what joel is thankful for-related stories
Posted Nov 25th 2009 4:04PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, Reality-Free, Mad Men, Community, Cougar Town, Modern Family

You know, it's funny. When I started here I was a lowly IT guy with no girlfriend and lots of time on his hands to watch TV, even on Thanksgiving. Now I'm engaged, the editor of this site, and have to run around to so many family and friend-related events this weekend my head's already spinning just thinking about it. So I have a lot to be thankful for (and I just realized how friggin' long I've been here... wow).
But TV has always been a part of that equation, and it had no less of a role for me this year. So, in the TV world, here is what will make me thankful as I dive into the turkey tomorrow:
ABC's Wednesday comedy line-up: Against all trends, ABC rolled the dice and started a whole new night of comedy on Wednesdays. And while
Hank flamed out,
The Middle, Modern Family, and
Cougar Town look like they have staying power, both from a quality and a ratings standpoint.
Continue reading What Joel is thankful for
Posted Nov 27th 2008 2:29PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory

As I think about the past year, in both my life and in the world of TV, there's plenty I have to be thankful for. The life stuff is obvious: health, family, my girlfriend, a roof over my head, food on my plate, and a job that I enjoy. But the TV stuff isn't quite as obvious. So, as the balloons float over midtown Manhattan and people get ready to gorge themselves, here are a few things that made me happy to be a television watcher this year:
The election - Yes, it was too long. And, yes, it was exasperating at times. But it was the source of a lot of entertaining television. Of course,
The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and
SNL were in top form (Tina Fey became a huge star, thanks to Sarah Palin). But entertainment came in many forms this election season, from Katie Couric's skewering of Palin to David Letterman's spat with McCain to just about anything that came out of Joe Biden's mouth. Finally, I have three words of infinite entertainment for you: Chuck Todd's goatee.
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Posted Nov 23rd 2006 2:09PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, The Five

Happy Thanksgiving, folks! Before I shuffle off to my parents' house and partake in some restaruant turkey and stuffing (how many of you go out instead of stay in? I bet there's more of us than people think), let me tell you what I'm thankful for, at least as far as TV is concerned:
1. The return of Scrubs: T-minus one week and counting! I am just so, so happy that NBC has decided to bring back
Scrubs early this year. I've been watching and laughing
at the reruns of the show since September, and that's only whetted my appetite for new episodes even more than usual. It's my favorite current show, and even a bad episode gives me at least one big belly laugh. Because this might be the show's last year, Bill Lawrence and company might go even wackier than they did last year. Yes, even wackier than "Dr. Acula" and "Floating Head Doctor." The musical episode promises to be especially good. Can't wait.
Continue reading The Five: What Joel is thankful for