Best of 2018 - TV

So this year's feast of TV has been pretty OK I guess. Old and new characters join or leave well established shows, new shows made their debut this year and many of them may be too ambitious for their own good. So today we are looking at what I think are the best that 2018 had to offer in TV. Like yesterday's list, this is just a list of shows that I thought were great with no ranking involved. so for TV, the show must have had new episodes come out this year or made its debut this year and it must be everywhere or most places around the world for both. TV films will not be counted as they are films and I will also be including any web series as well from such services like Netflix and Prime Video. So with that said, let's tune in to watch and maybe binge watch some of these many shows (some of which may even be out on home media now or early 2019):



Lost in Space (Season 1)

So in an attempt to re imagine one of the most nostalgic of sci-fi TV shows, Netlfix give us their take on Lost in Space which for what it is, its actually pretty good. The Robinson family are still the main characters and are among the few human families who are selected to leave Earth when an impact event threatens the survival of humanity. But when a robot of sorts attacks their ship the Resolute, they are forced to crash on a nearby habitable planet and must fight their inner demons as well as the elements to survive and get back home. Its got a big heart, full of sci-fi goodness and is even emotional at times too. I guess the lesson to learn here is to keep an eye out for things in space and just be prepared for anything. And seeing as I haven't reviewed it yet, the first season is getting a 8/10.

A Discovery of Witches (Season 1)

This year saw a couple of shows where a witch or two takes centre stage and A Discovery of Witches is obviously the first of these shows. So a historian as well as a reluctant witch called Diana Bishop comes across a bewitched manuscript and is forced back into the world of magic to unravel its secrets and an alliance of witches and vampires is formed to help in doing just that. Although I now read a lot of books, unfortunately I have yet to have read the All Souls trilogy of which this series is based on. But from what I've seen so far, its a good show. It does have moments of feeling a bit like Twilight but overall its a much better thing than that series will ever be. Its magical, has some familiar faces and a lot going for it that I hope will see it have more seasons in the next few years. 9/10

Black Lightning (Seasons 1-2A)

So with DC taking many more risks than ever before, its nice to see some of their lesser known characters get a treatment of sorts in the form of a TV show, a video game, a film or a cartoon. So many of you may not have heard of Black Lightning and to sum him up, he's basically the Black Panther of DC as far as racial stereotypes are concerned minus the whole kingly thing. The show is set nine years after the protagonist known as Jefferson Pierce was last fighting crime as Black Lightning after witnessing the impact it has on his family. Since then he has become the principal of Garfield High School and maintains a stable relationship with his family as well as his ex-wife. But when a man known as Tobias Whale and his gang the 100 causes problems for his hometown, Black Lightning is forced out of retirement to stop him before crime becomes an all time high. In doing so, he learns of other metahumans including some within his family. Much like with Black Panther, this show is no only bringing empowerment to those of a different racial background as well as the LGBT community, but also reinvents the genre its in by adding real world issues as well as scary villains. Plus the acting of Cress Willaims is really good too. 9/10


Supergirl (Seasons 3B-4A)

As its now become an annual thing until the showrunners and/or the fans have had enough, we get another dose of the Arrowverse and we start with Supergirl. In the second half of season 3, we get introduced to a superhero team called the Legion who come from the future. In turn, Kara goes about trying to bring an end to this season's main villain; Reign who may just be slightly more powerful than her. Then in the first half of season 4, Kara's adoptive sister Alex adjusts to her new role as the head of the DEO but things take a turn for the worse when footage reveals the president of the United States to be an alien and the whole alien hate crime that has been looked at in several episodes of the show overall, comes back to haunt Kara and those closest to her. Meanwhile to make matters worse a clone of her is seemingly roaming around wanting to cause trouble. What I really liked about Supergirl this year was that the main character is more in her element than ever before especially when tough times lie ahead for her and her friends. And with some new characters being introduced, its looks like the show will be kept fresh for at least another year which is great. 8/10


Arrow (Seasons 6B-7A)

