There has been some great TV shows during 2018 and then again, there was some diabolical rubbish but what I like may differ to you out there. I love a good drama and the BBC had an incredible year for drama, turning out a succession of excellent and ambitious series.
A disappointment straight in there was Wanderlust; it was heavily promoted on the BBC as something akin to Sodom and Gomorrah a right sex fest. It could hardly be called that, if you were looking for sex forget it what little there was unspectacular. That said the cast
were good and I enjoyed the story line about open marriage.
Skulduggery seemed to be the order of the day with the BBC last year. Bodyguard was a twisty piece of work and a damn good thriller. Former soldier played by Richard Madden as Sergeant David Budd, an Afghanistan war veteran and Protection Command bodyguard. He is assigned to protect a controversial politician and Home Secretary was masterfully tense, loaded with twists and - at times - quite preposterous but this was a TV thriller. I loved how TV shows like ‘Good Morning Britain’ would drag some real/former bodyguard into the studio to quiz them if it was true to life.
It was also a monstrous hit, you had to watch weekly no binge watching, and the nation glued to their tellies with 10.4 million watching the first episode, never losing the audience and becoming
the most watched new TV UK drama since 2006.
Then there was Killing Eve and more skulduggery of a different kind. Penned by actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge, she of the comedy ‘Fleabag’ who throws out a line and drags in a willing audience. So here comes Killing Eve, where plots take the second place and the focus goes to the characters dynamic and their tongue-in-cheek dialogues, making this show different, fresh and entertaining.
Villanelle is a very professional hit-girl killer who becomes involved in a cat-and-mouse relationship with the MI5 officer on her trail. A hit on both sides of the Atlantic, a second season has already been commissioned and in the can. Other homegrown heavy-hitter was Russell T Davies' fascinating A Very English Scandal, which delved into one of the most bewildering episodes in British political history, with plenty of jokes and arguably Hugh Grant's finest screen performance playing Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe accused of conspiracy to murder his gay ex-lover and forced to stand trial in 1979.
Doctor Who divided fans, as the new Doctor was a bird/female with people taking sides before she reached its first TV airing. Undoubtedly the most talked about British show of the year, been on air for an astonishing 55 years now. Jodie Whittaker instantly made the part her own, and had excellent back up in the form of, er, game show host Bradley Walsh - who saw that one coming? - As well as two younger friends.
There was so much at excited me in 2018 from one of dramas to series. One series is the fantastic Peaky Blinders and Lucifer the first non-BBC show I have mentioned now been made by Netflix after been drop by Fox channel. The History Channel Vikings is back soon a historical drama has a cult following of fans who love the stories of Norse heroes and the legendary Viking chief Ragnar Lothbrok. The Walking Dead the iconic apocalyptic series of vampires may not have Rick in the lead but there are plenty of strong characters to carry on and the Game of Thrones back this year for its last series people can't get enough of Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow, and the ultimate battle between the living and the dead.
Something I wished I has never set my eyes on even for the opening episode was the offering from Sky One, Britannia, it was truly crap. As with Bodyguard, it proved that streaming sites don't have the monopoly on great television that captures the public's imagination - not yet, at least. Will that still be the case in 2019?
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