Transmissions from the Northern Outpost

Tag: TV

  • My 10 favorite TV series and movies watched this year

    Alphabetically, here are my 10 favorite TV series and movies that I watched this year.

    • Arcane: League of Legends
    • Come See Me in the Good Light
    • Corner Gas
    • Death Inc./Fisk
    • Detective Montalbano
    • Ghosts UK, Seasons 4 & 5
    • KPop Demon Hunters
    • The Studio
    • The Venture Brothers
    • Wednesday

    The list is mostly in no particular order, except for the top being my favorite discovery of the year and best show I’ve seen in a long time. I’m not going to give a synopsis of each, or on what streaming platforms they can be found (you have the power of the Interwebs).

    A few notes:

    • I included the TV shows Death Inc. & Fisk as one because of their shared, awkward quirkiness.
    • Kim and I watched Ghosts UK years ago, but we never were able to watch the last two seasons because it wasn’t avaliable on any streaming services we were paying for. We bought the complete series on DVD and finally got to see the final two seasons. It was worth the wait.
    • Three of the four were animated, but none of them were like the others. I also just learned last night that The Venture Brothers has seven seasons. Netflix only has three seasons. We’ll watch the rest on the Adult Swim app with commercials unfortunately.
    • Only one is nonfiction, Come See Me in the Good Light. It’s about the last year of the life of poet Andrea Gibson, who died this past summer.
    • Earlier this year, I finished the last five books in the Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri, and so I’ve been making my way slowly through the series based on the books.

    The one my wife Kim and I watched the most together was Corner Gas, a light Canadian comedy that aired from 2004 to 2009. It now is found on various platforms. I’ll leave you with the opening of the first show, which pretty much sets the six seasons of the show perfectly.

    What are some of your favorite TV shows and movies that you watched this year? Share in the comments.

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  • A Child’s Christmas in Wales

    Tonight, my wife Kim and I will be watching the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol, with Alistair Sim as Scrooge, and in our minds, the definitive production of the Christmas classic. We watch it every Christmas. However, every Christmas I also watch another production I consider a classic too, the 1987 adaptation of Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales or listen to Thomas himself reading it.

    I shared both with my sister and a friend via text. My friend sent me this version by Richard Burton:

    My friend gave this analysis, which I thought was right on and the reason I like the Elliot version the best:

    Elliot gives a gentler, friendlier performance, and of course that’s partly because it’s a video production. The others are reading. There’s a serious authority to Thomas and a kind of repressed ferocity (as there often is) with Burton.

    As a result of our conversation, for some reason, I was reminded of another production from 1987, The Dead, an adaptation of James Joyce’s short story of the same name in the collection Dubliners. It is one of my favorite movies, especially for the ending monologue (um, trigger warning, not a merry ending):

    I found the entire movie on the Howdy channel on Roku. It also is free on Tubi. I’m watching it now.

    Do you have Christmas TV or movie traditions? Share in the comments.

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  • Pete and Repeat…

    Every Thursday, I share three good things from today, in the past week, and/or in the week or weeks to come, to focus on what is good. I encourage you to share in the comments your three good things too, if you want. I was introduced to thinking on three good things for the week by Deb Nance of the blog Readerbuzz who lists hers every Sunday on her blog.

    Basically, this week is a repeat of last week with minor variations and an addition:

    1. We watched the fourth season of the British version, the original one, of the series Ghosts last weekend, and this weekend, we’ll watch the fifth and final season.
    2. While baseball is over, we, mostly I, are/am watching the Major League Soccer playoffs. It’s a diversion for the most part from “the world.”
    3. The addition is Kim’s vacation starts Sunday and runs through Thanksgiving. She works that day, but we both are off for our 29th wedding anniversary the weekend before. She also is going to see her dad, stepmom, sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces in Maryland for a few days next week and into the weekend.

    So, what’s good in your life today, this past week, or in the week(s) to come?

    —

  • Ghosts, sports, and Twilight

    Every Thursday, and sometimes Friday like today, I share three good things from today, in the past week, and/or in the week or weeks to come, to focus on what is good. I encourage you to share in the comments your three good things too, if you want. I was introduced to thinking on three good things for the week by Deb Nance of the blog Readerbuzz who lists hers every Sunday on her blog.

    Starting today, Kim and I are off for three days. So, basically those are the three good things this week. However, within the three days also are three good things:

    Ghosts Marathon

    We never finished the British version, the original one, of the series Ghosts, so this weekend, we’re planning on rectifying that. Last year I bought the series on DVD and I think we have seasons 4 & 5 left. We’re looking forward to seeing the gang again.

    Sports

    Kim and I were “into baseball” this past season. Even though our teams are out of it, we’re still following the World Series with Game 6 tonight. We don’t have cable so we’ll be catching the game through the MLB app with highlights usually shortly after they happen. We’re both pulling for the Blue Jays.