So going slightly into spoiler territory, Oliver Queen battles Diaz who has big plans for Star City and wants to be rid of the Green Arrow by always being several steps ahead. With no other alternative, Oliver goes about liberating the city from Diaz and his forces at the cost of his secret identity being revealed and being sent to prison. So naturally Team Arrow are struggling at the start of season 7 when it comes to getting rid of Diaz once and for all but matters are made worse when he and a certain speedster swap places thanks to some guy who manages to rewrite realities in an attempt to test the heroes for an upcoming crisis. So to put it bluntly, this year's storyline for Arrow its at its most darkest yet. But in a way, it has always been quite dark here and there and this year we saw the Green Arrow making the ultimate sacrifice to save his friends and his city thus showing Iron Man how to announce your secret identity in the right way and not the wrong way. But overall it may show signs of being predictable and cheesy, but its still as great as ever in light of that. 8/10

DC's Legends of Tomorrow (Seasons 3B-4A)

Being completely oblivious to the annual crossover this year, the Legends go about trying to prevent a demon known as Mallus being released and as a result, they team up with John Constantine in what is now considered a spiritual successor to his own show to go about doing just that. Meanwhile relations with the Time Bureau seem to be maintained well as they help the Legends in stopping this demon while also getting help from some other Arrowverse heroes. But then Constantine reveals that Mallus isn't the only demon lurking about in the timeline and as such, he joins the team to hunt down the remaining demons while learning a thing or two about his past. I think with the solo hero shows taking a more serious approach to things than before, Legends seems to now be the comic relief of the Arrowverse while still having its serious moments when needed. This year's festivities have seen the lineup change once again, shocking revelations about some of the characters get revealed and Biff from Back to the Future joins the show too. It may be more laughable than before, but its still a lot of fun all around. 8/10

The Flash (Seasons 4B-5A)

And its not Oliver Queen that has served jail time this year as our favourite speedster has being doing the same. So this year for The Flash begins with Barry serving time in jail having been wrongfully accused of being the murderer of Clifford DeVoe who continues to take all meta humans and their powers before Team Flash find a way to stop him. But in doing so, Barry and Iris's daughter Nora from the future, comes to warn them of a big mistake she made and learns the rights and wrongs of being a speedster like her father. All before he takes up the mantle of the Green Arrow when realities are rewritten. So at its beginning, The Flash was meant to be a lot more light heartened than Arrow and for the first couple of seasons it has been just that. But it looks like those days are over as the show takes a more serious turn which is good for a little while, but this is about a guy who runs fast. Surely that should be more fun than serious. But fortunately it still has time for some laugh out loud moments even if they are little than big along with the show's 100th episode too. 8/10

Doctor Who (Season 11)

So as you can imagine, things have changed once again for Doctor Who. It now starts its third production era as Chris Chibnall takes up the helm as executive producer and show runner having previously written five episodes from the previous production eras as well as heading its four season long spin-off Torchwood. Now he is known for being pretty good at writing good material and after what I felt was a confusing era for the last couple of Doctors, I'm hoping this era will make as much sense as Russell T Davis's era minus the predictable writing and aggressive advertising of future episodes. Anyway, so in a first for the show's history, we get Jodie Whitaker as the franchise's first known female incarnation of The Doctor alongside a new Tardis and three companions which you could say calls back to the classic era where some incarnations had up to three companions there. Anyway, the BBC also made it so that episodes would only be broadcast on Sundays which is another first for the series. Lastly, this series becomes the first of the revived era to not have any multi-part episodes or on going story arcs... well other than the relationships between the Doctor as her new companions. Of the episodes I saw, I really enjoyed the ones that took place in the past particularly because they are based on very important a true events in our own history and as such, those episodes are more powerful and well acted than those set in the present, space or the future which for the most part can be hit or miss for many of us. Still its a good first series for our new Doctor and I look forward to more adventures with her in them. 8/10

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Season 1)

