What was the last TV show you watched?

[AmateisGal]

The PBS documentary, GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II. Quite good.

Here's the link if anyone wants to watch: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gi-jews/video/gi-jews-jewish-americans-world-war-ii/

 

[Doctor Strange]

Both of my (Jewish) parents served in WWII... So I DVR'd it and am really looking forward to it... But I just had to watch The Americans live on its initial broadcast last night!

And it was another fantastic episode. The Americans remains an outstanding drama in its final season.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Okay, I watched GI Jews, and it was indeed excellent. I was very moved by the end.

I had two very minor, strictly personal complaints:

In discussing Jewish women in service, they mentioned the Army, Navy, and nurses... but not the Marines, which was my mom's branch!



And in the outstanding section on the liberation of the concentration camps, I expected to see something about our rabbi when I was a kid, Rabbi Klausner, as he'd been a chaplain who was important in those operations. But he wasn't mentioned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Klausner

It is an outstanding documentary. Definitely recommended.

 

[Fading Fast]

Okay, I watched GI Jews, and it was indeed excellent. I was very moved by the end.

I had two very minor, strictly personal complaints:

In discussing Jewish women in service, they mentioned the Army, Navy, and nurses... but not the Marines, which was my mom's branch!

View attachment 114298

And in the outstanding section on the liberation of the concentration camps, I expected to see something about our rabbi when I was a kid, Rabbi Klausner, as he'd been a chaplain who was important in those operations. But he wasn't mentioned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Klausner

It is an outstanding documentary. Definitely recommended.

I take it that is a picture of your mom, she looks awesome in her uniform. Also, very cool and, quite understandably, emotional for you that you have such close-and-personal connects to WWII.

What were your mom's duties as a female Marine in WWII?

 

[Doctor Strange]

She spent most of her service at El Toro Marine Base in California, and raised to the rank of sergeant. She mostly worked in the machine shop, on parts for Corsair planes. Like so many WWII vets, she didn't dwell on her time in the service or talk about it much with us. Some of the things that came out over time:

In the same kind of classic rural-folks-meet-their-first-Jew story that appears in the documentary, one of her bunkmates asked her, "Teddy, are you a Hebrew?" And when she answered yes, she continued in all seriousness, "Then where are your horns?"

In the same kind of "between battlefield brotherhood, and shock at concentration camp liberation, sense that we were all in this together and we have to do better" that the documentary suggests helped lead to the civil rights movement, the lady Marines went on a sympathy strike for better treatment of the base's black kitchen staff.

She was busted to corporal for making "her own" knife in the machine shop rather than her assigned work. She used to say, "Guys headed overseas were offering me fifty bucks for the knife... but I lost a stripe over it and figured I had to keep it."



She had a series of wild adventures driving up the coast to Oregon on an extended leave.

One of her bunkmates once slid into her cot in the middle of the night, and she said, "Sorry, I don't do that." She always insisted to us as kids that she kept her virginity throughout that time... but we don't believe it. She had a boyfriend named Virgil for a while, and for a Marine, seems to have gotten along usually well with the Navy!





And she was still a pistol when I was a kid, a freethinking woman who had always been "liberated" and was happiest hanging out with auto mechanics and in hardware stores. She - not my dad - did all kinds of wiring, plumbing, and carpentry, and had a workshop where she repaired pendulum clocks. In 1968, she took a night welding course at the local trade school and produced piles of interesting sculptures.



She - and my dad - were both exemplary greatest generation types. They were, and in memory remain, an inspiration to me and my sister.

 

[Fading Fast]

She spent most of her service at El Toro Marine Base in California, and raised to the rank of sergeant. She mostly worked in the machine shop, on parts for Corsair planes. Like so many WWII vets, she didn't dwell on her time in the service or talk about it much with us. Some of the things that came out over time:

In the same kind of classic rural-folks-meet-their-first-Jew story that appears in the documentary, one of her bunkmates asked her, "Teddy, are you a Hebrew?" And when she answered yes, she continued in all seriousness, "Then where are your horns?"

In the same kind of "between battlefield brotherhood, and shock at concentration camp liberation, sense that we were all in this together and we have to do better" that the documentary suggests helped lead to the civil rights movement, the lady Marines went on a sympathy strike for better treatment of the base's black kitchen staff.

