In my most recent Listening to Joni post, I said that I write with my brain, but I listen to music with my heart. A few nights ago in New York City, my music heart broke in pieces, over and over again. I’ve seen a lot of theatre — and
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wmtc: mlb.tv, roku, and appletv: why is this so difficult?
If you’re an app developer for MLB, or if you’re with Roku or AppleTV, skip down to the final paragraphs! Because Allan and I follow a baseball an out-of-town baseball team, we subscribe to MLB.TV, and have done so for ages. As much as I dislike pay-per-TV services, being able
Continue readingwmtc: we movie to canada: wmtc annual movie awards, 2017-18 edition
The list of movies I want to see gets longer and longer, as I watch more series and fewer films. Even so, the 2017-18 list is impressive. First, the annual recap:– Canadian musicians and comedians (2006-07 and 2007-08)– my beverage of choice (2008-09)– famous people who died during the past
Continue readingwmtc: streaming update: we add appletv to the mix
We’ve added something new to our streaming capabilities: AppleTV. I never thought I’d own an Apple product, but one app made it irresistible: CraveTV. Crave is a Canadian streaming service that has exclusive rights to HBO and Showtime content, shows that will never appear on Netflix. And Crave, in turn,
Continue readingwmtc: update: the gay cop on barney miller comes out, plus an adorable child sex worker
About a month ago, I wrote about an episode from the late 1970s-early 1980s sitcom “Barney Miller”, in which the squad discovers that an officer from their precinct is gay. To my surprise, Officer Zatelli returned to Barney Miller — and he came out, right there in the squad room.
Continue readingwmtc: the strange case of the barney miller rape episode
Watching Barney Miller as my comedy-before-bed sleep aid, I was stunned and amazed by an episode called “Rape” — Season 4, Episode 15. A woman comes to the station house, agitated and distressed. Captain Miller, with his usual calm and professional demeanour, leads her to sit down. When he hears
Continue readingwmtc: do workplace-based tv shows make people dissatisfied with their jobs?
I recently realized that I enjoy a lot of TV shows that are themed around a workplace. There are the comedies, like The Office and Brooklyn 9-9, and my favourite sitcoms of past generations, such as Barney Miller and Mary Tyler Moore, and a whole bunch of sitcoms I don’t
Continue readingwmtc: in which i answer the burning question, what will laura binge-watch next?
In response to my help me find a new series to binge-watch post, I got tons of answers both here and on Facebook. I’m keeping the list for future reference. In the category of watching by myself during R&R downtime, I am starting with Hinterland, which has long been in
Continue readingwmtc: ancient tv history: a gay cop on barney miller
Watching my comedy-before-bed daily dose of Barney Miller last night, I was surprised and pleased to see an episode about a gay cop. This remembered this post — turns out it was 10 years ago! — about a gay character on Dallas. Both episodes aired in 1979. Officer Zatelli, played by Dino
Continue readingwmtc: help me find a new series to binge-watch
I need a new series to binge-watch. Requirements:1. Must have a ton of episodes2. Must have good characters and relationships3. Nothing too scary4. Nothing sweet or heartwarming5. No zombies6. Best if the series has already ended7. Best if in English (when I’m exhausted, reading subtitles is not relaxing) Have tried
Continue readingwmtc: harry hoo, nick yemana, and the persistence of racism on mainstream tv
My “comedy before bed” TV watching — the habit of a lifetime, and the surest way for me to fall asleep — has gone retro again.* I watched “Get Smart” end-to-end and am now making my way through “Barney Miller”. Harry Hoo, Dr. No, and “Craw, not Craw!” Get Smart
Continue readingwmtc: adventures in streaming: tubi, dick cavett, and the manster
The Roku streaming device gives you access to thousands of apps… most of which are completely useless. That doesn’t mean I don’t love Roku. I do! But we use it almost exclusively to watch Netflix and the Red Sox, and to access downloaded files on the TV. We’ve also installed
Continue readingwmtc: before the flood: good information but ultimately a weak message
Tonight we watched “Before the Flood“, Leonardo DiCaprio’s film about climate change, which I had heard such good things about. It’s well done, and is chock full of appropriately terrifying and depressing information. But in the end, the film delivers yet another “it’s up to each of us” message, focusing
Continue readingwmtc: labour day readers’ advisory: books and movies that celebrate labour
I spoke to a customer yesterday who was visiting from Denmark. He described himself as a trade-unionist, and he came to the library, looking for me, to learn about our strike!He also said he had read a book he loved, and was looking for more like it. H…
Continue readingwmtc: we movie to canada 2015-16. this year there’s a part 2.
From the I Have Too Much Going On, Systems Are Breaking Down department, this year’s we move to canada awards omitted a big chunk of viewing. I was very surprised — and a bit disturbed — to discover this!Leaving aside questions about my mental c…
Continue readingwmtc: further thoughts on himym
A few weeks ago, I blogged about watching “How I Met Your Mother,” a show that has been a huge surprise to me. At the time, I thought the show was slipping in quality. I had started the eighth season, and the whole thing was off. The characte…
Continue readingwmtc: we movie to canada: wmtc annual movie awards, 2015-16 edition
I’m posting my annual movie awards later and later every year. I’m also watching fewer movies, because I’m watching more TV shows. When I come home on Friday or Saturday, exhausted and needing total downtime, sometimes even a movie is too much mental e…
Continue readingwmtc: 14 thoughts on watching how i met your mother (first time through so no spoilers please!)
I was watching MASH when Netflix pulled the plug on our VPN. I found a new VPN… but now MASH is gone. One day I hope to finish the end-to-end rewatch. But right then, my comedy-before-bed slot was left hanging. I tried “How I Met Your Mother,” and I …
Continue readingwmtc: call me lucky: a hilarious, heartbreaking, and inspiring movie
Barry Crimmins might be the most famous person you’ve never heard of.In “Call Me Lucky,” a documentary tribute to Crimmins created by Bobcat Goldthwait, an A-list of comics talk about the influence Crimmins had on them and their community: Patton Oswal…
Continue readingwmtc: m*a*s*h re-watch update: still funny and other observations
Back in August, I started re-watching M*A*S*H end to end on Netflix. I promised updates… and here we are. (tl;dr: it’s great.) Random thoughts below. A huge number of M*A*S*H episodes have no plot whatsoever, but are a series of unconnected scenes or vignettes. These aren’t clip shows, as the scenes
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