Welcome to another Wildcard Wednesday! This post marks the beginning of our second annual holiday contest. As with last year, this competition is naturally geared toward fans of Sitcom Tuesday, but I encourage participation from anyone and everyone, as I know I have some musical theatre and/or Pre-Code rarities that will make dandy prizes in addition to the several television treats I have ready to send. Last year I picked my 50 favorite sitcom episodes covered here from the 1970s, but I can’t do the same right now for the ’80s because our survey of the decade is unfinished. So we’ll have to save that for later. In the meantime, this contest involves guessing the winning recipients of THE 2016 JACKSON AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN SITUATION COMEDY, an honor dreamed up solely for the purpose of this game. The nominees are culled from every series/season covered on this blog on Sitcom Tuesdays over the first 11 months of this year. There are three categories: Best Performer, Best Season, and Best Episode. Here are the rules; read them carefully!
- The contest begins NOW and closes at 8:00 PM EST on Tuesday, December 20th. The results, along with my official selections, will comprise that week’s Wildcard entry.
- Your task, for every month between January and November of 2016, is to guess what I have chosen as the Best Season, based on the ones covered in that period; Best Episode, based on the entries highlighted on this blog (no honorable mentions) during that period; and Best Performer, based on any regular actor/actress whose work was featured during that period.
- Leave all your guesses in the comments section of this post. You don’t have to guess all 11 months at once, but I do ask that you at least guess a whole month at a time (i.e. the best season, the best episode, and the best performer). No second stabs at previously submitted guesses.
- Please be specific with your submissions for a month’s Best Season. (Please include both the show and the number). With regard to Best Episode, you only need to list the specific episode title (unless there would be room for confusion). And for Best Performer, you do not need to designate the series or a particular season — the recipients have all been chosen for their work throughout the month in total.
- Each correct guess is worth three points. (You get one for participation!) The player with the highest number of points wins. I will score each individual submission, but I will not mark which answers are correct. I will keep your total score public and visible in the comments.
- Once a winner is announced, I will privately discuss the means of distributing a prize, likely via USPS. Should there be any ties, I do have a “breaker.” It’s also possible that I may give individual prizes to competitive runner-ups. But every participant will be awarded something, so I encourage everyone to play — you do not have to be a subscriber (although I really hope you are)!
- I will answer any questions you have about the rules, but will give no extra hints.
- Below is a chronological list of the shows/seasons that are in the running for this game, broken down into the months in which they are eligible.
Here is some advice about how to guess:
- For whatever specific category you’re guessing, please make sure your selections properly correspond to the months in which they were covered on this blog. (Don’t guess Cheers in October!)
- Don’t guess a season of a show that’s not mentioned above. Note that only shows on Sitcom Tuesdays are in contention for this game. (Sorry, Life With Lucy fans…)
- Don’t guess any episode that wasn’t highlighted on this blog with a full paragraph. (Again, no honorable mentions.) Also, I’d advise that you stick with MVEs (hint, hint).
- When guessing performers, please only consider regulars who were featured on at least one season discussed during a particular month. (In other words, don’t guess Marsha Warfield in May, because she didn’t pop up on this blog until June.)
- For more than half of these months, the Best Performer also comes from the show honored with having the Best Season.
- Interestingly, fewer than half of the Best Episode selections come from their respective month’s Best Season.
- I anticipate that you’ll have little trouble guessing my Best Seasons, as I’ve been very straightforward regarding years I prefer over years I don’t. I have not tried to trick you with regard to any category — there are no deliberate surprises. (So here’s hoping that someone gets a perfect score! The game will close if/when this happens.)
- Below is a template to use for your guessing…
January 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
February 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
March 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
April 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
May 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
June 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
July 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
August 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
September 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
October 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
November 2016:
Best Season:
Best Episode:
Best Performer:
Happy playing!
Come back next Wednesday for another Wildcard post and in two weeks for the answers to the contest, along with an announcement of the winner(s) and the prizes! Also, tune in on Monday for another forgotten musical!