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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, December 20, 2019 18 Cable Conversion Chart O SB C NB GG N Dish DTV ABC WIVT Binghamton - 6 - - - 6 - - ABC WUTR Utica 7 - - 7 10 - 20 20 CBS WKTV2 Utica 5 3 - - - - 12 - CBS WRGB Schenectady 26 - 6 - 6 - - - CBS WTVH Syracuse - - - - - - - 5 CW+ WBU Utica 11 - - - - - - - FOX WFXV Utica 6 9 - 6 - - 33 33 FOX WICZ Binghamton 3 3 - 3 - 10 - - FOX WOLF Scranton - - - 10 - - - - FOX WXXA Albany - - 8 - 8 - - - IND WISF Oneonta - 1231 - - - - - - MNT WPNY Utica - - - 27 - - - - NBC WBGH Elmira - 5 - - - 5 - - NBC WKTV Utica 4 - - 4 - 17 2 2 NBC WNYT Albany - - 13 2 13 - - - NBC WSTM Syracuse - - - - - 3 - - NBC WTEN Albany - - 10 - - - - - PBS WCNY Syracuse 12 12 - 12 - 12 - - PBS WMHT Schenectady - - 11 - 11 - - - PBS WSKG Binghamton 8 8 - 8 - 7 - - WGN Chicago 25 25 87 - 87 28 239 307 ABC FAMILY 16 16 35 16 35 25 180 311 AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL 140 140 140 140 140 140 195 287 AMERICAN MOVIE CLASSICS 66 66 29 66 29 66 131 254 ANIMAL PLANET 67 67 132 67 132 67 184 282 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 42 42 38 42 38 42 118 265 BRAVO 29 29 59 29 59 29 129 237 CABLE NEWS NETWORK 15 15 46 15 46 24 200 202 CNN INTERNATIONAL - - 216 - 216 - - - CARTOON NETWORK 59 59 32 59 32 59 176 296 CINEMAX 531 531 531 531 531 531 310 515 CINEMAX 2 (MOREMAX) 532 532 532 532 532 532 312 517 CNBC 39 39 48 39 48 39 208 355 COMEDY CENTRAL 32 32 36 32 36 32 107 249 COUNTRY MUSIC TELEVISION 30 30 293 30 293 30 166 327 CSPAN 47 47 14 47 14 18 210 350 CSPAN2 226 226 21 92 21 92 211 351 DISCOVERY CHANNEL 41 41 37 41 37 41 182 278 DISCOVERY LIFE 70 70 180 70 180 70 - 261 DISNEY CHANNEL 51 51 34 51 34 51 172 290 E! ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION 44 44 60 44 60 44 114 236 ESPN 14 14 24 14 24 23 140 206 ESPN2 63 63 25 63 25 63 143 209 ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION 52 52 78 52 78 21 261 370 FOOD NETWORK 48 48 42 48 42 48 110 231 FOX NEWS CHANNEL 55 55 70 55 70 55 205 360 FOX SPORTS 1 76 76 73 76 73 76 150 219 FOX SPORTS OHIO - - - - - - 425 660 FREEFORM 16 16 122 16 122 25 180 311 FX MOVIES 632 632 632 632 632 632 384 258 FX NETWORK 43 43 31 43 31 43 136 248 GOLF CHANNEL 71 71 51 71 51 71 401 218 HALLMARK 34 34 123 34 123 34 185 312 HEADLINE NEWS 45 45 45 45 47 45 202 204 HOME BOX OFFICE 511 511 511 511 511 511 300 501 HOME BOX OFFICE 2 512 512 512 512 512 512 301 502 HOME BOX OFFICE SIGNATURE 513 513 513 513 513 513 302 503 HISTORY CHANNEL 57 57 39 57 39 57 120 269 HOME & GARDEN 20 20 41 20 41 47 112 229 ION TELEVISION 2 4 20 10 20 4 250 305 LIFETIME 37 37 30 37 30 37 108 252 MADISON SQUARE GARDENS 60 60 54 60 54 60 - 634 MSNBC 69 69 49 69 49 69 209 356 MTV 18 18 57 18 57 40 160 331 MTV2 119 119 119 119 119 119 161 333 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 33 33 61 33 61 33 186 276 NBC SPORTS NETWORK 49 49 44 49 44 49 159 220 NICKELODEON 36 36 33 36 33 36 170 299 OXYGEN 90 90 171 90 171 90 127 251 PARAMOUNT NETWORK 21 21 55 21 55 52 241 241 QVC 159 159 159 159 159 159 137 70 SHOWTIME 551 551 551 551 551 551 318 545 SPORTSNET NEW YORK 19 19 66 19 66 62 - 639 SYFY CHANNEL 62 62 53 62 53 38 122 244 TLC 58 58 40 58 40 58 183 280 TRAVEL CHANNEL 68 68 165 68 165 68 196 277 TRUTV 46 46 71 46 71 46 148 246 TURNER BROADCASTING SYSTEM 38 38 5 38 5 20 139 247 TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES 31 31 58 31 58 31 132 256 TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION 22 22 27 22 27 26 138 245 TV LAND 50 50 63 50 63 50 106 304 USA NETWORK 17 17 28 17 28 27 105 242 VIDEO HITS 1 35 35 56 35 56 35 162 335 WOMEN'S ENTERTAINMENT 61 61 65 61 65 61 128 260 YANKEES NETWORK 53 53 52 53 52 53 - 631 O - Oneonta, SB - Sidney/Bainbridge, C - Cobleskill, NB - New Berlin, GG - Grand Gorge, N - Norwich, D1 - Dish Network, D2 - DirecTV By Sachi Kameishi TV Media T he trope of the loving-but- ultimately-incapable sin- gle dad is a prevalent one in pop culture. From "Aladdin" (1992) to comedy-dramas like "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999) and beloved shows that include "Full House" and "Two and a Half Men," it's clear that there's something about an earnest, flawed father that dis- arms and charms audiences. Perhaps it's the subversion of a gender role, or maybe even more about the absent mother herself, but single fatherhood is a detail that can be conducive to many kinds of narrative, ev- erything from comedy to melo- drama or the coming of age of a young heroine. However, most single-dad narratives don't flesh out the dad character himself: he's usually more of a detail in someone else's life, a small part of the greater story. Even in shows where you'd think it would warrant a greater arc, this character is often used as comic relief or to punctuate the lead character's story with en- dearing moments. CBS is look- ing to change all that. "The Unicorn," which you can catch on Thursday, Dec. 26, on CBS, feels different than ev- erything else on television right now. The show stars Walton Goggins ("The Hateful Eight," 2015) — one of the best and most underrated actors work- ing today — who plays Wade, a single father of two trying to find a way to cope with life a year after his wife's death. It's an exploration of grief and middle-age friendships. It ex- amines what it takes to rear children on your own. Perhaps most importantly, it navigates different ways to find relief in the aftermath of great tragedy. Oh yeah, and it's hilarious. The show's name may not seem appropriate at first glance. Unicorns and familial tragedy? The pilot episode spells out the connection nice- ly: Wade is still reeling from his wife's death and is unable to focus on anything but work. This takes a toll on his daugh- ters, Grace (Ruby Jay, "Holly Hobbie") and Natalie (Maken- zie Moss, "Steve Jobs," 2015). When the situation deterio- rates to the point where the girls have nothing to eat but leftover casseroles, lasagnas and other frozen offerings left over from their mother's wake a year prior, Wade's friends, Forrest (Rob Corddry,"Childrens Hospital"), Delia (Michaela Watkins, "Ca- sual") and Ben (Omar Benson Miller, "CSI: Miami"), decide to talk some sense into him. Their solution? Get Wade back into the dating game. He's a uni- corn, they say — a man who is not single out of desire or lack of potential, but one who has a proven ability to commit and provide. In a dating landscape full of unemployed, emotional- ly vacant, toxic people, Wade is like a mythical creature, some- thing most believe to be im- possible. He's a unicorn. The show doesn't kick into gear with Wade and his new journey as a player on the dat- ing scene. A lesser-quality se- ries might find the laughs in goofy encounters and the quirky women a single dad might get tangled up with. In- stead, we get to witness Wade on a date with divorcee Dani- elle (Bianca Kajlich, "Rules of Engagement"), as he, disarm- ingly and sincerely, overshares with her that without his wife, "I don't really know who I am anymore." Again, a lesser show would follow that up with a pity-sex encounter, but not "The Unicorn." Wade de- clines. From the start, his char- acter is a whole, well-drawn one, not the stereotype we're used to. So far this season, we've seen Wade get a dressing down from a widows support group because of his anger is- sues; we've seen him deal with his friends breaking into his online profiles to microman- age and protect his dating life; and we've seen him reassure his children that he loves them and their mother. It becomes clear early on that the show measures Wade's "unicorn- ness" not by how much he shines among other single men, but in how he copes with (and learns from) his loss and experiences. Cast member Rob Corddry said of "The Unicorn": "It's a half-hour comedy, but it's not afraid of the feels." Tender laughs: Walton Goggins stars in 'The Unicorn' on CBS featurestory Rob Corddry in "The Unicorn"

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