television

100 Memorable TV Theme Songs – The Complete List

As I have done in the past with my 100 Favorite Movies, 100 Memorable Movie Characters, and 100 Favorite Television Characters, I believe it is prudent to provide an easy to read listing of everything in one place. If you choose to utilize your spare time by diving down these particular rabbit holes please know that it is much appreciated. This space is mostly for my own amusement & rudimentary catharsis, but if it happens to put a smile on anyone’s face out there in the cosmos that is a bonus I don’t take for granted.

100 Dear John (Dear John)

99 Bad Boys (Cops)

98 Dragnet (Dragnet)

97 Stand (Get A Life)

96 Superhero (Entourage)

95 I Don’t Want to Be (One Tree Hill)

94 Life Goes On (Empty Nest)

93 Gimme A Break (Gimme a Break!)

92 Princes of the Universe (Highlander)

91 According to Our New Arrival (Mr. Belvedere)

90 Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? (Sesame Street)

The Muppet Show  (The Muppet Show)

89 Benson (Benson)

88 There’s No Place Like Home (227)

87 Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now (Perfect Strangers)

86 In Living Color (In Living Color)

85 Here I Come to Save the Day (Mighty Mouse)

84 Green Acres (Green Acres)

83 Fame (Fame)

82 Moonlighting (Moonlighting) 

81 I Don’t Want to Wait (Dawson’s Creek)

80 Mission: Impossible (Mission: Impossible)

79 CHiPs (CHiPs)

78 Miami Vice (Miami Vice)

77 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?)

76 What’s Happening!! (What’s Happening!!)

75 Hawaii Five-O (Hawaii Five-O)

74 The Monkees (The Monkees)

73 Closer to Free (Party of Five)

72 Saved by the Bell (Saved by the Bell)

71 Without Us (Family Ties)

70 Bewitched (Bewitched)

69 A Different World (A Different World)

68 Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood)

67 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

66 Star Trek: TOS / Star Trek: TNG

65 Scooby-Doo Where Are You? (Scooby-Doo)

64 As Long As We Got Each Other (Growing Pains)

63 The Jetsons (The Jetsons)

62 The Pink Panther (The Pink Panther)

61 Bandstand Boogie (American Bandstand)

60 We’re the Chipmunks (The Chipmunks)

59 Hill Street Blues 

The Rockford Files 

Greatest American Hero 

The A-Team 

Magnum PI

58 The Smurf Song (The Smurfs)

57 Love & Marriage (Married…With Children)

56 Hogan’s Heroes March (Hogan’s Heroes)

55 It Takes Diff’rent Strokes (Diff’rent Strokes)

54 A Little Less Conversation (Las Vegas)

53 Spider-Man (Spider-Man)

52 Everywhere You Look (Full House)

51 Come and Knock on Our Door (Three’s Company)

50 Petticoat Junction (Petticoat Junction)

49 Together (Silver Spoons)

48 Gomer Pyle, USMC (Gomer Pyle, USMC)

47 Suicide is Painless (MASH)

46 I Love You (Barney)

45 Linus & Lucy (Peanuts)

44 All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight (Monday Night Football)

43 Big Bang (The Big Bang Theory)

42 The Addams Family (The Addams Family)

The Munsters (The Munsters)

