My New Year's TV Resolutions For 2016
It’s that time of year when people make resolutions for the coming new year. With that in mind, I’ve come up with five television-related ones I’m going to try and stick to this year. These are my pledges to myself. And I need your help in making suggestions involving these pledges for 2016. You’ll see what I mean, below.
I Resolve To Watch More Kids’ TV. It’s been a while since I had little ones rampaging through my home, and so my viewing of children’s programming has decreased quite a lot. One young family member is exceedingly fond of Doc McStuffins, whose adventures I have praised before. But I really ought to look at more of this material, especially new offerings on streaming services. For example, Amazon’s Tumble Leaf seems as though it’s a completely charming, very well-animated show that anyone who appreciates well-crafted kiddie fare can enjoy.
I’ll Watch More TV News, and Write About the Good and the Bad Now more than ever, we need TV news that does a good job of informing us of world events and the current Presidential race. I confess i had all but given up on what used to be America’s primary source of TV news — the evening news broadcasts on CBS, ABC, and NBC — because on cursory viewings, they have seemed to me full of junk and superficiality. I’ll give them a closer squint this year to see if that judgment is hasty. Also, I should watch more non-prime-time cable news — the Fox, CNN, and MSNBC mid-day shows that I’m usually too busy working to give my full attention. I’m curious about shows such as Fox’s Happening Now with Jon Scott and Jenna Lee, or CNN’s Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield — do they serve a good, informative purpose? We’ll see soon.
Related: Stars, EPs Tell Us their 2016 TV-Related Resolutions
I’ll Take a One-Year Moratorium on Seth MacFarlane Jokes I have spent a long time — well, really, since Family Guy premiered — sniping at, criticizing, condemning, and generally ridiculing MacFarlane’s dunderheaded creations. I’m going to refrain from criticizing him for the coming calendar year. Unless he does something truly egregious, and — wait, no: no loopholes, Tucker. No snark aimed at Seth this year.
I’ll Review More Old TV There are scores of older TV shows that are ripe for reappraisal, and shows to which new generations ought to be introduced. How many of you are familiar with, say, The Rockford Files, or The Bob Newhart Show, or (my favorite anthology series of all time — yes, even [much!] more than The Twilight Zone) Alfred Hitchcock Presents? I’m going to try and write a few pieces suggesting why some old shows stand up to the test of time, giving readers suggestions about what particular episodes to watch. Let me know what old shows you’d like me to re-evaluate, won’t you?
I’ll Give The Big Bang Theory Another Shot It’s by far the most popular sitcom in America, measured by ratings, but gosh darn it, I never crack a smile whenever I’ve watched it. I really admire Jim Parsons’ performance; I think he’s a great comic talent, with a sense of timing the equal of such first-rate sitcom stars as — well, as Bob Newhart, whose sitcom I praised above, and who’s popped up occasionally on Big Bang. I checked out the recent Sheldon and Amy Do It episode, and thought, Are people really laughing at someone using the word “coitus”? So help me out here: Suggest specific episodes of Big Bang that you think I should watch, or tell me if there are entire seasons of the sitcom that are particularly strong in your opinion. Help me join the rest of America in guffawing at Big Bang Theory — I’d appreciate it.
And let me know generally what TV shows you think I ought to write more frequently about in 2016. Thanks, and Happy New Year!
Related:
