TV shows that kept me sane in 2022
2022 was the worst year of my life. Sorry. Coming off my tablets caused an apocalyptic mental breakdown and getting back on them took months. Couldn’t work, couldn’t function. For three months all I was able to do was sit around and watch TV.
Luckily there was some good TV to watch. Lemme pay a little tribute to it now.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
I had been looking forward to seeing the missing bits of Obi-Wan’s story on screen for over a decade. God, I wish I’d been better when it finally, finally came to me. I know the show was a little clunky in plot and dialogue but I loved it, I loved seeing other less-celebrated characters like Owen and Beru as well and seeing them gain more layers (and some badass lines.) And then Qui-Gon at the end to top it all off. DAMN that was a moment.
*
The Orville
I was really bad when I started watching this but yet I have nothing but good memories of actually watching it, if that makes sense. When I first had a look at it I wasn’t impressed with the pilot episode, I thought it was dull and unfunny, but then I stumbled across episode 8 of the first season, the one where the kids have to survive on the cannibal planet, and I was like “This is the same show? Holy crap!” So now I’m a fan.
Still cannot BELIEVE Seth MacFarlene of all people created this.
*
Ms Marvel
This show was SO GOOD. I’m so glad Kamala Khan got an adaption that was respectful of her and her fannish personality! I suppose her powers have changed slightly, I wouldn’t have done that but whatever, I can overlook it. It was such a colourful and sweet show AND it had a lot of things to say.
*
My Name Is Earl
Obviously this isn’t a new show, it’s an older one, but I’d never watched the whole thing from the beginning. It was excellent right up until season three, where it took a sudden and drastic nosedive. (This was around the time of the writers’ strike, if I remember rightly.) It probably could have gotten back on its feet after that but nope, it was cancelled on a cliffhanger after season four. Sigh.
*
Raising Hope
However! The My Name is Earl story is sort-of resolved in the first episode of Raising Hope, made by the same people, so I watched that too. I’m glad I did, it’s a very silly show but very sweet and wholesome. (And it got to end without a cliffhanger, hooray.)
*
The Umbrella Academy season 3
A show about the end of the world that somehow still managed to cheer me up in my worst days. It deserves props just for handling Elliot Page’s transition as well as it did, actually… just being totally chill about it and not even making it a particularly big deal, which is totally in-character for everyone. Awful selfish people but come through when it counts! Love those guys.
