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The Adam Curtis thing is called Can’t Get You Out of My Head. I’m not sure where you got that other name from.
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Jan 20, 2022 23:32
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Escobarbarian posted:The Adam Curtis thing is called Can’t Get You Out of My Head. I’m not sure where you got that other name from. It’s the working title of “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” I’ll update it.
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Jan 21, 2022 00:24
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punk rebel ecks posted:9. Exterminate all the Brutes (HBO Max) OK, this looks cool (and depressing). Thanks for the recommendation. How many episodes?
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Jan 21, 2022 00:36
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punk rebel ecks posted:
canada has been way ahead on these sorts of shows for nearly 20 years. many of them are very good and there are quite a few currently airing, and they have been continuously since the first one in 04, which imo still holds up really well and is worth watching to this day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moccasin_Flats
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Jan 21, 2022 01:38
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Paper Lion posted:canada has been way ahead on these sorts of shows for nearly 20 years. many of them are very good and there are quite a few currently airing, and they have been continuously since the first one in 04, which imo still holds up really well and is worth watching to this day Yeah, that's why I specifically said "American". Canada has been way ahead on this front. To be fair though there are far more indigenous Canadians per capita than Americans, making it easier for them to break through their respective industries. Looten Plunder posted:OK, this looks cool (and depressing). Thanks for the recommendation. How many episodes? It's four episodes, an hour each episode. https://play.hbomax.com/page/urn:hbo:page:GYEo27wV1b5O1wwEAAAAC:type:series
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Jan 21, 2022 02:25
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Didn't plan on watching anything else that was eligible for the Top 10 of 2021 after 'Station Eleven' but I caved and watched the first episode of Yellowjackets and ended up blazing through it. Thought I might be changing my top ten after a few episodes....but some of the steam was lost towards the end of the season. Still....it was right on the outside. A very intriguing premise. A mystery/thriller with heavy shades of horror/drama/comedy. Sharp writing that is able to jump between 1996 and 2021 without issue. Helps that both the current and the backstory are both equally interesting and compelling. Despite the large number of characters....the writers have managed to make them all mostly matter. It could have been a GREAT limited run series of one or two seasons. But I can't really blame Showtime. They are kind of in desperate need of a show that gets plenty of attention and this is that. Not sure I've seen them advertise a show as much as this one since Shameless was in the middle seasons. They knew that this was really good...and very unlike anything currently on television. Best comparison I could make would be to Channel Zero....which I liked a whole lot.
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Jan 21, 2022 04:49
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This year it felt even harder to compile a list than last year. There were a few really good ones and enough entertaining ones, but no clear standouts. A time for guilty pleasures to stand in the light. I really had to scrape my brain (and wikipedia) to cobble together what i watched at all and what stayed in my head. Formally i start out with my honorable mentions in no order: Stargirl Crappy teenie superheroes, totally inoffensive, but somehow completely watchable. And a cool anti-villain. Hawkeye My favourite Avenger. Kate was cool. But i kinda felt, that Disney didn't want this to succeed since everything but the main-actors felt so meh. "Wrestling" I so badly wanted to put this on my list until i realized, that my enjoyment mostly didn't come from occasionally watching the product itself, but from the forums posts almost live-commenting the terrible failures of an insane old capitalist. Legends of tomorrow Usually a staple, still cool guys, but getting too stale this time. Also by hanging around for too long in the most boring timelines. The two episodes of '22 look much better! Lower Decks Funny, lovable hommage. begins to stand on it's own legs. Next year you can make it, Boims! Firebite Started with this extremely cheap, extremely australian Vampire Hunter thingie too late to rank it. But expect to see this on my list of '22. DIS-honorable mention: Foundation gently caress you! I wanted to love you so badly! You were so pretty to look at and made promises of a great future together. But you were so ugly inside and after 10 hours that i will never get back i never want to see you again! (i will watch the first episode of season 2 because apparently i am a curious masochist who can't let go) But now on to what counts: 10 Wynonna Earp Does NOT make any sense at all. Don't try. Just a really cool cast having fun fighting stuff and embarrassing themselves while trying one-liners that would make 80s Arnold simultaneously proud and ashamed. And of course the series culminates in a sugary happy end. I allow it. 9 Outpost Also ending in 21. The little fantasy-engine that tried so hard. Just adorable. 8 Wheel of Time Perfectly ok so far and more than enough to keep me interested for season 2. They should hire the Outpost-people for season 2. They would succeed in making something as epic as expected from the book readers from the budget. 7 Shadow & Bone So, surprisingly this was my most enjoyed fantasy show in 21, huh? Yeah, the story so far is cliche 101 and probably will stay on this course, but you get a unique setting with the deadly fog which is crossed on rails and a compelling cast. The story of the B-plot scoundrels is more than making up for the hero-lover A-plot by far. 6 Wandavision I am not a huge Superhero/Marvel person, but the premise portrayed in the trailers for this cought my attention. It tells an interesting tale of an almost god-like being suffering from very human ptsd and how she tries to cope with it and goes on with how the surroundings and her creations react to it. I don't know if i want to see a second season, for the story is kinda told, but i would like to see them try - if they find a completely new direction. Or better, try as hard on Hawkeye S2! 