2010 - TV Of The Year

"I don't watch a lot of TV but..." could well become a catchphrase round these parts. Here's what's kept me glued to the idiot box this year...

15. Castle

Castle isn't great TV. It's formulaic as hell. The scripts rarely get beyond workmanlike. It has none of the sparkle of Moonlighting or even Remington Steel, which it so carefully models itself on. And yet, I can't stop watching it - for two great reasons. The main one being Nathan Fillion, who - after Firefly and Dr. Horrible - I have a heckuva lot of time for. He's one of those actors who can make even the corniest of lines raise a smile, and who has more charisma in his eyebrow than I have in my whole body. And then there's the improbably named Stana Katic who's grown beyond just another unbelievably pretty American TV cop to develop actual chemistry with her goofball co-star that often goes beyond what the scriptwriters can bother to deliver. They make an engaging pair... to the point where I'm also tempted to check out Ms. Katic's previous role...

...but I just know I'd be disappointed.

I've always been a sucker for quirky detective shows and now Monk has hung up his OCD mac (though we've still to see the final series in the UK), Castle fills that gap nicely.

14. La La Land

In which guerrilla comedian Marc Wootton takes his hideous creations Gary Garner (a wannabe Jason Statham), Brendan Allen (a kamikaze documentary maker with no ideas of his own) and Shirley Ghostman (a disgraced psychic) to Hollywood... where everyone takes him far too seriously.



13. Luther

Stringer Bell escapes Baltimore and comes home to London where Idris Elba's maverick cop teams up with a cold-as-ice murderer (an inspired, nutty-as-a-fruitcake turn from Ruth Wilson) and tries to keep his job while his best friend goes mental, his wife shacks up with a one time Doctor Who, and everyone wants his badge. This show got better the more extreme it became, leading to a genuinely exciting climax. Disappointing then that the Beeb seem to committed to only two new episodes next year.

12. True Blood

A curious show in which the main characters are also the least interesting and most annoying. If True Blood was just about Sookie and Bill, I'm not sure I'd still be bothered. Fortunately Season 2 brought other characters to the fore - notably Eric, Sam, Lafayette, Jessica and Jason. If they made Jason the star, I'd watch this show forever.

11. The Trip

Sending Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon off on a tour of the north's favourite poncey restaurants could easily have been a luvvie-fest of tedious proportions. Fortunately director Michael Winterbottom had other plans, playing with our expectations of both performers, letting them riff mercilessly, and revealing unexpectedly dark and touching aspects to their "characters" in the process. At times laugh-out-loud funny, at other times really quite sweet.



10. Nurse Jackie

Like ER's wicked step-sister, this is the show that proves everything you always suspected about hospitals. The staff are sicker than the patients. Edie Falco's philandering, pill-popping, mercy killing head nurse is scarier even than a Carry On matron.

9. Justified

When The Shield wrapped, it was a dark day for fans of Walton (Shane) Goggins. Apart from an amusing turn in the otherwise woeful Predators, where would we see our favourite bad boy again? Luckily he turned up as a thorn in Timothy Olyphant's side in Justified... then went and found God and got really messed up. Olyphant in a sheriff's hat is always good value, but it's Goggins who makes this show unmissable. Glad to see he'll be back for season two.

8. Sherlock

Everything that needs to be said has already been said, far more incisively, by others. Sherlock wasn't perfect (the middle episode sagged), but it really shouldn't have worked at all. Yet Benedict Cumberbatch's ADHD Holmes and (particularly) Martin Freeman's warm everyman Watson provided essential viewing, not to mention that sly but nail-biting Moriarty cliffhanger which left us all begging for more.

7. Fringe

This was the year that Fringe finally found its feet and stepped out of the knock-off X-Files box as alternate realities went to war, fake Olivia swapped places with real Olivia, Peter (Pacey) bedded fake Olivia by accident, and Walter Bishop - always the star of the show - offered his son some typically skewed words of comfort...

