Every few years, a television show comes around that brings millions of fans together and lasts long after the final credits roll.
The documentaryGetting Lost (2024) premiered exactly twenty years after Lost initially aired on ABC. Interviewing the creators, writers, production team members, actors, fans, and journalists, the film explores how this once-in-a-generation phenomenon became a pop culture moment.
Getting Lost is not for the casual viewer. It is for the person who never missed an episode, obsessed over the many questions, and is still puzzled about the finale.
The best thing about it is that it allowed for all involved (the audience included) to look back and analyze with a perspective that did not exist when Lost was on the air.
It has been said that you should be careful what you wish for. It might come true.
The sitcom You Wish aired on ABC from 1997 to 1998 as part of the TGIF Friday night lineup. Genie (John Ales) has been locked in a rug for 2000 years. Gillian Apple (Harley Jane Kozak) is a divorced single mother with two growing children. As per the rules of Genie’s world, Gillian is now in charge. Chaos ensues with the addition of the new member of the Apple household.
At the end of the day, You Wish is just a generic family sitcom with the addition of a supernatural element to make it stand out. Try as it might, there was not enough there to make it last beyond the rightly aborted first season.
Among our most basic rights as Americans, freedom of speech and the press are the most valued. When they are threatened, we feel the danger most acutely.
The Department of Defense requested that the New York Times submit articles for pre-approval before publishing. They were told to kick rocks.
When a person enters the public eye, one of the expectations is that they may become fodder for a joke or two.
Charlie Kirk’s murder last week was more than a major headline. It brought to the surface questions that don’t always have an easy answer. After Jimmy Kimmel made comments about Kirk, the FCC got involved. As a result, his late-night talk show has been canceled indefinitely.
One aspect that I don’t see discussed is not just the firing of Kimmel himself. It is everyone who worked for the show and is now out of a job.
Maybe it’s me, but it looks and smells like the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show in July. It was done out of pure spite and is nothing more than an unprecedented government overreach. Instead of focusing on the real issues affecting everyday Americans, his ego demands that those who dare to criticize him be silenced.
Welcome to America in 2025. G-d help our country, we are going to need it.
Despite what some may claim, climate change is a real phenomenon. Scientists have advised that, although the number of hurricanes has not changed, their intensity and danger have increased significantly over the years.
As we all know, this past weekend was the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. After reliving the storm (via the Netflix documentary), I have to ask if this country is ready should another hurricane (or any natural disaster) with the same power occur? Is the government (at every level) ready to step up and protect both citizens and property? Are there resources to help those of limited means get out while they can?
The answer is that I don’t know that. With a normal government, leadership is prepared (as best as they can) for such an event. But we do not have a normal government.
Happy Monday.
P.S. POTUS has demanded more money from ABC after an interview with Donna Brazile over the weekend. Once you give in to a bully, they will always come back for more. I can only hope that the network will actually have a backbone this time instead of giving in.
The last time I checked, Americans have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, and so on. No one in the halls of power, regardless of title or level, has the right to take away our civil liberties.
One of my favorite MLK speeches. His last speech. “If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't… https://t.co/cvnHfJZhW7pic.twitter.com/p7nuNYpgH0
It is curious about the timing of this action. Is it because of the tariffs, the “Big Beautiful Bill, or something else that is kept from the voting public? It is also curious as to why the National Guard was not deployed on January 6, but was deployed last week?
This is not America. This is not the country that welcomed my immigrant ancestors and gave opportunities to their descendants. This is an autocracy where we live at the whim of dear leader and those who kiss the ring rather than stand up for democracy.
The government is not the only one responsible. The press, whom we (as the citizens) rely on to call out those in the halls of power, continue to tow the line. Instead of calling truth to power and reminding POTUS of who is in charge, some legacy media outlets have decided to give him what he wants.
We are only a few months into this administration. If we continue on this path, the United States will become a shadow of its former self. Everyone who fought and died for their nation will have lost their lives in vain.
