My 2018 Oscar Picks

By on March 4, 2018

Consider my “summaries” write-up as the intro to this column, assuming you got through it all.   I only include categories where I’ve seen all or most of the nominees.

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I added this intro part after I typed the original writing.  I typed this addition the night before the Oscars just before midnight.

After watching “The Shape of Water” a second time, it really came to life and blanks I didn’t realize were there for me were filled.  I have to note, in no particular order (I’m compelled to compare and contrast it to Best Picture co-favorite “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”):

  • I forgot how graphic the sex scenes are and how intensely vulgar Michael Shannon’s character is.  Those things just don’t come to mind when I think about the movie.
  • Michael Stuhlbarg’s Russian is outstanding and he is uniquely great in the movie
  • We’re getting so used to how good Shannon is, we’re spoiled.  He roars this movie forward in a way only he can.  It’s almost like del Toro has him on reigns to keep him under control until those moment when he cuts him loose.  A one-of-a-kind screen presence.
  • This movie has something “Three Billboards” lacks: movie magic, which is apparent in its every aspect.
  • Richard Jenkins’ character is very nuanced and has a lot of dialogue and a lot going on emotionally, and he plays frailty exceptionally well.  By contrast, Sam Rockwell’s character is very strong and more minimal (and primal) in the things he says and does.  It’s just that he does them intensely.  His character would get one word in while Jenkins’ character would get three or four plus Jenkins would have and recover from a nervous breakdown while doing so.  Two completely different characters played beautifully by two excellent actors.
  • Alexandre Desplat’s score is perfect for the film’s story, tone and visuals.  Desplat won the music score Oscar in 2015 for Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, in which he injected the same unique, clever and — I don’t like this next word but I can’t think of a more appropriate one — whimsical energy.  Now that I’m focused on it, it’s vibrant and overflowing with character.  At the time I’m writing this, Music Score and Song are the only two categories where I haven’t picked a winner in my column.  One down.
  • The use of music from the period (Desi Arnaz singing “Babaloo” and the swing band albums) and the old films seen on the TV and marquis add yet more magic and character to the film.  “The Shape of Water” is relentless in its charm, romance (the type I can tolerate) and drama, complete with scheming cold-war era Soviets.  This movie is not hurting for bad guys.
  • The pie counter guy is intensely homophobic and viciously racist in the same scene, although the way Richard Jenkins’ character grabs his hand is awkwardly and excessively presumptuous.  The scene is much more about his desperation than the counter guy’s bigotry, which is emphasized by the very next words he says (to Eliza), “I have no one.” I just got that.  Powerful and you really feel for the character, whose artwork is also rejected.  This movie has too much going on and moves too quickly to fully digest what we see and hear and react to before moving to the next scene.
  • Like fellow lead character Ansel Elgort in “Baby Driver”, Hawkins had to learn American sign language for her role.
  • This film is so much more layered and has so much more dimension than “Three Billboards.”  It’s like a brutal and elaborate fairy tale.
  • I now feel strongly that “The Shape of Water” and “Darkest Hour” are 2017’s two best films, and there are some very good ones in different genres and categories.  “Coco” is an amazing achievement on different levels and in different ways.  I believe it has the highest IMDB ranking of any film released this year.  “Coco”, “The Breadwinner” and “Loving Vincent” rejuvenated my appreciation for animation.  “The Boss Baby” and “Ferdinand” almost killed it.
  • The end of the intro narration says “. . . a tale of love and loss and the monster who tried to destroy it all.”  That’s classic fairy tale.  I really picked up a lot more this second time around.  Along with the “flooding” visuals that start the movie, that line beautifully prepares for either your ascension or submergence into the story.
  • I’m somewhat bothered by the Mammy-from-“Gone with the Wind” dialogue (with all due respect to Oscar-winning Hattie McDaniel) given to Octavia Spencer but, considering the period setting, I guess it’s appropriate.  Her delivery is pitch-perfect and it certainly helps define the character, who gains depth and perspective — as do all the good characters — enough to break away from her stereotypical mindset as the story progresses.  Does anyone really change in “Three Billboards?”  Should that be the criteria for what makes a good or Oscar-winning movie?  It’s all subjective.  Different movies serve different purposes.
  • In reading related articles online, it seems the plagiarism suit filed against the film is baseless.  It is also typical of what happens to successful films all the time; we just don’t hear about every lawsuit.  When I worked in Hollywood, it was repeatedly emphasized we never accept scripts from individuals for precisely that reason.  You can imagine how upset many of my friends or acquaintances were when I told them I could not take their script, and EVERYBODY has a script.  Everybody thinks their life story is movie-worthy.
  • I left “The Shape of Water” the first time hoping it would win all its Oscar categories and I still would love for that to happen.  If not for “The Shape of Water”, I would say the same about “Darkest Hour.”  I found both completely satisfying on a level above all the other 2017 releases.

