A Look at My Favorite TV Shows

Hello, all, and happy January!  I hope your 2023 is off to a good start.

Today, I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about my favorite TV series, since I don't write about television all that often even though I've taken to re-watching a decent amount of it in recent years.  The goal of this post is to be very low-key and fun, just giving you a feel for each of the shows and sharing some personal stats about them.  Due to time and space constraints, I decided to limit this post to the smaller, nuclear group of my very, very favorites.  These are the shows that are — at least at this point in time — personal to me in a way that the other shows I like aren't.  As such, you can probably predict which ones I've included, but you never know. 😉

I'm not giving detailed content caveats for each of these shows, but, as always, please reach out to me if you're curious and I'll do my best to thoroughly answer any questions.  I'm also including fan videos for each show, so tread carefully if you're interested in watching any of these and are concerned about spoilers!

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— Galavant —

ABC | 2015 - 2016

What It's About:  A legendary knight loses his moxie when his girlfriend is abducted by an inept evil king and then chooses to stay with him for the monetary advantage.  The knight is then recruited by a princess to rescue her land, which the king has invaded.  Much singing and dancing and breaking of the fourth wall ensue. 

Why I Love It:  My ultimate comfort show.   The Medieval Lite™ aesthetic, the carefree vibe, the joyfully outrageous and tongue-in-cheek spectacle of it all . . . it's unmatched, honestly.  It's a remarkably safe fictional world for me to return to over and over again.  It's so absurdly funny, and the humor is so self-aware and satirical, but it's also genuinely wholesome and adorable.  The recurring characters are all FANTASTIC — literally, every single one.  I could not love them — or this show — more.

My Favorite Character:  Literally can't choose, for this one.  They genuinely constitute one of my favorite fictional ensembles of all time.

My Favorite Season:  There are only two and they collectively amount to probably only six hours of sheer perfection, at most.  I can't choose between them.

My Favorite Ship:  All of them.  At the risk of sounding repetitive, I absolutely could not choose.

   

Try It If You Like:  Robin Hood: Men in Tights, musicals, satire/parody, found family, joy

Word(s) of Caution:  It's very silly, and it's supposed to be, so if you're a pretentious hack maybe steer clear.  It's also very raunchy in places, but the innuendo is never taken any more seriously than anything else in the show.  Still, "parental caution advised," and all that.

— Once Upon a Time —

ABC | 2011 - 2018

What It's About:  An evil queen casts a curse that transports Snow White, Prince Charming, and a host of other fairytale characters to a hidden town in Maine while also erasing all memories of their former lives.  The town is frozen in time, with none of the residents growing any older.  No one leaves and no one enters for twenty-eight years.  And then, someone does.  Much curse-breaking and portal-jumping and plot-twisting ensue.

^^ everyone on the show at one point or another

Why I Love It:  I feel like I've written about this so many times that it's a little redundant to do so again, but these characters.  THESE CHARACTERS, MAN.  They have all wrapped themselves around my heart and I know that's cheesy but I've just given into it at this point.  I love, love, love the way their stories play out.  It's so satisfying to watch the show reimagine so many different fairytales and weave them all together.  The aesthetic is also very fun and nostalgic, especially in the fall.  Takes me back to the halcyon days of youth in the early 2010s, and all that.

My Favorite Character:  Emma Swan Emma Swan Emma Swan.  I love her endlessly.  Honorable mentions are Killian, August, Neal, Regina, Graham, David, etc.

My Favorite Season:  Season 3.  The Neverland storyline is unmatched and the second half of the season is another favorite, featuring lots of meaty exposition for my precious angel babies Captain Swan.  *evil chuckles*  Season 2 is a close runner-up.

My Favorite Ship:  GUESS, WHY DON'T YOU

   

Try It If You Like:  Grimm, fairytales, magical realism, urban fantasy, portal fantasy, convoluted plots, Dramatic Reveals™, romance tropes

Word(s) of Caution:  Listen, the special effects are horrendous.  And the script is painfully overt at times.  And it's basically a soap opera.  And the storytelling gets weakly cyclical (they literally recycle characters) in the last two seasons.  BUT IT'S STILL A FANTASTIC SHOW AND I WILL DIE ON THAT HILL.  

— Leverage —

TNT | 2008 - 2012

What It's About:  A former insurance fraud investigator and a trio of criminals are hired to steal back some research that has been appropriated by a corrupt corporation.  When they are double-crossed by their employer, they decide to take revenge on him with the aid of another "outlaw" and soon discover that they have a collective penchant for robbing the rich to feed the poor.  Much law-bending and do-gooding and family-finding ensue.

Why I Love It:  As I've said before, this is possibly my favorite found family in all of fiction.  I love this group so much.  All of the heisting is fun, of course, but I wouldn't like the show nearly as much with a different cast of characters.  That said, it is fun to have a "crime show" that's so relaxing and fun, with a low death count and (not to be too cheesy) a good amount of what the youths might call heart.

My Favorite Character:  Is it Hardison?  It it Parker?  Who can say?  Certainly not I.  (But it's one of or both of those two.)

My Favorite Season:  Probably season 4.

My Favorite Ship:  Pardison, my beloved.

   

Try It If You Like:  Psych, low-stress crime dramedies, banter, modern-day Robin Hood vibes

Word(s) of Caution:  Like most (all?) TV shows, it's pretty repetitive.  The episode format stays essentially the same for the vast majority of the runtime.  It's also not particularly gritty or high-stakes, so if you need more octane in your dramas, maybe give it a miss.

