Things I Loved in 2023
A quick end-of-year round-up
We’re here, we’re here, it’s the end of the year, and I promise to keep the poetry to a minimum. 2023 has absolutely raced past me in a blur of…well, screens, mostly. With some occasional visits to the pub. There’s been ups, and there’s been downs, but who wants to think about the negatives this close to Christmas? (My brain does, constantly. Seasonal depression is a delight.) So, before I dive in to my copious stockpiles of twiglets and champagne, here’s a round-up of some things I loved this year, in vague chronological order.
The Stranger Times Series
At the tail end of last year, I got a delightful email (well, my podcast did), asking if we’d like to interview C.K. McDonnell about the Stranger Times series ahead of the third instalment, Love Will Tear Us Apart, releasing in January 2023. I’m unbelievably glad we said yes. Honestly, I will never get over how cool it feels to get an advanced reader copy of something - it’s like being part of a special club. But beyond that, the books themselves proved to be fantastic. Grubby magical realism on the streets of Manchester, with a side of journalism, is extremely my cup of tea. They’re smart, they’re funny, they’re compelling and impossible to put down. I tore through them, and had to stop myself from begging Caimh for the next one when we got the chance to talk to him. Delightfully, this isn’t a Patrick Rothfuss or George RR Martin situation, and the next instalment (Relight My Fire) is due out in January 2024.
That One Episode of The Last of Us
You know the one, of course you do. Just for clarity’s sake though, I’m talking about “Long Long Time”, the third episode of the series, which aired on 29 January. This episode was a departure from the main storyline, focusing on the love story between Bill and Frank, played beautifully by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett, respectively. It was a stunning hour of television, filled with hope and strawberries.
The Last of Us was lauded as the saviour of video game adaptations - proof, finally that these stories can be brought to other screens. A lot of that lauding missed a big chunk of the “why”, posing the question without giving an answer. The thing is, The Last of Us is an ok game. It’s fine. There’s a good story in the game, but it’s a story that’s always been suited to a better medium. Adapting The Last of Us as a television series worked so well because the game should always have been a television series. Bringing the game to TV allowed for stories originally told briefly in ignorable notes to bloom, and deepen. Games are an incredible storytelling medium, but The Last of Us never used the medium in any compelling way. On TV, it shone, and nothing demonstrates that more than “Long Long Time”.
Star Wars Keeps Expanding
I’ve already shared my thoughts on Ahsoka, but with a few months to let it sit with me, I think I’ve softened to the show even more. Yes, it largely followed on from animated stories that viewers might not have bothered with, but I happen to love those stories. Shows that require homework aren’t for everyone, but I’m happy to drown in an I.P. for a bit every now and then - especially if it means finally seeing a live action Thrawn (and a live action lothcat.)
Earlier in the year, back in April to be precise, we got Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. A follow up to 2019’s Fallen Order, Survivor continued the story of Cal Kestis in the time period between episodes 3 & 4 of the main film franchise. Is it the most mind blowing, brilliant game I’ve ever played? Not quite. Do I absolutely delight in jumping around with a lightsaber and chasing a story that began in the Old Republic? Absolutely. Survivor managed to be a huge improvement over its predecessor largely by making the ending more than just a macguffin, but in truth it’s just satisfying to spend a few hours playing around in a gorgeous extension of that galaxy far, far away.
That Week in May Where Everything Ended
I’ve spent a long, long time (sorry) writing about the nature of American network television schedules. In the past, those September-May seasons meant that almost every hit show on the air would air their finales in the space of a few weeks. While that’s rarely the case these days, in May this year we had a handful of major shows (none of which were on network television), ending at the same time. It’s bittersweet to know that we won’t be returning to all of these worlds, but it was a hell of a week of television. What I felt most keenly was that these were all shows ending entirely on their own terms. This wasn’t about cancellation, or cliff-hangers. This was stories ending the way their writers intended - a rare treat in modern television.
