Stranger Things Re-watch - Season 2 (2017)

We're back in the Upside-Down this week with my re-watch of Stranger Things 2!

I don't think I brought it up when I wrote about Season 1 (due to spoilers), but it ended with all sorts of loose ends and burning questions about the future of Hawkins, Indiana and our favourite rag-tag band of heroes. What happened to Eleven after here battle with the Demogorgon? Is Sheriff Hopper in bed with Hawkins Laboratory? What effect will being stuck in the Upside-Down for so long have on Will?

Well, you've got questions? Season 2 has answers!

When I first watched Season 2, I had a lot of misgivings with the way the creators went about fleshing out the characters in this second arc. I must say that during this re-watch I have a much great appreciation for the decisions they made. It makes a lot more sense to me the second time around. This is why I'm glad I went back and got reacquainted the first two seasons before Season 3 drops!

This season was really all about tying up the loose ends of Season 1. I think just about everything you can think of gets a nice little neat bow by the time Episode 9 draws to a close.

There were some interesting paths the show's creators took in Season 2 that I think are worth noting:

New Characters

---

Instead of just focusing on the beloved cast from Season 1, a few new characters were added to spice things up.

First off there is Max and her step-brother Billy. I think Max is as great addition to the group and really tests the dynamic of the boys and their party. Billy... I could give-or-take. Honestly, I think he was only interjected to flesh out Max's story and to insert some sort of earthly antagonist, but in my opinion he was just filler and really wasn't needed. It honestly wasn't until the last two episodes that his story got even slightly interesting and I'm hoping they do more with the character in Season 3.

With Brenner apparently dead by Demogorgon in Season 1, a new scientist has been sent into Hawkins Lab to fix the mess, which is Dr. Owens played by none other than Paul Reiser. I think this was an ingenious choice for this character, because of one of Reiser's most famous roles: Burke in Aliens. The whole season you're on the fence about where his allegiances lie, because you know him as the ultimate, smarmy asshole, Burke. Even though his character always seems to be on the right side, you can never be sure about his true intentions, and I loved that.

Next we have Kali a.k.a. Eight. She's introduced right away in Season 2 and gets your mind boiling with possibilities. We all knew that Eleven was likely the 11th in a series of experiments, but did you think about anyone else who might have been a part of Hawkins Labs prior tests? Well, now you are! She stands as a way of fleshing out El's character arc and on my first viewing I couldn't have cared less about Kali's role or her episodes. I felt like it was all just filler and was unnecessary. After this re-watch I totally get why the writers added this story arc and it makes a lot more sense to me. Will Kali make an appearance in Season 3? We'll see!

Finally, and probably most importantly, is Bob the Brain. Bob is Joyce's new beau who is a tech whiz and works at the local Radio Shack. He is played by Sean Astin, which I think was a brilliant choice considering The Goonies (in which Astin was the main character) most definitely inspired Stranger Things. You'll fall in love with Bob as he is almost as lovable a character as Dustin and his story will surprise you!

Oh, and I almost forgot Murray Bauman, the conspiracy guy. He's really just there to push along Nancy and Jonathan's story for Season 2, but he's pretty funny and injects a little levity into the season, which I definitely appreciated.

New and Interesting Pairings

---

Another thing the writers did for Season 2 was to pair up certain characters. You have the expected pairing of Nancy and Jonathan, which isn't a surprise, but you have some interesting mash-ups, like Hopper and Eleven and probably the coolest, Steve and Dustin! Or Dustin and a Demo...dog?

I think the creators of the show really took a look at the characters they had and thought of interesting ways to flesh them out and who best to pair them up with to achieve this. Like I mentioned above, just about every character touches on a new person, as well, as a way of interjecting the unexpected, but they also found a way to match some of the people we know and love in the same vein. It was really well done!

The Mind Flayer

---

I would be remiss in not mentioning the new big bad from this season. In Season 1, we had a solitary monster that managed to breach into our dimension, by way of Eleven's powers, but in Season 2 the scary was ratcheted up to, well, 11?

The Mind Flayer is positively Lovecraftian in nature. It's like a monster you couldn't quite dream up in your worst nightmares and, as a result, it sets you on your hackles right from the first time you see it. And, did I mention he seems to control all the other monsters in the Upside-Down?

One of the best parts about Season 2 is probably Will and his battle with the Mind Flayer. In Season 1, we don't get to see much of Will. He's likely the most important character, but actor Noah Schnapp doesn't require much screen time, as he's been lost in the murky abyss of the Upside-Down. In Season 2, Schnapp gets to shine and show he's probably the best actor out of the whole crowd of kids. His story arc, once again, drives the entire season and it was well-rested on his shoulders.

