TV to calm the jangled nerves

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/03/2020 (1701 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Many Winnipeggers are at home right now practising social distancing, and many are turning to streaming services for entertainment. While this might seem like a good opportunity to catch up on prestige TV — hey, finally, the long, uninterrupted interval I need to really experience The Wire! — many of us are turning to comfort TV right now, looking for reassuring dramas and feel-good sitcoms.

And that’s not just escapism. These shows are often about people who like each other and put up with each other and pull together and help each other out. And those are important values when we all need to be thinking about the common good.

You might not be up for the seriously difficult BoJack Horseman right now, but you should remember what BoJack says about Horsin’ Around, the hopelessly hokey ’90s sitcom he once starred in: “It’s a show about good, likeable people who love each other. Where no matter what happens, at the end of 30 minutes, everything’s going to turn out OK.”

Between the necessary news programs and health bulletins, we could probably use some of that.

● BROOKLYN NINE-NINE: If you’re currently working from home, how about a replacement workplace comedy? Set in possibly the sweetest police precinct in New York City, this upbeat series mixes interpersonal hijinks and a bit of crime-fighting with loads of optimism, acceptance and basic human decency.

And the perpetually peppy Jake (Andy Samberg) and the slightly uptight Amy (Melissa Fumero) make for excellent quarantine buddies.

Where to watch: Seasons 1-6 are available on Netflix.

● COMMUNITY: It’s right there in the name. This offbeat comedy centres on a bunch of mismatched community college students whose impromptu study group turns into a lasting bond. Along with some sharp comedy and surreal shenanigans, the show is basically about friends supporting each other’s flaws and quirks and neuroses. Yes, even Chevy Chase’s.

Where to watch: Seasons 1-6 are available on Amazon Prime.

● CORNER GAS: If you’re craving social contact, why not try some low-key Canadian-style comedy with the folks of Dog River, Sask.? You can hang out with Brent and the gang for some good-natured gossip, friendly bickering and, of course, lots of talk about how the Roughriders are doing this season.

Plus, back in 2005, the show actually popularized the term “staycation,” which sounds so much better than “self-isolation.”

Where to watch: Six seasons, a movie and a cartoon are available on Crave.

● FRIENDS: This 1990s comedy about a tight group of 20-somethings with impossibly big New York apartments is maybe the ultimate in “I’ll be there for you” comfort viewing. Watch “The One With Absolutely No Pandemics” episode. (That would be all of them.)

Where to watch: Seasons 1-10 are available on Netflix.

● THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW: Generally, anyone looking for uplift has to avoid reality TV, which tends to be specifically engineered to encourage the basest aspects of human nature, with throat-cutting competitiveness, sneaky sabotage and table-tipping histrionics.

Not here! With a keep-calm-and-carry-on vibe, this charming show combines soothing baking with polite British people. Plus, TGBBS offers practical help for housebound viewers who are currently stress-baking and need tips for airy sponge cakes.

Where to watch: Seasons 4-9 stream on CBC Gem.

● STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES: The 1966-69 series might rely on rudimentary alien makeup effects and Styrofoam rocks, but it’s unmatched for its sunny sci-fi optimism.

There are a few pandemic-related plots to navigate around — watch out for Rigelian fever and that episode where all the grown-ups get the plague! But mostly the interplanetary adventures of Capt. Kirk and crew allow us to imagine a future in which all the peoples of the world have come together to explore the universe in search of knowledge rather than conquest. Yay!

Where to watch: Seasons 1-3 available on Crave.

alison.gillmor@freepress.mb.ca