Boob Tube

It's a new year, and so it's time to update that weird and wonderful list of television shows that I've watched over the years. The rules remain the same: To the best of my recollection, here are all the shows I've seen at least five episodes of, and derived some enjoyment out of (even if said enjoyment was hate-watching, or if watching was just a flimsy excuse to gather with friends and suck down a bottle of wine). There are still no game shows (except one), nor talk shows, nor non-competitive reality (your House Hunters and such) listed. Just good ol' fashioned scripted shows, documentaries, and competitive reality shows. Enjoy!

13 Reasons Why
100 Humans
227
3-2-1 Contact
30 Rock
A to Z
Abbott Elementary

Absolutely Fabulous
Adventure Time
Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, The
Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, The

Afterparty, The

Agatha All Along
Agatha Christie's "The ABC Murders"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alias
All in the Family
Alphas
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Always a Witch
Amazing Race, The
Amen
America's Next Top Model
American Crime Story (The People v. OJ Simpson)
American Horror Story (Coven)
American Vandal

And Just Like That
And Then There Were None
Angel
Angie Tribeca
Animaniacs!
Apprentice, The

Arcane
Archer

Archive 81
Around the World in 80 Plates
Arrested Development
Arthur
Astronomy Club

Aunty Donna's Big 'Ol House of Fun
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Awake
Battlestar Galactica (2004)
Beakman's World

Bear, The

Beef

Beetlejuice
Being Human (US)
Benson
Beverly Hills, 90210
Bewitched
Big Bang Theory, The
Big Comfy Couch, The

Big Door Prize, The
Big Love
Big Mouth
Bill Nye, the Science Guy
Black-ish
Black Books
Black Lady Sketch Show, A
Black Mirror
Bleak House
Blossom
Bob's Burgers

Bodies
BoJack Horseman
Book Club, The

Boyfriend, The
Brain Games
Breaking Bad

Bridgerton
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Burning Love
Call the Midwife
Carmen Sandiego (2019)
Castle
Castlevania
Celebrity Deathmatch

Central Park

Changeling, The
Charles in Charge
Cheers
Chef's Table
Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers
Chopped
Chuck
Clarissa Explains It All
Clatterford
Clone High

Close Enough
Comeback, The
Community
Cosby Show, The
Cosmos (2014)
Cougar Town
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Creature Comforts (US)
Critic, The
CSI

Cunk on Earth

Cuphead Show, The
Cyberchase
DangerMouse
Daria

Dark

Dead Boy Detectives
Dead Like Me
Dead Zone, The

Delicious in Dungeon
Dennis the Menace
Derry Girls
Designing Women
Desperate Housewives
Dexter's Laboratory
Diff'rent Strokes
Dirty Jobs
Dirty Sexy Money
Disenchantment
Dollface
Dollhouse
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
Doogie Howser, M.D.
Doug
Downton Abbey
Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist
Dragon Prince, The
Drawn Together
Drew Carey Show, The
Drunk History
DuckTales (1987)

DuckTales (2017)
Electric Company, The
Erased (The Town Without Me)
Eureka

Explained

Exploding Kittens

Extraordinary
Facts of Life, The

Falcon and the Winter Soldier, The
Family Guy
Family Ties

Fantasmas
Fillmore!

Fired on Mars
Fleabag
Flintstones, The
Food Wars
Fraggle Rock

Franchise, The
Frasier
Freaks and Geeks
French Chef, The
Fresh Off the Boat
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The
Friends

Fright Krewe
Full House
Futurama
Galavant
Ghostwriter
Gimme A Break

Girls5eva
Girls on Top
Glee
GLOW

Goes Wrong Show, The
Good Omens
Good Place, The
Good Wife, The
Golden Girls, The

Golden Palace, The
Grace and Frankie
Gravity Falls
Great American Baking Show, The
Great British Baking Show, The
Great Food Truck Race, The
Great News
Grey's Anatomy
Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, The
Grinder, The
Growing Pains
Happy Endings

Harley Quinn
Harper's Island

Harriet the Spy
Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law

Haunting of Bly Manor, The
Haunting of Hill House, The

Hawkeye
Head of the Class
Hell's Kitchen
Herman's Head
Heroes
Hilda

History of Swear Words
Hoarders
Home Movies
Hot in Cleveland
House of Cards (US)
How I Met Your Mother
How the States Got Their Shapes
Hunter X Hunter
I, Claudius

Insecure
Inside Amy Schumer
Inspector Gadget

Irregulars, The
Iron Chef
Iron Chef America

IT Crowd, The

iZombie
Jane the Virgin
Jeeves and Wooster
Jeffersons, The
Jessica Jones
Jetsons, The
Joe Millionaire

Julia
Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman

Kaos
Keeping Up Appearances

Kevin Can Fuck Himself
Kids in the Hall, The

Kids in the Hall, The (2022)
Kim Possible
King of Queens, The
Kitchen Confidential
LA Law
Lady Dynamite
Lambchop's Play Along
Last Man on Earth, The
Law and Order
League, The

Legend of Korra, The
Letter People, The
Leverage
Living Single
Locke & Key

Lodge 49

Loki
Looking
Los Espookys
Louie

Love Life
Lovesick
Mad Men
Magic School Bus, The
Making a Murderer
Mama's Family
Man Seeking Woman
Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model
Maniac
Marry Me

Marvel Rising
Master of None

Masters of the Universe: Revelation
Maude
Melrose Place

Midnight Club, The
Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories

Midnight Mass
Mind of a Chef, The
Mindy Project, The

Minx
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Miss Guided
Mission Hill
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Mob Psycho 100
Models, Inc.

