Hamilfans

Given that the country is all cooped up this July 4^th weekend, I am betting the showing of Hamilton on Disney+ is going to have Super Bowl-like ratings. Who would have thought on Jan 1, 2020, that our shared national experience over the July 4^th weekend was going to be watching an intellectual, historically-themed Broadway musical performed by a mostly Black cast?  2020 – you are one unpredictable bitch.    

I am sure we are not the only kid-free household to pony up the $6.99 needed to start our Disney+ subscription for the occasion.  And who knew…. Disney+ comes with a free subscription to the National Geographic channel. I don’t want to say Rita is excited, but I am going to go ahead and pencil that $6.99 into the family budget for the rest of time.  My days of watching the History channel on the main TV are probably over.  

And the brand new Nat Geo channel is perfectly timed given that Rita just had ankle surgery and is spending 24 hours a day in bed where there is only so much meditation you can do.  Here I thought I we were signing up for a channel full of cartoons and instead I get a redux of the college biology class I dropped out of [for a reason].  Bedridden Rita + National Geographic channel = way more discussions than McC wanted about the world’s coral reefs.

And National Geographic is not JUST more shows telling us where our food comes from [I really thought we had mostly solved that mystery when we bought a farm].  The current lineup includes an eclectic array of programming:

•  “Wicked Tuna -All-star captains go head-to-head when tuna season opens”.  Y’all.  We can make a reality series out of fishing?  We deserve 2020.
• “The Hot Zone – A US Army scientist puts her life on the line to head off an outbreak of the Ebola virus in 1989.”  Ummmm….what’s she doing now? 
• “Doomsday Preppers” Which is exactly what you think it will be.  Based on her uncanny preparedness for Covid - I don’t think Rita needs any more inspiration on this topic. 
• “Locked Up Abroad” Who exactly is the target audience for this one?  People thinking of committing a crime overseas?  [Incidentally, judging by the volunteers who agreed to go on national television and tell their stories, you would be surprised how many foreign incarcerations are the result of being framed.]
• I also noted there are a disproportionate number of television shows about Everest on the National Geographic channel.  So many that it makes me wonder if a TV special is some sort of prize for climbing Everest.  Like…instead of getting a t-shirt when you eat that 40 oz steak, summitting Everest gets you your own TV special.

If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the basement clandestinely watching Dumbo.