerve-wracking, edge-of-your-seat tension and drama many people loved and missed in Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones on this sci-fi series, about the survivors of an apocalyptic freeze hurtling around a dead, frozen Earth aboard a life-sustaining train (which is starting to break down). The constant class conflicts of the first season were mostly resolved, but Season 2 raised the stakes by introducing a formidable antagonist for the exhausted heroes, threatening their uneasy alliance and the safety of everyone on board. Spoiler alert: he’s played by Sean Bean, and he’s a sadistic, pompous jerk with an amazing wardrobe who has backup plans for his backup plans and corrupts everyone he meets. Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly continued to anchor the show with their charisma, and Bean’s villain shook up the power dynamic on Snowpiercer just as the other two were finally having their “We’re not so different, you and I” detente. 5. Black Monday, Season 3 (Showtime). The only show from this list to also make my Top Twenty TV Shows of the Decade list, this may have been the final season of the clever comedy about Wall Street weirdos who caused the biggest stock market crash in history, then got into even more complicated capers involving even more shady business dealings, political and religious scandals, jazz, cocaine, sex, and their dysfunctional love-hate relationships with each other. Oh, and there was a serial killer storyline too. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be happy if the show continues a little longer because everyone involved is so funny and smart, but if it doesn’t, Black Monday ended on a perfect note, without ever faltering, slowing down, or wearing out its welcome. 4. Waffles + Mochi, Season 1 (Netflix). This is a food show. It’s also a children’s show, starring two adorable puppets who left their homeland, “The Land of Frozen Food,” to learn about fresh, delicious foods by working in a magical, fantastical supermarket. Celebrities like Chef Jose Andres and Michelle Obama (Waffles and Mochi’s boss at the supermarket) appear to teach lessons as our heroes travel the world in a flying, talking shopping cart, learning about different foods and cultures. It is charming, educational, good-natured, and hilarious. Your kids will love it, and if you are child-free by choice like my wife and I, you may surprise yourself by loving it too. I think we cried when the too-short season ended, but we were delighted when a surprise holiday special, Waffles + Mochi’s Holiday Feast, appeared on Netflix as a Thanksgiving treat. Even better, the show never judges “healthy” versus “unhealthy” foods, or those who prefer one over the other. But you will come away with a newfound appreciation for sancocho, pani puri, and savory Finnish pancakes made with reindeer blood. Seriously. 3. Ted Lasso, Season 2 (Apple TV+). With the possible exception of my #2 entry, this was the show I looked forward to the most from week to week, and its positivity and optimism (two things I usually hate) kept me going from August to October, during a particularly stressful semester at work. As fun, funny, and affirming as this season was, I felt like it was a slight step down from the brilliant first season due to less focus on the genial good guy Coach Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) in favor of building up the rest of the cast, and plots that meandered a bit. I think it lingered a little too long on the relationship between Roy Kent and Keeley – we get it, they’re adorable together, they soften each other’s rough edges, and they will eventually work all their problems out! We also saw a major character’s slow heel turn, while Ted was distracted by his own panic attacks, PTSD, and eventual willingness to seek therapy and talk about his problems. In a year that will leave many of us with some PTSD, I love that this show helped normalize being open and honest about mental illness, and that it showed seeking help is always a strength, never a weakness. This is such a good show – heartwarming but never cloying, good-natured but never inspirational, and consistently funny. I also appreciate any stories that feature kind, patient, supportive bosses (both Ted as the coach and Rebecca as the team owner, after her Ted-inspired face turn last season), because we all desperately need good bosses in our lives, and sometimes we have to settle for fictional ones. (I am lucky to have good bosses right now, but I appreciate them so much more because I’ve had bad ones too!) 2. Hawkeye (Disney+). This was my most-awaited show of the year, based on one of my favorite comic book heroes: Clint “Hawkeye” Barton, a regular guy who stands alongside gods and giants, saving the world “with just a stick and a string.” This series was directly inspired by one of the finest comics of the past decade, the Hawkeye series by writer Matt Fraction and artists David Aja and Annie Wu. The influences were strong, but of course any Marvel Studios project is going to take some liberties with the source material, “remixing” 80+ years of comics to make them fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As a result, the Hawkeye of a few Avengers movies and this series wasn’t Matt Fraction’s dysfunctional himbo man-child, but a world-weary assassin who is more than ready to hang up his bow and arrows to be a full-time family man. Similar to the comics, Clint’s new protégé, archery prodigy Kate Bishop, makes him a better man, but MCU Clint is much more mature, with his life much more together, so he doesn’t need Kate as much as Kate needs him. Kate is a drat delight, by the way. Hailee Steinfeld was a perfect casting choice, and I hope we see much more of her, because she was so much fun. Also fun and delightful was Yelena Belova, the new Black Widow, played by Florence Pugh, returning after her memorable first appearance in the Black Widow movie earlier this year. The best scene in the show was Kate and Yelena just talking, and I hope the Marvel Studios powers that be keep them together in future shows and movies, building on their crazy chemistry and growing friendship. They are already so much more entertaining than Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson as the original Hawkeye and Black Widow! Other terrific new characters included Deaf, Native American martial artist Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox, an actual Deaf, Native American actress!), foppish (and possibly sinister) playboy Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton from Better Call Saul), and one of the best live-action Marvel villains ever, who I was overjoyed to see back, unexpectedly. I’ll be okay if Clint Barton finally retires from archery and avenging, but I want to spend a lot more time with all the other characters from Hawkeye. 1. Blindspotting, Season 1 (Starz). The biggest and most pleasant surprise on this list, which my wife and I didn’t watch until the final few days of 2021. Most people have probably never heard of it (because who subscribes to Starz?), but the show is a wonderful spinoff of one of my favorite movies of 2018, also called Blindspotting. The writer-stars of the original movie, the multitalented Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs, are the writer-showrunners of the series, and Casal reappears as his character from the movie, Miles, who is arrested and sentenced to five years in prison in the first episode. The main character of the show is Ashley, Miles’ loyal, resourceful girlfriend, played by the amazing Jasmine Cephas Jones (best known for playing Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds in the original cast of Hamilton, alongside Daveed Diggs). Cephas Jones is such a talent! This show should be a star-making vehicle for her. Her Ashley does everything she can to keep the family together with Miles incarcerated, including moving herself and their precocious son in with Miles’ ex-hippie revolutionary mom in their old Oakland neighborhood. The show is so warm, funny, and charming, with such a strong sense of place and a world that feels “lived in,” populated by real characters who have spent their lives in this community, together. It has terrific dialogue and some truly heartwarming moments of joy. It’s hilarious, but it’s not a straight-up comedy by any standard. Like the movie, Blindspotting can also be heartbreaking, touching on issues of race, but especially taking a stand against the unfair prison-industrial complex, the complicit criminal justice system, the pointless “war on drugs,” and the collateral damage they inflict on innocent families. Oh yeah, Ashley and other characters also deliver gorgeous spoken word poetry segments as asides to the audience, with lyrics that sound as much like Shakespeare as they do East Bay hip hop. Every episode also features dreamlike interpretive dance sequences that are beautiful enough to bring you to tears. Even a dummy like me can tell exactly what each dance sequence represents, and how they propel the plot forward. I’m not going to keep my Starz subscription any longer than I have to, but this show was renewed for a well-deserved second season, and you bet I’ll resubscribe for it! ***Amazon Prime is currently running a sale until January 4th where you can subscribe to Starz for 99 cents a month for the first two months, before the price goes up. If you read this in time, I strongly encourage you get the subscription, at least for a month. You’ll probably binge-watch the eight half-hour episodes of Blindspotting in a few nights, as we did, and then you can cancel. That’s the best dollar you’ll spend this week!***
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Dec 31, 2021 05:58
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Jerusalem posted:Deadline is the 31st of January, you have a month! Whoops, wrong thread. I meant the decade one.
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Dec 31, 2021 06:18
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Big Bad Voodoo Lou posted:Big Bad Voodoo Lou's Top Ten TV Shows of 2021 Nice! We love this show too.
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Dec 31, 2021 06:56
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