Entertainment

• Secrets of Jerusalem's Holiest Sites, Tue, Dec 19, 10 PM, National Geographic Channel
• After Jesus - The First Christians, Wed, Dec 20, 7 PM, CNN
• Christmas in Yellowstone (trailer), Sun, Dec 24, 8 PM, PBS

Tonight we watched Brokeback Mountain (2005,R) (Screen It! Review). From Wikipedia:

Brokeback Mountain is an acclaimed and controversial Academy Award-winning 2005 film that depicts a complex emotional, sexual, and romantic relationship between two men in the American West from 1963 to 1983.

I give it 4 out of 5.

The other night I was watching Hardware on BBC America. It caught my attention because it was recommended by The Week and features Martin Freeman (who I enjoyed in the original version of The Office and The Robinsons). I realized that I didn't like Hardware at all. I realized that I didn't like it because of the laugh track (or that it was a laugh-track type of show). I grew up on sitcoms like everybody else, but I've apparently evolved to the point that I can't take a laugh track. I started to think about the other shows I watch, and it's pretty much true. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report...but those are real laughs, not a track. I watched the first season of Lucky Louie, but that's was the only example I could remember.

Tralfaz was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs with a 5-point loss. I thought it was a decent rookie season for the coach who made his share of mistakes but did OK. I've been referring to Tralfaz as "our team", but apparently Elliot wasn't happy with my management and insists that he wants to have his own team next year...a 6-year-old with his own fantasy football team? He was excited when I was talking about "next year" because he thought I meant January. He's got the Backyard Football computer game that he loves, and he's started writing down the stats from the games he plays (T=touchdown, S=sack, Fr=fumble recovery). Tonight I watched CostasNOW. Like always, the montage summary of the year in sports tugged at your heart strings, especially with Explosions in the Sky as the soundtrack. Also, Charles Barkley admitted that he's lost between 5 and 10 million dollars gambling.

Here are some TV recommendations from The Week magazine:

• Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers, Mon, Dec 11, 9 PM, Sundance
• Wedding Wars (trailer), Mon, Dec 11, 9 PM, A&E
• The Lost Room (trailer), Mon-Wed, Dec 11-13, 9 PM, Sci Fi
• Taking the Hill (trailer), Tue, Dec 12, 9 PM, Discovery Times
• One Punk Under God (trailer), Wed, Dec 13, 9 PM, Sundance
• Harvey, Sun, Dec 17, 2 PM, Turner Classic Movies
• Explorer: Secret Lives of Jesus, Sun, Dec 17, 9 PM, National Geographic