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Hello RTV people, Welcome to our annual New Year's Eve look back at the TV year! Full disclosure: I'm not sure I can find much to be enthusiastic about. I must admit, I am having less-than-enthusiastic feelings about TV in general these days. Finally growing up a little, maybe? Heh. Feeling like there are better things I could be doing with the majority of my free time, perhaps? Or maybe just a desire to be choosier about what types of TV shows I give my time to? So on that note, I will begin my look at 2021 by gushing over the one discovery I made that no one on this site has shown any interest in - but that I have designated the best TV I've ever seen. Of course, you all know what I'm talking about: "The Chosen" Developed by Dallas Jenkins, son of acclaimed writer Jerry B Jenkins (half of the partnership responsible for the "Left Behind" series), after the success of a Christmas Eve project he did for his church called "The Shepherd" (which focused on the shepherds keeping their midnight watch when Christ was born). It was developed outside of the Hollywood system, completely crowd-source funded. It made this wonderful show have its full run, because you cannot cancel a show that is made available for free though an app developed by its director (and yes, it's available other places as well). Peacock has it on their free tier. I think it's also on the DOVE channel (for those who have access). If you have a subscription to "Pureflix" (the home of faith-based and family-friendly TV), it is there as well. But they have an app that you can access the entire series, then cast it through your TV. Season three will be coming up soon. I cannot wait! The following is a clip from season one; the moment when Jesus heals the paralytic: This is not your typical "Hollywood" look at the life of Jesus. It's a refreshing perspective of the entire Gospel story, told through the eyes of those who knew him best: his disciples. The cast is fantastic. The production quality is fantastic. The soundtrack - yes, I always notice the music - is fantastic. "The Chosen" is life-changing in so many ways. And as with all God-inspired project, there are the pharisees of today that would like to cast it out as being blasphemous. But trust me... it is not. It is one of the most beautiful looks at the life of Jesus I have ever had the privilege to watch. EVERYONE should have this privilege. So with this in mind, I have considering creating a "sister channel" to this one (under the same Weebly account) which would have a "Chosen" blog of its own, for the purpose of finding people to engage in discussion with this show. We will see if I follow through with this as 2022 unfolds. "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" Season two got off to a sobering start for me: the aftermath of the death of Zoey's beloved father. This was followed by the loss of Joan (played by Lauren Graham) who had to abruptly leave the show (due to a covid outbreak on the set of her other show for the Disney Plus channel, "Mighty Ducks Gamechangers". An unexpected change not just for the audience but for the cast as well. Things felt a bit off in the first few episodes - even the second time through. But it picked up again after its winter break and ended on a surprising note, leaving the season on a cliffhanger. And then - in the infinite wisdom (idiocy) of NBC - "Zoey" got cancelled. Enter the Roku Channel! Much love and appreciation to Roku for stepping in and saving Zoey's audience from never knowing just how this series would end. The Christmas movie wrap-up was fantastic and COULD lead to more Zoey in the future. Everyone please: find a way to support the Roku channel. I am forever grateful to them for saving Zoey for me. I would have hated never knowing why Max suddenly had her "gift". And now I know. And I am grateful. I read that this movie has topped the Roku channel's "Most-watched original" to date. Which is fantastic news for them. Dare we hope for more Zoey in 2022? Australian Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn We may not have had a spring American Survivor season - but what we DID have this summer was a fantastic season of "Australian Survivor". Thanks to Paramount Plus, it is now easily available in the US (well, at least season four to six of its current run). I hate to say too much about the actual season since some have probably not watched yet. But I will say, this season out-did the US in so many ways. Including (sorry Probst!) its host, Johnathan LaPaglia (JLP to those who love the show). Hosting "Survivor" may not have been his dream job when he become an actor - but he sure has grown into a fantastic one. I say, if Probst ever retires, JLP could breathe new life into the US version for us. Yes, this season had its frustrations: mostly too many twists which felt like producer manipulation. But it ended the best way it could have, leaving its audience completely satisfied. Cannot wait till summer. I hear (but have not confirmed) there might be a