Here are my picks for who I think will win.  I point out my sentimental favorites when they differ.

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Best Picture:

I will always curse the fact this category (and Christopher Nolan’s 2008 “The Dark Knight”, which is responsible for the change) is not limited to five nominees like it used to be.  Let’s make it easy by process of elimination:  “Lady Bird” is the weakest — as much as I enjoyed it — and should have been replaced by “Molly’s Game” (at least), then “The Post” (an obligatory nomination for its vital and timely anti-media-censorship message), then “Phantom Thread”, which wasn’t good enough to compensate for the fact I couldn’t connect with it (or wait for it to end).

I think “Darkest Hour” is a stronger contender than “Dunkirk” but the race has always been between “Three Billboards” and “The Shape of Water”, the momentum favoring SGA Cast and BAFTA winner “Three Billboards.”  “Get Out” is the dark horse (NPI) but it came out in February.  How much of it do YOU remember?  I recall its impact but little of its specific content, mostly because it was all so different and I never felt grounded in watching it.

For this category, I think about which picture will have the most staying power.  With that in mind, I’m going with Producers Guild winner “The Shape of Water.”  Let’s just hope they announce it correctly this time.  If it doesn’t win, I want “Darkest Hour” to win.  The more I think about it, the more I think “Three Billboards” cast a spell on everybody and “Darkest Hour” got rooked out of other nominations it deserved.

“Call Me by Your Name”
“Darkest Hour”
“Dunkirk”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Lead Actor:

This Oscar was won the moment “Darkest Hour” released and maybe even the moment SAG and BAFTA winner Gary Oldman was cast as Winston Churchill.  Long overdue, and he didn’t have to play a bad guy this time (unless you’re Viscount Halifax or a Nazi sympathizer).  Along with “Coco” in the Best Animated Feature category, the best bet of the night.  What may well be Denzel’s best-yet performance was lost/wasted on an incomplete movie.  His performance alone makes the movie worth watching.

Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

Lead Actress:

Playing a mute won an Oscar for Holly Hunter in Jane Campion’s atmospheric 1993 “The Piano”, and I thought it would help Hawkins as well.  Streep is a legend and perfection in “The Post”, but her nom should have gone to Jessica Chastain for “Molly’s Game.”  Robbie was great but it was never an Oscar role and she’s lucky to get the nomination.  She’s better than the role.  As much as I liked “Lady Bird”, nothing about it says Oscar win in any category.  Echoing her SAG (and every other major award) win and with her steamroller momentum, McDormand’s Best Actress Oscar for “Fargo” — after a 21-year wait — gains a partner.

As I mention in my article about when I attended the 1997 Oscars, I broke away from the Miramax group and headed to the Shrine Auditorium door after the ceremonies.  I needed fresh air to bring me back to Earth.  I bumped shoulders with McDormand (before I even realized she was to my immediate left) and congratulated her.  She replied with a face-splitting smile and husband Joel Coen on her other side, “Thanks, hon!”, flung open the door, raised her Oscar high and let out a victory scream for the waiting photographers.  What a moment.  Oddly, I don’t think of that experience when I watch “Fargo” every winter.  I only remember it during Oscar time.

Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Meryl Streep, “The Post”

Supporting Actor:

Harrelson’s best performance of a well-rounded character you’d want to be friends with — except for that one out-of-character-scene —  is off-screen.  Who knew the guy who played Woody would be the best actor to come out of Cheers?  Dafoe is true and authentic but one-dimensional in a movie I strongly disliked.  Jenkins’ performance is superior to Rockwell’s; it just lacks the intensity of Rockwell’s character. This is a case where I think back to Sir Ian McKellan’s swipe at Sir Anthony Hopkins when he said — and rightly so — “Performances don’t win Oscars, roles do.”  That was my thinking when I went back to watch Brian Cox as Hannibal Lechter in Michael Mann’s 1986 “Red Dragon”, which preceded the late Jonathan Demme’s 1991 “The Silence of the Lambs.”  I locked all the doors when that character appeared on screen.

