Advent was likely first celebrated in the fifth century, originating from the tradition of fasting several times a week, beginning on St. Martin de Tours’ Feast Day (November 11th) and concluding on Christmas Day.

In modern times, Advent always starts about four weeks before Christmas, on the Sunday closest to St. Andrew’s Feast Day (November 30th).

I thought it would be fun to highlight some pop-culture advent calendars and it is also an excuse for me to create some short videos showing me opening up that day’s gift.

After spending a lot of time looking around, I can tell you that there are a number of really crap pop culture advent calendars. But I opted to try the Hallmark Wine Advent Calendar and I picked up a small Dukes of Hazzard Advent Calendar that will no doubt be disappointing on several levels.

I have to admit that I am tempted by the first annual Fox News Wine Advent Calendar, but it’s $89.99 and I don’t want this idea to turn into a massive money sink.

I’m still looking for suggestions, so feel free to let me know if you found something worth checking out.

The election returns from Tuesday have reopened a question that seemed settled only a year ago: whether the federal government will once again help pay for public broadcasting.

Democrats’ capture of both the House and Senate gives the party a path to put public media funding back on the congressional agenda in January. It does not guarantee a rescue. Any proposal would have to survive negotiations with the White House, where President Donald Trump retains veto power, and a debate over who gets to define “public” and “objective.”

The stakes are visible in communities already affected. Congress’s decision to eliminate $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting set in motion the CPB’s dissolution and removed a major source of support for stations, PBS and NPR. Since then, stations have cut local programs, educational outreach and staff. Some have reduced or ended over-the-air service; rural and Tribal communities, with limited broadband and fundraising, face particular risks. Nearly 600 public-media jobs have been lost since July 2025, according to figures cited by Protect My Public Media.

For Democrats, restoring federal investment could be a policy goal and an answer to the damage. But simply reviving the old Corporation for Public Broadcasting may not be the plan. Created for a media landscape dominated by television and radio, the 1967 model was built around different media habits and needs.

A more likely opening may be a redesigned system that treats public media as civic infrastructure, not just a network of broadcast stations. That could mean competitive grants for small, rural and Tribal outlets; dedicated support for local reporting and locally produced documentaries, arts and children’s programming; and funds to maintain transmitters, emergency-alert capacity and shared technical services. Grants could also help stations reach audiences online and in multiple languages, while supporting partnerships with libraries, schools and community organizations.

That approach echoes calls from public-media advocates for universal access to fact-based news, trusted local information and cultural programming on every platform. It also offers lawmakers a way to argue that federal dollars are supporting communities rather than underwriting a handful of nationally recognized brands.

The politics would still be difficult. Conservative critics have long accused NPR and PBS of liberal bias and ideological influence. A new funding plan would face demands for stronger transparency, editorial independence and accountability. Supporters will have to make the case that public funding should protect diverse, locally rooted voices, not dictate what those voices say.

The election has changed the odds, not settled the argument. The need is greatest where commercial newsrooms have retreated. A Democratic Congress could begin with targeted grants and infrastructure aid, then build a framework over time. The question may no longer be whether Washington can recreate the CPB exactly as it was. It may be whether lawmakers can design something more resilient: a system that helps communities make their own journalism and culture, and ensures reliable information is not determined by a ZIP code, broadband connection or the size of a local donor base.

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Warner Bros. Television has suffered another legal setback in its fight against the estate of legendary author and television creator Michael Crichton, with a California appeals court ruling that the lawsuit over HBO's The Pitt can move forward.

In a decision issued Wednesday, November 4, a three-judge panel upheld a lower court's refusal to dismiss the estate's central claims against Warner Bros. Television. The ruling means the dispute will proceed into discovery, with a potential jury trial now on the horizon.

At the heart of the lawsuit is an increasingly complicated question: Is The Pitt an entirely original medical drama, or is it essentially an ER revival that was repackaged after negotiations with Crichton's estate fell apart?

