IT'S WORLD TELEVISION DAY
Let's be real: pretty much EVERY day for the last several decades has been World Television Day, but sure, why not honor the tube further? It got us through the pandemic, after all. You can only walk around the same neighborhood nodding at the parade of masked faces doing the same so many times!
Did you know the world's first electronic television was invented in 1927 by 21 year old Philo Taylor Farnsworth?
Nowadays, television is acknowledged by the UN as a major tool in informing, channeling, and affecting public opinion, and there are over 1.67 billion households around the world with TVs.
In honor of this occasion, below are some of my favorite TV shows. If you haven't seen them, I recommend checking them out! They're all on various streaming services so you can binge any that appeal to you this week, whether you're traveling for the upcoming holiday, or just holing up at home to avoid the shopping insanity! (Pro tip: avoid the crowds and shop online. Maybe at a store that sends you funny emails on the regular. Like, uh, this one.)
• The Americans (Available in FX/Hulu)
No one seemed to watch this incredibly compelling drama about two deep cover Soviet KGB agents posing as American citizens in the US in the 1980s, but if Cold War era spy drama doesn't speak to you, I still think you may enjoy it. The show is more about the personal relationships of the characters, and you'll likely find yourself deeply invested in the fate of — and possibly even rooting for — characters you'd probably ordinarily consider villains. While you're at it, the same creative team behind The Americans made a newer show (also on FX/Hulu) called The Patient about a serial killer who wants to stop murdering people, so he kidnaps his therapist to try to make him help. It, uh, doesn't go all that well.
No one seemed to watch this incredibly compelling drama about two deep cover Soviet KGB agents posing as American citizens in the US in the 1980s, but if Cold War era spy drama doesn't speak to you, I still think you may enjoy it. The show is more about the personal relationships of the characters, and you'll likely find yourself deeply invested in the fate of — and possibly even rooting for — characters you'd probably ordinarily consider villains. While you're at it, the same creative team behind The Americans made a newer show (also on FX/Hulu) called The Patient about a serial killer who wants to stop murdering people, so he kidnaps his therapist to try to make him help. It, uh, doesn't go all that well.
• Mary Kills People (Available on the Roku channel for FREE)
This Canadian drama was very under the radar, but it follows the saga of a doctor turned illegal at-home euthanasia practitioner. I am a very big believer in a person's right to die, so I found this show extremely interesting and was definitely rooting for the protagonist the whole time. While you're on Roku I also recommend two of their original shows: Murder House Flip and Dummy, or the recently released biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. All three are very funny, for very different reasons, and I enjoyed them all immensely!
This Canadian drama was very under the radar, but it follows the saga of a doctor turned illegal at-home euthanasia practitioner. I am a very big believer in a person's right to die, so I found this show extremely interesting and was definitely rooting for the protagonist the whole time. While you're on Roku I also recommend two of their original shows: Murder House Flip and Dummy, or the recently released biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. All three are very funny, for very different reasons, and I enjoyed them all immensely!
• The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell (Netflix)
I have been a fan of Ms McConnell for years. She's kind of Martha Stewart meets Morticia Addams, and for one season Netflix made a show with her (and a bunch of very cool puppets). If you like Boredwalk I am about 99% sure you will like what she does, too.
I have been a fan of Ms McConnell for years. She's kind of Martha Stewart meets Morticia Addams, and for one season Netflix made a show with her (and a bunch of very cool puppets). If you like Boredwalk I am about 99% sure you will like what she does, too.
• Happyish (Showtime)
I loved this darkly funny and relatable look at middle aged life. It also suffered from only lasting one season, but I loved every episode.
I loved this darkly funny and relatable look at middle aged life. It also suffered from only lasting one season, but I loved every episode.
• Pushing Daisies (HBO Max)
The dreamy surrealist quality of this show is a visual feast, and the storytelling is charming and will have you emotionally invested from the jump. The story focuses on a man who can bring dead things back to life with a touch, but if he touches it again it dies immediately. Naurally he brings back his dead childhood sweetheart and angst ensues.
The dreamy surrealist quality of this show is a visual feast, and the storytelling is charming and will have you emotionally invested from the jump. The story focuses on a man who can bring dead things back to life with a touch, but if he touches it again it dies immediately. Naurally he brings back his dead childhood sweetheart and angst ensues.
