Note: Kelly Lawler is on vacation. The Critic's Corner chat resumes Monday, Jan. 8, at 2 p.m. ET. Chatters can see answers to recent reader questions below.
USA TODAY's Critic's Corner chat takes place Monday afternoons, when we talk TV with fans.
Chatters should visit the USA TODAY Life page on Facebook at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, when Kelly Lawler will be answering questions live. However, you may email early questions to criticscorner@usatoday.com.
We will continue to accept early questions submitted via Twitter. Tweet your early questions to @klawls. Kelly will then include selected questions in the live video chat on Mondays at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT at facebook.com/usatodaylife.
Watch Kelly answer reader questions at the USA TODAY Life page on Facebook when the chat returns at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT Mondays.
Here are recent questions and answers:
What are your favorite holiday specials or TV episodes?
Every year my family watches Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve. It's a less famous version of the Charles Dickens story than A Muppet Christmas Carol, but for nostalgia and its infectious music, it will always be my favorite version. As far as TV episodes, I return to The West Wing Season 1 episode "In Excelsis Deo" a lot during the holidays. The episode is one of the series' best and finds Toby (Richard Schiff) putting together a funeral for a homeless veteran who died while wearing a coat he gave away to Goodwill. It encapsulates a lot of themes of the series and has an emotional sequence involving a young choir performing The Little Drummer Boy.
Is there anything that could be done to convince Longmire producers, et al, to continue this well-written, well-acted, series?
Unfortunately, Longmire has already had its second life. The series debuted on A&E in 2012 and was canceled after its third season in 2014. Netflix rescued it and went on to produce three more seasons, and its final episodes were released in November. It was a minor miracle that Longmire continued at all (Netflix has not been in the business of saving series lately), and the Western at least went out on a high note.
If the family is all gathered for the holidays, what recommendations do you have for shows they can watch – something quick before they pass out from too much turkey or wine?
If you're looking for something easy and broad, you can start any season of The Great British Baking Show: Four are available on Netflix. The baking competition is a delight and doesn't require any previous knowledge to jump in, and even if you can't finish a season the episodes are quite satisfying on their own. Another British crowd-pleaser is BBC America's Planet Earth II, which you can stream on their site. Each episode tells a story about a particular location, and they're all shot and edited beautifully.
What do you think about Big Little Lies getting a second season?
While I quite loved Big Little Lies, I'm not particularly excited that HBO is bringing it back. One of the strongest elements of the series was that it had such a beautiful, poignant ending: one that didn't necessarily solve every mystery or answer every question but was still satisfying. To open that up again feels like a betrayal of the themes and characters. Sometimes it's OK to just let things end. Hopefully, some other recent successful limited series (Netflix's Alias Grace and Godless) won't follow suit.
Are there shows people should catch up on before they return in January?
One of my favorite Netflix sitcoms is returning in January, which gives you just enough time to catch up on the first two seasons. Lovesick (formerly known as Scrotal Recall until Netflix helpfully changed the title to match the show's sweet tone) is about a man (Johnny Flynn) who discovers he has a sexually transmitted disease and has to inform all of his former girlfriends. The story is told in flashbacks, with each episode about a different relationship, with varying effects on his life. Meanwhile, he's in love with his best friend, Evie (The Good Doctor's Antonia Thomas).
Is Carl really dead on The Walking Dead?
I have to think yes. Although we didn't actually see Carl (Chandler Riggs) die in last Sunday's midseason finale, there doesn't seem to be any way out for him. He was bitten by a walker on his torso, not on a limb that they could remove to stop the virus spreading. It also appears that he was bitten well before he revealed his injury to Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) in the final moments of the episode. Finding a miraculous cure would undercut the emotion of the moment, not to mention rewrite the rules of the Walking Dead universe. He may be around for one more episode, but probably not much longer than that.