Even when this was a movie blog, I didn't write about classic movies I saw on TCM (or rarely did so). I only wrote about a movies I saw in theaters as I traveled about the country and the world.
But I don't go to theaters much anymore. My TCM viewership goes through phases. Mostly when Jessica is out of town, as she is fairly often for work, and as she is right now, do I revert back to my old practice from Fort Collins 20 years ago, of leaving TCM on all day long and in the evening to keep me company. I joke that I discovered TCM in summer 2006 and "left it on for the next two years straight," while living in the basement of my friend Sarah and Chad's house on Edwards Street, one block north of my old high school, while I put my life together while going through divorce.
"Never get out of the TCM boat' became my motto (paraphrasing a line from Martin Sheeen in Apocalypse Now). The only exception I made to TCM on my tv was sometimes to change the channel to Comedy Central to watch the Colbert Report. Back in those days of the Bush presidency, Colbert was my go-to political commentary. I still feel the same way about Bush, but now I loathe Colbert and can't imagine giving him an ounce of attention at this point. But TCM survives.
I can't believe it's been twenty years since I found TCM. I remember that Susan Hayward was the star of the month when I first turned over to TCM. Every time I see a Susan Hayward movie I get a little nostalgic for those early days. I was confused, miserable, and lonely. It became a challenge to keep my wits about me, and to feel like life had meaning
TCM is still a great network, but in some ways it has degraded. Robert Osbourne, the original host who died in 2017, is still unmatched. The web site used to be much, much better. Now it seems designed by idiots and each upgrade makes it worse. Thankfully the wave of extreme "woke" commentary about Hollywood history has receded a bit (Oh my gosh they did blackface Let's all rend our garments and wail!). It never got as bad as I feared, and I can tune out the DEI programming for the most part.
I am thankful that TCM is still there, and has survived the post-Ted Turner attempts to shut it down. the budget has been slashed multiple times. It is only still on the air because somewhere within the Hollywood power structure are people who great influence who treasure it as much as I and others do.
After seeing a notable film on TCM, I often sit down and start writing up my reactions. Sometimes I finish them and publish them (see the last few entries), but often I poop out and leave them unfinished. I don't hold myself to any score. But it's always better to finish, and get something online and "in the can."'
I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955) may have been the first movie I watched TCM while living on Edwards Street in the summer of 2006.
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