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Monday, June 26, 2023 TV Midyear ReportOn something of a lark, I started jotting this down while working on Speaking of Which, linking to the Washington Post list. As it grew, I decided to hold it back, giving me a couple extra days to play with it. I've pretty much given up on watching movies. For one thing, the story arc timing is almost always both too long or too short: too long because the 2-3 hour time chunk tries one's patience, especially given how clichéd most movie story arcs are; and too short because there's very little you can do with characters in the given chunk of time. TV started getting more interesting when they learned to develop the stories and characters over multiple episodes, instead of always returning to the rest state of traditional TV series. And the lengths got shorter, flexible enough to fit the story -- not that it isn't annoying when they decide to split stories over multiple seasons. It also helped to get past the family censors -- although the rise of anti-heroes isn't something I'm particularly happy with. My wife, Laura, and I watch a couple hours late each night. She watches some more during the day, which I may or may not notice. She also watches news -- she's much more engaged in daily politics than I am -- and she's still interested in movies, although finding 2-3 hour chunks of time can be difficult (cartoons and classics tend to be shorter). Sometimes, I'll watch something on my own, usually late, but it's hard for me to find time. Two lists follow. The first starts with a qualification of how much (or often, how little) I've seen, followed by an explanatory note. This falls far short of a review or even description, but may help explain my reaction. The notes inevitably include spoilers, so if you're phobic about that, sorry. (I tried to implement some workaround code, but failed and gave up. I understand why, but don't see a workaround.) For some entries, I've included a letter grade, which is a summary judgment on nothing more than how much I enjoyed the show. The grades are probably scaled lower than my music grades, but that's partly because we're talking about whole series, not individual episodes. (Also, note that grades are for this year only. Shows that I've only seen previous seasons from aren't graded.) As a rule of thumb, anything with a B or higher was pleasant enough to watch, and not a waste of time. That there's nothing lower below just signifies that I didn't have the patience to finish anything worse. The lists consulted are as follows (the Washington Post was the first). The shows appeared in one or more lists, and are divided into two sets: ones I've seen at least some of, and ones I've never seen. I've also added shows to the first list that didn't make any of the consulted lists, but which we watched. These are marked [*].
I also looked at several more lists to try to remind myself of TV shows that we've seen that didn't show up in the best-of lists. These shows, in this first section, are marked with [*]. Abbott Elementary, Season 2: Seen: first season, working on second. Comedy. Feels a little claustrophobic with just five teachers and two other adult regulars, all finely drawn and brilliantly acted caricatures, but that seems to be some constraint of the workplace sit-com universe. More troubling is the lack of significant roles for children in a series that's ostensibly about teaching them. B+ All Creatures Great and Small, Season 3: Seen: all. Based on a series of books about a Yorkshire veterinarian named James Herriot, proceeds from 1937 to the call up for war in 1939 (with gruesome flashbacks to the Great War). The veterinary work often makes me wonder, but you get lots of countryside and animals, and while the home life isn't exactly idyllic, you wish them the best. And fear for the war, which the young Tristan Farnon foolishly signed up for, not least to prove himself to his older brother, who still bears the scars of the previous war, and would rather spare him the trauma. A- Atlanta, Season 4: Seen: some of the first season, none since. Donald Glover's riff on aspiring rappers. Didn't stick (or I didn't stick with it). Barry, Season 4: Seen: all. Third season could have sufficed, as it ended with Barry arrested, facing the rest of his life in jail, so fourth season always seemed superfluous. First three episodes have him in jail, and are dead-ass boring, until a few brilliant moments of botched assassination turned into escape. Then they jump ahead eight years, revealing him in a desert hideaway ith Sally Reed, who evidently had nothing better to do, and their young son. That episode was boring, too. Then events shook Barry out of his torpor, leading to a final reckoning, and a reprise as folklore. Ends about as well as it could. B Big Sky, Season 3: Seen: first season, and not sure we got all of it. Set in Montana, about a highway patrol cop and a trucker who pick up prostitutes and sell them to traffickers. The trucker gets mad at a couple teens and snatches them, and things