I’m still feeling under the weather and, thus, am a little cranky and not really feeling like having to think about tonight’s writing. So I thought I’d share with you some of my non-literary media superlatives from last year:<\/p>\n
Best movie I saw in a theater<\/strong>: Wonder Woman<\/em> (which we liked so much we saw twice!). It was nice to see a superhero movie where the main character is so driven by kindness and goodwill, rather than revenge. Runner-up:<\/strong> Coco<\/em>, about a boy who accidentally ends up in the Afterlife on the Day of the Dead and who must receive a family blessing in order to return to the living. (It just received an Oscar nod and should still be in theaters if you haven’t yet seen it.)<\/p>\n Best movie I saw on video:<\/strong> The Beautiful Fantastic<\/em>, about a young British woman afraid of the outdoors who is told she may only remain in her flat if she fixes up her garden. Runner-up:<\/strong> The Big Sick<\/em>, by comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, Emily Gordon, about the early stages of their relationship, which included a period of time when she was in a coma (when they were also technically broken up). (All the best lines are not included in the previews, which was my big fear.)<\/p>\n Best new over-the-air tv comedy that hasn’t been canceled yet:<\/strong> Superior Doughnuts<\/em>, in which a cranky White doughnut shop owner (Judd Hirsch) hires a Black graffiti artist to work in his shop. Explores issues of gentrification and race relations.<\/p>\n Best new over-the-air tv show that has already been canceled:<\/strong> The Mayor<\/em>, about a young Black rapper who runs for mayor of his California city as a p.r. move to promote his album and then, to his dismay and to his mother’s pride, wins the race.<\/p>\n Best new over-the-air tv dramedy:<\/strong> Kevin (Probably) Saves the World<\/em>, about a down-on-his luck sad sack who moves home to his sister’s and then encounters a celestial being who informs him that he has to help her locate 35 other people whose job it is to protect humanity. It’s really much better than that description lets on, and it’s kooky enough that I don’t know what’s going to happen next (except that there will, of course, be a happy ending).<\/p>\n Best new streaming comedy:<\/strong> One Day at a Time<\/em>, a remake of the 1970s show in which the family is Cuban, the mom is a nurse and veteran, Schneider is a hipster, and the grandmother, who lives with them, is the incomparable Rita Moreno. Season two begins this week.<\/p>\n Best “new” streaming drama:<\/strong> Father Brown<\/em>, in which Mr. Weasley stars as a Catholic priest in a post-WWII English village who solves murders while tending to his flock. (This is cheating a little bit, because I did see an episode with Gramma several years ago on PBS, but this is my list and I can bend any rules I make.)<\/p>\n Favorite new album:<\/strong> The late Sharon Jones’ Soul of a Woman<\/em>, which just breaks your heart one more time over her death. Runners-up (holiday albums):<\/strong> Hanson’s Finally, It’s Christmas<\/em> and Sia’s Everyday Is Christmas<\/em> (which I did not like the first time I listened to it). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’m still feeling under the weather and, thus, am a little cranky and not really feeling like having to think about tonight’s writing. So I thought I’d share with you some of my non-literary media superlatives from last year: Best movie I saw in a theater: Wonder Woman (which we liked so much we saw […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts"],"yoast_head":"\n