On December 4, immediately after Chapter 14 of the deeply satisfying Star Wars-themed The Mandalorian was released online, my three sons a...
On December 4, immediately after Chapter 14 of the deeply satisfying Star Wars-themed The Mandalorian was released online, my three sons and I settled in to watch the new episode of our favourite show. This one – it was directed by Quentin Tarantino’s close friend and regular collaborator Robert Rodriguez – was all action and special effects. But then the unexpected: fiendish, robotic Dark Troopers descended to kidnap “Baby Yoda” whose adorably burbling presence is the emotional centre of gravity in this series. Looking over at my shocked 12-year-old, I saw him burst into tears. My eyes were spilling over too, but not exactly for the same reason.
Television has never been a big part of our family life. When the boys were younger, I enforced strict blackout on “the idiot box” and resolutely steered them towards our library shelves, or, alternatively, downstairs to play. Even after they grew older and acquired screens of their own, I sternly resisted any satellite, cable or digital subscriptions for the family.
This year, however, the pandemic has rearranged our lives so thoroughly that I was compelled to relent. Now have a couple of streaming services and assemble ensemble to watch something in the evenings...
