Entertainment Archives - Emusements by Randy Parker

How I Tamed Peak TV with EpisodeCalendar

December 28, 2018

I’ve always been an avid but discerning viewer of both movies and television. I have gone through periods where I’ve focused more on one than the other, but for most of my life, I probably would have named movies as my favorite art form. In the past ten years, however, television has arguably become more compelling than movies, as we have moved into an era of “Peak TV” where the number of “must-see” shows (especially scripted dramas) has far exceeded…

How I Introduced My Kids to Star Trek

December 13, 2018

Randy Parker

Entertainment, Star Trek

I am a first generation Star Trek fan. TOS (The Original Series) debuted about a year before I was born and concluded when I was almost two years old. I watched the show after school while it was in daily syndication in the mid-1970s, along with my other favorite show at the time, Batman starring Adam West. Back then, kids could easily discover Star Trek in organic ways. The show was in syndication across the country on broadcast television. TAS…

The Walking Dead Or The Handmaid’s Tale – In Which Dystopia Would You Rather Live?

December 10, 2018

Randy Parker

Entertainment

Where would you rather live? In a zombie apocalypse where the flesh-eating dead run rampant and the comforts of modern society have disappeared. In a totalitarian government where fundamentalist religious zealots run rampant and personal freedom and liberty have disappeared? I have been thinking a lot about this question lately. Dystopian Television Series For the last 10 to 15 years or so, dystopian TV shows have been in vogue as a genre. Most of them have been set after an…

Remembering Mornings with Alex Bennett, the King of Comedy

October 26, 2018

Randy Parker

Entertainment

If you were plugged into the stand-up comedy scene in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1980s and 1990s, then you most likely remember The Alex Bennett Radio Show, where nearly all of the comics of the day appeared to promote their gigs. If the name Alex Bennett does not ring a bell, you still may be interested in reading on — provided you have a passion for radio or interest in stand-up comedy. For everyone else, this post may…