    I also have been following Major League Soccer, and the teams that are left are now in the playoffs with a slate of games scheduled Saturday afternoon and night. I’m not really pulling for one team or one player as much as I am just watching the passes (like a cat watching a tennis ball) and the play on and off the ball.

    Twilight movies

    A few years ago, we purchased the Rifftrax soundtracks for the Twilight movies and watched them(you sync them up with the movies) . Now we’re going to try them again with the commentary from Mike, Kevim, and Bill, which really is the only way to watch them. They really are horrible, horrible movies but the Rifftrax guys make it more than tolerable. Here’s a sample:

    So what are you all up to this Halloween weekend?

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  • A four-day break from work

    Every Thursday, I share three good things from today, in the past week, and/or in the week or weeks to come, to focus on what is good. I encourage you to share in the comments your three good things too, if you want. I was introduced to thinking on three good things for the week by Deb Nance of the blog Readerbuzz who lists hers every Sunday on her blog.

    Today begins a four-day break from work. Nothing special, just the way my schedule works part-time, with two longer days Monday and Tuesday. So really I have four good things this week to be thankful for.

    Kim is off a couple of days within the four-day stretch: Friday and Saturday, but we have no big plans. Friday night we are doing a theme night, which I’m dubbing “Finale Friday.” We will be watching the finales of Season 8 of Rick & Morty and Season 2 of Peacemaker to start the night, and end with the final Mission Impossible movie, Final Reckoning.

    Other than finales, I would like to get some reading in and catching up on podcasts with Tara Brach and Eckhart Tolle.

    —

  • Refueling, reuniting, reconnecting

    Every Thursday, I share three good things from today, in the past week, and/or in the week or weeks to come, to focus on what is good. I encourage you to share in the comments your three good things too, if you want. I was introduced to thinking on three good things for the week by Deb Nance of the blog Readerbuzz who lists hers every Sunday on her blog.

    Today

    Today, I am off from work and am using today as a “down day,” where I’m not going anywhere and am refueling after a long weekend for both Kim and me (see next section). Kim also is off today but she is away most of the day at a Pride event at a nearby university with Free Mom Hugs, a group with whom she volunteers. We’ll hang out tonight, but this morning and afternoon, I’m doing…not much of anything, maybe TV, maybe reading, maybe music, maybe listening to a podcast or two. I don’t know yet.

    This past week(end)

    Kim and I went to a multi-year high school reunion in southern New Jersey that included her class and the class of her sister, who graduated a few years before Kim. We stayed at the hotel where the reunion was for two nights, then at her sister and brother-in-law’s place in Delaware on Sunday night before coming back back home Monday morning. We also met up with one of Kim’s classmates Friday night since he was unable to attend the reunion Saturday night. Here is a photo of Kim in the hotel room before the dinner:

    The week(end) to come

    I work tomorrow and then I’m off for the weekend. Kim is working both days, and my plan is much as the same with the exception of catching up with a couple of long distance friends via phone. It’ll be good to reconnect as we often do, once a week with the one friend and at least once a month with the other. I usually end up talking an hour or more with each.

    —

  • My niece turns 11, Corner Gas, & a high school reunion

    Every Thursday, I share three good things from today, in the past week, and/or in the week or weeks to come, to focus on what is good. I encourage you to share in the comments your three good things too, if you want. I was introduced to thinking on three good things for the week by Deb Nance of the blog Readerbuzz who lists hers every Sunday on her blog.

    Today

    Today, my niece turned 11. This is her shortly after she was born with me and her brother:

    This is she and her brother today at breakfast at a restaurant in the town where they live, that my sister took her for her birthday:

    This past week

    Kim and I are rewatching a series we’ve watched before and enjoying it all over. Here is a clip of the show:

    This weekend

    Tomorrow, Kim and I are going away for the weekend for her high school reunion on Saturday in southern New Jersey. It’s a multi-year reunion so also includes her sister’s class from a few years before Kim. We’re staying at the hotel where the reunion is being held for two nights, then with her sister and her husband in Delaware Sunday night before coming back Monday morning. Also, we’re meeting up with one of her high school classmates, who isn’t going to the reunion, for dinner tomorrow night. It ought to be a good weekend all around.

    —

  • A negative biopsy, a negative biopsy, a negative biopsy!

    Every Thursday, I share three good things from today, in the past week, and/or in the week or weeks to come, to focus on what is good. I encourage you to share in the comments your three good things too, if you want. I was introduced to thinking on three good things for the week by Deb Nance of the blog Readerbuzz who lists hers every Sunday on her blog.

    This week, I am thankful mostly for one thing: a negative biopsy result for my wife after an initial inconclusive mammogram on Feb. 21 and unclear ultrasound last week. The biopsy was Monday and she received a phone call from the breast imaging center yesterday.

