Here are the answers to the second six questions Goldstein asks on his podcast. To read the first six, see last week’s post.
What is the sexiest TV Show? — Queer as Folk (the 1999-2005 Showtime series). And not just because there is sex in the show (which there is quite a lot – I swear it does calm down from the pilot/first season). But more so because this was a show where folks got to be themselves. It was not a world (like Schitt’s Creek) where homophobia didn’t exist – it did, and it did play into the plot. This show got to be sexy because people were unapologetically themselves – while they evolved and grew. And no matter the content/context, that is a sexy thing.
Which TV Show do you most relate to? — I spent a lot of time on this question, and I think I’ve landed on Superstore. I spent a good chunk of my life working customer service jobs (in a tourist area, ugh), so I can relate to a lot of issues and can recognize a lot of the customers these characters encounter. I also relate to the notion of work friends – how you can lift each other up and make even a shitty job bearable.
Which TV Show is objectively the greatest ever? — The Americans. Matthew Rhys. Keri Russel. Do I need to say more? The acting is superb. The plot ripe with tension. It’s a show about family, about marriage. It’s about friendship. All with the backdrop of the Cold War during the 1980s – because, if you didn’t know, Rhys and Russel play KGB spies (THIS is how you thwart expectations with the tiny blonde woman who can kick @$$). The intricacies and complications of developing and maintaining spies, of planning missions and questioning orders – even rewatching it and knowing what’s coming, the tension persists. It’s SO good.
I have to give a second answer, which is Ted Lasso. I initially had no interest in watching it because I know nothing about soccer (due to not really have access to it as a kid, either playing or watching). But a friend thankfully encouraged me to watch, and I was HOOKED after the first episode. It’s so much more than soccer. It’s about friendship and becoming the best version of yourself and mental health and just life. The story is character-driven (which I LOVE). I know there was a lot of hate for the series finale, and while some storylines didn’t wrap up how I would have liked them, I still thought it was great and satisfying. If you’ve neglected watching thus far because you don’t care about soccer, just watch it. Trust me.
And for a third answer because I just can’t choose – The West Wing. Sorkin is just such a great writer, and the actors are all superb. I wasn’t able to watch this when it aired live, but I have seen it so many times thanks to streaming services. It never gets old.
Which TV Show is the one you’ve watched the most? — Will & Grace. Gilmore Girls. NCIS. White Collar. Rizzoli & Isles. Bones. Lucifer. (I have a thing for detective procedurals.) The Good Place. Schitt’s Creek. Ted Lasso. I like noise when I work, so there are shows that I’ll play over and over because I don’t need to watch closely. When I need a moment away from grading, I’ll tune in to the show. Because I’ve seen it enough times, I can just jump in and out of the plot.
What’s the worst TV Show you’ve ever seen? — Like I said last week, if I find a show to be terrible, I tend to turn it off after a couple episodes. I guess I can say that I have a love/hate relationship with Grey’s Anatomy. I got hooked early on with the original group of interns, but after a while, I had to stop watching because it just became too far fetched with the number of things they put those characters through. I actually stopped watching after Derek died. Not because he died, but because you knew going in he would die, and the episode was just an entire hour of playing with our emotions – back to back to back incidents that all almost killed him but didn’t. It felt more for ratings than for the sake of storytelling. I’ve caught up and stopped watching and caught up and stopped watching a few times now. I have a similar relationship with NCIS, though not quite as extreme. Just a feeling that both of these shows need to end already. I’m watching only because I have invested so much of my life to them both.
What is the TV Show that’s literally made you laugh out loud the most? — Ted Lasso. There are so many one-liners that catch me off guard, even on a rewatch. There are also so many gut-wrenching moments, but they all balance out so well. Also love to laugh during The Good Place, Superstore, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Schitt’s Creek, The Big Bang Theory, Will & Grace. I hate that The Chair didn’t get another season.
At the end of the podcast, Goldstein tells his guest that there is only enough room in the casket to take one film with them into the afterlife – so which one would they take? This is a hard one for this TV show version – there are so many I wish I could take. I think I would have to flip a coin and either take The Americans or The West Wing.
Ami Maxine 