“What’s so Amazing that Keeps Us Star Gazing”
Brandon Priddy, Public Services Librarian During difficult times, nostalgia can provide a much needed escape. As a big TV fan, it’s a good time to revisit some television classics and take my mind off things for awhile. I suggest checking out Hoopla's Classic TV collection which has Bonanza, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Dark Shadows, Here’s Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Doris Day Show. For more recent comfort TV, you can check out 3rd Rock From the Sun starring John Lithgow, Absolutely Fabulous, and Hot in Cleveland starring Betty White. Library streaming video service Kanopy has you covered if you’re interested in documentaries on television history; I recommend the PBS series: The Pioneers of Television. The episode Funny Ladies features the “first standup comediennes to appear on television, including Joan Rivers and Phyllis Diller. Funny Ladies also looks at Lucille Ball's breakthrough on I Love Lucy and the sitcom stars who followed, including Mary Tyler Moore, Betty White and Marla Gibbs… and beloved variety star, Carol Burnett.” Later episodes in the series explore television superheroes, primetime soaps, such as Dallas and Dynasty, and the rise of the TV mini-series. You may also enjoy the Johnny Carson documentary King of Late Night, which “explores…dichotomy and enigma, unearthing clues about Carson's childhood, early days in the business, and personal and professional life.” If you’re a Muppet fan, you may enjoy watching the PBS series In Their Own Words: Jim Henson which “explore[s] the incredible life of the man behind The Muppets and so much more. Follow Jim Henson's career as he transcended puppetry to become one of the most creative, prolific, and influential artists of his time.” If you’d like to cheer up by listening to the “Rainbow Connection”, Hoopla has several Muppet albums, such as Muppets: The Green Album and The Muppets: Original Soundtrack. I hope you find something to enjoy. I also wanted to let you know that Glenn Flickinger’s series “Celebrating Our Citizen Soldiers: The 75th Anniversary of the End of WWII” continues on Tuesday, June 2nd at 5:30PM with his lecture “Invading Fortress Europe & the Battle for Normandy.” You can register for his lecture here. If you’d like to read more about the invasion of Normandy, I suggest checking out Omaha Beach: A Flawed Victory by Adrian R. Lewis which is available instantly on Hoopla. It “Mak[es] extensive use of primary sources, Adrian Lewis traces the development of the doctrine behind the plan for the invasion of Normandy to explain why the battles for the beaches were fought as they were.” I hope you can join us for his lecture via Zoom. If you’ve missed his earlier lectures, you can watch them on our website here. Take care, Brandon Priddy
Public Services Librarian
Mt. Lebanon Public Library |