5 Cowboy Bebop This fit nicely somewhere between Firefly, Killjoys and some retro-sci-fi stuff. Oh, and a heavy dose of Yakuza-Mafia - which i would have preferred to have not existed, but whatever. With that plot point resolved, i would have liked a second season with that band of misfits even more. Sadly it got cancelled. I feel that it being the retelling(?) of an adored classic Anime may have caused more harm than good in this case. 4 Arcane It's an anime about a game i never played and never will. But the style made me give it a chance and i got hooked almost instantly. Yeah, the stories are simple. So what? Better doing something simple very good than something twisty very bad or just for the hell of it. Two sisters divided by a tragic accident in an escalating war between upper- and lower-class citizens. The characterwork is really out of this world. What soured my enjoyment by the end was, after looking a bit in the lore of the game on the internet (yeah, the series made me do that in between episodes!) i figured, that the characters from the game wouldn't really die and so took a lot of suspense out of the finale. 3 Cruel Summer Nostalgia Points for the setting with teennagers in a time when i was a teen. The story is told in the timespan of a few weeks of three consceutive years in the 90ies. I almost can't go into any detail, for the series lifeline is the suspense it builds. Basically it is about 2 girl(friend)s publicly accusing each other of being a liar surrounding a dark case of rape, abuse, neglection and murder. I frankly can not explain how the showrunners managed to keep the suspense high for 10 episodes without dragging, but they sure did. I kind of dread what they are gonna do in the announced second season, for the story is basically concluded perfectly. Oh, and teenagers are all poo poo. But we knew that already. 2 The Expanse A clear candidate for the number one spot and it would have taken it this time - if only they wouldn't have rushed everything into six episodes. Still they told everything they needed to and did it well, but at least two more episodes to breath would have made this a very good last season. Another 2 more for world-building (alike the early Epstein or MANEO episodes) would have made it stellar. 1 Snowpiercer I had to go back and make sure, this aired in 2021. It felt longer away. The tragic tale of a succesful revolution falling apart mainly because of course you cannot fulfill all hopes and promises to the formerly oppressed. The return of the former king, demanding his kingdom back, backed up by the magic he brings with him. There are always winners and losers. Right and Wrong seems to come down to personal choice. A drama of all humanity compresed into not anymore 1001 train cars. And a brave woman powerd by hope and stuborness wandering out in the cold, searching for a future for them all. Best of all, i just learned SEASON 3 STARTS IN 2 DAYS! https://youtu.be/eBkA4sNY-uI /Edit:  obvioulsy the S3 trailer contains massive spoilers for anything that happened before!
bou fucked around with this message at 10:28 on Jan 22, 2022 |
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Jan 22, 2022 10:25
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bou posted:DIS-honorable mention: Foundation Seriously, this show was such a cruel let-down 
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Jan 22, 2022 10:36
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Proud to announce that no reality TV (75% of my TV watching) made the final list. 10. Riverdale “That would be the secret ingredient I added. Tears that the Virgin Mary shed at the crucifixion.” Once again: Riverdale is so bad it’s good. It’s a testament to how batshit insane this show is to still keep me entertained after 100 episodes. Events from this year include: wars on football fields, multiple serial killers, the Mothman, fake money, soul swapping, ghosts, witches, the literal devil and parallel universes. It’s completely off the rails at this point and I’m curious to see how it ends if season six is indeed the final season.  9. Search Party “Kidnapping is a big mood. Check your DMs.” Search Party began with a simple premise: a woman sees a missing person poster of an old college classmate and becomes obsessed with searching for her. Season 4 does a 180: that woman becomes the missing person. While this season has some funny moments (the famous roundabout scene) with great supporting performances from Susan Sarandon and Cole Escola, it’s also extremely dark for what it puts its protagonist through. It would’ve been a good final season for coming full circle but I’m writing this after seeing the fifth and actual final season which is such a hilariously unbelievable capstone to this show. Stay tuned for that on my 2022 top ten list.  8. Insecure “I’m okay with seeing what happens.” Insecure's always been about growth. And that's why I'm somewhat disappointed with the pacing of the final season. To contain most of the character development in the finale through multiple quick flashforwards makes these emotional accomplishments feel somewhat detached. But I can't lie, the ending still got me. Insecure was a game changer in cinematography, set design, and soundtrack integration. So many people felt seen by this show and I'm happy to have been along on the journey.  7. Squid Game “The star sounds great. Good with me. Besides, nobody sees many stars these days.” I’m extremely stubborn when it comes to Netflix releases because so much garbage constantly sits in the top ten but the cultural zeitgeist made me bite the bullet: and I’m glad I did! The spectacle of these battle royale children’s games was anxiety-inducing. Overall Squid Game was a fun show for the first six episodes and then gets unbearable as soon as the VIPs get involved. I get the voyeurism theme but they just took me out of it. It didn't really stick the landing either. drat Gi-hun, go be a good dad for a second.  6. Girls5Eva “I’m afraid that after I die someone will have sex with my dead body and be like, “not worth it.” I’m so confused as to how and why this show is getting snubbed for awards. It was the funniest show on TV last year and Renée Elise Goldsberry has a scene-stealing role. Maybe it’s because there’s no other reason to have a Peacock subscription? Anyways my favourite TV show is 30 Rock and the writing is more similar to that style than Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. If that sound at all appealing it's worth the watch.  