PixlBit

I hate cold weather, and one of the biggest worries about the move I'm getting ready to make is getting through an East Coast winter.

The Simpsons will probably always be my favorite TV show of all time. I remember the first Butterfinger commercials and couldn't believe it when they announced the show. I didn't have cable back in the 1980s so I missed the Simpsons shorts on Tracey Ullman that were the genesis of the show. I think the big downfall of the Simpsons is that it got so popular that everyone and their brother wants to guest star on it (quite a change from the early seasons when Dustin Hoffman and Michael Jackson guest-starred under fake names!) and it's gotten hopelessly away from the Simpsons as the working-class Everyfamily that Groening envisioned when the show first launched. It's kind of hard to depict them as Everyfamily when they're on a first-name basis with almost every celebrity in Hollywood. But then I doubt that they expected it would go on to be the most successful TV show in history, and so I think that was out of the control of Groening and company. Regardless, most of the episodes are still funny.

Futurama is right after The Simpsons on my list, and in some ways, it's remained fresher and edgier than its parent show. The Simpsons is up-and-down at times (still has plenty of brilliance), but Futurama is more consistently out there. Katey Sagal (the voice of Leela, who played Peggy in Married With Children and now plays Gemma on Sons of Anarchy) is my favorite TV actress, and it's mind-blowing that she's pretty much been on TV nonstop for over 30 years now. That's quite an impressive career!

After that is King of the Hill, which also remained consistently good for the most part over its 13-odd-year run. It kind of got screwed by getting preempted by the NFL a lot. It's too bad they didn't give it a better time slot instead of letting Seth McFarlane take over Sunday nights by cloning Family Guy over and over again.

The Flintstones were actually a pretty brilliant sendup of 1960s suburban life and popular TV shows of its time, with the Flintstones and the Rubbles basically being cartoon expies of the Cramdens and the Nortons from "The Honeymooners". I'd argue that the Flintstones actually went on to completely eclipse its original inspiration. It was pretty edgy in the 1960s to see Wilma pregnant with Pebbles (on most live-action sitcoms of the time, the parents slept in separate beds and parenthood was depicted as a very sterile process).

The Jetsons also started off as a prime-time spinoff of The Flintstones in the 1960s before they were revived in the 1980s as a kids' show. They were a Raygun Gothic (similar to the aesthetic shown in the Fallout games) look at the future and actually look more dated than the Flintstones, which has stood the test of time nicely.

I also like the Garfield specials, and Garfield and Friends on Saturday morning was doing Simpsons-style humor before the Simpsons got their own TV show.

I don't watch South Park faithfully, but I do watch it sometimes. It's kind of dumb at times, but I think it's cool that the way Trey and Matt produce the series that they can come out with episodes that make fun of whatever is going on in the news at the time they air.

And that brings me to Family Guy. Jamie nailed it. I liked the early seasons, which were kind of like dumbed-down Simpsons episodes. Since the show got brought back it's just not really funny except for a few episodes like the one with Rush Limbaugh on it. It's pretty much nothing but mean-spirited snideness anymore, and the humor is nonexistent. Even Quagmire has turned into a grating insufferable ass. But somehow, it got popular enough that Fox let Seth McFarlane make two other animated shows that are more or less straight-up clones of Family Guy: dumbass dad, neurotic mom, dumb kid, supergenius kid, and the talking animal best friend. After Family Guy got cancelled and then brought back, they went from aping The Simpsons to aping South Park, but they're no better at that than they were at aping The Simpsons. But I digress...

I've worked a lot of holidays in my life. It's not that I enjoy doing so (it sucks, frankly), it's just how it ends up shaking out. On the other hand, there is either time-and-a-half or double pay for working holidays in general, which takes a bit of the sting out. I also get paid extra for working Black Friday.

AwesomeSAUCE! Glad your wife was understanding. Always a nice bonus to have a spouse that can at least meet you halfway on your hobbies. I should know. :)

Worked Thursday and Friday (not retail, medical), worked on a paper Saturday and Sunday. That's it.

Anyway, I'm thinking of getting a PS TV myself. ToHR is my big motivator, but I think I'd also buy the digital version of Valkyria Chronicles II and play it on PSTV, among other games.

It is a Vita TV compatible.

Looks like your wife also understands how important these things are to you, too. Always a nice bonus when both spouses do realize even in the midst of compromise that the little things are important. Looking forward to your next entry. :)

I've never been through that tunnel (never been to North Carolina, for that matter), but I went sailing on the bay itself in 1988 through the Annapolis Sailing School.

While it's sad that you had to part with your game collection, it's understandable. Circumstances change, and a part of married life is setting priorities that both you and your spouse can agree on.