I broke down and finally bought an AppleTV. And yes i know all the criticisms (or more specifically *the* criticism: “it only plays protected content from the iTunes store”), but i bought one anyway. Mostly i bought it just so i could play all the stuff i’ve already bought through the iTunes store on my big screen and get away from my desk when i wanted to watch an episode of Mad Men or 30 Rock. So in that way i’m one of Apple’s dream consumers; purchased a bunch of protected content from the iTunes store…. only to give Apple even more money when i decided i wanted to use my big screen.

As i’m sure everybody knows the unit is very small and snazzy. It’s the same footprint of the Apple Mini, but half the height of a mini. Set up initially took all of 5 minutes, but i was stumped at the point where i needed to configure the device via iTunes. A cursory google search pointed out one must click “look for Apple TV’s” in iTunes prefs… i had the wind at my back after that.

But why does this evoke nostalgia you might ask. Well, after getting everything all set up and watching a few back episodes of Mad Men i began to experiment with other menu items. I instructed the box to connect to the iTunes store and then found the “all HD” movie section. I set about perusing. Considering the number of movies out there in the world the iTunes selection is paltry, but most of the biggies are there. And after only a few moments i stumbled across Altered States.

I saw Altered States when it was first released in a big theatre on Long Island. Probably at “Roosevelt Field” mall. Three things happened during that movie. First, i instantly fell in love with Blair Brown. Second the idea of becoming a college professor and having a college professor wife began to take shape. Third, i realized there were other people, Paddy Chayefsky being one, who felt there might not be much beyond the reality we can see. It was comforting seeing a mass-market movie that jived with what i lived at home. My father was an outspoken atheist who said much of what Christopher Hitchens would later publish. The overarching themes of Altered States; that there is no absolute truth, that death may very well be “terrible” and that outside of existence there is…. nothing, reminded me of any of the standard afternoon conversations i had with my father.

I would have argued against Ken Russel to direct the screen version. His ham-handed special effects and personal need for blatant religious imagery clobbered the story at times. But his relentless pacing, manic editing and penchant for over-the-top camera work interspersed with unexpected long takes gave the film a unique visual style that, on balance, worked. And Blair Brown led an excellent cast (William Hurt’s big start) that seemed pitch perfect for each other. Charles Haid, best known as Renko from Hill Street Blues, adds the unintentional comic relief with a series of scene-stealing monologues.

That’s the nostalgia… that i saw this movie (a movie that most of the people i knew either hated, found too weird to care about, or felt should be banned for suggesting there might not be a friendly god) at a time of my life where i was utterly clueless about the future, still a virgin (*sigh* Blair… *sigh*) and not not feeling particularly confident about anything. It’s not nostalgia for my past per se, it’s nostalgia about being so worried then, so fearful and yet so much worked out pretty well.

I’ve never met Blair Brown. I’ve never stalked her either, so i guess that indicates a certain amount of good judgement on my part.

But you see, this is what Apple is really selling with the AppleTV. It’s not a video device, it’s a time travel machine. It’s what Kodak’s “wheel” was transformed into by Don Draper when he, in an almost mystical reverie, explained it’s not a wheel, it’s a “carousel.”