SAG and BAFTA winner Rockwell adds this one to his trophy case with his first Oscar nomination.  (He was even better in Duncan Jones’ 2009 “Moon.”).  I didn’t see “All the Money in the World” but Plummer has to be acknowledged for stepping in to re-shoot all of Kevin Spacey’s scenes after the sex abuse allegation stories broke.  A class professional with a long and respected career, he will always be Captain Von Trapp to me.

Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Supporting Actress:

The best and most versatile actress of the group — by far — got the best role as well as the SAG award.  This one goes to Allison Janney, the sole reason I’m OK with “I, Tonya” being made at all (The movie is a lie and Harding was in on it all along).  I always enjoy Metcalfe and Octavia and both were wonderful.  I need to go back to see Manville in Mike Leigh’s 1999 Gilbert & Sullivan pic “Topsy-Turvy.”  I’m curious to see if Blige makes a return to this level of recognition for her acting.  “Mudbound” is worth seeing, no question.  You just have to be in the mood for it.

Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

Director:

Gerwig did a great job but not Best Director Oscar great.  PTA’s movie was hard to care about. “Dunkirk” is great but not Nolan’s best work.  I hate to see Peele’s effort not win and he may be the sleeper, just like his film.  Directors from Mexico won three of the last four Oscars and I think DGA winner del Toro is about to join them.  del Toro was talked out of quitting movies and this will be his reward.  No bull, another guild winner wins here.

“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro

Animated Feature:

“The Boss Baby” and “Ferdinand” are filler and I couldn’t get through either (but your kids might like them).  I enjoyed “Loving Vincent” but I’m not sure many people will even see it, which is a shame.  “The Breadwinner” is a visual treat — and proof that hand-drawn animation should never die — and an insightful look at current-day Afghanistan that high schools should show their students so they can see how good they have it.  Its story-within-a-story is an amazing injection of energy (and color) as well as powerful for the purpose it serves.  Not sugar-coated and not for young kids.  “Coco” is a clear head above all the others and one of the best and most complete movies of the year in any category.  Winner of almost every single award it was up for this year, another win for Pixar.  (It’s tragic that John Lasseter — one of Pixar’s founders — is yet another legendarily influential film person taken down by sexual abuse allegations, which are tragic in themselves.)

“The Boss Baby,” Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito
“The Breadwinner,” Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo
“Coco,” Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson
“Ferdinand,” Carlos Saldanha
“Loving Vincent,” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman

Adapted Screenplay:

If number of words was the sole criteria for this category, “Molly’s Game” would be a clear winner.  Between the on-screen dialogue and the narration, I’m not sure there was ever a 5-second verbal lull in in it.  I’d guess 95% of the dialogue was Chastain’s.  The source material for “The Disaster Artist” had to be too good for any adaptation to not be engaging.  “Logan” is so grounded in the real world, I forgot I was watching a comic book character, which is an achievement.  “Mudbound” is powerful and true and it owned my emotions from beginning to end but I think this one goes to WGA winner for this category, “Call Me by Your Name.”  It lingers in a way few other films do.  I need to see how that last scene reads in print.

“Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory
“The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
“Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
“Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin
“Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

Original Screenplay:

The nomination for “The Big Sick” is a nice acknowledgement for a good, personal story that otherwise has no business being on the ballots.  I find it hard to believe anyone thinks it’s better than Anthony McCarten’s ode to Winston Churchill and the English language, “Darkest Hour.”  “Lady Bird” is the second weakest in the group.  “Get Out” is so unique and so potent, I’m giving this to WGA winner Peele over the two movies likely to battle it out over Best Picture.  A win here would confirm his desire to quit acting — which would be a loss — to focus on writing and directing.

“The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh

Cinematography:

Sean Penn said Clint Eastwood’s first and most important recommendation to him as a director was to get the best director of photography he could, and Clint has to be considered one of the all-time Hollywood greats.

