Too much about the tube of plenty

Call the midwife! I’ve once again assisted in the birth of another FALL TV ISSUE (would you believe my fourth?). You can read every last bit of it online by going here. But if you’re in Washington, won’t you do us the kindness of buying a paper? This year included reviews of all the new scripted shows, as usual– 22 of them, not technically all if you count that new Scott Baio comedy on cable and other morsels buried deep down on the program grids.

I gave A grades to ABC’s “Nashville,” PBS’s “Call the Midwife” and Fox’s “The Mindy Project.” It’s downhill from there, but not as precipitous a plunge as past seasons. Just a lot of average. (I gave F’s to CBS’s “Made in Jersey,” Fox’s “The Mob Doctor” and ABC’s “Malibu Country.”)

Other pieces (by me) include longer reviews/thoughts on “The Mindy Project,” “Revolution” and “The New Normal”/”Partners.” (Gay shows!) I also wrote an essay about pilot episodes and why they suck so much. And I did a sort of charticle-type thing on how all the men on TV shows look alike now. (To me they do. To you, too?)

Emily Yahr, whose contribution to The Washington Post TV department is immeasurable, filed a great piece about the making of the music in “Nashville.” Emily also put together lists of “What else is on?” this fall and has a handy list of all your favorite returning shows and what night they’re coming back. (We also had welcome contributions from other Sunday Style departments — Deal Hunter and Celebritology.)

Allison Ghaman — known to us as Allie G. — designed the issue this year; she’s a dream to work with, unflappable and patient and never once asked for a trim. The cover and inside typography were illustrated by Zack Davenport. Allie also hired Johanna Goodman to do this fun-yet-disturbing illo (above) for the pilots piece. On the web side, Marie Elizabeth Oliver, Maura Judkis and Katie Parker put it all together for a digital audience.

Not that this an acceptance speech, but, oh well — thanks, as always, to my eds: Joe Heim and Lynn Medford. That was a lot of copy to move. And to the hardworking MPEds (the artists formerly known as copy editors) scattered around the floor above ours. I feel like I know you.

And with this, I go on leave to finish out and really enjoy my semester here at the University of Montana. I have a couple of things running between now and the end of the year, but not much. I’ll be back on the job in January.

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