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| The final episode of AMC's Breaking Bad aired this past September. |
The past twelve months have brought an embarrassment of
riches to the dedicated television viewer. Not only a number of promising new
series, but technological and industry developments have made television
viewing richer, more diverse, and more convenient than it's ever been. But
even on wholly traditional terms, TV has had a good year. AMC's Breaking Bad came to a powerful and satisfying conclusion. FX's
Justified had another strong year,
and its fifth season is set to air early in January. After some uneven early
episodes, CBS's Americanized Sherlock Holmes procedural Elementary went from strength to strength, culminating in a
powerful first season, and this fall has proven itself to be much more than
the pale shadow of BBC's incomparable Sherlock it threatened to be on paper. In November, TBS premiered The Ground Floor, a new laugh track rom-com/office
comedy from Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Cougar Town) that has
grown more charming and likeable with every passing episode. And a year ago, long
before Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine hit
the airwaves in September, who could have guessed that the best comedy team-up
on television would be Homicide:
Life on the Street's Andre
Braugher and Saturday Night Live alum
Andy Samberg? All in all, we have a lot to be
thankful for this year. Below I review some of the more interesting developments
in television in 2013.
Television Goes Global
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| John Goodman stars in Alpha House, on Amazon Instant Video |
This isn't a new story, but television's new life as a genuinely
global phenomenon certainly came into its own in the past 12 months. From a
distribution angle we are a more international audience than ever before.
Technological innovations in the industry have paid off for the worldwide
audience, and it's only just beginning. With the continuing maturation of
streaming services like Netflix (which more than held its own at this year's
Emmys against recent powerhouses like HBO and AMC) and with both Amazon and
Hulu premiering original programming, we are not only getting some exciting new
venues for original shows, we are seeing the rise of a genuinely global audience.
A Netflix original series doesn't have to wait for local distributors to option
it: it is immediately available for streaming everywhere the service exists. (This
year alone, Netflix brought us House of Cards, Orange is the New Black,
and the much publicized and ever more criticized fourth season of
Arrested Development – though count
me among the minority who were actually thrilled with the new episodes.) International
partnerships, like the bilingual British-French co-production of the dark, police drama The Tunnel, or Serangoon Road, HBO Asia's ambitious period noir detective drama, are becoming more
and more common, and the still U.S. centred Hulu partnered with the BBC to
bring us The Wrong Mans, a
delightfully silly comic-thriller. Gary
Trudeau (Doonesbury) teamed up with Amazon Instant Video to bring us Alpha House, a political comedy starring John Goodman and Clark
Johnson. (The series charts the misadventures of four Republican Senators who
share a house in Washington, D.C.) And
though all of this would be exciting solely for the tech-lovers among us, fortunately
the shows have also proven uniquely entertaining. A boon for television lovers
worldwide!
Doctor Who Turns 50
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| Matt Smith, David Tennant, and John Hurt as The Doctor(s) |
This November, BBC's favourite son Doctor Who turned fifty years old. Premiering back in 1963 (with a
lengthy hiatus from 1989 to 2005), the science fiction series has survived
cultural revolutions, the Space Race, the Cold War, the rise of the smart
phone, and nearly every television series that has ever been produced – on
either side of the Atlantic. On November 23rd, the BBC aired the fiftieth
anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor", a feature length story
which was simulcast in 94 countries (including Canada's own Space channel) and
even screened in 3D in select theatres across the planet. The event inspired
its own Google doodle, and promised to even overshadow a royal wedding. None of this
mega-promotional blitz would mean anything of course if the show itself wasn't
so darn good. (After all, the larger the audience base, the more people to
frustrate, disappoint, and enrage.) But the Steven Moffat-written episode more
than satisfied expectations and left fans eager for more. In August, show
runner Moffat announced that the Matt Smith era would be ending, and a new Doctor
(the 12th) would fill his shoes: Scottish actor Peter Capaldi (The Thick of It). Back in 2009, as
David Tennant's run of the Doctor was giving way to Smith, I was full of
ambivalence. (It also marked the departure of Russell T. Davies, who was
handing the reins off the series off to Moffat, so admittedly there was a lot
to be apprehensive about.) But without ever growing tired of Smith as such, this
time I simply can't wait for the handover. "The Day of the Doctor"
left us with a tantalizingly rebooted tone, and the promise of renewed energy
for the upcoming season. As this new generation's Doctors have been getting
younger and younger with every incarnation (Christopher Eccleston, to Tennant, to Smith's
wee 26 years), with the arrival of Capaldi, the Doctor will be played by a
55-year-old, the same age William Hartnell was when he was
introduced as the First Doctor back in 1963. The Capaldi era begins this
December 25th, debuting in the Doctor
Who annual Christmas special. I don't know if the series has another Golden
Jubilee in its future, but if it does, I have little doubt that I'll be tuning
in.