Modern Family
Monk
Monkees, The

Moon Knight
Moonlighting
Most Extreme Elimination Challenge
Mother Love
Mr. Wizard

Ms. Marvel
Muppet Babies

Muppet Show, The

Muppets Now
Murder, She Wrote

Murderville
Murphy Brown
My Boys
Mystery!
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Nailed It!
Nanny, The
Never Have I Ever
New Adventures of Old Christine, The
New Girl
NewsRadio
Next Iron Chef, The
Night Court
Numb3rs
Oblongs, The
Office, The (US)
Once Upon a Time
One Day at a Time (2017)

One-Punch Man

Only Murders in the Building
Orange is the New Black
Ordeal By Innocence

Other Two, The
Out of Control

Over the Garden Wall

Owl House, The
Parks and Recreation
Party Down

Peanuts
Pee-Wee's Playhouse
Peep Show
Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Pinwheel
Planet Earth
Poirot

Pokemon: Indigo League

Poker Face
Portlandia
Powerpuff Girls, The
Private Life of a Masterpiece, The
Project Runway
Project Runway Canada
Psych
Punky Brewster
Pushing Daisies

Q-Force
Quantum Leap
Queer As Folk (US)
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Quest, The
Raising Hope
Reading Rainbow
Reaper

Reboot
Recess
Regular Show
Rick and Steve
Robot Chicken
Roots
Roseanne
Rosemary & Thyme
Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In
RuPaul's Drag Race
Russian Doll

Sandman
Salt Fat Acid Heat

Saturday Morning All Star Hits!
Saturday Night Live
Saved by the Bell

Schmigadoon!
Schoolhouse Rock
Science Court
Scooby-Doo

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Scrubs
Search Party
Sealab 2021
Seinfeld
Sense8
Series of Unfortunate Events, A
Sesame Street
Seven Deadly Sins

Severance
Sex and the City

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Shear Genius
Sherlock
Silicon Valley
Silver Spoons
Simpsons, The
Sister Wendy
Six Feet Under
Smurfs, The
Soap
Sopranos, The
South Park
Space Ghost, Coast to Coast
Square One TV
Stephen Fry in America
Steven Universe

Steven Universe: Future

Strange Planet
Stranger Things
Strangers With Candy

Sunny

Survival of the Thickest
Superstore
Tales of the City
Tales from the Crypt

Ted Lasso
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Terriers
That 70s Show
That's So Raven

Three Busy Debras
Three's Company
Timeless
Tiny Toon Adventures
Toast of London
Today's Special
Tom and Jerry
Top Chef

Top Chef: Just Desserts
Trading Spaces
Trial & Error
Trophy Wife
True Detective
Tuca & Bertie
Twilight Zone, The
Twin Peaks
Two Fat Ladies
Ugly Betty
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Undone

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal
Up Series, The
Veep
Venture Brothers, The
Veronica Mars
Voltron (2016)

WandaVision

We the People
Webster

Wedding Season

Weeds
Welcome to Sweden
West Wing, The
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

What If...?
What We Do in the Shadows
Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? (cartoon)
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (game show)
White Collar
Who's The Boss?
Whodunnit?
Will and Grace
Wings
Wire, The
Wishbone

Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, The
Women's Murder Club
Wonderfalls
Wonder Years, The
X-Men (1990s)

X-Men '97
Xena: Warrior Princess
You Can't Do That On Television

The State of the Art: Movies 2023

It's been an exciting year for movies! Sometimes, I feel like the types of movies I watch over the course of a year can get too similar to each other; lists in the past have had an overabundance of superhero movies, or light comedies, or historical dramas, or whatever. In 2023, though, the movies I saw were all over the map, and I always feel happier when I've sampled from a wider cultural range.

As ever, the grades I give here are about the quality of the movie and how well it did at accomplishing what it was trying to achieve. If I were grading these purely on the experience of watching them, something like getting together with friends to ingest illicit substances and mock a piece of crap like Queen of the Damned would get an A. Speaking of good grades, it's interesting to note that while this year had double the number of movies in the A range as last year, there were no A+ movies in 2023. That seems about right; an A+ should be extremely rare.

As to my favorite movie of the year, I waffled quite a bit. It took me a long time to reach a decision, but ultimately, I went with one that was not only well-acted and had a tight and suspenseful plot, but cleverly avoided all of the traps and pitfalls that usually afflict romance stories.

Past Lives is remarkable. In 99% of movies, the dramatic tension of the story of a woman (Nora) who immigrated to North America as a child, grew up to marry an American, then reconnects with her old crush from Korea (Hae Sung) would be about the will-they/won't-they of cheating on her husband. This movie is a lot smarter than that, and is more interested in exploring Nora's inner conflicts in reconciling the person she was then with the person she is now. The word "bittersweet" is overused, but definitely applies here. The care taken with these characters' reminiscing about their real emotional connection in the past, while still treating their relationships in the present with intelligence is like an oasis of fresh water after wandering through a desert of hackneyed tropes for decades. It's a beautiful movie that I'm still thinking about, months after seeing it.

Let's get to full 2023 list!

