His Dark Materials stars the likes of Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ruth Wilson, but it’s also got armored polar bears, which is pretty cool too. (Photo courtesy HBO)
By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
Dec. 3, 2020 — Recently I cut the cable cord. And the universe rewarded me for it.
Well, that’s my interpretation for the coincidence that every genre show I intend to watch in December is available on a streaming service, as opposed to network or cable. I won’t miss a beat for at least a month, and save money, too. Here’s the lineup:
THE EXPANSE
Season 5 premieres Dec. 17 on Amazon Prime.
Sadly, this is the penultimate season. Sad, because The Expanse is one of the best shows on television. You don’t have to take my word for it. Watch a few episodes, and you’ll be hooked.
HIS DARK MATERIALS
Season 2 ends Dec. 20 on HBO/HBO Max.
After the disappointing attempt to adapt Philip Pullman’s fantasy trilogy to the big screen (The Golden Compass, 2007), I didn’t expect much from the TV adaptation. I was wrong.
Two big points in its favor: 1) While adapted from young adult material, Dark Materials is a production for adults; and 2) Dafne Keen.
Keen startled audiences with her scene-stealing appearances in Logan, where the young actress could snap from innocent to feral and back again in heartbeats, like flipping a light switch. She was pre-adolescent then, and is all of 15 now, but remains the most arresting figure in any scene she’s in.
THE MANDALORIAN
Season 2 ends Dec. 18 on Disney+.
What can I say about this show that hasn’t already been covered in rave reviews? From the cool Western vibe to terrific stunt casting (Timothy Olyphant, Rosario Dawson), this show never makes a misstep — and even makes sense of some of the sillier aspects of the central character’s creed.
Then there’s Baby Yoda. Er, I mean Groggu. (Which sounds like a Stan Lee/Jack Kirby monster from the ‘50s. They never actually used “Groggu,” but a quick search brings up Gog, Googam, Goom, both Gorgilla and Gorgolla, Grogg, Groot and Gruto.) He’s very cute, but isn’t he old enough by now to know better than to eat that nice lizard lady’s eggs? Disturbing.
PENNYWORTH
Season 2 begins Dec. 13 on Epix.
I’ve always wanted to watch this show, which stars Batman’s butler in his 20s during London’s swingin’ ‘60s. But I didn’t pop for Epix when the show debuted in 2019. I finally did when Roku gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse: $1.99/month. (I expect a kickback for this, Epix!) So now I’m binging season 1.
And I am hooked!
As all Bat-fans know, Alfred began as comedy relief in 1943, a bumbling butler who was both fat and dim. But over the decades he has been upgraded time and again, eventually becoming an irreplaceable aide-de-camp and surrogate father for Bruce Wayne. His past has been revealed in bits and pieces, with careers both on stage and in the UK’s Special Air Service, explaining the many skills he brings to bear in the comics.
Pennyworth makes use of the military angle, with Alfred — despite being only 26 — being ex-SAS and highly trained in espionage, weaponry, hand-to-hand combat and counter-intelligence. While not at all a Batman show, elements of the mythos are occasionally parachuted in, like Batman’s parents in the first season (pre-Bruce), and Lucius Fox (Simon Manyonda) in the second.
But what really sets this show apart is that it takes place in an alternate London.
Yes, the show does capture the era of real 1960s London very well, with cars and clothes and so forth. I especially appreciate the ‘60s British Invasion style of music (and occasional actual period song, like “The Look of Love” and “Inna Gadda da Vida,” presumably because the rights were cheap). There’s also a distinct 1960s James Bond vibe, borne out with an animated credit sequence that bears a strong similarity to the one on Archer, which parodies Bond, and soundtrack elements that seem lifted from The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which is Bond-adjacent. (Robert Vaughn’s U.N.C.L.E., not Henry Cavill’s.)
But this alternate London is one on the brink of Civil War, between the fascist Raven Society and the leftist No Name League, which bears no resemblance to the actual England of the 1960s. (In real life, the only war in 1960s England was between Mods and Rockers.) There are dirigibles in the sky, people in stocks on the street and hangings, which include disembowelment, on the telly. If you listen to the occasional TV news shows in the background, various bombshells are dropped, such as the one indicating that the Netherlands is part of “The Reich” — indicating World War II didn’t end in this world like it did on ours.
This London is so awful, Batman’s Gotham City suddenly makes sense. No wonder Alfred doesn’t bat an eye at Joker and Penguin.
Also, most of the episodes are named for female British singers of the ‘60s, for no reason I can figure out.
SABRINA
Season 4 premieres Dec. 31 on Netflix.
Like The Expanse, Sabrina is another show that has lasted multiple seasons despite being terrific. (The good die young, don’t they?) I’ve raved about it for years, and am all talked out. Just go watch it — especially if you like Riverdale. (But even if you don’t.)
THE STAND
Premieres Dec. 17 on CBS All Access
I confess on the front end that Stephen King is hit or miss with me, but The Stand is definitely a hit. It opens as a superflu wipes out 99% of humanity, after which the world’s governments collapse.
Pretty cool — and pretty prescient. (The Stand was written in 1978, long before COVID got here.) But what makes The Stand so much better than other stories of this kind is that the end-of-the-world epidemic is only the first chapter! The Stand is about what happens afterwards, especially when the Antichrist arrives …
I’m really looking forward to this adaptation. It’s got a star-studded cast — Heather Graham, Whoopi Goldberg, Amber Heard, Greg Kinnear, James Marsden, Katherine McNamara, Alexander Skarsgård — plus the miniseries format will allow this doorstop of a book room to breathe.
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY
Season 3 ends Jan. 7 on CBS All Access.
Discovery isn’t perfect, but it’s in my personal top three of Trek shows. Unlike its episodic predecessors, which introduced a problem every week and solved it in an hour before reverting to status quo, Discovery is a modern prestige series which continually evolves. At the end of last season the ship was catapulted into the 32nd century, boldly going where no Trek has gone before.
I said the show isn’t perfect, and the main reason for that is lead character Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). Burnham continually makes bad decisions, including at least two times where she disobeyed direct orders, one of which got her captain (Phillipa Georgiou, played by Michelle Yeoh) killed. And yet, she is lionized on the show and repeatedly forgiven her indiscretions with no harm done. I know of no organization, especially a quasi-military one like Starfleet, that would tolerate her behavior.
But, hey, it’s the fantasy of a better world, right? One where even screw-ups can succeed! And I do love Martin-Green, who was a highlight of The Walking Dead for several seasons. Discovery also managed to bring Yeoh back, an actor who elevates everything she’s in, even the otherwise regrettable The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
That’s seven great TV shows, all available on streaming services. The new year will bring a number of shows from cable/broadcast that I’ll want to watch, but for 31 days I won’t need cable.
Thank you, universe.
Find Captain Comics by email (capncomics@aol.com), on his website (captaincomics.ning.com), on Facebook (Andrew Alan Smith) or on Twitter (@CaptainComics).
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