As I mentioned before, there were a few spots in Season 2 that I found were filler initially, but now taking a sober second look I get why the writers made the decisions they made. I still think that Season 1 is a tighter package overall, but Season 2 is a great addition to the Stranger Things universe and well worth the watch.

So, now it's time to look forward to Season 3! From the promotions and teasers I've seen, I can't even guess at what's going on... and I'm happy about that. I can tell for sure that something is rearing its ugly head from the Upside-Down (you can clearly tell that Eleven and Will can sense it) and that all of our favourite characters are back in the fold and there may even be at least one new character joining the crew. The biggest piece to the puzzle appears to be the Starcourt Mall, which looks to play a major part in whatever Season 3 has to show us.

July 4th will be upon us before we know it! It's only a week away! I'll hopefully ingest the show within the week of its release and be able to jot down my thoughts. Either way, my hype levels for Stranger Things 3 are at full capacity! Break out the full-sized 3 Musketeers bars and Eggo waffles!

Let's get strange,
R

Stranger Things Re-watch - Season 1 (2016)

The third season of Stranger Things is creeping up on us! The drop date on Netflix is July 4th, 2019, which is just around the corner.

I don't think I've expressed my enjoyment for Stranger Things here on the site, so let me do that right now; I love this show.

It speaks to be on pretty much every level. I'm a big fan of synthwave music. The show features a heavy-synthwave soundtrack. I'm obsessed with just about anything from the 1980s and 1990s. The show is set in the early- to mid-80s. I love horror and sci-fi. The series is steeped in horror and sci-fi. Some of my favourite movies are The Monster Squad, The Goonies, Stand By Me; just about anything that features a group of young friends on an adventure and that is the very crux of Stranger Things.

If you take all this, throw it in a pot, add an excellent cast, impressive set design, great special effects, and an awesome storyline, and you've brewed up a perfect blend of TV, in my humble opinion.

With my anticipation for the next season already brimming, the media blitz around Saison Trois has my at full hype levels. H&M and Nike have Stranger Things promotions for clothing based around the new season, which isn't really my thing, but is worth noting. There's also a partnership with Baskin-Robbins, where they are offering all sorts of amazing Stranger Things ice cream treats, which I would devour if there was one near me. And let's not forget the Upside-Down Whopper on offer from Burger King in select US locations. Sure, it's just a Whopper that is literally wrapped upside-down, but it's paired up with retro packaging and let's face it, this sort of stuff is just fun!

The one that is really killing me is the New Coke promotion. You see, the next season of Stranger Things is set in the summer of '85, which is also when Coca-Cola infamously introduced New Coke to the masses. The creators of Stranger Things, in keeping things as authentic as possible, didn't let this slide and instead partnered up with Coca-Cola to bring New Coke back as a cross-promotion for the two brands! There were pop-up events across the US, where lucky individuals could experience the "Upside-Down" and actually get New Coke out of upside-down pop machines for free! You could also order a promotional kit from Coca-Cola, for a limited time, which included a bottle of Coca-Cola Classic, a bottle of Coke Zero, and two cans of New Coke, all with Stranger Things 3 branding.

Sadly, being in Canada has meant that I couldn't join in on the New Coke excitement. Ordering the New Coke package internationally wasn't available and re-sellers have cans of New Coke floating around the $40 price point shipped here to Nova Scotia, and that's too rich for my blood.

But, the intended affect of getting me hyped for Stranger Things 3 certainly worked! So much so, that I decided I'd go back and re-watch Seasons 1 and 2 to get properly ready for Season 3 on the 4th.

Today we'll talk about Season 1, which - and not to be anticlimactic - is my favourite of the two seasons. That's not to say that I dislike Season 2, as you'll see, but I just think that Season 1 is a more concise package.

My immediate thought that I want to convey is that this show is utterly re-watchable. I think some people avoid going back and watching old TV shows, because of the time commitment. As a guy who has watched the entirety of The X-Files several times, this may need to come with a grain of salt, but re-watching Stranger Things is certainly not an arduous task. I mean, we're talking 8 episodes a season, not 20+ like in a traditional television series.

My favourite thing about the show are the kids and their friendship. Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Mike, their connection, and their surroundings just remind me so much of my childhood. It's not a 1:1 thing. I didn't play D&D or anything like that, but swap Dungeons & Dragons with - say - Final Fantasy and things really start to click. I just can't help but imagine myself as one of their party, which helps me to connect to how they feel trying to find their lost friend and meeting their newest member, Eleven.