Past Lives (A)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (A)

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (A-)

Totally Killer (A-)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (B+)

Barbie (B+)

Poor Things (B+)
M3GAN (B+)
Asteroid City (B+)

No One Will Save You (B+)

Joy Ride (B+)

Polite Society (B+)

Roald Dahl shorts (The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar, The Rat Catcher, The Swan, Poison) (B+)
One More Time (B+)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 (B)
Theater Camp (B)

No Hard Feelings (B)

May December (B)

Wonka (B)
One-of-a-Kind Marcie (B)

Elemental (B-)

A Haunting in Venice (C+)

Leave the World Behind (C+)
Magic Mike's Last Dance (C+)
Slotherhouse (C+)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (C)

And for the pre-2023 movies:

The Shining (1980) (A-)
Tár (2022) (A-)

Theater of Blood (1973) (B+)

RRR (2022) (B+)

Sea Beast (2022) (B+)

The House (2022) (B+)

Triangle of Sadness (2022) (B)
Swiss Army Man (2016) (B)
Matilda the Musical (2022) (B)

Come From Away (2021) (B)

Shiva Baby (2020) (B)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) (B)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) (B-)

Gremlins (1984) (B-)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) (B-)

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) (B-)
The Producers (2005) (B-)
7 Days in Hell (2015) (B-)
The Brave Little Toaster (1987) (B-)

Bros (2022) (C+)
Unicorn Store (2017) (C+)

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) (C+)

Scooby Doo on Zombie Island (1998) (C+)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) (C+)
Barbarella (1968) (C)
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996) (C)

Critters (1986) (C)
Twilight* (2008) (C)

Forbidden Planet (1956) (C)

D.E.B.S. (2004) (C-)
Vibes (1988) (C-)

Critters 3 (1991) (C-)

Critters 2 (1988) (C-)

Queen of the Damned (2002) (C-)

Arena (1989) (C-)

Hansel & Gretel (2002) (D+)

Blackenstein (1973) (D)

Critters 4 (1992) (D)

*We watched the Rifftrax version of this to make it palatable - grade reflects the actual movie

The State of the Art: Television 2023

It seems that television and books have swapped places this year. In 2022, there were several books that I loved, but on the whole, TV was entertaining, but not terribly exciting. This year, it was tough to find a book that grabbed my attention (though fortunately it happened), but TV was terrific. If there's an overarching theme to my experiences with television this year, it's that there's just no way to stay current, and I'll always be playing catch-up, even with shows I love. I'll absolutely get to the current seasons of Minx, The Bear, Julia, What We Do in the Shadows, Severance, Somebody Somewhere, etc. But there was absolutely no way to squeeze it all in.

Picking a favorite show is actually pretty agonizing this year. I could make an argument for any of a handful of shows taking the top spot, but ultimately I had to pick one. If you're looking for recommendations, though, there are plenty to choose from here. When picking a favorite, I took a few aspects into account: Obviously, it had to be a show that I loved, but there was only one show that I couldn't stop myself from bingeing. It stars actors I love in other properties. It has a sense of mystery and wonder without jumping up its own ass. I also like highlighting a show that didn't get a lot of attention, so my favorite television show of 2023 has to be:

The Big Door Prize. Never heard of it? You're not alone. I think I first heard this mentioned as a throwaway "here's what I've been watching" kind of comment on one of the podcasts I listen to, and it sounded intriguing enough to check out. Thank goodness I did, because this show is utterly fascinating.

If you've ever read the Machine of Death books (which are great, by the way), you're familiar with the concept of a mysterious machine that shows up without explanation and dispenses information that fundamentally changes people. Instead of informing the townsfolk of how they're going to die, though, the machine in The Big Door Prize gives them a word or phrase that promises to encapsulate their true potential. That sounds less dramatic than mode of death, but upon reading what the universe has decided you can be if you applied yourself, what sort of changes would you make in your life? What if the card is confusing? What if it's upsetting? What if it indicates you'll never be anything more than what you are right now, despite your ambitions? What if embracing your potential means you'll be forced to give up something that you love in the present?

I love a good dose of magical realism when it's done well, and this show does it beautifully. It's acted impeccably, it packs an emotional wallop while still being funny, weaves together a terrific overall story told from multiple points of view, and it spurs a lot of self-reflection about the kinds of people we are and who we want to be. I'm thrilled that it's been renewed for a Season 2.

While we wait for that, though, let's get to the year's full list!

The Big Door Prize (Season 1) (2023) (A)
Schmigadoon! (Season 2) (2023) (A)
Only Murders in the Building (Season 3) (2023) (A)
Poker Face (Season 1) (2023) (A)

The Other Two (Season 3) (2023) (A-)

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Season 1) (2023) (A-)

A Black Lady Sketch Show (Season 4) (2023) (A-) 

Never Have I Ever (Season 3) (2022) (A-)

The Afterparty (Season 1) (2022) (A-)

Harley Quinn (Season 4) (2023) (B+)

Never Have I Ever (Season 4) (2023) (B+)
Survival of the Thickest (Season 1) (2023) (B+)

Bodies (Season 1) (2023) (B+)

Extraordinary (Season 1) (2023) (B+)

Abbott Elementary (Season 2) (2023) (B+)
Schmigadoon! (Season 1) (2021) (B+)
Fright Krewe (Season 1) (2023) (B+)

Julia (Season 1) (2022) (B+)

Insecure (Season 1) (2016) (B+)

Somebody Somewhere (Season 1) (2022) (B+) 
Girls5Eva (Seasons 1-2) (2021-2022) (B+)

