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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, January 24, 2020 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 Francis Babin TV Media F or the past 20 years, tele- vision fans have been truly spoiled. According to most entertainment pundits, we are living in a new Golden Age of Television, which kicked off with HBO's "The Sopranos" at the turn of the current century. With the good comes the more questionable content — ge- neric reality shows, lazy cookie- cutter series and other dispos- able programming is also on the rise — but there is just so much good content out there that it is almost impossible to keep track of everything. Yet, regardless of the era that we are living in, most shows, good or bad, just can- not stick the landing. Why is it so hard to wrap up a television series in a satisfactory way? There are many notorious final episodes, and they go from kind of unsatisfying to abso- lutely terrible. "How I Met Your Mother," "Dexter" and last year's "Game of Thrones" spring to mind — we have seen some real doozies in the past few years, but finales don't always have to be so ter- rible (see "The Americans"). On Thursday, Jan. 30, the criti- cally lauded and award-win- ning comedy "The Good Place" tries to buck the trend with its 90-minute series finale on NBC. The new decade is upon us, and many television best-of lists have been published in re- cent weeks as outlets look back and decide which shows were the greatest of the 2010s. To nobody's surprise, heavy- weights such as "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" routinely topped these lists. But virtually every one of them also fea- tured lesser-known and under- appreciated gems. "The Good Place" is consistently included in best-of offerings, and for good reason: the series not only featured a great cast and good writing, but it made us feel good. Kristen Bell ("Frozen II," 2019), Jameela Jamil ("The Misery Index"), William Jack- son Harper ("Dark Waters," 2019), Manny Jacinto ("The Romeo Section"), D'Arcy Carden ("Barry") and the fabu- lous Ted Danson ("CSI: Cyber") star, and it's been a joy to watch them interact for four wonderful seasons. For those who tune in week- ly to the original and deep fan- tasy comedy, the show's end was not a surprise. Like many classic NBC comedies, "The Good Place," has struggled to find an audience despite its critical acclaim and numerous accolades. Unlike "Cheers," "Seinfeld" and others, the award-winning laugher never quite found its footing, leaving it with a small, but devoted, fan base heading into its ambi- tious finale. But showrunner Michael Schur, who gave us beloved series such as "The Of- fice" and "Brooklyn Nine- Nine," always wanted to tell a finite story, one that went somewhere and ended well. That vision should pay off this week. For the many who have not been to "The Good Place," here is a brief recap of what you've missed: After her death, Eleanor, a mean, selfish and self-de- scribed "Arizona trash bag," wonderfully portrayed by Bell, wakes up in a Heaven-like uto- pia designed by an immortal architect to reward her righ- teous life. She soon realizes that she's there by mistake and tries to remedy her past behav- ior by becoming a better and more ethical person. What bet- ter place could there be to learn how to be good than The Good Place, which is filled with good people? There are many unexpected moments along the way, and our imperfect pro- tagonist meets up with a bevy of interesting characters, de- mons and celestial beings and explores plenty of ethical and philosophical questions in a humorous way. Over the years, "The Good Place" has garnered a reputa- tion for its twist and turns and unpredictability. Again, sepa- rating itself from the pack, none of the comedy's twists have felt random or un- planned. Clearly, the Schur's critical darling has been well thought out since the get-go. The acclaimed comedy has never felt rushed or ill-con- ceived, and since Schur has al- ways known just where the show is headed, its last epi- sode should reflect that. A final twist: 'The Good Place' bids farewell after four seasons featurestory William Jackson Harper and Jameela Jamil in "The Good Place"

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