My Top 30 Things of 2020
It’s been quite the year, hasn’t it? Nevertheless, there have been some good bits. Here are the things that delighted and inspired me in 2020.
Ted Lasso
I don’t like football, in fact I actively dislike the sport. But this was head-and-shoulders above everything else MY FAVOURITE TV SHOW OF THE YEAR. It models a wonderful positive masculinity, showcases female friendship in a joyful way and is poignant and hilarious.
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse
Shades of Winnie the Pooh or The Little Prince but with a refreshing modernity that makes it absolutely sing. I don’t think I’d have gotten through the year without this book.
Jamie Drake
Track of the year for me. Redwood Tree by Jamie Drake.
Hades
I love this game. It’s a Rogue-like — endless rooms, procedural generation, inevitable death — but what sets it apart is how it acknowledges the conventions of the genre. Art direction, voice talent and gameplay are all sublime.
Public Rec
Public Rec make stretchy, comfortable leisure wear that looks like smart clothes worn by productive people. I have three pairs of their “All Day Every Day Pant” in different colours and I basically just rotate them. So comfortable.
Irresistible
From the brain of Jon Stewart. It looks like the kind of film Hollywood makes all the time. It is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Flo & Joan
I’ve had the pleasure of spending social time with these brilliant humans this year. They are virtuoso performers and their songs are clever, satirical and catchy. I love I Drank Too Much the most but please watch their Amazon special from start to finish because there are so many great moments.
Rectify
I had never heard of this series about a prisoner who is released after 20 years on Death Row when new evidence comes to light. I don’t understand how it flew under my radar — it’s beautiful, wise, thought-provoking and utterly original. I had to buy Dutch Blu Ray discs to watch it though.
Atomic Habits
If, ultimately, we are what we do, then our habits determine the people we become more assuredly then anything else. This book tells you how to build good habits (and break bad ones). It’s succinct, well-written and can be actioned immediately.
Teenage Bounty Hunters
Lives up to the silliness of the title but it’s also very funny and surprisingly sweet. You fall in love with the characters, it creeps up on you. It got cancelled due to [basically 2020] so this season is all we have, sadly.
Blinks
A board game that thinks it’s a computer console, capable of playing a theoretically infinite amount of games. I love the build quality of the little hexagonal pucks and all the inventive ways people have found to programme them. Also the way they teach each other is super cute.
Little Women
I’ve never read the book; but what struck me about this brilliant adaptation directed by Greta Gerwig is how contemporary and vital it feels. I really loved the performances, and having read the book now, I appreciate the smart choices Gerwig has made in presenting the narrative.
Paynter Jackets
I’m a sucker for any company that makes one product with absolute focus and exhaustive attention to detail. Paynter makes small batch runs of jackets three times a year and they sell out in under 5 minutes each time. I have two, they are incredibly well made and beautifully to wear.
I May Destroy You
This is an astounding work of creative vulnerability. Michaela Coel is next-level astounding, both as writer and star. It’s not an easy watch, it won’t be for everyone, but I found it utterly unforgettable.
The Gentleman Bastards Sequence
The protagonists of most fantasy series are brilliant warriors or sorcerers — once in a generation heroes and leaders. Locke Lamora is just a really good con artist and has tricked everyone into believing he’s all those other things. And Camorr is a brilliantly-drawn city — like Venice but with thousands of glass artefacts left by an ancient alien race that no-one remembers.
Elgato
I’ve been teaching a lot of improv from home this year (fancy that). I’ve started using Elgato key lights and controllers to create a nice teaching environment. The build-quality on these things is phenomenal and they’re a real pleasure to use each day (which is important when you really do use them EVERY day).
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
This game shouldn’t work. It could have been a soulless cash-in. In fact it’s endlessly playable and the only game in a decade that led me to 100% every extra, upgrade and trophy.