Its for this reason among others that I felt like nothing was lost in experiencing this story again. Sometimes a plot point or a reveal only works once and going back and re-watching a movie or series really needs that hook, but that's not the case here. Even knowing what was coming beat-for-beat didn't cause me to be any less engaged. For instance, the ending of Episode 4 - which I won't spoil for those who haven't watched - is still incredibly poignant. I felt every emotion I had the first time around even knowing the outcome.

And, as is usually the case with a well-crafted property like Stranger Things, there are all sorts of fun nods and Easter Eggs there for those who invest the time to watch again.  For example, in the beginning of Episode 1 Will and Dustin mention Uncanny X-Men #134, which is in middle of the Dark Phoenix storyline, and the connections between Stranger Things and that issue became more and more apparent as you continue on.

One of my favourite things about Season 1 is the lack of filler. Literally every moment on screen is important in fleshing out the story. All the subplots work their way back to the main story in a timely fashion. I kind of felt like the ending was a little abrupt this time around, something I hadn't keyed in on when I first watched, but I think that's really just because I didn't want it to end.

And that's all thanks to the characters. You often hear cinema junkies like myself grump about new horror films and saying, "I didn't care about the characters! Why would I care if they die?" It comes up all the time and for good reason; it's important. If I don't care about anyone in the show then I can't invest any sort of emotion toward their plight and at that point I'm disconnected.

Stranger Things is loaded with likable characters. Even the secondary and tertiary cast makes you care. I mean Benny the guy who owns the diner, or the rest of the police force that work for Chief Hopper? They all bring us both emotional pangs and good laughs.

I could gush on and on about Season 1, but I'm sure I'm nearing a thousand words as it is. If for some reason you haven't watched Stranger Things and you're thinking about jumping on the bandwagon before the third season hits in a few weeks, do it! Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

Unless, you know, you get scared by monsters and the dark and creepy children with mind powers and stuff...

We'll talk Season 2 soon!

Cheers,
R

Memory, Blog: The Fake Alien Abduction Show

Although my family had Cable TV when I was a kid we didn't always have all those really cool Cable channels. You know, the ones you still had to pay extra for? Do you remember that magic little black box the Cable company would provide you with to de-scramble the premium stuff? Yeah, we didn't have that. That is until I was in my teens.

Pure magic!

That glorious box provided me with more channels than I could even imagine. Sure, compared to today's standards it was a paltry serving, but to teenage me I was mind-blown. I now had access to a wide assortment of channels including TBS, which was chock-full of movies and all the Saved By The Bell re-runs I could handle, Family Channel, with loads of great Disney cartoons, Kids' WB, which fed my already unhealthy Batman: The Animated Series obsession, and UPN, which had pretty much nothing that I cared about.

On one fateful evening in the winter of 1998 I was channel surfing (man, I miss that) and I came across this schlocky "news report"-style show on UPN called Real Vampires... Exposed! It was basically a walk through the underground vampire scene in the 90s, where those so inclined wore a lot of black leather, drank each other's blood in neon-lit bars, and listened to industrial techno. I was half-interested in this show, but it was during this broadcast that an ad appeared for a new alien show that would be on within the hour!

You see UPN was claiming that they had acquired footage of a real-life alien abduction caught on home video and that they had experts analyze the tape. They were going to show the whole thing that night (January 20th, 1998 to be exact) and let you, the viewer, be the judge if it was real or not. The show was called Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County.

I was a pretty TV savvy kid and I had my finger on the pulse of the comings-and-goings of the all the major networks, but I had always just passed by UPN, which in my mind only had episode after episode of Moesha. As my luck would have it I landed on the channel just before it began airing Alien Abduction and my excitement (and trepidation) was brimming.

I grabbed a blank tape out of the entertainment console, popped it into the VCR, and set the show to record, even though I had no intent on waiting until the next day to watch it. I was glued to the TV set for what would become one of the most spine-tingling television events I ever witnessed.

I just want to start by saying that airing Alien Abduction with Real Vampires... Exposed! (which aired in lieu of an episode of Moesha, I kid you not) one after the other could not have been an accident. The network execs were trying to create the illusion to the viewer that this alien video was the real deal without coming right out and saying it.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding this little one hour special. There are those who would compare it to the War of the Worlds radio broadcast by Orson Welles in 1938, although I think that's rather extreme. This was some seriously campy TV on a cable specialty channel.

That said, the presentation was setup to lead the viewer in the belief that this tape was legitimate. The producers had actual "experts" in the fields of ufology, like physicist Stanton Friedman* and famous skeptic Michael Shermer, speak to the tape (or "a" tape, more on that at a later date) to lend credence to its authenticity. Couple that with it airing back-to-back with a show exposing "real life vampires" and there were all sorts of folks who thought this tape was the real deal.