5. WandaVision “That accent really comes and goes, doesn’t it?” Ah, the beginning of the Marvel Disney+ deluge. Good times. The experience of WandaVision really made the show. I would wake up early making sure to watch the show before work so I wouldn’t get spoiled. It was also a no man’s land of speculation where it felt like really anything could happen before these shows established its formatting. It’s my fault for having expectations that ultimately disappointed in the rushed finale but the sitcom pastiche episodes are standalone gems that elevate this series overall. Kathryn Hahn has my favourite performance of the year and I’m excited to see what they do with Scarlet Witch, Agatha, and Wiccan.  4. Attack on Titan: The Final Season "Here and now, as a representative of Marleyan Government, I proclaim to the enemy forces of Paradis, a declaration of war!" (Spoiler: this isn’t exactly the final season.) I find it fascinating when a story can reinvent itself in the middle of its run. Attack on Titan’s last season introduces a brand new cast after a time skip. Changing the perspective of the story from the oppressed prison island and making them the aggressors is a fascinating take on war. A new animation studio took the reins securely and certainly didn’t deserve the death threats they received for increased 3D model use due to being on a tight deadline in a pandemic. As a manga reader I’m excited to see just how they adapt the craziness of the end… and hoping they change that final chapter.  3. The Witcher “You are already enough, Cirilla. You are extraordinary.” Full disclosure: I haven’t read the books or played the video games. I’m a filthy casual. So it took me quite a few episodes in the first season for the show to click. Season 2 is much better on the basis of a clearer timeline and the three main characters colliding in the story. The highlight of the season is the improved special effects budget resulting in some incredible looking monster fights. Unfortunately there’s just not enough shirtless Geralt scenes—none, in fact.  2. Loki “That’s where I grew up, the ends of a thousand worlds. And now that’s where I’ll die.” I’ll be honest: I didn’t intend to watch this, and when I decided to watch it I didn’t intend to like it. But I loved it. I never understood the appeal of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki but this series gave him something to work with. At this point it’s a trope for somebody to say a new Marvel entry’s doing anything fresh but this one truly felt different—like it was a prompt for the greater MCU. Its time travel plot is handled better than Avengers Endgame’s situation. Shoutout to Kasra Farahani for the stellar production design. The TVA looked so consistently designed and the cosmic settings should be something Doctor Who copies.  1. Inside “Hey, what can you say? We were overdue. But it’ll be over soon, just wait.” (I’m including Inside on my list because it was eligible for television awards like the Emmys rather than film awards.) I was a casual fan of Bo Burnham’s prior comedy specials. He had some good jokes and some funny songs but with my awful memory it would go in one ear and out the other. Inside is my favourite comedy special of all time now. I could not stop thinking about it last year and have not. White Woman’s Instagram and That Funny Feeling even made my 2021 Spotify Wrapped. Nothing has made me feel that vulnerably exposed. It’s truly the pinnacle of pandemic creativity.
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Jan 22, 2022 22:35
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Paper Lion posted:canada has been way ahead on these sorts of shows for nearly 20 years. More than 20 years. Don't forget Dance Me Outside, which was spun-off into a two season TV show called The Rez in the mid-90s. Also - thank you everybody for these lists, I end up watching way more shows because of these yearly threads,
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Jan 23, 2022 18:13
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I’m trying to finish Yellowjacket before I make my list
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Jan 24, 2022 04:15
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I finished Yellowjackets and updated my list back on page 2.
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Jan 27, 2022 05:52
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I started watching "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and actually managed to finish the entire series. However, I don't think I'll put season 15 in my top ten since it's so difficult to rate as I can't really separate the season when binging so much of the series in such a short amount of time.
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Jan 27, 2022 22:39
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Shoutout to Greys Anatomy for being the best dramatic telling of the Pandemic, and Alter-Ego for literally blowing my mind. 10. Big Brother: The trash TV I've always loved to hate. This year, they had a new casting director and one of the best alliances in recent memory. I actually...enjoyed this season. 9. Superstore. The cast was great, the chemistry was great. It is the best comedy since Community. Why did it get taken from us? 8. Dexter: My god, this was the season 5 I always wanted. 7. Hawkeye. One of my favorite avengers, great cast and I love the set up for the future. 6. Yellowjackets: This is what I thought "The 100" was going to be and while I'm glad we got Genghis Clarke, I do love me some lord of the flies. The adults story is phenomenal as well. 5. Dopesick: I was surprised by how much i didnt know about the origins of this epidemic. Would write more but I've been putting this off forever. 4. Station Eleven: I'll be honest - I am only three episodes into this show and its everything i want out of the apocalypse. 3. Fear The Walking Dead: I wrote this show off after the first season, tried to watch season 2 and gave up again, and then heard that season 4 is when it started being good again - so i marathoned the entire show during 2021 and the last season made the zombie apocalypse so much more interesting. 2. What If? I remember reading these comics when i was younger and making up my own stories. Some fell flat, but this was excellent. 1. The Walking Dead: Everyone stopped watching this show because it had multiple seasons of boring drivel, but the Whisperers, Rick/Michonne leaving, and Maggie leaving for a while pumped new energy into this franchise.. Last season had one of the scariest episodes of television I've ever seen and the Pope guy was a great bad guy.
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Jan 27, 2022 23:16
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If you’re jonesing for more Superstore-style comedy the creator has a new NBC show called American Auto that started in December. I’m really digging it so far.
