Briefs for July 29-30, 2018

So the Disney and Fox merger is going to go ahead. The CNBC link above focuses on a lot of the streaming stuff, which is understandable, since some of the services would be duplicated as is, from what I can tell. The article says next to nothing about programming on any of the cable channels, so who knows what's going to happen to FXM and whether FXM Retro will still be around after the merger is finalized? I remember writing when the switch to FXM back at the start of 2012 that I would be surprised if the old movies lasted six months. I find it rather ironic that if the channel dies it's more likely to be because of a merger.

Tonight's TCM lineup includes what I believe is the TCM premiere of Phone Call From a Stranger, at 8:00 PM. I can't believe it's been over nine years since I blogged about it. It's well worth another watch. TCM seems to have had greater success in recent years getting Fox movies on the lineup, although I have no idea if that's going to change with the Disney/Fox merger.

TCM put up this year's Summer Under the Stars website. I like it, although I'm normally just looking for basic information presented in a minimalist design. I don't want clutter, pop-ups, auto-play video, and stuff like that, and the page as is doesn't do any of that.

One thing I didn't mention when I blogged about East Side, West Side yesterday is that it's available in a box set as well as the standalone DVD from the Warner Archive. The other odd thing is that before this weekend, when I looked up East Side, West Side on the TCM Shop, the standalone DVD was supposedly on backorder. That doesn't make sense to me considering that it's part of the MOD scheme, but there you are.