Ed Martin's Top 25 Programs of 2022 -- Part Two

Pam ampamp Tommy Hulu pictured at top This limited series about the tumultuous 3990sera relationship between rocker Tommy Lee and actress Pamela Anderson during her Baywatch heyday and the ordeal they endured following the video and online release of their infamous sex tape was sexy funny infuriating thoughtprovoking and when the focus was on Anderson unexpectedly moving reminding us in the era of socalled influencers that pop icons are people too Lily James was a revelation as Pam but one might argue that Sebastian Stan stole the show as Tommy especially in the scene where he has a heart to heart with a very perky and personable body partAndor Disney Given the dizzying output of science fiction and superhero series on Disney it should come as no surprise when genre fatigue sets in But then Disney hits a genuine home run as with the Marvel entry WandaVision and more recently Andor fresh from that galaxy far far away and everything is energized all over again I don39t think any Star Wars production has more closely captured the spirit of the very first and still the best movie Episode IV A New Hope back in 1977 than this one Diego Luna is terrific in the lead role of Cassian a serious young man of humble beginnings on a path to greater things than he might imagine amp8230 not unlike young Luke Skywalker Yes it would help if the writers developed Cassian a bit more amp8230 but that once was true of Luke too and look how he turned outBad Sisters Apple TV Series creator producer writer and star Sharon Horgan pulls no punches with the saga of the Garvey sisters whose troubles began with the sudden deaths of their parents many years ago and piled on from there Some call Bad Sisters a dark comedy others a thriller Both are correct but above all I would categorize it as an uncommonly insightful human drama Watch a few episodes of this show and you39ll realize how often those words are overusedHouse of the Dragon HBOHBO Max I39m in the camp that felt we didn39t need more Game of Thrones as its onceformidable narrative couldn39t even hold up during the original39s flawed final season I mean who needs another battle for the iron seat with all the attendant ultraviolence House of the Dragon though is slowly proving me wrong I39m not there yet but if this story of the reign of House Targaryen keeps the flying firebreathing beasts coming I expect I will beThe Dropout Hulu I hadn39t heard of Theranos before this Hulu limited series came along one that as with the same streamer39s Dopesick everyone should see In fact when I first heard the word I flashed on a certain formidable foe from the MCU Theranos was a privately held health technology company founded by a wildly ambitious teenager that came to be valued somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 billion even though the breakthrough technology that it claimed to have created which arguably would have put millions of people on affordable and convenient paths to better health didn39t actually exist as promoted Elizabeth Holmes the crafty and calculating young woman at the center of it all was played to electric perfection by Amanda Seyfried who took home an Emmy Award for her performance As with Julia Garner39s portrayal of Anna Delvey another master manipulator in Netflix39s Inventing Anna Seyfried39s triumph was all about the voiceWinning Time The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty HBOHBO Max The highest praise I can give to this selfexplanatory drama series is that it held my attention from minute one even though my personal interest in dramatic truelife sports stories pretty much started and stopped with the 1971 ABC TV movie Brian39s Song Of course the seventies vibe that pulsed throughout Winning was more fun than I imagined it would be John C Reilly gave what may be the television performance of the year as late team owner Jerry Buss newcomer Quincy Isaiah excelled in his engaging portrayal of a young Magic Johnson and the cast included the always welcome Sally Field too So all that helpedThis Is Going to Hurt AMC It39s a shame AMC Networks ended 2022 on such a turbulent note because it had a great year with the series finales of Better Call Saul which included new details about the classic series Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead though the fearsome franchise is far from finished as well as the premiere of the scary good Interview with the Vampire the first entry in its universe of Anne Rice novel adaptations and this engrossing comedydrama about the overextended young doctors at a chaotic National Service Hospital It39s based on the memoir of former doctor Adam Kay who left medicine after enduring a particularly traumatic event He39s played by Ben Whishaw who delivers yet another careerbest performanceDAHMER Monster The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Netflix In this streaming supersmash from Ryan Murphy the stifling details of cannibalistic serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer39s apartment and the ghastly events that occurred within felt almost documentarylike You could smell the madness as it permeated the building just like Glenda Cleveland the woman who lived next door to Dahmer portrayed here in an awardworthy performance by Niecy NashBetts DAHMER39s weird clunky title didn39t stop it from becoming one of Netflix39s mostviewed shows ever Coming off his Emmy Awardwinning work in HBO39s Mare of Easttown not to mention his various freaky roles in FX39s American Horror Story star Evan Peters once again proved that he is one of our most versatile young actorsDays of Our Lives NBCPeacock NBC marked the start of the quottraditional fall television seasonquot in September by moving some say quotexilingquot its longrunning and only remaining daytime drama to Peacock also the home of the wacky Days companion franchise Beyond Salem and the memorable holiday movie A Very Salem Christmas It39s tough to tell yet if this move was fatal for Days or if it has drawn much needed attention to NBCU39s streamer But the episodes that have been running on Peacock since September were we are told already produced for airing on NBC so we have yet to see what head writer Ron Carlivati and his talented team will do with the unbridled creative freedom that streaming allows Absent the restrictions of broadcast television will it be more outrageous Sexier More provocative We won39t know until the quotstreamworthyquot episodes begin in February Until then we can only wonder if the quotthreewaysquot from that startling October episode really were intended for daytime broadcast on NBC or if they were edited into an existing episode to spice things up early in Days39 Peacock run They are pictured above One was rather long the other very short and I39m not going to tell you which was whichDancing with the Stars Disney The other broadcast favorite that was quottransferredquot to streaming was ABC39s longrunning competition Dancing with the Stars which has a new home on Disney It was a sensational season Charli D39Amelio Shangela Natasha Selma Blair39s triumph Len39s farewell but I don39t believe that moving it off its longtime broadcast platform did it any favors at all I39d like to see it move back to ABC where it belongs If it must continue to stream wouldn39t it be a better fit on HuluGarcia HBO Max The characters in this cinematic graphic novel adaptation might seem more at home in the MCU than a television series from Spain The title character in this entertaining import is a supersoldier I mean superspy who was cryogenically frozen 50 years ago and thawed out in the present sound familiar Cap fans Fighting the bad guys immediately resumes absent knowledge of the many changes in the world that occurred while he was out of it The main character is actually a driven female reporter named Antonia It39s been a great year for formidable women reporters in scripted shows See also ABC39s Alaska Daily and Netflix39s Inventing Anna Veki Velilla as Antonia and Francisco Ortiz as Garcia are just great togetherAmerica39s Got Talent NBCPeacock Still my favorite competition series and for me the only broadcast series that makes summer viewing fun As exciting and joyful as it is though it39s the heartfelt stories told by some of the contestants and their desire to dedicate their performances to loved ones they have lost that keeps me fully engaged Simon Cowell Heidi Klum Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara remain the best panel of judges on any reality show and Terry Crews is the ideal hostYoung Sheldon CBSParamount Now in its sixth season this underappreciated prequel to The Big Bang Theory remains a unique treasure shedding ever more insight into the mind of the adult Sheldon Cooper by expanding its focus on the family members who shaped the distinctive grown up that young Sheldon would become The storylines this year involving older brother George Jr trying his heartfelt best to process the fact that he is about to become a teenage dad Meemaw running her own shady business and Mary at odds with the congregation at her beloved church have added unexpected depth and surprising grace to this still very funny show Watching Ian Armitage grow into the title role is still great fun and I treasure every scene with Zoe Perry and Annie Potts Plus Jim Parsons continues to give us the best TV narration since Sarah Jessica Parker on Sex and the CityClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Ed Martin's Top 25 Programs of 2022 -- Part Two

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