Nov. 25, 2016 "Spoiler alert: Modern- day kids will find the flaws in your nostalgic favourites": Today I found this article by Erin Anderssen in the Globe and Mail:
Last Friday, my 11-year-old son and I settled into our den for a binge night of television. Thanks to a Netflix preview copy, we were getting a sneak peek of the highly anticipated Gilmore Girls revival one week before the new season’s official Nov. 25 release. We had blown up the air mattress and loaded the coffee table with licorice, pizza, hot dogs and chocolate, all in homage to the show.
“You better have a nap,” my son had informed me that morning, anticipating a marathon of four episodes, each 90 minutes long. “Or drink lots of coffee.” By the time we reached Episode 4, the sugar high wearing off, we’d both realized something: Not everything from the past translates well in the future.
One of the ways that Netflix and other streaming sites have changed how families watch TV is by making nostalgic viewing possible. Almost every parent I know has been keen to introduce a show or movie that they loved in their childhood to their own kids.
There are some movies, such as Indiana Jones and E.T., that live outside time. Others age less favourably, and there is nothing like watching an old movie with your modern-day kids to make that point.
One friend recounts cringing when Judd Nelson’s bad-boy character jokes in The Breakfast Club about impregnating the prom queen. Then there’s the gross stereotype of the Asian foreign-exchange student Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles, whose every entrance is signalled by the sound of a gong.
The Disney princess stories, thankfully never a big draw in my all-boy home, are rife with retrograde attitudes.
And Forrest Gump, best-picture winner at the 1995 Oscars, was met with confusion by the Generation Zs in my house: Was it one big joke about a guy with autism?
Watch the movies and television of your childhood through their eyes and the racism and sexism rises to the surface like scum on a pond: how minority characters are treated (or entirely absent), the nonchalance about violence against women (or that joke in National Lampoon’s Vacation about incest), how Tom Hanks spends most of Turner & Hooch – not a gem, admittedly, but revived on Netflix this month – screaming at a sad-faced dog whose beloved owner has just been murdered.
The original episodes of Gilmore Girls, which ran from 2000 to 2007, are not immune. There’s not much racial diversity in Stars Hollow, or the private school Rory attends, or even her circle at Yale.
The few minority characters are often caricatures. Homophobic jokes are made out of the blue, which was particularly noticeable to my 11-year-old – the word “gay” isn’t an acceptable pejorative in his world.
I watched the show, about a single mom and her daughter living in a quirky small town, back when you had to see TV on the night the network decided to air it.
Then I introduced it to my son, Samson, earlier this year, and we often watched it before bed, after homework was finished.
Gilmore Girls was a change from the typical television geared toward boys, the kind in which masked villains are always plotting an apocalypse. The only superpowers that Lorelai and Rory Gilmore can claim are rapid-fire quips and the ability to eat junk food and scorn exercise yet never gain any weight.
Samson especially liked the eccentric residents of Stars Hollow, a place that, as Lorelai points out in the first new episode, might exist in a snow globe.
In Stars Hollow, there is always a festival being planned, a hay maze to build, a lively town council to attend. No one appears to be unemployed or feel disenfranchised, the gossip is benign, the houses are pretty. Stars Hollow, in other words, is a fantasy. Going there each week was like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket.
This whimsy is retained in the best scenes of the new episodes. Kirk, the town’s affable court jester, and his recalcitrant pig are a highlight. Emily and Lorelai in therapy is classic. But in bringing the story forward, the nostalgia is tainted: We lose the power to imagine endings as we want them to be.
Netflix has sternly established no-spoiler rules, so not much can be revealed. But since the actor playing Rory’s grandfather, Edward Herrmann, died in 2014, his death has been written into the new episodes, creating a heaviness that never existed in the originals.
Some of the characters have barely grown. Others have made disappointing choices. Maybe that’s more reality than we’d like in Stars Hollow.
As Samson offered, in his assessment: “It was too sad, there was too much fighting, and not enough Sookie.” (Sookie, Lorelai’s best friend, was played by Melissa McCarthy, and her scenes in the originals were often the best part of an episode. In the new season, she makes one squeezed-in cameo.)
Nostalgia is fluid, of course. When I asked my boys what show they will remember enjoying with their parents when they were young, they both said, “Chuck,” an underrated spy comedy which pokes fun at many of the stereotypes of older shows.
These days, our weekly TV event is watching The Flash, a lighthearted superhero show with a diverse cast that manages to bridge the tastes of a 15-year-old and an 11-year-old.
The rule, to which everyone defers without complaint, is that The Flash doesn’t get watched except as a family, however long we have to wait for the chance to sit down together. That’s how appointment TV works in 2016.
The Gilmore Girls revival may disappoint at times, but then, reunions almost always do. (A reminder to stop pining for a Firefly revival.) But what was never a letdown was the time spent together on Friday night, snuggled under a blanket, chatting and chewing licorice sticks.
“That was the best part,” my son told me the next day. Nostalgia isn’t solely about tripping to the past, it’s a chance to appreciate here and now. The Gilmore Girls were never the real stars of the show.