Jury Duty (Season 1) (2023) (B+)

Ted Lasso (Season 1) (2020) (B)

Harriet the Spy (Season 1) (2021) (B)

Cunk on Earth (Season 1) (2023) (B)
Bob's Burgers (Season 14) (2023) (B) [still airing]

Bob's Burgers (Season 13) (2023) (B)

Black Mirror (Season 6) (2023) (B)

Beef (Season 1) (2023) (B)

Central Park (Season 1) (2020) (B) 
The Great British Baking Show (Season 14) (B)
Unicorn: Eternal Warriors (Season 1) (2023) (B)

Futurama (Season 11) (2023) (B-)

Clone High (Season 2) (2023) (B-)
Indian Matchmaking (Season 3) (2023) (B-)

Fired on Mars (Season 1) (2023) (B-)

The Changeling (Season 1) (2023) (C+)

And Just Like That (Season 1) (2021) (C+)

Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators (Season 1) (2023) (C+)

Up Here (Season 1) (2023) (C)

The State of the Art: Games 2023

Let's be real: There was no way that this year of gaming would ever be able to match 2022, which was probably the best single year for video games I've ever experienced. That said, there was still a lot to enjoy this year from all over the gaming spectrum! One thing I did for the first time last year was to pick a favorite "left-brained" game, and a favorite "right-brained" game, which I think worked out really well, and that I'll carry forward. Normally, I'd say I'm more of a left-brained person in general, but last year, the right-brained choice took top spot, as it does again this year, because how could I pick anything other than Baldur's Gate 3?

It's exceedingly rare for me to pick a AAA game as my favorite. I tend to like smaller, indie games. Also, I played this game in early access, and wasn't impressed. At the time, I thought that the exponentially-cheaper Solasta had a better user interface than this extremely-hyped, massive game, and I sensed disaster in the offing when this went live. Never have I been happier to be wrong. I don't believe I've ever played a game where there are so many different possible outcomes to your choices. Everyone else I talked to who played this (which was basically everyone who games) conducted themselves in slightly different ways, which led to totally different results. NPCs I became friends with were dead in their games, and vice versa. NPCs who treated my character like dirt were sweet as pie to theirs. 

The attention to detail didn't stop there, as every single NPC (and there are hundreds of them) can be approached and talked to. Even if they don't have full conversation trees, they all have something different to say, making the world feel very lived-in. The graphics are top-notch, it's acted well, and it has an intuitive control system. If you can't play tabletop D&D, this is far and away the next best choice.

As to my favorite left-brained game of the year, it came to me by way of a friend who said "I looked into this game, and it seemed totally annoying to me. It's right up your alley." Boy, was he right. And on top of that, it's free! If logical analysis and late '90s internet research is your thing, be sure you try The Roottrees Are Dead.

It's the late '90s, and Carl Roottree, the billionaire candy company magnate, has just died in a plane crash, along with his wife and three daughters. The inheritance will be a knotty matter, and your mysterious benefactor has charged you with filling in the entire Roottree family tree, based on magazine articles, internet searches, and library books.

This game drew me in like a magnet. I literally put off social plans, because I was thisclose to cracking the information I needed to fill in a branch of this fictional genealogy chart. This is a real if-you-know-you-know type of game, but to the group of folks who are into this type of thing, this is an enthralling experience.

There were certainly other games that are worth your time that I discovered in 2023, from the musical mythological murder mystery Stray Gods, to censoring the news reports in Not For Broadcast, to the battles between rival steampunk carnival troupes in Circus Electrique. There were a lot of fun tabletop gaming experiences this year, too. Standouts include Descent: Legends of the Dark, Cthulhu: Death May Die, and the tabletop version of Fallout. But for the video games, let's get to the loosely-ranked list!

Circus Electrique

Stray Gods

Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express

Final Fantasy XVI

Lord Winklebottom Investigates

The Past Within

Chants of Sennaar

South of the Circle

Venba

Forspoken

Not For Broadcast

The Room

Deathloop

Beacon Pines

Saltsea Chronicles

The Isle Tide Hotel

Dave the Diver

Memoranda

Underdog Detective

Deliver Us the Moon

Vampire - The Masquerade: Swansong

Harvestella

In the past handful of years, gaming has been getting better and better at conveying a rich cultural experience. I certainly never thought that a simple game like South of the Circle, in which you do little more than choose which emotion to express in conversations, could rival prestige television and movies in the ability to tell a compelling story, but with each passing year, video games are starting to overtake their respectable older siblings more and more. I can't wait to see what 2024 brings.

The State of the Art: Books 2023

As I read The Night Circus for the dozenth time (I only allow myself to read it in winter), I'm painfully reminded that for some reason, books seem to have a higher bar than other media to clear in order for me to give them a good grade. 2023, especially, had a few bright spots, but the reading year in general was kind of a shrug. I always like to look over the books I read over the course of a year to see if I can assign a "theme":

2019: "Anywhere But Here"
2020: "Dealing with Loss"
2021: "What We Owe to Each Other"
2022: "Look Behind the Curtain"

For 2023, I'd have to say the theme was "Stay In Your Lane". From unnecessary sequels to disappointing reimaginings of classic characters, this year was rife with books that failed to freshen up old ideas. For the first time in a long time, reading was kind of a chore, leading to a smaller list than in other years. You'll note that I put Louise Fitzhugh in quotes below, because Sport was published by her estate after her death, which goes a long way towards explaining why it's so awful. It wasn't all bad news, though. A few books managed to grip my attention, and happily, they came from different genres, from horror to non-fiction to a cheerful dystopian novel about the strength of community across multiple nations. Hopefully, next year will bring with it a better batch (I'm always open to recommendations). In the meantime, let's get to the list!