41 My Life (Bosom Buddies)

40 Family Feud (Family Feud)

39 Final Frontier (Mad About You)

38 I’m Always Here (Baywatch)

37 Go Speed Racer Go (Speed Racer)

36 Come On Get Happy (The Partridge Family)

35 This Is It (One Day at a Time)

34 Charles in Charge (Charles in Charge)

33 The Price is Right (The Price is Right)

32 Moon Over Parma, Five O’Clock World, Cleveland Rocks (The Drew Carey Show)

31 Night Court 

Barney Miller 

Charlie’s Angels

30 Peter Gunn (Peter Gunn)

29 Mister Ed (Mister Ed)

28 Mickey Mouse March (Mickey Mouse Club)

27 William Tell Overture (The Lone Ranger)

26 Dallas (Dallas)

25 Angela (Taxi)

24 With a Little Help from My Friends (The Wonder Years)

23 The Streetbeater (Sanford & Son)

22 Tossed Salads & Scrambled Eggs (Frasier)

21 Johnny’s Theme (The Tonight Show)

20 The Office (The Office)

19 The Facts of Life (The Facts of Life)

18 Rock Around the Clock / Happy Days (Happy Days)

17 Making Our Dreams Come True (Laverne & Shirley)

16 Batman (Batman)

15 The Fishin’ Hole (The Andy Griffith Show)

14 I’ll Be There For You (Friends)

13 Welcome Back (Welcome Back Kotter)

12 The Ballad of Jed Clampett (The Beverly Hillbillies)

11 Thank You For Being A Friend (The Golden Girls)

10 The Brady Bunch (The Brady Bunch)

9 WKRP in Cincinnati (WKRP in Cincinnati)

8 Yo Home to Bel-Air  (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)

7 Those Were the Days (All in the Family)

6 The Love Boat (The Love Boat)

5 Meet the Flintstones (The Flintstones)

4 Good Ol’ Boys (The Dukes of Hazzard)

3 Movin’ on Up (The Jeffersons)

2 Where Everybody Knows Your Name (Cheers)

1 The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle (Gilligan’s Island)

100 Memorable TV Theme Songs – Part Deux

Please take some time to check out Part 1, otherwise you’ll be totally confused. 

I ran across a video on a Generation X page I follow on social media that was taking a trip down Memory Lane involving television “outros”, which is the closing segment, often featuring end credits, that appears at the conclusion of an episode. While not as important as theme songs, the outros featured in the video made me feel nostalgic and reinforced the key role music plays in our entertainment.

90 Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? (Sesame Street)

Sunny day

Sweepin’ the clouds away

On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street

The Muppet Show  (The Muppet Show)

It’s time to play the music

It’s time to light the lights

It’s time to meet the Muppets

On The Muppet Show tonight

Both shows were an integral part of so many childhoods. The Muppets have been a pervasive presence on the entertainment landscape since the 1960’s, including multiple incarnations of a television variety show. Sesame Street has aired on PBS since 1970. 

89 Benson (Benson)

The show was a spinoff of critically acclaimed Soap, although I remember it much more fondly than its parent program, which went away when I was nine years old (but did gift us the legendary Billy Crystal). The spinoff lasted well into the 1980’s. Its theme is an upbeat, jazzy instrumental.

88 There’s No Place Like Home (227)

With your family around you you’re never alone

When you know that your loved

You don’t need to roam

Cause there’s no place like home

227 was adapted from Two Twenty Seven, a stage play about the lives of women in a predominantly black apartment building. Marla Gibbs had found fame as smartass housekeeper Florence on The Jeffersons and was chosen as the lead. However,  co-star Jackee Harry became the breakout star and was eventually given an eponymous spinoff (which only aired the pilot episode). Gibbs sang 227’s theme song.

87 Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now (Perfect Strangers)

Standing tall on the wings of my dream

Rise and fall on the wings of my dream

Nothing’s going to stop me now

ABC kept moving the show around to different nights thru much of its eight seasons, and it was never a big hit, but there is an audience of people who are happy the wacky adventures of tightly wound Chicago photographer Larry and his cousin Balki, a well-meaning immigrant sheepherder from a small Mediterranean island, were available for our entertainment in the late 80s/early 90s. The theme song is the kind of upbeat, quasi-inspiring pop tune that seemed to be a thing for TV shows of the era.

86 In Living Color (In Living Color)

How would you feel knowin’ prejudice was obsolete

And all mankind danced to the exact beat

And at night it was safe to walk down the street

In Living Color

In Living Color is a show that I was aware existed, but can’t say I ever watched with any regularity. I was in college at the time and probably watched television less than at any other time in my life. Perhaps, due to my limited worldview at the time, I didn’t think the show was for me, if you know what I mean. Or maybe, like so many others, I was destined to look at it in retrospect and recognize its considerable contribution to pop culture while fans that did watch can assert a level of superiority for appreciating what others didn’t. At any rate, while In Living Color can lay claim to launching the careers of Jim Carrey, J-Lo, Jamie Foxx, and the Wayans Brothers while also giving us gems like Fire Marshal Bill, Homey D. Clown, and Men on Football, the theme was a hip-hop song with a message, and it’s still a fun lil earworm.

85 Here I Come to Save the Day (Mighty Mouse)

Here I come to save the day!

That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way!

Comedian Andy Kaufman famously utilized the theme song as part of his act. As a matter of fact, more people may be familiar with the character & the tune thru the association with Kaufman than by actually watching the various television shows & theatrical shorts produced since 1942.

