# What? TCM you are breaking me. Bad bad bad programming and decisions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [August 31, 2024, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501 "2024-08-31T03:52:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/41 "2024-09-03T17:15:14Z")
He was already in the Army when O’Connor met him. They were serving in the CBI (China-Burma-India) theater of WWII, and Donald used him to spy on the Japanese. (Francis was apparently bilingual—he would listen while the Japanese talked.) ---
**Author:** ![john\_b\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@john\_b\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/john_b_2)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/42 "2024-09-03T17:20:41Z")
Agreed. The Frank Capra original is a masterpiece; flawed, yes; and now a somewhat ragged piece of work, and its qualities, albeit not pc (in today’s strict sense), it’s a liberal humanist fantasy. Time hasn’t been as kind to it as it as been to Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life, yet it has a beauty, and a dignity, all its own. The closing scenes in Shangri La, with the melancholic music, and a “chanting” accompaniment, is deeply moving; for me, it’s mesmerizing. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/43 "2024-09-03T17:30:49Z")
The 1973 _Lost Horizon_ had songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It’s the movie that broke up their long-time, very successful partnership. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/44 "2024-09-03T20:13:39Z")
What the heck? That’s interesting. And funny. Gonna watch for those. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/45 "2024-09-03T20:26:41Z")
Why don’t you go to [tcm.com](http://tcm.com) or the TCM channel on a streaming device and watch a movie you want to see? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/46 "2024-09-03T20:58:33Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > They had some funny moments. I think they first appeared in the A&C movie “Comin’ 'Round the Mountain,” then got their own series. Marjorie Main was perfect as Ma Kettle. I thought they were introduced in the movie _The Egg and I._ They were a bit more restrained there, but I didn’t care for them in any other movies. Just a one note joke and tiresome. Marjorie Main was a decent actor, but Ma Kettle buried her. She did a variation on the character in _The Women_ and was actually funny though. ETA: Damn, I didn’t know so many people were up on the Kettle family! I actually liked _The Egg and I._ But I preferred the book she wrote when she had TB and was sent to a sanitarium. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/47 "2024-09-03T21:15:53Z")
Two reasons. Don’t stream out here in the boonies. Doesn’t work for me. I like to watch the same thing maybe 1000s of others are watching. At the same time. Plus I have a watching buddy. We watch together, text back and forth, our thoughts. Eh, it’s fun to do. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/48 "2024-09-04T06:21:23Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > ETA: Damn, I didn’t know so many people were up on the Kettle family! I actually liked _The Egg and I._ But I preferred the book she wrote when she had TB and was sent to a sanitarium. She also wrote the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books we read to our kids. Funny stuff. I’ve never seen the series or movie of them - I’d hate to ruin my memory of the series. ---
**Author:** ![Strenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Strenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strenger)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/49 "2024-09-04T10:26:13Z")
That’s a damned goodpoint I never thought about. We got Dana Andrews as…I don’t remember…he was 4F or something. But Fred wasn’t a low-life (well, not in the picture **2x Indemnity** oh, wait…) just a regular saxophone playing shlemiel. Not that Dana Andrews was any low-life…but he sort of single-handedly took over the leading man role for films of a certain nature for a number of years. I don’t know if he’s considered well-known especially these days, but he was in a bunch of stone classics. Hmmm…the topic could make for a good essay or book or something. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/50 "2024-09-04T12:03:30Z")
Earlier this year they fired almost every one at TCM for cost cutting. The brain drain is almost certainly going to effect the channel’s quality of programming. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/51 "2024-09-04T12:28:23Z")
TCM is on Max and is enough to justify the cost. TONS of classic stuff there. I’ll say this for TCM, they’ve so far been immune from network decay and stayed pretty true to their mission. Themed marathons are fine in my book, if you don’t like the current theme just wait for one you do like. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/52 "2024-09-04T12:57:53Z")
Who they fire? Robert died a few years ago. He’s the only one I miss. I’ve been watching TCM a few (ahem…10-12 years) Seems like the same folks there and they added some. I love Eddie. His noir alley is the bomb. His intros crack me up. Besides August under the stars my biggest beef right now is that dang commercial for the Warner Brothers tour where they race the buses. So stupid. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/53 "2024-09-04T14:56:01Z")
My mother had a huge crush on Dana Andrews. I’m sure I’ve seen him in a lot of old films, but I remember him most from _ **The Purple Heart** _ and _ **The Best Years of Our Lives** _, both of which are on my list of favorite movies. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/54 "2024-09-04T15:46:38Z")
before we moved and killed off our cable I watched the midnight movies on Saturday on tcm occasionally … lol talk about drive-in trash …but that was its selling point in advertisements … ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/55 "2024-09-04T16:04:39Z")
An elderly friend of mine who died about 10 years ago dated her once or twice. He said she was between husbands at the time. I think it was after Reagan (and Ayres) and before Karger. He said she was gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/56 "2024-09-04T16:12:04Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **The Best Years of Our Lives** _ I found Harold Russell’s grave in a small town cemetery west of Boston. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/57 "2024-09-04T16:25:16Z")
I’ve read all her books (except her children’s books) and enjoyed them all, plus a biography of her. The “Kettles” were a family that was actually named Bishop, I think, right?. I think most of them weren’t as shiftless as she portrayed them to be. One of the sons used to go over and do chores, as her first husband, Bob, was abusive and a moonshiner who left her and the babies alone for doing ays at a time. The Bishops sued her for her portrayal of them, but in part because they’d marketed themselves as The Kettles and charged people to see their farm, they lost the case. Mrs. Bishop seems to bear little resemblance to Ma Kettle. MacDonald wasn’t scrupulous about sticking to facts. In the book _The Egg and I_, Ma Kettle was a colorful and kindly character. In real life, she seems to have been kindly but not that colorful. Beck, _The Bowery Boys_ were pretty popular back in the day, and I remember my parents mentioning them in nostalgic conversations, but I don’t think Gorsey was ever hailed as a great actor. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/58 "2024-09-04T16:59:43Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > _I don’t think Gorsey was ever hailed as a great actor._ I caught one of those on TCM a few years back. Huntz Hall was actually pretty funny, to my surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/59 "2024-09-04T17:23:43Z")
Re: Jane Wyatt: > [@nelliebly](#): > > An elderly friend of mine who died about 10 years ago dated her once or twice. He said she was between husbands at the time. I think it was after Reagan (and Ayres) and before Karger. He said she was gorgeous. I think you have confused Jane Wyatt with Jane Wyman. The latter was married to Reagan and Karger. Neither actress was ever married to a Mr. Ayres. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501/60 "2024-09-04T17:24:29Z")
It was actually longer ago than I remembered but here is some info: > **[What's going on at TCM? The fight to protect the network and why it matters](https://ew.com/tv/tcm-insiders-detail-fight-to-protect-turner-classic-movies-network/)** > > Turner Classic Movies insiders detail the fight to protect the network in the wake of layoffs and why a TV station that is the torchbearer for cinema history is more important now than ever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tcm-you-are-breaking-me-bad-bad-bad-programming-and-decisions/1006501.md?page=4)