A Belated Thanksgiving/Black Thursday Complaint

Over the past few years, more and more stores have been starting their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving, before Friday has even begun and before one of the biggest holidays of the year has ended.

While it's certainly a matter of opinion, many people, including me, think it's unfair to force employees to work on Thanksgiving, especially since most retail store employees start at minimum wage and never make a whole lot more.

If unknown actors were in the ads for these stores' Thanksgiving day sales, I'd be okay with that. They probably need the money as much as anyone else.

My complaint: the actors in ads for two of these stores are famous sitcom stars. You've probably seen the endless Walmart ads with Anthony Anderson (Black-ish) and Melissa Joan Hart (Melissa and Joey). More heartbreaking to me, as I'm a fan, Amy Poehler is in the Old Navy ads. All three have been in ads promoting sales that happen on Thanksgiving day.

It's doubtful that any of these three actors need the money. So I wish they'd put their foot down when asked to do these particular ads - not the ads for the stores themselves, but for the sales that can only happen if low-wage employees work on a holiday. I wish they'd refused.

Of course, it's a matter of opinion. They are most certainly entitled to make choices that we disagree with. And I know that Poehler, in particular, has a wonderful and empowering website for girls. Plus, did I mention I'm a fan? A pretty big fan, actually.

That's all the more reason, though, for my disappointment.

And what good does it do to express it? Probably none, and yet, I want to put it out there. It's not as though Anthony Anderson is going to read my blog and say to himself "Come to think of it, I don't want Walmart employees to have to work on Thanksgiving. Next year, I won't do that ad." But I suppose there's something to be said for speaking up when you think something is wrong.

I'm not the only one. So I'll add my voice to the many who want stores to close on Thanksgiving and be one of those who won't shop on Thanksgiving. It won't be enough to make a change, since so many do shop on Thanksgiving, but it's all I've got.

Let’s Hashtag Save Selfie

The major networks have gotten ruthless with cancellations, at least for sitcoms. NBC essentially cancelled “A to Z” and “Bad Judge” the same month they premiered. ABC cancelled “Manhattan Love Story” after four episodes (okay, I have to admit, that doesn’t bother me). “Selfie” got a tiny bit more air time before getting axed early this month. If you want a show to last, you’ve got to catch it from the beginning and get, oh, about five million of your closest friends to watch.

Or you can take to social media, which is what “Selfie” fans have done.

“Selfie” is the Pygmalion-inspired story of a self-centered but adorable young woman, Eliza (Karen Gillan) who has hundreds of thousands of twitter followers but alienates everyone she meets in person. That includes her co-workers.

She enlists staid marketing genius Henry (John Cho of Harold and Kumar fame) to improve her image.

Like many, if not most, sitcoms, the pilot was a little shaky. But it got better. The shows biggest asset is Gillan, who manages to make selfish Eliza somehow lovable. The rest of the cast is good too, it’s funny, and it can be a little daring and a lot of fun.

I almost missed the irony of social media campaigns being enlisted to save a show about a woman addicted to social media.

If you’d like to join that bandwagon, you can:

• Sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/abc-please-renew-selfie-for-a-second-season
• Follow “Save Selfie” on Twitter: https://twitter.com/save_selfie
• Add your own #saveselfie tweets

If all else fails and the show is yanked, at some point you’ll be able to catch what remains of the 13 episodes on www.abc.com and www.hulu.com.

A Sad Farewell to Must-See TV

After 30 years, there’s nothing we must see on NBC Thursday nights. Maybe "Parenthood," which I never followed, but which seems to be a good show. But certainly not the rest of the uninspired line-up they’ve offered us this fall.

After decades of bringing us some of the best sitcoms in TV history, NBC has made Thursday night mediocre at best. Those shows included "Cheers," "Frasier," "Taxi," "Seinfeld," "Friends," "Scrubs," "30 Rock," "My Name is Earl," "The Office," Community," and "30 Rock." When NBC started calling its line-up “Must-See TV” in the 90s, there was no reason to mock the self-congratulatory slogan. For anyone sitcom lover, it truly was must-see TV!

NBC has decided to stop relying on sitcoms on Thursday nights, opening its prime time slot with reality show "The Biggest Loser."

NBC did introduce two new sitcoms this fall, then promptly canceled them. While, in my opinion, "Bad Judge" deserves the axe, "A to Z" has charm. With only a few episodes aired before cancellation, it's hardly had a chance to find its audience.

The only saving grace is the return of "Parks & Recreation," and – adding insult to injury – NBC won’t air the final season of its last good sitcom until “midseason,” which probably means January or February. Even a trip to the show's NBC page won’t give us an actual date.

I wish I understood how networks make their decisions. I can only have the perspective of an audience member. From that perspective, though, it seems that thumbing your nose at your customer is the worst possible way to build up ratings.

We get used to certain things – like two hours of mostly really good sitcoms – and our complacency, while not particularly admirable, should be working to a network’s advantage, or so you’d think.

But maybe the reality television everyone says they hate so much really has taken over the ratings. And those (few?) of us who prefer fictional comedy will have to find other ways to get our fix. These days, if we just want to veg in front of the TV for a couple of hours, we can use On Demand and watch any four sitcoms we want. Even if there were a decent Thursday night line-up, it wouldn’t matter if we missed it. We could pick and choose our favorites and watch them later. And yet, that doesn’t seem like as much fun as looking forward to your favorite shows and catching them as they air. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned.

Although NBC retired the phrase “Must-See TV,” the network truly did offer must-see sitcoms on Thursday nights for the better part of three decades. Fellow sitcom fans, it’s the end of an era.

The Best New Fall Comedy, Surprisingly, Is "Jane the Virgin"

If you’ve been avoiding "Jane the Virgin" because of its preposterous premise, don’t. This show, a satire on telenovelas, knows how silly it is and revels in its audacious ludicrousness. Sensible heroine Jane keeps the show grounded in reality, sometimes seeming like Alice bewildered by the racy and sometimes evil wonderland surrounding her.

As you may know by now, Jane Villaneuva (Gina Rodriguez) is a 23-year-old virgin who is accidentally inseminated during a routine ob/gyn exam. If that’s not crazy enough for you, the sperm belongs to Rafael (Justin Baldoni), the hottie who owns the hotel where she works. Oh yeah, and five years ago, they kissed. Rafael’s evil wife Petra (Yael Grobglas) scheduled the insemination in the hopes of saving their failing marriage. Jane’s ob/gyn is Rafael’s sister, distracted from having caught her wife cheating on her the night before.

If that’s still not crazy enough for you, don’t worry, that was just the first episode.

You might think a show this nuts would be too hard to swallow to enjoy. Yet by not taking itself seriously, and by having at its center the very normal, strong, and likeable Jane, it ends up being great fun.

What do you think of Jane the Virgin? Post your comment below, I'd love to hear from you!