The Marvellous Mrs Maisel is a show I was deeply obsessed with from the start. Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino of Gilmore Girls fame, and full of gorgeous costumes (I’m really a deeply shallow person), I love it so much that I’ve made an excuse to re-binge the whole thing before every new season, despite having a million more important things to do. The final season, full of flash-forwards, clever storytelling and a final stand-up set that had me wishing I could shop at Bergdorf Goodman in the early sixties, managed to tug at all of the right heartstrings.
Ted Lasso, on the other hand, I felt dragged its feet to its finale. I can’t say I wholly loved every minute of the final season, with its bloated hour-long episodes that felt weighed down by the show’s heart-warming reputation. Still, the finale could just have been an hour of Hannah Waddingham saying things to people while walking down corridors and I would’ve been happy. It might not have been my favourite season of television this year, but those final minutes managed to be just the right side of sickly sweet.
Then, of course, there was Succession. It feels a bit pointless writing about the finale to be honest, it’s all been said already. I don’t think there was a single bad episode in four seasons of the show, and the ambiguous misery of the final hour was a work of art. The entire season, in fact, from “ludicrously capacious bag” to “the eldest boy”, should probably be in the Louvre somewhere. “Connor’s Wedding” deserves special mention for being a stunning bit of television that punched me in the guts and that, frankly, I’ll probably never be able to watch again. Jesse Armstrong managed to perfectly draw a line under, or through, the story he’s been telling, and I can’t wait to see what he does next.
(The HBO series Barry also aired its final episode in that same week, and I’ve heard nothing but consistent praise for the show. It’s on my watch list, but buried somewhere underneath a lot of teen dramas.)
The Bear - Season 2
This is a show that I selfishly wish would keep going for years and years. Never has a show caused me so much joy, or so much anxiety. By centering the season around a remodel of the restaurant, there was a shift in intensity. The first season of The Bear was agonising to watch as an ex-chef who can’t help but mentally count ticket times. This second season moved the action out of that single kitchen as a remodel of the restaurant took place, and instead created a beautiful series of character studies. The intense anxiety was there, of course, in the masterful “Fishes”, a flashback episode that managed to be far more memorable for the story than the stellar gang of guest stars. But it was “Honeydew”, focused on Marcus’s adventures in Copenhagen, and “Forks”, following Richie’s adventures in fine dining and featuring the most memorable Taylor Swift performance of 2023, that told the most wonderful stories. (Of course, there’s also that omelette, and I’ve spent a fair bit on Boursin since watching that episode.)
Baldur’s Gate 3
Speaking of storytelling in videogames, what a stunning piece of work this is. It’s another unsurprising one on the list, and I’m definitely not alone in loving Baldur's Gate - it won Game of the Year for a damn good set of reasons. I haven’t become a D&D nerd yet, but I’m sure that’s coming soon, and this is just a stunning foray into the world. I love games that give the player a real sense of agency, and being able to choose the story you’re experiencing is part of what makes this game so wonderful. There’s so many parts to what makes this game a new favourite for me - the actors have all done stellar work, the world is beautiful, every single interaction feels meaningful and, of course, casting fireball is fun. The characters, from companions to NPC’s, are so thoroughly fleshed out in a way games rarely manage. Plus, as a non-binary player, the level of detail and inclusivity in the character creator (including a fantastic choice of genitals), is unbelievably meaningful to me. Larian Studios have shown in a hundred different ways that they care for their audience, and with the latest patch update fixing that jumping issue, I’m completely in love with this game.
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios
As a pop culture nerd, a podcast nerd and just a general nerd, I’d been looking forward to this book from Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards for a very long time, and it didn’t disappoint. While the MCU itself faced its fair share of ups and downs this year, this book was an excellent look at how Marvel came to dominate the cinematic landscape. Meticulously researched and fantastically well-written, it’s well worth a read whether you love superhero cinema or just want Marvel to leave us in peace.
The actual Marvel offerings this year were a bit more hit and miss. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 turned out to be a delight, and had no right to make me so emotional about an animated raccoon. The less said about Secret Invasion, the better. (Every actor in that show deserved much, much better.) Loki, unsurprisingly, brought me nothing but joy from beginning to end, even with the unfortunate presence of Jonathan Majors, who has finally been taken off the Marvel roster after his recent guilty verdict. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite make it to The Marvels. The MCU no longer feels like something I absolutely must catch in the cinema anymore, thanks to the rapid transfer to Disney+ and my general dislike of leaving the house. When I only had one weekend spare to catch a movie, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes won out, and was well worth the watch.
