What Bailey's Watching

It's time for another check-in! I'm always juggling a dozen shows at a time, especially during the pandemic. Here are just a few shows in my current 'queue' that I recommend you check out to fill that void in your soul the outside once inhabited. What's good about this list is that all of these shows are complete (no longer airing), so if you can seek them out, you can watch them in their entirety. Here are my current recommendations:

All in the Family (CBS, 1971-1979)

This domestic sitcom about a family whose members are on polarized ends of the political spectrum is a frequent rewatch for me. The series has had such an impact on me that I chose it as the subject of my master's thesis. By the 1970s, the country was at a critical period of social, economic, and political unrest that demanded such socially relevant television as  All in the Family, and it looks to me that the 2020s are shaping up to be the new 1970s. Every episode of the series contains lines of dialogue (mostly critiques of the government and society by the left-wing Mike) that still apply to today's America. While it's been nearly fifty years since the premiere of the series, the issues addressed on the show hit closer to home than ever.

Maude (CBS, 1972-1978)

For the first time, I'm watching All in the Family and its spin-off series, Maude, together as they originally aired. With both series centered on contemporary issues, and with so many straight-from-the-headlines events that quickly made their way into scripts, I want to see how both series by Norman Lear address similar topics. Maude's message is a bit more complicated than All in the Family's. Norman Lear used Archie in All in the Family as an example of bigoted beliefs and the flawed logic used to justify them. Maude, a politically vocal liberal, has her flaws too, but those come from her struggles to live up to her liberal beliefs. The show is a statement that liberalism is complicated, and as much as we hate to admit it, there are ingrained understandings that pull us in the wrong direction despite our best intentions. The series asks complicated but relevant questions that I'm quite interested in exploring together with All in the Family.

House, M.D. (FOX, 2004-2012)

If you knew me in high school, you know this series was all I cared to discuss. For several years, it was my absolute favorite show. This rewatch has been a joy, especially since many of the later episodes I have only seen once. Most episodes are incredibly formulaic, and you can't help but wonder why they insist that this curmudgeonly doctor is always right when, in fact, half of his 'solutions' come at the 20-minute mark and are wrong. Nevertheless, what kept me hooked to House was never the plot, but Hugh Laurie's charismatically antisocial portrayal as the title character. In addition to the man himself, those special mind-bending episodes that abandoned the typical format (keywords: bus, hallucination, flashback, etc.) are still some of my favorite pieces of television. House, M.D., the series I pledged my life to at age thirteen, is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Harlots (Hulu, 2017-2019)

I'm nearing the end of the first of three seasons of this series, and I'm really into it so far. Featuring warring Georgian brothels with Game of Thrones levels of ruthless attempts at dominance, and a group of women that are both fascinating as individuals and a force to be reckoned with as a group, this series is a roller coaster of victorious highs and devastating lows. I will warn you that, as a series depicting the lives of 18th-century sex workers, there is a significant amount of sexual and physical violence against women that could be triggering. If you're emotionally able, I recommend checking out the series on Hulu.

What are your thoughts on these four series? What are you watching during your free time? Let me know in the comments below, and happy (or, at least, informative) viewing!

Copyright © 2020 Bailey Lizotte