One viewing of the segments of the tape, however, and your innate "these are actors" Spidey-sense will tingle. It also didn't help that actress Emmanuelle Chriqui, who at this point had at least one film and several TV acting credits under her belt, was clearly one of the members of the "family". Then at the end of the show the credits roll and you can see that the MacPherson family were casted and the whole thing was a film by director Dean Alioto.

I never thought the tape or the show was real, of course, but I will be damned if I didn't love it. Like most alien shows, I watched this for the scares and it delivered! For me it was like a little mini horror movie. Even to this day the scenes with the aliens in them raise the hairs on the back of my neck. I used to watch that tape recording I made of the show every year or so and it always had the same affect. Unfortunately, that tape is lost to time. *sniff*

Now you would think with the bad acting and credit roll that anyone watching this show would immediately understand that this was just a TV ratings stunt, but the controversy surrounding Alien Abduction actually started long before this UPN special. This was not Dean Alioto's first brush with alien conspiracy, but I think I'll save that story for another day.

Hope you enjoyed!,
R

*Stanton Friedman sadly passed away May 13th, 2019 at the age of 84. He lent his research and opinions to countless UFO-related features of the years, so I just wanted to say rest in peace, Dr. Friedman.

Memory, Blog: The Unsolved Mysteries Book Cover

Since I know you've been waiting on baited breath for this, let's get nuts and dig even deeper into my sleep-shattering fear of those junky alien TV shows from yesteryear. This next one is a doozy (do the kids still say doozy?).

I don't know where I got the gumption (do the kids still say gumption? damnit...) but one night I decided it was a great idea to try and watch an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. I had an idea of what I was getting into - everyone was talking about the show - but I had no clue just how much of an effect it would have on me personally to this day.

Perhaps you can solve a mystery...

I'm still not sure how I made it through Robert Stack's introduction or the theme music (likely judicious use of hiding under the blankets), but I can still remember the content of the episode like it was yesterday. Much like with E.T. several years before, I think my pulse dropped to zero, like I was in some kind of TV-induced hibernation. I stared at the set in rapt fear.

Although I was initially creeped out, it wasn't until Robert Stack presented the story of Bob Matthews that things really went south. Matthews was in the United States Air Force and in 1966, while en route to a posting in Massachusetts, was dropped off at a local market at night. He called the base for someone to come pick him up when he realized he was in the middle of nowhere. It's at this time that he claims he saw a strange ship flying through the night sky. When his ride came to get him he was totally AWOL, before calling back hours later asking where his ride was. Matthews claims that he experienced missing time and later, through hypnosis, recalled that the ship he saw in the night sky touched down outside the market and that he was abducted by the beings inside.

Trrrrrraumatized!

This story on its own was enough to raise my hackles, but it was during this clip that I was disturbed even further than seeing Elliot's squat little alien buddy with the glowy fingers (I'm not gonna drop it, ET's still creepy). As Matthews recounted his story, he spoke about finding a paperback book at a supermarket aisle by author Budd Hopkins called Missing Time. In the clip on Unsolved Mysteries the book he actually picks up is entitled Intruders. Here's a close-up:

From the moment I saw this clip my greatest fears had a new visage. Whatever creature this was on the cover of this book would haunt me for years and years to come, but also drive me to face those fears and watch any and all paranormal films and TV programs I could lock my eyeballs onto.

What's interesting is that I always considered Unsolved Mysteries to be a show about the paranormal, but as I've been re-watching it recently on Amazon Prime (I've recently discovered it's on YouTube, as well) I've realized that it rarely featured segments about the topics of aliens or UFOs, and usually with a few derisive words from Robert Stack, who seemingly didn't want to report on it at all. The show was mostly about true crime and helping people find their long-lost loved ones, with a smattering of ghost stories or aliens here and there for us weirdos.

All it took was this one episode, however, and I was forever changed. The thing is, I was bound to see the image of the "grey" alien at some point. It's ubiquitous in our culture now, much like the Bela Lugosi-inspired vampire or a bed sheet ghost. I kind of believe that no matter where I first saw it that those huge black eyes and enormous great skull would have the same affect, but it certainly didn't hurt that I saw it while watching Unsolved Mysteries in my parent's basement with no lights on that sealed the deal.

