’tis Almost The Season Again For Snow

General

Minneapolis Snow Emergency’s Twitter feed @MinneapolisSnow reminds us that despite the recent brief stint of Indian Summer, there’s snow in our future.   They kindly informed everyone that November 1st is the first date they’re allowed to declare a Snow Emergency.  And while there’s a chance of flurries in our region this week and we’re all getting ready for Halloween, it’s those dreaded winter months that we should all prepare for.

It’s a good time to get the snow tires organized and ready to be installed.  Make sure your AAA membership is up to date, find the battery charger and make sure it’s working, and maybe take the snowblower in for an oil change and general maintenance before the shops get overwhelmed with procrastinators.

And speaking of @MinneapolisSnow, be sure to follow their Twitter feed so that you’ll get timely notices of Snow Emergencies.  I had my car towed last winter and, believe me, you don’t want to go through that nightmare.

An Oasis in TV’s Vast Wasteland

Entertainment and Media

I was frustrated after I botched my recent post about the showing of “The Thin Man” on PBS recently, but that was like passing wind in a hurricane compared to how stupid I felt when I discovered that TPT had been showing one of my favorite British detective programs for quite some time.  I am an unabashed Anglophile, especially when it comes to British television.  I come by it in two ways, first by heritage, and second by having been spoiled while I was living in the San Francisco area where we could see three local PBS stations – each of them very good in their own way.  But I digress.

The show in question is called “New Tricks”, which revolves around a special unit that primarily investigates cold cases.  The squad is made up of three “old dogs” – retired detectives with ages of experience and an uncanny ability to suss out the missing pieces of the cases they’re handed.  They’re old pros who know where all the bodies are buried, and who buried them – whether the good guys or the bad guys.  It’s a textbook example of a show that’s mentally challenging, character-drived, and often funny as hell.

The cast (from left to right) consists of: Brian, the emotionally troubled detective with a near-photographic memory for cops, crooks, and crime statistics; Sandra, the smart and sassy leader of the squad who turned a no-win situation into an amazingly effective team; Jack, the clear-thinking anchor of the team who often talks out cases with his beloved late wife Mary while standing over her grave in his back patio; and Gerry (down front), the thrice-divorced cowboy with a sketchy history, whose not afraid to bend a rule here and there.

It’s showing at 9PM on Saturdays on TPT Life – channel 2.3 over the air, channel 13 on Comcast Minneapolis, and channel 17 on Comcast St. Paul.

Another little gem from the British Isles has returned to TPT called “Black Books”.  This is definitely not your conventional sitcom.  These folks are well and truly bonkers.  From the BBC’s blurb:

“Bernard Black is grumpy, very grumpy. He does not understand the ordinary world and has created his own safe haven within the grubby confines of the shop. Bernard is driven by his own alcohol-fuelled logic and anyone attempting to buy a book from him is more likely to meet with the full force of his foul temper than they are to leave his shop with a purchase. Bernard loves his books and hates his customers. Bernard’s devotion to the twin pleasures of drunkenness and willful antagonism deepens and enriches both his life and that of Manny, his assistant. Bearded, gentle, sweet and good, Manny is punished by Bernard relentlessly for the crime of existing. They depend on each other for meaning as Fran, their oldest friend, depends on them for distraction. Bereft of her loathed business concerns, Fran struggles to find significance in between struggling to find her cigarettes and reasons for another drink.”

“Black Books” is showing on TPT Channel 2 at 10PM or 10:30PM on Mondays and Thursdays.