— Frasier —

NBC | 1993 - 2004

What It's About:  A cultured but pretentious psychiatrist begins a career as a radio talk show host, offering on-air advice in bite-sized pieces.  Meanwhile, he juggles his commitments to his elderly father, a retired policeman with an injured hip; his father's physical therapist, a quirky British immigrant who believes she's psychic; his brother, a fellow psychiatrist with marital troubles; and his producer, a sarcastic plebeian who keeps him on his toes.  Much meddling and snobbery and wisecracking ensue.

Why I Love It:  I'm actually not 100% sure why I love this show so much.  The wittiness of the script?  The sweetness of the various relationships?  Must be one of the two, because I'm not usually a huge fan of stories that center on family (dys)function and I am usually a bit picky about TV shows, so, by rights, I should not like an eleven-season series about two pasty brothers and their equally pasty father this much.  But, here we are.

My Favorite Character:  Niles.  He's hysterical.

My Favorite Season:  I'm not sure, but maybe 3, 5, 6, or 7.

My Favorite Ship:  Daphne + Niles!  I love them.  Although, it irks me that the beginning of their relationship was written the way it was, given that we'd waited 7+ years for it.  Could we just retire the wedding crasher / home wrecker tropes?  Pretty please?

  

Try It If You Like:  Cheers, Full House, clever dialogue, sarcasm, slapstick humor, family dynamics

Word(s) of Caution:  Some cringey and concerning worldviews circa the 1990s.  A female character is slut-shamed relentlessly (and hypocritically, might I add), which gets really old.  A married man harbors a years-long crush on another woman but remains physically faithful to his wife. I personally think Martin's a bit of a creep, but your mileage may vary.  And the filming quality isn't great, because, well, it's a 90s sitcom.

— Robin Hood —

BBC | 2006 - 2009

What It's About:  A nobleman is outlawed upon his return from the Crusades.  He assembles a band of other outcasts and plots to deliver the oppressed town of Nottingham from the clutches of its evil sheriff.  Much peril and heartbreak and vigilante justice ensue.  

Why I Love It:  Oh, Robin Hood.  What else is there to say, really?  Y'all already know the depths of my affection for this show, what with having been relentlessly bashed over the head with it for three or four years straight awhile back.  (For the uninitiated, if you do a little digging, you'll very quickly uncover a plethora of posts that I wrote several years ago, wherein I engage in a level of fangirling over this show so feral as to be embarrassing now, in the staid, steady days of my old age.)  Suffice it to say, for the purposes of this post, that though my love for Robin Hood is no longer as frantic as it was in my teen years, it is still unbelievably close to my heart and likely to remain there more or less permanently.

My Favorite Character:  Marian Knighton.  For a time (and possibly still?), she was probably my favorite female character ever.  I love her deeply.

My Favorite Season:  Season 2.  We just don't speak of the last episode. 

My Favorite Ship:  Rarian will make me emotional to the end of my days.  (Major spoilers in the video on the left, btw.)

  

Try It If You Like:  Merlin, medieval vibes, period drama, found family, underdogs, suffering

Word(s) of Caution:  Don't watch it if you prefer your heart intact.  Or if historical inaccuracy really bothers you.  Also, please be warned that it can be extremely corny (mainly when it's attempting Epic Action™, which it can't really execute).  And the beginning of the first episode is WEIRD.  On multiple levels.  But I promise you, it gets better. 😅

— Monarch of the Glen —

BBC | 2000 - 2005

What It's About:  The heir to a derelict estate in the Scottish Highlands returns home when he hears that his father has fallen ill.  His plans for a brief visit are overturned when he realizes that the property is on the verge of bankruptcy due to his parents' financial naivete.  Grudgingly, he decides to stay until he can get the family back on its feet.  Much domestic upheaval and nature conservation and Scottish-ness ensue.

Why I Love It:  As I've written before, I really, really love the characters.  The setting and aesthetic are also so fun and relaxing — even though the plot isn't that original, the rich Scottish flavor gives it a very unique, jolly feel that you don't get in a lot of television.  And the scenery is gorgeous.

My Favorite Character:  Probably Molly, but I also really love Hector, Lexie, and Archie.

My Favorite Season:  2 or 4, maybe.

My Favorite Ship:  Molly + Golly, at present.  (Do I low-key hate that their names rhyme like that?  Yes!  Is there anything I can do about it?  No!  Am I going to move on now?  You betcha!)  They are such an adorable, sweet, wholesome slow burn, and they have several little moments together that reduce me to squealing schoolgirl glee.  (Spoilers:  It is, of course, Very Gross™ that Golly knew about Paul and kept it from Molly all those years, but I will forgive it for the sake of ship.)  

Now, there is a tragic paucity of fan videos for this series, and what few there are are of very poor quality, but here's what I can give you so you can at least get a taste of my two favorite couples. 😊  The video on the left is particularly spoiler-y.

 

Try It If You Like:  Family sagas, crumbling castles, nature-heavy cinematography, early 2000s vibes, wry humor, Scottish accents

Word(s) of Caution:  The characters make a lot of very stupid and very adolescent decisions in their love lives, and they all have their various immaturities and peccadilloes.  But they're also all very loveable (to me, at least), so you forgive them.  A married woman has a very brief affair (non-sexual but physical) with her husband's brother.  She ends that affair.  Another character, after their death, is also revealed to have had an affair.

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There you have it!  Like I mentioned in the beginning of the post, these are my "core favorites" out of a larger well of TV shows I enjoy, so I have several more that I considered writing about as well.  Should I do a part two with my "second favorites"?  Let me know!

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What are your favorite TV series?