Hurray for Hallmark

We all have our weaknesses.  One of mine reared its lovely head this morning.  As I skimmed the TV listings, I came across this:

Daphne Zuniga stars in "A Family Thanksgiving" (Hallmark at 9) as a single attorney too busy to celebrate the holidays who suddenly wakes up one day as a wife and mother in an alternate universe. 

My heart leapt and a smile stole across my face.  My plans for tonight are set.  This movie looks to have everything:  Daphne Zuniga (Jo from "Melrose Place"!), holidays, family, realizing what's really important in life, alternate lives, and--I'm quite positive--a dashing love interest.  And it co-stars Faye Dunaway.  Really.  I've already alerted the family that I am not to be disturbed from 8:55 pm until 11:00 pm tonight, unless it is to refill my wine glass or bring me tasty hors d'oeuvres.

It also reminds me of another thing I'm thankful for:  The Hallmark Channel, the last refuge for these kinds of movies on television since Lifetime Television for Women abandoned us.  Today's line-up on Lifetime Movie Network is typical (the descriptions are theirs): 

• 4 pm:  "Night of Terror" - Forget about enjoying a relaxing family boat trip: This troubled family must contend with a deadly storm and, to add to their misery, a vicious stalker who's out to get them. 
• 6 pm:  "Mother, May I Sleep with Danger" - A naive college student (Tori Spelling) falls in love with a charming pathological liar, credit card scammer and murderer (Ivan Sergei). When her mother (Lisa Banes) attempts to break off the relationship, the crazed boyfriend abducts her daughter and hides her in his cabin in the woods.
• 8 pm:  "Confined" - Victoria and Michael Peyton move from the big city to the suburbs after Victoria's job loss and possible mental breakdown. When she starts to suspect that her next door neighbor is keeping a young woman locked in his basement, her husband thinks she may be losing touch with reality. But the neighbor's evil starts to become all too real.
• 10 pm:  "Homecoming" - A jilted ex girlfriend has a plan in store for her ex beau who is coming back to their small town with his new love.

Argh.  Seriously?  There are certain times when I must have chick movies:  when I'm sick, the day after major holidays, when I'm home alone, and from Thanksgiving to Christmas (New Year's if it's not pushing my luck).  At these times, I do not want stalkers and murderers, and not just because they don't go with Chardonnay.  If I want the twisted side of life, I'll take "Cold Case Files" and "American Justice" on A&E (I might actually have a crush on Bill Kurtis--so serious, so solemn, so reliable).

So, thank you, Hallmark.  I love your Countdown to Thanksgiving (and the ticker! 18 days until Thanksgiving!), and I will be watching "A Family Thanksgiving" and "An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving" (Hallmark calls it "a holiday story of family and forgiveness").  I look forward with great anticipation to the "Countdown to Christmas" and movies like these:

• "The Town Christmas Forgot" - An urban family that can’t seem to get along gets stranded in a remote, impoverished lumber town two days before Christmas. When they become involved in the town’s home-grown Christmas pageant, they not only help solve the town’s problems but learn to connect with each other just in time for the holidays.
• "The Good Witch's Gift" - Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale always has a few tricks up her sleeve, but is surprised when her handsome sweetheart, Police Chief Jake Russell, proposes. Getting into the spirit of the season, they set their wedding date for Christmas Eve--only six days away! As the two hurry to plan the wedding, trouble clouds their happiness when a mysterious man from Jake's past returns to town. 

Not a brutal crime in sight.  I can feel the holiday spirit already.