Notable Television Shows of 2015
Jan. 1st, 2016 10:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatI was going to hold off on doing this until I got a chance to stream Man in the High Castle, Transparent, and watched Scandal, Childhood's End and The Expanse -- but alas, it probably won't be until late January that I get around to watching any of the above. Also, if you saw the television series in 2016, how exactly can you say they were notable television shows of 2015? (Granted I may do that with movies, but that's slightly different.) Afterall, it's not like I didn't watch enough television series in 2015 to make up a notable list of at least 10, without including the one's I haven't gotten around to watching yet, and may never get around to watching. Tried Man in the High Castle's first episode...and, uh, no, not very compelling. Alternate History stories tend to irritate and frustrate me, so I knew going in that this would be problematic.
So below is my list, with the caveat that I have not watched many of the critically acclaimed series people have raved about. (I tried to watch The Left-Overs but it's too bleak and religious for my taste (religiously preachy television series get on my nerves -- it was one of my problems with LOST and to a degree with BattleStar Galatica, Caprica and Deep Space Nine.) And I don't understand the appeal of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, any more than I did 30 Rock - embarrassment comedy doesn't work for me. Still need to make time for Rectify and Olive Kittridge. And I tried to watch Better Call Saul - but couldn't get past the first two episodes, my attention kept wandering. Maybe someday. Empire and How to Get Away With Murder were another two series that I wanted to love and just couldn't get into. The characters and plot left me cold, unfortunately. )
Notable Television Series of 2015
1. Daredevil - this is a netflix series that I streamed over the summer. It's about 13 episodes and it held my attention throughout. The story is about a blind attorney with special gifts, who turns vigilante in Hells Kitchen, NYC - a dark gritty Hell's Kitchen. It borrows heavily from various film noir tropes and pulp comic noir tropes. It's also incredibly violent - but in a way that evolves the characters and plot, also crucial to the plot. It, in other words, never felt exploitative or excessive. Daredevil, unlike most superheroes, gets hurt and the violence changes him, not necessarily for the better. In fact, it changes everyone in his world, and in some respects creates the villain, Fiske, who is amongst the most complex. My favorite bit - the bit that blew me away, is when the gal Friday, Daredevil's secretary and alleged damsel, takes care of business. Unfortunately, Stephen DeKnight, the show-runner, has left the series, and it has been taken over by Doug Petrie, who I have less confidence in as a showrunner or writer. Also, S2 has gotten busier - we have The Punisher and Electra as villains.
2. The 100 - when I read the description of this series initially, I wasn't sure it would work, but it does, brilliantly. It may well be amongst the best sci-fi series on television at the moment. Like Daredevil, it is insanely violent, but also like Daredevil - the violence changes the characters, influences them, and is crucial to the themes. It is an anti-violence series. And takes insane risks. Raises moral questions that it refuses to simply answer. And asks interesting ones about race, about what people are willing to do to survive, and the lines we would cross - and how that changes you. What violence does to and how it destroys things around you. (The CW)
3. Crazy Ex-Girl Friend - this is an insane musical comedy series about a depressed successful New York Real Estate Attorney, who decides on a whim to move to a small town in California in order to get back together with her ex-boyfriend from high school summer camp. But mainly she just wants a change of pace. It's a satire of all of those - "My life in the big city is horrible and meaningless, I know, I'll move to a small town and discover real happiness and romance" television series tropes of 1980s and 1990s. (Also 98% of Contemporary Romance Novels and Hallmark Channel Movies, unfortunately.) I don't know yet if I like it or not, but I can't seem to stop watching it. Possibly because I think that trope deserves to be satirized. (The CW)
4. Agent Carter - it's a 1940s/1950s comedy spy thriller, with comic book and noir undertones. Also, and more notably, it pokes fun at the rampant sexism of the time period as well as the rampant sexism that exists in the genre. At times it goes over the top in this regard - with hilarious result. The stoic male heroes often come across as stumbling bumpkins to the savvy Agent Carter, who is always five steps ahead of them. While Captain America and Iron Man need super-powers to save the world, Carter does it with good old fashion detective work and a right kick in the you know what. (ABC)
5. Grace and Frankie - this is a Netflix situation comedy about two 70-year-old women who move into together after their husbands hook up. The husbands declare they've fallen in love, divorce their wives and decide to get married. So Grace and Frankie move into the beach house. It stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen, and Sam Waterson. It's hilarious in places and incredibly moving in others - putting the characters first over jokes. A rarity these days. Also the stars are all over 60, another rarity.
