My TOP TV OF 2020 Part 3: 20 to 11
I've looked at my 40 to 21, and my Runners Up & other categories. So...
20) The Eddy (Netflix) - Warning, requires extreme tolerance to jazz music. The work of Damian La La Land Chazelle, this drama pulled off some brilliant storytelling tricks and made them seem effortless. Told in a variety of languages, including French and Arabic, it transported you into the most realistic world. And filled it with jazz which, as I say, can be hard going for many, myself included. It is forgiven its shameless “give us a second series” ending, which rather soiled things.
19) The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (Amazon) - The best writing on the telly, top of my chart in 2018, No 3 in 2019. It would be expecting a lot for a third season to have maintained its novelty, but it has retained its quality and is a delight throughout.
18) Mister Winner (BBC) - Nothing about this suggested in advance that it was going to be any good. A British sitcom, co written by and starring Spencer Jones whose stand up schtick is very silly and unlikely to translate to narrative. But by golly it worked, giving us one of the best laugh out loud sitcoms for a long time.
17) Mrs America (FX) - FX, whose shows we get on BBC2, have done some good biopics in recent years, and nailed the verissimilitude with this one. Getting the audience to sympathise equally with a right wing Republican whose work led to the involvement of Evangelicals in US politics, and the progressive women striving to bring the Equal Rights Amendment into being was quite the achievement. Telling what could be quite a dry story with such insight and personality was exceptional. Showrun by Dahvi Waller.
16) Life (BBC) - Another one-word title that’s a bugger to Google, this piece by the writer of Dr Foster, Mike Bartlett, punched well above its weight, having all the makings of a run of the mill middle-budget BBC drama, likely to be swamped by the big budget fare on offer from the streaming companies. Instead it proved that writing is almost everything, brilliant acting and directing being the other part that, often, the big budget dramas don’t manage. If everything made on this budget could be this good, old fashioned TV would have nothing to worry about.
15) Dracula (BBC) - Divided a lot of viewers, as I think Steve Moffat and Mark Gattis’s writing will always do, it was full of so many devious tricks and conceits - and, let’s face it, gags - that it was irresistible and delightful. Had enough “why has no one ever done that before” moments to qualify as their best work in a while.
14) The Righteous Gemstones (Sky Comedy) - A hidden gemstone that, to my mind, I haven’t noticed anyone mention, it kept us gloriously entertained. Savaging American TV evangelicals while giving us a rollicking comedy adventure spanning the decades this was a must see this Spring.
13) Stateless (ABC/Netflix) - Another one that’s slipped under most peoples radar, this Australian drama told the stories, based on true life, of detainees at an immigration camp. Another show that didn’t shy away from other languages and subtitles, it gave us more sympathy for the devil in getting inside the stories of both guards and refugees, management and underlings, and examining the political situation behind the stories. (The true story has a less happy ending than you hope since, and this is spoiler free by the way, since these camps caused so much controversy in Australia, they were subsequently moved offshore and have since, apparently, become even worse).
12) Lockdown Specials - Lockdown was a big challenge to regular TV. Dramas just went off the air and will have long gaps, if they even return. But for chat shows and lifestyle it was interestingly different. So full marks to everyone who accommodated conditions so well.
Graham Norton won chat shows, and HIGNFY won panel games, both getting back in the saddle from their laptops at the earliest opportunity, and in the States The Daily Show and Jimmy Fallon did the same with aplomb.
But by far and away the best of these was Grayson’s Art Club (Channel 4). Created during lockdown and filmed against the odds, early on when everyone was still reeling, it was the greatest bringing together of hearts and minds, and the public and celebrities, in the name of art. Culminating in an exhibition that instantly got shut down by the ever changing rules and has yet to happen, this programme made you feel the collective pain and joy of so many people this year, better than any other.
11) Small Axe (BBC) - Steve McQueen’s set of five film dramas are outstanding and will be hailed as landmark TV. In turns challenging, especially in getting unfamiliar viewers to tune their ear to Jamaican and other accents, this was the year’s best and most direct political storytelling. Some flourishes were so arthouse, especially the lingering still shots that McQueen lets carry on even longer than David Lynch would, they deserve rounds of applause when they happen. This is the TV that the BBC exists to bring us.
And so to my Top 10. What could they be? Here lies the answer…
Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres - AND NOW ONLINE VIA ZOOM. email for details. His debut graphic novels Findlay Macbeth , The Prince Of Denmark Street and The Midsummer Night's Dream Team are available on Amazon. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here.
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