I’m still catching up on reviews of recent genre entertainment, but last weekend marked a definite changing of the guard on television. No, I’m not talking about the Emmys, which I ignored, just as the academy has ignored Tatiana Maslany’s excellent Orphan Black performances (with Person of Interest, among the best shows of this past year, IMHO).
First was the third season finale of Avatar: the Legend of Korra, which I watched online because Nickelodeon has dropped the animated fantasy. It was bittersweet, because this season has been that show’s strongest yet in terms of character development and plotting.
Sure, Legend of Korra has continued the spectacular world-building and action of its progenitor, Avatar: the Last Airbender, but its first two seasons lurched from one set-piece battle to the next, its leads took a while to mature, and its villains’ motivations weren’t well explained.
It’s also a shame that Legend of Korra hit its stride just as Nickelodeon abandoned it. The finale was rushed, with the duel between the eponymous heroine and dangerous anarchists quickly wrapping things up, with no mention of the crossover between the physical and spirit realms that had marked the season opener.
I look forward to a fourth season, which is reportedly in the works, but it’s too bad that the Avatar universe hasn’t gotten the recognition (or the live-action adaptation) it deserves.
On a related note, I’ve almost finished watching the final episodes of the computer-animated Star Wars: Clone Wars, which has managed to maintain a high level of quality even after Cartoon Network dumped it online. If this is part of a trend, that’s bad news for genre fans; even as a few shows such as Game of Thrones are mainstream hits, other worthy ones will again struggle to find audiences and sponsors.
I’ve argued for a while now that, as with The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, George Lucas, Genndy Tartakovsky, and Dave Filoni’s creation has patched any problems from the franchise’s most recent films. There are more hours of well-crafted entertainment from Clone Wars than in any of the less-popular Star Wars prequels.
Even though Disney/Lucasfilm/Marvel has decided to ignore most of the so-called Expanded Universe, Clone Wars has put that space opera on solid storytelling ground, and I look forward to Disney XD’s Star Wars: Rebels.
Last but not least was the latest season premiere of Doctor Who, with the first full episode featuring Peter Capaldi as the Time Lord. I like an older Doctor, who reminds me of the courtly Jon Pertwee with a bit of Christopher Eccleston’s edge.
On the other hand, the frenetic pacing and reuse of the “Paternoster Gang” and clockwork villains seemed to be an attempt by producer Steven Moffat to convince the BBC and some fans that elements from David Tennant and Matt Smith’s popular runs will continue.
It’s no surprise that Jenna Coleman will be leaving after this year’s celebration and transition, even as her character, the plucky Clara Oswald, has had to come to grips that the good Gallifreyan no longer appears as a young swain. I hope that the stories are more tightly written in the coming series/season.
What genre TV shows were your favorites this past year, and what are you looking forward to this fall?
Gene's Worlds 