Clawdette

My favorite memory of axe throwing is Ed Ames hurling the blade smack dab into the crotch of a silhouette of a man on the Johnny Carson show.

I was running some last minute errands and passed a display of Hallmark cards. Staring right at me was a Christmas movie bingo card! I wish I had taken a photo of it. I can't remember who in this forum came up with her own bingo categories but I'm sure she had all of these covered.

The Biltmore Estate still belongs to the descendants, the Cecil family (pronounced Ses-al, I believe.) It's the oldest privately owned home in the United States. Daff mentioned that she would have liked to see it in warm weather and the gardens are beautiful. When I watched The Guilded Age, I couldn't help but think about the race to build such opulent homes. Of course, those were in New York while Vanderbilt decided to build in the mountains of North Carolina as a retreat. With 250 rooms, it was quite a getaway site.

I just read in our state newspaper that in January Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Polaha will begin filming a Christmas movie at the Biltmore House in Asheville. Talk about eye-popping scenery! A Biltmore Christmas I'm sure Hallmark is capitalizing on the estate still being decorated for this Christmas season. It's a fabulous house and is especially elegant during Christmas.

I enjoyed Hanukkah on Rye and loved the character interaction. While the grandmothers were familiar to me I don't remember seeing the parents in other programs. It's nice to see folks not in regular rotation. I also enjoyed Five More Minutes, etc. It may be because I am a widow that I was inclined to find it touching. And another cameo - Nikki Deloach!

Since this regards an actor who has previously appeared in Hallmark movies, I'm posting this here. Neal Bledsoe has left the Great American Family because of Candace Cameron's comments and Bill Abbott backing her.

In my original post about my interpretation of Bure's actual platform of making Christian movies, I should have phrased it as her brand of Christianity as opposed to the broad umbrella of Christianity. My Christian beliefs bear no resemblance to hers and I believe are reflective of many other Christians, too.

Let me say at the outset that I am trying to write this in an explanatory manner and not in a judgmental one. I'm just trying to communicate my take on the new Candance Cameron Bure movie on GAC, A Christmas . . . Present and her stated intention to deliver more programming reflective of "traditional family values." But I don't think she stated what her intent really is: to deliver Christian-themed movies. I don't know whether she thought labeling them "traditional family movies" would be more appealing to more people than "Christian movies" or whether she didn't really think about the difference in those groups of adjectives. Traditional families are not exclusive to Christianity. Traditional families are present in every culture and religion, so theoretically, GAC could produce movies about a traditional Muslim family or Buddhist one. I don't think that's what CCB or GAC have in mind. A Christmas . . . Present was overtly proselytizing and I don't say that as a criticism but as a description. Church and faith were woven throughout the script in a forthright manner. There is nothing wrong with that but I think CCB should have been upfront with what her real intentions are. Don't couch them in traditional values instead of Christian values. I am a practicing Christian but I generally don't watch any Christian programming. I appreciate that the stations/networks/streamers that carry it are clear about what they are delivering. CCB and GAC should be upfront, too, and describe their programming as Christian oriented if that's what it is.

I enjoyed The Noel Diary. The road trip was especially well done and Bonnie Bedelia and James Remar were both excellent in their roles. I like my heartstrings tugged every so often.

Kristoffer Polaha sighting in Haul out the Holly. I love these cameos as a wink to the fandom. And Eric Mabius, too!

And I'm partnered with Geordie Keating - I'll take that! The quiz is certainly spreading the wealth.

I was only half-way watching/listening to The Holiday Swap (I work from home) and I knew who the swapper was as soon as he was introduced. I did make a point to snap to at the very end to make sure my deduction was correct. If the script had been better and if the performances hadn't been so flat, but, there you go.

I didn't watch Family Matters so Reginald will always be Sgt. Al Powell to me! I hope we see him again in future movies.

Robert Buckley’s character was a writer. You may be thinking of Matt Cohen’s character in Holiday Date. He was an actor pretending to be Brittany Bristow’s boyfriend. This was a Hallmark movie.

The Christmas Contract was my introduction to Robert Buckley. I love that movie, too!

Let me echo Irlandesa’s opinion about Christmas Bedtime Stories. As the signs kept mounting I reassured myself that Hallmark would never opt for a cliche like that. Absolutely sloppy and irresponsible.

I noticed that Paul Greene (Hallmark) and Tyler Hilton (Lifetime) have scored CBS movies.

I watched Noel Next Door and enjoyed it. I must offer the caveat that I am always working on my computer while I watch and the movie engaged me enough that I didn't have to rewind to see what I missed. Here's the main plus for me. Cory Sevier was matter of fact about his handicap. Yes, he was definitely a curmudgeon, but he wasn't maudlin and wallowing in self-pity. There was the usual "house is too nice for a single mother struggling to pay her bills" but Christmas decor in that house was not extreme. Not a bad out-of-the-gate entry.

I think that the appeal of the Hall of Fame movies truly lay in the stories being told. The scripts were well-written and covered a range of topics that needed highlighting, particularly mental illness and complex family dynamics. Yes, many had the heart-warming endings but they usually felt earned and were often bittersweet.

I just came to see if a forum for Professionals had been set up. I'm going to give it a try.

I saw a Christmas ad this afternoon and realized that it is only 10 days until the Christmas movies roll out. I know I'm getting (much) older but it seems this year is flying by at a pace I haven't experienced before. I'm still debating how much of my Halloween stuff to drag out!

I had forgotten that the Lincoln Project wasn't founded until Late 2019. It certainly got its stuff together for the 2000 race to the election.

dttruman, my niece is of the opinion that Price prosecuting would be verboten in our neck of the woods. I thought of something else I really like from the episode. There was no outburst from the defendant at the trial, only glaring. That's all we needed from him after seeing his initial tirade.

I also really liked the episode. I don't work in either the state or federal legal systems so I can't comment on the credibility of the sharing of the case and the assignment of lead counsel. My niece is an assistant district attorney, however, and I do know that markers are given and taken. Sometimes it's because someone really want to prosecute the case. Other times they really don't want to prosecute it. Both state and federal systems are overwhelmed with cases. I can freely imagine that if the federal government had the opportunity to hand off a case to a state court along with the pledge to seek the federal desired result, they'd find it an appealing deal. As is usual, the Law portion of the evening was stronger than the Order part. Shaw and Cosgrove are settling into a grove and Dixon and her sign language were a nice touch. I also liked that we had a real overlap between the two groups with Price's involvement in the crime.

Maybe it was because I read this thread before I started the movie but it all made sense to me. I do agree that a call back to the serial murder would be a great follow up. I want to know what each of those folks did to tick off Teryl Rothery to the extent she became a serial killer. I forgot to mention that the voiceover reminded me of William Holden in Sunset Boulevard. The whole mystery vibe.