As an adult, I want to say that I'm mostly over it, but if I'm being honest grey aliens still give me the heebie-jeebies (do the kids... ah, nevermind) I remember when the found footage film The Fourth Kind came out back in 2009 I was immediately engaged and wanted to see the movie, but the only way I could bring myself to watch it alone in my apartment was in the middle of the day with all the lights on. As it turns out, it wasn't so bad, but those scenes with the owl eyes? Uuuuugh.

I'll try and summon up the courage to write another one of these soon, but from now on I don't think this will be a chronological account. I'll just jump back and forth to different shows and films on the subject. Ya know, for the whole one of you that actually reads this stuff! (Thank you by the way, you're the best!)

Cheers,

R

Memory, Blog: Those Creepy Alien Shows

For one reason or another throughout my life I've found myself drawn to TV shows and films about the paranormal and I'm not talking about those reality shows, like Ghost Hunters. Specifically, for me, it is anything to do with aliens and UFOs. It's a contributing reason for my obsession with The X-Files, but it goes much deeper than that.

I want to preface this by saying that I don't believe in aliens. I don't think there's some grand conspiracy that a group of intergalactic beings from another planet/dimension/reality/whatever are visiting earth in ships, abducting people for experimentation, and screwing around with livestock.

I think my fascination with the subject is three-fold.

One reason is that I'm captivated with the idea that there are people out there that whole-heartedly believe in it all. And I don't mean this as a condescension, like, "How could someone believe in this crap!?" It's more akin to wanting to understand why they believe what they believe. It's probably like a secular philosopher trying to better understand religion.

The second reason is that I find alien and UFO stories to be like the ghost stories of our generation. We live in a world driven by science, so of course our fireside stories are that of science fiction. It kind of just makes sense.

The third and most major reason is that the idea of aliens scares the ever-loving shit out of me.

I have zero context to offer you as to why, but when I was really little I had nightmares that the Martians from Sesame Street were going to take me from my bed at night. I had to be the only kid on the planet petrified of Muppets.

They're still creepy.

This fear was exacerbated one fateful day by my unwitting mother who picked up a new video for me to watch: E.T.: The Extraterrestrial. And why woudn't she? It was an international family-friendly hit! As soon as I saw E.T. for the first time, plodding around the forest with his freaky glowing heart, I was instantly traumatized. I can't recall so much as breathing throughout the rest of the viewing, but I somehow survived it. I had a new face for my fear and it was the dough-eyed alien that every other kid at school had on their bed sheets.

See, it's petrifying!

Considering I was so afraid of the subject I have no idea why, but I would try and watch anything that featured aliens, which in the late-80s and early-90s was no problem. The paranormal was a hot topic and one could simply flip to any channel on a Friday night and find a program featuring unexplained phenomena.

The result was a fascination with those hokey paranormal TV shows that used to cover the pages of the TV Guide. For me, it all started in the early 90s when A&E began airing re-runs of In Search Of..., which was one of my favourite TV shows ever. The ideas and topics were so interesting and they would often feature the crazy stories of aliens or UFOs that I was craving, but presented in a way that wasn't all that scary.

Okay, that's BS, I was still scared to death, but I could make it through an episode, so long as all the lights were on. I think this is why I found the courage one night to watch a relatively new show called Unsolved Mysteries, which although it wasn't strictly a paranormal show had the occasional alien/UFO-related topics. In fact, it was an episode of Unsolved Mysteries that spurred on my fear in a big way, but we'll feature that story another time.

There were all sorts of paranormal shows that cropped up in the wake of Unsolved Mysteries, like Sightings and Encounters, both of which tried to employ the trappings of a real news magazine show to make the topics at hand seem that much more credible. And lets not forget the myriad of one-off specials, like Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction or Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County.

My obsession continues to this day, so this is just the beginning for this topic on the site. I already have some related posts in the works, but I thought it made sense that I outline my fear and fascination with aliens and UFOs in films and television before we really begin to scan these starry skis... I mean skies.

Cheers,

R

Memory, Blog - The Sunday Night Ritual

I've found myself turning more inward lately and my obsession with nostalgia has hit an all-time high. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or... no, you know what? I'm not old, you're old! Whatever!

Ahem, excuse me.

Anyway, I find myself more interested with watching films on VHS than on Blu-ray, with playing the Nintendo Entertainment System than the Nintendo Switch, and eating kid's cereals over a nice steak dinner.

Okay, that last one might be a bit extreme... maybe.

I thought it might be fun to start writing about some of this nostalgia as a way of bottling it, so here goes!

In 1993 my favourite TV show aired for the first time on Friday, September 10th. You guessed it, it's The X-Files. I haven't hidden my love for this show, have I? It dominated the air waves on Friday nights for three years, but in 1996 Fox made the bold move to air it on Sundays and man, did it work!

