In which we debrief on some pastimes

I resisted installing YouTube on my Roku until last night, when the Sondheim tribute gave me no choice. My feeling until then was that the last thing I needed on the widescreen was wall-to-wall PewDiePie, which overshadows much of my opinion of the service. But I have to admit that, in reality, I am not above watching a video or two, but I think of them as snacks during the day, breaks from the main business, a very occasional pleasure. When I watch TV, I watch TV. Big screen, comfy chair, no distractions—I’m in it for whatever it is I’m watching. Lots of people I know watch TV while they read, eat, fornicate, et cetera, which to me distracts from the enjoyment of the program. Then again, when I et cetera I inevitably have music playing, and I know people who never think of music as a background and wouldn’t consider for a moment doing anything when they’re listening to music other than listening to music. (Note: Mozart would be surprised at that, btw.) Anyhow, I’m now set up, and the challenge will be to resist things like endless plunges into Fred Astaire dances and amusement park videos. We’ll see.

By the way, the Sondheim was a joy. I can’t imagine that if you are the potential audience you weren’t watching it, but just in case, check it out. Too bad that now you won’t see the false start: it was really heartening that broadway.com could screw up so blandly. Poor Raul.

On the entertainment front, I caught My Name is Dolemite on Netflix over the weekend. It got great reviews when it was released, and I have to admit it had me regularly laughing out loud. Highly recommended. And rather than pursue the new Hillary Mantel, which I did buy in preparation for finishing off the trilogy, I switched over to Master of the Senate. Sort of the same thing, in a way, with different players. There’s nothing like high politics for great drama. Caro starts off with a critical history of the Senate before dropping LBJ into the mix. God, that Caro knows how to write! Meanwhile Cromwell will have to cool his heels for a while. 

Other commentary: season three of the The Crown was a letdown from the first two seasons, mostly because the history is less interesting, as is the soap element. Colman is great, as is Helena BC, but it’s just not the same as their characters age. Still, it’s not as if I won’t watch again when the next season arrives. I think in the meanwhile I’ll attack the second season of Broadchurch to get Colman’s ER2 cleared out of my mind. That show is, shall we say, different from this one. Say what you will about the royals, there’s no child molesting. Much.