Although this is predominantly a movie blog, as we start the New Year, I wanted to take a moment to recognise some of my favourite stand-out moments from 2023’s ‘event’ TV. I don’t claim to have seen everything, but these are my personal (largely spoiler-free) Top Ten favourite TV moments from the last year (for the most part, I’ve tried to be a bit more imaginative than simply choosing the season finales of everything!).

Honourable Mentions – Good Omens: “The Arrival” (season two, episode 1)

While the first season was a direct adaptation of the novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, the second season was an original story by Neil Gaiman, and although it perhaps lacked the scope and scale of the first season, it made up for it with a tighter, more focused narrative centred around the always watchable central performances of David Tennant and Michael Sheen.

I also wanted to give ‘honourable mentions’ to the second seasons of Reacher on Amazon Prime, and Vigil on BBC, both of which I’m really enjoying but haven’t finished yet.

10 – What We Do In The Shadows: “Local News” (season five, episode 5)

With the announcement that this show will be finishing with its sixth season, I wanted to take a moment to recognise one of the most consistently funny (R-rated) comedy shows of the last decade. Season 5 was, if anything, an improvement on season 4, and Local News was a particular highlight in a very strong season.

9 – The Witcher: “Everybody Has a Plan 'til They Get Punched in the Face” (season three, episode 6)

The third season of The Witcher was (IMHO) an improvement on the second (although, perhaps ironically, the more episodic first season is still my favourite so far). The storytelling was tighter and more focused, and it felt like the writers were finally getting the balance right between the various different plot threads. The sixth episode of the season marked the climax of many of the ongoing sub-plots … but it also marked the start of Henry Cavill’s exit from the show. He was given a proper send-off in the season finale, but the fact he’s leaving the show just as it’s finding its feet is very bittersweet.

8 – Strange New Worlds: “Those Old Scientists” (season two, episode 7)

The first season of Strange New Worlds was great, but the second season was fantastic. One of the things I particularly loved was the variety of tones and genres the show is able to cover – in this season alone, we had a great courtroom drama (Ad Astra Per Aspera), a hilarious comedy episode (Charades), a taut, morally-grey thriller (Under the Cloak of War), a joyous musical (Subspace Rhapsody), a tense season finale (Hegemony), and a really enjoyable time-travel story (Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow) – but of them all, the love letter to Star Trek that was the crossover episode with Star Trek: Lower Decks was probably my favourite.

7 – The Mandalorian: “The Spies” (season three, episode 7)

After an extended break between seasons, it was great to see Din Djarin and Grogu back on our screens again. I personally loved how the show hasn’t stagnated into a routine mission-of-the-week formula, and I enjoyed this season’s focus on the Bo-Katan/Mandalore storyline. The first part of the season finale was probably my favourite episode, not just because of the (excellent) cliffhanger itself, but also for the first appearance of the Imperial Remnant Shadow Council.

6 – Poker Face: “Escape from Shit Mountain” (season one, episode 9)

As a huge fan of Rian Johnson’s whodunit films Knives Out and Glass Onion, I had high hopes for his murder-mystery series Poker Face – and it really didn’t disappoint. Taking its cue from Columbo’s approach (where we see the murdered commit the crime, and then watch the investigator piece it all together), each episode was so much fun to watch (even if the formula doesn’t have quite the same tension as a traditional whodunit), while the overarching plot linking the episodes worked nicely too.

5 – Ahsoka: “Shadow Warrior” (season one, episode 5)

As a fan of The Clone Wars animated TV series – and a huge fan of the Rebels animated TV series – I was really looking forward to seeing this live-action show, but even then, it surpassed my expectations. It mixed nostalgia for the earlier shows, with a genuinely entertaining storyline that may potentially be the best one so far set in the New Republic era. Of all the episodes, Shadow Warrior may have been the best, thanks to the combination of Dave Filoni’s script and direction, Kevin Kiner’s score, and that reunion…

4 – Loki: “Glorious Purpose” (season two, episode 6)

As much as I loved the first season of Loki, I did wonder where else the story could go after the multiverse-shattering first season finale – and while the season did arguably get off to a slower start (and arguably underserved both Sylvie and B-15), it was a tonne of fun spending time with Mobius and OB … but most importantly, after playing the character for 12 years, it gave Tom Hiddleston’s Loki a perfect and surprisingly poignant (potential) conclusion to his character arc that I never saw coming.

3 – Doctor Who: “The Giggle” (60th Anniversary Special)

I’ve been a Doctor Who fan for decades, but I’ll confess that the last couple of regenerations haven’t quite hit the heights of the Christopher Eccleston/David Tennant/Matt Smith era. So to see David Tennant, Catherine Tate and showrunner Russell T. Davies return for the three 60th Anniversary specials was an absolute joy – each delivered a very different kind of adventure, and The Giggle was not only a great finale for the Fourteenth Doctor’s era, but it was put an emotional button on the last sixty years of the show.

2 – Picard: “Vox” (season three, episode 9)

Similarly, as great as Star Trek: The Next Generation was (and personally, I also really enjoyed the first season of Star Trek: Picard), the second season of Picard was (IMHO) a huge disappointment. But the third (and final) season of Picard gave me what I didn’t even realise I was missing – Terry Matalas took over as the sole showrunner and gave us the send-off that The Next Generation era deserved. Reuniting the original cast from the show, weaving in classic storylines from the TNG/DS9 era, and even introducing new characters and ships that many fans (myself included) are hoping will get their own spin-off show, the finale season of Picard hit all the right notes.

1 – The Last of Us: “Long, Long Time” (season one, episode 3)

By far the best new show of 2023, there wasn’t a bad episode of The Last of Us, which was a genuine masterpiece from beginning to end. I could have picked Endure and Survive with its gut-punch of an ending, or the excellent flashback episode Left Behind, or the powerful and traumatic When We Are in Need, or the morally ambiguous finale Look for the Light – but the standalone episode focusing on the minor characters of Bill and Frank showed just how much potential the premise of this show has, and provided one of the most emotional episodes of television in a while.