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Jan 27, 2022 23:42
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Escobarbarian posted:If you’re jonesing for more Superstore-style comedy the creator has a new NBC show called American Auto that started in December. I’m really digging it so far. Superstore appealed to me a lot because of my formative years at Best Buy. I suspect I won’t care much about a car show but I will check it out
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Jan 27, 2022 23:59
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Pillowpants posted:9. Superstore. The cast was great, the chemistry was great. It is the best comedy since Community. Why did it get taken from us? I had completely forgotten that Superstore ended this year. At this point....I don't feel like I should go back and redo my list (again)....but it's up there with Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, 30 Rock, and Brooklyn Nine Nine. All NBC shows. All classic sitcoms. And I don't really feel like it was "taken" from us. Six really good seasons....that I never felt had a dip in quality that some of those other experienced at times. Not to mention that they ended it on a high note. Prefer to see a show do that....rather than overstay its welcome and be mediocre.
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Jan 28, 2022 00:16
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Ok enough stalling time to do this. I already wrote a bunch about some of these in the show of the decade thread so most of these will be short and sweet. Yes I don’t want much TV these days 10. AEW Dynamite – Really it would legit be higher but I want to focus on actual TV shows and it’s only here as a placeholder so I can field a complete list 9. What If? - Up and down like all anthology shows but the Dr. Strange and T’challa episodes were ace and Jeffrey Wright is such great casting for Uatu 8. The Falcon and Winter Soldier – Marvel’s attempt to address race relations in America didn’t always land but I appreciate the fact that they tried 7. Loki – Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson have fantastic chemistry that really lifts the show beyond a typical time travel adventure 6. Wheel of Time – Been a fan of the books since I was 11 so seeing all these people and places I love represented on screen ruled and despite some flaws I’m hype for season 2 even if I am gonna miss Barney Harris. Thread was a trashfire though. 5. Squid Game – Capitalism is bad, folks 4. Wandavision – They did a boner joke 3. Hawkeye – Hailee Steinfeld power hour part 1 2. Arcane Hailee Steinfeld power hour part 2 This show should be the poster child for the ‘this show has no right being this good’ movement. It’s an animated series based on a predatory video game with a toxic culture made by an awful company. Yet somehow the folks at Fortiche have crafted the watermark for Western animation. Just looking at the visual perspective Arcane is gorgeous. You could freezeframe almost any moment and have a beautiful piece of art with a style that captures so much emotion along with innovative sequences that push the boundaries of what animation is conceived to be. Apparently they spent six years putting the tech together to make this series work and it shows. But Arcane isn’t just about style, it’s also got some serious substance to it as well. The show tells the sprawling story of a city on the brink of civil war following decades of exploitation of the underclass. It’s hardly an unusual setting but what Arcane brings to the table is a broad array of characters and stories as they weave through this conflict with every character’s motivations being treated with respect and importance. This isn’t a world of heroes and villains. Even the most benevolent of leaders are flawed, even the most powerful of crimelords has redeeming qualities. People fail to live up to their ideals, people who should know better give in to selfish desires, people gently caress up, it’s messy and it’s real. It’s also very gay. I can’t stop writing about this show without giving a shoutout to the soundtrack which absolutely slaps. Riot broke the bank to license a number of original songs including numbers from Imagine Dragons and Sting. Particular highlights are Ramsey’s “Goodbye” which plays out the devastating end of Act One and Woodkid’s “Guns For Hire” which underscores the spark that threatens to set the city ablaze in Act Two. These are songs so good they’ve become mainstays in my Spotify and will be for a long time. If you’ve heard about Arcane but been put off because it doesn’t sound like your kind of thing then you owe it to yourself to check out. This is going to go down as one of the most important shows of the decade. 1. Dickinson Hailee Steinfeld power hour part 3 Oh geez. I’ve been putting off writing my list specifically because I wasn’t ready to fully put into words how affected I was by this modern reclamation of the beloved American poet Emily Dickinson. I’m still not ready but the deadline for this poll is fast approaching and needs must and all that. I started seeing articles about Dickinson popping up towards the end of the year and immediately wrote it off. It’s a period show (ugh) about a poet (bleh), pretty much the exact opposite of everything I like. But after Hawkeye I needed more Hailee Steinfeld in my life and after a bit of investigation I realised that calling Dickinson a period show is a lot like calling Zaggitz a good poster. True in theory but it doesn’t work that way in practice. Because while Dickinson may have a period setting it is very much written with modern sensibilities. The myth of Emily Dickinson has long been told in English Lit classes, the woman in white who feverishly wrote for years hidden away from the world in her bedroom. The show acknowledges this legend but it also presents a more rounded view of the poet including more modern readings of her life, most notably the queer relationship with her sister-in-law Sue, but the show goes far beyond this to present an Emily with a healthy social life and active presence in her community. This Emily could be any one of us. Getting high at a house party, freaking out at an unwanted period, sneaking out the house to see your lover, these are universal experiences. The show emphasises this by living in modern day language and slang which only serves to make the past more accessible. The star of the show