10 Things I Loved in 2018

Don't consider this a top 10, but consider it...a 10. Don't consider this a Bo Derek 10, but consider it...Ah, you get the idea. Here are 10 things I loved in 2017. I recommend you check these out, love them, and create your own list of 10 including these exact things at the end of 2018. Just please try to change the wording a bit.

*The Lego Batman Movie: I didn't see all of the superhero movies that came out this year, or hardly any of them, but you'll have a hard time convincing me any of them are better than Lego Batman. It's so good that I am willing to endure 10 more Will Arnett live-action sitcoms (the idea of them, not actually watching them).

*The Terrible Podcast: Minute for minute, kilobyte for kilobyte (OK, I don't know what I'm talking about), no sports podcast--maybe no podcast, period--gave me more joy in 2017 than this Pittsburgh Stillers show, "just a couple of Daves talking Steeler football." In season, they do 3 shows, almost always an hour apiece, and with absolutely no ads or ad reads. It may be the best bargain in 'Burgh sports (insert Mike Hilton comment). Even when my enthusiasm for football dims, I look forward to this podcast.

*The Honeymooners on Blu-Ray: One of my favorite presents last Christmas brought me all kinds of entertainment throughout the year and continues to do so. I remain both delighted it was so cheap on Amazon and also sort of offended that it was.

*Comic Book Fever: See my review here of George Khoury's delightful exploration of seemingly 50% of everything I loved as a kid.

*Eight Is Enough on Warner Archive Instant: This comfort food is the TV equivalent of eating an old sock. Wait, I think I screwed that up. WAI deserves criticism for, uh, not doing anything for months on end, but as long as it has all 5 seasons of EIE, I'm there.

*800 Words on Acorn TV: I signed up for Acorn to watch Doc Martin, but I stayed because of this charming, simple dramedy about an Aussie family that moves to New Zealand. Well, actually I didn't stay, but I will be back eventually. It's also a fun comfort-food kind of show.

*Burger with fried egg: I tried this for the first time this summer and loved it. The truffle fries didn't hurt, either. I had another one recently at a different location, and while I now acknowledge the legitimacy of egg on burger as a concept, it was really the specific location that made the meal so awesome. Plus there was undoubtedly some kind of fattening sauce, butter, and, what, two different kinds of cheese. Dag, I'm hungry now.

*MLB.TV: The Pirates looked awful at times, but this was the first season I had MLB.TV and access to all of the games (well, almost all; let's not get into the inane blackout rules right now) for a whole season, and it was splendid, even if I get sick of seeing the same commercials over and over and over again.

*Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond: I said after I watched this that either Jim Carrey is one messed-up dude or he is a fantastic and pretentious BS artist. Probably a little of both. This documentary showed up late in the year on Netflix and mesmerized me with its combination of Hollywood history, Hollywood ego, Hollywood nuttiness, Andy Kaufman, pro wrestling, and, yes, maybe even a little bit of the human condition.

*SeanMC's YouTube Channel: I love, love, love, old TV promos--I launched a recurring feature devoted to sharing them on the blog this year--and Sean Mc is a reliable uploader of great vintage 1970s/1980s content, much of it absurd hype jobs voiced by legends like Danny Dark, Ernie Anderson, and Casey Kasem. Opening YT and seeing Sean posted a batch of fresh vids is like--uh, I'm out of strained similies, but it's awesome.