So with Riverdale being very popular among the teen drama market at the moment minus the cringe worthy and predictable things of a typical teen aimed soap, Warner Brothers Television decided to make a companion series based on a certain teenage witch who once was on television as a teen aimed sitcom. But this didn't happen as Netflix made it an exclusive to their service so it ultimately ended up being its own thing, but still having some connections to Riverdale. So Sabrina Spellman is enjoying a normal high school life despite having no parents and as such lives with her aunts. But as time goes on, she must decide what's more important out of her moral life and her life as a witch. The first season as many first seasons go, just establishes everything from the ground up and shows us a much darker and twisted form of the teenage witch which comes across as a dramatic change over the previous adaptation though this one closely follows the comics this time. Its very dark, perfect for a night in at Halloween and continues to show us a Archie universe that isn't all happy and cheery. But with a bit of dark and twisted magic this time. 9/10

I would like to point out that I didn't realise at the time that the show's first season was split into two parts over just one. Having now seen both parts, I stand by with my score and look forward to the second season which will also be in two parts funnily enough.

The Walking Dead (Seasons 8B-9A)

Its been a pretty emotional year for us Walking Dead fans. Many characters that have been in the series since the near beginning got either killed off or retired for parts anew and we also heard about the passing of Scott Wilson who we all remember for playing Hershel Greene. Also the loss of Stan Lee has been a huge deal because without his influence in the comic book industry, we probably wouldn't have had as many great comic book franchises like The Walking Dead to get adapted into either a film, video game or TV show. But in light of all the doom and gloom, we get to see who wins the all out war and a few time jumps leaves the remaining survivors to face a new but dangerous threat to the world they live in and what comes next is anyone's guess. Its as good as it gets as always with plenty of walker killing action as well as gun fights, explosions and some heart warming moments too to keep us going while feeling all emotional for the loss of some of the show's most important characters. 9/10

Better Call Saul (Season 4)

So a big spoiler warning, Chuck who many of you know as Jim's brother dies prior to the start of the fourth season with Jim having some guilt over the matter while Kim comforts him as the pair struggle to cope with his loss. Meanwhile Howard believes that getting Jim out of HHM may have played a part in his long time partner's passing. And while all that happens, Gus goes about making his top secret super drug making lab while planting a mole within the Salamanca organisation upon growing suspicious of Hector's sudden stroke which as we all know, both set up events we would later see in Breaking Bad. I think its fair to say that the fourth season starts to take on a new direction which will continue to have it lead into the beginning of Breaking Bad and possibly beyond if the beginning scenes of each seasons is anything to come by. Its another great season that shows the weight that Jim carries as he slowly becomes his "Saul Goodman" persona and has plenty of fan service too. 9/10 (just to say that as I write this, some of the review scores I am giving are based on further viewings of each show which for some you could say are like a second review of sorts)

Legion (Season 2)

You know its shows like Legion that let us enjoy the visual effects that a show can give us despite the confusing nature of the storyline which itself feels a bit all over the place, but for a show like this its OK. So the last episode of season 1 left on an open cliffhanger which has kind of been resolved in this season but not in the way like people like myself would have preferred. So with the growing threat that the Shadow King poses to the world the mutants live in and David being trapped in an orb, the world's only hope lies with government agency Division 3 and the mutants of Summerland as its a race against time to find the Shadow King's original body. But the Shadow King may not be the biggest threat there is. Its another great series that shows the absolute limits of David's powers and is just another visual spectacle with some great music to go with it. It may still have a confusing story, but you can soon get the gist of it as the series goes on. 8/10

So there's all the best TV for this year. But before we tune out, let's pay a final farewell to all or most of those that we have lost this year:

John Mahoney - Perhaps best known as the father to Frasier in the sitcom of the same name and also at least once guest starred in The Simpsons.

Steve Ditko - Known to many as the other co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange and also did work on their respective cartoons and films.

Scott Wilson - All of you will know him as Hershel Greene from The Walking Dead and managed to film an episode this year despite his character being long gone.

Many others passed away this year too, but these were the main ones that had an impact on me and my life.