Skip to content

My favourite things

Oprah retired her show but apparently, not her annual Favourite Things list. The media mogul recently released this year’s list of 60 items in her O Magazine as part of a “12-Day Holiday Give-O-Way.

Oprah retired her show but apparently, not her annual Favourite Things list. 

The media mogul recently released this year’s list of 60 items in her O Magazine as part of a “12-Day Holiday Give-O-Way.”

I too have some favourite things – although these items don’t cost thousands of dollars and I’m not giving them away. 

It’s not that I’m cheap. But my favourite things tend to be more emotional, less tactile, more transcendent.  And cheap.

So here’s my list.  And don’t expect any surprise giveaways hidden between the lines.  Go buy your own car.

Rob Ford:  He’s put Toronto on the map worldwide, highlighted our drug problem in the big city, created a dialogue for alcoholics and has managed to stay in the public eye for months.  So turning on the news is like Christmas morning every day.

Dexter finale:  Disguised as a cable hit, the long-running how-to for budding serial killers finally came to an end with a whimper instead of a bang. The disappointment of some loyal viewers allowed the show to sink into history with little chance of a spin-off.  Or further homicides.
Alicia’s gone rogue:  After The Good Wife’s ho-hum storylines last season, this fall has been down-right invigorating.  We knew she was great as Will’s Girl Friday, but hot dang, A! We didn’t know you had it in you!

James Spader:  As the star of The Blacklist, he is simply the gift that keeps on giving.

Jonny Lee Miller:  Sure, I fell in love with him as an American on Eli Stone.  But his turn as Sherlock Holmes continues to be … well, Elementary.

Comedy honours the greats:  The Big Bang Theory is partially responsible for Bob Newhart finally receiving the Emmy he deserved after more than 50 years in the business.

So of course, they keep inviting him back.  And 34 years after Mork, Robin Williams is back on TV riffing commercial ideas in different voices at an ad agency on CBS’s The Crazy Ones.  (The outtakes at the end are a bonus each week.)

Scandal:  Every time, I’m shocked into silence. For about 10 seconds. Then I’m waking up the neighbours. “What?!  WHAT?! W-HATTTT?!” Technically in its third season, there’s no sign of writer’s fatigue anywhere.  But since it’s based on politics, Shonda Rhimes isn’t likely to run out of material.

Richard Castle:  He’s living proof that Peter Pan can grow up without losing his boyish charm.  OK, yes, supposedly neither of them is real. 

But ABC’s Castle writes books that I’ve taken out of the real library.  So who’s the fool now?

Tom Mison:  I was late to the party.  So I missed out on precious weeks with the English actor who plays Ichabod Crane on Sleepy Hollow. Maybe it’s the accent, but now my Monday nights are spent with those dreamy eyes, that eloquent speech and six feet and one inch of yummy moral righteousness. 

My PVR.  Enough said.





push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks