2020 In Review, Part Three
Down The Tubes…
Given that I have spent the last twelve years as a receptionist listening to music for most hours of the afternoon, you would assume that I would be better equipped to handle the malaise of isolation offered by this whole lockdown situation better than most.
That being said, even I can’t spend all of my days simply listening to new things, so for fear of my fragile brain burning out from too much information both music-wise and horrible-world-outside-wise, further methods of distraction had to be deployed…
Or rather, I also watched quite a bit of serial television and long-form YouTube this year.
Truth be told, most of my time spent in front of the TV was used as a mental pacifier more than anything else with comfortably idle re-watches of familiar favourites reminding me of happier times, the main culprits here being Allison Pregler’s hilarious Baywatching series on YouTube (a commentary-based retrospective wherein she recaps and reviews every single episode of Baywatch and its spin-off Baywatch Nights, the poor fool) and the mighty Community, on which a fourth re-watch is currently pending (while we all wait for that elusive movie, of course).
Despite myself though, I was able to get some new stuff within my ocular range too; so, for a little bit of a break from the music, here is a clutch of audio-visual contributions from 2020 that piqued my interests most prominently.
Top 5 YouTubers Of 2020
Jenny Nicholson
In spite of what you might make of her carefree vlog-style presentation, her vast collection of plush toys or her excitable delivery at first, Jenny Nicholson’s critiques on some of the more random examples of pop culture ephemera are some of the sharpest you will find on YouTube. Whether she is bemusedly absorbing unhinged fan fiction, charting the professional downfall of a handicraft channel host or driving across the US to pick up a giant cuddly spider, her enthusiasm is charming enough to help you enjoy any rabbit-hole she ends up taking you down, even if you can never really be sure if she is being ironic about her enjoyment of it all or not.
Joolz Guides Of London
Having first cut his teeth in the travel film game with his feature length documentary Take Me To Pitcairn, actor Julian McDonnell has since carved quite the niche for himself hosting his own travelogue series on YouTube, taking the viewer through various nooks and crannies found on the streets of his merry stomping ground of London (with the odd excursion abroad added for good measure too). Almost always walking off the tourist-beaten path, McDonnell offers wittily informative anecdotes on historical figures and events that helps to shine a light from a ribaldly refreshing angle on both London and the British Empire’s history.
Renegade Cut
Leon Thomas’ Renegade Cut series comprises of video essays dissecting popular media via political ideologies and landscapes, and whilst his work has been impressive enough since he started uploading videos in 2014, this year saw a marked uptick in quality and prescience, even if the reminder of recent events eerily being replayed through old sitcoms and movies proves to be a bit of the saddest kind of headfuck. The subject matter is often hard to stomach, but Thomas’ well-researched approach and warmly reasoned delivery makes its case each time with an undeniable assurance that is both wary for the present and hopeful for the future.
Trash Theory
Keeping up with current music trends as diligently as when they are deep-diving into key moments in pop music history, Trash Theory’s channel is a treasure trove of pop music analysis that will find favour with both nostalgia-heads and keen-eared fad-hoppers alike. As well as featuring a vast amount of rare live performance and interview footage on each of their subjects, TT also gets to make pertinent points on pop music’s lineage and its influence on culture as a whole, all whilst retaining a sensitively droll voiceover that adroitly tows the line between fervent and cool.
unamusedpirate
My last spot is a shout-out to a creator who came out of nowhere to upload my favourite long-form YouTube video of the year in the form of a retrospective documentary about the secretive electronica outfit Boards Of Canada. Working as both a studious memoir and the best fan-made mixtape to yet be conceived for the band, it charts the duo’s origins, influences and successes by piecing together standout tracks, rare bootlegs that may or may not be real, remixes and promo materials into the kind of atmospheric what-the-what that fits the band’s aura of unsettlingly comforting ambience perfectly.
Top 6 TV Shows Of 2020
DEVS – BBC/FX
Fitting in nicely amongst his stunning directorial debut Ex Machina and the severely underrated Annihilation, DEVS sees Alex Garland commit to the mini-series format impressively with a gorgeously mounted sojourn into fabled sci-fi themes of predestination, causality, free will and, of course, human nature. And even when the heady mix of time travel, predestination and corporate intrigue threatens to get too silly for all the handsomeness on display, an unnerving lead performance from Nick Offerman anchors the whole thing with an intense, red-eyed sadness.
I May Destroy You – BBC/HBO
Everything about Michaela Coel’s barnstorming drama is nothing less than a triumph, as much a celebration of the talent in front of and behind the camera bringing its multi-layered story to vivid life as it is a remonstration of the systemic toxicity and manipulation that permeates throughout everyday lives and relationships, personal and professional, via tradition or the media. Despite its uncompromising nature and frankness, it also offers humour and hope amongst its harrowing horrors, thanks to Cole’s box-fresh dialogue, intuitive character-writing and deeply charming performances from every member of her stellar cast.
Kingdom – Netflix
Premiering in 2019, Netflix’s period-action-zombie-apocalypse-drama (woof!) continued a-bloody-foot with its second season this year after one of the most frustrating cliff-hangers in recent memory and, thankfully, the potent mix of dark political intrigue and limb-ripping horror based in a sumptuously recreated Joseon-era Korea is very much intact. Granted, the sequences involving the lockdown of several provinces to contain the rabid infection may now give the show an even darker dimension than intended, but it still provides some of the most watchable fun that a strong stomach can ask for this year.
Schitt’s Creek – Netflix/PopTV
Well now, I would be positively bedevilled with resplendent delusion if I weren’t to include a few beauteous words about the hilarious saga of the Rose Video dynasty now, wouldn’t I? Going out not so much on a high note but rather a full Mariah Carey concert with encores, Dan Levy’s fish-out-of-water sitcom neatly tied up all its characters’ stories in its final season and became a much-needed resource of inclusive escapism, offsetting scabrous laughs and naughtiness with genuine heart and soul that was truly irresistible. And yes Moira, “Awards” really is the best season (well done, everybody!)
She-Ra & The Princesses Of Power – Netflix
Another show on Netflix about the power of love and inclusivity that ended this year was a reboot of a cartoon serial famous for its high-camp derring-do in the 1980s, though the difference here is that the queer coding isn’t so much innuendo as it is upfront, forthright and centre, imbuing the day-glo heroics with a refreshingly modern and involving emotional core. Standing alongside the likes of Adventure Time and Steven Universe, Noelle Stevenson and her team developed stories and characters so involving and multi-layered that the show registers as some of the best fantasy TV I’ve watched since Buffy The Vampire Slayer… yeah, it’s that good.
Small Axe – BBC/Amazon
Oscar winner Steve McQueen‘s anthology series of feature-length films sheds an incendiary light on key events and prominent figures from the West Indian community in London from the 1960s to the 1980s, each stand-alone episode imbued with a richness of filmmaking that is as rarely seen on mainstream television as the stories and characters they portray. Though there is much to individually savour in the committed performances of the cast and the production team’s rendering of the period (especially in the costumes and the soundtrack), it is the pervasive sense of frustration and anger underscoring each piece that holds this series together so arrestingly, McQueen and his crew towing a formidable line that never gives in to sensationalist shock tactics nor loses grip of the dramatic intensity as they grant the people and their stories the dignity they deserve.
2020 Hero Tribute #3
For helping to fight the good fight against white supremacy and homophobia, keeping people fed and inspired, and for The Flyyest Halloween Costume Of 2020 (Literally!)…
And that was my hour (or five at least) of TV for today; I’ll be finishing off my genre-based picks for the next entry… the end of 2020 is in sight, thankfully!
Stay safe… xxxo
