MIDSEASON RETURN: Poor Michael (Ted Danson). He’s proven to be such a poor designer of hellish tortures – literally, new ways to torture people in hell – that he’s now in danger of being fired. And fire, in hell, is a very serious threat. So he and his android assistant Janet (D’Arcy Carden), whom he stole from a warehouse of helpful assistants in heaven, are trying to fool the bosses, and even enlisting his supposed torture victims, led by Kristen Bell’s Eleanor, as co-conspirators. The twists and turns on
The Good Place have been delightful – we didn’t even know Michael’s true intentions, or that his “Good Place” environment was in fact the worst of “Bad Places,” until last season’s cliffhanger. And so far, in Season 2, it’s been one surprise after another, including the time Michael had a mid-life crisis, and ran around with Janet as his newly blonde trophy date (pictured). What’s going to happen now, and for the rest of the reason? No idea. And that’s why this NBC sitcom made my Top 10 of 2017 – the only broadcast network TV show on that list.
For a full review, see David Hinckley’s All Along the Watchtower.