Watchmen
I love the Alan Moore-penned original comic and this is an astounding sequel to that seminal work (although you don’t have to know the original to enjoy it). It doesn’t try to riff on what Moore thought was important in the 80s, it uses the same tools to dissect race and law-enforcement now. It’s action-packed, thought-provoking, properly thrilling and gives Jeremy Irons his best role in … ever.
Zombies, Run!
I’ve been out running about 3 times a week in 2020. The only reason I kept going was to find out what happened next in Zombies, Run! It’s an audio drama, with you the runner in the lead role, that syncs to your health app — the more you run, the more crazy stuff happens to you in a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies, fortified townships and a worldwide shortage of Curly Wurlys.
Auntie Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun
Oh good, three men doing a sketch show, I thought sarcastically. And then I watched it and it was truly insane and I couldn’t help but like it. Well played, men.
Hollow Knight
This is an interesting one. I think I hate it now but I poured about 70 hours into it before I gave up crying so that must count for something, right? RIGHT? (I mean it looks beautiful for one thing, look at his little face!!!)
Giri/ Haji
This is an excellent crime drama with memorable characters, complex relationships and a great mix of UK and Japanese locations shot absolutely beautifully. But something happens in the last episode that is so unexpected and audacious that I fell even harder in love with it.
The Discworld City Watch
I never read much Terry Pratchett* as a teenager but I wanted to re-visit Ankh-Morpork and explore the City Watch sequence before the release of the new BBC adaptation that everyone’s decided to hate before they see it. I think following one thread of Sir Terry’s sprawling world has its advantages too — you get to know the characters a lot better and they become more than joke ciphers — it’s actually given me a real appreciation of Pratchett’s ability to switch gears and become thought-provoking and kind.
Taskmaster
I avoided this like the plague for years because it looked very “alright let’s have a token woman on this panel show”. Now that we’re in the middle of an actual plague, we decided to give it a go and, although the gender politics aren’t always perfect — it’s an absolutely life-affirming bit of TV that has reduced us to helpless, joyous, gasping-for-breath giggles time and time again.
Please Like Me
Didn’t know anything about this before I started watching it (except Hannah Gadsby was in it). It took me a few episodes but when I fell, I fell hard. I care about these fictional characters so much now. WARNING: be prepared to be devastated. Also, the theme tune is amazing.
Trial of the Chicago 7
I love Sorkin dialogue. It makes me feel fizzy inside. It reminds me of my university years. This is another great steaming bowl of it, some of it delivered by Mark Rylance.
We Are Freestyle Love Supreme
Not many improv teams get documentaries made about them. But then not many improv teams have members who wrote Hamilton. I thought this film captured a lot of truthful things about what it means to make spontaneous and collaborative art with your friends.
Jagged Little Pill: The Musical
Jagged Little Pill is the album that transports me back to being 15 near-instantaneously. All the hormones, crushes, angst and glory. There’s something about earnest musical theatre voice and confessional lyrics that are like catnip to me.
What the Golf?
I don’t want to spoil this game for you. Play it without watching a trailer or knowing anything about it.
The Improv Place
My proudest moment of 2020 was starting a company with my best friend. It’s a social network for improvisers who want to connect without giving Facebook all our data. We started planning it in 2019 and arguably got our timing just right. It isn’t like other social media for me, I feel calm and happy using it.
Honourable Mentions
The Heath. West Wing Reunited. VR upgrade. Take that Spotify. Arc. Whatever the weather. Play Dixie. Hormone monsters. Putt n Chat. Raising Hell. dodie. Organic light. Bye bye Adobe. The Next Generation. I can never un-see this. Husavik. Breastfeeding. Longform on TV. Palm Springs. Palm Springs. Our Doctor. Remarkable. Brilliantly tense. Improv Nation. 69, Dudes. Crash bang wallop.
Hi there. My name’s Chris Mead. I’m an improviser, writer & theatre-maker living and working in the UK. You can find our more about me at mrchrismead.com or SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER. Thanks for reading!
*I didn’t enjoy all the footnotes.
