Well, as the John Lennon Christmas song says, "Another year over and what have you done?"
Well, I've watched too much television.
And so much remains unwatched?
What's a TV watching obsessive to do?
Well, let me take a look back over previous Tuesday TV Touchbase posts and review what exactly did I watch this year.
Let's start with the world of Star Trek.
Star Trek Picard gets high marks for most improved but after the misguided debacle of season 2, that was a pretty low bar. And to be honest, the first part of season 3 was hampered by a lot of the same problems of poor pacing, lapses on plot logic and misguided characterization that brought down the first 2 seasons. But season 3 ended on a big note that finally gave the fans what they wanted, the Next Gen crew back together again. Hell, they even figured out a clever way to get Brent Spiner back as Data instead of another variant of the disreputable Soong family.
Star Trek Lower Decks had a fairly strong season 4 that was undermined by a questionable denouement of the season arc, revealing Nick Locarno as the big bad.
But far and away for consistent quality across it's 2nd season, Star Trek Strange New Worlds with two particularly high points worthy of being singled out, the musical episode and the crossover with Lower Decks.
Moving from Trek to Wars, Andrea and I did our obligatory Star Wars watch with The Mandolorian and Ahsoka. We will follow Baby Yoda and David Tennant almost anywhere.
Speaking of Mr. Tennant, 2023 gave us the 2nd season of Good Omens. The stakes were a bit less high and the tone was a bit uneven but our favorite demon/angel pair is always worth a return visit. (And the show will return of a 3rd and final season.)
And 2023 gave us MORE David Tennant with 3 outstanding Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials.
By the way, look for Doctor Who Is NEW! posting tomorrow for my post on the 2023 Christmas special!
TV from comic books still fill my viewing schedule. The Sandman perfectly captures the dark, mind fuckery of the original Neil Gaiman comic book series.
Superman and Lois took a foreboding turn with Lois Lane battling breast cancer. Everyone involved approached this subject with sensitivity and compassion. Lois struggles with the news of her diagnosis and the turmoil of her chemotherapy leading to her mastectomy. No corners are cut in this storyline of approaching this terrible journey as realistically as possible. It's a shame Superman and Lois has not gained more attention for this groundbreaking storyline.
I am finally catching up to Doom Patrol just as Max has released the final episodes of it's 4th and final season. This is a show that looks and acts like nothing else on TV and also deserves more notoriety. As I write this, I've got 4 episodes before the end. I'm going to miss this weird little show but I'm not entirely sure it's been good for my mental health. More on that in a future Touchbase.
In the world of sitcoms, Andrea and I took deep dives over the summer into the first 2 seasons of Abbott Elementary and Ghosts. We've enjoyed both series a lot and look forward to both shows debuting their 3rd seasons in February.
Young Sheldon can be quite funny and emotionally engaging; George Jr and Mandy having a baby was a game changer and the biggest change of all, Mee Maw's house gets destroyed by a tornado. But the series continues to falter in what to do with Sheldon himself. And the series will be wrapping up with it's 7th season.
I think Andrea and I are still on board with the revived Night Court but damn it needs to get a lot better to keep my interest.
The revived Quantum Leap has developed into something that is most definitely holding my interest. Some of the changes from the original series (spending time with the project team) that I wasn't originally sure about have paid off very well for a very satisfying revival of the classic series.
The return of Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens in Justified: City Primeval was not as satisfying. It's always a good thing to see Olyphant as Givens but Givens was more or less a guest star in his own series. The epilogue of this series teases what we really want to see, Givens up against arch nemesis Boyd Crowder.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel did pull of a satisfying landing for it's series finale. I think I might want to introduce this series to Andrea so I can watch it again.
On the subject of introducing my wife to shows I've watched, 2023 saw us finish Lucifer and The Librarians. We just finished season 1 of The Orville.
Andrea and I also watched FUBAR this year, the derivative but still somehow sweetly funny spy series starring Arnold Schwartznegger. And the very much NOT derivative 3rd season of Only Murders In the Building.
2023 brought back another season of Outlander which I watch on my own. Some of the graphic violence is not exactly Andrea's thing. The series is winding down to a series finale within the next year or so. As much as I am devoted to following Claire and Jamie, I think it might be time for that journey to end.
I started catching up on Community but haven't had time to return to it after I finished season 1.
Shows that I watched the first season of but may not return for season 2? Lucky Hank (navel gazing college professor struggles to realize his fucked up life may actually be his own fault) and Digman (animated series with Andy Samberg as a wildly unhinged archaeologist).
Our Flag Means Death came back for a 2nd season. Yay!
The Crown (aka That Damned Thing) came back for a 6th (oh no!) and final (yay!) season. Why are we still watching this thing?
And that is NOT all the TV I watched. And that is a lot for a year that saw TV production truncated by the writer and actor strikes.
In the upcoming 2024, I will resolve to watch MORE TV!
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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