The Hacienda (2022) (Isabel Cañas) (A)

Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 (2003) (Stephen Puleo) (A-)

Scattered All Over the Earth (2018) (Yoko Tawada) (A-)

The Candy House (2022) (Jennifer Egan) (B+)

The Devil and the Dark Water (2020) (Stuart Turton) (B+)

Food Fights & Culture Wars (Tom Nealon) (2017) (B)
What is Not Yours is Not Yours (2016) (Helen Oyeyemi) (B)

Emily of New Moon (1923) (L.M. Montgomery) (B)

Marple: Twelve New Mysteries (2022) (Various) (B)

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons (Kate Khavari) (2022) (B)

Exile From Eden (Andrew Smith) (2019) (B)

You Think It, I'll Say It (Curtis Sittenfeld) (2018) (B)

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century (2022) (Kim Fu) (B-)

The Chinese Groove (Kathryn Ma) (2023) (B-)

The Other Black Girl (2021) (Zakiya Dalila Harris) (B-)

After the People Lights Have Gone Off (2014) (Stephen Graham Jones) (C+)

The Gone World (Tom Sweterlitsch) (2018) (C)

Mycroft Holmes (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse) (2015) (C)

Sport ("Louise Fitzhugh") (1979) (C-)

Kismet (2018) (Luke Tredget) (D)

The State of the Art: Games 2022

I mentioned in my movie post that while films would usually be the finale of the favorites lists, it wouldn't be this year, because overall, the films I watched in 2022 were not very memorable (aside from a couple of fun exceptions at both the top and bottom of the list). Usually, that would mean books or television would have been the medium to capture my heart. Nope. For the first time ever, we're closing out with games. Video games have had an absolutely phenomenal year, and they've earned their place at the top of the cultural mountain. 

Normally, I'd say I play about three good games per year, with hopefully one standing out as excellent, and then a handful of pretty-good ones filling out the list. This year, there were nine outstanding games (!), and those are just the ones released in 2022 (!!). That is unprecedented. So while I did have a favorite, I want to be sure and call out those other eight as well, because they are all over the tonal map, and yet each struck a chord. However, there can only be one at the #1 spot, and this year, that spot goes to Immortality.

I knew Sam Barlow was special when I played Her Story, but I never expected he'd top it. This game made my jaw drop. Immortality is about an actress named Marissa Marcel, who worked on three unreleased movies in three different decades. She disappeared after her work on the third movie, and the purpose of the game is ostensibly to figure out what happened to her. I say "ostensibly", because while I was, of course, very curious to solve that mystery, it's really not the most interesting aspect of what's going on. The game works by watching behind-the-scenes clips of the movies being made, from chemistry tests to location scouting to table-reads to scenes being filmed. If you click on something within a clip, it will go find a match in another clip. So you might, for example, click on an apple in a scene shot in the 1960s, and be taken to a bowl of apples in a scene in the 1990s. As you click around, you begin to piece together the three stories of the movies, as well as the overall story of Marissa Marcel. And that's just the surface. I won't even get into the mysteries within the mysteries. It was absolutely brilliant, and not only from a gaming perspective. Once I was done with the gameplay, I actually just sat down and watched all of the clips again, beginning to end. Though it can be tough to recommend a game to others in which you just click around watching fake movies, for me, this game was, in a word, enthralling.

Now, let's get to those other eight, because they certainly deserve their time in the spotlight as well:

2) The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story: If Immortality was the best right-brained mystery game of the year, this one was far and away the best one for left-brained mystery solving. It also happens to contain multiple stories spanning decades, but instead of soaking in a game of pure atmosphere and story like Immortality, this game is about sifting through clues and using your reasoning, both deductive and inductive, to solve each case and then how they weave together into one overarching puzzle. It's beautifully-shot, well-written, impeccably-performed, and was an absolute joy to play.

3) Marvel: Midnight Suns: I'm told this is very similar to the XCOM series of games, but I never played those, so this style is new to me. At its core, it's a comic book story just like any other. You're a person trying to fight a demonic presence that's attempting to take over the world, and you have a bunch of famous Marvel characters on your team to help out. Sounds pretty standard, right? It probably would be if the gameplay weren't so frigging engaging. Each character has a customizable deck of cards that improves over time, and those cards (along with some environmental attacks) are used to battle enemies. But aside from that, you're also crafting cards and items, cultivating friendships with your teammates, solving the little mysteries of the creepy Abbey you inhabit, and of course, snuggling with your hellhound. Thankfully, the battles are turn-based, so it's not about hysterical button-mashing chaos. It rewards strategic thinking, while still lighting up the primal part of your brain that loves it when Spider-Man fwips into a Hydra minion.

