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Post by Jeremy on Dec 16, 2018 12:32:56 GMT -8
I could see The Americans landing somewhere on my best of the year list. It did have a couple of really strong episodes, and it's not like I've been impressed by a ton of shows this year.
Also, I believe Quiana is probably right about Killing Eve. I like the show a lot, but recent history suggests that it'll never hit the same critical or qualitative heights of Season One.
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Post by otherscott on Dec 21, 2018 12:16:29 GMT -8
I’m not going to catch up on the Amazon stuff before the end of the year, so I might as well post my top 10 TV shows of 2018 now:
1. The Americans For 5 consecutive seasons, this show never quite reached me as well as it did with most. It was always a bit too dark and of course the greatest weakness the show has of just having storylines that didn’t go anywhere. This season put it together though, by finally making Elizabeth really question whether her commitment was blindly to her country or whether it was to an ideology. Then it really stuck the landing with a finale that felt very natural to where the show had to go.
2. Atlanta Sometimes it’s hard to put a finger on what exactly about this show works so well, but I think ultimately it’s just so successful at combining absurdism with real sociological and personal issues. It can be funny, give you some great lines and memorable visuals, and also just hit you emotionally. Remarkably consistent episode to episode as well, considering how different each one is.
3. My Brilliant Friend I don’t know if I’ve seen a show that hits the balance between how friendship is always a back and forth between competition and jealousy as well as caring and support as well as this show does it.
4. The Haunting of Hill House This is a show that was buzzed about but more of in a “very good for what it does” manner. There’s no “for what it does” from me, this show nails it. It’s scary, it’s character driven in a way that’s both consistent and insightful, and it’s structured perfectly. It does get more explainy and didactic than it should towards the end, but that doesn’t take too much away from what an achievement this show is.
5. Westworld This show just behaves differently than other shows. It isn’t character centric and that throws a lot of people off. But that’s fine with me, because it aims high, hits a lot of what it aims for, and provides a unique and awe inspiring viewing experience. That’s really all I ask for.
6. One Day At A Time There’s definitely times where the show gets a little too predictable and it does colour within the lines. But the show has a ton of heart, is funny, and is driven by terrific performances all around. This show is a gem and shouldn’t be overlooked.
7. Sharp Objects This is the definition of a slow burn show. At the beginning you don’t know what or why you’re watching, but each episode builds upon subtle exposition that was laid as foundation in the early episodes and the later episodes start leaning heavily into the horror genre without losing direction.
8. The Handmaids Tale My number 2 show a year ago, the show kind of loses the deeper themes that Atwood had embedded in her book to become a little bit too much about only the oppression of women. That being said the season starts incredibly strongly, and has such a good handle on the psychology of a few of its main characters, that it still works very well as a TV show and I can’t drop it out of my list entirely.
9. American Crime Story: Versace The show everyone seemed to have forgotten about, especially considering how much of a phenomenon season 1 was. This isn’t on that level, but I think removing expectations it’s an excellent show about homosexuality in its time period, both about how gay people in that era were forced to basically mask themselves in their everyday life, and taking that idea to it’s extreme, as well as looking at the desperation for companionship of those gay people and how it made them more vulnerable to danger. This show is not for everyone but I will advocate strongly that it is a valuable addition to ACS and did nothing to lower my expectations for the next one.
10. Killing Eve Really anchored by the performances of the two leads, this show is tremendously fun. The finale veered a little too far into the nonsensical for my liking or this would have been higher.
Honourable mention: Bojack Horseman
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 21, 2018 12:34:19 GMT -8
Wow, I haven't even seen half of those all the way through. I plan to catch up on at least one more next week, but I expect our Top 10s are going to be very different this year.
Westworld and Versace seem like real left-field choices, although I haven't seen them myself.
Was The End of the Forking World ever in the running? (I know it technically premiered in England in 2017, but it wasn't made available on this side of the pond till this past January.)
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Post by otherscott on Dec 21, 2018 12:41:46 GMT -8
Yeah, The End of the Fluking World was in the good but not great range of shows like The Expanse, The Good but not Great Place and Succession. It may have had a shot in either a weaker year or a year where I didn’t get around to as much but I found this year relatively strong especially in the lower half of my top 10.
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 21, 2018 12:56:55 GMT -8
Unless the handful of shows I'm going to check off my list next week really blow me away, I'm going to put 2018 down as "a weaker year." But clearly some of that divergence (particularly your #1 and #8 picks) can be attributed to differing tastes. At this point, I can guarantee that only two of your picks will make my Top 10.
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Post by otherscott on Dec 23, 2018 7:03:49 GMT -8
Considering we were nearly identical with our lists last year this is a nice change up.
