Top 25 Programs of 2019, Part Three

No 15 Catch22 HuluI never cared for Mike Nicholsamp8217 1970 movie adaptation of Joseph Helleramp8217s seminal 1961 novel about a young World War II pilot overwhelmed by the absurdity and absolute horror of waramp160 But in 2008 I was fortunate enough to see an OffBroadway stage adaptation in the intimate environs of New York Cityamp8217s Lucille Lortel Theatre that stayed with me ever since amp160It put the audience in the center of the action emotion and madness that the story comingles to magnificent effect amp160For eleven years I believed it would be the best production of Catch22 that I would ever see in any medium until Hulu came along this year with a humdinger of a miniseries that sent me back to the novel for a second read the first having taken place in high schoolamp160 Christopher Abbott pictured above gave a fearless complex performance as bombardier John Yossarian who fails at multiple attempts to prove that he is mentally unfit for battleamp160 George Clooney also an executive producer of the project and Kyle Chandler lent able support seemingly having as good a time as Leonard DiCaprio and Brad Pitt must have had while filming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood amp160This is the rare film or television adaptation of a classic novel that remainsamp160respectful of its source while making it feel a bit more contemporary at the same time amp8211 without compromising historical accuracy or period detailamp160 That is to say it felt like literature come to lifeNo 14 amp8211 Years and Years HBOHBO very quietly opened up its Monday night this year with a string of fine drama series and limited series that could have thrived on its prime Sunday night real estateamp160 Itamp8217s as if they didnamp8217t know what they had with some of these shows which included Chernobyl Gentleman Jack Catherine the Great and several moreamp160 At the top of the list goes one of the most original series of this or any other year Years and Years the latest brainchild from the scary smart and supertalented Russell T Davies Queer as Folk Doctor Who A Very English Scandalamp160 This timejumping tale of one British family navigating the sometimes lethal lunacy of a very exaggerated version of real life in which Donald Trump launches a nuclear strike against North Korea young people selfidentify as transhuman and transition into digital constructs and citizens form resistance movements against dangerous egodriven leaders was a showcase for Emma Thompson a firebreathing marvel as one such amp160opportunistic politician Russell Tovey and a host of other fine actors amp160Simultaneously expansive and intimate this provocative gem proved to be both emotionally devastating and at times deliriously funny and it explored the human condition like few shows before it amp160I would expect no less from Daviesamp160 What a shame that it wonamp8217t continue for years and years to comeNo 13 amp8211 The Marvelous Mrs Maisel AmazonItamp8217s still a sparkling bit of cinematic magic disguised as a TV show and Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein continue to give two of the most reliably entertaining performances in any medium amp160But I am concerned amp160I have only seen the first few episodes of Season 3 gotta save something nice for the holidays and it seems to be off to a problematic start with particularly odd storyline choices for Midgeamp8217s parents Abe and Roseamp160 Heamp8217s quit his job at Columbia and has filled the Weissman home with selfish beatniks sheamp8217s traipsing around oil fields in the Midwest arguing with her relatives and turning down her share of the family fortuneamp160 Midgeamp8217s husband Joel meanwhile is opening a club in a less than perfect Chinatown locationamp160 None of this feels right or remotely familiar nor is any of it very funnyamp160 Fortunately whenever we see Midge on tour with popular singer Shy Baldwin Leroy McClain and manager Susie attempting to cope with bossy client Sophie Lennon Jane Lynch Mrs Maisel fills back up with enough life for it to remain on this or any other bestoftheyear listNo 12 Pose FXTony Awardwinner Billy Porter emerged as one of the top TV stars of the year portraying the vivacious explosively temperamental flamboyant and ferociously sexy Pray Tell emcee supreme in the throbbing underground ball culture of amp821670s and amp821680s Manhattan until Madonnaamp8217s hit anthem amp8220Vogueamp8221 brought it into the light in 1990 amp160In the process he became the first openly gay black actor to win an Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series breaking yet another barrieramp160 Pose in its sophomore season also continued to make history for featuring the largest ensemble of trans actors ever assembled for a scripted television seriesamp160 On a more sobering note it is also the first ongoing scripted program in which so many of the characters viewers have come to care about have been stricken by a deadly diseaseamp160 As one character after another contracted HIV viewers of a certain age were reminded of the great pain and daily horror of what are known today as the plague years while those too young to have experienced such perpetual loss hopefully learned a lifesaving lesson or two amp160Right behind Porter in terms of growing recognition were his costars Mj Rodriguez above right and Indya Moore above leftamp160 Pose makes magic but it also makes stars amp160No 11 amp8211 The Crown NetflixHave you had enough of earnest dramas about the royal familyamp160 Yesamp160 Me tooamp160 Iamp8217ll be good if I never see another one but having said that I have to hand it to The Crown which started out very strong and has continued to impress season after season especially this year when roles had to be recast to accommodate the aging of its characters amp160The results have been extraordinary particularly the additions of Olivia Colman fresh off her Academy Awardwinning performance in The Favourite and her Emmy nominated performance in Fleabag as Queen Elizabeth and Tobias Menzies as Prince Philipamp160 Spanning 196477 and introducing to the canvas several young individuals who remain in the news to this day this grand historical drama now seems a little more current which adds something new to the experience of watching what had been just another superb historical dramaamp160 And to go back to Ms Colman what a time she is havingamp160 Has any actor or actress ever starred in a drama series costarred in a comedy series and starred in a feature film for which she won an Academy Award amp8211 all in the same yearNext upamp160 Programs 106Click the social buttons above or below 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 writersamp160

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Top 25 Programs of 2019, Part Three

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Ed Martin

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