Couch Potato 2017

I watch a bit of TV but not all of it; I don’t have as much free time as the president. This is a loose ranking of what I watched this year. If this list missing a big critical hit, it’s probably because I haven’t seen it yet.

71. House of Cards. I just have to put it out there that it’s not sour grapes to say that even without Kevin Spacey’s disgrace, this was just not a good show this year. It started well, with the presidential election thrown into chaos, but then the show glossed over the minutiae of the Constitution, which I find fascinating, and that sorely disappointed me. What did the show delve into instead? Claire’s affair with Tom, a badly written character played badly. That sad sack sucked the air out of every scene he was in and I was thrilled when Claire killed him. House of Cards will continue next year with Robin Wright and without Spacey, which will make dramatic sense and won’t lose much without the former president.

12. American Gods. I like the introduction of the various gods and exploring their worlds and how they manifest on Earth.

11. Veep. This was good but not as much as previous seasons with Selina in office. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is still a national treasure.

10. Feud: Bette and Joan. This ended up being more compelling than I expected, adding potent commentary on how we treat aging actresses and aging women onto the story of the fight between these two actresses. The fight stuff is fun too, particularly a dazzling episode showing the 1963 Oscars. Susan Sarandon was good as Bette Davis (a little wooden in the Baby Jane scenes) and Jessica Lange was wonderful as Joan Crawford. I sympathized with both of them. 

9. GLOW. Who remembers the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling from the ‘80s? I do! This was a fun look at the women wrestlers behind the TV show. I liked the exploration of the process of casting but if the show continues, I’m hoping for a little more actual televised wrestling, as that happened only late in season one.

8. Gifted. This show is just a fun megamix of all the concepts of the X-Men mythos, involving creations from Stan Lee, Chris Claremont and Grant Morrison. I’m enjoying how it uses characters from the rich 50-year history of the comics: Polaris from the ‘60s, Thunderbird from the ‘70s, Fenris from the ‘80s, Blink from the ‘90s and the Stepford Cuckoos from the ‘00s. My favorite is Mrs. Strucker (don’t know her full name), one of the smart, level-headed people on the show, smartly written.

7. Stranger Things. This show really lucked out getting a cast this good, especially the kids. I was just as amused by the second season as the first (except that pointless episode with Eleven and the punk kids).

6. Legion. This series comes pretty close to the spirit of the original Legion story in New Mutants comics by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, with visits to the beautiful, bizarre, reality in David Haller’s mind. Aubrey Plaza was fantastic as the longtime X-Men villain Amahl Farouk/the Shadow King.

5. Mr. Robot. Elliott and Darlene try to undo the Five/Nine financial shenanigans, even as the next phase of the plan gets thousands of people killed as 71 Ecorp buildings explode. This was a great look at how those with true power manipulate the world stage. The one-take episode was a ton of fun, especially that overhead shot of the office and the rioting crowd outside that emphasized that Angela, despite her consequential actions, is still just a cog in a machine.

4. Game of Thrones. Everything is set for the last season, which apparently will feature an ice zombie dragon and the incestuous pairing of Jon Snow and Daenerys. This season wasn’t as entertaining as the last few but it was memorable.

3. The Deuce. This was a sometimes subtle, always compelling look at the prostitution industry in 1971 New York City, as the sex scene turned from street corners to massage parlors and eventually to legal porn. It was an implicit critique of capitalism, as the only people making real money were the pimps and corrupt men behind the scenes, not the women walking the streets. Maggie Gyllenhall gave a standout performance as the prostitute eager to turn to porn—not as a performer but a director. She looks like she can do it, too. The show optimistically showed she’s going to make it, and I loved how the scene where Eileen attended the Deep Throat premier had an almost biopic feeling, like we were looking at a crucial moment for someone who later became important. They can engrave Gyllenhall’s Emmy now.

2. The Americans. Just because it a slower year than the amazing season four, I don’t want to penalize season five (pretty much anything would pale in comparison to season four). This year, it was all about the slow process of the USSR, and the Jenningses’ trust in it, falling apart. It was a very slow burn this year but there were still some scenes that haunted me. Elizabeth and Phillip killed fewer people but those murders they committed (or were adjacent to) resonated, like the innocent guy in the lab, the Nazi sympathizer and that poor kid Tuan convinced to slit his wrists. The Jenningses really had to take a hard look this year and see the destruction they’ve caused, with Pastor Tim pegging them as monsters for their treatment of Paige. It looks like Elizabeth will be going on one last mission, and I can’t wait. This was not the best season of the show, but a lot of moments stayed with me. Plus, they went to Benningan’s.

1. Better Call Saul. In its third and best season, Better Call Saul has become a worthy prequel/successor to Breaking Bad. The drug cartel stuff is fun, especially the plot last year to poison Hector Salamanca, but I am really invested in the courtroom chicanery, the relationship between Jimmy and Kim, the fate of Kim’s legal practice, and Jimmy’s turn toward Saul Goodman. The stakes are smaller here but they’re riveting. The real jewel of this season was the destruction of the brotherly relationship between Jimmy and Chuck. Jimmy’s courtroom examination of Chuck, where he proved his brother’s allergy to electromagnetism was all in his head, was brilliant and cruel. Chuck’s subsequent brief recovery from his mental problems, followed by his slide into full insanity and suicide, was completely devastating. Michael McKean gave the TV performance of the year and it was a disgrace that the Emmys passed him over.