TV Marathon

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Now that there are fewer and fewer hours of sunlight in a day, it is time to finally catch up on every movie and TV show I did not watch this summer. Where I live, in the summer, it stays light until nine p.m. and dusk until 10 p.m. It is warm, sunny and no way I am going to be inside when outside is so amazingly adventure-filled. In winter that all stops. Gray days, continual light rain and dark mornings, dark until about two p.m. and then night falls like a ton of bricks. Boom! And as much as I try to get off Facebook and read a book or listen to music, I am tied to any available screen in the house. I have even been known to be mesmerized by the front loading washer. My favorite Food Channel is my microwave.

This season has started out with a bang. The Wizard of Oz. Wow, I love that movie. It was fun to compare notes with my new husband as to what were the scariest parts watching it as a kid. Hands down the flying monkeys won the prize. And after some 55 plus years watching this I know most of the words, if not by heart, at least as they come.

Next I watched “The Day the Earth Stood Still” with Keanu Reeves. Next was “The Karate Kid” which I have to admit as unlikely a story line as it is, I loved it. Of course it is about Kung Fu, not Karate, but still a well told story. I may be taking my jacket off and on for exercise. (Inside joke if you have seen the movie).

What I love is a good marathon of movies and junk food. But because I am on a serious “cut the crap” diet, I am wondering if carrot sticks and celery are going to work with the binge theme. I guess it is worth a try. Movie binges of the past included themes of original with remakes: Sabrina, Rooster Cogburn, Pride and Prejudice, The Merchant of Venice, Father of the Bride, Sherlock Holmes, and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Then of course you could always do a Kevin Bacon-a-thon. Which of course would be a lot more fun with bacon snacks like scallops wrapped in baked bacon, BLTs, bacon omelet or just bacon bits in cheese whiz with a spoon.

I also like a good cartoon intro like in the old days of the movie houses. Remember when the main attraction of a Laurel and Hardy movie was preceded by at least three cartoons. “Tha, tha, tha, that’s all folks.” So my vote for best cartoon features has to include: Nemo, Up, The Incredibles, Robots, Aladdin, Toy Story, Fantasia, Brave, and How to Train Your Dragon.

And of course the biggest draw for me would be a Doctor Who marathon. Add to that a smattering of BBC series such as: Keeping Up Appearances, Faulty Towers, Inspector Lewis, and yes Downton Abbey. (Although I might skip the one where Matthew dies because I think they should have just sent him off to Foreign Legion). The icing on the cake would be reruns of The Carol Burnett Show and a “mash up” of back to back tapes of the June Taylor dancers and all the Busby Berkeley dance routines and a splash of the Ester Williams synchronized swimming numbers. That should bring me not only through the Holidays, but close to Day Light Savings time and decent weather.
And that’s my strategy to get through this rough patch called winter.
In fact, if it works I may adopt this strategy of marathon old movies and TV right through and past the elections of 2016. Because as much as I love a good debate on Facebook,I am pretty sure no one ever said, “Dang, great point there, I concede.”

Sally Franz is a former stand-up comedian, motivational speaker, and radio host. She is a twice-divorced mother of two and a grandmother of three. Sally has a degree in gerontology and several awards for humor writing. She is the author of Scrambled Leggs: A Snarky Tale of Hospital Hooey
and The Baby Boomers Guide to Menopause.