is obviously Steinfeld as Emily delivering the performance of a lifetime that runs the full range from comic to dramatic, often within seconds of each other. Dickinson’s Emily is bold and independent yet also bruised and defensive. All too often she retreats to her words as her fortress yet in doing so she produces works of unparalleled beauty. She is also highly imaginative, a quality the show admirably portrays with a number of ethereal ‘dream’ sequences including a meeting in the future with Sylvia Plath, a literal descent into Hell and multiple philosophical discussions with Death (smoothly played by Wiz Khalifa). This quickly establishes a visual language such that you can never be certain of how real Emily’s reality is. Steinfeld may be the standout but she’s aided with a fabulous supporting cast, most notably Ella Hunt as Sue – she and Steinfeld have absolutely sizzling chemistry – and Jane Krakowski as Emily’s mum who plays her Kimmy Schmidt character if she’d been taken back in time some 250 years. It’s also worth mentioning Emily’s brother Austin who could have easily been written as her love rival but is instead a clearly good man handled with such sympathy. I’ve already talked about how this show takes a modern lens on the past but I want to come back to this as it ties into one of the show’s greatest strengths: using the issues of the past to reflect on society’s struggles today. Nowhere does appear stronger than the Civil War which looms large over the show’s final season and mostly experienced through the eyes of the Dickinson’s labourer turned civil rights activist Henry, who’s journey carries a lot of the emotional heart of the show. But while race relations are a major focus the show also takes the time to address gay rights, positive masculinity and the role of allyship. The rest of what I’m going to say is a load of E/N so I’m spoiling it so everyone can just ignore it. As I said this show tore me to shreds in a way I still have not fully processed. There are few characters I’ve seen in any form of fiction that I’ve related to in any form of fiction more than this show’s portrayal of Emily. She has a wild imagination, I have a wild imagination. She is queer, I am queer. She spends all her time writing, I… well I’m obviously not one of the greatest poets of history but writing is my main creative outlet and over the years I’ve put a lot of energies into various projects, most of which are on these forums. She many correspondences with friends she knew only by letter. I have a bunch of internet friends from this site. She spent a lot of time in her room and was considered by many to be a recluse. I do not exactly have a vibrant social life. Hearing about Emily’s story broke me. It brought up so much sadness for her fate, because her fate is my fate. I’ve been very lonely for a very long time and this show made me realise that. It opened wounds in me I didn’t even know existed, ones I’m still working out how to care for but for exposing me to that hurt I will be forever grateful. And that’s Dickinson. I don’t know if I would call it my favourite show of all time cause it’s still too soon to judge. I do know, however, that it’s in the conversation.
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Jan 28, 2022 00:22
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Yeah, Hailee Steinfeld had a good few months there. I hope we get to see more of her soon.
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Jan 28, 2022 00:51
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RestingB1tchFace posted:I had completely forgotten that Superstore ended this year. At this point....I don't feel like I should go back and redo my list (again)....but it's up there with Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, 30 Rock, and Brooklyn Nine Nine. All NBC shows. All classic sitcoms. And I don't really feel like it was "taken" from us. Six really good seasons....that I never felt had a dip in quality that some of those other experienced at times. Not to mention that they ended it on a high note. Prefer to see a show do that....rather than overstay its welcome and be mediocre. Honestly i say taken from me, because I watched the last episode thinking "wow, this season finale seems like a series finale" and then I found out it was cancelled. Broke my heart.
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Jan 28, 2022 01:37
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Pillowpants posted:Honestly i say taken from me, because I watched the last episode thinking "wow, this season finale seems like a series finale" and then I found out it was cancelled. Broke my heart. Guess I didn't really realized that it as "cancelled". Six seasons is a good run though. And sounds like they had forewarning so that they were able to write the season with a conclusion. Really nailed the finale.
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Jan 28, 2022 06:18
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This thread got me to watch all of Ted Lasso and start For All Mankind. They’re both good!
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Jan 28, 2022 06:45
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Looten Plunder posted: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. The poll lasted long enough that I accidentally watched a good show so I've edited my list accordingly.
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Jan 28, 2022 21:20
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Getting in under the wire! Here is my scientifically proven list of good TV things: EDIT: adjusted to remove the 2022 show I included 10. What We Do In The Shadows This show continues to be a great tightrope walk between sad, weird and hilarious. They found ways to move the plot forward while staying true to these deeply strange characters, in a satisfying way. 9. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson  This season of ITYSL managed to take the insane vibe of the first season and pair it with a bigger existential sadness, and somehow make it funnier and more shocking. It's hard to beat the old man makeup skit for pure WTF excellence, and now I really have to get myself to Dan Flashes. 