It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.
As it so happens, we change it up once per month and talk about TV shows instead of movies and today in particular is all about the theme Fish Out of Water! I quite like shows where a character is just so out of their element, I’m really looking forward to see what everyone else comes up with as well. Here we go!
Ted Lasso
Ted Lasso has become one of my all time favorite shows in no time whatsoever! I cannot wait for the new season to start airing by the end of July, because I just need my comfort show back. But what makes it so fish out of water? Well, Ted, an American Football coach (college football at most), gets hired as the coach for a premier league football/soccer team in England – hilarity ensues!
The Nanny
Did Fran have any experience taking care of children? Did she previously run in the circles of the rich and famous of New York’s Broadway scene? No, to both of those things. Didn’t mean it wasn’t a perfect fit in the end. I love that the show is getting some love again, because it’s now on streaming platforms.
Schitt’s Creek
Rich people not knowing how to deal is so funny to me. And Schitt’s Creek as a whole meant a lot to me as a show. I have to admit I still haven’t found it in me to watch the final season. I will, though … one day.
The O.C.
Unconsciously, I have made up a theme with these last three examples, because they are all about the rich/poor divide in some sense. The O.C. was my obsession back in the day, I loved the characters all so much. I think I was one of the few people who was actually happy to see Taylor get a more prominent role in the later seasons though … neurotic characters like hers always knew how to draw me in. They remind me of me, I suppose.
Life and Other Disasters 
I loved Ted Lasso
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It’s SUCH a good show!
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I have Ted Lasso on my list of things to watch sooner than later. I’ve heard nothing but good things. I absolutely love Schitt’s Creek. It’s one of my favorites.
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It’s honestly so good, Sara! I hope you’re going to love the pure joy that Ted Lasso brings as well.
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I LOVE Ted Lasso! I also used it this week.
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Ted Lasso is a gift to humanity!
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I LOVE The Nanny and still watch episodes every now and then. Fran Drescher carried the show but it’s the harmony of the rest of the cast with her and each other that makes it so enduring.
I had never heard of Ted Lasso until today but I’ve seen it a few places so I’ll have to check it out.
I want to see Schitt’s Creek but want to start from the beginning and haven’t had a chance to do so yet.
I’ve heard of The O.C. of course but it never appealed to me.
There’s so many to choose from this week and I like this particular trope so it was pretty easy coming up with these three.
Northern Exposure (1990-1995)-Fresh from his residency at a big city hospital native New Yorker Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) discovers he is contractually obligated due to a student loan agreement to practice in Alaska for the next four years. Expecting to be on staff in Anchorage he is livid when he discovers that instead he is assigned to the remote village of Cicely. Once he arrives, he finds the residents a unique idiosyncratic lot totally foreign to Joel’s New York sensibilities.
My Favorite Martian (1963-1966)-During a ride around the universe a Martian’s (Ray Walston) spaceship nearly collides with a NASA rocket causing it to crash land in the hills near L.A. where he is discovered by young reporter Tim O’Hara (Bill Bixby). At first eager for a story Tim gives the Martian shelter while he works to repair his ship and passes him off as his Uncle Martin. They become buddies as Martin tries to both adapt to earthly norms and avoid the sweet but ditzy landlady Mrs. Lorelei Brown (Pamela Britton) from finding out the truth.
Green Acres (1965-1971)-Successful New York attorney Oliver Douglas (Eddie Albert) decides to chuck big city life and move to a broken-down farm in Hooterville along with his extremely glamorous but very reluctant Hungarian wife Lisa (Eva Gabor). Silly bit of ridiculousness (they lived in a penthouse apartment in New York but can’t afford to fix up the shack of a house in the country? He farms in a three-piece suit while she wanders around the dilapidated hovel in satin and feathers) is put over by the talent of its stars and a willful suspension of belief.
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The Nanny is just ICONIC programming for me. It never gets old.
I really do hope that you get to watch Ted Lasso. It’s the ultimate comfort show and really helps to promote positivity.
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Can we consider Lucifer a fish out of water show? I mean, outside of a hedonistic party scene or Hell, Lucifer has to really work to understand humans, especially those in his life. Hell, he has to work hard just to understand himself (and yes, that pun was intentional).
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Honestly, I don’t know. I feel like the show isn’t so much about him understanding humans. He lived among them for years and years even before the show started and I never got the feeling he was out of his depth or introduced to a new environment while watching. But if you want to consider it a fish-out-water show, you can!
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