4) Pentiment: It's nervy of me to even include this game, let alone put it so high on the list, because really, I just started playing it. And it's completely hooked me. Once again, it's a mystery game of sorts (sense a theme?), only this time, you're an artist in 16th century Bavaria who's trying to get your mentor off the hook for a murder, using the tried and true investigative technique of: Gossiping with your neighbors. You might talk to them about God or taxes or how so-and-so isn't a valuable member of the community. Maybe you'll question them over a simple meal on the farm, or join the ladies' wool-spinning bee, but whatever you do, do it fast, because time is against you. The art style is a big part of why this game works. For instance, the written dialogue shines with wet ink before drying into the parchment. But also, it does a terrific job of challenging the player of learning all they can, while in an oppressive religious environment, always knowing that people are hiding secrets that have nothing to do with murder. 

5) Strange Horticulture: Oh, hey! Another mystery game! I played this one before any of the others on this list, and was convinced at the time that it was going to be #1, so it coming in fifth place shows just how terrific games were this year. This one is also drenched in atmosphere, even as you barely ever leave the single room of the plant shop you run. People show up with all sorts of requests. They want to sleep better. They want to attract the attention of someone they like. They want to...curse their enemies. They want to............face an ancient evil that lives in the forest? Your plants can help with all of these requests, but which plant will fit the bill? And should you help your customers, or are there ones you'd rather circumvent? Who keeps sending mysterious notes for you to seek out new plants in the wild? Is the local witch a friend or foe? This game may test your logical deduction skills, but it also asks you to go with your gut. It's up to you not only to find the right plant, but to decide what is actually right. 

6) NORCO: For all the games above, honing in on solutions to the puzzles presented brings a burst of accomplishment. Even if the premise is murder, you're left with a sense of things moving in a positive direction. But not all terrific games are feel-good. Hell, my favorite game of 2020 was all about embracing sadness. And this one, in which you play a woman who has returned to a fictionalized, futuristic version of the real town of Norco, Louisiana after her mother's death to settle affairs, is definitely not feel-good. The town is dominated by refineries, and the entire community is afflicted by urban decay. Everyone you meet, even if they're relatively well-off, is mired in depression and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Finding out what happened with your mother and where your shiftless brother has wound up is no easy feat, as everyone is too wrapped up in their own problems to lend you a hand. It's a fascinating narrative, and the retro art style really sells its setting.

7) Disney: Dreamlight Valley: OK, this is a silly pick, but I can't deny that many, many hours of 2022 were spent in Dreamlight Valley. This game is basically what would happen if you smashed Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, and The Sims into one game, populated by Disney characters. It's extremely chill. You walk around, talking to folks like Ariel and Remy. You farm. You cook. You give out presents. You go on quests for your friends. You decorate your home. Is it a ground-breaking achievement in the craft of video games? No. But if you need to de-stress after a long day of work, hopping into this game and spending some time collecting blueberries so you can bake Elsa a pie certainly does the trick.

8) Stray: I'll admit up front; I'm a dog person. But even I was not immune to the charms of this game, in which you play as a curious cat in a post-human world, attempting to find their way back home with the help of some polite robots. As you navigate the detritus left behind after the apocalypse, and do your best to avoid the critters that brought about this extinction, there's a sense of nostalgia about humans, and the decent run that they had. Plus, with the touch of a button, you can purr and make your controller rumble pleasantly. 

9) Elden Ring: This style of game is generally not my speed. I had no interest in playing other popular games that FromSoftware produced (Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, etc.), mostly due to their inherent difficulty. There was some terrific animation, but I watched others play, getting one-shot by a wandering monster or falling off a hidden ledge and losing all their progress. Thanks, I hate it. So while I didn't come close to even getting to the halfway point of this game before I abandoned it, the fact that I put any time into it at all speaks volumes about how well-made it is. It's that fascinating. The story is incredibly sparse, and the dangers that await you in every part of the map are no less frustrating than they appeared in those earlier games. However, the art is gorgeous, and I have to grudgingly admit that trying to get past a valley of giants with a combination of spellcasting, guzzling healing potions, and running my ass off was a lot of fun.

Those are just the standouts from 2022! There were a ton of other video games that were solid, or that were excellent, but that were released in previous years. Here's a quick list of other games that are worth your time:

Overboard!
Lucifer Within Us
Cyberpunk 2077
Life is Strange: True Colors: Wavelengths
Solasta: The Lost Valley
Alt-Frequencies
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two
Potion Craft
Unpacking

And a couple of others, which I won't say much about, because I'm either just getting started (A Little to the Left), or that, um...weren't good (Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus?). There was also a ton of fun had with tabletop games this year. Mostly it was the reliable standards (D&D, Arkham Horror LCG), but thanks to the holidays, I'm starting to delve into some intriguing new ones as well (The King's Dilemma, Cthulhu: Death May Die).

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better year, and I can only hope that the trend continues. Happy gaming! Well, unless you're playing NORCO.

The State of the Art: Movies 2022

Usually, the post about movies is the last list of the year. If culture still has hierarchies, The Art of Cinema is generally considered to be at the top (though I'd argue that in recent years, television has taken that mantle). All this to say that movies will not be the grand finale post this year, because frankly, I saw precisely one terrific movie this year, and the rest were fine to mediocre. So what was that terrific movie? Longtime readers will know that I'm very stingy with the A+ grades. I only give them out if I can't think of a single thing I'd change. Well, welcome to that exclusive club, Everything Everywhere All at Once!

Equal parts funny, heartbreaking, exciting, thoughtful, and hopeful, this movie has absolutely no competition for best of the year. The story of Evelyn Wang and her family traversing a countless number of parallel universes in order to confront a threat that is pure nihilism sounds completely bonkers. And it is! But it's never confusing or disorienting, and journeying alongside Evelyn as she learns that love and understanding are often the best ways to break down seemingly insurmountable barriers brought tears to my eyes even on second viewing. Plus, the movie just looks cool as hell, and is impeccably acted by every single person in it.