8. Hawkeye  I was least excited for this show of all the Marvel offerings, but it ended up being one of the most enjoyable. It didn't hit the heights of some of the moments of Winter Soldier or Loki, but it also avoided the traps those shows fell into, which bumped them off my list and down into the "meh" pile. Low stakes but fun, the charm of Hailee Steinfeld and Florence Pugh carried the day here. Plus it was a joy to see D'Onfrio as the Kingpin again. The ending was weaker than the rest, as is the Marvel way, but it still held together for me. 7. Ted Lasso  This show shouldn't work. A show about optimism and perseverance sounds treacly and awful on paper, and the fact that it is so successful is a huge testament to the writing and performances. They took the positives of S1 and added to them, and I think this season can stand with the first as equally strong. 6. Brooklyn 99  The finale was perfect in all ways, and if the beginning of the season had been stronger this would be at the top of the list. But it was a tough line to walk, trying to balance the new conversation about police in a show about goofy police officers. It wasn't always successful, but I applaud the attempt, and it was worth it to get to the excellent finish line. NINE-NINE! 5. Squid Game  There isn't much to say that hasn't been said about this, so I will focus on one thing I liked. The decision to send all the players home at the end of an early episode was a genius move that was a huge part of why this worked. It removed all the nagging thoughts the audience had about why the people should leave, and really cemented the game as do-or-die. The two girls' performances in Episode 6 were amazing and heart-breaking, and capped the whole thing nicely. 4. The Great British Bake-Off  This was probably the best season of Bake-Off yet, or at least close. A really fantastic group of characters and some exciting conclusions made this the high-water mark for comfort TV this year. Jurgen is my hero. 3. Only Murders In The Building  I almost didn't watch this, because I hate Martin Short in most things. But they really found a way to make him work perfectly, and make his over-the-top quirks fit into the story. Also I wasn't familiar with Selena Gomez before this (because I am An Old), and was impressed with her performance here. They did a great job mixing the whodunit stuff with the comedy, and the whole thing was very compelling. A great surprise! 2. The Beatles - Get Back  It is hard to recommend this to non-Beatle fans, because it is so long. But I cannot overstate the achievement of this TV show/film/whatever. The advances in image and audio technology that gave us this film alone are worth witnessing, and the level of total immersion in the Beatles' world is unparalleled. It really was like being in the studio with them, warts and all, and it totally rewrote the way I look at the band and how they worked. Ladies and Gentlemen, your hosts for this evening, the Rolling Stones! 1. WandaVision  This show just clicked for me perfectly. Combining the creeping dread and weirdness of a Twilight Zone episode, pitch-perfect sitcom genre recreations, and superhero stuff, it basically ticked every box I have. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany were top-tier, and of course Kathryn Hahn was perfect. I do think they had some misfires, especially about "Ralph" and some of the finale stuff, but the positives were SO positive for me that it makes up for any lacks. This was a great instruction in how the superhero genre can be expanded to some really fascinating and interesting places, and it used the previous MCU connections as a way to create tension, not just drive future projects. And my two Walk Of Shame nominees for biggest disappointments are: 2. Book of Boba Fett - Seeing Mando show up in the most recent episode proved how poorly they have used the title character in this show. When a character has no motivations or character traits, it is hard to build a compelling story around him. 1. Wheel of Time - (Disclaimer: As you can tell from my username, this series has always been a big deal to me, so I really was trying to keep my expectations low.)This show started OK, and then actually hit a stride with the Logain-centric episode. The end of that episode seemed to really "get" what made the series work, and I got excited for the rest. Seeing it fall apart piece by piece over the next few episodes was painful, and I won't be coming back to this unless they manage to turn the whole thing around. Ishamael fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Jan 31, 2022 |
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Jan 31, 2022 18:10
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Peacemaker's a 2022 show
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Jan 31, 2022 18:25
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Really cool list! But yeah you should replace Peacemaker to make sure your list is counted 
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Jan 31, 2022 18:44
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Escobarbarian posted:Really cool list! But yeah you should replace Peacemaker to make sure your list is counted drat! I thought it premiered in December. Will update now!
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Jan 31, 2022 22:03
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I meant to do this sooner, but better late than never, even if it means that many of these justifications have to be shortened. Also, some of these placements were very spur of the moment decisions, but I would say all would definitely be in my top ten even if the placements within the ten might vary depending on my mood. 10: Nine Perfect Strangers The plot made no sense at all, but this miniseries had some of the most fantastic acting I've seen in an ensemble (outside of Nicole Kidman's ridiculous accent, but even that was fun in how over the top it was). Combine with a gorgeous location, and the plot nonsense is more than made up for. This show actually made me a fan of Melissa McCarthy. 9: Servant It's not a comedy, it's not psychological horror, it's not a supernatural thriller, it's not a family melodrama, it's not food porn, it's all of them. 8: For All Mankind I think the second season lost a little of the spark of season 1, but the second season was able to dive fully into the alternate history space race of 1980s dreamers while also inverting the Cold War jingoism of Reagan-era space dreams, and with solid character studies that (mostly) avoid falling into cliches. 