Mac & Cheez On The TeeVeez: Comfort Television

[Colorado David]

I don't know what to title this topic other than 'levelers'. For me, this is tv shows/movies that I consistently use or have used to level out my day/week/mood.  

For me, a big one was 'House'. Always enjoyed watching it, still do, find the puzzle solving puts my mind in a happy place regardless of how stressed out I am. Like TV therapy, for want of a better term. It has very nice highs, it has really downer lows. I enjoy the ride both ways.

Do you have any levelers you have? I'm thinking people who watch soaps will tell me their soaps are their daily levelers, but's a guess as I'm not a soap person.

[ratgirlagogo]

Baseball and professional wrestling.

[MsTree]

12 hours ago, Colorado David said:

I'm thinking people who watch soaps will tell me their soaps are their daily levelers, but's a guess as I'm not a soap person.

...and you would be 100% correct.

[AuntieL]

British murder mysteries - Midsomer Murders, Vera, Shetland, etc. 

[roamyn]

Comedies like Friends, Cheers, Night Court, TBBT, The Good Place, Home Improvement and The Golden Girls.

Also, some mindless reality shows like Insane Pools, Mountain Men, Forged, (and not so mindless), Alone.  With the exception of Alone, I don’t reallywatch the others, but I turn them on for comforting background noise.

Edited September 30, 2018 by roamyn

[krankydoodle]

It's been a while since I watched it, but for a long time I would fall asleep to the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. There was something comforting about a world where the worst thing is a snobby, pushy, but fundamentally decent, neighbor.

[Macbeth]

The Great British Baking Show - Old School. Just a lovely show with lovely people and Paul Hollywood. 

[Snow Apple]

This is going to sound weird because the topic is about relaxing, but I like crime shows like Snapped and Deadly Women and documentaries of notorious criminals and cults. 

I also like shows about history and religion. And trivia game shows.

[rur]

1 hour ago, Macbeth said:

The Great British Baking Show - Old School. Just a lovely show with lovely people and Paul Hollywood. 

I'll second this.

People don't have to run to their stations like in so many US shows; they appear to like each other; and I learn stuff about cooking. 

[Colorado David]

34 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

This is going to sound weird because the topic is about relaxing, but I like crime shows like Snapped and Deadly Women and documentaries of notorious criminals and cults. 

I also like shows about history and religion. And trivia game shows.

Not weird, I'm a devotee of 'My Favorite Murder'. You'd probably enjoy it!

[festivus]

55 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

This is going to sound weird because the topic is about relaxing, but I like crime shows like Snapped and Deadly Women and documentaries of notorious criminals and cults. 

I don't think it is, I lived and breathed true crime books and shows in the '80s when I was young so now I can fall asleep to those kind of shows. I can fall asleep to horror movies too and the screaming doesn't wake me. (I may be weird)

For something less horrifying my comfort shows are any space shows they have on the Science channel with my favorite being the original Cosmos.

[Colorado David]

Years ago I watched DOOL as our leveler with my ex girlfriend. It was enjoyable. For some reason the medical dramas took over - House, ER, St elsewhere, etc

Edited September 30, 2018 by Colorado David

[Colorado David]

Hill Street Blues on thursday nights was a leveler too, as it meant the weekend was only a day away 

[Blergh]

I find myself getting nostalgic for good, classic family comedies like I Love Lucy, Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, My Three Sons and even the workplace family of Mary Tyler Moore Show.

[andromeda331]

Leverage, Castle, Gilmore Girls, Psych, the Closer, SOAP, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Burn Notice and How the Universe Works.  Watching the fun and craziness of group of people taking down bad guys never stops being fun and comforting. Hardison showing up pretending to work at a company, conducting a meeting, getting them to throw him a birthday party, and then firing himself at the end of the day. Anything Parker does including assuming when Nate said start a fight he meant an actual fight and not starting an argument. Everyone's version of what happened in the Rashomon episode. Shawn and Gus being funny while investigating crimes. All the great mother daughter moments between Lorelai and Rory, Lorelai helping Rory when she needs to study for a test or nervous about dating for the first time. All Lorelai and Emily's nice moments and attempts be close like Lorelai worrying about her Mother and stopping to by to "hang" with her mother Emily not knowing what to do with that but clearly surprised and touched. Emily and Lorelai bonding when Emily tries to take care of her when Lorelai hurt her back. Emily trying to cheer Lorelai up when her dance partner bailed by offering to let her make her vegetables talk, Emily wondering why she and Lorelai aren't close at the end of the spa episode. Lorelai buying Emily a DVD player and her favorite musicals on DVD. Lane and her mother becoming close with Lorelai helping at times not wanting them to end up like her and her mother not speaking for years. The absolute fun and craziness of SOAP and 3rd Rock From the Sun. And watching stories on different planets, moons and things in How the Universe works, Space's Deepest Secrets and the Planets and Beyond.