Canadian Science Fiction Comes of Age
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| Rachel Nichols and Victor Webster star in Continuum |
With the second season of Continuum
and the first season of Orphan Black,
Canada has established that it's on at forefront of the best science fiction
programming currently on the air. The two shows – the former filmed and set in
Vancouver and the latter filmed and set in Toronto – have won audiences and
acclaim across North American, despite being unapologetically Canadian. The
clone thriller Orphan Black – airing
on Space in Canada, and BBC America in the U.S. – had a solid first season
full of humour, suspense and some genuinely creepy biotech. It also made an
international sensation of its star, Tatiana Maslany. (Maslany has also had
a delightful recurring role as a love interest for Aziz Ansari on NBC's Parks and Recreation this fall.) But it was the second season of Continuum (airing on Showcase in
Canada, and SyFy in the U.S.) that simply
blew me out of the water. After a politically complex first season but one
which held tight to its police procedural frame, this new season embraced its
time travel conceit with both hands. August's explosive second season finale seemed
designed to turn the entire show inside out – in terms of character, plot, and
even metaphysics. Continuum is easily
the best science fiction series on television right now, and the one to watch
when it returns in March.
Some Familiar Faces to Watch for in 2014
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Alexis Denisof on Grimm
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The year may be ending, but television never sleeps – and
2014 has some familiar faces returning in new and old roles. In a couple of
weeks, after skipping 2013 entirely, BBC's Sherlock and Benedict Cumberbatch returns for its third season. (With
roles in box office smashes like Star Trek Into Darkness and The Hobbit, and his turn as Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate, 2013 may have been Cumberbatch's year even with Sherlock on haitus!) The crowdfunded Veronica Mars film is set to hit the
theatres on March 14th. In recent weeks, the initially uneven Robin Williams
sitcom The Crazy Ones has found a
new voice and much-needed balance with the introduction of Everybody Loves Raymond veteran Brad Garrett, as Williams' suddenly-not-so-silent
partner in the advertising firm. So far Garrett is still listed as a guest
star, but if series producer David E. Kelley knows what he's doing, he'll sign
Garrett on full time for the rest of the season. And Alexis
Denisof – sporting his signature British accent and oozing delicious villainy – has rejoined his old Angel executive
producer David Greenwalt with a series of guest spots on NBC's Grimm. Denisof's first episode aired December
6th (with at least three more appearances to follow in the new year), but it is
a tantalizing suggestion for the new season of Grimm, which has so far taken more than one page from the Buffy handbook. (The recent embracing
of the 'Scooby Gang' feel of the team, with more and more people getting in on
Nick's secret identity – including, finally,
his girlfriend Juliet – returns the show to the lighter feel of its great
first season. It's Krampus-themed midseason finale included not only perhaps its best monster-of-the-week ever but was also the best use of the show's entire ensemble cast all season.)
While it has long been true that the best of television
needs to be sought out, as channels multiply and distribution models continue
to innovate and transform the televisual universe this axiom is truer than ever
before. But television at its heart – global audiences and new media technologies aside – is an intimate experience. I hope you all had a wonderful 2013, and that the
new year gives you more opportunities to curl up with your favourite shows, old
and new.
