television

Must See TV, For Real

/ justdrivewillyou / 2 Comments

If you care about the future of the democracy of the United States of America, you have a date in front of your TV tonight.

That is when, on prime time television, the House Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol will begin making its findings public.

And after eleven months of investigation, and over 1,000 interviews, the committee has a lot of findings.

The hearings will feature eyewitness testimony, unreleased audio and video footage and, according to a committee aide speaking on condition of anonymity, a “mountain of evidence “, including recorded accounts from Trump’s senior aides at the White House, the administration and the campaign, as well as members of Trump’s family.

The hearings will be televised live by several stations. Except, of course, Fox News. You should have no problem finding it.

I know this will be difficult to watch. We’re going to see and hear things about the insurrection, and all the people and events that led up to it, and be shocked, disgusted, enraged, heartbroken, the whole gamut of emotions.

We will also be grateful for the heroic actions of many people, some of whom even lost their lives, who prevented the violent attempt at overthrowing our democracy that came frighteningly close to succeeding.

I know Washington congressional hearings are usually not of much interest to you and me but, I urge you, please tune in this evening, beginning 7 PM Central Time. If you can’t make it, record it. Or watch it on demand.

Friends, this is way too important to miss. I hope you feel the same.

This is for our country.

The Best and Worst On My TV Lately

/ justdrivewillyou / 4 Comments

BEST

You know what’s been cool for me to watch on the Winter Olympics this year? (And the Summer games last year, come to think of it?)

The watch parties. All the families and friends of the athletes competing, not allowed to cheer them on in person due to COVID, gather together in parties small and large around the world, to witness all the events – just like the rest of us – on their television screens.

Now, I’m sure these parties have been going on for years, because not everyone gets to go to the venues, but now we get to watch the watchers! Whether jubilantly cheering the victories, agonizing over the defeats, or audibly gasping at the unimaginable surprises (ahem, Mikaela Shiffrin), we see their reactions, and we feel them, like we’re sitting alongside them.

And I don’t know about you, but that enriches the whole experience for me. I think we should be in on every Olympics watch party from now on.

EVEN BETTER

The Chevy commercials featuring Walter the cat. If you haven’t seen them, you owe it to yourself to do so. I am a 100% Walter fan.

WORST

I will be eternally grateful to the person who invents a television that automatically deletes political ads.

As it is, I have to quickly reach for the remote every time these idiots come on my TV and insult my intelligence with their astonishing, jaw dropping bull$#!t. The only thing even more jaw dropping is that someone out there actually believes it.

Personally, I think they should all be banned. Permanently. We would all be so much better off.

EVEN WORSE

Nope. No such thing.

So Long, Caped Crusader

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You can keep your Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer and George Clooney and Christian Bale and Ben Affleck.

Give me the late, great Adam West as Batman every time.

West passed away recently, at the age of 88, from leukemia. Batman, based on the comic book series of the same name, was a television series that aired in the late 1960’s. And, I don’t mean, in the afternoon, when the kids got home from school. This was a primetime TV series, two nights a week!

It was basically the same every time. Some nefarious criminal would show up in Gotham City, be it the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin, Catwoman (mmm-mmmm, Julie Newmar…), or any number of oddball baddies. Commissioner Gordon and Chief O’Hara, knowing they were inadequate for the task at hand, would call Batman on his Batphone, discreetly located in plain sight in millionaire Bruce Wayne’s study.

Bruce would take the call, upon being notified surreptitiously by his faithful butler, Alfred, “It’s the Batphone, sir.” And Bruce and his youthful ward, Dick Grayson (who was never referred to any other way) would head down to the underground Bat Cave upon Bruce’s exhortation, “To the Bat Poles!”

(I was always amazed at how these guys could change from their street clothes to their crimefighting uniforms on the way down the poles! Maybe, those things could be used as wife poles; it could cut way down on the time it takes for wives to get ready to go out. Just sayin’…)

Anyway, off they would go, Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder, to the commisioner’s office, in their superbad Batmobile. Once Commissioner Gordon brought them up to speed, and Chief O’Hara applied some appropriate curses, begorrah, then began the cat-and-mouse (or bat-and-mouse, if you prefer) game between the good guys and bad guys, culminating in a climatic fight scene.

(The fight scenes were great, because the sound effects were depicted graphically onscreen. POW! BAM! BIFF! SOCK! OOOOF! YEOWWW! That was cool.)

And then there was the dialogue. You had to grow a little older to fully appreciate just how tongue-in-cheek it was. But, it was delivered in all earnestness by the cast, which makes it so freakin’ funny when you go back and watch those shows later.

Have you figured out by now just how unashamedly corny this show was? You could almost taste the butter and salt when you watched it. But we kids loved it. Batman and Robin were our heroes. It really was a comic book come to life.

And at the center of it all was the square-jawed, supremely moral presence of Adam West. He fit the part perfectly, which turned out to be a liability for him after the Batman series ended. West found himself getting typecast in several roles following that, to his aggravation. Eventually, though, he made his peace with it. From all accounts, he was a very nice man, which should surprise no one.

To a younger generation, he’s known as the voice of the town mayor on the animated series Family Guy, but I know nothing of that. To me, Adam West was, is, and shall forever be the Caped Crusader.

Rest In Peace, Adam. The citizens of Gotham City are safe, thanks to you.