Edited September 30, 2018 by andromeda331

[AuntieL]

Ooh Leverage. That's one of mine too but it's not usually on when I can watch. 

Also I can watch Stargate -SGI all day long; and NCIS-LA. 

Edited September 30, 2018 by AuntieL

[BaggythePanther]

Whenever I go to my mom’s house we always end up on Lifetime movies. Mom and I get a kick out of trying to predict how the movie will end and once in awhile there’s a twist. I personally also like the Hallmark Christmas movies. They’re predictable but sappy and I’m always in the mood for that around Christmas time.

[Annber03]

5 hours ago, festivus said:

I don't think it is, I lived and breathed true crime books and shows in the '80s when I was young so now I can fall asleep to those kind of shows. I can fall asleep to horror movies too and the screaming doesn't wake me. (I may be weird)

I regularly fall asleep with the Investigation Discovery channel on :p. Doesn't bother me, either. My mom, on the other hand, has said she's had some creepy dreams after watching that channel. 

If I'm not watching the ID channel, then comedy shows are always a nice source of comfort. "Frasier" is a definite go-to in particular. And Stephen Colbert's show is always a good way to end a day, too. 

"The Twilight Zone" can be oddly comforting, too. Get to see some classic actors, the stories are so well-written, you can let your imagination have fun...

Edited October 1, 2018 by Annber03

[GreekGeek]

I can't watch it during the school year because it's on MeTV in the morning, but I liked starting off my day with Leave It to Beaver during the summer. The other 50s/early 60s family shows are too bland for me, but LItB holds up not only because of the Cleaver family but with the wonderful array of secondary characters--Eddie, Lumpy and dad Fred, Larry and his mom, Gilbert, Richard, Whitey, Judy, Penny, Gus, and many others.

[meep.meep]

Around my house we refer to the "soothing sounds of HGTV"!

I inherited my mother's cat who lived in the kitchen (it was big) where the TV was always tuned to HGTV.  When the cat got mean and bitey, we'd turn on the wonder channel and it would sooth her right out.  That, and singing Soft Kitty.

My comfort show is Antiques Roadshow.  

[DearEvette]

Leverage.  I can just randomly pick an episode and be in my happy place.

Eureka.  Ditto,

Misfits.  But only the first two seasons.

Greek.

[cleo]

Yeah soaps for sure and comedies. Soaps oddly enough I didn't watch much growing up, with one exception when I was about 12 to 13. Discovered them again on Youtube in my 30s and got hooked. I like both soaps and comedies, bc nothing truly bad ever really happens so it's good for just chilling out.

Edited October 2, 2018 by cleo

[tennisgurl]

I have a soft spot for the 1960s Batman. Yeah its campy and ridiculous, and but its a fun kind of campy and ridiculous. Its stupid, but it kind of knows its stupid, and just embraces it, without losing its sincerity. I grew up watching re-runs with my dad, and it always leaves me in a good mood. 

I also always love catching up on Gilmore Girls, Friends, and Psych. They dont require me to think very much, but are smart enough that I dont feel like I am wasting brain cells away.

[Snow Apple]

The Simpsons. Especially reruns from the glory days.

[AgentRXS]

Original recipe Roseanne, Season 1-5. I despise Barr now, but those episodes remind me of my childhood---I will not let her take that away from me.

Golden Girls, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , basically any sitcom from the 80s/90s.

[Anela]

Gilmore girls.  I can’t watch it as I go to sleep tonight, because my internet is out. I won’t have a new modem for a day or two. First world problems, I know.  

This is the show that I put on when I need to cheer up, or relax. Sometimes it makes me cry, when I really miss my mum.  

Greys anatomy used to fit the bill.  I loved the first two seasons, until Izzy went crazy over Denny. 

Medium, was another.  I got my Mum into that, and finally watched it by myself again last year. I need to do that with The Closer (which I also watched with Mum). It would just be more comforting if she was still around.  

[Spartan Girl]

Fresh Prince is always my go-to.  And South Park and American Dad.

[blueray]

For me it is either Lost, Star trek (any of them) or any of the Stargate's. I love to escape into a sci-fi story, I'll generally watch a random episode as I've seen all of them.

[callie lee 29]

On 9/30/2018 at 2:13 PM, Snow Apple said:

This is going to sound weird because the topic is about relaxing, but I like crime shows like Snapped and Deadly Women and documentaries of notorious criminals and cults. 

I also like shows about history and religion. And trivia game shows.

