by Sam Juliano
The Top 80 Greatest Television Countdown is fast approaching the Top 10, and with it a conclusion to Phase One this long-running project. The longer section will commence in mid-December. The annual Caldecott Medal Contender series will also be launching within one week and will continue at the rate of two to three reviews a week until mid January. Obviously it will run concurrent with Part 2 of the Television Countdown for about four weeks. But running both at the same time will pose no problem at all.
The past week has been very difficult. My father’s older 94 year-old sister passed away late Sunday at a hospice location in North Jersey. She lingered there for eight days without food and water and Lucille and I were there daily. She is the mother of my beloved cousins, the late Bobby McCartney and Douglas and Jeffrey McCartney, both of course who were there daily holding vigil. Douglas lived with my Aunt his entire life. An extremely close aunt through all our lives, and a time of great sorrow.
It goes without saying that no films were seen in theaters this past week, and close to nothing was seen at home, aside from television episodes of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” in preparation of the review I will handle for Part 2. Both my assignments remaining for the currently running countdown – Star Trek and MASH will be limited affairs beceause of this awful family passing, as I have have little opportunity nor the spirit to write anything, and the upcoming days with the funeral services are my only real focus.
