Every year around New Year’s when people are pressed to make resolutions for the coming year, I always make the same resolution: “I resolve to watch more television.”
I think in 2022, I may have really kept that resolution in the biggest, most dedicated way possible.
Just among Star Trek stuff, I had 5 series to watch.
- Star Trek: Prodigy
- Star Trek: Lower Decks
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
- Star Trek: Picard
- Star Trek: Discovery
Prodigy continues to be a pleasant surprise for a show ostensibly made for kids with lavish animation, smart writing and nuanced characterization.
As much as I got a kick out of Strange New Worlds (Chris Pike is “Captain Dad!”), I think I have to say Discovery is my favorite of the current Trek series, a show that has experienced such remarkable growth and improvements since it’s questionable first season.
Unfortunately, Picard is the biggest disappointment with tone deaf characterization and incomprehensible plotting stretched thin over 10 episodes, Season 3 has a LOT to answer for.
Over on the CW, DC’s super hero shows are on a farewell tour.
Batwoman was cancelled after 3 seasons but at least it got to end on a positive note with few dangling plot points left unresolved.
Naomi was cancelled after 1 season that kind of tested my patience with a long drawn out plot line extended beyond it’s limits over the course of a season.
Superman & Lois’s 2nd season swung big for a big plot line introducing a rather clever take on Bizarro and an unfortunately underwhelming big bad done in bad casting.
Of the CW shows, Stargirl was solid over it’s 3 year run with a deftly handled coda to cushion the blow of cancellation.
Given the current status of the CW, I fully expect Superman & Lois to be cancelled after it’s 3rd season.
DC was represented with a new show over on HBO Max with Peacemaker. James Gunn’s wild take on Suicide Squad kept on going with this bizarre show that defied all sorts of conventional wisdom and proved to be perhaps the best DC TV show ever.
Over on Disney+ after the end of Hawkeye in 2021, we kind of gave Marvel series a pass until She Hulk: Attorney At Law. This series was weird and charming and funny, all the stuff that sets off the trolls but made the show enjoyable to Andrea and I myself
Here’s all the shows that I watched that were ostensibly labeled as comedies:
- Hacks
- Only Murders In the Building
- Our Flag Means Death
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- What We Do In the Shadows
- Young Sheldon
Hacks is a fun character driven show and Jean Smart is so damn good.
Young Sheldon continues it's odd evolution away from the titular young Sheldon. The best laughs and the best drama comes from nearly 18 year old Georgie Cooper's life changing situation with his 29 year old pregnant (almost but not quite) girlfriend Mandy and any scene with Annie Potts as Connie Tucker (Mee Maw)
Of the shows on the list above, Our Flag Means Death truly defies all expectations and any kind of easy summary. I mean I could just say it's that show about gay pirates but it's so much more than that.
Here’s all the shows that I watched that were labeled as dramas:
- Gentleman Jack
- Interview With the Vampire
- Killing Eve
- Law & Order
- Outlander
- Quantum Leap
- Snowpiercer
- Stranger Things
- The Boys
- The Crown
- The Orville
- The Umbrella Academy
I stand by this as the best summary of The Boys: "People 'SPLODE!" OK, yes, it is a violent, brutal satire on modern politics and media manipulation and it deserves all sorts of accolades for that. But never forget: "People 'SPLODE!"
As a show that started as a sort of/kind of satire/parody/humorous homage to all things Star Trek, the 3rd season of The Orville was astonishingly good with some good sci-fi stuff going on while being remarkably mature in dealing with complex questions.
The biggest disappointment on that list is the revival of Law & Order. As much as I love to glom on to the classic series, this new series is done in by poorly conceived characters. The new ADA is a feckless mess and Jeffrey Donovan's detective is a bull headed sop to L&O's right wing audience who don't understand race or why pronoun usage is important.
NBC's revival of Quantum Leap has fared better in my opinion. Yeah, it got off to a shaky start but has found it's groove, building on the foundation of the original series but finding it's own unique direction.
Of the shows on the drama list, Interview With The Vampire is really hella good and probably my choice as the best on that list.
I'm still in mourning over the cancellation of Gentleman Jack.
And here are the shows that defied being labeled:
- Julia
- Kevin Can F**k Himself
- The Flight Attendant
Kevin Can F**k Himself was a unique blend of drama and sitcom but it was not a concept designed to be sustained over the long haul. The show wisely ended with a solid 2nd season where Kevin does indeed fuck himself.
As much as I like Kaley Cuoco's work in The Flight Attendant, I think it's 2 seasons make for a complete package.
Andrea and I came to Julia for David Hyde Pierce and Bebe Neuwirth for Frasier nostalgia but the series take on Julia Child's launch of her iconic PBS cooking show was very engaging, at turns funny and moving.
In the category of game shows, these remains a regular part of our viewing schedule:
Wheel of Fortune
Jeopardy
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
Celebrity Jeopardy
The celebrity editions are mostly for Andrea's benefit. For shows featuring "celebrities", I spend an inordinate amount of time being a crotchety old man yelling "Who are these people?"
Ken Jennings is settling in quite well as the host of Jeopardy and meaning no disrespect to Mayam Bialik, he really should be the solo host of the series.
Under the heading of "as if I don't have enough new shows to watch", 2022 saw me catching up on TV series done gone by.
- Bones
- Justified
- Librarians
- Lucifer
I finished up Justified earlier in the year and Andrea are now up to season 4 of Lucifer. I mostly catch episodes of Bones and Librarians at random.
And of course:
Doctor Who
More on Doctor Who in the next 3 posts:
- The Chibnall era gone by
- The Davies era to come
- And Your Friday Video Link
And that is that for the Tuesday TV Touchbase this week. Next week we're back with the season finale of Star Trek Prodigy.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
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