You might as well wear a sign that says ‘I promise to disappoint you’

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's Top 50 TV Shows of 2022.  

#29 : Andor

After a year of Disney-produced Star Wars shows that ranged from middling (Obi-Wan Kenobi) to downright ropey (The Book of Boba Fett), hopes were low for this prequel to the Rogue One movie. But its brooding, moody take on the Star Wars world has breathed new life into the TV adaptations. The exploits of rebel hero Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna) were superbly paced, wonderfully acted, and featured such a lore-lite take on the galaxy far, far away (there’s barely a stormtrooper in sight) that it felt as fresh as George Lucas’ movies once did.

I'd watched all the Star Wars TV shows up to this point, but I'd pretty much lost patience with them.  I thought Obi-Wan Kenobi was surprisingly dull and The Book Of Boba Fett was just utter rubbish - I defy anyone to tell me they actually liked it.  So I'd decided against watching Andor, but the good reviews it got eventually tempted me in - yup, this was another one I watched before The Guardian ordered me to do so.

And, I'm pleased to say The Guardian isn't wrong - this really is very good.  It's well plotted and well acted - both of which are things you rarely say about Star Wars.  To be absolutely honest, I don't actually remember an awful lot about what happened - but it probably doesn't really matter, does it?  You've probably either already watched it or you're just never going to watch it - but if, like me, you'd not gone there because of what came before then I urge you to reconsider.

It has a surprisingly large cast and I barely remember where 90% of them fit in - but none of them stand out as having been rubbish, which is a good start.  Diego Luna (who was very good in Y Tu Mama Tambien - all the way back in 2001!) is excellent as Cassian Andor, who doesn't always have our sympathies but he does what he has to do.  Kyle Soller is also excellent as Syril Kam - he works for the bad side, but is driven by a need to do the "right" thing.  Whereas Denise Gough as Dedra Meero is very happy to do the bad thing and impressively so - I know I've seen her in something but I can't figure out what (she's mostly known for stage work and has appeared in Angels in America on Broadway, so she can't be too bad I guess).  

The other obvious standouts for me were Fiona Shaw and Stellan Starsgard - those two can't  help but steal the show of anything they're in, but surprisingly it's the first time either of them have had a mention from me.  Kathryn Hunter also impresses in a minor role as Syril's mother - and she looks very different from the last time we saw her.

Given that it's Star Wars, there's a variability to the sets - some of them are so obviously generated but others look pretty realistic.  But, what makes this stand a million miles out from the previous Star Wars TV offerings is that it's actually got a PLOT!  In fact, it's got several of them and they all come together nicely - it's just so far ahead of the rest of all the other rubbish that it's hard to believe (it's also worth checking out Rogue One if you've not seen that - and that's got a plot as well).  

So, just in case, you're not aware - I really enjoyed this.  I don't think it's up there with my absolutely favourites of the year, but it was such a pleasant surprise to watch a Star Wars series and not spend half my time either rolling my eyes or yawning.  At the time of writing, it's available on Disney+ and I suspect it'll be there for a bit - there's also a season two coming out at some point as well, which I shall definitely be checking out.

#27 - Enjoyably odd
#30 - When it's good, it's very good