couple of US players in the mix. Hmm. Last time that happened, it left a certain US player with egg on his over-confident face and hurt his humongous ego. We will see what happens this time around. And speaking of "Survivor"... Survivor 41 In contrast to the Aussies, this season ended on a sour note for me. Nothing against its winner; none at all. But for me, it just felt wrong in all sorts of ways. In fact, the entire season, honestly. No, I didn't hate it at all. Certainly I liked a lot of the cast members. Shan, with her silly "evil" music and over-the-top game made a huge impact on the audience. No denying, she was interesting. Her friendship/alliance with Ricard also intriguing. Xander and his awkward but fantastic game play. That "silly sentences" idol. So much fun. Can't imagine them trying to repeat this a second time, but... so much fun this time. There were things to really enjoy about this season. Here is a clip of one of my favorite moments of the season - and one of the reasons I feel like Xander deserved the big win of the three finalists. If the producers wanted me to support an Erica win, she should have gotten an edit that showed strategy and outside-the-box thinking like we saw from Xander (and to give credit where credit is due, from Evvie too). There was a LOT of edit for Xander trying hard to bring great strategy to the table - and no, not always successfully, I admit. Sometimes awkwardly. But he worked hard from day one with so much against him: playing from the bottom the entire time, and with an advantage that was more a disadvantage until merge (losing his vote at TC the entire time forced him to find a way to help his team avoid TC - or his game was over). Holding an idol in his pocket from DAY ONE that he never actually had to use to make it to the final episode - despite being constantly in danger. And please don't yell "No social game!" at me. I saw social game from him. Pre-merge, he had a pretty good relationship with Evvie. Post merge; he had a pretty good relationship with Ricard. Two examples. We saw no edit from Erica that would explain her win. We saw her take advantage of a horrible twist handed to her by production, but we saw no actual strategy edit for her that would explain why she deserved the win. We can argue this forever; but I truly don't want to. I'm ready to move on. This is just my feelings on the subject. Go WM; I'm sure you have something to say.... (You're right to emphaszie that Erica's little-seen game was the fault of the editors, not Erica herself: if your whole tribe is willing to THROW a challenge just because they find you such a threat you must be disposed of... well producers, what are you not showing us? It's a shame they did Erica so badly. And the fact is, post-game, most players said they didn't force Xander to play his idol because they didn't think he'd have much shot at victory; nobody minded sitting bside him at FTC) But great moment from Xander; can we all admit this? (That quote is destined to become a legendary Survivor one: I've already seen a re-imagining of the infamous Napalm Natalie eviction on David-versus-Goliath: Angelina stands up and begs "Natalie, is there any way I can have your jacket? Natalie....Natalie..." and she turns around and deadpans "No, but you can have this fake one.") Season 41 will never be a favorite season for me just because I feel the jury did not reward the player who should have won. In fact, it dropped to second last for me. My bottom season will forever be "Edge of Extinction" won by Chris Underwood. Nothing against Chris; but he simply should not have won. Chris was playing "Edge of Extinction" Survivor while the others were playing regular Survivor. The advantages he had there were impossible for anyone else to surmount. We can all agree on that, I think. I might have felt differently with a different S42 final three. If Ricard had been in that mix against Xander, I would have felt good about a win for him. Ricard played a great strategy game; maybe better than anyone, including Xander. I'll leave it at that. Moving off network TV, let's talk 2021 streaming. My favorite this year, that I gushed nonstop over but no one really reacted to (part two): "Turner and Hooch" on Disney Plus This was truly fun and entertaining in every way. And as is the usual case with family-friendly shows I love, it didn't get the credit it deserved from the critics. Now seeing some conflicting news: one site says no season two for sure; another says Disney hasn't decided one way or another. I'm left with an I-hope-for-season-two-but-I-don't-expect-to-get-one kind of feeling It's a shame. This deserves to have its story continue. It's such fun and entertaining. Fantastic cast. Adorable dogs. Clean and family-friendly in every way. I want more "Turner and Hooch". Instead, streaming audiences were flocking to Netflix for the gore fest that was... "Squid Games". A lot of viewers on this channel. Even my own kids. I made it through one episode and couldn't stomach any more. Will let WM talk about this one. I have