Morrison makes history by being the first women to get a nomination in this category and deserves to be in this group.  My favorite work was “Darkest Hour”, especially the overhead view of the bombs dropping and the way the camera pulled upward from closeups on the ground into the clouds.  Lausten’s dreamlike camera work is a huge contributor to  “The Shape of Water.”  “Dunkirk” looks good but lacks flash, which would not have been conducive to its story.  If you look back at my previous Oscar prediction articles, my sentimental favorite — when he was a nominee — was always this year’s ASC winner Deakins.  The 14th time is a charm and he is finally getting his due. This win for him is like the Eagles finally winning a Super Bowl.

Whoever wins should thank Emmanuel Lubezki — winner of the last three consecutive Oscars in this category — for not working on a 2017 release the same way Paul Simon thanked Stevie Wonder for not putting out an album upon winning the 1976 Best Album Grammy for “Still Crazy After All These Years.”  (Wonder had won the two previous years and then again the year after Simon won.  Simon would win again ten years later for “Graceland.”)

“Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins
“Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel
“Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema
“Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison
“The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen

Film Editing:

It’s hard to beat a war-action movie in this category, especially when “Dunkirk” won this year’s ACE/Eddie award and it’s the type of movie that wins awards.  The other three are all deserving (although the nomination for “I, Tonya” made me do a double take), but the editing in “Baby Driver” screams out at you the way Pietro Scalia’s did in his Oscar-winning 1991 Oliver Stone-helmed “JFK.”  I’m going against guild winner “Dunkirk” and giving this one to “Baby Driver.”

“Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
“Dunkirk,” Lee Smith
“I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel
“The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory

Sound Editing:

As with film editing, the only movie this year where I actually noticed the sound editing as I watched it was guild (AMPS) winner (for both mixing and editing) “Baby Driver”, which deserves this one even more than Film Editing.

“Baby Driver,” Julian Slater
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green
“Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard King
“The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood

Sound Mixing:

With all the technical categories, the work by all the nominees is outstanding and you hate seeing any one effort singled out over the others.   Again, this one goes to guild winner (and the most fun of the nominees) “Baby Driver.”

“Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill
“Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
“The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick

Production Design:

When I walked out of “The Shape of Water”, I was certain it was a lock for this Oscar.  It won the Art Directors Guild award for Period Feature over “Dunkirk” and “Darkest Hour”, which had to be a tough call.  I didn’t notice the production design in any other film until I saw “Blade Runner 2049” (ADG winner for Fantasy Feature), which gave the category a new favorite.  I have no idea why a remake of “Beauty and the Beast” was even done, especially considering the 1991 source film is still the only animated feature ever nominated for Best Picture.  Oh yeah, money.  This is one I said “Blade Runner 2049” could win in my summary and I’m saying it again.  If “The Shape of Water” wins, I’ll be happier than if my pick is correct.

(Added the morning of the Oscars) After last night’s second viewing of “The Shape of Water”, it’s my sentimental favorite.  That teal blue Cadillac alone was a visual treat.  What a beautiful — even the gritty backdrops — film.

“Beauty and the Beast,” Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer
“Blade Runner 2049,” Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola
“Darkest Hour,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
“Dunkirk,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
“The Shape of Water,” Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau

Original Score:

I’m not sure what the guild is for this category and there are no apparent film awards referenced on the site for The Society of Composers & Lyricists, so I’m rudderless without a gauge.  The score I enjoyed the most — and the one I noticed most as I watched —  is that of Alexandre Desplat for “The Shape of Water.”  That’s enough for me.  His score added at least as much to this movie as it did for his Oscar-Winning work on 2014’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”  I also enjoyed the urgency of Dario Marianelli’s score for “Darkest Hour”, which was not nominated.

“Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer
“Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood
“The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell

Original Song:

I find “Mighty River”, “Stand up for Something” and “This is Me” to be excessive in their sentiment and I resent being manipulated.  With “Stand Up for Something”, I acknowledge Andra Day is a good singer but I don’t like her vocal-acrobatic style.  Lyrics get lost when I listen to her because her vocal style is more about itself than conveying a song’s message.  Common co-won an Oscar for writing the song “Glory” for Ava DuVernay’s 2014 “Selma” and this one is too similar.  I like Mary J. Blige and she’s made good records, but she does not have a strong voice and is not a particularly skillful or unique vocalist, which is strike two against “Mighty River.”  The bilingual “Remember Me” is enjoyable for its subtle sentiment and its minimalism, spiciness and merging of two cultures.  Safjan Stevens’ pleasant and understated “Mystery of Love” is so reminiscent of the late Elliott Smith’s Oscar-nominated “Miss Misery” (from Gus Van Sant’s 1997 “Good Will Hunting”) it made me stop typing to focus on it.  I don’t know what the favorite is, but I’m picking “Mystery of Love”, which is also the only nominee I liked as I was listening to it while watching the film.  I don’t need to have a song pound itself into my head to appreciate it.  (RIP, Elliott Smith.)

