Spoilers follow. You may want to solve today’s puzzle before reading on! Color TV
Constructor: Matthew Stock
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
What I learned from today’s puzzle
- KIRBY (15A: Spherical Pink Nintendo Character) I’ve played very few video games, so it’s not unusual for me to be unfamiliar with video game characters and content, so I’m not surprised that I wasn’t familiar with KIRBY, even though my research shows the character was first introduced in 1992. KIRBY was created with a simple, circular design to make him easy to draw. (I have to say, I think that was a clever idea.) The spherical pink character has appeared in over 30 Nintendo games over the past 32 years. KIRBY lives in Dream Land, which is located on the planet Popstar. KIRBY has the unique ability to suck in objects and other creatures. He can spit them out as projectiles and sometimes copy the abilities of the creatures he sucks in. I think I like KIRBY.
- BLACK MIRROR (17A: Science fiction series with a “Bandersnatch” spinoff) BLACK MIRROR (2016–present) is a British television series inspired by Twilight Zone – The Hidden World. The show is an anthology series, with each episode standing alone. Many of the episodes are set in a dystopian near future with new technologies. BLACK MIRROR: Bandersnatch is a Netflix movie released in 2018. The film is interactive and viewers make decisions for the main character, a computer programmer who turns an interactive fantasy book into a video game.
- BLUE EYE SAMURAI (59A: Anime series set in 17th century Japan) The anime TV series for adults, SAMURAI WITH BLUE EYESPremiere 2023. The series is set in 17th century Japan and tells the story of Mizu, a warrior (Onna-Musha). Mizu is mixed race (half white and half Japanese), has BLUE EYES and is out for revenge.
Random thoughts and interesting things
- AMISH (1A: Pennsylvania Sect) The AMISH are an ethno-religious group known for their simple living and plain dress. Many AMISH migrated to Pennsylvania in the early 18th century, and Pennsylvania has the largest AMISH population in the United States.
- PSP (11A: Handheld gaming device from Sony) PSP stands for PlayStation Portable, which was released in 2004 as the first portable PlayStation console.
- BAHAI (14A: Faith represented by a nine-pointed star) The BAHÁ’Í Faith was founded in the 19th century by Bahá’u’lláh, its Prophet and Founder, who lived in Iran. The religion emphasizes the essential value of all religions and the unity of all people. For BAHÁ’Í, the number 9 is associated with perfection and unity.
- EUROPE (22A: the continent of Slovakia) Slovakia is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Its neighbors are Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic. The capital of Slovakia is Bratislava.
- YELLOWJACKETS (34A: Thriller drama series about a girls’ soccer team) YELLOWJACKETS (2021-present) tells the story of a high school girls’ soccer team whose plane crashes in the wilderness. The series chronicles the period of survival after the crash, as well as events that take place 25 years later.
- DEE (56A: Film Director Rees) DEE Rees won a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Director for Bessiea 2015 film about Bessie Smith. Her other directorial work includes pariah (2011), Mudbound (2017) and The last thing he wanted (2020).
- BEAU (65A: Name that sounds like a gift bow) The name BEAU sounds like a “bow” that you would put on a present.
- ETSY (70A: Site with handmade Wingspan birdhouses) I will always be happy about a reference to the board game span. I have already written about how much I enjoy span. The game, which is all about birds, includes a dice tower designed to look like a birdhouse. You can find handmade upgrades to the cardboard birdhouse that comes with the game on ETSY.
- ABBA (1D: Palindromic “Mamma Mia” band) Mama Mia is a jukebox musical with the songs of ABBA. “Mamma Mia, here I go again / My, my, how can I resist you?”
- MALTS (2D: milkshake alternatives) MALTS are milkshakes to which malted milk powder has been added. The result is a slightly roasted taste and a mild, nutty flavor. Malted milk powder is made from barley malt, wheat flour and condensed milk powder.
- AKITA (6D: Large Japanese dog breed) The AKITA is a large, powerful dog breed that originally comes from the mountainous regions of northern Japan. The AKITA is the national dog of Japan. The dogs served as companions of the samurai (hereditary military officers) from the 16th to the 19th century. An AKITA rarely barks, which earned it the nickname “silent hunter”.
- RRR (8D: “Naatu Naatu” movie) RRR is a 2022 Telugu-language film that tells a fictional story of two revolutionaries in India who fight against British rule. “Naatu Naatu” is a song in RRR The song was written to showcase the heroes’ dancing talent and won an Oscar for Best Original Song, becoming the first song from an Asian film to do so.
- SKIP AD (12D: “Click here to watch your video instead of this ad”) This one made me smile. I always click “SKIP AD” – I wonder how many people actually watch the rest of the AD?
- AOC (27D: Congresswoman in “The Squad” (abbr.)) AOC here is Alexandria Oasis-Cortez, Congresswoman from New York, who we saw in the puzzle just a few days ago. “The Squad” is a group of progressive Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives who were all under the age of 50 when they were elected. The original members of “The Squad” were elected in 2018: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-5), Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13). Two more members of “The Squad” were elected in 2020: Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) and CORI Bush (MO-1). Two more members were elected and joined “The Squad” in 2022: Greg Cesar (TX-35) and Summer Lee (PA-12). AOC coined the term “Squad” in a 2018 Instagram post.
- ERIE (35D: The “E” in HOMES) HOMES is a mnemonic used to remember the names of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, ERIE, and Superior. This is the second time our crossword friend ERIE has appeared this month.
- TOFURKY (42D: portmanteau for plant-based meat) TOFURKY is a brand for plant-based meat substitutes. The brand name is a portmanteau of the words “tofu” and “turkey”.
- SEE (50D: Visualize) and SEA (52D: Large Body of Water). I liked this consecutive pair of clues for the homophones SEE and SEA.
- LAOS (60D: country between Thailand and Vietnam) LAOS is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. In addition to Thailand and Vietnam, LAOS borders Myanmar, China and Cambodia. The capital of LAOS is Vientiane.
Summary of the crossword puzzle theme
- BLACK MIRROR (17A: Science fiction series with a “Bandersnatch” spinoff)
- YELLOWJACKETS (34A: Thriller drama series about a girls’ soccer team)
- BLUE EYE SAMURAI (59A: Anime series set in 17th century Japan)
COLOR TELEVISION: Each topic answer is the name of a television program that begins with a color: BLACK, YELLOW and BLUE.
This is a fun topic. Although two of the three TV shows highlighted as topic answers are new to me, I was able to figure out their names fairly easily using cross-answering and, once I understood the topic, knowing that there is a COLOR in the name. Thank you, Matthew, for this delightful puzzle.
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