The Discworld Aten’t Dead
Despite the minor detail that the author passed away eight years ago, the Discworld and the world of Terry Pratchett are very much still alive. This year brought two new delights. A Stroke of the Pen, a collection of early Pratchett children’s stories previously undiscovered, was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it didn’t disappoint. November brought Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch, from Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent, a beautiful celebration of the world of Pratchett’s witches. The Discworld is a place I spend quite a lot of time in, thanks to the podcast, but it’s usually all about revisiting. Spending time with something new this year truly felt like a gift.
Period Dramas
I’m a sucker for anything with good costumes, and this year didn’t disappoint. The second season of HBO’s The Gilded Age just wrapped up after eight episodes of excellent hats and ridiculous bustles. This late nineteenth century sartorial extravaganza from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes apparently also has a plot. Alright, that’s unfair. This season raced through plots, applying the same dramatic weight to a war of opera houses, the choice to teach watercolour painting, the marriage and subsequent widowhood of Cynthia Nixon’s Aunt Ada, racial tensions in Tuskegee and a young servant fixing his alarm clock. All with Christine Baranski glowering in disapproval and Nathan Lane’s incredible accent work. It’s beautiful nonsense all the way down.
Apple TV+ has already renewed new show The Buccaneers, based on the Edith Wharton novel of the same name, for a second season after the recent success of the first. Despite being set in the same time period, and with the same sumptuous costuming, as The Gilded Age, the two shows couldn’t be more wildly different in tone if they tried. The Buccaneers shares the same race through as many plots as possible, cramming proposal after scandal after proposal into the short season, but the modern music and teen drama tones make it a wildly different, though equally glorious, watch.
Finally, The Crown has aired its last. Alright, it’s not really a period drama considering the final season covers events that took place this century, but it's close enough. The final seasons never managed to reach the lofty heights of the Claire Foy days, and the show felt like it had less and less to say about the state of the monarchy as it barrelled towards present events. Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret was, unsurprisingly, the stand out of the season, and the less said about the attempts to make Prince William compelling the better. The Crown was a good show, but I’m not sad that it’s over.
The Doctor Returns
Look, I’m of a certain age. A particular age. An age that means I spent a chunk of my teens staring heart-eyed at David Tennant as The Doctor. An age that means I’ve spent over a decade furious about what happened to Donna. The three 60th anniversary specials weren’t just something I loved, but something I feel I truly needed.
Everything from Miriam Margoyles as the Meep, to eldritch giant Doctor and Donna, to Neil Patrick Harris dancing to Spice up Your Life, brought me huge, sparkling piles of joy and delight. I, like a lot of fans, fell off Doctor Who a bit during the Jodie Whittaker era. (An actress that effortlessly charming really deserved better material to work with.) I grew up on the Russell T. Davies era, and this revisit felt like coming home in the best way. If that wasn’t enough, then Ncuti Gatwa turned up, played catch, sent David Tennant off to a happy ending and took up residence in the Tardis. I am a completely normal, not at all over-the-top, level of excited for the upcoming Christmas special. (I can’t wait.)
As we’re talking about David Tennant, I should throw in an honourable mention here for Good Omens season two. I absolutely loved it, and not just for David Tenant as Crowley demonstrating the bisexual inability to sit normally in a chair. I just can’t write about it after podcasting at such lengths. Season 3 is officially confirmed though, and I’m incredibly glad.
Finally…
I wrote a book! Well, I finished writing a book. And then I started a new one. I still can’t quite believe that I’ve written an actual book (Friends and the Golden Age of the Sitcom) that’s going to be in real shops where people can buy it, but that’s happening. What a year it’s been.
Happy whatever you’re celebrating, make sure you eat something delicious and watch something terrible, and thank you so much for reading. See you in the new year!