6. The Good Wife - weird show, it jumped the shark then jumped back better than ever. One of the few series that has successfully rebooted itself multiple times. (I think if you made the colossal mistake of shipping any of the character relationships - you probably got upset and fled for the hills. Because this show is anti-romance and anti-shipping. I don't ship any of the relationships in the series...so it never bothered me.)
The Good Wife is all about power - specifically political power games. And how people abuse and use power to get what they want. It's first and foremost a canny character-driven satire of the American Legal and Political System. Each episode satirizes a different aspect of the system, often to hilarious effect. I actually think it may well be the funniest show on television, although it probably helps if you are familiar with our insane legal system (or have been trained as a lawyer and work in a government agency). It's also the most accurate regarding the legal system, and it's inherent abuses and corruptions.
7. Bloodline another NetFlix series starring Kyle Chandler, Sissy Spacek, Ben Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini, Norbert Leo Butz, and Sam Shepard - by Todd Kessler, is perhaps the most gripping noir family thriller that I've seen. Delving deep into the dark side of dysfunctional family politics in the Florida Keys. It's about a prodigal son returning to his family-owned resort in the Key's for his parent's anniversary. Except things go horribly awry, and the son starts torturing his siblings, revealing all sorts of dark family secrets in the process.
Great performances and excellent dialogue, mark this thriller that like Damages is told mainly in flashback.
8. The Wiz Live - NBC does a live broadcast of the Wiz with an all black cast and it's the best live musical they've done to date. All the performances are spot on, and the songs fun. Unlike Sound of Music and Peter Pan, which felt wooden and amateurish in places, the Wiz comes across as a professional show.
9. Jessica Jones - another Netflix streaming series...it was admittedly uneven in places. And fell into cliche - although I'm not sure you'd notice unless you're overly familiar with the tropes. Notable for the performances of Kristen Ritter as Jones, and David Tennant as the villain, Kilgrave, whose mind-rape of Jones -- changes the character completely. It's insanely violent also, in some respects more so than Daredevil, which is odd. But like Daredevil the violence changes the characters.
10. Justified - while not quite as tight as previous seasons, the final episode of Justified was a work of art, providing the audience with a realistic and oddly bittersweet ending, without everyone dying. Brilliant in so many ways...and the focus of it was the core of the series, the relationship between Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder, highlighting the theme, but for the grace of god go I. Justified also ended on a high note - with top-notch guest performances by Mary Steenbergen and Sam Elliot as aging star-crossed lovers who spent most of their time trying not to double-cross each other.
Honorable Mention: The Husbands of River Song" - The Doctor Who Christmas special manages to be a jaunty affair that has something to say, and closes a chapter in the story, along with a major dangling plot thread.
And Game of Thrones on HBO - which wasn't quite as good as previous years, and had gone a bit over the top in the violence department, doing things that had not been in the books. The problem with the violence in GoT is it is excessive, not necessary for either character development or plot, and feels exploitive. (Hint: You know it's not necessary - when the book didn't do it or the writer of the books stopped short of showing it. I didn't think it was possible to out-do GRR Martin in the sadism department, but these writers managed to do so.) Which, ahem, is not a good thing. That said, there were some high points -many of which you won't get in the books. Not to mention great performances. It still has one of the best casts on television. Amongst them Tyrion and Danyrs finally meeting up. And Brienne and Jamie off on separate and far more satisfying character arcs. They still killed off Jon Snow, although that appears to be up for debate, just like it appears to be up for debate in the books - if he's alive it's as a wolf or warg, because there's just no other way.
