I'm channeling the Supremes here, but that's only because I'm happy enough to sing. After weeks of work, it's finally ready: TV WORTH WATCHING's one-stop holiday shopping guide.
Click on the special banner on the main page (look for Nipper the RCA dog, wearing a Santa hat), or just CLICK HERE, and it'll take you to mini-reviews of dozens of suggestions for TV-on-DVD collections to purchase as gifts for the season - everything from single discs to massive sets, from selections aimed at young kids to ones aimed at adults old enough to remember Hopalong Cassidy.
In which case, Hoppy holidays.
My very favorite picks, overall, include the Planet Earth/Blue Planet collection and, for kids (or, to be honest, all ex-kids), The Point, the Harry Nilsson animated fable that gave us "Me and My Arrow." But the Point of this entire holiday section is that it's nothing but undiluted, honest recommendations. I love all these, and suspect your loved ones will love them too.
And, as I say in the intro to this special section, you not only do something nice by shopping for a great gift, but do something nicer by purchasing directly from this site, since TV WORTH WATCHING receives a small percentage of each sale. The motto here is: "Costs you nothing extra. Helps me stay alive."
The plan is to update this weekly through the holidays, so send comments with suggestions for additions, or keep coming back to see what's just on the horizon - like the complete second season of Saturday Night Live, the one saying goodbye to Chevy Chase and hello to Bill Murray.
That plan, though, relies on even more patience from designer Eric Gould and programmer Chris Spurgeon, my behind-the-scenes buddies in this website venture - and I don't know how much more they can stand. Here's a very special thank you, you two guys, for working so hard, making everything look so great, and asking and receiving so little.
And let me also, at this point, thank everyone who's reading this, whether you take advantage of the shopping feature or not. Like Chris and Eric, I'm spending a lot more time and effort on TV WORTH WATCHING than I could have imagined - but I really feel like we have something special here, and that we're communicating with some very special people.
One of you, responding to a recent Bianculli Blog, wrote: "I notice, David, that most of your readers' comments are more literate and thoughtful than many other blogs I have read recently."
I'm noticing the same thing - and I'm grateful for every single person reading this. To quote Tiny Tim, "God bless us, every one."
At least that's what he said in Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. Hmmm. Better add that to the list...