Let's get to the rest of the list! A couple of caveats: I didn't see a huge amount of movies in 2022, so it's likely there are some out there I haven't gotten to yet that would rank highly on the list, though I don't see how anything could come remotely close to Everything Everywhere All at Once. Also, the grades below reflect my opinion of the movie's quality - not how much fun it was to watch them. If I ranked on the fun scale, getting together with friends to watch incomprehensible fever dreams like Moonfall and House would be much higher. So, for 2022 movies:

Everything Everywhere All at Once (A+)
Glass Onion (A-)

Enola Holmes 2 (B+)

The Bob's Burgers Movie (B+)

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (B+)

Werewolf by Night (B+)

See How They Run (B)

Fire Island (B)

The Adam Project (B)

Catherine Called Birdy (B)

Hocus Pocus 2 (B-)

Seeing Red (B-)

A Christmas Story Christmas (C)

Kimi (C)

Falling For Christmas (C)

Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (C)

Moonfall (D+)

And for the pre-2022 movies:

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021) (B+)
Kajillionaire (2020) (B+)
Free Guy (2021) (B+)

Spider Man: No Way Home (2021) (B)

The French Dispatch (2021) (B)

The Power of the Dog (2021) (B)

Luca (2021) (B-)

Dear Evan Hansen (2021) (B-)

The Darjeeling Limited (2007) (C+)

The Shadow on the Window (1957) (C+)

Don't Look Up (2021) (C+)

The Eternals (2021) (C+)

Ruthless People (1986) (C)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) (C-)

The Matrix Resurrections (2021) (D+)

House (1977) (D+)

Christmas in New York (2005) (F)

The State of the Art: Books 2022

The two things I generally start with when assessing my year of reading is 1) Did I read enough books to avoid embarrassing myself, and 2) What's the "theme" of the year, if any? As to the first question, I'm in the clear; 28 books isn't bad. I mean, it would be if you were my sister, but she doesn't play video games, so it's not hard to see where all that extra reading time vanished to. As to the second question, as a recap, themes in previous years were:

2019: "Anywhere But Here"
2020: "Dealing with Loss"
2021: "What We Owe to Each Other"

In looking at the reading list for 2022, I'd have to say that an overarching theme is "Look Behind the Curtain". In many areas of life, from love to sex to sickness to crime to grief to death, how we respond to society's expectations of what our reactions should be aren't always so cut and dried. If there's one thing a lot of these books have in common, it's a re-examination of how we internally process the challenges life throws at us, and how we package our reactions into acceptable stories to tell others. Of course, there's also a handful of books that were just for giggles, so let's get to the list!

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (2018) (Stuart Turton) (A-)
Anxious People (2019) (Fredrik Backman) (A-)
A Suitable Boy (Vikram Seth) (1993) (A-)
The Glass Hotel (2020) (Emily St. John Mandel) (A-)

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper (Hallie Rubenhold) (2019) (B+)
Poison for Breakfast (2021) (Lemony Snicket) (B+)
Mexican Gothic (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) (2020) (B+)
Three Left Turns to Nowhere (Jeffrey Ricker, J. Marshall Freeman, 'Nathan Burgoine) (2022) (B+)
Providence (2020) (Max Barry) (B+)
Hits & Misses (2018) (Simon Rich) (B+)

American Fire (2017) (Monica Hesse) (B)
Red, White & Royal Blue (Casey McQuiston) (2019) (B)
The Midnight Library (Matt Haig) (2020) (B)
The Final Girl Support Group (Grady Hendrix) (2021) (B)
Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America (2012) (Gustavo Arellano) (B)
Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration (Bryan Caplan, Zach Weinersmith) (2019) (B)
Moonflower Murders (Anthony Horowitz) (2020) (B)
I Hold a Wolf by the Ears (2020) (Laura van den Berg) (B)

The Windfall (2017) (Diksha Basu) (B-)
Manhattan Beach (2017) (Jennifer Egan) (B-)
Snobs (Julian Fellowes) (2004) (B-)
It Wasn't Me (2018) (Dana Alison Levy) (B-)
The Elephant Vanishes (1993) (Haruki Murakami) (B-)
No One is Talking About This (2021) (Patricia Lockwood) (B-)

Slow Horses (Mick Herron) (2010) (C+)
Full Service (Scotty Bowers) (2001) (C+)
The Grammarians (2019) (Cathleen Schine) (C+)
Alive (Scott Stigler) (2015) (C-)
Ghouls of the Miskatonic (Graham McNeill) (2011) (Abandoned)

The State of the Art: Television 2022

What a strange year this has been. Normally, the post about television would be one of the last ones posted, either because it's battling it out with the movies post as the Grand Finale, because there are additional shows I'm desperate to wrap up before the list gets finalized, or both. But in looking at the list of shows I watched in 2022, not many of them, even among the ones that have higher grades, elicited much of a reaction. There are standouts, of course, but in general, my opinion about most television this year could be summed up as "Yeah, that was fairly good."

Whatever the reason is, even if I'm not doing cartwheels over the majority of television I watched in 2022, it was a good, solid year, with more to like than dislike. And for those shows that did distinguish themselves as outstanding, one stands above the rest.

