The Oscars -- April 26, 2021

I mentioned the other day that as of April 1, 2021, we no longer had television. We ended our television relationship with Spectrum. Long story, but it was time to move on. 

On her own, my wife signed up for another, much less expensive, streaming service on Saturday, April 25, 2021, which was one day before the Academy Awards. If there is one television event my wife will not miss, it's the "Oscars."

So, last night we watched the "Oscars."

Without question, one of the best Academy Awards show I had witnessed. Long story. 

American public: Oscar ratings hit record low "despite diversity." Link here. Not unexpected; folks who did not watch, missed a great event, but apparently the American public has moved on.

Earlier I wrote: 

Oscars; 

• Trent Reznor. Hat trick.
• Netflix: long-time readers are aware of my fascination with Netflix. LOL. Last night, at the 2021 Oscars, Netflix won seven Oscars, beating out the other streaming services. 
• David Fincher's Mank was the lead nominee with ten nods.

Netflix: seven Oscars. Most of any of the streaming services. Obviously the Netflix folks have their pulse on the American television watcher. I'm impressed, to say the least. 

Before we "quit" Spectrum, my favorite network was TCM. After we broke off our relationship with Spectrum, I "lost" TCM. That's really the only television I miss. It's not so much the shows themselves, but it's the presenters putting the shows into context. If they show Casablanca once a month, they have a different "lead-in" every month. It puts the movie in context and explains why TCM is showing it again. 

The primary presenter on TCM is Ben Mankiewicz. His dad was "Mank" the subject of David Fincher's Mank" noted above. Pretty amazing when you think about it. A biography a screenwriter. But not just any screenwriter, but the screenplay Citizen Kane as developed by the screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz. The wiki entry will bring you up to speed. 

There's no question in my mind that Ben Mankiewicz has to be "head over heels" with this. 

And, yes, TCM airs Citizen Kane regularly. I have probably seen that movie four or five times but all in "snippets" until about two months ago when I finally watched it from start to finish. I can see why it's AFI's #1 film (still) but films like Birdman are certainly making it a race.