84 Green Acres (Green Acres)

Green Acres is the place to be

Farm livin’ is the life for me

Land spreadin’ out so far and wide

Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside

Having its original CBS run from 1965-71 means I wasn’t born yet when Green Acres was a Top 10 show. However, growing up in the 1980s means reruns of such programs were ubiquitous. I can’t say it really frosted my cupcake like other old shows I enjoyed such as The Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, or Sanford & Son, but the theme song, performed by series stars Eddie Albert & Eva Gabor, is quite memorable.

83 Fame (Fame)

Fame!

I’m gonna live forever

I’m gonna learn how to fly high

Fame!

I’m gonna live forever

Baby, remember my name

Irene Cara’s life was far too brief, but she did leave a legacy that includes two absolute bangers. She wrote & performed the theme song for the 1983 film Flashdance (winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song in the process), and also starred in & performed the theme song for the 1980 film Fame, which was adapted into a television show that aired for six seasons.

82 Moonlighting (Moonlighting) 

Some walk by night

Some fly by day

Some think it’s sweeter

When you meet along the way

Moonlighting was one of those shows that I was aware of but not that interested in. I may have watched a few episodes when I was really bored, but otherwise it really didn’t register on my radar. Having said that, the Grammy nominated title tune written & performed by R&B legend Al Jarreau once topped the Adult Contemporary charts and was a sophisticated departure from typical TV themes of the era.

81 I Don’t Want to Wait (Dawson’s Creek)

I don’t want to wait for our lives to be over

I want to know right now what will it be

I don’t want to wait for our lives to be over

Will it be yes or will it be sorry?

I am comfortable enough with my smoldering machismo to admit that I went thru a Dawson’s Creek phase around the turn of the century. I don’t remember how it started, but I believe I began watching sometime during the 2nd or 3rd season. Perhaps it was earlier. I was in my late 20’s at the time, which was certainly outside the target demographic. Anyway, I make no apologies for my affection toward Lil Joey Potter, Pacey, and the rest of the gang from Capeside (which was actually set in Massachusetts despite clearly being filmed in North Carolina). The song is synonymous with the show, which I suppose is the point. Singer Paula Cole never became as big of a star as contemporaries Alanis Morrissette & Jewel, but Dawson’s Creek cemented her musical legacy.

Stay tuned for Part 3!!

100 Memorable TV Theme Songs – Part 1

It is rare that I peek into the ol’ vault and decide to delete something. I stand behind the things I’ve written, good or bad, even when my thoughts on the subject may have matured or evolved. Having said that, when one has been offering up little pieces of their own soul, no matter how trivial it may be, I suppose it is inevitable that the universe shifts in unexpected ways and the prism used to view topics a decade ago sheds new light. Such is the case today. Ten years ago I ranked my 25 Favorite TV Theme Songs, and while revisiting that whole thing I decided that I could do better and dive deeper. So the old entry is gone, to be replaced by this expanded series. Enjoy.

100 Dear John (Dear John)

Dear John

By the time you read these lines, I’ll be gone

Life goes on, right or wrong

Now it’s all been said and done, dear John

I love Judd Hirsch. Taxi. NUMB3RS. Independence Day. Guest starring on The Big Bang Theory. The man is an under appreciated treasure. In the late 80’s/early 90’s he starred in a quiet little sitcom about a middle-aged man & the support group for divorcees that he attends in Queens, NY. The theme song is a vaguely melancholy tune that explains the premise of the show. 

99 Bad Boys (Cops)

Bad boys, bad boys

Whatcha gonna do?

Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

Be honest…more than once, in the past three decades, you have quoted the song when you see a police car or hear stories about a crime being committed. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a full episode of the show, but its theme is seared into my brain.

98 Dragnet (Dragnet)

Dum…de DUM DUM…..

The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

It’s a show that came & went long before I was even born, but the terse, instrumental theme music with accompanying narration became ubiquitous. There is a 1987 big screen comedic adaptation starring Dan Aykroyd & Tom Hanks that is such a bad movie it is weirdly entertaining. 

97 Stand (Get A Life)

Stand in the place where you live

Now face north

Think about direction, wonder why you haven’t before

Now stand in the place where you work

Now face west, think about the place where you live

Very few people likely remember the unremarkable Fox sitcom starring Chris Elliott as a clueless paperboy still living with his parents in his 30s. It only lasted two seasons in the early 90’s. However, the theme song had been a Top 10 hit for alt rockers REM.

