Retro TV Network

When you cut cable TV out of your diet and you are not ready to go the satellite route, Lord, thy name is Retro Television Network.

About 5 months ago, our local ABC station said it would be launching a second digital channel chockful of television re-runs from a better day. I rejoiced, having just bought a second HDTV some weeks prior and having given cable the ol' heave-ho over a year before that. But they never said when exactly this was taking place.

As we creep toward February 19, 2009, we have noticed that channels have been moving frequencies. As a result, we have had to rescan for channels once every month or so. And every month or so, I would hope beyond hope that that second digital ABC station would show up offering respite from Gossip Girl, reality shows and tabloid programs. Instead, digital channel 8.2 in Lincoln would just be a mirror of 8.1's programming.

Until this weekend.

Saturday, Teresa noticed that old television programs were on 8.2. I waited for some sort of station identification and learned that ABC was broadcasting Retro Television Network! I found their website and discovered such long-lost shows like Adam 12, The A-Team, Ellery Queen, Hunter, and The Incredible Hulk.

You can bet your bottom dollar I will be setting my DVD recorder to capture some of this stuff. You don't know how glad I am.

Is Retro Television Network broadcasting in your area? Let me know.

Who Is Batman?

Earlier this week, I finally got to see The Dark Knight. It made me think about why Cami is so into heroes, superheroes and those who are not as we are. Vampires, Harry Potter...that kind of stuff. I think about that stuff all the time and an essay called, "Who Is Batman?" caught my eye.

Good reading.

...and maybe it will help me understand what attracts Cami to certain concepts and people even more. Read it and maybe it will help you understand something more about you, someone you know or just more about the Batman character.

Star Wars Holiday Special to Screen in NY & LA!

If you are one of those wacky Star Wars cats and you are going to be in or around Los Angeles or New York between December 10 and 24, read on.

Otherwise, ignore or check out The 30-Second Bunnies Theatre.

If you are reading beyond this point, you must like Star Wars.

Anyways, there was once a very dark skeleton in George Lucs' closet called the "Star Wars Holiday Special ". Because there don't really seem to be many new stories to tell for my generation of Star Wars fans, Lucasfilm has been publically acknowledging this oddball program which only aired once in the late '70s.

It must have brought back some memories for a sampling of people who visit The Paley Center for Media website. They had a poll to see what the top 5 holiday television specials are and here are the resuts:

Star Wars Holiday Special - 59%
A Charlie Brown Christmas - 34.6%
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - 31.3%
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - 28.4%
John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together - 16.3%

These holiday specials will be screened at the Paley Center in New York and Los Angeles between , 2008:

New York
The Star Wars Holiday Special screens Tuesdays to Sundays at 12:15 pm, and again at 6:00 pm on Thursday evenings. The other four specials screen Tuesdays to Sundays beginning at 2:30 pm.

Los Angeles
Please consult the Paley Center daily schedule.

If you missed the Star Wars Holiday Special the first time around or have caught it on grainy bootleg videos sold at Star Wars conventions, this would the time to see it!

Love,