You see, the 9 o'clock timeslot (10PM for me in Atlantic Canada) was previously known for the Sunday Night Movie on other networks, like CBS, ABC, and NBC. This is when many TV stations would fight for a hot "new to TV" film to air, so viewers could wind down their weekend and just veg in front of the TV. The ABC Sunday Night Movie actually aired from 1962 until 1998.

Viewership began to wain, however, and this is when you started to see a lot of big made-for-TV movie events, like NBC's The Beast, which aired in two parts on Sundays in April 1996, or ABC's Storm of the Century, which was broken into three installments starting on Sunday, February 14th, 1999.

NBC promo for Peter Benchley's The Beast from April 28th, 1996 courtesy of Dinosaur Dracula

Fox decided to waste no time in finding a viable alternative to steal your attention during those precious couch potato hours before the school/work week began anew, so they moved their most popular drama into that timeslot, where it lived until its (not so) final episode in 2002.

At the time, even series creator Chris Carter didn't like the move. Fox executives were putting a lot of stock in Carter's next big thing, Millenium, which took the coveted Friday night space from The X-Files, but with a feature film in the works and more and more accolades rolling in, The X-Files was no worse for the wear.

Promo for The X-Files move to Sundays, circa October 1996 (sorry for the suggestive thumbnail)

Now, Fox already had my attention on Sunday nights with The Simpsons. What a great foothold to launch The X-Files new timeslot on? You already had millions of viewers watching the station anyway, so if you slap TVs hottest show after it, you've got people locked for hours.

The only thing that Fox varied was the meat in this delicious TV sandwich. The 8:30 ET slot had a variety of content over the years and there were several delicious fillers, but for one reason or another none of the shows stayed on the menu (I'll stop now with the sandwich puns). There was King of the Hill, Futurama, and even Family Guy, all of which used this slot as a launching pad before moving to another day and time, but the show that finally stuck was the unlikely Malcolm in the Middle, which I believe (and don't quote me on this) stayed on Sunday nights even after the glory years were well and done with, in 2006.

Sunday nights were a very bittersweet time. It sounds crazy, because I didn't dislike school or anything like that. In fact I liked it for the most part. I just looked forward to and enjoyed my weekend so much, that I started lamenting their end starting on Saturday night, while I typically watched whatever late night movie aired on TV (which we'll talk about in the future, I'm sure). By the time Sunday night came,  I was in full despair!

In our house Sundays were for family. My folks and I would pilgrimage to both of my parents' sides to see relatives for dinner; one in the afternoon and the other in the evening. I didn't see much of my friends and there wasn't any time to play my video games, but it was always good to eat great food and see my cousins.

When the evening came, it was "me time" and I took full advantage of it.

I would rustle up a snack - provided I was still hungry after all the food we had that day - and cozy into my bed with all the lights off, save for the glow of the fuzzy old TV screen, complete with tin-foil encrusted rabbit ears to catch the over-the-air signal.

And there I'd stay until 11 o'clock. The opening acts of The Simpsons and whatever second comedy show that followed it were a nice way to relax before the creepfest of The X-Files hit the screen, but also not the best way to close out and get a good night's rest!

This time period was The Simpsons apex for me. The show was coming off the highs of the Conan O'Brien years (1991 to 1993), which is when I was cemented as a fan. Around 1998, however, my interest started to slip. I did continue to watch until 2002, but if I missed it for whatever reason, it wasn't the end of the world. For as many times as I've watched The X-Files, I've never really gone out of my way to revisit The Simpsons chronologically from this era (I have caught lots of classic episodes in syndication). If only that Simpsons World service would launch here in Canada!

I kept my little Sunday night tradition up starting in junior high right until my first year of university, which is crazy to think of looking back now. I remember I wasn't as into it after I left high school. The X-Files without Mulder and Scully didn't interest me as much and (as I mentioned) I wasn't getting the same laughs from The Simpsons anymore, but I can still recall how I felt watching the finale to The X-Files to this day. It was a somber moment - an end of an era - and I knew it.

I still reminisce about those Sunday nights (clearly). In my hectic lifestyle these days I almost never get a quiet relaxing two hours to myself and I have no real "rituals" that I can always bank on each week. And that's fine! I love my time with my wife and kids and things may be nuts right now, but I know I'll be looking back on these very days in 10 years wishing I could have them back, as well. Possibly I'll be reminiscing while I'm kicking back and watching some primetime television on a Sunday night... you know, if that sort of thing even exists anymore.

