Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Oh 2018, what a time it’s been. On a national news scale we’ve had some decent times (remember Gritty? Fun!) and more often than those some horrifically awful times. But thank god for television. TV knew we needed a break from the hellfire that was this year, and it was only too happy to drown us in unbelievably epic stories.
There are so many marvelous shows and movies that came close to Decider’s 10-spot end-of-the-year cutoff. Boots Riley’s manic takedown of consumerism and race, better known as Sorry to Bother You, will forever have a place in my top 15 list. Likewise Steven Universe‘s jaw-dropping upset has nothing but my upmost respect and appreciation. But this has been a hard year, and because of that I only had room at my pop culture table for the TV moments that either understood or comforted me on a deep emotional level.
2018 sometimes meant finding humor in throwaway one-liners or just in thinking about the existence of a major network show. But it also meant finding new and increasingly complicated ways to navigate exactly what it means to be human. This list touches on all of those things with at least one entry that can possibly trigger an existential crisis. Happy holidays and welcome to the weird amalgamation of animation, bloody crime drama, gorgeous costuming, and immature jokes that means comfort to me.
Explaining '9-1-1' to people
Never ask me the question “Wait, what’s 9-1-1?” because I assure you I’ll waste at least 20 minutes of your life. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s first responder series is so incredibly insane it consistently spawns more questions than it can ever possibly answer. How is Chimney (Kenneth Choi) completely fine two episodes after having his head slip in two by a pipe? If an earthquake happens in Los Angeles, what are the odds it will ONLY kill a Harvey Weinstein stand in? How do all of these seemingly fake disasters have real-world counterparts? And most importantly of all, how are Connie Britton, Angela Bassett, and Jennifer Love Hewitt in this show?
I don’t know and honestly I don’t care. In a TV age dominated by Riverdale, The Good Place‘s twists, and psychedelic adventures like Legion and Maniac, 9-1-1 is the only show that consistently made me scream “What the hell did I just watch?” May it last forever.
Adult Swim's bonkers "Final Deployment 4"
The end of the year is a time for appreciating underrated gems, and this is certainly one of them. From Casper Kelly and Nick Gibbons, “Final Deployment 4: Queen Battle Walkthrough” snuck onto Adult Swim as silently as Kelly’s other bizarre creation, “Too Many Cooks.” But whereas “Too Many Cooks” was a dismantling of the expected, this takedown of video game streamers is a warped voyage into “realistic” gaming, the narcissism of YouTube stars, and existentialism.
It’s… a lot. But if you’re looking to have a philosophical breakdown in a tight 22 minutes (real time), Adult Swim always has your back.
Watch "Final Deployment 4: Queen Battle Walkthrough" on YouTube
The waiter joke in 'Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas'
At one point in the story within a story that is the Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas, Kaz (voiced by Jaden Smith) strolls into the restaurant Serendipity and demands an extravagant hot chocolate. A man in a tux curtly informs him that he isn’t Kaz’s waiter, and the joke could have just been that. A throughline in the weirdest series on Netflix is that Kaz is an oblivious, spoiled idiot. Of course he would assume everyone who wasn’t him worked for him.
But then a full standoff with his arch rival and a heated three-way phone conversations later, that same tuxedoed man delivers Kaz his hot chocolate. It’s as so dumb it’s brilliant and so weird it’s normal moment all at once. Neo Yokio is always a bizarre delight. But Pink Christmas leaning into this insane world and giving Richard Ayoade a bigger role made a dark year just a little bit better.
'AHS: Apocalypse' blowing up its plot to make room for more fabulousness
Once again this season of American Horror Story barely made any sense, but you know what? No one cared. For the first time in the long-running show’s history AHS leaned into the sass and insanity that drew fans into its blood-soaked folds in the first place, and it was a glorious thing. This season gave us, in no particular order:
- Cody Fern rocking a gorgeous Connie Britton wig
- An Emma Roberts and Billy Porter road trip side quest that deserved to be its own spin-off series
- A quartet of quip-loving warlocks featuring Porter, BD Wong, Cheyenne Jackson, and Jon Jon Briones
- Another episode-halting Stevie Nicks performance
- Joan Collins re-enacting her Tales from the Crypt short
- Leslie Grossman and Adina Porter being mega bitches
It did all of this while also letting Sarah Paulson play both a fearless leader as well as a terrifying headmaster. And it gave us a new Supreme! Apocalypse made next to no sense from beginning to end, but it was too much fun to matter. Hail Satan indeed.
Diego Luna and Michael Peña's cat-and-mouse game in 'Narcos: Mexico'
Narcos has always been on the cusp of being a truly great crime drama, but it’s struggled with balance. Either its cartel leaders are fully formed menaces, like Wagner Moura’s take on Pablo Escobar, and its authority members are forgettable or its DEA agents are complicated, like Pedro Pascal’s Agent Peña in Season 3, and its cartel leaders suffer. But Narcos: Mexico finally figured out its balance, giving us a season where our heroes and villains felt perfectly matched. Though they only met when it was too late, Kiki Camarena (Michael Peña) felt like a excellent foil to the ever slippery Félix Gallardo (Diego Luna).