"In the seventies I innocently wandered in the wrong home and it was three days before I realized my mistake. And unlike Olivia, the woman I was sharing a bed with didn't look like my wife at all."

6. 24

For my full tribute to Jack Bauer, click the link.

5. Doctor Who

Finally, everything clicked with me and New Who. Mainly due to the departure of Russell T. Davies and the stepping up of Stephen Moffat, a writer who understands both sci fi and characterisation - and actually gets the possibilities of time travel too. Credit must also go to Matt Smith. Whereas Eccleston's Doctor was a little too reluctant and Tennant's occasionally over the top, Smith pitched it just right. And then there's Karen Gillen - the least annoying Doctor Who companion since Romana... and easiest on the eye since Peri Brown.

4. This Is England '86

Part hilarious nostalgia piece, part harrowing social drama... and featuring Flip and his gang of moped-riding goons: TV idiots of the year.



3. Mad Men

How could Mad Men top the assassination of JFK? Easy, by getting Don and Peggy to work through the night on a campaign while Don's world fell apart around him. Best single episode of any show this year - though the rest wasn't too shabby either.

RIP, Mrs. Blankenship.

2. Lost

It was never going to please everybody, but the Lost finale satisfied me, wrapping up enough of the mysteries, answering enough of the questions, and managing to give even long-dead characters a happy ending... of sorts. Plus, Sawyer got away. That'll do me.

1. House

House beat everything else for me this year, though admittedly I have been catching up. Season 6, starting with House in the loony bin, was the best yet... and while Season 7 (House in love!) isn't quite up to that standard, that's only because I'm scared that a happy House cannot last... and I care so much about this character, I really don't want to see him hurt any more.

Hugh Laurie is the highest paid TV star in the world? Hugh Laurie!?

Deservedly so.

Holiday Catch-Up

Honestly, I take a few days off and everything happens! Lost finishes. Denis Hopper and Gary Coleman die. Jack Bauer goes off the deep end. So much to blog about, so little time...

I did consider adding to the morass that's doubtless already been scrawled in online blood and viscera about the last Lost, but in the end I prefer to let it stand. As far as I'm concerned, they delivered. I found it was a hugely satisfying conclusion both in terms of narrative and emotion. I can't imagine a more rewarding wrap-up, taking into account everything that's gone before. Yes, I could pick. I could niggle that this character or that didn't get the attention they deserved. I could wonder where Mr. Eko was (he wanted too much money?) but where would it get me? More than any other show, the Lost finale could so easily have fallen flat or failed to perform. It didn't. It made the whole journey feel worthwhile.

(See? That's me not saying anything and letting it stand.)



On from that, a few more highlights... and lowlights... from our holiday. Let's start with the underwhelming: Aira Force. Billed as the most famous of the Lake District waterfalls, a 20 minute hike led us through a pleasant forest of pine till we reached...

This.



I've seen a fair few waterfalls in my day, in all parts of the country. I love a good waterfall. But generally I expect a little more than a giant wee. For an area as breathtakingly impressive as the Lakes, I expected more from Aira Force. Maybe we just caught it on a bad day.

Far more impressive were the quartet of ducklings we encountered getting swimming lessons from their mum in Dovedale, Derbyshire. It's not that clear from the pictures, but they had to work their way upstream - a mini-waterfall that was in its own way far less disappointing than Aira Force - yet despite their tiny size and the speed of the river, they all managed... to cheers from the gathered spectators.




One curiosity we encountered both in the Peaks and the Lakes was the Log O' Coins. A large tree trunk at the side of the path with loads of 10 and 2p coins hammered into it... for no reason I could divine. If you've ever encountered such a spectacle, perhaps you know the why. Is it a good luck thing (a wooden wishing well)? Or something far more sinister...? Where's Mulder and Scully when you need them?



The guest house we stayed at in the Peaks was truly idyllic. The weather helped, of course, but taking afternoon tea and scones in the garden was like something from a dream... or Alice In Wonderland, minus the insanity.