Hope you enjoyed,
R

Nostalgia Bomb! - A Garfield Christmas

What was it?
A Garfield Christmas was the seventh Garfield television special directed by Phil Roman and written by Garfield creator Jim Davis for CBS between 1982 and 1991.

A Garfield Christmas is often referred to as A Garfield Christmas Special, as well, as it is here on the title card

The specials were initially produced by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, but as their company was primarily focused on producing the famous Peanuts TV specials, Phil Roman later took on the producer role, as well.

It aired for the first time on December 21st, 1987 with a run-time of 24 minutes and featured music by Ed Bogas and Desirée Goyette, with the singing talents of Lou Rawls. Garfield was famously voiced by Lorenzo Music, who voiced everyone's favourite grumpy orange cat in each of the Phil Roman specials. Thom Huge and Gregg Berger voiced John and Odie, as they did in all of the other specials as well, and Pat Carroll played John's grandmother, famous for her many acting roles and her portrayal of Ursula in Disney's The Little Mermaid.

This particular episode featured John, Garfield, and Odie heading off to the Arbuckle family farm for a good old fashioned Christmas.

When was it available?
The special was aired every Christmas on CBS from 1987 to 2000, at which point it inexplicably dropped off their holiday schedule. In 2004 the DVD Garfield's Holiday Celebrations was released, which included A Garfield Christmas, as well as other holiday favourites Garfield's Halloween Adventure (1985) and Garfield's Thanksgiving (1989). From my understanding the DVD was produced until at least 2007 and after its production run became a highly sought after collector's item, fetching big sums on eBay.

A second DVD was released in 2014 as a Walmart exclusive and featured the same episodes as the 2004 disc, but also added Garfield on the Town (1983) and Garfield in Paradise (1986), which aren't really holiday-themed, but are a nice addition. This DVD is also out-of-print and fetches high prices on reseller sites.

What about today?
In 2017 A Garfield Christmas was released on streaming services Amazon Prime Video and Apple iTunes in the US. One thing to note, however, is that there were some oddities with the final DVD release of A Garfield's Christmas, such as a scene featuring John's brother "Doc Boy" and Grandma playing Christmas music on the family piano, which was removed. This is the version that can be streamed from the above services, so it typically rubs viewers the wrong way!

Garfield Holiday Celebrations DVD from 2004

I personally streamed it from YouTube this year. There are several uploaders with the special on their channels. I'm pretty certain that none of them are legit, however, and could likely be stuck with copyright notices at any moment, so linking one here would probably be folly. If you want to watch the original special intact, however, this is probably the best avenue. The version I watched was at least DVD quality and contained all the scenes and original music.

Why do I remember it?
A Garfield Christmas is one of my absolute favourite Christmas TV specials of all time and I've done my best to take it in every single Christmas all these years.

After it stopped airing on TV, I was forced to become a pirate and find sites that either streamed the show or allowed for a download. Once I had a copy of the special that I liked downloaded, I often went back to that copy in subsequent years, but I've found YouTube pretty reliable as of late. I personally never saw the aforementioned DVDs, so from 2001 onward getting my Garfield fix at Christmastime became a yearly mission.

Up until the last few years, I had a copy on my tablet that I would break out when I was wrapping presents, alongside a copy of A Muppet Family Christmas, which is another amazing Christmas special from '87 that doesn't air on TV any longer and has a shoddy history on DVD.

The Arbuckles gather 'round Grandma as she receives here gift from Garfield

A Garfield Christmas is purportedly an autobiographical account of Jim Davis' personal Christmas memories and features a really fun look at the Arbuckle Christmas, but also has a sub-plot about John's Grandma that will get you right in the feels.

The music in this special is on-point with great tunes sung by Lou Rawls that you'll find yourself singing around the house right alongside Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley.

I cannot fathom why this special isn't aired today alongside all the other greats, like A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas. In fact, CBS usually aired A Garfield Christmas right next to the Peanuts classic from '87 to 2000. I can't find any solid information on why the show was dropped, but it could just be due to viewer count, I suppose.

A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Garfield Christmas commerical from CBS

The fact that the scene with Doc Boy and Grandma playing the piano was dropped from DVD releases kind of makes me wonder if there's some sort of rights issue at play, but they're playing "O Christmas Tree", so I find it hard to believe that's the problem in this case.

Although it was hard to find for almost 20 years, outside of a few DVD releases, which I personally never saw here in Canada, you can now enjoy A Garfield Christmas via streaming services (in the US, at least) or on YouTube, and I can't recommend enough that you give it a watch.

I viewed the show with my kids this year and I saw them laugh and sing along at the same spots I did when I was growing up, which made this year's viewing all the more special.

