Blog Posts by Sarah D. Bunting

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! That is, time for TV shows to roll out a fresh batch of Christmas-themed episodes for our viewing pleasure. But which of the many Christmas episodes we’ve enjoyed over the years have stood the test of time to become a true holiday tradition? You tell us. We’ve ranked the most enduring Christmas episodes ever -- along with a few wild cards -- and placed them in a March Madness-style bracket. Over the next two weeks, we’re asking you to vote for your favorite episodes until we get a winner: the undisputed best Christmas episode of all time.

(8) M*A*S*H, "Death Takes a Holiday" (aired December 15, 1980)
The "Charles Winchester is a grump with a heart of go--- er, chocolate" subplot plays on the classic "Gift of the Magi" story, as Charles skimps on his donation to the potluck party for the local orphanage, then secretly donates packages of candy bars in a family tradition from back home. Cute, but missable; the story you likely remember from

Andre Rison in 2006. (Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images)How do highly paid pro athletes run through all those millions and end up broke -- behind on their mortgages, jailed for tax evasion, even homeless? ESPN's "30 for 30" returns with another fascinating installment, "Broke," which looks at the embattled relationship between players and their finances.

Follow the money

"Broke" picks up where a recent "Sports Illustrated" piece on athletes' fiscal mishaps left off, and the statistics aren't any less striking since Pablo Torre's article went to press almost four years ago: Within five years of retiring, approximately 60% of former NBA players have gone broke. The numbers are even worse for NFL players, many of whom don't play long enough to qualify for the league's pension and must also deal with postcareer medical issues -- 78% of former NFLers file for bankruptcy or suffer "financial distress" because of broken marriages, underemployment, or both.

Director Billy Corben -- who helmed an earlier "30 for 30" installment, "The U," about

The Emmy-laden sophomore drama remains fascinating and well-acted -- but its MacGuffin is showing.

High anxiety

After the wrenching finale of its first season, "Homeland" had its work cut out for Season 2. Carrie Mathison, disgraced and mired in the depression that follows a manic episode, chose to undergo electroconvulsive therapy, and may have erased the critical connection she made as the preprocedure anesthetic took hold. Nicholas Brody came this close to smithereening half the Cabinet with a suicide bomb; only a faulty switch and a desperate call from daughter Dana kept a tragedy from turning into a catastrophe.

The writers would have to figure out how to get Carrie back in the game; continue making Brody's double life believably secret; and cook up a season-long narrative that put Carrie and Brody back on a collision course.

Then the show won every Emmy in sight. So, no pressure.

The premiere checked all these tasks off its to-do list. Carrie's leading a soothing life at