Farewell and Good Riddance 2016

I know there were some good things that happened in 2016, but sadly they were so over shadowed by the bad. The most obvious being the election. I’m not talking just about the outcome, because obviously somebody is happy, but about the loss of civility. The long, long road of the primaries and then the general election practically did me in. I was just waiting for the election season to be over so I cold turn the television back on, but then. All I can say is thank goodness for Netflix and Amazon.
So rather than reslinging the hash of the horrible stuff that happened this year I am going to praise the good diversion stuff on TV I used to ignore reality. Top of my list was The Crown. Seeing a young Queen Elizabeth handle the scandals of her time with grace and good sense gave me hope for the future world.  
Stranger Things gave me a good few binge hours on the treadmill. It was a complicated enough story though that I am going to have to rewatch the whole thing again before the next season comes out. I have never liked Winona Ryder more than as a mother who does not give up trying to find her son. The fact that the co-creators and writers are a pair of brothers who grew up in Durham makes it even more fun.
Speaking of local stars, I loved Megan Ketch in the summer hit American Gothic. She was perfect as the “good” sister trying to have a baby. I was drawn into the story to figure out who the killer was week after week. The only bad thing is that it was on CBS broadcast regular TV so I could not binge it. I am becoming bad at watching serial TV. I am hoping that it comes back next summer, but I am worried that Virginia Masden, who played Megan’s mother is now staring on Designated Survivor another show I have started watching. With Masden committed elsewhere I am wondering if that kills American Gothic.
I relived the eighties with The People vs. OJ. I like Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark so much more than the real Clark. My favorite side bits were where the Kardashian children appeared, well before anyone was keeping up with them.
My last guilty pleasure is Fixer Upper. I am certainly not the only person who fell in love with Chip and Joanna Gaines this year. I am hoping that they are able to keep their relationship as light as fresh under the huge spot light of such fame. Magnolia Farms is the best thing to happen to Waco, Texas ever.
Using TV to ignore unpleasantness in the world is only possible with streaming, dvtvr and fast forwarding. If I really wanted to retreat from reality I would just read books. Please 2017, I like books, but don’t make things any worse.