nothing more to say... I certainly understand your distaste for this show, Catlover: it is undeniably graphic and explicitly violent. But at it's core, it's a story of how far a person will go to help their family; where will they draw the line. It's a quandary all the characters must face for themselves. And we saw the background that got them to this point. For people with strong stomachs, it was the moral issues that kept us coming back. "Cobra Kai" on Netflix 2021 was also the year I discovered that this series (which follows Daniel LaRuso and Johnny Lawrence from the eighties film "The Karate Kid" now all grown up) was actually... pretty good! Not family-friendly in the least, but it kept the characters' stories continuing. Love that the original actors were able to reprise these roles. I'm not sure it would work otherwise. Disney Plus Marvel Series. If you are a Marvel fan and love some of the characters developed in the Marvel Universe, this was the year to have a Disney Plus subscription. From Wandavision, Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the most recent Hawkeye (which aired during Christmas 2021), there was much Marvel fun to be had. My favorite of these was "Hawkeye", for sure. Wandavision started off fun, but I wasn't a fan of the ending. Loki: weird (fittingly - so is the character) and a little hard to follow - but enjoyable. Falcon and the Winter Soldier: I mean...Bucky. I enjoyed this one too. But Hawkeye was my favorite of the bunch. I mean, "Rogers the Musical". Still chuckling over that one. I think I will end my 2021 musings here. Please feel free to add whatever you like in the comments. And a very... ...to all of you!
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Hello RTV people... ... and anyone else who wanders in. Welcome to the "Holiday" page. This is our go-to page for Holiday fun - be it a special memory you wish to share; a funny story; a favorite song or video clip; a favorite movie. This can even extend to recipes, or favorite traditions you share with your own family. The choice is really yours. This tradition of ours dates back to the early days of this site (back in the good old Disqus-free site days). It's amazing to me how long we have actually been doing this site. What has it been? Seven... eight... ten years? You know, I'm not really sure. It has been a long time, I know that. People have come and gone, of course. But there are some who have been dedicated since day one - and for those people, a true and heartfelt thank you. I got a head start yesterday on favorite songs, etc. I could probably come up with a bunch. I have so many I love, it's hard to choose. Steven Curtis Chapman has long been a favorite Christian music artist for me. Perhaps my best-loved song of his is this original (included on one of his Christmas albums years ago). It's a nice reminder of keeping the love of family (and all those closest to you) as more important than the "stuff" that comes with the season. I love how you see a glimpse of that old story "The Gift of the Magi" in this video. Anyone remember that famous O'Henry tale? Watch this to see the story. A poor couple, Jim and Della, each sell their most prized possession to give the other a meaningful Christmas gift. Lovely version of the story. Of course, at this time of year, my best is always "The Chosen". Here is a link to wonderful Christmas music included in "The Chosen: Messengers". All familiar songs, performed on set of "The Chosen". Enjoy.... Now it's your turn. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas week. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hello Fans of Non-Holiday Holiday Movie! Another of our channel traditions. Well, to be fair it's usually only WM, myself and Ali who participate (and I recall Ali saying she might very well be late to the party). But anyone is welcome to participate.
This is a Holiday classic we never miss to chat through in the week before Christmas. Except: is it REALLY a Christmas classic? Part of the fun of our chat is taking the time to point out all the ways in which this movie is in no way a Christmas movie. Set in spring time? You know, I'm not really sure if it's spring or summer - but it is certainly not Christmas. In fact, there is nothing "holiday" in the movie at all. But because it airs every year during Christmas seasons it has become a "Holiday" classic. In every way. So we'll continue our tradition and chat through the airing of this wonderful movie tonight starting at 7 pm. The real question is; will we find anything new and interesting to talk about with this watch other than what we have discussed the last several years we have discussed before? Probably not. Maria will STILL be running late because she is singing on a mountaintop. The Captain will still be running his household as though they are soldiers under his command. Maria will still refuse to respond to his silly whistle... shall I go on? Who wants to group watch "The Sound of Music with us at 7 pm on ABC? |
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