December 19, 2007
While this is the place where I babble about films, I want to take a quick detour to discuss television. Never fear though, I'll wind my way back to films soon enough. It's quite likely, that with the exception of Leah and David, everyone is well aware of the writer's strike which has, and until resolved, will continue to affect television and film production. Which basically means we're starting to be inundated with a few mid-season replacement shows and a rather obscene number of reality and game shows. You can practically feel my excitement over this, can't you?
I've lately been hearing and reading about people's plans to deal with the lack of quality--or at least somewhat palatable shows. Most of these plans involve reading. As do mine, but I thought I would share specifics of my plan.
I have a DVR. Not a TiVo, but a DVR. They're practically the same thing, but as I don't have internet capability at home (to the dismay of every single family member), having a TiVo is impossible. I have television shows that I record--even if I watch them while they're on (Gilmore Girls used to be an excellent example before it ended, but How I Met Your Mother, Life and Pushing Daisies are some shows currently on that I watch while recording). Other shows I record and then watch within a day or three--Chuck and Gossip Girl, for example. And then I have shows that I save up and watch when the time and interest is upon me. At the moment the only example is Ugly Betty. When the strike seemed more and more likely and then ultimately happened, I decided to save Ugly Betty for the long, cold days of winter. I also record movies on my DVR--whom I've just this minute decided to name Gert. A lot of these movies are from Turner Classic Movies, but with the holiday season upon us, I will admit that I'm a sucker for the (largely treacly and bad) holiday movies that are being shown on Lifetime and ABC Family.
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So, I wrote the above paragraphs on Friday, when I was in a lovely state of mind, believing everything to be bright, shiny, and most importantly, functioning. And then, lo and behold around 9:30pm on Friday, the audio was no more on my television. Long and short, I had to have my DVR, Gert, taken away and replaced with a new one. Upside: I no longer have to lip read. Downside: All my saved programs are gone. GONE! I'm really quite distraught. What I had been planning was that while the strike continues to watch all my The films. Such as The Awful Truth. Two excellent Buster Keaton films, The Cameraman and The General. The Lady Eve, The Peterville Diamond and The Legend of Billie Jean (a classic from the 1980s) were also on the list. Except for The Peterville Diamond (which was recently found, restored and presented a few months back on TCM), I have seen all these films. At least once, generally more. But that's not the point. I had saved them because I wanted to watch them and report back. Naturally my posts on these films would have been witty and erudite. And yes, I could rent them, but frankly, that's not going to happen. I enjoy them all, but I'm not going to pay to watch them. For the fourth, fifth or possibly sixth time.
Now they are no more. Perhaps all DVRs die after 13 months or so. I would hate to suspect that the aforementioned and recently named Gert took umbrage over her name. Or if not the name, then perhaps the implied gender of said name. I generally name inanimate objects that I speak to/cajole/yell at. Such as my laptops, Mortimer and Hortensia, and my car Primmy--short for Primrose. Perhaps my DVR briefly known as Gert was appalled that I waited so long to announce a name. It is rather unusual--I normally name things within a week or so of owning it. Which leaves me in a rather precarious position. Should I name Gert's replacement? Since my plans of watching Ugly Betty and all my The films have gone kaput, perhaps debating this subject will keep me somewhat occupied during the writers strike. Or, perhaps I'll just read that much more.
