Why I Won't Sign Up for Threads

Ever since Twitter changed ownership in October 2022, users have been leaving the microblogging service for other social media services. I joined Mastodon, then a few months later Spoutible and finally Bluesky (it was still by invitation then). Following the election and changes to Twitter's (I refuse to call it "X") terms of service, even more people left. Many left for Bluesky. I abandoned Twitter entirely and devoted myself almost entirely to Bluesky. One microblogging service I have never considered and still won't is Threads, Meta's take on microblogging.

Now Meta has fixed some of the objections that I had when Threads first launched in July 2023. While one still needs an Instagram account (which I already have) to use Threads, your Instagram account is no longer deleted if you delete your Threads account. One can also now access a chronological feed on Threads. While these problems have been fixed, Threads still has one major problem which prevent me from ever signing up for Threads.

The first is that Threads does not have hashtags per se. I have always found this curious, given both Instagram and even Facebook have hashtags, even though few people I know actually use them on Facebook. I have no idea why Meta decided not to allow the use of hashtags on Threads, particularly given hashtags originated on Twitter and are part of nearly every other microblogging service out there. Of course, while Threads do not have hashtags, they do have what they call "tags." Now Thread's tags do have one advantage over hashtags in that one can actually tag phrases in which the words have spaces between them. Unfortunately, that is about the only advantage they have over hashtags. Indeed, one can only use one tag per post. For example, if one were watching Out of the Past (1947) on Noir Alley on TCM, they might hashtag any live posts they made to Bluesky "#TCMParty #NoirAlley #OutOfThePast." On Threads they would have to choose only one of these tags for their post. Many people I know who live post movies on Bluesky generally use more than one hashtag per post. They will post a hasthag for the channel or show they are watching the movie on (for instance, #TCMParty or #Svengoolie) and the name of the movie (for instance,#Frankenstein). This is impossible on Threads.

Beyond limiting users to one tag per post, there is also a petty irritation regarding tags on Threads. Quite simply, tag searches are sorted by algorithm by default. and I am not sure there is any way to sort tag searches chronologically. Even if one can sort tags chronologically, the fact that they are sorted by algorithm by default is unappealing. Even on Twitter as it is now, one can click on "Following" and almost never see the algorithm sorted feed. I have to think Threads, being a Meta product, sorting tag searches chronologically is probably a bit more bit tricky. Of course, on Mastodon, Spoutible, and Bluesky there is no algorithm....

Ultimately, it seems clear that Threads is not for me, nor was it ever designed for people like me. Indeed, I have to wonder if Meta even meant for Threads to compete with Twitter and other microblogging services. It certainly seems different given its use of an algorithm and its use of "tags"instead of hashtags. At any rate, regardless of how much Meta might try to promote it in Instagram from time to time, I am not signing up for it.

A Merry Little Christmas: Essays on Christmas in Film & Television

On November 10 of this year my latest book was published. It's titled A Merry Little Christmas: Essays on Christmas in Film & Television. It contains essays on  movies from It's a Wonderful Life to Love Actually and television specials from A Charlie Brown Christmas to Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas. You can order it on Amazon here.

Michael Cole Passes On

Michael Cole, who played Pete Cochran on The Mod Squad, died yesterday, December 10 2024, at the age of 84.

Michael Cole was born on July 3 1940 in Madison, Wisconsin. He did not know his biological father. As a young child he lived with his mother and his older brother in his maternal grandmother's house. When he was 16 he dropped out of high school and married his girlfriend, who was already pregnant. They would have another child before they divorced when Michael Cole was 20. Michael Cole left Wisconsin for Las Vegas, where he worked as a bartender. It was on the advice of Bobby Darin that he moved to Los Angeles. There hew as homeless for a time. Fortunately he met acting coach Estelle Harman. She let him sleep on a bed on her stage at her workshop and gave him acting lessons for free.

Michael Cole made his film debut in 1961 in Forbid Them Not, starring Jose Ferrer. He made his television debut in 1966 in an episode of Gunsmoke. Aaron Spelling offered him the role of Pete Cochran on The Mod Squad after Michael Cole came to the attention of a casting director after he had read a scene from Picnic with another one of Estelle Harman's students. Initially Michael Cole turned down the role, not particularly wanting to play a young person who informed on other young people to the police. At last Michael Cole relented and he would spend five seasons on the show. In the Sixties Michael Cole also appeared in the movies The Bubble (1966) and Chuka (1967). He guest starred on the show Run for Your Life.

