So…in a sure sign of continuing mental and emotional regression, I decided the other night to accessorize a drunk by watching a little cable…only to foggily re-discover we haven’t had cable in years (my first clue? No suitcase-sized box on top of a TV not made to support an envelope). I had been reminiscing about how much I had enjoyed those early years of cable and the rise of specialty channels catering to narrowcasting desires, and I thought: “Why not watch a little Nick at Nite?”
Continue reading ‘The Patty Duke Show’ (Season 1): A light, perfectly pitched time capsule back to a sweeter timeTag Archives: film
‘A Ring for Christmas’ (2020): Spoiled, scheming trust funder makes holiday hijinks
Terrible people make for fun stories, and terrible people are what you need to spice up cable TV Christmas movies!
Continue reading ‘A Ring for Christmas’ (2020): Spoiled, scheming trust funder makes holiday hijinks‘The Norliss Tapes’ (1972): Can the creepy thrill of ‘The Night Stalker’ be duplicated?
Fall’s here! Fall begins with the letter “f,” kids! There are lots and lots of other words that begin with the letter “f,” now that fall is here! Can you think of any? I know can! Like…”f******” leaves to rake! “F******” snow tires to drag out of the garage! “F******” heating bills I can’t afford! “F******” pumpkin spice everywhere you “f******” turn! “F******” elections that are fixed! And “f******” sitting alone in your den, drinking heavily on a dark, rainy afternoon, cleaning the pistol your old man blew his brains out with, while you mentally flip a coin to see if you should just f****** follow suit! Can you think of any others? You can? Great! So remember: Fall means f****** fun!”
Continue reading ‘The Norliss Tapes’ (1972): Can the creepy thrill of ‘The Night Stalker’ be duplicated?‘Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie’ (1993): A familial look back at the fascinating, complicated couple
I hadn’t realized that this past April was the 35th anniversary of the passing of Lucille Ball, television’s greatest comedienne. Probably because that former standby of media information—the old “TV listings”—hadn’t reminded me. Since traditional linear network TV is now essentially a niche joke—the last form of mass communication that actually helped unify our popular culture, as opposed to the internet and streaming, which have completely Balkanized it—I seriously doubt there was any kind of effort on the part of her old network, CBS, to commemorate her death while celebrating her legacy (maybe they did something on MeTV…do people still have cable?).
Continue reading ‘Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie’ (1993): A familial look back at the fascinating, complicated couple