7: Mythic Quest As someone who does not play MMOs, I've loved both seasons of this show about the creators of a very familiar MMO. Simultaneously hilarious and heartfelt, the second season is an improvement on the first, and its historical flashback episode was one of the best single episodes of any show this year. More than any other, Mythic Quest really highlights how Apple+ stealthily became the best quality 6: Yellowjackets So much of this show's appeal came from the killer opening scene (and probably also the push it got from being connected to the release of the Dexter spinoff), but it says something that despite the fact that we never even get to the first nibble on one of the girls that the intro promises, the show is so compelling that the lack of payoff (so far) does not feel like a ripoff, but a promise. One that the show might well fumble in future seasons, but if so, I am sure it will fumble them in an extremely pulpy, melodramatic way. 5: How To with John Wilson I discovered this show with just enough time to watch the first season before the second season started, which was the best way to watch it. I lived in Queens the last few years, and moved to a new state just this month. Seeing John Wilson's exploration of Queens (including some areas I knew quite well) and the broader sense of what it's like to be in the borough during the pandemic as a slightly alienated, insecure creative type spoke to me a lot more than I was expecting. On New Year's Eve, we hung out with another Queens couple, the husband of whom was also starting to watch. Getting home in the first few hours of January 2022, we capped the night off by watching the finale of John Wilson. I can't think of a more comforting way to end my last year in NYC. 4: Only Murders in the Building True crime podcasts have played a role in a number of shows I watched this year, including Yellowjackets and Dexter. And then there are the true crime shows based on podcasts either out or soon to be released, like WeCrashed, The Dropout, and The Shrink Next Door. Only Murders in the Building is not based on a podcast, but it captures the essence of being a podcast fan perfectly (I say as someone who listens to podcasts all the time, but not really into the true crime genre). Steve Martin Short were perfect in it, even if I thought that Selena Gomez was... not. But it was fun, actually suspenseful, and had a great sense of how its characters would not only behave, but see the world. 3: What We Do in the Shadows Sometimes, you just want to watch idiots being dumb. And sometimes, those dumb idiots are vampires who undergo a metaphysical crisis when they play The Big Bang Theory-branded slot machine after forgetting to bring their dirt with them to a Jersey City casino. The best ad campaign Staten Island has had in a long time. 2: On Cinema On Cinema enters its tenth year in 2022, and the past decade has included a spinoff movie, multiple Oscar specials, the hit spy action thriller series Decker, the rock band Dekkar, a murder trial, and the launch of its own streaming platform. Trying to explain On Cinema to someone with no knowledge remains as difficult as ever, but it's to the show's credit that it not only remains just as funny, but continuously innovates and re-invents itself rather than keeping a holding pattern. Dr. San is my angel. 1: Station Eleven Haunting, beautiful, funny, insightful, accidentally topical. I could get lost writing about this show. Rather than ramble on for so long, I'll say that I hope those who decided against watching it due to pandemic burnout reconsider, because it's the exact opposite of every stereotypical post-apocalyptic show. As an example, there's an actress who was in both Station Eleven and Y: The Last Man. She played a delightful standout here despite being in only one episode, and is completely forgettable in Y despite being in multiple episodes of it. But on a deeper level, as I wrote above, I lived in NYC through the pandemic, and then moved away not too longer after the Station Eleven finale. The show's story about living through a pandemic, being uprooted from your city, moving on, losing some friends but gaining new relationships in the process, and learning to say good bye but with the hope of seeing each other again in the future - the show is good on its own, but on a personal level, it really spoke to me and what I was feeling at this exact time without even being aware of it. A lot of my previous entries were somewhat randomly placed on this top ten list, but Station Eleven was unquestionably my number one, and I am so glad it aired into 2022 because I am sure it will be on my next year's list as well. Honorable mentions: American Horror Story: Red Tide Baking Impossible Brand New Cherry Flavor Chopped Creamerie Dexter: New Blood Good Eats: The Return Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted The Great British Baking Show High on the Hog I Think You Should Leave Never Have I Ever The Other Two School of Chocolate See Squid Game Succession Wellington Paranormal Disonorable mentions: American Horror Story: Death Valley And Just Like That... Book of Boba Fett (just one episode aired in 2021, but still earned it) Foundation Ted Lasso (come at me!) The Stand Y: The Last Man
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Jan 31, 2022 23:08
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Chairman Capone posted:9: Servant lmao this is an extremely great and accurate description. love your list, although Nine Perfect Strangers was more of an amusing hatewatch for me
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Feb 1, 2022 00:21
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I watched Station Eleven due to this thread and had to update my list accordingly.
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Feb 1, 2022 00:36
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I watched like nothing this year so here's my list. 1. rick and morty 2. southpark 3. its always sunny. There was like no tv show worth watching or remembering.
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Feb 1, 2022 01:59
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Escobarbarian posted:lmao this is an extremely great and accurate description. love your list, although Nine Perfect Strangers was more of an amusing hatewatch for me Haha fair enough and I don't think I would even push back on that description of it too much. But if it's amusing, it's amusing! I am serious that it completely turned me around on Melissa McCarthy, though.
