TV Of The Year 2023 - 40 to 21
We’ve already seen the shows of 2023 that I Gave Up on, couldn’t remember, or thought had Lost It. Now the chart from 40 to 21…
Bubbling Under: Half a dozen shows that weren’t bad
Fall of the House of Usher - good ideas, never as scary or surprising as they looked like they’d be
Beef - started well, lost its way, spun itself out far too long, then a bit longer
Boat Story - nonsense by writers (Harry & Jack Williams) who have done so much better
Black Mirror 5 - not bad, but can you remember any of them?
Then You Run - again not bad, but again forgotten already
Wolf - not sure whether it was a dark comedy or a light thriller
Vigil 2 - The show about being trapped in a submarine, but without the submarine
The Following Is Based On A Pack Of Lies - worst final episode v rest of programme quality drop of the year
Culprits - This was in the Top 40 till we got to the last few episodes, which totally lost it.
A Murder at the End of the World - Also bumped from the top 40 after it loses it with the final few episodes, a victim of being stretched over far too many hours. Started very high concept and high tech, from the creators of OA (Brit Marling & Zat Batmanjli) from a few years back. It then becomes a pretty run of the mill whodunnit.
40 - Uncanny (BBC)
We love the podcast, and not just because it’s by our old mate Danny Robins. The TV show didn’t manage to be quite as gripping, but still very good.
39 - Happy Valley (BBC)
It is to my shame that I got to the end of the year and forgot this had even been on. Luckily Culprits, which was in the list to begin with, lost it in the last few episodes, so I bumped it.
38 - Florida Man (Netflix)
A good example of those “just another crime stories” that distinguished itself simply by tight writing and cracking acting. A fine example of what the Peak TV years have given us is this sort of unremarkable crime dramas, made a cut above by being done perfectly.
37 - Unforgotten (series 5) (ITV)
It survived the loss of its previous lead actor, and followed its formula as well as ever. Enjoyable, even if you can see what’s coming.
36 - Inside No 9 (series 8) (BBC)
I always forget Inside when it comes to the end of year list, almost like we take it for granted. This season had the outstanding “is it a quiz show?” episode, that is a wonderful thing to be able to do with television. The rest were still pretty strong, but eight seasons in it’s hard to have the impact you once had.
35 - Dreaming Whilst Black (BBC)
One of the better cringe comedies of the year, written by and starring relative newcomer Adjani Salmon. An excellent debut, seen by next to nobody (the curse of the BBC Three comedy).
34 - Lupin series 3 (Netflix)
A show that delivers a satisfying story with a twist every time, so it's almost a crime-of-the-week, but ties itself to a story arc too. I'm not sure I like the story arc as much as the weekly "how's he going to get out of that?"
33 - Pam & Tommy (Now TV)
We ended up watching this a year or so after everyone else, because it’s by the same writer as Chippendales (Robert Siegel, see below) and shows the same splendid grasp of character, comedy and dram, turning a true story into something greater than the whole of its parts.
32 - Bodies (Netflix)
Adapting a graphic novel by the late Si Spencer (and half a dozen artists, who get credited but not as big as Si), this sic fi series was ambitious and sprawling, but the sort of thing I’d like to see TV trying more of. That said, it gets a bit confusing and hard to follow the further on you get, which is testimony to its ambition, I guess.
31 - The Woman In The Wall (BBC)
More gripping than most of its contemporaries, with its characters ringing true despite the excesses of the action. Promising work from a new writer, Joe Murtagh.
30 - The Sixth Commandment (BBC)
Based on a true story. And, as we'll see, they usually end up in the top 40. Though, I'll be honest, this was in the 'Bubbling Under' section, until someone pointed out I'd missed out a number in the list. So in it goes.
29 - Time (BBC)
On the empathy scale, this must be one of the most tear-inducing dramas of the year, with one of the least helpful titles for googling (a pox on one-word generic titles!), and some of the best acting. Jodie Whittaker is forgiven all the awful scripts she had to endure in her time as The Doctor for her work on these, written by Jimmy McGovern and Helen Black.
28 - White House Plumbers (Now TV)
A smashing comedy drama, based on the true story of the Watergate break ins. If the real life characters were any way near as ridiculous as they’re portrayed in this, especially Woody Harrelson’s E Howard Hunt, and Justin Theroux’s G Gordon Liddy, then my faith in American politics goes up a little.
27 - Succession (series 5) (Now TV)
The final series failed to grip me as much as its predecessors, but that still leaves it head and shoulders above most TV comedy writing. I had the extra treat of watching Jesse Armstrong be interviewed about it at the BBC Comedy conference in Cardiff, which made it all the more memorable.
26 - No Activity (BBC)
A lovely find from a few years ago, prompted by one of the shows further up in the chart (this is the show where Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall met, apparently). A triumph of low budget TV, its virtually a radio show in its minimal staging. Samuel Beckett would have been proud to have kept it this simple.
25 - The Reckoning (BBC)
The unhelpfully titled drama about Jimmy Savile. I mean the title isn’t even accurate, cos he never had a reckoning. That’s rather the takeaway from the whole Savile affair, isn’t it? That he got away with it, without there ever being a reckoning? He must be the least reckoned-with criminal of all British criminal DJ wrong-uns. Steve Coogan did a good turn as the creepy tracksuit wearer, though with eyes never quite as bogglingly wide as the man himself.
24 - The Dropout (Disney)
One of many (based on a) true stories in this year’s list, it told the Elizabeth Holmes / Theranos story, with which I wasn’t familiar, really well. For something with a very low level of action, it kept itself engaging throughout.
23 - Our Flag Means Death (BBC)
An excellent historical comedy from New Zealand, by Taika Waititi and starring Rhys Darby, which seemed unpromisingly crass and low brow to begin with, but really found its stride as it progressed. A good reminder of how few historical comedy dramas you get these days.
22 - The Night Of (Now TV)
Another one from a few years ago that we came late to. Adapted from a BBC series of even longer ago, which then starred Ben Wishaw, this saw the story moved to New York, starring Riz Ahmed and maintained a tense atmosphere better than most dramas this year.
21 - Ten Pound Poms (BBC)
Lightweight fun from an Australian/ British co production, that was pure soap opera with a bit of history thrown in. But so well done it remained compelling throughout.
What's in my Top 20 TV Of 2023? Here comes 20 to 11...
My Top TV of... 2021 2020 2019 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011 • 2009
My Books and where to get them:
No comments:
Post a Comment