She was busted to corporal for making "her own" knife in the machine shop rather than her assigned work. She used to say, "Guys headed overseas were offering me fifty bucks for the knife... but I lost a stripe over it and figured I had to keep it."

View attachment 114301

She had a series of wild adventures driving up the coast to Oregon on an extended leave.

One of her bunkmates once slid into her cot in the middle of the night, and she said, "Sorry, I don't do that." She always insisted to us as kids that she kept her virginity throughout that time... but we don't believe it. She had a boyfriend named Virgil for a while, and for a Marine, seems to have gotten along usually well with the Navy!

View attachment 114302

View attachment 114305

And she was still a pistol when I was a kid, a freethinking woman who had always been "liberated" and was happiest hanging out with auto mechanics and in hardware stores. She - not my dad - did all kinds of wiring, plumbing, and carpentry, and had a workshop where she repaired pendulum clocks. In 1968, she took a night welding course at the local trade school and produced piles of interesting sculptures.

View attachment 114306

She - and my dad - were both exemplary greatest generation types. They were, and in memory remain, an inspiration to me and my sister.

That is wonderful - great information, great pics and, as you said, an inspiration.

I believe I've posted this before, but one of my dad's friends loved to tell the story of when he went to basic training for WWII in the south (I'm sorry, I no longer remember which state - think Alabama or Kentucky, but not really sure).

He was a NY / NJ area kid raised in the same "ethnic" neighborhood my dad was where the Germans, Irish, Jews, Poles, Hungarians, and on all had some representation - all played together, fought each other (and made up), ran in and out of each other's houses, etc. Hence, they were all familiar with Catholics, Jews and several branches of Protestantism.

In basic training, he says the sergeant - a scripted-out-of-central-casting Southern drill sergeant - came out one morning during announcements and told the troop that all the "Jew-Catholics" could get a pass for the upcoming Jewish Holiday (I don't remember which one it was).

My dad's friend said it took him awhile to realize that the sergeant thought Jews and Catholics were some amalgam which was made up of "anyone not Protestant."

 

[Doctor Strange]

My dad grew up in Manhattan and reported similar experiences in the Army Air Corps. He'd enlisted before Pearl Harbor, and his first assignment was the recovery/rebuilding operation there.



He spent the last two years of his tour in Gulfport, Mississippi, running a photo darkroom staffed by civilian women, and was a frequent visitor to New Orleans, where he had a "patron" and a gallery showing of his photographs. He became a pro photographer after the war.





Both of my parents considered their experiences in the service "the making of them" - introducing them to the world beyond NY and forging the interpersonal and professional skills that would serve them going forward.

(Sorry to have derailed this thread. This stuff should really be in the WWII forum.)

 

[AmateisGal]

She spent most of her service at El Toro Marine Base in California, and raised to the rank of sergeant. She mostly worked in the machine shop, on parts for Corsair planes. Like so many WWII vets, she didn't dwell on her time in the service or talk about it much with us. Some of the things that came out over time:

In the same kind of classic rural-folks-meet-their-first-Jew story that appears in the documentary, one of her bunkmates asked her, "Teddy, are you a Hebrew?" And when she answered yes, she continued in all seriousness, "Then where are your horns?"

In the same kind of "between battlefield brotherhood, and shock at concentration camp liberation, sense that we were all in this together and we have to do better" that the documentary suggests helped lead to the civil rights movement, the lady Marines went on a sympathy strike for better treatment of the base's black kitchen staff.

She was busted to corporal for making "her own" knife in the machine shop rather than her assigned work. She used to say, "Guys headed overseas were offering me fifty bucks for the knife... but I lost a stripe over it and figured I had to keep it."

View attachment 114301

She had a series of wild adventures driving up the coast to Oregon on an extended leave.

One of her bunkmates once slid into her cot in the middle of the night, and she said, "Sorry, I don't do that." She always insisted to us as kids that she kept her virginity throughout that time... but we don't believe it. She had a boyfriend named Virgil for a while, and for a Marine, seems to have gotten along usually well with the Navy!