I think one of the main culprits is I have a lot of HBO shows this year and you’re always a little bit behind on those. I expect you’ll catch up with Sharp Objects because of our good pal Marti, but I really do think you’ll appreciate My Brilliant Friend when you get around to it.
Anyways, here are my top 5 episodes of the year: “Not Yet” - One Day at a Time “Winner” - Better Call Saul “Teddy Perkins” - Atlanta “The Summit” - The Americans “Descent” - American Crime Story
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 23, 2018 7:59:38 GMT -8
Yeah, HBO has always been a blindspot of mine. I may catch up on Sharp Objects this week, but My Brilliant Friend seems unlikely. (Though I hope to get to it pretty soon.)
I think Amazon Prime is another area of divergence between us. I expect at least one of their shows will make my list.
Also, I believe this is the first time your Top 10 does not contain a single network show. Looks like cable/streaming has taken over at last.
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Post by otherscott on Dec 23, 2018 10:22:38 GMT -8
Yes, Amazon is definitely my blindspot though I did watch S1 of Marvelous Mrs Maisel on an airplane. It was pretty much exactly what I expected, light but fun. So I can no longer say I’ve never seen a single season of an Amazon show.
Sadly there doesn’t appear to be an Uproxx critics poll this year, but Metacritic is tracking TV critics top 10 lists and compiling them. Right now the top 3 is Killing Eve, Atlanta and The Americans in that order, but they’re still adding lists.
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 23, 2018 10:39:53 GMT -8
I just looked at the Metacritic poll. Man, what a precipitous drop for The Handmaid's Tale. It came in 3rd place for 2017, yet didn't even crack the Top 20 this year. Among individual ranked lists, not a single critic put it in their Top 5.
From that perspective, I'd say Killing Eve should enjoy its critical acclaim while it lasts...
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Post by otherscott on Dec 23, 2018 20:27:52 GMT -8
Killing Eve is definitely the show headed for that same precipitous drop. Shows that are mostly rewarded based on the freshness of their concept or their *cough* timeliness tend to be the ones that kind of fall by the wayside as they progress. I’m thinking Orange is the New Black eroding critical acclaim long before the show itself started to drop in quality.
Ultimately Killing Eve feels a lot like Orphan Black, which is a show that lost freshness rather than quality over the years in my opinion. We’ll see if Eve has more to give that keeps this first season feeling going but I am somewhat skeptical.
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 23, 2018 20:54:08 GMT -8
Consulting older Metacritic polls, it looks like every year has at least one "hot new show" that is widely celebrated by critics, but then loses a good deal of support for S2. Handmaid's in 2017, Stranger Things in 2016, Mr. Robot in 2015, True Detective in 2014. And... yep, there's Orange is the New Black in 2013. Sometimes the shows do get worse, but other times it's just a case of critics moving on.
Incidentally, your mentioning Noxon earlier reminded me that I never finished UnREAL. I started Season Four a while back, but... just couldn't get into it. The show was a lot of fun when it started, but it burned out pretty quick, and I just couldn't feel motivated enough to wrap it up.
But on the bright side, I did just get Sharp Objects on DVD. Three episodes in so far; hasn't fully hooked me yet, but I'm hoping your description of it proves correct.
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 26, 2018 16:37:11 GMT -8
Atlanta is now #1 in the Metacritic poll, having edged out Killing Eve by a very slight margin. Whether it holds that position is anyone's guess. (Atlanta came in at #2 in 2016, after People vs. OJ Simpson.)
I also notice that The Good Fight is in 4th place for "Best Show of the Year," yet it comes in at #10 overall. That site has a weird grading system.
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Dec 26, 2018 17:16:19 GMT -8
I also notice that The Good Fight is in 4th place for "Best Show of the Year," What the fork?
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 26, 2018 17:54:00 GMT -8
I'm certainly surprised, but bear in mind that it's still far below the Top 3. Here's how the votes for "Best Show of 2018" currently break down:
1. Atlanta (18 votes) 2. The Americans (15 votes) 3. Killing Eve (12 votes) 4. The Good Fight (4 votes) 5. The Good Place/Barry (3 votes each)
The first three shows are getting the bulk of critical love, while everything else is being spread really thin. The Good Fight has a few ardent supporters, but most critics don't even have it on their list at all. (Out of 97 collected lists, Good Fight appears on 24, while Killing Eve is on 71.)
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 27, 2018 13:19:54 GMT -8
Also, I believe this is the first time your Top 10 does not contain a single network show. Looks like cable/streaming has taken over at last. More proof to this point: For the first time, my own Top 10 will not have a single network show in it this year. (At the moment, it looks like it'll be 6 cable and 4 streaming shows.) The times, they are a'changin'. I'll try posting the full piece on Sunday.
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