But the real highlight of our week away was a little furry blighter called Dinky. Last time we visited this particular part of the Lakes, we met some very tame and friendly deer. On popping down to visit them again (they eat grass out of your hand), we found something even cuter. A newborn donkey. Again, the photos just don't do him justice - but sadly, this is as close as we could get.

TV Meme

Stolen from Samurai Frog as usual...

Pick five of your favourite shows, in no particular order, before you read the questions below, then answer them!

1. Moonlighting
2. NYPD Blue
3. Lost
4. The X-Files
5. The West Wing

(And yes, I chose at least two of these shows just to piss off Kelvin. Well no, I didn't really, but I'm sure it will anyway.)


01. Who's your favorite character in 2?

Andy Sipowicz, obviously.

02. Who's your least favorite character in 1?

Herbert Viola. (Sorry, Dave.)

03. What's your favorite episode of 4?

Tough... the one that sticks in my head is Tooms. It sets the template for the Monster Of The Week episodes. Mythology-wise, I'd probably say Duane Barry.



04. What's your favorite season of 5?

Much as I enjoyed the show post-Sorkin, particularly the battle between Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda, it was never quite the same when the creator left. And considering the almighty 'get out of that!' crescendo of his final season, I'd have to pick that - season four.

05. Who is your favorite ship in 3?

I've had to google this. Apparently, in young person meme speak, ship (or 'ship) is short for relationship.

I'd probably say Sawyer and Hurley, except they don't seem to have had much time together lately. It's all Sawyer and Miles nowadays, isn't it? Sawyer and somebody, though preferably not Kate.



06. Who is your anti-ship in 2?

Anti-ship? Now you're really starting to confuse / bug me with your hep yoof lingo. But I've lucked out here, since just about every relationship Andy has is an anti-ship. Andy & Lt. Fancy would be the obvious choice.

07. How long have you watched 1?

I watched it from the very first episode, right through to the end. And I still miss it, even though the last couple of seasons were well past their best.

08. How did you become interested in 3?

Again, I watched it from the debut, and was hooked from the off.

09. Who's your favorite actor/actress in 4?

Duchovny. With Anderson a close second.

10. Which do you prefer: Show 1, 2 or 5?

If I had to pick, 2.



11. Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3?

Lost has now had twice as many episodes, so its the winner by default.

12. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

Mulder, naturally. Though I'd more likely be Skinner.

13. How would you kill off your favorite character in 1?

Why would I want to kill off David Addison? He's my hero!



14. Give a random quote from 1.

The bad guy catches David spying on him from a window ledge...

"What the hell are you doing out there?"

"Me? I'm committing suicide."

"From the second floor?"

"I took poison."

15. Which character from 5 would be a good guest star on 2?

Well, Bradley Whitford had a recurring role as an annoying reporter in NYPD Blue's early days, and Richard Schiff popped up on the show twice... and it'd be interesting to see Bobby Simone taker on Matthew Santos... but I'd love to see Andy Sipowicz go head to head with Jed Bartlett (you just know Andy wouldn't appreciate Bartlett's liberal policies).

16. Would a 3/4 crossover work?

Obviously. Mulder would solve the mystery of the island in one episode. Only nobody would believe him.

17. Pair 2 characters in 1 that would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple.

David Addison and Maddie Hayes.

18. Has 5 inspired you in any way?

Sorkin's writing has been an inspiration. As to the show itself, it'd be nice to think that an administration as benevolent as Bartlett's might one day find its way to power... but really, that's more of a fantasy than anything we ever saw in The X-Files.



19. Overall, which show has the better cast, 2 or 4?

I'd edge towards 2 on the basis that at its best, Denis Franz leads a powerful ensemble. But then I'd be reminded of David Caruso's ego and little Ricky Schroeder...

20. Which has better theme music, 3 or 5?

The West Wing. Lost is just a swirl.