And that's why A Garfield Christmas is a blast from my past, but also - hopefully - a future family tradition!

Hope you enjoyed,
R

Nostalgia Bomb! - Batman: The Animated Series

What is it?
Batman: The Animated Series was a cartoon produced by Warner Bros. Animation and developed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski. Taking cues from the popular films Batman and Batman Returns, a more adult-themed cartoon was created that was appropriate for young and old alike.

When did it come out?
The series premiered in 1992 and the first season included a 65 episode run, which aired every weekday until 1993. It was re-branded The Adventures of Batman and Robin in its second season, which aired weekly on Saturdays from 1993 to 1994, at which time the first season was being aired as repeats on the still weekday schedule under the newly re-branded title.

What about today?
Although the original show, which falls under the branding of Batman: The Animated Series, only ran from 1992 to 1995, with a total of 85 episodes and two feature-length films, its legacy still reaches out to today. It began what has become known as the DC Animated Universe, and would spawn direct sequels with shows like Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited, just to name a few.

Even the most recent productions by Warner Bros. Animation, like Batman: The Killing Joke are taking cues from the original series, including casting mainstays Kevin Conroy as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Mark Hamill who - surprisingly - became the most iconic voice actor to ever portray The Joker.

Why do I remember it?
Everything about Batman: The Animated Series makes it memorable today. It pushed a lot of boundaries in its release, adding a more adult tone to children's cartoons that wasn't seen previously.

The production of the show created a timeless vision of Gotham, which seemed to include modern day technologies like cell phones with blimps in an art deco/bauhaus style.

Characters were re-imagined to give them more depth, like Mr. Freeze - no longer a mad scientist, now a lover avenging his dead beloved - or Clay Face - a now tragic accident yearning to return to his past life. It even created a new Bruce Wayne/Batman dynamic; no longer was Bruce Wayne portrayed as an idle playboy, but instead the true leader of Wayne Industries, a man revered for his work ethic and magnanimity.

Batman versus Clay Face!

Whether this was the most accurate portrayal of Batman from the comics or not, it was and is the greatest overall portrayal of the property. It essentially took the best of everything and created the perfect package. It didn't have to be as dark and grim as was the slant of the comic books and films of its generation, and it could appeal to children who wanted to see more of the character.

From the animation, to the music - homaged from Danny Elfman's Batman film score, to the excellent writing and depictions of some of Batman's incomparable Rogue's Gallery, Batman: The Animated Series pushed the envelope for what a cartoon could accomplish and it became the sturdy base for everything DC would publish in its animated wing for decades to come.

Batman: The Animated Series is most-definitely a blast from the past!

Hope you enjoyed,
R

The X-Files 201 Days: The Remaining Episodes

This is more a post for myself than for anyone else, but if anyone has been following me on Twitter I've been taking part in The X-Files 201 Days Challenge since June of last year. The idea was pretty simple: watch every episode of The X-Files once a day for 201 days leading up to the premiere of the new miniseries, which starts this Sunday, January 24th.

I was posting a screen shot of the title of each episode fairly dutifully right up until I decided to take a self-imposed Internet hiatus leading up to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in late-December. As a result, I wasn't posting for each episode.

Here I am now - as I write this - just about one day from the new series premiere and I wanted to post all the images from the remaining episodes. I know no one else will care, but it's for myself as proof that I did this!

One thing I wanted to note is how much I enjoyed watching seasons eight and nine this time around. I've rewatched them in the past, but always found them hard to watch, because (spoilers ahead if you haven't watched them) they feature very little of Mulder and Scully, as David Duchovny is only featured in half of the episodes in season eight and only the series finale in season nine. Instead we are introduced to Agents Doggett and eventually Reyes, who fill the shoes of Mulder and Scully on the FBI's X-Files.

This time around I really appreciated the monster-of-the-week episodes with Doggett and Reyes. They were actually a great pair and Robert Patrick as John Doggett was a great role for him. The mytharc episodes that ran through these season, that actually featured Mulder, were typically the most dragging.

I've actually finished watching the final season and finale episode of The X-Files a while back. I did some binge watching with my wife recently, but tomorrow I plan to watch The X-Files: I Want To Believe film and then I'll be all caught up!

Here are all the remaining images from the episodes that I didn't post on Twitter, right up to the final episode(s), "The Truth", which featured the return (finally) of Mulder and wrapped up his and Scully's search after nine long years.

I'm very much looking forward to the new series, even if it's only six episodes. I'm hoping it could lead to more X-Files, but if nothing else it'll be nice to see these familiar characters again in an all-new storyline.

I still want to believe,

R