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Feb 1, 2022 02:26
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 10. Only Murders in the Building To be honest, I went into watching this show not really knowing what I was going to get. The cast is solid, with Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short all in the game as main characters, trying to create and finish their true crime podcast over a death that happened in their very building. Every episode is a new twist, with secrets revealed, both about the tenants and themselves. It’s great fun to watch!  9. Shadow & Bone My GOD everyone’s attractive on this show. Seriously, the show is beautiful. Fantasy at its schlockiest, it brings to life the Grishaverse and cuts the boring drivel away, making me love the series much more than the books it’s based off of. Wait out the weird and gross General Kirigan/Alina relationship and stay for the Crows. Trust me, Alina gets better.  8. Schmigadoon! What if you and your significant other were hiking through the woods one day and stumbled upon an idyllic town that was all the set of a musical? Seems pleasant enough, but now, what if you’re stuck there and you can’t get out until you cross the bridge back with your true love? That’s the set-up of this show, with an ace musical cast up its sleeve to back-up the songs you’ll eventually be humming even after the show finishes.  7. Rupaul’s Drag Race Corona Can't Keep a Good Queen Down! drat straight! Besides the awfulness that was Kandy Muse, we actually had a great winner in Symone. She owns 51 percent of this fact-ry! Things are crazy from the jump, with queens battling it out and getting dumped on the Porkchop Loading Dock, where they vote a queen out, then go in to find the queen still there, still pissed, and ready to fight for the crown. It really makes you feel bad for the Queens, but only for a moment, until they set off on their next mini- and maxi-challenge!  6. Girls5eva I was looking for something to poke me in the funny bone after B99 and fell upon this show. Thank God I did, because it is hilarious! Four women, in New York City, hoping to make it big as the once effervescent pop group Girls5eva just hits all the right notes. As their theme song says, “So what are you waiting five? Girls5Eva!”  5. Brooklyn Nine-Nine Welp. That’s it, that’s the last we get of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And it ended fittingly, so I would not dissuade anyone from watching the show, should they choose to rewatch at some point. Everything gets switched up, with Hitchcock retiring to Brazil, Rosa quitting in the wake of the George Floyd protests and becoming a PI, and Jake and Amy struggling to care for a newborn and be cops too. Still, they find ways to bring the cast together and bring the laughs one more time.  4. Squid Game Oh holy poo poo, I was surprised by this A savage ripping apart of the social structure that creates and feeds into rich elite bourgeoisie vs. the poor downtrodden masses. I found myself rooting for our erstwhile team of friends and having my heart broken each time the scenarios proved people and their loyalties can be fickle, especially when a big golden piggy filled with cash is staring down the finish line if you choose to serve your own interests.  3. Wandavision Kooky comedy set in different sitcoms set through different time-periods featuring our beloved couple, Scarlet Witch and the Vision, or is it more just bubbling beneath the surface? Tune in to find out! Stay to hope for a Dr. Darcy Lewis / Jimmy Woo X-Files-ish spin-off, get an Agatha Harkness spin-off instead. Oh well. She chews up scenery in this like nobody’s business so it’ll probably be good too.  2. Hawkeye This was a Christmas treat I didn’t know I needed. About a hero, really, before the tv series, I could care less about. But with Hailee Steinfeld playing Kate Bishop to Jeremy Renner’s stoic Clint Barton, it tugs at the heartstrings. You get car cases through New York, LARP-ing misadventures, fights with Echo, a Black Widow, and Kingpin, and best of all, Pizzadog. What’s not to love?  1. What We Do in the Shadows Vampires! In this world, they’re real and very prone to being hilarious idiots. This season had Nandor and Nadja squabbling over who’d rule the Vampiric Council, Colin trying to find out more about his history as an energy vampire, Guillermo working to get power and try to become a vampire (and failing miserably) and Laszlo adding more fun to the mix simply by being himself.
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Feb 1, 2022 03:55
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I'm extending the deadline out to 11:59PM US EST Friday 11th of Feb with the idea of doing the reveal on the 14th.
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Feb 1, 2022 04:04
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10) In Treatment A reboot that mostly went ignored. There was some great acting and writing processing the trauma of recent times. Still, the season felt short and we barely got much of a breakthrough for some of the patients. Also not helping was Uzo Aduba's messy alcoholism but I never liked the episodes focusing on the therapists themselves. 9) Cobra Kai The story keeps chugging along and giving great moments for so many of its characters, old and young. 8) Midnight Mass Good thrilling story but the monologues dragged the hell out of it. 7) You If you've ever wanted to bonk an anti-vaxxer on the head with a rolling pin, this season's for You. 6) Superman & Lois The best (or at least most consistently good) first season of an Arrowverse show. Greg Berlanti marries the DC superheroics to his Small Town Family Drama TV roots (Everwood). 5) Legends of Tomorrow Great episodes that aired this year included: - "Bored on Board Onboard" - "The Fungus Amongus" - "wvrdr_error_100<oest-of-th3-gs.gid30n> not found" - "Deus Ex Latrina" - "A Woman's Place is in the War Effort!" 4) Only Murders In The Building A fun murder mystery featuring inter-generational cringe humor. 3) Big Brother Canada 9 The first season to feature a diversity-mandated cast and these players were ready to make Dramatic Television. They gave us bad-but-chaotic BB gameplay with super-emotional backstabbing. 2) Why Women Kill Allison Tolman killed it (har) as the lead of this fun and exhilarating season. 1) Ted Lasso I loved how deep the season went and how it became more of an ensemble show. Yer Burnt fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Feb 1, 2022 |
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Feb 1, 2022 04:57
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Well poo poo, I am late. I don't think I could get 10 anyway. Curb, Shadows, AEW Dynamite, AEW Rampage, Squid Game, Dexter: New Blood, Abbott Elementary, Brand New Cherry Flavor, Always Sunny That's all I watched. I guess I could put Midnight Mass on but I only finished half of it. But that's not my top 10, that's my ONLY 10, so I don't think that's a worthy vote anyway.
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Feb 1, 2022 07:06
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escape artist posted:Well poo poo, I am late. Looten Plunder posted:
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Feb 1, 2022 08:02
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With the extension I was able to finish Station Eleven. Wow. Updated my list on page two again.
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Feb 4, 2022 08:40
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Pillowpants posted:Shoutout to Greys Anatomy for being the best dramatic telling of the Pandemic, and Alter-Ego for literally blowing my mind. I took out Station 11 because I honestly started to lose interest and am struggling to finish it, and replaced it with Only Murders in the Building.
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Feb 4, 2022 13:53
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I am so happy to see Only Murders in the Building getting so much love, so sad that it seems very few people saw It's a Sin (because if they had seen it it would definitely be in their top ten!). It's only 5 episodes, you have time to catch up on it!
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Feb 5, 2022 02:09
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