JeanMichael
5 days ago
I watched the Four-part series and laughed, cried, cringed, fidgeted, laughed some more, cried some more and demand more episodes!
Brilliant? No. Life-changing? No. worth the investment of some six hours of my life? No.
But it was nice ... it was familiar and yet different -- a reminder that you can never go home again, but you can share fond memories and create new ones together.
No violence, drugs, gratuitous sex or unnecessary drama. A few scenes were just weird and felt contrived. But any moment of the naked emotions the main characters portrayed was worth the wait.
This is a family and friends I missed and was glad to see again. I'm pleased that Netflix decided to revive this for four episodes. Intelligent, humorous, self-effacing, loving, kind, and fun to watch.
My sister watched the show. I saw a little bit here and there. I was a teen and early 20s, so I mainly watched more supernatural and action shows like: Buffy, Angel, Dark Angel, Alias, and Heroes.
May 16, 2021: I was on tvseriesfinale.com and they list all the shows on the big 5 networks.
ABC: 15 written shows 23 reality shows
NBC: 19 written shows 12 reality shows
CBS: 24 written shows 8 reality shows
FOX: 16 written shows 11 reality shows
CW: 23 written shows 6 reality shows
May 27, 2021 "‘Rebel,’ ‘Clarice’ and More of the Biggest Surprises From the Broadcast Networks": Today I found this article by Lesley Goldberg on the Hollywood Reporter:
:
Clarice moves to Paramount+
“When we first came up with it, we assumed it would be a streaming show, and David Nevins said it will have more impact on network.” That’s Clarice co-creator Jenny Lumet describing how her Silence of the Lambs update landed on broadcast and not a streaming platform. “We went back and forth because there are more constraints on network. But then I thought well, f--- it, it’s much more interesting to see what we can do within all those rules and regulations because that’s what Clarice is doing.”
That’s all out the window now, as the freshman drama will make the move to Viacom CBS’ streaming platform, Paramount+. The pricey series from Star Trek franchise captain Alex Kurtzman — CBS Studios’ most important showrunner — was the broadcast network’s lowest-rated drama. Clarice is one of three CBS dramas to make the move to Paramount+, joining Evil (which broke out on Netflix after its first season on CBS) and SEAL Team, with the latter scoring another season to help get the David Boreanaz military drama to the syndication threshold.
All three moves arrive as CBS has reduced shelf space with new takes on cash-cow franchises including CSI, NCIS and FBI.
The Biggest Upfront Surprises From the Broadcast Networks – The Hollywood Reporter
This week's theme is about TV articles about race and LGBTQ on TV:
"Stumptown sees Smulders morph into action star"/ "Why the world still needs shows like 'The L word'"
"Kim's Convenience star Simu Liu reveals details about show's abrupt end — and why it can't be 'saved'"
My week:
Jun. 9, 2021 The Republic of Sarah: This show is coming out on Mon. Jun. 14. I'm watching this for the actor Luke Mitchell (Roman from Blindspot). I watched the 2019 law drama The Code for him. This is on the CW. If you have Telus, you can watch this.
"Faced with the destruction of her town at the hands of a greedy mining company, rebellious high school teacher Sarah Cooper utilizes an obscure cartographical loophole to declare independence."
In the Dark: Season 3 will come out on Wed. Jun. 23 on the CW:
"A blind young woman tries to solve her friend's murder."
Evil: Season 2 will come out on Jun. 20 Paramount +. I may wait until next summer when all the episodes come out and will watch it them in a couple of weeks. I found the show is well-written, but too dark for me.
"A skeptical female clinical psychologist joins a priest-in-training and a blue-collar contractor as they investigate supposed miracles, demonic possession, and other extraordinary occurrences to see if there's a scientific explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work."
Fantasy Island: This show will come out on Fox on Aug. 10.
"People who walk in with a desire, but end up reborn to themselves through the magical realism of Fantasy Island."
Jun. 2, 2021 "More Shoppers Drug Mart customers complain they were pushed to use self-checkout": Today I found this article by Sophie Harris on CBC News. This was mainly how customers disliked going to self-checkouts. I don't like self-checkouts either. I like Shoppers Drug Mart and I go there like once a month. No one told me go to the self-checkouts when I went to the City Centre location.
Today @ShopprsDrugMart Belleville. One cashier at self-checkouts. I wanted to be checked out. She said only for cash. Debit has to use these. I'll help. I said, I prefer not to. She said, your choice. So I handed her my basket and left. I'm a radical.
Not a fan of the new @ShopprsDrugMart policy of cash only if you use a human cashier. It’s a play to get rid of staff in favour of self-checkout. The self-checkout also asked me to “Tell us how we did.” Tell us how WE did? I’m doing your staff’s job. Tell me how I did.
Hi Charles, We're sorry to read that you aren't a fan. We are always looking for ways to make customers’ shopping trips as convenient as possible. We appreciate your feedback and will be sure to share it with our Store Operations team.
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