Review of the Year

With 2011 behind us, the release of the dvd box set gives its fans a chance to revisit the series from the beginning. Now considered a classic year by many, 2011 opened predictably with January, a classic choice for a pilot. The success of which (plus the slightly shorter February) lead to a 3 season deal for the year.

The first season, Spring, got off to a good start with March, with the major themes for the series germinating in this first episode, getting nicely bedded down in the April episode, allowing for some real growth by the season finale, May. Having seen how the plot develops in later seasons, there’s always more insight to be gained by revisiting the early episodes and seeing just how the seeds were sown – and watch out for the Easter egg on the dvd release.

Things heated up in the second season, following the classic format for years in the Gregorian calendar. Tried and tested, we don’t seem to be getting bored of years following this pattern, and we shouldn’t be surprised to see new years commissioned that follow the classic structure. Japanese years follow a whole different aesthetic, which is gaining in popularity amongst more alternative Westerners. The traditional format is here to stay, however, and despite all its predictability the plot devices remain able to carve out a well-developed arc.

Summer cleverly developed on the themes of the first season, with many of the major plotlines coming to fruition. With June, the writing began to take on a more colourful nature, as the characters developed from their humble beginnings into increasingly diverse sub-plots. Summer still remains the most popular season of the series, though for some it lacked the charm of Spring. Lovers of the first season felt that by July, with the stories growing in size and many characters finding increasing success, the key theme of struggling against adversity was lost.

Definitely an audience pleaser, the August episode saw a few key characters transplanted to an exotic location for a fortnight. There were some nice moments in this one, but taken out of the context of the year’s through-line, and without the familiar backdrop, it achieved mixed reviews and left many suggesting that it was here that 2011 jumped the shark.

In what for many was a return to form, the third season introduced themes of ageing and death, with many of the more colourful characters being killed off. Much darker than the early seasons, Autumn may have lost 2011 some fans, as it carved out a more austere landscape, and the outlook began to become increasingly bleak. The writing developed a darker humour, with a couple of stalwart, and often overlooked characters showing their strength and proving their well-earned and apparently evergreen popularity.

The Christmas special – December saw 2011 returning to familiar territory. The year seems to have come full circle, with many themes that first arose in the pilot reemerging. The characters may have aged and developed, but there was still room for some lessons to be learned. Too saccharine for some, the plot saw the characters struggling with many of the themes of the Autumn season, but overcoming them together and learning the importance of family in time to save the Christmas celebrations and, perhaps too neatly, tying up plots. Though mainly centering around well-loved characters, a couple of new, younger ones were introduced, which lead to speculation that a spin-off was being planned. Now confirmed - the much-anticipated launch of 2012 is just around the corner. But until it gets underway, it’s definitely worth grabbing yourself a 2011 box set to relive all those classic moments.