Weekend Watching

Football 

The expansion of football to a Friday game after Thanksgiving (Jets) shows how networks and the sport want to stretch things. After all, last season, an additional game was added to the schedule. We also have the Thursday game not on regular television. This is also the case for many baseball games these days.

The usual schedule (at least for some time now) was that in December there were more Saturday games. I'm unsure if it came this early, but this weekend had three Saturday games on NFL Network. One (between the back-ups of the Vikings and Bengals) was even competitive!

There are some good back-ups in the NFL. Many teams now are playing back-ups. There is a mixture of talent. The Jets have a backup (who had a dubious game, somewhat mercifully shortened by injury) who teases you with occasional good games. 

The Giants' backup is a replacement-level sort that seemed safe but was mediocre in the limited time he played. The third string guy is a nice story. Came back to earth versus the Saints. The Giants are about to begin a killer final run with two games against the Eagles. 

The Jets are eliminated (no more fraction of a percent chance).  They were not going to beat the Dolphins, but the hope was that it would have been a tad more competitive than THAT. They have two more very realistic shots at a win versus the lowly Commanders (who show enough fight that it's no gimme) and the Pats (who the Jets have yet to beat for a long long time).  

San Franciso (after a mid-season three-game losing streak) has the division sewed up already. And, many races will likely go to the final week.

Christmas Films 

Last Sunday, I referenced a collection of holiday novellas, including one by Debbie Macomber. 

Macomber's book Trading Christmas was made into a Hallmark Channel film. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much that I watched it for at least the third time this weekend.  

One thing I enjoy about it is the multiple storylines including one with Faith Ford (then in her late 40s) which feels more mature than many Hallmark Channel films. The multiple kissing also is rather risque for that channel.

The cast is also made up of various people who are known for other more serious or quirky works than Hallmark Channel films. Tom Cavanagh and Gabrielle Miller played the second couple in this house swap film (2011). They add to making the film not feel much like a Hallmark Channel film as such. I didn't see it on television so borrowed it from the library. Check it out if you can.

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Friends & Family Christmas has a Sunday night premiere. It has a somewhat generic title. "Family" does play an important role, including the POC retired parents of one love interest who was a college roommate and the father of another love interest. 

The parents do play an important role. One couple has significant air time. The bits about a long-married couple engaging with each other are handled nicely.  I did not catch what happened to the mother of one of the love interests unless I missed it. The ending wrap-up was rather forced.

The special hook here is that the film is a full-fledged lesbian love story. That is, the lesbians are not just one subplot, but the main story. The familiar face is Ali Liebert (who played a lesbian in the Canadian television series Bomb Girls; she is openly gay), who has also done some directing.  

(I have noted in the past that Hallmark has actively tried to be more diverse in recent years. Multiple films have had gay and lesbian content, including in the primary storylines.) 

The film as a whole was pleasant. Ali Liebert's performance just seemed off to me. I suppose her emotionally restrained performance fits the character's story arc of someone who has yet to get over a failed relationship. Nonetheless, she seems rather stiff and made up in an unattractive way.  

The couple does have some chemistry. I don't think the film gives them enough interaction to underline that they are falling in love. Maybe, it is a question of too many things happening, including a somewhat overbearing supporting character getting more air time than you might expect. 

Overall, I was somewhat disappointed with the whole thing though it was watchable and overall flowed fairly well. Plus, again, the parents (less so Ali's father) were interesting characters in their own light. The additional touches there made the film interesting. There are so many of these films out there. If a film has interesting touches, they stand out. 

Also, the film actually took place in New York City (though we didn't see much of it). Most of these films take place in small towns or something.  

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Catchy TV instead of the usual "binge" had a bunch of Christmas-related content, including Fonzie getting a present from his long-lost dad.  

Coming soon: a re-watch of the charming The Muppet Christmas Carol. 

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To keep things up, the Blondie film was Blondie In The Dough, which is a fitting title (often they are bland and not very plot specific) since she started a cookie business. 

I saw parts of it, after seeing a bit of it when it ran once before. It has the usual aspects, including a collection of storylines that come together. Decent entry.