David - I've heard resolution #1 before from you. This time I'm holding you to it. Happy new year, TV friend.

[Very funny -- and, as it turns out, very true. I looked it up, and was humbled to discover that a made a similar resolution last year. Except, in 2011, I vowed to TRY. And I did try. I just failed, after about a week.

Except, in 2012, I'm resolving not just to try, but to succeed. Wish me luck.

I also noted, when Googling "resolutions" on TVWW, that my resolution for 2009 was to finish the Smothers Brothers book I'd been working on for 15 years. And I did.

I also note that, in the following year of 2010, I made no New Year's resolutions whatsoever.

Smart lad. -- DB]

It'd be nice if the Best Bets came in on the RSS feed. Actually, it'd be nice if all the content could come in on the RSS feed.

[I believe -- though I don't pretend to understand -- that's all in the cards for our 3.0. hang with us in the meantime. And good suggestion. Thanks. -- DB]

David,

I believe I made this comment/suggestion before: There are data sources out there, and devices and other products, that allow TV viewers to obtain, search, sort and manipulate 14 days of television listings customized to their home location and television provider.

I'm no geek, but as I understand it Tribune Media Services sells raw television listings to recipients all over the country (see http://www.tribunemediaservices.com/products-and-services/television/). A nonprofit organization - Schedules Direct (www.schedulesdirect.org) charges $25 per year for the raw data. Schedules Direct also lists several dozen applications that take in the raw data and organize it in some usable way.

For several years I've used Schedules Direct data with Pocket TV Browser on an old Pocket PC. I still rely on TVWW and many television critics for suggestions on what to watch. But once I like a show I use my application to organize and search the listings to make sure I know when my favorite shows are on, including the many times that episodes are repeated. I also search through the listings to find movies and shows by topics or genres even though no one recommended them to me.

So my suggestion is to find a technically astute television watcher who can investigate the listings and applications options and make some recommendations to your readers. After all, if television is worth watching, it's worth knowing when it's on in my area.

Keep up the great work in 2012 and beyond.

Murray

[I will have our tech-savvy people pursue these options -- thanks. And that means I won't be involved at all. So double thanks. - DB]

Continuing to look forward to the elusive resolution of the permanent resolution. While you're at it, maybe you could include a comment section with Best Bets? Those opinions are generally the ones I itch to weigh in on. (Assuming one can get past the creaky old gotcha gate that turns all attempts to post comments into an ugly game that you also promised to fix.)

Nonetheless, Happy New Year and thanks for all the good stuff.

[Two things the new reboot WILL fix: Making room for comments on BEST BETS, and making the whole commenting procedure a lot friendlier. Put up with us for a little while, and then your dreams will come true. So long as you dream small. Thanks! - DB]

Happy New Year David. I look forward to your daily best bets each morning. Do you have a list of shows (new or returning new seasons) to look for this winter? That time is just about upon us and I want to be sure not to miss anything worthy.

Thanks - Frank

[Great request, Frank. Rather than cram in a long list here, I'll make a full column of it soon. But for starters, don't miss Showtime's House of Lies, which starts this Sunday. or the return of PBS's Downton Abbey on Masterpiece Classic, likewise. - DB]