Time to go into what's probably the longest of my year-end lists: TV Shows, which honestly are just streaming episodic shows. Not sure why we still think of them as television programs.
Echo - It wasn't as bad as Secret Invasion. But it wasn't nearly as good as the majority of the small screen MCU stuff, and that isn't the fault of the actors.
Reacher Season 2 - The show remains solid, and I really like the actor who plays the lead. I watched it so early in the year that I can't remember a lot other than liking it.
Amazing Stories - This is a five-episode anthology on Apple TV that came out in 2020. I just watched it early this year, and while not every episode is great, some are very good. The first episode, The Cellar, is very thematically similar to the old Christopher Reeve film Somewhere in Time, and I liked it a lot. Episode two, The Heat, is more like The Patrick Swayze film Ghost, and I liked that one too. Episode three, Dynoman and the Volt, is just okay. The last two, Signs of Life and The Rift I barely remember anything about, other than that I wasn't impressed. Still, the series is great and you should check out at least the first couple episodes.
True Detective: Night County - Other than the season with Mahershala Ali, which I think was season three, I haven't seen any of the seasons of True Detective all the way through. But I watched and enjoyed this one. It was an interesting and freaky story.
Fall of the House of Usher - This Netflix series, based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, had an incredible cast. Mary McDonnell is a legend, Bruce Greenwood is one of those faces you'll recognize immediately, although I wouldn't have known his name, and Mark Hamill is always amazing. It's also got T'Nia Miller, who I recognize from The Diplomat and The Peripheral, but mostly from the amazing miniseries Years and Years, which is on my list of the best television shows of all time.
The 3 Body Problem - I read Cixin Liu's novel The Three-Body Problem years ago, and very much enjoyed it. While the Netflix show does make some alterations, primarily in the gender and nationality of many of its characters, I think it works as this makes the story more about planet Earth rather than just about China. I enjoyed it - especially the insane set piece in episode five - and I'm looking forward to a second season.
Three Body - Amazon's Chinese-produced version of Cixin Liu's story was very different than the U.S.-produced version on Netflix. It was far truer to the original novel, and happened almost entirely in China. It was also a much slower story, taking thirty episodes rather than six. But I enjoyed it despite the requirement that I watch subtitles to understand what was happening. I appreciated that bits of the story's humor worked despite the language barrier. I did find it odd that the main character viewed his own family as completely unimportant.
Wasteland - While it was well-done and represented the video game franchise well, it didn't blow me away. I liked the robots, I liked the ghouls, and I liked the different vaults. But where are the supermutants? Where are the deathclaws? I guess I'll need to wait for season two.
Dark Matter - An intriguing interdimensional travel show, with a character moving between alternate parallel universes. This is generally very much my bailiwick, but this show didn't overly impress me.
Supacell - Souf London, Bruv! I watched Supacell after hearing positive buzz. I found it to be a lot like Misfits, which also took place in England. That and the old school show Heroes. Characters get superpowers and have to come together to stop the bad guys. It was entertaining, anyway.
The Acolyte - A well put-together Star Wars show. I'd put it above Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka, but below The Mandalorian and Andor. I was very impressed by Lee Jung-jae as an actor, and I hope to see him in more roles outside Korea.
Murder at the End of the World - I watched this series on a recommendation from a friend. I found it to be very remniscent of The O.A., which I suppose shouldn't surprise me given that they're both the work of Brit Marling. The show was a well put-together murder mystery with some bits of side craziness, even if it had nothing as crazy as the bonkers "spells" they cast in The O.A.
Avatar: The Last Airbender - After the nightmare that was 2010's The Last Airbender, the Netflix live-action take on what I consider to be one of the best television shows ever made was a breath of fresh air. I watched the series with my two daughters, who are both massive fans of the original animated series, and we loved it. We watched a good bit of it with Angelica, and I could see her enjoying how emphatically we all appreciated the easter eggs such as the cabbage guy or the singers in the cave of two lovers.
The Boys, Season 4 - I don't know whether it's my imagination or if this show really is more violent and edgy now than it was in its first season. The BDSM orgy which took place to soft rock was hilarious and borderline hard to watch at times. I enjoyed the show, but I'm hoping it doesn't get too many more seasons. It risks jumping the shark.
Agatha All Along - The first Marvel show I've seen in what feels like forever. And it's a good one. Possibly top five, although I'd need to make a list to be sure, and I'll need to re-watch it to cement an opinion.
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - A solid second season, although the first episode was a rough start. I liked the subplot with Sauron. the elves, and the dwarves more than the subplot with Gandalf and the Harfoots, but overall it's an excellent show, and I look forward to a third season.
Silo, Season Two - I'm only a few episodes in, and I don't recall the book well enough to know how closely the show's plot is staying to the original story, but I'm enjoying it. Time will tell how the rest of the season holds up.