Sadly, even as I went about putting together my list for the year, the news of HBO Max's continued implosion spelled (hopefully temporary) doom for Minx, which had an absolutely incredible first season. Minx is about Joyce Prigger, a journalist in 1970s Los Angeles, who cannot get any traction with her strident articles about women's liberation, but finds a way to get her message out by teaming up with an open-minded smut peddler, and inserting her pieces into the first magazine with naked men.

Some of the other shows at the top of my list highlighted a singular point of view consistently well. Minx, however, somehow found a way to strike a balance in exploring the depths of feminism, race, sexual orientation, censorship, misogyny, capitalism, and other Big Topics while still being charming and hilarious. Plus, naked dudes. What's not to like?

There were other excellent shows this year as well. Tuca & Bertie went from absurd and breezy to absurd and deeply emotional. The razor-sharp dialogue in Harley Quinn made it the biggest surprise of the year; I never expected an ultra-violent cartoon to become my favorite entry into the lackluster DC universe, but it's amazing. And of course, watching Quinta Brunson's rise from mild internet fame, up through a terrific stint in A Black Lady Sketch Show, and into the limelight with Abbott Elementary has done my heart a world of good.

Let's get to the full list! Unlike in years past, I'll just put everything into one list instead of separating out the 2022 shows. That way, we can see what truly rises to the top.

Minx (Season 1) (2022) (A)
Tuca & Bertie (Season 2) (2021) (A)
Harley Quinn (Season 1-3) (2020, 2022) (A)
Abbott Elementary (Season 1) (2022) (A)
Love Life (Season 2) (2021) (A-)
Derry Girls (Season 3) (2022) (A-)
Bridgerton (Season 2) (2022) (A-)

Only Murders in the Building (Season 2) (2022) (B+)

Bob's Burgers (Season 13) (2022) (B+) [still airing]

Tuca & Bertie (Season 3) (2022) (B+)

The Bear (Season 1) (2022) (B+)

Love Life (Season 1) (2020) (B+)

Our Flag Means Death (Season 1) (2022) (B+)
Over the Garden Wall (Season 1) (2014) (B+)

Reboot (Season 1) (2022) (B+)

The Kids in the Hall (2022) (B+)

Ms. Marvel (Season 1) (2022) (B+)

Steven Universe: Future (2019) (B+)

Murderville (Season 1) (2022) (B+)

What We Do in the Shadows (Season 4) (2022) (B)

Seinfeld (Season 6-9) (1994-1997) (B)

DuckTales (Season 3) (2020) (B)

Archive 81 (Season 1) (2022) (B)

A Black Lady Sketch Show (Season 3) (2022) (B)

Q-Force (Season 1) (2021) (B)
Russian Doll (Season 2) (2022) (B)

The Midnight Club (Season 1) (2022) (B)

Dollface (Season 2) (2022) (B)

The Great British Baking Show (Season 13) (2022) (B)

Three Busy Debras (Season 1-2) (2020, 2022) (B)

Indian Matchmaking (Season 2) (2022) (B)
Wedding Season (Season 1) (2022) (B-)

The Movies that Made Us (Season 1) (2019) (B-)

She-Hulk (Season 1) (2022) (C+)

The Golden Palace (Season 1) (1992) (C)

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (Season 1) (2022) (C-)

Moon Knight (Season 1) (2022) (C-)

The State of the Art: Movies 2021

2021 is such a weird mishmash of a year in all facets of society, movies included. Are we in the mood for Weighty, Important Topics? Breezy comedies? Heartfelt emotional stories? Classics? Should we support theaters? Stay home and stream everything? It's likely the environment I saw these movies in had an effect on how they struck me. For instance, my #1 of the year was seen in a theater in which we were told to keep our masks on the entire time, with no concessions allowed, and nobody seated anywhere near us. Would the same movie have elicited such a strong response if I were stretched out on the couch at home? Who knows?

However things would have shaken out, it's a good thing we saw Encounter the way we did, because it is pure atmosphere. This tense thriller about a veteran who essentially kidnaps his children from his ex-wife, and sets out on a cross-country road trip in order to protect them from alien invasion was so suspenseful, I was clenched in fight-or-flight anticipation for the entire running time. I didn't unclench until the end credits rolled. There are so many clichés that this movie could have relied on, and smartly avoided. Riz Ahmed gives a terrific performance, and you're never quite sure how much his character can be trusted. 

Let's get to the the full ranking of 2021 movies:

Encounter (A-)
Encanto (A-)
Belfast (B+)
Pig (B+)
Black Widow (B+)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (B+)
Being the Ricardos (B)
Dune (B)
In the Heights (B)
To All the Boys (Always and Forever) (B)
Nightbooks (B)
The Mitchells vs. the Machines (B)
West Side Story (B-)
Cruella (B-)
Reminiscence (C+)
Godzilla vs. Kong (C)

I also got to a fair amount of pre-2021 movies from a wide range of genres:

The Final Girls (2015) (B+)

The Painter and the Thief (2020) (B+)

Crooked House (2017) (B+)

My Octopus Teacher (2020) (B+)

Enola Holmes (2020) (B)

Emma (2020) (B)

Phantom Thread (2017) (B-)

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) (B-)

Tenet (2020) (B-)

Step Up (2006) (B-)

Strictly Ballroom (1992) (C+)

Black Christmas (2019) (C+)

How She Move (2007) (C-)