We’ve looked at the Staples, the Podcasts, the Sequels: we’ve looked at the ones we couldn’t remember and the ones that Lost It: we’ve even discussed the Biggest Disappointment of the Year. Now all that’s left are the shows that I think qualify as the Top Ten TV of 2024…
10 - Doctor Who (BBC) - If only so that the poor old BBC can get a mention at the top end of my chart, Doctor Who is back in its traditional number 10 slot (as it was in 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2023. If you must know, its highest position was 2014 at No 4). In the middle of this short series, while we were enjoying episodes like Boom, 73 Yards, and Dot & Bubble, this was shaping up to top my chart of the year. I was loving it, regardless of how frustrating it was having two Doctor-lite episodes out of 8, just as we’re getting used to a new Doctor. And there’s no denying it started shakily, with the music-drenched comic strip nonsense of Space Babies, and the audience-dividing Fat Beatles story (Devil’s Chord), which I liked. I liked Rogue too, despite the silly bird masks and the diverting love story (which I bet gets forgotten). But those final two episodes, with Ruby’s disappointing Mum reveal and Sutekh the annoying dog, were just bad. They were the poo in the punchbowl that put paid to any love for this series. Here’s hoping it wins us back next year.
9 - Agatha All Along (Disney) - Now this is how you spend a stupidly large budget on a comic book franchise and keep it entertaining. This ploughed its own furrow, was a musical about big gay witches without clashing with the summer’s movie offering of something that fits a very similar description, and was a Marvel series you could enjoy without having to do homework in advance. (Okay, it helped if you remembered Wanda Vision from five years ago, but it wasn’t vital). Unlike the songs in this year’s Doctor Who, Down The Witches Road is a solid corker that’ll be on loads of playlists by now. And the episode where they killed off Patti Lupone (spoiler alert, but really, not a thing), was a stand alone treasure. Mind you, if Loki is anything to go by, season 2 of this will go off the rails and down the pan, you just watch.
8 - Fantasmas (Sky/Now) - A hidden gem that I’ve not heard anyone else even mention, let alone have an opinion on. A camp surrealist comedy written by and starring Julio Torres, across whom I’ve never come before, this fell somewhere between The Mighty Boosh and Over The Wall, with touches of Pee Wee’s Playhouse and Mr Show. A surprising array of star guests for such a low key show, included Emma Stone, Natasha Lyonne, Tilda Swinton, and heaps more. Worth seeking out, wherever they hide it next.
5 - Ripley (Netflix) - Cinematography and sound design are something I often forget about, and too often big-budget TV shows spend all their money building fantasy worlds and show-off shots that can at times add little to the storytelling. So it was a delight this year to have a period piece, an adaptation of a 1950s crime novel, that devoted as much care to the visuals as this did. Steven Zaillian, the screenwriter of everything from Schindlers List to Gangs Of New York, has written and directed this and nails every detail. The black and white photography is so well chosen, and full of outstanding images throughout.The evocation of 1950s Italy is perfect and you’re not taken out of the world for a second. Then, within these frames, he takes us through the drama with such an exquisite sense of tension that it becomes the most gripping experience. Andrew Scott is suitably creepy and charming. I’d like to think this was what Patricia Highsmith had in mind.
1 - Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV) - I have no qualms about putting the populist choice at the top of my personal tree. After all, it was this TV show, and the true story it shone a light on, that gave me the first new Scottish Falsetto Socks show for three years (I performed my version at the Leicester Comedy Festival in February and will be doing it again next year). And as well as being a moving drama in itself, it is a stunning reminder of quite what a uniting force television can be. This ne little miniseries, snuck out on ITV 1 in the first week of the year, served to tell the country at large about a scandal which many of us knew about (thanks in my case to Private Eye and Radio 4) but few had taken sufficiently seriously. Once the truth was out there on such an inescapable scale, actual genuine change happened in the world. It may be the most influential television programme since Cathy Come Home, sixty years earlier. Now the big question is, will ITV try and repeat the trick this January? And if so, what scandal will they have a stab at this time? The Windrush Scandal? The Panama Papers? Those buses with dodgy brakes that occasionally run people over in bus stations? Only time will tell.
And that was my favourite TV of 2024. I have no doubt every single person who’s bothered to read this completely disagrees. I welcome your feedback. And a Happy New Year when it comes.
My Top TV of... 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011 • 2009
Prince Of Denmark Street - Amazon - Etsy - Kindle
Midsummer Nights Dream Team - Amazon - Etsy
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