innerspaceboy

Cooped up in snowy Buffalo for the ice storm. Reports are coming in saying there are widespread power outages but so far I still have heat and power.

I spent the day taking in the Fawlty Towers series (1975-1979) for the very first time off my server. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes by the British Film Institute in 2000 and, in 2019, it was named the greatest ever British TV sitcom by a panel of comedy experts compiled by the Radio Times.

I've generally abstained from screening the last 30 years of television but I made the exception for this retro classic and for John Cleese. I'm glad I did. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

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rubber soul

As a Monty Python fan, I have to say, Fawlty Towers is the best thing any of the Pythons came up with post the Python series. Cleese is absolutely hilarious as the uptight concierge.

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Lisnaholic

Yes, Fawlty Towers is with good reason up there in the "unassailable" category. It doesn't hurt that only 12 episodes were ever made.
In contrast, those Chuck Lorrie sitcoms (Two And A Half Big Bang Theories) are really funny at first, but kind of outstay their welcome imo. Characters start out amusing, but can get irritating by Season 27.

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Guybrush

It's great. Though about the British Film Institute's list, it seems weird to put it above Flying Circus.

The greatest ex-python things for me are the Terry Gilliam movies Brazil and The Fisher King <3 The Fisher King kinda works as a dark Christmas movie too.

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rubber soul

If you're talking Terry Gilliam, you should also check out the Adventures of Baron Munchausen, one of the greatest movies for children ever.

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Guybrush

Of course I've seen Munchausen several times since my first viewing sometime in the 90s. I slightly prefer Time Bandits, though.

Munchausen might be a contender for having the best Grim Reaper in a movie.

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jadis

My favorite is Tideland

Stephen

Making my way through Doom Patrol.

innerspaceboy

Tonight I queued up the classic Twilight Zone episode, "A Stop At Willoughby" from 1960 for the first time. Brilliantly written, acted, and shot, and the twist gave me goosebumps like the finest speculative fiction should. I can see why the episode is a fan-favorite. They even do a subtle name-drop to "Bradbury" during the episode, as the writing style is markedly Bradburian.

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Chula Vista

Funny you mention Bradbury. Was just thinking about 'Something Wicked this way Comes' and what a brilliant/scary story it is.

The confrontation between Mr. Dark and Charles Halloway in the library...

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“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”