Sherri Crichton, Michael's widow and representative of his estate, has maintained that Warner Bros. attempted to circumvent contractual protections her late husband negotiated when he created ER in the 1990s. Those agreements included a so-called "frozen rights" provision requiring mutual approval before the studio could produce sequels, remakes, spinoffs or other derivative works based on the series.

The estate argues that Warner Bros., along with ER executive producer John Wells, actor Noah Wyle and The Pitt creator R. Scott Gemmill, initially developed a revival of the original series before transforming that project into The Pitt when an agreement with Crichton's estate could not be reached.

The similarities aren't difficult to understand. Wyle, who spent 15 seasons playing Dr. John Carter on ER, now stars as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch in The Pitt. Both programs revolve around the relentless pace of emergency medicine, with overlapping medical emergencies, frantic hospital environments and young doctors struggling to navigate the pressures of their profession.

Even the storytelling structure has raised eyebrows. The Pitt unfolds across a 15-episode season, with each installment representing approximately one hour of a single 12-hour emergency-room shift. The estate contends that the real-time approach has roots in Crichton's original ER concept.

Warner Bros. has consistently rejected the allegations, arguing that The Pitt is an independent creative work with different characters, storylines and a distinct identity. The studio and the other defendants previously attempted to use California's anti-SLAPP statute to have the lawsuit dismissed before trial.

The appeals court, however, concluded that the estate had presented sufficient evidence for its contractual claims against Warner Bros. Television to proceed. Importantly, the ruling does not establish that The Pitt illegally copied ER or that Warner Bros. breached its agreement. Those questions remain to be resolved. The decision also distinguishes Warner Bros. Television from the individual defendants, whose exposure to certain claims was narrowed by the appellate ruling.

Crichton, who died in 2008, originally developed ER from a screenplay inspired by his experiences as a medical student. The series premiered on NBC in 1994, became one of television's defining medical dramas and ran for 331 episodes before concluding in 2009.

For Wyle, the legal dispute has been an unfortunate complication surrounding the success of his return to the medical-drama genre. In a 2025 interview with Variety, the actor described the situation as deeply disappointing, saying he had hoped the original ER project could have become a partnership with Crichton's estate. He maintained that the creative team moved in a different direction once the revival became impossible.

Following Wednesday's decision, Sherri Crichton expressed satisfaction with the outcome and said she looked forward to presenting the case to a jury. She also emphasized the broader implications for writers, creators and the estates that inherit their intellectual property rights.

With The Pitt having established itself as one of HBO's biggest recent television successes, the stakes extend well beyond a dispute over creative credit. The case could become an important test of how studios interpret longstanding contractual protections when developing new programming from previously negotiated properties.

For now, Warner Bros. has another legal battle ahead, and the legacy of Michael Crichton's most successful television creation remains very much in play.

A lot of different people were doing alternative election coverage streams Tuesday night and Status had a rundown of some of the major ones in tonight’s newsletter:

I flipped around a lot, but my primary choice was MS NOW, using the app and my MS NOW membership. It worked pretty well on the TV with a Roku stick. But I also have an ONN roku-native TV and using an app on that television was frustrating, because I regularly received an error message informing me that I had lost my internet connection (spoiler: I had not). It was a bit frustrating.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4TH:
A Dog’s Perfect Christmas (Netflix)
All’s Fair Season Two Premiere (Hulu)
Church Wives Series Premiere (BET)
Harry Potter: Wizards Of Baking Season Premiere (Food Network)
Secrets Of The Dead: Saving Tangier Island (PBS)
Stick Season Two Premiere (Apple TV)
The Greatest (Prime Video)
The Remarried Empress Series Premiere (Disney+)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH, 2026:
Black Doves Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
Mistletoe Murders (Hallmark)
North Of North Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
One Year To Live, Buy A Man (Netflix)
Overacting (Netflix)
Snowbody Like You (UP tv)