So below is my list, with the caveat that I have not watched many of the critically acclaimed series people have raved about. (I tried to watch The Left-Overs but it's too bleak and religious for my taste (religiously preachy television series get on my nerves -- it was one of my problems with LOST and to a degree with BattleStar Galatica, Caprica and Deep Space Nine.) And I don't understand the appeal of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, any more than I did 30 Rock - embarrassment comedy doesn't work for me. Still need to make time for Rectify and Olive Kittridge. And I tried to watch Better Call Saul - but couldn't get past the first two episodes, my attention kept wandering. Maybe someday. Empire and How to Get Away With Murder were another two series that I wanted to love and just couldn't get into. The characters and plot left me cold, unfortunately. )
Notable Television Series of 2015
1. Daredevil - this is a netflix series that I streamed over the summer. It's about 13 episodes and it held my attention throughout. The story is about a blind attorney with special gifts, who turns vigilante in Hells Kitchen, NYC - a dark gritty Hell's Kitchen. It borrows heavily from various film noir tropes and pulp comic noir tropes. It's also incredibly violent - but in a way that evolves the characters and plot, also crucial to the plot. It, in other words, never felt exploitative or excessive. Daredevil, unlike most superheroes, gets hurt and the violence changes him, not necessarily for the better. In fact, it changes everyone in his world, and in some respects creates the villain, Fiske, who is amongst the most complex. My favorite bit - the bit that blew me away, is when the gal Friday, Daredevil's secretary and alleged damsel, takes care of business. Unfortunately, Stephen DeKnight, the show-runner, has left the series, and it has been taken over by Doug Petrie, who I have less confidence in as a showrunner or writer. Also, S2 has gotten busier - we have The Punisher and Electra as villains.
2. The 100 - when I read the description of this series initially, I wasn't sure it would work, but it does, brilliantly. It may well be amongst the best sci-fi series on television at the moment. Like Daredevil, it is insanely violent, but also like Daredevil - the violence changes the characters, influences them, and is crucial to the themes. It is an anti-violence series. And takes insane risks. Raises moral questions that it refuses to simply answer. And asks interesting ones about race, about what people are willing to do to survive, and the lines we would cross - and how that changes you. What violence does to and how it destroys things around you. (The CW)
3. Crazy Ex-Girl Friend - this is an insane musical comedy series about a depressed successful New York Real Estate Attorney, who decides on a whim to move to a small town in California in order to get back together with her ex-boyfriend from high school summer camp. But mainly she just wants a change of pace. It's a satire of all of those - "My life in the big city is horrible and meaningless, I know, I'll move to a small town and discover real happiness and romance" television series tropes of 1980s and 1990s. (Also 98% of Contemporary Romance Novels and Hallmark Channel Movies, unfortunately.) I don't know yet if I like it or not, but I can't seem to stop watching it. Possibly because I think that trope deserves to be satirized. (The CW)
4. Agent Carter - it's a 1940s/1950s comedy spy thriller, with comic book and noir undertones. Also, and more notably, it pokes fun at the rampant sexism of the time period as well as the rampant sexism that exists in the genre. At times it goes over the top in this regard - with hilarious result. The stoic male heroes often come across as stumbling bumpkins to the savvy Agent Carter, who is always five steps ahead of them. While Captain America and Iron Man need super-powers to save the world, Carter does it with good old fashion detective work and a right kick in the you know what. (ABC)
5. Grace and Frankie - this is a Netflix situation comedy about two 70-year-old women who move into together after their husbands hook up. The husbands declare they've fallen in love, divorce their wives and decide to get married. So Grace and Frankie move into the beach house. It stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen, and Sam Waterson. It's hilarious in places and incredibly moving in others - putting the characters first over jokes. A rarity these days. Also the stars are all over 60, another rarity.