96 Superhero (Entourage)

My mind had been enabled

In a memory you overflowed

Want to be your superhero

Even if I tumble fall

I’m ok

You have that effect on me

But I need you desperately

I loved Entourage. It is undoubtedly one of HBO’s coolest original programs. Jane’s Addiction, best known for their Grammy nominated hit Been Caught Stealing, offered an edgy, rock theme song that fit the tone of the show nicely.

95 I Don’t Want to Be (One Tree Hill)

I don’t wanna be anything other

Than what I’ve been tryna be lately

All I have to do is think of me

I was not the target demographic for One Tree Hill. In the longstanding tradition of teen dramas like Beverly Hills 90210 and Dawson’s Creek, it explored the friendships, romances, family drama, and rivalries amongst a group of high school kids. Conversely, I was in my 30’s at the time. That being said, the show held my interest for perhaps the first 2 or 3 of its nine seasons, and the theme song by Gavin DeGraw was a banger that became a Top 10 hit.

94 Life Goes On (Empty Nest)

Rain or shine, I’ll be the one

To share it all as life goes on

We share it all, as life goes on

You might remember Billy Vera for his mid-80’s ballad At This Moment, which went to #1 on the charts. However, Vera also dabbled in acting and wrote a couple of television theme songs. Empty Nest was a Golden Girls spinoff about a widowed Miami doctor whose adult daughters move back in with him, and the song alludes to the importance of having people with whom to share life’s ups & downs.

93 Gimme A Break (Gimme a Break!)

Gimme a break

I sure deserve it

It’s time I made it to the top

Joey Lawrence achieved teen heartthrob success on 90’s sitcom Blossom, but he started several years earlier as a precocious child, the son of a widowed cop whose wife’s best friend moves in to care for the family. Series star Nell Carter, a Tony Award winning Broadway singer, belted out the upbeat theme song.

92 Princes of the Universe (Highlander)

Here we are, born to be kings

We’re the princes of the universe

Here we belong, fighting to survive

In a world with the darkest powers

Did you know that rock n’ roll royalty…British icons Queen…contributed to a television show?? Full disclosure…I never watched a single episode of Highlander, although I do have a vague recollection of seeing the movie on which it is based. It’s just not my cup o’ tea. However, who doesn’t love Queen?? I am surprised the song wasn’t a bigger hit, although I suspect that has something to do with the film & television show appealing to an eclectic yet narrow audience.

91 According to Our New Arrival (Mr. Belvedere)

All hands look out below

There’s a change in the status quo

Gonna need all the help that we can get

According to our new arrival

Life is more than mere survival

We just might live the good life yet

The show itself has a surprising pedigree. It is based on a 1947 novel, which was adapted into an Oscar nominated film starring Maureen O’Hara. It is likely that most people remember the television show because it co-starred baseball legend & beer pitchman Bob Uecker. The theme song was performed by Leon Redbone, who, in addition to having one of the coolest names in music, also had an unmistakable voice that was ubiquitous in the 80’s & 90’s.

Stay tuned for Part 2!!

Reality TV vs. The Pursuit of Excellence

Out of the two dozen couples who have gotten together on The roseBachelor and The Bachelorette in the past decade only 4 are still together. That’s a less than 17% success rate.

 

kcThere have been 11 winners of American Idol. Only two of them…Kelly Clarkson & Carrie Underwood…have achieved what one could subjectively define as a sustained level of prominence & achievement. That’s an 18% success rate, although to be fair when one throws in non-victors such as Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, rocker carrie-underwood-606011928Chris Daughtry, television actress Katherine McPhee, & (since I’m feeling generous) Clay Aiken and considers the fact that Phillip Phillips is fresh out of the starting gate the accomplishments of Idol alums looks a bit better. 

I am not ambitious enough to research the relative successes from programs like America’s Got Talent, The Voice, Last Comic Standing, America’s Next Top Model, The X Factor, Top Chef, The Biggest Loser, or So You Think You Can Dance, but who really cares anyway??  And we haven’t even mentioned shows where the winner merely receives a cash prize like Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race, or Fear Factor.