The only reason I have Hulu is so I can watch hours of Deadly Women.

[HazelEyes4325]

Mine is Call the Midwife and, oddly enough, The Almighty Johnsons.  The last one is, I know, inexplicable.

[HunterHunted]

58 minutes ago, HazelEyes4325 said:

Mine is Call the Midwife and, oddly enough, The Almighty Johnsons.  The last one is, I know, inexplicable.

The Almighty Johnsons is really silly and fun until Mike went power mad in season 3.

[AstaCharles]

Columbo, especially the ones in the '70's. Jack Cassidy was my favorite villain.

[Snow Apple]

I've been enjoying reruns of Alice and What's Happening. They're like old friends after all these years.

[Bastet]

Major Crimes - Sharon Raydor is the epitome of comfort to me (so, thanks a lot, James Duff, but if I stop at the season five finale and start over, I manage not to get sad)

The Golden Girls, Designing Women, Roseanne, AbFab, and Seinfeld - comedies I know like the back of my hand yet still laugh every time

Moonlighting (seasons one, two and part of three, anyway) - the sheer brilliance of it makes me happy, and it reminds me of a fun time in my life

The West Wing (seasons two and three, especially) - watching well-intentioned politicians is very comforting

[DangerousMinds]

On 9/29/2018 at 3:43 PM, Colorado David said:

I don't know what to title this topic other than 'levelers'. For me, this is tv shows/movies that I consistently use or have used to level out my day/week/mood.  

For me, a big one was 'House'. Always enjoyed watching it, still do, find the puzzle solving puts my mind in a happy place regardless of how stressed out I am. Like TV therapy, for want of a better term. It has very nice highs, it has really downer lows. I enjoy the ride both ways.

Do you have any levelers you have? I'm thinking people who watch soaps will tell me their soaps are their daily levelers, but's a guess as I'm not a soap person.

Frasier

[crazycatlady58]

While not on t.v.now, Bob Ross's "The Joy of Painting  " will relax me so I can fall asleep .  YouTube is great. 

[Annber03]

5 minutes ago, crazycatlady58 said:

While not on t.v.now, Bob Ross's "The Joy of Painting  " will relax me so I can fall asleep .  YouTube is great. 

I used to watch that show with my grandma all the time when I was little :D. Anytime I went to her place on the weekends, come 2:30 pm we'd turn to PBS and watch the show. And if we were at home, we'd talk about the show if she called to chat. It is a very relaxing show. 

[ratgirlagogo]

8 hours ago, forumfish said:

some idiot at Time Warner (now Spectrum) decided to blast the "weekly" test alarm at 3 in the morning 2-3 days a week. It would jar me awake, so I started putting on a disc of ST:TNG to sleep by. Then I discovered MeTV and they started running Cannon from the pilot last week, so now I set the recorder for 2-3 a.m

I hate that test alarm!  Either it wakes me up, or Mr Rat is home early enough that we're watching something off the DVR and WHAM! 

 I just discovered Cannon this year - I mean, I knew about it but didn't watch it really when it was first on when I was in high school.  William Conrad is such a good actor, and Cannon is a great character.   Also the fun thing about these old shows is the guest stars - young actors on their way up like Martin Sheen and Tom Skerritt, and older ones I know from TCM, or from their radio work (like John Dehner and Virginia Gregg.   Definitely comfort TV.

Edited October 5, 2018 by ratgirlagogo

[festivus]

12 hours ago, crazycatlady58 said:

While not on t.v.now, Bob Ross's "The Joy of Painting  " will relax me so I can fall asleep .  YouTube is great. 

Anytime I've been channel surfing and I come across this show I literally cannot change the channel. It's so hypnotizing.

[selkie]

Professional road cycling. Since the big races typically get a lot of funding from local tourism boards, there is significant incentive to showcase some beautiful landscapes and architecture all around the world. (I jokingly call the Tour de France three hours of Castles! Cathedrals! Cols! Cows! every morning in July)

[mattie0808]

The Hallmark Channel is the king of this for me...hours of Golden Girls, Frasier, and Cheers around the time I'm going to sleep and well into the night. Wake up the next morning and it's I Love Lucy. It's big for me not to wake up to some obnxious informercial or game show (hello Baggage!), whether I sleep through until morning or get up a some point in the middle of the night. I don't really watch Lucy, but it doesn't have me lunging for the remote as soon as I am alert, lol.

[Peace 47]

For me, this thread could be subtitled:  “90s/ early 2000s TV Shows of Broad Appeal.”  My picks overlap with a lot of the posts above:  South Park, S3-S10ish Simpsons, Frasier, Friends, Law & Order:  Crispy Original, Star Trek:  TNG.  Standalone episodes only (no arcs) if I’m trying to fall asleep or get some of the day’s anxiety out.  (Arcs work me up and get me all invested in watching more episodes, lol.)