go bad from there. False start with the ostensible hero, a PI named Cody, getting killed in the first episode, leaving his wife and his partner-lover to carry on. By the end of what we've seen, the cop is dead, and the trucker has slipped away. [*] Bloodlands, Season 2: Seen: not sure about Season 1. Police drama set in Northern Ireland, where a DCI goes bad initially to cover up something he did during the "troubles" period, but it's really the gold. B [*] The Brokenwood Mysteries, Season 9: Seen: all. Mystery set in northern New Zealand, built around idiosyncratic Detective Mike Shepherd and his local crew (most dependably his Sergeant Kristin Sims, and most eccentrically a Russian medical examiner). This season he seemed more distracted than usual -- one problem being the meeting of his ex- and would-be future wives, which turns out badly. A long-time favorite. A- [*] The Conners, Season 5: Seen: Hit and miss, but not so much lately. The family from Roseanne, rebooted without the matriarch, the vacuum more than filled by now-adult daughters, Darlene and Becky. [*] The Consultant: Seen: one episode. Christoph Waltz plays a creepy corporate "fixer" in a high-tech world he doesn't particularly relate to (but, I'm guessing, he does understand a thing or two about capitalism and/or crime). Cunk on Earth: Seen: one episode. Pseudo-documentary, Diane Morgan (Cunk) goes around interviewing and misunderstanding experts while regularly cycling back to a refrain of "Pump Up the Jam." Dalgliesh, Season 2: Seen: all. British murder mysteries, based on novels by PD James, with Bertie Carvel playing the titular character. Fairly classic. B+ [*] Deadloch: Seen: working on it (6/8). Murder mystery set in Tasmania, with two mismatched women detectives, a preponderance of lesbians, a peculiar sense of humor, and a series of ill-fated prime suspects. So far: A- Death in Paradise, Season 12: Seen: all. A long-time favorite, set in the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie, where brilliant but odd British DI's are sent to solve a regular series of murders, each with a set of visiting suspects, the perpetrator deduced in a final scene each week. A- [*] The Diplomat: Seen: all. The political angle is completely implausible, and the war game scenario is scarcely any better, but at least it's not Madame Secretary. The power marriage between the Wylers also strains credibility. The acting, on the other hand, is superb, as is the flow, and the various mismatches add a gratifying dimension of comedy. Also, the comedy doesn't come at the expense of competency (unlike, say, Veep, where incompetency is the point). Season ends prematurely, with the story only half-baked, keying up a second season. It's not like we shy away from genius detective shows because they're nothing like real world cops. A- Endeavour, Season 9: Seen: working on it (2 episodes down, of 3); all previous, plus most of the 1987-2000 Morse this is a prequel to, and the later Lewis spinoff. Classic British detective series, set 1965-72. A few new cases, more or less tied to old cases (many too old to recall), trying to wrap up the series, so the next/last episode will be crucial. Probably: A- Father Brown, Season 10: Seen: All earlier, working on this season. Slightly ridiculous crime sleuthing drama, where the priest of a village that seems to be all Catholic has a knack for figuring out crimes, even with the interference of a series of hapless inspectors. Fairly major supporting cast shake up this season, as Sorcha Cusack's fussy parish secretary has been replaced by a suitably odd pair, and Tom Chambers is back as Inspector Sullivan, exiled from Scotland Yard and more aggravating than ever. Of course, we love it. B+ [*] Godfather of Harlem, Season 3: Seen: Some of first season. Forest Whitaker plays a fictional Harlem mob boss, fresh out of prison in the early 1960s. Much of the interest is in the intersection with historical characters like Adam Clayton Powell Jr and Malcolm X. [*] The Great, Season 3: Seen: two seasons. An "occasionally true" but comedic portrayal of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia 1762-1796, got stuck in 1762 as Nicholas Hoult's portrayal of Peter III saved him from the death that is prerequisite to Catherine's greatness, leaving us with a highly entertaining royal court opera. Laura wasn't interested in this one, so I've only just found out about it. I'll get to it in due course. Hopefully, the third time will be the charm. Happy Valley, Season 3: Seen: all. British ex-detective-turned-beat-cop wrapped up in nearly unbearable psychodrama. Laura was annoyed enough to drop it, but I insisted on slogging through, and the payoff at the end is satisfying. The lead, played to Sarah Lancaster, is bitter, bottled up, and threatening to explode, mostly due to a villain so psychotic I've finally gotten past remembering the very nice vicar he played in Grantchester. Happy enough with the ending that I might wind up remembering it better, but it's been a rough road getting there. B+ History of the World, Part