The TV Chick

Since Boy Meets World ran its course on ABC Family, E is back with Flashback Friday with a different spin! She will be doing some great lists and soon enough, she’ll be back with another show. So without further ado, here are E’s Top Five 5 Gone, But Not Forgotten TV Shows.

5) The Twilight Zone – I’m talking about the original version here.  I love me some Twilight Zone.  I get the chills just thinking about watching Rod Serling randomly pop into a scene.  Whenever there is a marathon on New Years Day or July 4^th, I am so there.  Who am I kidding? I also watch it when it’s just on the SciFi network (which I refuse to call the SyFy network).  This show really knew how to explore some really intricate and interesting plots without having to rely on special effects.  Remember the episode where everyone thinks that everyone else on their block (Maple Street) is an alien when weird things start happening.  But, really everyone on their street is human and aliens are making things happen from their spaceship to see how humans treat each other. This was my first dose of the scariness of mob mentality, which I am thoroughly creeped out by to this day.

4) The West Wing – I’m going to be honest here.  I never really watched the show while it was running.  However, I then watched everysingle episode within a 2-month span, so my love still runs deep.  I think I learned more about politics from Aaron Sorkin then from anywhere else, and I feel deep sadness when I realize that Jed Bartlett can’t actually be president.  Remember the episode with the filibuster and all the grandpas?  Tears, for real.

3) Friends – Oh Friends, how I love thee.  Even the bad episodes are awesome (minus the clip shows).  Consistently hilarious even when the stars started to age and things weren’t as fresh as they once were.  Remember the episode with Phoebe’s birthday dinner and everybody is late?  The TV Chick and I watched this episode (recorded on VHS of course) so many times that our tape wore out.

2) Gilmore Girls – Love it from beginning to end.  My go-to show when I can’t sleep or I’m sick.  Another shared favorite of The TV Chick and I.  I love the sass, the small time charm, and knowing what they’re talking about locale wise as it’s based in my home state.  Remember the episode where Rory graduated from high school and she gives the really touching Valedictorian speech about her mother?  Or “Will you be my Lorelai Gilmore?” I’m sort of tearing up thinking about it right now.

1) Buffy the Vampire Slayer – This show is my heart people, for real, I love it from deep down in my loving place.  Granted, at this point, Joss Whedon could just stand on a white background in a YouTube video and talk about whatever, and I’d love it; however, this show was the original Whedon awesomeness.  It’s got everything: action, romance, drama, humor.  When people don’t like Buffy, I just assume they’re crazy folk.  So many amazing episodes including the more famous “Hush” and “Once More With Feeling.” Or when Buffy and the original Scoobies joined together as one form to defeat a villain with Buffy as hand, Willow as spirit, Xander as heart, and Giles as mind.  However, my favorite episode (which is a favorite of many) is “The Gift” where Buffy sacrifices herself at the end to save her sister and ultimately the world.  The final scene showing her tombstone with the epitaph, “She saved the world. A lot.” is one of the best end scenes of a season finale (what was almost a series finale before Buffy was renewed by UPN) in my opinion.

So there it is, my favorite shows.  Comment back with your Favorite 5 Gone, But Not Forgotten shows!  And stay tuned next week for a very special top 5 before we delve into another show.

I have been in love with all things TV since I knew what TV was. I grew up in the age of great TV. As any child of the 80s can claim, TV was almost a surrogate parent for me. As I got older, my relationship with TV continued to solidify and increase. In college, my roommate and I would keep the TV on practically from the moment we woke up until the moment we went to sleep. We’d wake up to Maury (don’t judge) and fall asleep to Frasier reruns. TV for me has always been a way to get invested in something that wasn’t my own life. It wasn’t necessarily a form of escapism, but more a way to enter the world of Central Perk or Neptune High.

I wouldn’t be writing about TV so much if I didn’t truly love it. When thinking about my list, I realized how subjective mine would be. There will be shows on there which I am sure everyone agrees with and some I might have left out. I decided that in addition to this list, I will include moments as well. Just naming a show is great, but I want to let everyone into my decade for a bit.

The first show that comes to mind right away is Friends. I realize that the show only had 4 seasons in the decade, but to me they were some of its best. One of my favorite episodes of all time (and there are way too many) is in the 9th season. “The One With Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner” centers around the gang’s arrival to Phoebe’s birthday dinner. Everyone (besides the guest of honor and Joey) are so preoccupied that they show up over an hour late. When the guests finally do arrive, Rachel and Ross brought Ross’ mom to watch Emma (they didn’t want to leave her), and Monica and Chandler are in a fight over cigarettes, ovulating and sex. Finally they all decide they are dedicated to the dinner, and Phoebe gets a call from Mike (boyfriend) and decides to leave to spend time with him. Eventually, everyone else (again besides Joey) leave to get back to their issues at hand. One of the best lines of the show comes at the very end when Joey says “Dinner for 6…for 1? You boys are about to see something very special.” The episode is also filled with many other amazing one-liners:
“Cigarettes in Hawaiian are called leilalalukus.” – Chandler, explaining his extensive knowledge of cigarettes to Phoebe
“Never hit a woman, never hit a woman. Ross bruises like a peach, he bruises like a peach” -Joey, when the gang takes too much time to order food after they finally arrived
Ross: “Kick up your feet, paint the town red!”
Rachel: “You really have to learn some new slang.”

This episode is just one of my many favorites from this show that made the friendship comedy what it is today. I remember re-watching this tape recorded episode, that a friend from college was kind enough to give my roommate and I, (DVR was just becoming sort of popular later in my college years) so many times that it eventually started to skip a little. Without Friends (and arguably others as well), there would be no How I Met Your Mother, or The Office. It was quite revolutionary in that respect. There was no star, no one standout actor. They were all a part of a cast of characters that grew, married, divorced, had babies and each got their moment in the spotlight. And as cheesy as this may sound, I feel like I grew along with them. I sat in my room watching the finale, crying as they gave in their keys–feeling like in a way, I knew this part of my life was over too. So I couldn’t leave this show off my list because it really will remain one of my favorites of all time, and definitely the decade.

The next show I consider to be a “best,” is Veronica Mars. Now I have to admit, in the age of DVDs and Netflix, I did not watch this show live. I don’t think my sole viewership would have saved the show from it’s way-too-short lived run, but I do wish I had seen it from day 1. I had always liked Kristen Bell, and my friend who introduced me to the show told me how amazing it was. We sat on her apartment couch (with her roommate’s crazy cats attacking us) and watched episode after episode. I think one time we watched four episodes of season 1 in a row without moving. I was addicted from the first few minutes. I loved every part of it: the cast, the mysteries, Jason Dohring… Rob Thomas is brilliant in so many respects and this show is his shining glory. One of my favorite episodes from this show was probably the finale of season 1 when everything comes to a head. (The finale of season 2 was amazing too). Veronica figures out Lily’s killer, almost dies, her dad saves her…you know the usual for a teenage sleuth. I wish that it had that 4th season with Veronica in the FBI because even though the 3rd season might not have been as innovative and amazing as the first 2, it was still Kristen Bell at her best, and I will always love it.

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