It would be reductive of me to state that my 'Best Television of 2017' list begins and ends with Twin Peaks: The Return, even though that would be kinda accurate. So, let's just take it as gospel that David Lynch's 18-episode distillation of the themes, concepts, and obsessions that he had explored to varying degrees in varying formats throughout his long, remarkable career pretty much picked up television by the scruff of its neck and shook it up a tad. There was a lot of good stuff on television this year - hell, even some great stuff - but nothing that could compare to this. I'll try to explain why a little further down the page, but first we'll take a look at a few other titles that entertained, enlightened or engaged during the last 12 months.
The upside of the ongoing idea of peak TV is that there's a lot of good stuff to watch. The downside is that there's a lot of good stuff to watch. And a consequence of this is that it's all too easy for a title that doesn't immediately, obviously announce itself or get anointed by the cognoscenti as must-see TV can very easily be ignored or find itself consigned to the to-watch list (that is, ignored). Hell, I'm as guilty of this as the next viewer - I have whole seasons of shows I have long admired and enjoyed, shows like The Americans and Better Call Saul, currently gathering dust on the DVR as I wait for a break in the schedule.
So, what have I watched in place of them, and why? Sometimes it felt like I was catching something out of a combination of genuine interest and professional/personal obligation, like I was doing myself a disservice if I wasn't able to add my two cents to the conversation surrounding The Handmaid's Tale. (This was bracing stuff, by the way - furious, confronting and frighteningly relevant, with the now-customary spellbinding work by Elisabeth Moss in the lead role.) And some series I felt compelled to watch because they struck me as underdogs that needed all the support they could get, such as the second season of the understated but quietly chilling Outcast, a supernatural thriller that used its demonic storylines as delivery systems for thoughtful meditations on moral compromise, mental illness, emotional baggage and family dysfunction.
Yes, I made time to watch the big-ticket programs, and sometimes I was satisfied from beginning to end (The Deuce, which looked at the '70s heyday of vice on New York's 42nd Street, was an absorbing walk on the wild side, with some career-best work from Maggie Gyllenhaal), sometimes less so (Westworld started strong and had some provocative ideas but soon seemed more interested in being a puzzle boffins could crack than a story audiences could get immersed in).
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Stranger Things offered more of the same in its second go-round, deliberately playing into its audience's expectations of sequels in some regards while doing what the best follow-ups do - expanding the mythology and enhancing the characters - in others. I have heard Game Of Thrones did something similar, but I've not watched Game Of Thrones in some time - maybe when it reaches its conclusion, I'll pick up where I left off and see it through to the bitter end.
In the meantime, I frequently found myself drawn in by the thrill of the new, with mixed results. The brainchild of Tom Hardy, Taboo was a grimy tale of dark secrets and corporate intrigue that was really only enlivened by Hardy's growly, grunty lead performance (although to be honest, I could handle hours of Hardy at full glower). GLOW looked at first glance to be another '80s nostalgia fest with its dramatisation of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling phenomenon but it soon eschewed cheap signifiers in favour of full-blooded characters and tough, gutsy humour. Get Krack!n worked a treat when it kept the focus on Kates McLennan and McCartney, less so when the gifted Katering Show duo ceded the spotlight to their less talented mates. Ryan Murphy's Feud, which delved deeply into the rivalry between Hollywood legends Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, provided Susan Sarandon and especially Jessica Lange with their best roles in years, and they responded with performances rich in complexity, brio and heartbreaking sadness.
Have I earned your trust at this point? If so, let me just cite a few titles I think you may dig. Do your research before tracking down and watching them, if you please, but you may enjoy the surprises and shocks of Crazyhead or Red Oaks (the best '80s homage of the bunch!) or the new season of The Girlfriend Experience or the increasingly bonkers Z Nation (a way better zombie show than The Walking Dead) or Sea Oak, the truly wonderful pilot episode of which is currently streaming on Amazon.
Atlanta! Holy shit, how good is Atlanta? The answer is 'very good', and Donald Glover should simply be handed fat bags of cash and contracts that says nothing but CARTE BLANCHE in big block letters.
And that goes double for David Lynch. I'm guessing Twin Peaks: The Return may have frustrated or incensed those viewers simply longing for cherry pie and Angelo Badalamenti riffs but, my God, you have to admire the bravado of someone who seized the means of production to make a fucking 18-hour art project that virtually grabbed you by the collar and demanded you respond to it with bafflement, anger, amazement or anything else. The boundaries of television are being redefined all the time, but Lynch and his people physically moved them in real time. We were lucky to be here for it.
