Mere Duchess

The Hallmark Channel is quickly becoming my favorite stop when channel surfing.  It’s basically where the CBS primetime lineup from 1988-1992 goes to be reborn.  Now that alone, of course, would be worth the price of admission but it’s the particular slice of the pie that Hallmark aims to (re)deliver that makes it so Chicken Soup for Lost Childhood great.  Old favorites like “Empty Nest”, “Golden Girls” and “Who’s the Boss” are available ‘round the clock;  Nurse Laverne is always there, ready with a Band Aid and a lollipop after your appointment with Dr. Weston.  Dreyfuss the Dog is always licking your face, saving you from Charlie’s lecherous stares and Carol and Barbara’s bickering.   Other staples on the channel include “Cheers” and “Murder She Wrote.”  When I was a kid, I would often escape my less than ideal home life and go over to my Nana’s, where she’d peel and partition out Granny Smith wedges and we’d park ourselves in front of the television watching these shows.  It’s no surprise then that the Hallmark Channel, awash in its pastel blues and beiges, both comforts me in a deep and guttural way while also leaving me with a serious hankering for green apples.