Sunday, May 24, 2009

The Beales of Grey Gardens on Satellite TV

There was Jackie O and the Kennedy Camelot, all glamour, glitz and power; and then you had Edith Bouvier Beale and Little Edie, eccentric, oddly dressed societal castaways, who happened to be aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Known just as Big and Little Edie, the pair lived in a decrepit mansion which was filled with cats. In 1976, a documentary made by Albert and David Maysles about this odd couple was released and fascinated the world. The documentary, which was in fact named after the estate in which Big and Little Edie lived, Grey Gardens, presents a haunting portrait of two woman who seem to thrive despite the decay of everything that surrounds them in their ramshackle East Hamptons mansion. The documentary satellite tv a fast cult classic and catapulted Little Edie into the spotlight, as a fashion icon and free spirit. You can watch this incredible documentary, remastered in HD on satellite TV.

Grey Gardens was once a satellite tv elegant place; under the Beales' care, it came to ruins. The 28 room mansion in the moneyed Georgica Pond neighborhood of East Hampton, New York, was purchased in 1923 by Edith Bouvier Beale (Big Edie) and Phelan Beale, aunt and uncle to Jackie O. The Beales lived their for more than 50 years; in its peak it was a place fit for movie and sports stars and foreign dignitaries, of the sort you would expect from the Bouvier clan. The house had 14 rooms and 3 bathrooms; it was designed in 1897 by Joseph Greenleaf Thorpe.

After her husband died, Big Edie lived on the estate with her daughter. They were recluses, living ony with cats and raccoons. Edith was known for being a quick witted singer, a member of high society. Edie or little Edie, is talkative and dresses in odd ensembles, wearing skirts upside down, and tightly wound scarves around her head. After, word of the two's situation gets out, the Suffolk County Board of Health raid the house and take the two inhabitants out, declaring it unfit to live in. The mansion, at that time, didn't even have running. The Beales later get financial help from Jackie O and they later move back in.

The two live in their own fantasy worlds. Edie dreams of going back to New York City as a debutante and dancer, while her mother stays in her bedroom with her bed filled with garbage and cats who use the corner of the room as a toilet.

The documentary is remarkable and moving; the shots of the decaying and squalid mansion should be viewed in nothing short of HD.

A new movie remake will air on HBO; starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange as the mother-daughter pair, this movie is both an homage and tribute to the documentary itself and the Beales ladies. While some may not be so favorable of a remake, it is worth the watch-it can't be worst than the musical, after all. Check your satellite TV guide to see when this HD version airs.

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Satellite and Cable For Television Connoisseurs

There are those individuals for satellite tv television is more than an entertainment medium, it is the part of popular culture with which they are the most familiar. Most often, satellite tv are the sort of people who know television from an historical perspective, are able to reference shows from throughout the 50 plus years the medium has been the dominant entertainment venue and who enjoy programming that spans many genres and decades. For such individuals, subscription television is a given, the comparatively few channels offered by broadcast services not being adequate to keep their interest.

During the mid-twentieth Century, cable television was the only option for those who truly love their television. Compared to the broadcast networks, it was a great improvement. Access to many more channels and, among those channels, the presence of "movie channels" made the choice to upgrade to subscription services a natural one. Subscription television most often did not sign-off during the small hours, something which nightshift workers and night-owls alike learned to appreciate. By the 1980's, large satellite dishes were popping up in yards across the nation, promising another television option that would eventually become the dominant subscription choice, though not yet in a packaged form.

As satellite services became available from subscription television providers, the sizes of the dishes decreased and the initial investment-oftentimes into the thousands of dollars for one of the original satellite setups-was reduced to literally nothing as satellite companies adopted a business model based on free installation for new customers. The dishes, by the early 1990's, had gone from the size of a large banquet table to a device that two individuals could easily lift and carry and which fit on a rooftop. This convenience drew many more subscribers.

As digital technology increased in sophistication, it became easier for the satellite providers to add more services to their subscriptions. Because satellite broadcasts are digital in any incarnation, the addition of such services was a natural fit, eventually evolving into screen-within-screen technology, interactive menus, pay per view offerings and other features that made the service more attractive to subscribers. By the early 21st Century, satellite had become the dominant subscription service and the continually-smaller dishes were popping up all over the world. The service has continued to grow in popularity since.

Satellite's success has been largely one based on its pricing model. While cable does offer far more channels than broadcast, the cost per channel with a cable subscription is generally higher than it is with satellite. Upgrades in service are generally more expensive, as well. For those who enjoy a great deal of television, satellite started to assert itself as a more attractive option. As channel selections expanded, satellite added more to its lineup than did cable and added more high-definition broadcasting, as well, making it more attractive to those who had decided to purchase an HDTV. As was the case when the choice was between cable and broadcast, the service with the most channels is dominant.

Direct TV satellite is the nation's leading provider of satellite television services. When you select one of the great DirectTV satellite TV deals, you get premium entertainment from the leading provider of HD satellite programming.