    We are celebrating this weekend at home as we both are off work. That is the second good thing this week, both of us being off at the same time. We’re getting takeout Chinese for the weekend with no real theme for the weekend other than watching mostly fun TV, which will be the third good thing this week.

    We recently got Netflix with commercials for free through our T-Mobile account. We’re returning to some favorites we’ve seen: Upper Middle Bogan and Tacoma FD, and also trying a couple of shows new to us: Fisk and Loudermilk. Click on the links of the titles for trailers for each (some NSFW or children). Our feature presentation on probably Saturday night, maybe Sunday night, will be this:

    We’ve heard about it and wanted to see it, but didn’t have Netflix to watch it. Now that we do, we’re all in.

    —

  • Celebrating 5 days off in a row…

    Every Thursday, I share three good things from today, in the past week, and/or in the week or weeks to come, to focus on what is good. I encourage you to share in the comments your three good things too, if you want. I was introduced to thinking on three good things for the week by Deb Nance of the blog Readerbuzz who lists hers every Sunday on her blog.

    5 days off in a row

    I work part-time at a small-town library and as such, my schedule varies week to week. This week, it just happens I have five days off in a row: Wednesday through Sunday. I’m using it as a chance to mostly hibernate as the temperatures especially for the next couple of days are all under 25 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m curling up with a book or two and binge-watching a few shows: Bones, The Lincoln Lawyer, and maybe the original Law & Order. I also have a playlist of podcasts, mostly from Tara Brach, that I’m going through.

    2 days off together

    My wife Kim is off the last two days of the five days I’m off. Tomorrow night, we’re getting Chinese, which, with appetizers and entree, usually lasts us the entire weekend. Also tomorrow night we’re having a themed movie night: Funky Friday with two documentaries, Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius) about Sly Stone and Thunder Soul about a lesser known funk act, the Kashmere Stage Band.

    Celebrating 1 show

    Then on Saturday, the theme is Saturday Night Live with The Anniversary Special from this past Sunday and The Homecoming Concert from last Friday. We might also sprinkle in the four-part documentary Beyond Saturday Night. We already watched the documentary Ladies & Gentlemen…50 Years of SNL Music.

    Kim started watching SNL when she was 7 with her sister, Debbie. They’d sneak watch while at their grandmother’s, usually missing the cold open because they’d wait for her to fall asleep. Steve Martin was her favorite, she said. Myself? I probably only really “discovered” it in my final years of high school and then in college, with my favorite probably being Phil Hartman. I even wrote a poem about him when he died in May 1998 (best viewed on desktop to show line breaks as the poet intended):

    On the Death of Phil Hartman

    A comedian dies, and suddenly the world explodes 
    into a nuclear array of light. It’s not funny
    how he died, bang with a bullet. Or how
    crowds cheer the demise of another country

    not realizing their own is near. What is funny
    is how he brought characters to the screen,
    but never his own, how a mushroom cloud
    is like a lotus flower opening its petals,

    how the clock can be pushed forward
    by actions in New Delhi, Islamabad.
    "I think laughter is an underrated emotion,"
    he once told Jane Pauley on Dateline.

    It’s what the world needs now,
    what could have been written
    as an epitaph on his gravestone
    if he hadn’t chosen to be cremated instead.

    His wish to be consumed by fire
    no longer seems bizarre;
    perhaps it was just foretelling what was
    and is, and is to come.

    And with that happy thought 😉, I will bid you adieu.

    —

  • The Wife, friends, and dad humour

    Every Thursday, I share three good things from today, in the past week, and/or in the week or weeks to come, to focus on what is good. I encourage you to join me and share in the comments, if you want, or in your own journal, or both, whatever works for you.

    This week is off the top of my head, as I’ve been running errands most of the day and didn’t draft this yesterday or earlier in the week as I often do. So, here we go:

    1. Monday, my wife said, was the first day she felt “normal” after returning from the hospital last month and going back to work mid-month this month. And today she had a fitting for compression sleeves for her legs with a lymphedema therapist at our local hospital and was able to walk in with no trouble. A month ago, she had a hard time getting to the office and I drove her. Today, she went by herself.
    2. Catching up with friends over the last few weeks, whether in person via phone or email or at the library where I work. I am so grateful for their friendship.
    3. Bingewatching Corner Gas, a Canadian comedy that aired from 2004 to 2009 and now is available on Freevee, yesterday afternoon. It was the dad humor, or humour, I needed. We’re on the final season after watching it over the last several years here and there.

    Author’s Note: Variations of “3 Good Things Thursday” can be found across the Interwebs and to which I was introduced by Deb Nance of the blog Readerbuzz who does hers every Sunday as part of her Sunday Salon post.

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