TV Shows we are Thankful for in 2023

It is almost Thanksgiving, 2023 and this is the time when we look at the shows we are Thankful for this year.

Young Sheldon: The final season

I have watched every episode of Young Sheldon and I was a little sad when it was announced that the 7th season of the show was going to be its last.

Throughout season 6, I have enjoyed watching Sheldon grow up and involve his college adventures a bit more. Even though the show has moved Sheldon a bit more to the background and the family more in the foreground, Sheldon’s adventures are still funny.

Throughout the past 6 seasons, I watched Young Sheldon turn from a sitcom into a dramedy. This worked out for the better of the show.

The storylines turned a bit grimmer with themes like adultery, gambling, and accidental pregnancies. All of that is against a Christian background.

It sure looked challenging. The Coopers still managed to stand their ground and move on with their life. With or without Jesus.

The show’s cancellation comes as no surprise. The child actors are too old to continue to play 10-year-olds and Georgie, who asked Mandy to marry him, is now a dad. Which makes him a bit too old.

I will miss the show and I will enjoy the last 14 episodes that will start airing in February 2024. In a statement, the show’s creators said the following:

“Being able to tell the origin of Sheldon Cooper, and expanding the story to include the entire Cooper family has been a wonderful experience,” said Chuck Lorre, Steve Holland, and Steve Molaro in a joint statement. “We are grateful to our fans for embracing this chapter of the Coopers these past six seasons, and on behalf of the entire Young Sheldon family, we’re excited to share this final season with you.”

There are rumors of another Big Bang Theory spinoff and I will keep a close eye on the news about that. If the quality is the same as The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, then we are in for a wild ride.

Ahsoka: A hero in her own right

Ahsoka Tano was a surprise announcement a couple of years ago and to be honest, I was kind of skeptical about it too. The Star Wars expanded universe just released The Mandalorian and it was a world without the Jedi. I was happy with that because it showed that the Star Wars Universe could be much more than Jedi wielding their lightsabers.

Instead what we got was a world set in the bleak aftermath of Order 66, and where the Jedi once flourished, their future is now dark and insecure. With a few Jedi left in the Galaxy, the Sith have power up for grabs but then there is Ahsoka Tano, who wields two lightsabers and has turned the world of Star Wars upside down.

I loved the show but not because of the story. What I loved about the show is that we finally got to see some of the pivotal players of the show called Star Wars: Rebels in a live-action setting.

I got to see the likes of Ezra, Sabine Wren, and Hera Syndulla. They were all great characters in Star Wars: Rebels. But let’s also not forget about the cameos of Anakin Skywalker, C3PO, and Chopper!

The show revolves around Ahsoka Tano trying to prevent Grand Admiral Thrawn’s attempt at a new Empire. With the help of two Sith-like characters, Thrawn tries to reestablish the Empire but under his reign of course.

The two are played by the late Ray Stevenson (Baylan Skoll) in his final role and Ivanna Sakhno (Shin Hati). Both actors are phenomenal and if you haven’t watched this show yet, then save it for Thanksgiving.

Quantum Leap jumps from episode to episode

When I was young, I used to watch the old Quantum Leap with Sam Beckett at my grandfather’s place. He had satellite and at the time, that was the only way to watch this show.

I fell in love instantly with the show. Much to my dismay, I read that the show was canceled and I have missed a show like Quantum Leap ever since.

But then I read there was going to be a reboot of the show. With new actors and a new leaper named Ben Song. I was afraid that they were going to tarnish the great legacy of the original but I am pleasantly surprised by the reboot.

When Ben Song gets a message from Janice Calavicci that his love Addison will get killed in the future, Ben decides to boot up the Quantum Accelerator and starts his journey.

The journey takes Ben to all sides of the world and throughout time. He meets people whom he helps just before he leaps. With the help of quantum computer Ziggy and his fiancee Addison, Ben leaps from adventure to adventure while trying to find a way home.

The second season, which currently airs, has Ben do without the help of Addison. Since he was presumed dead, the world has moved on and the Quantum Leap project was canceled. So Addison has moved on and found a new lover.

Even the return of Ben could not separate Addison from her new lover. For both Ben and Addison, this creates a whole new dynamic with the 2 having to start from scratch and redefine their relationship.

The current season deals with sensitive themes and events. The show has addressed racism in the episode One Night in Korea Town and women’s inequality in Secret History. The show is not very political but is written from a Human Interest perspective. Which makes for the best TV shows.

Quantum Leap will have 13 episodes in the 2nd season. This is largely to cut costs because the show is expensive to produce. But also because of the SAG-AFTRA strike that has held the TV landscape down for about 6 months. The writers of course are right: they should get paid more for their efforts as well as get an income from future digital media.

Quantum Leap is my favorite show on TV at the moment and I can only hope that this show will have 5 seasons. Just to outdo its predecessor.

The Mandalorian Season 3

The Mandalorian season 3 was one of its’ finest. All the character-building and plotlines from seasons 1 and 2 came together in one epic fight.

The show revolves around Bounty Hunter who is protecting a child named Grogu. Grogue is of the same species as Yoda and both the Empire and the Jedi want to train Grogu. Of course, Grogu can choose what he wants to do and he wants to stay with The Mandalorian.

The show itself is a great addition to the Star Wars Expanded Universe. I was happy to see what else Star Wars could do without the Jedi or the Force and it did not disappoint.

The first two seasons would sometimes fall into lengthy plotlines that were dragged out for entire episodes. And I get it, you want to establish the characters as much as you can. But it becomes tedious if you don’t balance the story with action scenes.

Season 3 goes the opposite way: Instead of more character development, The Mandalorian season 3 is jam-packed with action and it overshadows the character development of the previous two seasons. While I am all for action, the balance was once again lost in the third season.

All in all, the show in its entirety is amazing. There are so many good plotlines. We finally get to see more of The Mandalorians. I have been a fan of Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 as well as Star Wars: The Old Republic and the comics that featured The Mandalorians I wanted to see what a live-action TV show would do with Mandalorian lore.

The Mandalorians in the show did not disappoint at all. They have an established code of conduct and the way the show used the Darksaber, of Mandalorian lore, was pretty amazing.

The Mandalorian also served as a backdoor pilot for Ahsoka Tano and that meant that we got to see live Jedi action on the show. Next to Ahsoka, we also got to see Luke Skywalker. Skywalker showed us what a fully trained Jedi Master can do and it is dynamite.

If you want to binge The Mandalorian then watch all of the seasons. They are worth watching as a whole series.

At the time of writing, it is uncertain if The Mandalorian will have a 4th season. All signs point to no because the story is finished. But this is Disney / Lucasfilm, so you never know!