Marvel TV

2021: The Year of TV

For many, many years I’ve been saying I’m terrible at watching TV shows and generally speaking I am but that did change in 2021. I still haven’t watched many of the “big” shows like Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Wire, Succession, The Boys, Outlander – you name it, I probably haven’t seen it.

But in 2021 I watched more TV shows in their entirety than I have ever before in one year. In fact, I watched 31 different shows. Only two of them were continuations of shows I’d starter before 2021; Cobra Kai and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and one was a rewatch; W.I.T.C.H.

Here’s a list of all the shows I watched last year. they’re sort of in order of when I watched them though if there’s been a gap between when I watched various seasons of the same show, I’ve included it on the original listing. Like Cobra Kai I watched on 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021 – started and ended the year with my new favourite disaster man Johnny Lawrence.

– Cobra Kai season 3 and 4
– Derry Girls series 1 and 2
– Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 6 and 7
– Superstore season 1-6
– WandaVision
– The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
– Loki
– 9-1-1 season 1-4
– 9-1-1: Lone Star season 1-2
– Shadow and Bone S1
– Batwoman season 1-2 and first half of S3
– The Gifted S1-2
– Ted Lasso S1-2
– Mare of Easttown
– W.I.T.C.H. S1-2
– Chernobyl
– Turner & Hooch
– Big Shot
– What If…?
– Only Murders in the Building
– Doctor Who: Flux
– The Equalizer S1
– Jessica Jones S2-3
– Luke Cage S2
– Iron Fist S2
– Daredevil S3
– The Punisher S2
– Hawkeye
– Superman & Lois S1
– The Wheel of Time
– Alex Rider S1-2

My favourites that I watched this year were Chernobyl, Superstore, 9-1-1, Ted Lasso, Superman & Lois and, of course, Hawkeye (which I reviewed over on JumpCut Online). But really, I enjoyed pretty much everything I watched this year. I will say I found the first series of Alex Rider a bit of a slog but the second series was great and more than made up for the first.

I also finally caught up with and watched all the seasons of the various Marvel Netflix shows I’d just left by the wayside. That was something I’d definitely been talking about catching up on for years and I’m pleased I’ve finally done it. It was nice to revisit those characters and stories again after so long.

I think in 2021 the pandemic sort of caught up with and it was in 2021 when I found it difficult to concentrate on things like a two+ hour film or a 400-page book. So that’s why I turned to TV. A lot of the stuff I watched is around the 45-minute mark per episode if not shorter and I just found it easier to watch a few episodes in an evening than have to focus on a film. Plus, as I was working from home for the vast majority of the year, I would also watch an episode (or two depending when I got up) before work or during my lunch hour. So that definitely helped me watch more TV than normal.

As for what my TV-watching will be like in 2022? Well, I do want to make reading more of a priority this year so naturally films and TV may take a bit of a backseat which I’m fine with. I want to carry on with the shows that I’ve started, when the next series starts here in the UK so that’s Batwoman, Ted Lasso, 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star, Derry Girls, The Equalizer and whatever else might have a new series air at some point in 2022. I’m still kind of annoyed that the final season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine still hasn’t been aired here yet but at least that’s something to look forward to.

I’m not sure how many new-to-me shows I’ll end up watching in 2022. The thing is with the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime and the bog-standard TV channels, there’s so many shows out there that it is overwhelming. One new show I do have my eye on (and will maybe renew my subscription to Apple TV+ for it) is The Afterparty, that looks like fun and it has a lot of people I like in it.

Looking at what I’ve watched and enjoyed this year, if there’s any shows you’d recommend whether they’re new for 2022 or not, please do let me know. I won’t make any promises that I’ll watch them – especially if they’re in their fifth season with 20ish episodes a season (that’s super intimidating) – but as there’s so much out there it’s hard to know what’s good or not or where to begin. And who knows, I might like a show to fill my lunchbreaks again.

P is for Peggy Carter

peggy carterPeggy Carter is a badass. There’s no two ways about it, she’s smart, resourceful and can throw a punch.

Peggy may have been a love interest for Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger but she was always capable of looking after herself and she saved Steve just as many times as he saved her. Through having her own TV Show and having cameos in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, Ant-Man and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, you get to see how Peggy is a well-rounded character with flaws and how she can be feminine and kick ass at the same time – something that “strong female characters” aren’t always allowed to be.

While Peggy has been in the army and is now a spy so she’s had working relationships with men, some which are great and full of respect and some which aren’t respectful at all, it’s the way she can work in this man’s world but still have great relationships with women that I really love. There’s that thing that girls do (I admit, I’ve done it myself) where they say “I’m not like other girls and I prefer spending my time with boys because girls can be so bitchy” and Peggy Carter shows that doesn’t have to be the case. Yes she can fight which is a bit different to most female characters we see in her world but she still has great friendships with Angie, a civilian waitress, and Rose, a fellow agent who people underestimate because of how she looks.

Peggy Carter is awesome because she works hard and loves to prove people wrong but she can be stubborn and act rashly. She is a good person and a good spy but she still makes mistakes.

I love the fact that Peggy Carter has gotten her own TV show and I have my fingers crossed we will be getting a season three because how on earth can they leave it after that cliff-hanger in the season two finale?!

M is for Malcolm Ducasse

malcolm jessica jonesMalcolm Ducasse is a wonderful character. When you first meet him he’s the junkie who accidentally breaks into other people’s apartments when he’s trying to find his way to his own place but he ends up being so much more than that.

Malcolm is one of those characters that you think is going to be the butt of the shows jokes. When he breaks into one of his neighbours apartments it’s often seen as a comedic moment but as the show progresses and you find out why he’s such a mess it’s kind of heart-breaking. Malcolm does have some of the best lines though.

Malcolm is a really observant guy and because he seems like a joke and a mess people often don’t give him a second glance which allows him to pick up stuff about people. Malcolm is a sweet, caring person that has had some bad stuff happen to him. His friendship with Jessica Jones is amazing because in many ways they are complete opposites but they balance each other out and still care about each other a lot.

I just want to give Malcolm a hug!

J is for Jessica Jones

jessica jonesJessica Jones man. God she’s messed up and bitter and she has every right to be. She suffered a horrendous trauma but managed to come out of it with a bit of PTSD and an attitude where she won’t let anyone control and take advantage of her like that again.

Jessica is a sarcastic, cynical and sharp-tongued private investigator. Her methods are often unusual and she’s not afraid to throw a punch when cornered. Jessica’s “superpowers” are the fact she is incredibly physically strong and she can also jump great distances. Really though, I think her superpower is that no matter how tough things might be and how sometimes she really does feel like giving up, she still fights.

She’s a badass that still gets hurt, both physically and emotionally, but she works through it. Admittedly the way she works through it might not be the best way to do it, it often features a lot of whiskey and breaking things, but people cope in different ways and she has her best friend Trish Walker to help her, when Jessica lets her that is.

I’ve only seen the Jessica Jones Netflix TV show which I absolutely adored but I do really want to read the Alias comics because I need more Jessica Jones in my life.