Happy Sunday.
P.S. ABC News suspended Terry Moran after he made critical statements about the President and Stephen Miller. From my perspective, it appears to be the network cowering to the administration instead of doing its job.
The leap from being a full-time employee to running your own company is a fraught one. The pitfalls that come with dealing with everything instead of one department or niche are many.
The reality show Shark Tank premiered in 2009 on ABC and has been on the air since. In each episode, four entrepreneurs present themselves and their company/product to five well-known investors. The goal of each pitch is to receive additional funds to get to the next level.
As far as reality television goes, Shark Tank is not bad. It is not as much of a brain drain and speaks to the adventurer in us to not rely on the typical W2 job to pay the bills. I find myself rooting for the presenters, hoping that they will be able to succeed.
Ridley Road: This PBS/Masterpiece program is based on the book of the same name by Jo Bloom. It tells the story of a young woman of Jewish descent in the 1960s who goes undercover to stop a Neo-Nazi group from destroying the UK.
Dangerous Liaisons: A sort of prelude Les Liaisons Dangereuses, it started off a bit slow and took a few episodes to get interesting. Unfortunately, Starz canceled it at the end of the first season.
Ms. Marvel: A young woman goes from an ordinary teenager to a superhero who saves the world.
Andor: The prequel to Rogue One, the series explains how Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) became the rebel leader who led the fight against the Empire.
This will be my last post for 2022. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for taking time out of your day to read this humble writer’s work. I’ll see you in 2023.
There is no stronger love than a mother for their child. There is also no stronger force when said mother believes that her child has been wronged.
Women of the Movement is a six-episode miniseries that aired on ABC before moving to Hulu. It tells the story of the murder of Emmett Till (Cedric Joe) in 1955 and his mother’s, Mamie Till (Adrienne Warren) fight for justice. In August of that year, Emmet is spending part of his vacation with family in Mississippi. Raised in Chicago, he is unaware of the unofficial rules of the Jim Crow South. He supposedly makes a lewd comment at a White woman. Two days later, Emmet is taken in the middle of the night, tortured, and killed.
Upon hearing that her son (and only child) will be returning home in a box, Mamie funnels her grief and anger into ensuring that the men who slaughtered Emmett will spend the rest of their days in prison.
OMG. I was hooked the entire time. At its heart, it is a love story between a parent and their child. If Mamie had laid in bed the entire time, relying on food, alcohol, or another outside source to dull her sorrow, it would be completely understood. Instead, she stood up for Emmet. In doing so, she opened another door to the Civil Rights movement and broke the glass ceiling for both women and Americans of color.
The thing that struck me was that Till was not the first and is certainly not the last young man killed for their skin color. It is almost seventy years since this boy’s life was taken. There is no doubt that the hard work of multiple generations has paid off. But there is still a long road ahead of us.
It would be a shame if Warren does not receive any sort of nomination for this role. It is her performance that held me by the proverbial throat and kept me hoping that justice would prevail, even when history tells us otherwise.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely.
Women of the Movement is available for streaming on Hulu.
The Wonder Years is one of the most beloved television series of the modern era. The story of growing up from the perspective of Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) speaks to the 12 year old in all of us.
The reboot of the series premiered on Tuesday on ABC. As in the original program, the story is set in 1968, but in Montgomery, Alabama. Our protagonist is 12 year old Dean Williams (Elisha Williams). Narrating the story from decades in the future as the adult Dean is Don Cheadle. As Dean starts on his journey from childhood to adulthood, the Civil Right movement plays on in the background affecting everything and everyone around him.
The Wonder Years is one of the best new series of the fall. It has the charm and nostalgia of its predecessor, while feeling relevant with the issues that African-Americans and other people of color are still dealing with. It hits both the heart and the head, making the viewer think while reminding us of the joys and perils of being on the precipice of our teenage years.
Do I recommend it? Yes
The Wonder Years airs on ABC on Tuesday at 8:30 PM.
Writergurlny 
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