I could belabor the point, but I’ll just cut right to the chase. Reality TV is, for the most part, stupid. It in no way reflects actual reality and really only serves two purposes…it entertains the dumbed-down masses and makes a lot of people famous who A) did nothing to earn it, and B) aren’t prepared to handle it. My low opinion of reality television is nothing new to citizens of The Manoverse, but as the old saying goes “it’s all fun & games until someone gets hurt”. Well now someone has gotten hurt. In fact someone has died.

Back in January I stated my intention to not watch MTV’s new show Buckwild, which is just another way for Hollywood to laugh at my home state of West Virginia. I must admit that I did end up watching it once…for about 15 minutes…several weeks ago. As I suspected it was idiotic and not worth my time. I also saw two Buckwild cast members being interviewed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon right before the show premiered. The young lady was articulate and quite lovely. The bwyoung man was the quintessential redneck hillbilly and embodied just about every negative Appalachian stereotype. That young man was Shain Gandee. A few days ago Shain Gandee along with his uncle and a friend, were found dead. Reportedly the men had been at a bar at 3am then decided to “go muddin’”. No one knows for sure what occurred, but the theory being floated around is that their truck got stuck in the mud with the tailpipe submerged and the three men sat there revving the engine until the fumes overtook them. It’s the kind of freak accident that one might see in those Final Destination movies, only this was all too real.

The reaction here in West Virginia has been mixed. No one is happy that these people are dead. Everyone agrees that the situation is sad & tragic. But some are acting as if it is a calamity on par with The Day the Music Died or when Dale Earnhardt got killed, while others have the “well that was predictable” attitude. Personally I come down somewhere in the middle, and it is precisely because Mr. Gandee was on an asinine reality television show that I feel the way I do.

My feelings about the whole thing were encapsulated perfectly by something I saw on Facebook and decided to repost (which I rarely bookdo). Essentially what was said in this meme was that we have become a nation that is entertained by watching people act like idiots. There are people that have figured out…as someone always does…how to make money from that fact. Thus the proliferation of TV shows about nothing but people acting like idiots. It laments the fact that we have gone from a nation that “used to celebrate brilliance & seek wisdom” muddinto a populace that makes Honey Boo Boo a star and enables the antics of drunken morons on Jersey Shore. One wonders how many people could tell you anything you need to know about Duck Dynasty or the adventures of the Kardashian clan but have never read Hemingway, enjoyed Shakespeare, or spent quality time with Chopin, Mozart, & Gershwin. The point is not that MTV or Buckwild killed Shain Gandee. He may or may not have died like this anyway. Only God knows the answer to that. The point is not that Gandee or the other two men deserved to die because they were dumb rednecks. Maybe there are some folks out there that feel that way but not me. The point is that the mere fact that this is a national story is a sad reflection of our society. These deaths should be properly mourned by the families & friends and their community of Sissonville, WV, but the fact that musicanyone outside of that town even knows about the situation is a direct result of our diminishing appreciation for excellence. The little ditty I saw on Facebook mentions the poor state of education in the United States in comparison to other more studious nations and assumes that in countries like Japan children aren’t “blowing off their homework” for the kind of idiocy of which we Americans have grown so fond. I don’t know if that is true or not because I don’t know what kids (or adults) in other nations do for fun, but it is likely a valid point. It also asks a rhetorical question about our lack of familiarity or concern for soldiers killed every day in the line of duty as opposed to our intimate knowledge of the most minute celebrity trivia. I didn’t take that inquiry to be a commentary on the relative value of one human life versus another, but rather an astute observation about skewed priorities.

Was this thing that I read, agreed with, & reposted a little harsh?? Maybe. Maybe not. Death is a sensitive topic, and the circumstances of this particular situation are so full of questions that no one will ever karknow what really happened. Is it proper to seize upon such a tragedy to rail against an ancillary issue?? In this case I believe it is to a degree. Two cast members of Buckwild have ended up in jail and now one is dead. The show has only been on the air a few months. Maybe it is time that we ask ourselves what is happening to our society. When did we become so voyeuristic?? The suits in Hollywood understandably like reality television because it is cheaper to produce and requires less effort & creativity. But when did we as a society segue from being entertained by professional actors who have been properly trained, work hard, and are well compensated to utilize their talent to portray characters in fictional stories that make us laugh, cry, and think to getting our kicks by watching a bunch of actual people that have allowed cameras into their “real” lives to capture their most intimate, embarrassing, and vulnerable moments?? I don’t know how much money reality stars Duck Dynasty 560make, but you can be sure that it’s a whole lot less than what your average actor in a sitcom or one hour drama is paid. And many of these “real” people aren’t mentally & emotionally equipped for the sudden fame & fortune…even though it is probably the whole reason they signed up in the first place. I admittedly cannot relate to that thought process because I make a concerted effort in my own life to keep to myself, fly under the radar, and not draw any unnecessary attention. The mere thought of cameras following me around makes me cringe. Your mileage may vary.

