As the year begins to draw to a close, it's fun to start looking back on television and reflect on some of the reasons why we spend so much time staring at the television each week. As a form of entertainment, television has so much to offer us in this day and age. Since Thanksgiving is this week, I felt it only appropriate to use this week’s column to give thanks for TV. Here are a few things I am most thankful for this year:
I’m thankful for:
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
One year, my friends and I decided to go into the city to actually attend the parade and let me tell you something, being there is an overrated experience. We spent our brief time there standing around on the sidewalk, staring up at the huge floats. After about twenty minutes we decided that it was too cold and crowded and we'd all rather be inside somewhere, celebrating the holiday with our families.
So thank you NBC for being there to cover the parade for us. I’ve found that experiencing the parade is much more enjoyable when spending time with the family in a warm house with the smell of turkey lingering in the air. And while we're on the subject, lets give thanks to the other events that are televised. The Oscars and Emmys, New Years Eve in Times Square and the Super Bowl among them. For most of us, these events have always been covered on television and we probably take it all for granted. Thank you TV for being there for those of us who either cant afford to be there or who would rather be home watching the event from the comfort of our living rooms. We appreciate it.
TV on DVD and the Internet
This is one of the reasons I really support the writers strike. As much as it sucks that it's going to mess up our programming, the fact that we have TV on DVD and access to episodes of our favorite shows online to keep us entertained only further supports the belief that the writers deserve to be better compensated for their work. After all, if the writers weren’t so good at their jobs, none of us would want to buy whole seasons of a series on DVD or take the time out to watch them online to begin with, right?
The DVR and TiVo
There’s no way I could watch as much TV as I do without the help of TiVo and my DVR. Sure, I could just wait until the new episodes post online but for some shows, I’m too impatient to do that. Thursday nights usually involve me watching part of ABC’s lineup while TiVoing NBC then switching to NBC and TiVoing ABC. I’ve got the system worked out perfectly so that I can go to bed on Thursday night having watched everything I wanted to.
New Shows That are Good
I’m thankful for new TV shows like Chuck, Pushing Daisies, Reaper and Journeyman. It’s always nice when the new fall TV brings in a good crop of new series that give us something else to look forward to on primetime each week.
Old Shows That are Still Good
I’m thankful for veteran shows that are still great. Like The Office and Ugly Betty, both of which are still just as enjoyable as they were last season.
Feel free to add your own TV-related reasons to be thankful in the comments section below!
Amazing Race 12 (CBS) 8:00 pm
Please Lord, Give Me Milk - (New!) The nine teams still in the race have to milk camels as part of this leg of the race. For some reason I had know idea that camels could be milked.
Desperate Housewives (ABC) 9:00 pm
DH isn’t on tonight because ABC is airing the American Music Awards (that starts at 8:00 p.m.)
Chuck (NBC) 8:00 pm
Chuck Versus the Imported Hard Salami (New!) – So Sarah says she doesn’t like Chuck “that way” but once he starts dating Lou, she gets jealous. Meanwhile, sexy-Lou might be involved in a smuggling ring.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) 8:00 pm
Slapsgiving (New!) – This is it folks – the moment we’ve all been waiting for since the beginning of the season! Marshall’s slap-bet countdown has been leading up to this episode. As the gang gets together to celebrate Thanksgiving, Barney worries about the big slap that he knows is coming.
Heroes (NBC) 9:00 pm
Cautionary Tales (New!) – Matt deals with the boost in mind-power. Suresh meets Elle. HRG thinks the Company may have found him so he prepares to pack up the family and move but naturally, Claire is resistant. This is the first of the three episodes that the Heroes promos promise to be huge.
Journeyman (NBC) 10:00 pm
Emily (Part 1 of 2) (New!) – Dan tracks a serial kidnapper in the early 90s. Meanwhile, in the present, his brother starts to think that maybe Dan has been telling the truth about his trips.
House (Fox) 9:00 pm
You Don’t Want To Know(new!) – The team tries to diagnose a magician whose heart failed during an underwater escape trick. House thinks the magician is just faking to cover up the botched trick. Meanwhile, House give the team a challenge, offering the winner a chance to nominate two of the other job candidates for firing.
Reaper (CW) 9:00 pm
Charged (Repeat) – This is the one where Sam uses the remote control truck to capture the electric-demon. Rest assured, there will be a new episode of Reaper next week.
Pushing Daisies (ABC) 8:00 pm
Smell of Success (New!) –Ned, Chuck and Emerson investigate the death of the assistant to a scent expert that died in a freak scratch-and-sniff book explosion
Kid Nation (CBS) 8:00 pm
Let Me Talk! (New!) – It’s time for yet another town-council election. Let the drama begin! (or continue since there’s always drama in Bonanza). Greg tells people if enough people want him to leave, he’ll pack up and go. Meanwhile, Taylor is told that if she doesn’t work, she wont benefit from future rewards.
Bionic Woman (NBC) 9:00 pm
Bionic Woman isn’t on the schedule for tonight. Instead, there’s a special Thanksgiving-themed Deal or No Deal.
It’s Thanksgiving! NBC wants you to spend time with the family so they’re airing The Incredibles (starting at 8:00 p.m.) instead of their usual line-up. Fox is airing Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (also starting at 8:00 p.m.) or you can watch:
Ugly Betty (ABC) 8:00 pm
Giving Up the Ghost (New!) – Wilhelmina’s still at it! This week she continues to try to sabotage the magazine, causing Betty and Daniel to try to get a cover girl (Eliza Dushku) out of rehab so they can reshoot her model spread.
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) 9:00 pm
Crash Into Me (Part 1) (New!) The doctors attempt to save the lives of a bunch of paramedics involved in an ambulance crash. Oh great, another Grey’s Anatomy event. Hopefully this one wont involve another main character dying, hanging out in the afterlife and then returning from the dead. On the plus side, Seth Green guest stars!
Men in Trees (ABC) 8:00 p.m.
Sea Change (New!) While Jacks off studying whales, Marin discovers something in his cabin that she finds to be pretty disturbing. Meanwhile, Jane has some crazy news for Marin, Patrick still cant remember who he is and Mary Alice prepares for a date with Jerome.
Moonlight (CBS) 9:00 p.m.
Fleur de Lis (New!) Mick works with a female photographer on a case and this makes Beth jealous.
Battlestar Galactica: Razor (Sci Fi) 9:00 p.m.
Nothing like a special episode of BSG to make us crave season 4 even more! I’ve seen Razor and while I cant say that it's better than an above-average episode of BSG, it’s still really good and will definitely give you a much needed Galactica fix. The story centers on the Pegasus. Through the use of flashbacks, we get to see some of the highlights (or technically lowlights) of their escape after the original attack on the colonies and the decisions that had to be made in order to ensure the survival of the ship and her crew. We learn some very interesting things about Admiral Cain, as well as a few twists that will surely play a factor in the final season of the series.
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