television

Chris Knight's avatar

 What did I think of it?

This was as perfect an ending to a story as The Lord of the Rings had.  I am soooo not kidding.

The final scenes… wow.  I was almost in tears.  Those nearly came after everything else that preceded it in this very last episode of Stranger Things.

I feel like it’s the end of a journey for me.  This show, which I first discovered while staying in a hotel in Albuquerque in September of 2016, has been a part of my life ever since then.  I became a true believer in this story and its wonderful characters.  And now the story is done and… I don’t quite know what to do now.  I feared this would happen.  Stranger Things has been the one thing of pop culture that I’ve held onto for almost a decade and now it’s ended.  That is an ...

Read more

Chris Knight's avatar

This isn’t the more recent series.  MeTV is playing the original Hawaii Five-O at 11 a.m. EST on weekdays.  Yesterday and today the network broadcast the two-part first story and I watched it.  Think I’ll be tuning in whenever I find myself not doing anything else in particular on weekday mornings.

Hawaii Five-O is one of the very first television series that I clearly remember watching.  Dad used to love this show so I have memories of seeing it in the mid to late Seventies.  I especially recall the title sequence, particularly its theme music.
If you’ve never seen this before, prepare to be stunned.  This is from a series that premiered in 1968 (Hawaii Five-O might be the only television show from the 1960s to survive as far as the Eighties) so many people might be expecting something a little more… shall we say, “primitive”?  But this intro
...
Read more

Chris Knight's avatar

 On Christmas Night I started watching the newest three episodes, volume 2 it’s being called, of the final season of Stranger Things.  I was as eager to see these next three chapters as I have been to watch anything else from the television/movies sphere of things in the past ten years or so.

I’ll be honest: I felt like I’d “missed” something.  Volume 2 failed to stick the landing it seemed.  The previous four episodes were a high-balling rollickin’ ball of high-grade hashish washed down with a bottle of pure awesomeness.  But these three episodes, well…

It seems that I wasn’t alone in that sentiment.  Many people have said that these were the low point of the entire series.

Especially…

(SPOILER SPACE)

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

S

P

A

C

E

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

S

P

A

C

E

Let’s talk ...

Read more

Chris Knight's avatar

It’s become something of a tragic holiday tradition for me.  Every year about this time, I watch The Star Wars Holiday Special – considered by many to be the very worst two hours of television ever produced – and do a running commentary about it for my friends on Facebook.  Why do I torment myself like this?  I have no idea apart from the comedy (?) value.  I’ll do most anything within reason (emphasis on “reason”!) to make my friends laugh.  And if it takes subjecting myself to this… thing… then it’s a minor sacrifice to make each holiday season.

Pic I took of my TV screen while watching The Star Wars Holiday Special,
here depicting the lowest moment of Harvey Korman’s career
For whatever reason, I didn’t watch the Star Wars Holiday Special when I usually do between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I wound up setting it to play
...
Read more

Chris Knight's avatar

The second season of Fallout premiered a few days ago on Amazon Prime.  I haven’t seen it yet but I’ll probably watch it later this evening.  Have had a few things on my plate lately.  Although at the recommendation of a friend last night I did watch Wake 

Up Dead Man, the latest of Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” series starring Daniel Craig.  I really liked it.
Anyhoo, the new season of Fallout is unfolding this holiday season.  And as part of the festivities Amazon has posted on YouTube a special lil’ treat.  In the tradition of broadcast Yule logs that goes back many decades across the history of television, here is… the Ghoul Log!


Nothing says Christmas cheer quite like ninety minutes of Wayne Newton music and the fattened arm of some poor sap roasting over an open fire.

...
Read more

Chris Knight's avatar

Since Thanksgiving night I have watched the first volume of the final season of Stranger Things twice.  The shock still hasn’t faded.  Dang it I want to talk openly about what’s been streamed so far!!!  But there are still so many who haven’t watched the latest episodes yet.  I’m going to be considerate of them.

But if you have seen the first four episodes of season five already, here is the new trailer that dropped earlier today:

I’ll share an interesting theory I’ve heard, though.  It’s being posited that Vecna, for all his malevolence and power, is not the ultimate villain of Stranger Things.  That there is some one or some thing over him that is the true monster behind everything that has happened.  I’ve heard it suggested that in keeping with the Dungeons & Dragons motif that’s rife through this show, this final entity could be code-named Tiamat.
...
Read more

Chris Knight's avatar

 

Premiered on CBS on December 9th, 1965.

No matter how many times I’ve seen this, I always take time to watch it again every Christmas season.  A few years ago I bought the Blu-ray containing A Charlie Brown Christmas along with the Halloween and Thanksgiving specials.

I can barely remember it, but when I was two or three years old CBS had scheduled the Christmas special for broadcast.  But a football game went over long and completely pre-empted A Charlie Brown Christmas.  I was furious!  Mom said I was really crying about not getting to see Charlie Brown.  It bothered Mom too.  Enough so that she called CBS affiliate WFMY in neighboring Greensboro to complain about it.  I don’t know what she said to them but they gave her the home phone number of the station’s general manager!  Mom let him have it, telling him it was wrong ...

Read more

Chris Knight's avatar

Whoever came up with this ad deserves an award.  This spot is brilliant, tragicomic, heart-tugging, funny, and beautiful.  Publix has a long history of having great commercials and this is one of their best.

Growing up I thought that people whose birthdays fell on Christmas must be so lucky, because it meant that they got more toys.  Watching poor Isabelle suffer from being a Christmas baby makes me greatly regret having that notion.  May all who were born on Christmas have a birthday just as wonderful as this young lady’s 🙂 ...

Read more

Chris Knight's avatar

Good GOOGLY MOOOGLY!!  Holy HECK!!  Good LORD!!  Jeebus cripes crispies with milk!!!

I mean, did I just watch that?  I watched that.  That just happened.  That was much better television than we possibly deserve to have.  This is at least the greatest show since Lost.

And the kids do not too terribly old either considering it’s been over three years since season four.  They all appear pretty consistent with their characters’s on-screen ages.  Even Erica – who I was concerned about most, because I love that character – looks great!  The crew did an amazing job with makeup.  I totally bought that these were still teenagers.

I totally called it on the title of episode two, which was being called “The Vanishing Of…” ever since the titles reveal last year.  The foreshadowing was there all the way back in season one.  Can’t believe I nailed that one 🙂

It ...

Read more

Chris Knight's avatar

“William, you are going to help me… one last time.”

Love that cover of Queen’s “Who Wants To Live Forever?”  I have to wonder what that portends.

Feels like the end of an era of my lifetime is looming.  I really don’t know what is going to fill the void left by Stranger Things after the finale airs, streams, whatever.  I watched the first season on my iPad one day in a hotel room in Albuquerque.  From the very first moments I loved it.  That was nine years ago.  So much has happened since then.  And now… well, what do I do now?

The final season begins with volume one on November 26th....

Read more