Remembering when comedy was, well, funny
The tributes to Bob Newhart last week were universal in tone. A great comic, a great sitcom star, and a great guy. If there was anyone who had a bad…
television
On Television Part 3 – Cutting The Cord, Where We Ended Up
The Fifth Column first talked about “cutting the cord” in June 2019 in my post On Television that looked at the history of television from broadcast TV and rabbit ears…
On Television Part 3 – Cutting The Cord, Where We Ended Up
The Fifth Column first talked about “cutting the cord” in June 2019 in my post On Television that looked at the history of television from broadcast TV and rabbit ears…
Is Bigger Better? In TVs, Maybe Not.
I read on several websites that for a distance of about 3.6 m (12 ft) from the screen to the viewer, the optimum size of a television should be 85…
On Television Part 2 – Cutting The Cord
Those of you who have read THE FIFTH COLUMN: On Television may wonder if the Fifth Columnist has finally decided to cut the cord as it made a pretty good…
Make ’em laugh, make ’em laugh …
The cast of Arrested Development Last week, in an attempt to alleviate the tedium of the Coronapocalypse, I offered some dramatic fare to help you fill the thousands of empty…
On Being a “Boomer”
Generations When I was growing up in the 1950s and onward there was not all this talk about generations that seems to have become a fascination of the last twenty…
On Television
Definitions: 1 A system for converting visual images (with sound) into electrical signals, transmitting them by radio or other means, and displaying them electronically on a screen. 2 A device…
A Simpsons milestone nobody is celebrating
According to the Internet (which, as we know, is never wrong), if you were to watch all 552 episodes of The Simpsons, it would cost you 12,144 minutes of your…
On the contrary: The new Roseanne is bad.
The big news on the entertainment front today is the reboot of the classic TV comedy, Roseanne. The huge new cast of Roseanne, including TV’s most annoying new character. Can…
How Young Voters are accessing information about elections, from the National Youth Voter Survey
“Young people don’t vote,” is a common refrain heard in Canadian politics and until recently, low voter turnout by younger voters supported that claim. The recently released National Youth Voter…
Should Rogers be allowed to block us from watching Hockey Night online?
Big Telecom is running scared of cord-cutters – and is doing what it takes to block them from watching their favourite shows online. It looks like Rogers is even planning…
Why Does Canada Participate in the Olympics Anyway
I took this screenshot (CBC website) of the standings yesterday showing Germany in first place with 8 medals, Canada second with 10 medals and Norway in third place with 12…
Why Does Canada Participate in the Olympics Anyway
I took this screenshot (CBC website) of the standings yesterday showing Germany in first place with 8 medals, Canada second with 10 medals and Norway in third place with 12…
Why Does Canada Participate in the Olympics Anyway
I took this screenshot (CBC website) of the standings yesterday showing Germany in first place with 8 medals, Canada second with 10 medals and Norway in third place with 12…
Lena Dunham: My body’s nobody’s body but mine! You run your own body, let me run mine!
“My body’s nobody’s body but mine! You run your own body, let me run mine!” -Old song that used be in the elementary sex-ed program in the Canadian Curriculum Here
SNL and Black female comedians
Kerry Washington hosted SNL tonight and she was good. They poked fun about this scandal- that SNL didn’t hire any black women. That was a funny enough sketch. But what…
Game of Thrones and Racist Fantasy
Aamer Rahman has recently caused quite a stir among Game of Thrones fandom with his Tumblr post about the shows very problematic representation of race, most notably that hideous last…
Will Ferrell does a mock music video of gangster rap – and it’s a scathingly hilarious critique of the genre
A musical commentary, followed by social and political analysis, followed by hilarious spoof rap videos, and more This is scathingly funny. Will Ferrell does a mock music video of macho…