Welcome to a new Wildcard Wednesday! This week, we’re celebrating the fifth anniversary of That’s Entertainment! Since June 17, 2013, I’ve published 989 original posts. We’re now at the end of our 261st week, the first 132 of which featured five new entries every seven days. Since January 2016, we cut down to three posts per week, and reduced the total again in January 2017 to two (with Musical Theatre Mondays recurring once a month). As we’ve done in our last four anniversary celebrations, I’m featuring my favorite articles from this past year. This is sort of a highlight reel from “Season Five,” if you will — THE BEST OF JACKSON!
Musical Theatre Monday – January 15, 2018
“THAT’S LIFE: A Double Birthday Surprise!”
Of the 12 Musical Theatre Mondays we’ve had over the past year, by far the most exciting moment came when I was able to celebrate the birthdays of both Ethel Merman and Betty White with audios from a rare single-season ’60s musical comedy TV series, That’s Life.
Situation Comedy Tuesday – September 19, 2017
“The Ten Best NEWHART Episodes of Season Two”
The best Sitcom Tuesday discussions from the past “season” came during our coverage of Bob Newhart’s ’80s show, Newhart. While I do feel (and felt at the time), that I was harsh, I also think I offered some interesting commentary — particularly during the rockiest years.
Situation Comedy Tuesday – January 02, 2018
“The Ten Best FRASIER Episodes of Season One”
Frasier is one of my favorites, and there’s no doubt that it was the strongest series highlighted over the past “season.” For this piece, I’ve decided to single out the opening list for recognition, as it featured worthwhile discussion of why Frasier could anchor his own show.
Situation Comedy Tuesday – May 22, 2018
“The Ten Best MAD ABOUT YOU Episodes of Season One”
Perhaps Mad About You is here because it’s fresh on the brain — after all, coverage of the series began just last month. However, it really has been a treat to contextualize the series alongside other Must See TV Thursday efforts, and this debut essay made me very proud.
Wildcard Wednesday – July 12, 2017
“Revisiting 1969-’70: A Look at MY WORLD AND WELCOME TO IT”
Okay, it’s true: I used what was supposed to be a post on My World And Welcome To It to share analysis and research I’d done on the Rural Purge, but I think I connected the single-season series to this famous programming event and turned out a strong, memorable article.
Wildcard Wednesday – September 06, 2017
“HE & SHE Turns 50: Why I Love the Single-Season ’60s Gem”
Was there any doubt that I would feature this post among my seasonal highlights? You know how I feel about this series. And this entry, in particular, was a labor of love.
Wildcard Wednesday – May 30, 2018
“Reading XENA: The Topps Series (Post I of V)”
A trip last year to New Zealand reignited my desire to feature Xena on this blog in some capacity. After deciding to launch coverage on the comic books — and starting with the Dark Horse series — last month we began the initial Topps run (’96-’98), which is kitschy and fun.
Thank you to every reader, subscriber, and friend who’s made these last five years possible!
Come back next week for another Wildcard post! And tune in Monday for our monthly Musical Theatre post!