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What are you watching? Readers recommend 'The Big Bang Theory,' 'Olive Kitteridge'

Monitor TV and movie fans share what they've been watching lately.

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Jojo Whilden/HBO
‘Olive Kitteridge'
  • By Monitor readers

My husband and I never miss The Good Place on Thursdays on NBC. 

It’s hilarious without being constantly snarky or bitter – a nice break from the political turmoil in the United States right now! It makes us think of our role here on Earth and wonder about the afterlife, too. It’s also beautifully acted. Stars Ted Danson and Kristen Bell in particular have amazing chemistry on the show.

– Dana Casale, Ben Avon, Pa.

I have recently been watching the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The characters on the show will strike a familiar chord with anyone who has ever worked in a chemistry lab, as I have. 

I love the wonderful eccentricities of the lead characters, especially those of Sheldon (Jim Parson) – they leave me laughing out loud. Sheldon’s brilliance coupled with his clueless approach to social norms delivers outstanding comedy in every episode. I can’t believe this is the last season.

– Jo-Ann Maguire, Norristown, Pa.

I don’t have television and seldom go to the movies, so mainly I watch DVDs from the library, mostly from the 1990s and 2000s. The best thing I’ve watched in a long time was the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge, which is based on the book by Elizabeth Strout. I got so engrossed in these people’s lives and felt like I really knew them! 

I loved Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins in the main roles of Olive and her husband, Henry, as well as Zoe Kazan as Denise Thibodeau, also known as “the mouse.” 

Another of my favorites was the movie Snow Cake. It’s a refreshingly different film and is set in Wawa, Ontario. It features a superb performance by Sigourney Weaver as a high-functioning autistic woman. I also loved Alan Rickman as the costar in this film.

– Jennifer Quinn, Gate City, Va.

My favorite holiday episode is the WKRP in Cincinnati episode “Turkeys Away.” It’s probably the most famous Thanksgiving episode of a sitcom. 

The news report by Les Nessman (Richard Sanders) of turkeys “hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement” in the style of the Hindenburg disaster is unforgettable, as is the summary of the day by manager Mr. Carlson (Gordon Jump): “As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”

– Dan Scott, Sacramento, Calif.  

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