In the Seventies Michael Cole continued to appear on The Mod Squad. He guest starred on the shows Get Christie Love!, Police Story, Wonder Woman, Flying High, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, The Love Boat, CHiPs, The Littlest Hobo, and Beyond Westworld. He reprised his role as Pete Cochran in the TV reunion movie The Return of the Mod Squad. He appeared in the mini-series Evening in Byzantium.

In the Eighties he appeared in the movie Nickel Mountain (1984). He guest starred on the shows Fantasy Island; Vega$; CHiPs; and Murder, She Wrote. He appeared in the two-part TV movie IT (1990), based on the Stephen King novel fo the same name.

In the Nineties he had a recurring role on the soap opera General Hospital. He guest starred on the shows Shades of LA, Good Sports, Acapulco Bay, Diagnosis Murder, and 7th Heaven. He appeared in the movie The Apostate (2000). In the Naughts he guest starred on the television movie series Mystery Woman and the TV series ER. He appeared in the movie Mr. Brooks (2007).

Michael Cole will probably always be remembered as Pete Cochran on The Mod Squad, the rebellious son of a wealthy Beverly Hills family who winds up working for Police captain Adam Greer (Tige Andrews). Much of the show's success was probably due to Michael Cole's performance, as well as those of his co-stars Clarence Williams III and Peggy Lipton. Of course, he also appeared in other roles during his career. He appeared in two episodes of Murder, She Wrote, playing Earl Tuchman in the episode "Murder, She Spoke" and Police Lieutenant John Meyerling in the episode "The Big Show of 1965." In the Get Christie Love! episode "Deadly Justice" he played a police academy dropout who begins killing criminals. Michael Cole would play a wide variety of roles, and played all of them well.

Godspeed Julie Stevens

Julie Stevens, who played John Steed's partner Venus Smith on The Avengers and co-presented the British children's how Play School from 1966 to 1979, died on December 5 2024 at the age of 87. She had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019.

Julie Stevens was born Julia Bulias on December 20 1936 in Prestwich, Lancashire. There she attended Philips High School. She trained as a nurse at the Manchester Royal Infirmary. When she was twenty a talent contest led to her signing with former broadcaster ABC Weekend TV. She made her television debut in 1958 as the voice of a secretary in an episode of the TV series Armchair Theatre. In 1959 she appeared in two episodes of the show All Aboard.

In the Sixties she was cast as Venus Smith, a nightclub singer who was also a partner of secret agent John Steed, in the second series of The Avengers. She began co-presenting Play School, a BBC2 programme aimed at preschool children, in 1966 and continued to do so until 1979. In 1967 Miss Stevens presented the long-running children's show Watch with Mother. Towards the end of the decade and the first part of the Seventies, she was one of the stars of the sitcom Girls About Town. She guest starred on the shows Our House, The Human Jungle, Z Cars, and Friday Night. She played the hand maiden  Gloria in the movie Carry On Cleo (1964).

In the Seventies she continued as a presenter on the show Play School and also appeared on its sister program Play Away, which was focused on older children. She provided vocals on songs for the children's show Look and Read from 1978 to 1992. She was one of the regular performers on the children's show Cabbages and Kings. Julie Stevens later vocals for songs on the children's show Through the Dragon's Eye. She made her last appearance on television in a guest appearance in an episode of Holby City in 2001.

Julie Stevens also served as the personal manager of Sir Harry Secombe for many years.

On The Avengers Venus Smith was not a particularly demanding role, but Julie Stevens made the character more interesting than she might have otherwise been and also got to show off her singing voice.In Carry On Cleo she got to display a more comedic side than she had on The Avengers.  She certainly had an impact on a generation of British children co-presenting Play School. Brits who grew up with Play School, as well as fans of The Avengers and the "Carry On..." films paid tribute to her on social media. Julie Stevens was clearly beloved, and she will always be remembered as John Steed's first female partner and the co-presenter of Play School.