6. The Good Wife - weird show, it jumped the shark then jumped back better than ever. One of the few series that has successfully rebooted itself multiple times. (I think if you made the colossal mistake of shipping any of the character relationships - you probably got upset and fled for the hills. Because this show is anti-romance and anti-shipping. I don't ship any of the relationships in the series...so it never bothered me.)
The Good Wife is all about power - specifically political power games. And how people abuse and use power to get what they want. It's first and foremost a canny character-driven satire of the American Legal and Political System. Each episode satirizes a different aspect of the system, often to hilarious effect. I actually think it may well be the funniest show on television, although it probably helps if you are familiar with our insane legal system (or have been trained as a lawyer and work in a government agency). It's also the most accurate regarding the legal system, and it's inherent abuses and corruptions.
7. Bloodline another NetFlix series starring Kyle Chandler, Sissy Spacek, Ben Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini, Norbert Leo Butz, and Sam Shepard - by Todd Kessler, is perhaps the most gripping noir family thriller that I've seen. Delving deep into the dark side of dysfunctional family politics in the Florida Keys. It's about a prodigal son returning to his family-owned resort in the Key's for his parent's anniversary. Except things go horribly awry, and the son starts torturing his siblings, revealing all sorts of dark family secrets in the process.
Great performances and excellent dialogue, mark this thriller that like Damages is told mainly in flashback.
8. The Wiz Live - NBC does a live broadcast of the Wiz with an all black cast and it's the best live musical they've done to date. All the performances are spot on, and the songs fun. Unlike Sound of Music and Peter Pan, which felt wooden and amateurish in places, the Wiz comes across as a professional show.
9. Jessica Jones - another Netflix streaming series...it was admittedly uneven in places. And fell into cliche - although I'm not sure you'd notice unless you're overly familiar with the tropes. Notable for the performances of Kristen Ritter as Jones, and David Tennant as the villain, Kilgrave, whose mind-rape of Jones -- changes the character completely. It's insanely violent also, in some respects more so than Daredevil, which is odd. But like Daredevil the violence changes the characters.
10. Justified - while not quite as tight as previous seasons, the final episode of Justified was a work of art, providing the audience with a realistic and oddly bittersweet ending, without everyone dying. Brilliant in so many ways...and the focus of it was the core of the series, the relationship between Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder, highlighting the theme, but for the grace of god go I. Justified also ended on a high note - with top-notch guest performances by Mary Steenbergen and Sam Elliot as aging star-crossed lovers who spent most of their time trying not to double-cross each other.
Honorable Mention: The Husbands of River Song" - The Doctor Who Christmas special manages to be a jaunty affair that has something to say, and closes a chapter in the story, along with a major dangling plot thread.
And Game of Thrones on HBO - which wasn't quite as good as previous years, and had gone a bit over the top in the violence department, doing things that had not been in the books. The problem with the violence in GoT is it is excessive, not necessary for either character development or plot, and feels exploitive. (Hint: You know it's not necessary - when the book didn't do it or the writer of the books stopped short of showing it. I didn't think it was possible to out-do GRR Martin in the sadism department, but these writers managed to do so.) Which, ahem, is not a good thing. That said, there were some high points -many of which you won't get in the books. Not to mention great performances. It still has one of the best casts on television. Amongst them Tyrion and Danyrs finally meeting up. And Brienne and Jamie off on separate and far more satisfying character arcs. They still killed off Jon Snow, although that appears to be up for debate, just like it appears to be up for debate in the books - if he's alive it's as a wolf or warg, because there's just no other way.
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Date: 2016-01-02 05:13 am (UTC)Jessica Jones and also River are next up for me.
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