We’re in Jacksonville, Florida with the kids for the holidays. I was joking with a fellow Comcaster that all I really need for happiness is my laptop, Comcast High Speed Internet and Comcast Video On Demand. That’s sure the case this week.
Work intrudes, even on vacation for those of us who love both technology and the people who enjoy it. And between tweets as @comcastscott at www.twitter.com (and the usual checking of emails and such) I watched of one of my favorite late 60s / early 70s TV series, Hawaii Five-0 over at www.fancast.com. Check out the “To H-E-double-tooth-picks with Babe Ruth” episode. All the original cast members are there in this 1969 tome about a soldier who never got the word that the Second World War was over. Look for Mr. Spock’s dad, the superb character actor Mark Lenerd, as the bad guy in this pristine print from the series second year. Jack Lord’s hair is a perfect as ever and it’s great to see both Chin Ho and Kono along side Helen Hayes’ blue eyed son James McCarthur as Dan-O.
Later on, I surfed through the Comcast On Demand menu and found some other treasures, a whole bunch of episodes of The Rat Patrol. This series came out in 1966, when color TVs were just taking off and starred Christopher George and a young Eric Braden (Victor Newman in The Young and the Restless). It’s brought to you free, courtesy of the new Tom Cruise movie Valkerie (look for the trailer in the on-demand library), which is also about WW Duce.
The free HD movies in our December On Demand line-up include a bunch of my faves. There are several super sci-fi selections, including the Back to the Future trilogy (I like volume 3 best), The Fifth Element and the original Andromeda Strain (far superior to last year’s Benjamin Bratt remake). With Batman The Dark Knight on deck on the pay-VOD side of the fence and a DVR recording I made of the TNT presentation of the Directors Cut of Blade Runner, my daughter’s 52 inch HD set is getting a total work-out.
Even South Park is now available in HD On Demand, for Free. Yup, I’m one of those who alternately cringes and cracks up whenever Cartman gets his regular comeuppance.
It’s interesting that the greatest number of emails and Tweets I’m getting this month are thank-yous for our on-demand fireplace video. You can enjoy a crackling yule log even if you don’t have a chimney. Reminds me of how popular the Weather Channel still is for many of us as “video wallpaper”.
For all of us who blog and tweet about our beloved company, here’s hoping that you and yours have a terrific holiday and a joyous New Year. One of the best things about this year has been the hundreds of new friends I’ve made in my conversations with you about Comcast on the Internet. The 100,000 Comcasters who live to serve you are grateful for your business in 2008. We look forward to a Comcastic 2009!
