Rainy Day TV

 

As I’ve written here before, winter has its pleasures up to around Christmas, but in January it languishes into a long and dreary slog toward spring. It’s when we all spend more time indoors, which is why I still regard settling in for an evening of classic TV as more of a winter pursuit.

 

The winters are milder where I live in Southern Nevada, but the temperature still drops and the days are still shorter, and if we’re going to get lots of rain, this is when we get it. And for the last few days that’s about all we’ve had.

 

Do you have some go-to shows to lift your spirits when it is gloomy outside? I do – it’s a list that gets updated from time to time but I know instinctively which shows to select, and which are best avoided until the weather picks up. 

 

I’m sure a lot of classic TV fans do this – Ranker even compiled a list of the Best Rainy Day Shows to Watch. With a couple of exceptions I think it’s a lousy list – but people cope with inclement weather in different ways. Perhaps for some The Witcher and Disenchantment hit the spot. But if your tastes run more toward the classics (and if you’re here I assume they do) you may prefer these shows instead. I also find them equally therapeutic when, to paraphrase Buddy Holly, the sun may be shining but it’s raining in your heart.

 

The Lucy Show

Lucy is for many of us a personification of the era of television that we love. She was a near constant presence on TV from the 1950s through the early 1970s, on three different sitcoms that all ran forever in syndication, which is where I got to know them on sick days from school and summer mornings and eventually on Nick at Nite. 

 

 

I Love Lucy needs no explanation of its place in the medium’s history, but when all you see are shades of gray outside, I want color from my comfort TV, which is why The Lucy Show is my first choice. Even though the early black-and-white episodes with Vivian Vance are the best, the later seasons also have their moments given the array of iconic guest stars that made their way into Mr. Mooney’s office. Every time I see that generation of performers – Jack Benny, Dean Martin, Danny Kaye, Milton Berle, Danny Thomas – I am thankful for so many hours of recorded material from an era that is gone, but also wistful in the knowledge that we will never see its like again. 

 

 

 

Columbo

I enjoy Columbo for the same reason I enjoy shows like Mission: Impossible and Veronica Mars: It celebrates the triumph of the intelligent over the corrupt. I like watching smart people at work. I feel a kinship with them. Maybe no one has ever considered me a genius, but I’m smart enough to recognize stupid when I see it, and these days that puts me ahead of numerous elected officials.

 

With Columbo there is always that one moment when he figures it out – sometimes it’s so subtle in the way Peter Falk plays it, but viewers always know when he switches from putting the pieces together to seeing the whole puzzle. Then it’s just a matter of time before he steers his prime suspect into a confession. 

 

 

The Courtship of Eddie’s Father

Every time I return to this show I am struck once again by how quiet it is. Tom Corbett shares his fatherly wisdom with young Eddie in the most soothing of tones, and Mrs. Livingston speaks so softly you almost need closed captioning to pick up every word. Most of the stories are likewise gentle and reassuring. 

 

With this show, though, you really need to know your episodes, as the series often brought in loud, obnoxious guest characters to play up the contrast with the serene Corbett home. Avoid these entries and stick with those that focus on the main cast.

 

The Bob Newhart Show

If you feel like going stir crazy after too many rainy days inside, visiting a psychologist may be just what you need. Dr. Bob Hartley can always be relied upon for direction and advice, along with a few well-worn clichés. 

 

 

This is one of those shows that, to me, seems to get better every year. That’s not true of every show in my collection, though I have yet to tire of watching any of them. But outside of Howard becoming a little more ridiculous with each passing season, the ensemble on this series is one of the most appealing ever assembled for television. From the loving marriage of Bob and Emily to the group of recurring patients at Dr. Hartley’s office, to the interactions with Carol and Jerry, it all just seems to work. And on a rainy day this is an ideal group of folks to help you pass the time.

 

The Avengers

England is synonymous with rain, But John Steed and Emma Peel remind us that it’s still possible to have fun – and save the world occasionally – if the weather doesn’t cooperate, not to mention how it’s always wise to keep an umbrella handy. 

 

 

Your turn – what are your favorite rainy day shows, and why?