All that said, I rarely get this category right.

You can listen to all the nominees (and see the accompanying videos) at this site:

http://ew.com/music/2018/01/23/oscars-best-original-song-nominees/

“Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige
“Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens
“Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez
“Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common
“This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

Makeup and Hair:

I should preclude this category because I didn’t see “Victoria and Abdul” or “Wonder.”  Did anyone who saw “Darkest Hour” NOT stay in disbelief you were watching Gary Oldman?

What’s baffling to me is how “Star Wars:  The Last Jedi” and “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2” are not nominees.  The sheer volume of the effort for either alone should merit a nomination.  Maybe most of it is attributed to visual effects.

“Darkest Hour,” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick
“Victoria and Abdul,” Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard
“Wonder,” Arjen Tuiten

Costume Design:

“Phantom Thread” is ABOUT costume design but lost (as did “Dunkirk”) in its guild category of Period Film to “The Shape of Water”, where “Darkest Hour” and “Victoria and Abdul” did not even get a nomination.  “Beauty and the Beast” lost in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film category to “Wonder Woman.”  Based on that confusing information, I’m simply following logic to give it to “The Shape of Water.”  I never get this category right on my own because fashion and costume design in general are baffling to me.  None of the things DDL’s character designs in “Phantom Thread” look good to me.  Women put themselves through a lot of discomfort to look good.  The more I think about it, the more I feel like its nominations were more obligatory than anything else, like Best Picture and Best Actress for “The Post.”

“Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran
“Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran
“Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges
“The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira
“Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle

Visual Effects:

I’m always blown away by the visuals in most EFX-heavy movies and find it hard to separate any nominees from the others.  All the technical categories are like that.  For me, all the “Star Wars” movies deserve this Oscar but I’m giving this one to “Blade Runner 2049”, which is impressive yet subtle and restrained compared to the bombardments of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” and “Star Wars:  The Last Jedi.”  In my summary I said “Blade Runner 2049″ could sweep cinematography, production design and visual effects and I still believe it, but I don’t think any of the wins can be considered easy.

We never needed or need another King Kong movie.

Blade Runner 2049,” John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick
“Kong: Skull Island,” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,”  Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan
“War for the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist

Enjoy the ceremonies and I hope you win your Oscar pool.

DPW

March 4, 2018

I usually don’t post my Oscar picks until the day of the Oscars but this time was even more harried because of the partial and unstable power outage I’ve had the last 36 hours as a result the intense snow storm, which is the most damaging in the five years I’ve lived in the Hudson Valley.  Three digital lamp timers and four surge protectors got fried.  If not for the surge protectors, I would have lost thousands of dollars worth of electrical equipment.  Even then, I think some of the gadgets have become unstable.  Unfortunately — especially for a gadget guy — I lost my Samsung 40″ LN-S4051D, which I bought in 2007 and was my first flat-panel TV.  It was plugged into a regular power strip and not a surge protector.  I didn’t think to unplug the power strip during the storm.  Lesson learned   The standby light is on but the TV will not power up.  I think it’s the best-designed flat-panel to date.  https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LNS4051D-40-Inch-LCD-HDTV/dp/B000ELOQS2

It was unnerving constantly inhaling the smell of burnt electrical wires but not being able to find the source.  We are still not completely back up.  (Sunday, March 4, 12:40pm)

About Dan Walker

As part of an Air Force family, I went to elementary school in Great Falls, MT, junior high in Cheyenne, WY and high school and college in the San Francisco Bay Area, graduating from San Francisco State University with a degree in business. I was fortunate to have worked for great companies in Silicon Valley (Oracle Corp) and Hollywood (Miramax Films). I also lived and worked (primarily in financial services, which has no great companies) for eight years in Manhattan, New York City. I now reside in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley.

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