Ben-Nadav Hafri

I relied on quite a few studies in researching this, and I put a link to the bibliography in the show notes, should you want any references for starting your own local movement. Special thanks also to Douglas Kupas, whose work helped launch the field of siren reform studies, Mike Tagemann, Helen K. Rosenthal, Stephen Solomon, and Paul Bergman. I'm Ben Manifafri.

I relied on quite a few studies in researching this, and I put a link to the bibliography in the show notes, should you want any references for starting your own local movement. Special thanks also to Douglas Kupas, whose work helped launch the field of siren reform studies, Mike Tagemann, Helen K. Rosenthal, Stephen Solomon, and Paul Bergman. I'm Ben Manifafri.

The really alarming music you're hearing right now was composed by Davies owner Joe Saba for the trailer of the Michael Bay film Ambulance.

The really alarming music you're hearing right now was composed by Davies owner Joe Saba for the trailer of the Michael Bay film Ambulance.

Unlike Malcolm, I am a great lover of Christmas movies. Every year, as soon as Thanksgiving's over, I'm firing up The Bishop's Wife, Miracle on 34th Street, or It's a Wonderful Life. And then there's my favorite Christmas movie, a little less famous. The 1945 romantic comedy Christmas in Connecticut. I've watched it pretty much every year since I was little.

Unlike Malcolm, I am a great lover of Christmas movies. Every year, as soon as Thanksgiving's over, I'm firing up The Bishop's Wife, Miracle on 34th Street, or It's a Wonderful Life. And then there's my favorite Christmas movie, a little less famous. The 1945 romantic comedy Christmas in Connecticut. I've watched it pretty much every year since I was little.

Barbara Stanwyck plays a magazine columnist who's famous for entertaining on her grand Connecticut farm. She's known as a great cook. It's the end of World War II, and her magazine's publisher has an idea for a great feature. She'll host a returning war hero for Christmas on her farm. There's just one problem. It's all a lie. She doesn't live in Connecticut.

Barbara Stanwyck plays a magazine columnist who's famous for entertaining on her grand Connecticut farm. She's known as a great cook. It's the end of World War II, and her magazine's publisher has an idea for a great feature. She'll host a returning war hero for Christmas on her farm. There's just one problem. It's all a lie. She doesn't live in Connecticut.

She lives in a tiny apartment in New York, and she has no clue how to cook.

She lives in a tiny apartment in New York, and she has no clue how to cook.

Chaos ensues. It's a classic screwball comedy and a total delight. But the thing I really want to tell you about in this episode is what happened after I discovered, quite by accident, that there was a remake of this favorite Christmas movie of mine. An action-packed, star-studded, joke-filled, really very different version of the original. Made for TV.

Chaos ensues. It's a classic screwball comedy and a total delight. But the thing I really want to tell you about in this episode is what happened after I discovered, quite by accident, that there was a remake of this favorite Christmas movie of mine. An action-packed, star-studded, joke-filled, really very different version of the original. Made for TV.

And directed by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger. A kind of shocking twist, if you ask me. I mean, why would the Terminator take on Christmas in Connecticut? So I did what any good Christmas fiend would do. I talked to a dozen people about something that happened 30 years ago for way too many hours to get the real story.

And directed by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger. A kind of shocking twist, if you ask me. I mean, why would the Terminator take on Christmas in Connecticut? So I did what any good Christmas fiend would do. I talked to a dozen people about something that happened 30 years ago for way too many hours to get the real story.

And I discovered in the process what I have come to regard as the greatest Christmas tale of all time.

And I discovered in the process what I have come to regard as the greatest Christmas tale of all time.

That's Stan Brooks. In the early 1990s, he was an independent made-for-TV movie producer.

That's Stan Brooks. In the early 1990s, he was an independent made-for-TV movie producer.

TNT launched in 1988, at the start of the cable television revolution. Then as now, cable was expensive, but it was growing. The whole game was trying to raise awareness to get people to sign up. And with channels running 24-7, there was a lot of space to fill, which led to a boom in made-for-TV movies. Stan's first film on TNT was a big success, so he got another bite at the Apple.

TNT launched in 1988, at the start of the cable television revolution. Then as now, cable was expensive, but it was growing. The whole game was trying to raise awareness to get people to sign up. And with channels running 24-7, there was a lot of space to fill, which led to a boom in made-for-TV movies. Stan's first film on TNT was a big success, so he got another bite at the Apple.