Whatcha watchin'?

In the Christoff household, we love the late winter season, because even as the wind howls outside, we're cozy indoors, on the couch, with each other, our dogs, our favorite books, our must-watch movies, and new-to-view TV shows. And if you ask our opinion, this year, TV is better than ever. Here's what we can't wait to watch:

1) The X-Files Revival
Often imitated, but never duplicated, The X-Files starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson didn't just launch the careers of its stars. It launched the fledgling FOX network and a plethora of amazing writers, directors, and producers who would go on to mastermind more TV phenomena like Lost and Supernatural. But after a rocky conclusion to the original series and a rough start this time around, The X-Files are back in a big way, if only for a six-episode event, reminding us just how tenuous the truth can be and setting new records for FOX. David Duchovny is still the "spooky" Special Agent Mulder and Gillian Anderson has only grown in beauty, grace, and ability as Special Agent Scully. With inside jokes for X-Philes and cameos by beloved character actors, this isn't a show we watch On Demand or online. This is good, old-fashioned appointment television, and you'll know where the Christoffs will be every Monday night throughout the series.

2) Pretty Little Liars: Five Years Forward
Based on the Young Adult novels by Sara Shepard, this series about four girls who are cyberbullied after their clique's queen bee ends up dead, led moms and daughters to watch TV together like the entertainment industry hadn't seen in decades--and to break land speed records tweeting about every aspect of the story. When the show's writers wrapped up the main mystery and the characters' high school days last fall, however, many thought it signaled the end of the series. In an innovative move, though, the Liars are back, fresh out of college, and facing new threats together. All at once, the show has gone from YA to NA, just as its audience has, and the fit couldn't be better for the actresses, too, who are now well into their twenties. This is the power of strong writing, and in my house, we're loving every minute spent watching it.

3) Detectorists
This British import from BBC Four features Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones as a pair of small-town misfits, armed with metal detectors and on the look-out for fame and fortune. Like the rest of us, however, they're truly searching for their heart's happiness, whether they know it or not. Always funny and often bittersweet, this show is for anyone who's hit a certain point in life, looked around, and realized this isn't the ride you signed up for. Will characters Andy and Lance find their true bliss? Mr. C and I certainly hope so, because that might mean there's hope for all of us.

So, that's what the Christoffs are watching this winter season. What's on your TV and why do you love it so?

Muppets and More: Childhood and the Stories Grown-Ups Crave

Kermit the Frog is the reason I became a broadcaster. In his tan trench coat, with his microphone in his long, green fingers, Kermit popped up all over Sesame Street, getting to the bottom of stories such as Humpty Dumpty’s demise. And on The Muppet Show, Kermit kept his cast of Muppets from galloping toward chaos as the ultimate stage manager, producer, and director.

As a result, my brother and I made up our own radio broadcasts and styled our own variety shows, recording our work on a General Electric tape recorder that was so old, Ray Dolby’s ideas about noise reduction and chrome alloy cassettes were a distant dream to us.

When I was five, one of my mother’s friends gave me my very own Muppet. I can’t remember his name, but he was purple and he wore a striped sweater and he came in a box. He came with a wardrobe of facial features, too, that stuck to his face with Velcro. I loved his glasses and his squishy orange nose. Soon, he began starring in the variety shows we recorded on those old GE cassettes which, come to think of it, were a lot like the tapes Mr. Rogers later showcased on his show and in the recent PBS video, “Garden of Your Mind.”

With all this, then, is it any wonder that I’m a veteran of broadcast news or that the heroine in my latest novel wears glasses?

Nope!

In fact, the books, songs, movies, and TV shows that touched us when we were kids continue to shape us as adults, too. They influence what we value in the stories we encounter today. But to paraphrase LeVar Burton of that childhood staple, Reading Rainbow, you don’t have to take my word for it. Chris Carter, creator of the 1990s runaway hit, The X-Files, said he wanted that show to recreate the feelings he had a as a kid in California when he watched Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Kolchak quit investigating the weird and the wonderful in 1975, but during the height of The X-Files’ popularity, a short-lived reincarnation starring Stuart Townsend and Gabrielle Union came to life and you could even catch the original episodes on some cable channels. Sure, those old episodes seem a little campy by today’s standards, but to a child of the ’70s, they were probably as thrilling as The Twilight Zone was in the ’60s or Fringe has been recently.

 

The bottom line is that Carter carried Kolchak with him into adulthood--and into what it means to have a great story. And I've carried the Muppets, Mr. Rogers, Nancy Drew, and even Remington Steele with me. With that said, I'm excited to see what stories may come from generations moved by Veronica Mars, Firefly, or Pretty Little Liars.

And I'd love to know what favorite childhood books, songs, movies, or TV shows have stayed with you. Which ones taught you what to look for in a story today?