Sunday, December 30, 2018

Television Shows of the Year--2018 in Review

A Lot of Great Shows
2018 had a number of television shows I greatly enjoyed. From the serious to silly, fantastical and more slice-of-life, these all were delightful in various ways.

Four Stellar Shows
Black Lightning
It is hard to believe the first season of, "Black Lightning," actually occurred in January of this year and now we are quite far into the 2nd as the year ends. I'm not complaining at all however, instead I'm overjoyed that this amazing show keeps putting-out such entertaining episodes. With its mixture of super-hero action, racial politics, social consciousness, and a cast full of dynamic and great actors, Black Lightning is fantastic.

Westworld
I talked about how I felt the first season of, "Westworld," suffered from feeling like pure buildup to what would most likely be a much more climatic season 2. Well, it turns out I predicted that correctly because the 2nd season of Westworld delivered almost everything I wanted (it's little habit of jumping around in time randomly still can be a bit annoying, though). This season of, "Westworld," brought us the promised robot revolution and it was bloody, nasty, and full of awesome special effects. The show also filled-in more back-story for everyone, gave us both long looks and short glimpses at other parks (as well as the, "Real," world), and basically made good on the promise of the first season that good stuff was coming, we just had to let it put all the pieces in place. I loved it, and I'm excited for more.

Trolls: The Beat Goes On
The original, "Trolls," movie surprised everyone by actually being really good, and the spin-off Netflix show that follows new adventures of the characters being great as well is doubly surprising. The show may have different voice actors (Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake probably were too busy/wanted too much money) and an animation style that is more cartoon-than-computer, but none of that is a big deal because it is absolutely hilarious whether you're a little kid, big grown-up, or somewhere in-between. Each episode is generally a bit under 30 minutes with two segments (usually separate, sometimes related). They are short, but loaded with clever content and results in a, "Kid's show," that is enjoyable for all-ages.

American Housewife
I have said before that people really ought to watch, "American Housewife," and I continue to think that as the show continues its mixture of twisted humor with a hint of heart. The Otto family is full of characters who may not always behave the best, but in the end you root for them to succeed, or at least learn some kind of lesson from their mischief. The low-key way the show builds itself into humorous situations that zig when you expect a zag are genius and that's saying something when you're myself, a person who usually can guess the overall gag or twist coming on a program. It looks like, "American Housewife," should be getting another season, so I'm excited for more laughs to come!

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