For those of you unfamiliar with my update posts, I write updates for a bunch of different posts together, because I don't have enough to say about them individually to warrant separate posts for each.
"Charlie Brown" Leaves the Airwaves - Apple, after the backlash, worked out a deal so that "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" aired on PBS last year, ad free. This feels less like a win for viewers than a temporary stopgap, and we'll see where the classic "Peanuts" specials pop up in the future. Meanwhile, Apple is going ahead with more "Snoopy in Space," and new "Peanuts" specials for Mother's Day, Earth Day, and New Year's Eve (more "War and Peace" readings or we riot).
The Misinformation Age - Well, QAnon certainly blew up, didn't it? I didn't write anything about the Capitol Hill insurrection at the time that it happened because I had no idea how to parse it in any way that had anything to do with the usual content of this blog. Like the election, I obsessed over it and drove myself crazy following the fallout, but I have nothing to add to the conversation except "I told you so." And we don't need "I told you so" right now. We need Twitter and Facebook and the other tech companies to zero tolerance and deplatform the bad actors, which I'm very glad to see happening, if far too late.
Mourning the Movie Year That Wasn't - 2021 is going pretty badly for theaters so far, with most major releases (except the Warner/HBO Max titles) being delayed later and later into the year. We have many titles now delayed eighteen months or more solely due to the pandemic, including the "A Quiet Place" sequel and "No Time to Die." The new delays aren't hitting me so hard this time, though, because I've been actively trying not to have too many expectations for how the year is going to go. I haven't written up any "Most Anticipated" lists for new movies, I haven't registered most of the new round of schedule changes, and I've barely been aware of the awards season this year, thanks to the Oscars being pushed back. And on that note…
Why Are They Pushing Back the Oscars? - The Academy's delay tactics feel like they didn't have any real effect at all. The handful of major contenders like "Minari" and "Nomadland" that were delayed to February ended up having simultaneous online premieres anyway. I think "The Father" is the only real holdout left that doesn't have some kind of digital premiere lined up. Anyway, there turned out to be plenty of good films in contention this year, and the way releases are being planned, there will be plenty in contention for 2022 too. "Mank" turned out to be pretty lackluster, so I'm rooting for "Nomadland."
On Media in the Time of Corona and Late Night Under Quarantine - Well, it was fun while it lasted. As the use of Zoom for interviews has normalized, bubbles and testing protocols have been rolled out, and many sectors of television and film production have gotten back to work, all those special Corona-era webseries and podcasts have been mostly running their course. This hasn't been without the usual bumps and setbacks, of course. There was the notorious Tom Cruise rant, a slew of the CW shows were paused due to testing delays, and several reality shows have been suspended indefinitely. And, of course, there are the unlucky programs, like "GLOW," that Corona has killed off entirely.
"Sandman" is Coming - Oh boy, it's actually happening. We've got an initial casting announcement! Gwendoline Christie is playing Lucifer! They genderswapped Lucien(ne)! Good luck everyone, and don't screw this up!
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