II: Seen: first episode). Sketch comedy jumping around history, same as with Brooks' 1981 film. Hunters, Season 2: Seen: first season only. Conspiracy series starting in 1977, with a group of Nazi hunters who ultimately discover a hidden Fourth Reich, led by Eva Braun, with a geriatric but still living Hitler. Some choice acting, headlined by Al Pacino, with Dylan Baker playing a Nazi secret agent who kills everyone present, including his family, when he is recognized at a barbecue he is hosting. I wasn't aware of a second season, but the first ended with the reveal of Braun and Hitler. [*] Love and Death: Seen: one episode. Set in small town Texas from 1978, church choir singers turn to adultery and wind up with murder. Supposedly based on a true crime. Don't see much point to it. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Season 5: Seen: all. Portrait of a Jewish comedian who isn't Lenny Bruce, but keeps bumping into him. I've loved all of this, but Laura dropped out for the middle seasons, and heckled parts of this one. (The Jewish schtick is laid on very thick, but she also dislikes the stand up.) Problem here is that it tries to wrap up the long story after her big break, while holding the break off until the last episode, so suffers lots of time jumps, many into a rather dubious future. On the other hand, the first four seasons struggled with throttling her brilliance with setbacks delaying her success, probably suspecting that once it hit it'd be as boring as it turned out. B+ Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Season 3: Seen. Set in Victorian England, Eliza Scarlet is the daughter of a PI, determined to continue her late father's business, despite much prejudice to the contrary. In this she is reluctantly aided by Scotland Yard DI William Wellington, and a Jamaican underworld figure named Moses Valentine. B+ [*] Mrs. Davis: Seen: one episode. Too scattered, but if I had to watch more, I probably would. Supposedly has something to do with AI. The Murdoch Mysteries, Season 16: Seen: caught up through season 15; haven't found new one yet. Police drama set in Toronto c. 1900, the title character a brilliant innovator, his doctor-wife even more modern, his sergeant given to flights of fancy that often foreshadow the future, his superintendent helps keep the rest grounded. Livened up with guest cameos for numerous historical figures. Great fun. NCIS, Season 20: Seen: all of this, and several recent seasons, probably going back to season 11, when Ziva David left and Eleanor Bishop joined. Laura watched it from much further back, but quit during or after season 18. Requires considerable suspension of one's critical facilities, but has redeeming features, including expert teamwork, and a general sense of honor and decency (even if it's sappy soft on the military; at least every episode starts with a dead Marine or Sailor, and the cases usually reflect corruption both within and beyond the ranks -- everyone else, of course, is impeccably disciplined). I don't miss Gibbs, whose replacement is more an amiable chaperone than a psychotic leader. Also nice not to have any Afghanistan story arcs, although I'm afraid Russian nemesis is on the rise. As for the spinoffs, we watched NCIS: New Orleans for a while, but quit before they canceled it. I've missed out on the occasional overlapping story lines, but probably haven't missed much. B [*] Party Down, Season 3: Seen: one or two episodes, rebooted from two seasons 2009-10 I've never seen. Comedy series about would-be actors working for a catering firm, played by actors recognizable enough this feels like slumming. Funny enough. Perry Mason, Season 2: Seen: all. Radical prequel which cannot possibly evolve into the famous TV show, making me wonder whether the source books have any relationship to either. But this works as grimy Los Angeles noir, with the familiar names recast as black, gay, or (for Mason himself) as a seedy PTSD drunk. One case per season, hopeless until miraculously saved (but not half so miraculous as most weeks of the TV show). B+ Poker Face Seen: all. Natasha Lyonne plays a lady whose uncanny ability to spot lies gets her into and out of lots of trouble, solving murders Columbo-style but being on the lam herself not having the authority of most detectives. (A symbiotic relationship with an FBI agent developed late helps.) Episodes are structured oddly, with one thread up to a murder, then a step back in time that integrates Lyonne's character, allowing her to do her thing. Fun enough. Sets up a second season, with a new nemesis replacing the (now deceased) old one. B+ Rabbit Hole: Seen. Mega conspiracy plot starring Kiefer Sutherland as a corporate spy facing a global conspiracy based on the idea that whoever controls big data can run the world, but the specific mechanism seems to be to find and use blackmail, which turns people like security guards into automatons doing the conspiracy's bidding. Many flashbacks and, worse, hallucinations acting as false flags -- most immediately recalled, but some leave you