Pop Culture

[Murfreesboro]

So which one was Tom Baker?

Mau: we used to have The Secret of NIMH on VHS. I liked that movie.

HH, re your trivia prowess: back in the 80s, when Trivial Pursuit was the reigning party game, our friends used to separate my husband and me. They would never let us play on the same team because they thought it gave that team an unfair advantage.

My kids were really into the TV show Chuck, which my boys are currently watching via DVD/streaming (the one who lives in Ohio calls us and synchronizes his feed with ours). We started doing that during the pandemic (synchronized viewing) and have kept it up.

Another show I loved and watch every Halloween season is Grimm. It was better during its earlier, more whimsical seasons, but I loved the characters all the way through.

We have also been viewing The Chosen this way. We like this series, which would obviously appeal mainly to Christians. But even at church people are divided about it, because it is really Biblical fiction, inventing lots of side stories about the apostles, etc. We enjoy the elaboration.

During the pandemic we discovered a great movie called Love and Monsters. I've been recommending that to anyone who will listen.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Tom Baker was the 4th Doctor, he played the role from 1974 to 1981 and he played the character longer than any other actor. He is regarded by many longtime fans of the show as the best Doctor in the 60 year history of the show.

I know that you're only a fan of the modern series, but you have probably seen him before as he made a appearance in the 50th anniversary special called The Day of the Doctor from 2013, that was the episode where Tennant and Smith team up, Baker appeared at the end of the episode. I've linked a clip from the episode to refresh your memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cbQVfVfSrI

The first time that I saw that scene I grinned from ear to ear like the Cheshire cat, as it was truly a moment that was appreciated by the dedicated fans of the show.

As I mentioned before, I have dressed up as the Doctor for Halloween on 2 different years, Baker was one of them, Capaldi was the other.

We watched Love and Monsters and we liked it, we have also watched every episode of Grimm and we really enjoyed it. I know you had posted about the show in the movie club thread, and I had meant to get back to you about it, but I got distracted by the other conversations we've been having.

I have played Trivial Pursuit as well as various other trivia games and I'm pretty damn good at it, some of my friends have told me that I would be a good contestant on Jeopardy because I know a little bit about everything, and they think that I would be good at subjects like history and pop culture in particular.

[Murfreesboro]

Ah, yes, I have seen that anniversary special.

I had an acquaintance once who made it to Jeopardy. She said timing the buzzer was the trickiest part. You have to be quick to beat the other contestants, but if you're too quick, it will lock you out. I guess they don't want people to anticipate the question (or answer, as Jeopardy goes).

Oddly, because of my educational background, I am never especially strong in the literature category of that show. My education is classical, but their categories often tend toward bestsellers, and I am not especially knowledgeable there.

[Andybev01]

I could almost always win at Trivial Pursuit unless somebody figured out that sports was my Achilles heel.

[Murfreesboro]

That was why my husband and I were so good together. He could cover what I couldn't, and vice versa.

[Andybev01]

That is the mark of any good partnership.

[Murfreesboro]

Well, intellectually it's been a very good partnership. I sometimes have thought our skill sets otherwise are too similar. I wish one of us were a Mr/Ms Fixit.

[NeverMore]

Hey! If I can figure out how to change the turn signal assembly on my truck by watching Youtube you can change a lightbulb.

[Murfreesboro]

I have looked at the occasional home repair YouTube, but I haven't yet been brave enough to attempt one.

[MauEvig]

I guess sometime I'm going to have to check out Dr. Who. I keep hearing good stuff about it, and a couple people around my neck of the woods seem to like it as well.

That and maybe Dark Shadows, as it seems to favor a Halloweeny atmosphere. I normally don't watch a lot of old shows, but I did like the Munsters so...maybe I'd like that too.

[Murfreesboro]

The Munsters was a comedy, of course. Dark Shadows was aiming to be eerie and spooky, though its production values were so cheap as to seem laughable, even then. Yet the story lines, especially those surrounding Barnabas, were compelling. It helped that Jonathan Frid had been trained as a serious stage actor, with a fair amount of Shakespeare under his belt. He thought the gig as a TV vampire would be a stop-gap before he took a job teaching at some college. But to his surprise, Barnabas caught on big time. He became a pop culture celebrity and never got to that teaching post. I think he tried to take the role seriously, to give Barnabas some psychological depth, and it worked.

[MauEvig]

I know the Munsters is more of a comedy. But it's also an example of an older show that I can enjoy, I like the quirkiness of it.
If the stories were really compelling with great actors, it might be worth checking out.
And I hate to be THAT person...but a lot of the newer stuff just...doesn't appeal to me. It feels too preachy, but I shan't get into that stuff.

[Murfreesboro]

My younger two kids complain frequently about the poor story-telling in recent TV shows and movies. I don't think you are alone in that opinion.

[Andybev01]

Perhaps with the rise of A.I. storylines will improve...or be wildly unintentionally humorous.

[Murfreesboro]

I think the second prediction is more likely.