• The Bear (FX/Hulu)
This is a newer show starring Jeremy Allen White of the US version of Shameless (a show I also liked). This one is about a talented chef trying to save his family's restaurant that barely made it through the pandemic. Although I do not run a restaurant, the generally stressy vibe of the show is relatable to anyone who runs any kind of business.
This is a newer show starring Jeremy Allen White of the US version of Shameless (a show I also liked). This one is about a talented chef trying to save his family's restaurant that barely made it through the pandemic. Although I do not run a restaurant, the generally stressy vibe of the show is relatable to anyone who runs any kind of business.
• American Horror Story (Season 10 Part 1) (FX/Hulu)
I have enjoyed a lot of AHS seasons (they are each self-contained, so you needn't watch them all to jump into any season), but this one in particular stood out to me because it's about artists and creative block — the bane of my existence. It poses interesting questions about how talent works and affects people and what one might give up in exchange for doing their best creative work. 10/10 I've watched this story arc three times now and keep trying to get other creatives I know to watch it. The season is set in Provincetown, Massachusetts in the winter, so the bleak atmosphere also feels like another character in and of itself.
I have enjoyed a lot of AHS seasons (they are each self-contained, so you needn't watch them all to jump into any season), but this one in particular stood out to me because it's about artists and creative block — the bane of my existence. It poses interesting questions about how talent works and affects people and what one might give up in exchange for doing their best creative work. 10/10 I've watched this story arc three times now and keep trying to get other creatives I know to watch it. The season is set in Provincetown, Massachusetts in the winter, so the bleak atmosphere also feels like another character in and of itself.
Me settling in to celebrate World Television Day.
gif via ABC
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Want a few famous November 21st birthdays and historical facts? Here ya go...
• Born on this day: actress Goldie Hawn (1945), Icelandic singer/songwriter Björk (1965), French Enlightenment writer Voltaire (1694) and actor/comedian/writer/director Harold Ramis (1944)
• On this day in 1789 North Carolina ratified the US Constitution and became the 12th US State
• Thomas Edison announced his invention of the phonograph on this day 1877
• Cartoon canary Tweety Bird made his debut on this day in 1941
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Alright! Scroll on down to learn a bit about fellow Boredwalk fan Russell! If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Monday email (and are a customer with some Boredwalk tees, tanks, hoodies, towels, bags, or books to show off), just reply to this and let us know, and we'll send you some fun questions to answer (along with our undying gratitude)!
We'll be back here in your inbox on Wednesday with some more random holidays to observe, historical tidbits to acknowledge, and fun links to entertaining content! Until next time...
Peace, love, and vegging out in front of the TV,
Meredith
Russell toiling through another day in the hellscape in his Just Another Day In The Hellscape crew-neck sweatshirt. At least he's cozy!
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
Actual day job is Bank Examiner with the FDIC, ensuring your deposits in the bank are safe and sound. Dream job since I was a kid was Supreme Court Justice for the job security; may need to re-think that one!
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
Lukewarm food, especially when it comes to soups and burritos. Those foods need to be hot.
(Editor's note: borscht and gazpacho would beg to differ!)
3. What's a life pro tip the Boredwalk Community needs to know?
Hold onto any prepaid debit cards. After you exhaust all the funds on them, you can still use them to sign up for free trials and stuff that require a credit card without having to worry about being scammed.
(This is a GREAT tip — thanks, Russell!)
4. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
I’d want the ability to time travel. So many times I just need a redo or to just fast forward through the day!
5. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?
I’d want my nemesis to live in constant fear of stepping on Legos barefoot while at home. There is nothing worse than stepping on one of those suckers in the middle of the night.
(I dunno, cat vomit is pretty bad...though it is less painful, so yeah, you win.)
6. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
I want to be able to say I’ve been to every state in the country. There’s 15 more to go, but I figured I would have accomplished that by now. Thanks a lot, COVID!
7. What is something you wish you could go back in time and say to your younger self?
I’d tell myself to relax a bit more. In the end things always get done, so just relax and enjoy the ride.
8. What is a surprising fact about you?
I never learned how to ride a bike. As a kid I was never interested in learning for some reason. Maybe it was because I had nowhere else to go?
9. If you could make a mundane wish (meaning, a wish for something seemingly inconsequential that you still believe would benefit you immensely), what would it be for?
I need outlets easily accessible while in bed.
10. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
Assuming Twitter is still a thing by the time this comes out, you can find me there @russellschwartz (real original, huh!?!)
I am also on the IG @ruschwartz7
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