confused (e.g., did Miles Valence survive his skyscraper jump, adding to a long list of characters who faked their deaths?). Entertaining as long as you're amused. B [*] Ridley Seen: working on it (just one episode so far). British crime drama, Adrian Dunbar plays a retired DI brought in to consult on something possibly related to one of his cold cases. The Righteous Gemstones, Season 2: Seen: bits (Laura's watching). Danny McBride comedy about a megachurch dynasty, has some good actors. Review touts: "outlandish set pieces, absurd but gripping action sequences, awkward invective and clumsy love." From what I've seen (or sometimes just heard), that seems plausible. Sanditon, Season 3: Seen. Unfinished Jane Austen novel, set as the tides were changing from landed aristocracy to rising bourgeoisie, and as the young heroines aren't in quite as much hurry to get married. More rough spots this time than I would have liked, but it does all come to an agreeable end. A- Shrinking: Seen: couple episodes. Therapists, a genre I've never warmed to. (I totally skipped In Treatment, which Laura loved.) I took a quick dislike for the main character, a depressed widower played by Jason Segel, but there's little appeal elsewhere, aside from straight man Harrison Ford. Sister Boniface Mysteries, Season 2: Seen: all. A spinoff from Father Brown, one major difference being that the Sister gets encouragement from her Inspector, who hires her as a consultant, and generally steps back while she solves the cases. Also, unlike Father Brown, she's pays little attention to saving souls, and she's a lot funnier -- a delight, as are the rest of the cast, even the Reverend Mother. A- [*] Somebody Somewhere, Season 2: Seen: all this year, most of season one. Comedy, set in a part of Kansas I've never set foot in, with people I scarcely recognize (although I'm not sure my late sister wouldn't have known them all). B A Spy Among Friends Seen. Kim Philby's defection to the Soviet Union, with flashbacks to his time, going back to the 1930s, as a double agent, revolving around his close friendship with fellow agent Nicholas Elliott (played by Damian Lewis). B+ [*] Stonehouse: Seen. Matthew Macfayden plays a 1970s British MP who fakes his own death to dodge an inadvertent scandal, going from bad to worse. B Succession, Season 4 Seen: all. There have never been any sympathetic characters here, let alone rooting interests in the contest of heirs. But it's been quite watchable for three seasons, mostly as an exposé of the lush and damaged lives of the ultra-rich. But, I'm almost reluctant to admit, it finally got good in this year, not least because of how brutal and harrowing it turned once stakes turned real. A Ted Lasso, Season 3: Seen: all. Jason Sudeikis plays a folksy football coach from Wichita rebounding from a broken marriage. He goes to England as the butt of a joke, which his good humor turns around. As ingratiating as he is, the best characters are all around him, and the balance between the coaches, the players, and the business end (somehow, "management" doesn't feel right here). The final season feels a bit rushed, and Lasso's final return to his wife doesn't make much more sense than his departure. A- The Tower, Season 2: Seen. Police drama, set in London, the first series about two people (a cop and a young girl) who fell to their deaths from Portland Tower, where two witnesses (one a cop) prove less than helpful -- while the police have their own problems. Second season picks up the police, running them through another wrenching case. Seems like it ends abruptly, after setting up a second story line about an undercover shot at a gangster. B+ [*] Vienna Blood, Season 3: Seen. Mystery series set in 1900s Vienna, where detective Oskar Reinhardt draws on young psychologist Max Liebermann to solve the usual run of murder cases. They make an engaging pair. B+ [*] White House Plumbers: Seen. Early WWII novels aimed for realism, but over time they became increasingly surreal, at least through Catch 22 and Slaughterhouse Five. Something like that is happening with Watergate art, moving from the very straightforward All the President's Men up through last year's Gaslight, and now this, which aims for laughs by focusing on the "third-rate burglars." John Dean is the common denominator in the last two, which helps you calibrate the shift. So do the wives and children, largely unheard of before. B+ [*] Seems like there must be more, but I'm hard pressed to recall at the moment -- hence the dependency on lists. Of course, we're still catching up on 2022, and sometimes older items as we stumble across them. The Nordic Murders (a German series, originally titled Der Usedom-Krimi) is one we particularly liked. We are, of course, at the mercy of our various streaming sources, which offer a lot of stuff we have little interest in, but seem to miss (or delay) much that we do. These are additional series that appeared in the best-of lists. I haven't seen any of them (except perhaps a trailer).
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