Although the previous year had many negative things happen,
with some nasty surprises, in one way it was the BEST Year Ever.
Television.
And wow, never thought I’d be saying that. I don’t watch
typical network programming, disliking stale dramas, unfunny comedies, modern talent
shows and scripted “reality” shows.
So you have to look for the little nuggets of wonderful
among mountains of crap. But precious nuggets are there, and so rewarding when
you discover them.
Since personal tastes differ, a number of folks won’t like
some of the shows here. Not going to argue the merits, your dislike is for you,
and that’s fine. For some of these, I not only found entertainment value, I
found some profound messages, and amazing acting as well. So I’m presenting
something positive, which we all sure could use. If you haven’t heard of a show
or two among these, give them a try. Netflix, Amazon, your local library,
whatever, they’re worth tracking down.
Because story matters, and these had good stories that kept me engaged.
First up are the final seasons of two wonderful,
deep-thought shows, The Americans
and Rectify. Just astonishing presentations,
both well worthy of many awards. So sad we won’t have more of these.
Two fun favorites continued on: Game of Thrones and Agents
of SHIELD still kept my interest, though some folks love to bash these on
occasion. Fantasy in both cases, different time periods.
All the rest were completely new to me.
Stranger Things took the world by storm, and was a good
time. Westworld was a chilling view of humanity and AI combined. Ash vs. Evil
Dead was just stupid, bloody fun, with lots of laughs.
For culture, Mozart in the Jungle just warms me whenever we watch.
They unabashedly love good things, and there’s so much going on, it’s a lovely
ensemble.
Now the rest of these are all pretty dark, but oh, so
compelling. Jessica Jones takes a Marvel character and makes her interesting,
and The Man in the High Castle is adapted from a novel by Philip K. Dick, about
an alternate history that is so chilling, and might give us a clue as to what we’re
in for the next few years. And Mr. Robot shows us even more of that, bleak and
frightening.
But the topper, scarier than all the rest, is a British
show, Black Mirror. Yes, it holds us up to a vision of ourselves sliding down a path
to our own particular hells. It’s like crossing The Twilight Zone with modern
themes and fads. Will chill you to the bone if you’re paying attention.
One could write a thick book about just this handful of
shows, and how they stand head and shoulders above anything the major networks
provide, how they perceive story, and what the effects on the viewers might be.
What gems did you find this last year?