Also stand-up specials.  I’ll sample tons of what Netflix churns out to try to wind down from a rough day, but I also go back to the ones that really struck a chord.  I’ve watched the John Mulaney and Dave Chappelle Netflix specials an embarrassing amount of times.

[Snow Apple]

20 hours ago, crazycatlady58 said:

While not on t.v.now, Bob Ross's "The Joy of Painting  " will relax me so I can fall asleep .  YouTube is great. 

It Is relaxing but just when I think he's finished, he'd start painting again and I'd yell "stop! It's perfect!" But of course he always make it even better.

[Maharincess]

Needless to say, I Love Lucy is my ultimate comfort TV. Even as a little kid if I was home sick I'd lie on the couch and watch Lucy and she always made me feel better. I've been watching my DVDs a lot lately.  Lucy just makes me happy and she has since I was 4 and my mom's friends named me Miss McGillicuddy. 

[Anela]

On 10/4/2018 at 7:12 PM, Bastet said:

Major Crimes - Sharon Raydor is the epitome of comfort to me (so, thanks a lot, James Duff, but if I stop at the season five finale and start over, I manage not to get sad)

The Golden Girls, Designing Women, Roseanne, AbFab, and Seinfeld - comedies I know like the back of my hand yet still laugh every time

Moonlighting (seasons one, two and part of three, anyway) - the sheer brilliance of it makes me happy, and it reminds me of a fun time in my life

The West Wing (seasons two and three, especially) - watching well-intentioned politicians is very comforting

I only watched The West Wing, last year, and I'm ready for another round. I wish I hadn't skipped so many TV shows when it was actually airing. I was more interested in the internet, and reading a lot. 

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Maharincess said:

Needless to say, I Love Lucy is my ultimate comfort TV. Even as a little kid if I was home sick I'd lie on the couch and watch Lucy and she always made me feel better. I've been watching my DVDs a lot lately.  Lucy just makes me happy and she has since I was 4 and my mom's friends named me Miss McGillicuddy. 

Yep, she was one of my fave babysitters since I believed with ALL the crazy stuff that happened to her onscreen, she'd somehow protect me from anything bad happen on my side of the screen. LOL

On a more recent note, I have to admit that in the weeks after 9-11, watching The Electric Company on Noggin and thinking back to a time when such horrible things had been unimaginable and there was wonder and humor in learning, gave me a good amount of strength to cope!

[littlewonder]

My go-to is reality tv.  If I'm home sick, I'll just put on a playlist of America's Next top Model and Project Runway and leave it on random.  I see Christian Siriano making a prom dress for a difficult client, then I wake up from a nap and Melrose and Eugena are fighting.  It all melds together.

 

Last night, I couldn't sleep so I put on Full House.  The stakes are unbelievably low so I knew I wouldn't care what I missed when I finally managed to sleep.

[bmasters9]

On 10/5/2018 at 1:47 AM, ratgirlagogo said:

Also the fun thing about these old shows is the guest stars - young actors on their way up like Martin Sheen and Tom Skerritt

 

And also Larry Hagman-- he was in a fourth-season episode of The Streets of San Francisco called "Dead Air" as arrogant S.F. radio host Terry Vine (OAD Thursday, Nov. 13, 1975 on ABC; on Disc 3 of first volume of fourth season's worth within CBS' condensed all-in-one), and from what I saw, he showed a lot of what he would be later known for as J.R. Ewing on O-R Dallas on CBS from 1978-91.

These are some shots that I captured from that episode as it was presented in the CBS condensed all-in-one of The Streets of San Francisco.

 

 

Edited November 8, 2018 by bmasters9
Unneeded parentheses

[festivus]

Love the jaunty scarves!

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 hours ago, bmasters9 said:

And also Larry Hagman-- he was in a fourth-season episode of The Streets of San Francisco called "Dead Air" as arrogant S.F. radio host Terry Vine (OAD Thursday, Nov. 13, 1975 on ABC; on Disc 3 of first volume of fourth season's worth within CBS' condensed all-in-one), and from what I saw, he showed a lot of what he would be later known for as J.R. Ewing on O-R Dallas on CBS from 1978-91.

These are some shots that I captured from that episode as it was presented in the CBS condensed all-in-one of The Streets of San Francisco.

 

 

But Larry was already a known star. He was Major Tony Nelson on I Dream of Jeannie.

So not an unknown who would become famous later. I remember it was hard for me to see him as the Original Magnificent Bastard on Dallas because I was watching him as Tony during the day!