(courtesy Amazon) SNAPSHOTThe special consists of a series of vignettes, each one starring a different member of the Peanuts gang in various Christmas time situations. (courtesy Peanuts wiki) You have to feel a little sorry for any of the Peanuts’ Christmas specials that followed in the wake of the classic A Charlie Continue Reading
TV
On 1st day of Christmas … I decorated my tree with 10 new pop culture ornaments incl. Elio, Up, The Muppet Christmas Carol … and more!
(via Shutterstock) When I bought my first Christmas tree as an adult way back in 1992, I bought some pop culture ornaments but I mostly stuck to the sorts of ornaments and baubles I remembered from childhood. But as time went on, I increasingly bought more and more pop culture Continue Reading
More than a single snowflake … Thoughts on The First Snow of Fraggle Rock
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTThe Fraggles eagerly await the first snow of the season and all the traditions it brings, but when only a single snowflake arrives and Gobo can’t write the yearly holiday song everyone is expecting, the season is thrown off course. For the first time ever, Gobo journeys Continue Reading
It’s beginning to look a lot like the festive season … Christmas ads 2025 round-up
(via Shutterstock) I know there is a significant school of thought that rails against the materialism and rampant consumerism of Christmas. And yes, while I can see it, and it’s valid point as far as it goes, it leaves aside the fact that much of that drives this need to Continue Reading
Why ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ almost didn’t air − and why it endures (curated article)
(courtesy IMDb) In 2024, the beloved special is streaming on Apple TV+. Stephen Lind, University of Southern California It’s hard to imagine a holiday season without “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The 1965 broadcast has become a staple – etched into traditions across generations like decorating the tree or sipping hot Continue Reading
Happy 60th birthday to me … my 60 favourite TV shows #Andyat60
(via Shutterstock) There was a time, believe or not, when TV terrified me. Way back in the mid-1960s, when Mum and Dad were missionaries in what is now Bangladesh, we lived in a number of small hinterland towns where TV was NOT; so, the first time I encountered it was Continue Reading
A celebration of me, Grover #Andyat60
(courtesy Sesame Workshop) Grover, sweet, loveable, funny, silly, thoughtful blue-furred Grover has been my favourite Muppet since I can remember loving any Muppets. I can’t remember when I first encountered him, but it would’ve been in the early Seventies when my family and I had just returned to Australia from Continue Reading
Revealed! The Jim Henson Hour: “Secrets of the Muppets” #AndyAt60
(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTJoin Jim Henson and his dog, Jojo, for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of The Jim Henson Creature Shop in this rare 1989 documentary episode of The Jim Henson Hour. In “Secrets of the Muppets,” Jim reveals the innovative techniques that brought the Muppets to life, including the integration Continue Reading
Let the end times roll … Fallout S2 has a fabulously apocalyptic new trailer
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTThe new season will pick up in the aftermath of season one’s epic finale and take audiences along for a journey through the wasteland of the Mojave to the post-apocalyptic city of New Vegas. Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, Fallout Continue Reading
The rest of the season … Only Murders in the Building S5, E6-10
(courtesy IMP Awards) While Only Murders in the Building is all about getting to the bottom of the titular murderous mystery, and that indeed happens in the final four episodes of this wonderful show’s fifth season, what has always made it compelling viewing is the way it focuses on the Continue Reading