Lots of TV blogs and sites have top 10s and 20s of the year’s programmes. Not wishing to be left out of the crowd, I thought I’d do one, too. But in my usual chaotic fashion, I decided to just list as many as I remember liking and then turn to you, my lovely readers, in the hope you’re more organised. And that you’ve nothing to do.
Anyway, this is really just the new shows that I loved in 2013. Feel free to list old shows, new shows or even DVDs you enjoyed last year.
The winner by a mile for the coveted top slot was:
Hannibal (review)
Elegant horror of the finest order, a simply sublime season that instead of being built around gore (although there was some incredibly disturbing imagery), hamminess and archness à la The Blacklist gave us a true horror: the fear of going mad, with FBI investigator Will Graham slowly beginning to doubt his own sanity. With a season-long arc that was hard to perceive until the final episode, it ended with a single image that made the whole thing worthwhile. Astonishing TV in almost every sense, from the dialogue to the visuals to the acting to the soundtrack to the throw-aways at the end of episodes that will haunt you for a long time after viewing.
Having said that, they cast Eddie Izzard in a key role so it wasn’t entirely perfect.
The runners up (no particular order)
- The Americans
- Serangoon Road
- Anno 1790
- The Tunnel
- Y Gwyll
- Engrenages/Spiral
- The Almighty Johnsons (season 3)
- Banshee
- The Blacklist
- House of Cards
But how about you?