View attachment 114302

View attachment 114305

And she was still a pistol when I was a kid, a freethinking woman who had always been "liberated" and was happiest hanging out with auto mechanics and in hardware stores. She - not my dad - did all kinds of wiring, plumbing, and carpentry, and had a workshop where she repaired pendulum clocks. In 1968, she took a night welding course at the local trade school and produced piles of interesting sculptures.

View attachment 114306

She - and my dad - were both exemplary greatest generation types. They were, and in memory remain, an inspiration to me and my sister.

Wow! What fantastic pictures and what an amazing woman!!! Thanks so much for sharing.

 

[AmateisGal]

Finished up season 4 of The Wire. I guess Baltimore is still the number one city in the US for heroin. So very sad.

 

[1mach1]

Schitts Creek. Eugene Levy and his son, along with Catherine O'Hara, make this one not to miss. A hidden gem.

 

[AmateisGal]

A few episodes of Luther. I have a thing for Idris Elba.

Also, many, many episodes of Season Five of The Wire. Honestly? It will almost be a relief to be done with this series since I can't stop watching it and I don't get much else done.

 

[Fading Fast]

Schitts Creek. Eugene Levy and his son, along with Catherine O'Hara, make this one not to miss. A hidden gem.

It looks us almost the first season to get into it, and, even now, I'm not sure why we enjoy it. The character Stevie and the dad are the ones that shine the most for us and, while both are nuts, both also seem to understand that everyone else around them is more nuts so they provide some grounding in sanity, albeit from shaky ground.

 

[Doctor Strange]

The new two-part Elvis documentary on HBO.

I've never been much of a fan - by the time I got into pop music, he had made all those awful movies and was well into the fat old Elvis phase - but the doc made some good arguments for his musical and social importance. And how Colonel Parker's awful mismanagement destroyed him. (E.g., Elvis always wanted to, but never toured overseas... and it wasn't an artistic or business decision... it was because Parker was secretly not a US citizen and didn't want his illegal status revealed!)

I don't know that another long-form Elvis documentary was really necessary, but it was interesting enough.

 

[campbell166]

I tried Netflix series Lost in Space....
But was disappointed

 

[Steve27752]

I tried Netflix series Lost in Space....
But was disappointed

It was awful, I hate it when things are changed too be PC...............Dr Zachary Smith is now a woman!

 

[AmateisGal]

Done with The Wire. What a show. Wow. So many things to extrapolate from it.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

Divorce. free HBO week. I don't understand why a 25-minute show is only eight episodes per season. The cast has great chemistry. Enjoyable show.

Andre the Giant. documentary. I think it is great these old tour-grinding wrestlers are getting some attention. Not going to leave you speechless, but again, enjoyable history of a pocket of sports and entertainment. It's interesting how he was a side-show attraction who sold out arenas because unless you bought tickets to the wrestling events, you could only see a photo or two of him in the rare wrestling magazine or when a local newspaper covered wrestling. You want to see him? You have to leave the house. Forgotten times.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

The Journey of Natty Gann. Well done, with a slight tv feel, and for FL members, the hats are plenteous and fine. If you are unfamiliar with it, about 1936, single dad Sol with daughter Natty struggles to find work. A job is available in far-off Washington so dad hops company bus without being able to let his kid know. Most of the movie is Natty's trip to locate her father. A wolf is worked into the story line, and helps as only a movie wolf can.

And the season finale of When Calls the Heart.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

The Journey of Natty Gann. Well done, with a slight tv feel, and for FL members, the hats are plenteous and fine. If you are unfamiliar with it, about 1936, single dad Sol with daughter Natty struggles to find work. A job is available in far-off Washington so dad hops company bus without being able to let his kid know. Most of the movie is Natty's trip to locate her father. A wolf is worked into the story line, and helps as only a movie wolf can.

And the season finale of When Calls the Heart.

What a revoltin' development this post is. Top part should've been in the movie thread. Sorry...

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

What was the last tv show I watched? We've been trying to like the Netflix reboot of Lost in Space, but poorly written stories against a backdrop of pretty good CGI planetscapes are still poorly written stories. Mrs. Shellhammer and I agreed that we basically don't care about the characters, that there's not enough clarity about why some folks will lie, cheat, and kill to leave Earth and colonize other worlds, that the robot takes too long to make sense of its actions and inactions, and that "Dr. Smith" is evil because the writers needed her to do evil kinds of stuff.