'Pose's Christmas episode
Oh so many moments in Pose made me happy cry, but none packed as much of an emotional punch as “Giving and Receiving.” Blanca (Mj Rodriguez) is desperate to turn her little house into a real family, but no one is having it. But as is always the case in this heart-warming and emotional series, the mother of the year knows best, so she drags the House of Evangelista and a sulking Pray Tell (Billy Porter) to a Chinese restaurant to swap gifts.
Much like with everything in Pose, there are so many ways this moment could be characterized by sorrow. Pray Tell’s HIV-positive boyfriend is dying. Angel’s (Indya Moore) boyfriend is starting to prove he’s less of a knight in shining armor and more of two-faced jerk. The House of Evangelista itself is the source of mockery in the ball community. But Blanca and her nurturing nature smooths these problems away, both in the episode’s story and in the episode itself. She transforms Christmas into what it should be — a good day to share with people you love. And when she hands Angel a pair of gorgeous red shoes our romantic heroine has been wanting since her childhood, it’s heart-breaking in the best possible way.
BoJack and Diane's tense confrontation in 'BoJack Horseman'
Every year it seems impossible that BoJack Horseman will get any better and every year it proves me wrong. But the moment that haunted me most this year didn’t have to do with free churros; it had to do with finally vocalizing unspoken truths. “Head in the Clouds” sees BoJack (Will Arnett) and Diane (Alison Brie) at the Philbert premiere party. It should be one of the happiest moments of their careers, but it can’t be. The moment has been so overshadowed by the clouds of half truths they’ve told each other and themselves it’s impossible to see anything else.
There are plenty of major revelations in the scene, but as it always the case with this painful show and this introspective season the most barbed ones are internal beliefs and impossible to fix mistakes. As the feminist Diane is forced to come to grips with the fact she helped convince BoJack, the man who traumatized a teenage girl, he’s OK the way he is, BoJack has to look at exactly what he’s done. Leave it to the sad horse show to quietly give us one of the most powerful and complicated conversations about enabling in the era of the #MeToo movement.
Darren Criss' second to last breakdown in 'The Assassination of Gianni Versace'
American Crime Story spends most of its nine-episode run dissecting how exactly a known mass murderer could successfully kill its legendary fashion designer. But in its next to last episode “Creator/Destoryer” The Assassination of Gianni Versace takes a step back to ask another question — why?
Directed by Matt Bomer, the episode unravels Versace’s (Édgar Ramírez) introduction to fashion at the same time it explores the parental departure that would forever change Andrew Cunancan (Darren Criss). Quiet and somberly lit, it’s is a far cry from the gorgeous pinks of Versace’s later Miami empire as it shows Andrew’s idolized father at his lowest. However it’s not Jon Jon Briones’ incredible performance that elevates the episode from good to excellent.
After Andrew learns the truth about his father he’s forced to work at a gas station. It’s embarrassing, unglamorous work, a far fry from the narcissistic teenager we’ve come to know. And yet when asked about what his father does, Andrew begins to effortlessly lie about his upbringing despite the fact that everything about him clearly contradicts what he’s saying. It’s as if he believes he can change his fate through focused intensity alone, and he’s almost successful. After watching him commit five heartless murders it’s impressive that one of Darren Criss’ most terrifying moments is a lie about pineapples.
Where to stream The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
'Silicon Valley' showing Richard's true colors
I’ve gushed about a lot of excellent comedies this year but there’s only one episode I’ve voluntarily rewatched at least five times — “Fifty-One Percent.” Sure, it has all the predictable ingredients of your typical Silicon Valley finale. Richard (Thomas Middleditch) comes precariously close to losing Pied Piper and everything he’s worked so hard to achieve, and once again his fight over his IP involves not-Jeff-Bezos Gavin Belson (Matt Ross). But Silicon Valley‘s latest flirtation with failure just works.
Perhaps it’s because in a year full of exploring the closets of too-powerful tech giants, it’s comforting to watch a show that doesn’t treat these people as genius saints but as petty monsters. Maybe it’s because after years of trying to convince us that Richard is the valley’s sole good-hearted underdog, Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky finally gave up that charade. Last year they started to explore Richard’s disarmingly cutthroat and selfish side, especially through his relationship to the ever-loyal Jared (Zach Woods), and this year they pushed him even further, proving he could out-asshole even his biggest competitors. Perhaps it’s just because the phrase “Kiss my piss” makes me laugh too hard. Whatever the reason, Silicon Valley‘s Season 5 finale got me. TV’s manifestation always the bridesmaid, never the bride deserves better.
The Doctor's constant optimism
Casting Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor was essentially taking two things that I loved and combining them. But even in my most excited moment I didn’t anticipate just how much I would love Whittaker as No. 13. The Broadchurch actress plays the iconic role with a boundless amount of energy that’s reminiscent of David Tennant. But more than that Whittacker’s Doctor is a return to something Doctor Who has been sidelining for years now — the series’ unbridled optimism.
At its core Doctor Who is a lovely collection of stories about how no matter how much we may mess up people are essentially good. Thirteen, with her whiplash speeches about loyalty, dedication, and inclusivity and her earnest looks, effortlessly captures that pathos. It makes complete sense why Graham, Ryan, and Yasmin would drop their entire lives to help her explore the universe, and I’m right there with them, in awe of this marvelous woman and her odd blue box.
