Abbott Elementary (ABC, Wednesday Night)

Gregory throws a terrible party at his apartment.  Mr. Johnson, Barbara, Melissa, and Ava go to the DMV to get their Real IDs.  It’s been a while since I’ve laughed at hard at any show as I did while watching this week’s episode of Abbott.  Even the things that I was previously getting tired of — like Gregory being socially awkward — once again made me laugh.  Abbott Elementary occasionally gets a bit preachy for my tastes but when it work, it’s truly special.

By the way, in Texas, they just give you a Real ID when you renew your driver’s license.  It’s pretty simple.  I don’t know why the states up north decided to make it complicated for everyone.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

Poor Bradley.  Chef Ramsay even gave him a pep talk and it still didn’t make him a better chef.

It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Apple TV)

On Thursday night, Erin and I did our annual viewing of this classic holiday special.  You can read Erin’s thoughts here.  Poor Charlie Brown.  “I got a rock!”

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

This week, a murderer claimed diplomatic immunity.  The White House demanded that the DA drop the charges because it had a weapons deal with the UAE.  Maroun was not present and was not missed.  Price and Baxter spent the entire episode giving each other strained looks of sympathy.  Both Price and Baxter are such boring characters that I sometimes struggled to remember which is which.  Hugh Dancy and Tony Goldwyn are both totally wasted by this show.

Night Flight (Night Flight+)

On Friday, I watched a “video profile” of musician Annie Lennox.  The music was great.

Rogue’s Gallery (Night Flight+)

On Friday night, I watched a documentary on Al Capone.  Now that’s crime with style!

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Thursday Night, FOX)

Much as with last week, I found myself wondering why anyone not in the Army would put up with being yelled at for 24 hours a day.  I would have walked off the set after an hour.

Toy Story of Terror (Disney+)

Erin wrote about Toy Story of Terror here!

The Vanishing Shadow (NightFlight+)

This old timey serial about the battle for possession of an invisibility ray continued.  It was fun in a 1930s sort of way!