Between my month-long hospital stay, recovery, and the overall bleakness of winter I have had some time to watch and re-watch a lot of my favorite television shows.  Enjoy!

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Gilmore Girls

If you know me at all, you know that I love Gilmore Girls.   I often consider my personality as a mixture of the two main characters. While initially watching this show I became way too invested in the relationship between Luke and Lorelai to the point where whatever happened in an episode could affect me for days.

Set in a storybook Connecticut town populated by an eclectic mix of characters this multigenerational drama about family and friendship centers around Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Rory.

 

 

Friends

Friends is a classic that you can quote and be almost certain that everyone you are talking to understands what you are referencing.

This comedy features six friends living in New York going through life featuring past and future romances, fights, laughs, tears and surprises.

 

Weeds

When a suburban mother turns to dealing marijuana in order to maintain her privileged lifestyle after her husband dies, she finds out just how addicted her entire neighborhood already is.

Each season of Weeds becomes crazier and more unbelievable but by then you are already hooked.

 

Reign

I love history, I find myself looking things up after watching each episode.  Plus, the show has Megan Follows cast as the Prince’s mother (Anne of Green Gables!).

Reign chronicles the rise to power of Mary Queen of Scots when she arrives in France as a 15-year-old, betrothed to Prince Francis, and with her four best friends as ladies-in-waiting. It details the secret history of survival at French Court amidst fierce foes, dark forces, and a world of sexual intrigue.

 

The Office

Alex and I are Jim and Pam.  Anyone who watches The Office can relate to many of the workplace situations and characters.

A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.

 

 

Orange is the New Black

The story of Piper Chapman, a woman in her thirties who is sentenced to fifteen months in prison after being convicted of a decade-old crime of transporting money to her drug-dealing girlfriend.  Each episode of Orange is the New Black features backstories of the other inmates and includes both serious and funny situations.

 

Parenthood

It took me a long time to start watching Parenthood because it began too soon after Gilmore Girls and I wasn’t ready to see Lauren Graham as any character other than Lorelai Gilmore.  Once I eventually started watching the show I couldn’t stop.

The drama features a family going through ups and downs including infidelity, infertility, autism, and much more.   My favorite couple was Julia, the hot-shot lawyer, and her stay-at-home husband.

By far, the best series finale I have ever seen.

 

Big Love

In Big Love, Bill Henrickson seems like a typical suburban husband and father, except for the fact that he has three wives, nine kids, and three homes to maintain. The Salt Lake City polygamist has to juggle his families’ needs while overseeing his casino business, fulfilling his political interests, and attempting to reconnect with his fundamentalist relatives.

I love the show’s opening credits songs.

 

Downton Abbey

Again, I am fascinated with history, particularly that of the wealthy class.

This British drama series, Downton Abbey,  follows the lives of the Crawley family and its servants in the family’s classic Georgian country house.

 

Hart of Dixie

New York doctor Zoe Hart moves to a small town in Alabama to set up practice and ends up caught in many love triangles.  I think I like Hart of Dixie so much because of the wacky southern/50s fashion and the fact that the set reminds me of the Stars Hollow set from Gilmore Girls.

Unfortunately – worst series finale I have ever seen.

 

Modern Family

Modern Family offers an honest, often-hilarious perspective of family life. A gay couple with an adopted Asian daughter, a grandfather married to a much younger Latino woman, and a middle-aged couple raising three teenagers completes the cast of characters.

 

Madam Secretary

Tea Leoni plays the Secretary of the State who somehow always manages to work out a brilliant plan for every diplomatic issue that arises.  The show balances the intense political situations with the Secretary’s home life consisting of her husband and three teenagers.

The writing on Madam Secretary is particularly right up my alley, including many humorous snarky remarks and consistently demonstrating a strong female lead.  I can’t wait for the next season to be available for streaming.

 

Shameless

Shameless features a completely dysfunctional family living in the south side of Chicago.  Each sibling has his/her own issues but the family continuously comes together to manage every shenanigan the group gets in to.

Not a show to watch with children or your parents – lots of sex, drugs, nudity, etc.

(Originally published Jan. 10th, 2016)