Year in Review - Television

The end of another year and a time to reflect a little on what I've been watching on TV in 2018. Not a great deal, to be honest, but there have been a few shows worthy of comment.

Starting off, we have Hard Sun, a so-called pre-apocalyptic thriller that the BBC aired in January. I put up a review post here and to avoid repeating myself, all I'll add is that I was disappointed with the show. It promised much but the execution was lacking.

Next up, the second half of season one for Star Trek: Discovery. I say second half as American broadcasters have this annoying habit of putting months-long break in TV shows instead of showing the whole season in one block. The break didn't hurt ST: Disco as the season ended on a high and delivered what I was expecting from a modern day ST show. The cast were uniformly excellent (especially Jason Isaacs who seems to have been having a ball!), the production values were top notch and the story engrossing. True, some didn't like it as it wasn't "true" to the values of Trek, but I think it mostly was and let's be honest here, if a show doesn't re-invent itself periodically, it disappears into the depressing void of formulaic nothingness. No, Disco was an excellent return to form for TV Trek and I look forward to the second season coming next month.

Another show that re-invented itself for the umpteenth time, Dr Who. I'll address the elephant in the room first - Jodie Whitaker is excellent in the role and the new (or should I say old) vibe of providing educational episodes (where you actually learn a bit about history) is refreshing compared to the convoluted series arcs that the Tennant and Smith era's provided. The three new companions, sorry, friends of the Doctor are worthy additions, especially Bradley Walsh, who gets to show some serious acting chops. One thing this Doctor has mostly avoided is terrible scripting, something that plagued Peter Capaldi's first series, doing much to undermine his great efforts to make the role his own. With a New Year special coming and a second series due at some point, the show has gotten past the kerfuffle about a female Doctor with style and hopefully has a bright future ahead. However, with rumoured issues between Chris Chibnall, the show runner and the BBC, it may be that we only get two series in total.

Another good TV show this year was Jack Ryan. A review of the show is here and that too is another programme I'm looking forward to returning.

The same can be said for Lost in Space, Netflix's re-imagining of the classic sci-fi show. Brought up to date and with vastly superior SFX, Lost in Space had a lot to prove as a flagship show and by God, did it prove it. With an excellent cast (minus the ever-so-slightly annoying Parker Posey as Dr Smith - you really want people to just think about what she's doing and kill her) and a re-jigged story line, Lost in Space provided an excellent counter to Trek and Who for sci-fi fans. It also boasted excellent production values and the pacing over the limited run of episodes was top notch. Again, a second season is due, probably next year.

Marvel TV shows got short shrift from me this year, with only the second season of Luke Cage getting a watch. That show, to be honest, was crap. Too long, too slow and boring, I made my feelings known here. They haven't changed.

This leads me to the Missing In Action section, shows that I haven't seen yet they were released in 2018. First up, the Marvel shows - Daredevil season 3 and Iron Fist season 2. After ploughing through Luke Cage, my lovely lady and I decided that we weren't going to waste any more time on these shows. Yes, Iron Fist season 2 got better reviews than the first, but that wasn't exactly something to shout about, and the third outing for Daredevil was considered a return to form, but when each series takes up to 13 hours of your time, you want to be entertained and they just didn't seem to offer that - and no, this does not break the Magnusson Protocol.

That leaves The Expanse season 3. With a 100% fresh rating on Rottentomatoes.com, this season was one I was really looking forward to appearing on Netflix. Sadly, it didn't. You see, Alcon Entertainment makes the show, with SyFy having first broadcast rights in the US, Amazon having re-broadcast rights in the US and Netflix pretty much covering the rest of the planet. SyFy cancelled the show despite the glowing reviews and obvious quality due to poor ratings - remember, they only have first broadcast rights. Fortunately, Amazon picked up the show for a fourth season, but in doing so, picked up the rights for all broadcasts worldwide. This happened before season 3 made it to the UK. Netflix have since pulled the first two seasons from their network and there is no sign of Amazon showing any of the seasons in the UK. It's a shame and it looks like I'll have to wait until the DVD release next autumn.

So that's it for television. Next year promises to have some corking shows and no doubt I'll have a comment or two on here. Also look out for the Year in Review posts for Films, Books and Games coming up over the next few days.