At any rate, regardless of whether or not there is any direct correlation between the existence of Buckwild and the sad death of Shain Gandee, I believe it is time to pull the plug. I did read that MTV is paying the young man’s funeral expenses and they deserve kudos for doing the right thing. But they need to take the next logical step and end this ridiculous show. Furthermore, we all need to reassess our priorities and possibly invest our time in better hobbies. There’s nothing wrong with a little harmless fun. We all need to chill out occasionally. I just think there are better ways to approach that task.

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Judge Ye Not

In recent years I have developed what I refer to as hermit-like tendencies. I have stated…only partly in jest…that if I were to ever win the lottery or otherwise come into a princely sum of cash that I would love to fake my own death, move to some remote island,mansion and hole up in a mansion reminiscent of stately Wayne Manor complete with Batcave (minus the bats). I’d have my books, Internet access, radio & TV, and of course Rocco. There would certainly be a few family & friends…my Dad, my sister & nephews, The Owl, and Greg…that would know the truth, but for the most part I’d be completely off the grid and I’d be happy. The reason is simple…humanity too often aggravates me and the less I am forced to interact with people the better I feel.

It wasn’t always this way. While I’ve never been an extrovert I have been a “people person” and enjoyed meeting & talking with different folks. A confluence of factors has led to my semi-withdrawal, probably beginning in 2006 with the two years of my life that was spent in hospitals, “skilled” nursing facilities, and homebound with medical issues that I won’t bore you with now because that’s not my purpose at the moment. It is adequate enough for my purpose here to state that solitude changes a man…alter’s one’s perspective in a deeply profound way that is difficult to reverse. At any rate, there have been other events & observations before & after that carved this path, but that was the major detour from which I’ve never quite returned to the main road…and I’m not sure I’d want to even if I could. Things happen for a reason and I’m okay with that fact.

My general unease & antipathy was recently reinforced in a truly eye opening way. And that’s saying something because I had heretofore been under the delusion that my eyes were wide open. I suppose there is always room to learn & grow.

Eph 1-7I cannot & will not go into any detail here, but suffice to say that an acquaintance of mine found themselves in some trouble…some pretty serious trouble. The story became public. What this person is accused of doing is dreadfully tragic. However, in America aren’t we all “innocent until proven guilty”?? And even if a person is guilty didn’t Jesus teach us that “he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone”?? Doesn’t The Bible teach us about mercy, grace, & forgiveness?? Unfortunately modern American society doesn’t seem to believe in such principles…atleast when it comes to someone other than the person they see in the mirror each morning.

The story I am referring to was published on a website. Again the details are not important and not mine to divulge anyway. But I was truly saddened by the comments that dozens of readers left. I know Americans enjoy our blood sports, and I sincerely understand why the accusations involved evoked such passion & rage. Yet I couldn’t stop thinking…where is the mercy?? Folks were calling for this person to be shot, stabbed, beaten, burned, raped & murdered. And yes, some even suggested they be stoned, proving some familiarity with God’s Word but obviously not enough. This is all before a thorough investigation has been conducted and due process of law completely plays out. My my my…jump to conclusions much??

Look, I don’t know who did what in all this, but I do know a couple of things. I know that this person’s family is standing behind them and stepping up in ways that a month ago I am sure they never fathomed they’d be asked to do. This is a good, decent, close knit family. I am closer to the parents than the offspring and the little ones, and they are people with a deeply abiding faith, a strong moral center, and unquestionable love for one another. A few comments on the aforementioned article cast aspersions on the entire family rather than family_holding_handsjust the one person, which angered me tremendously since I know what kind of people they are. The fact that they are supporting their loved one is good enough for me and sufficient validation to doubt the veracity of the story as it is being portrayed in the media. Secondly, I know things that I have done in my life. No I have never killed anyone or committed any kind of violent act, but I have sinned in ways that I definitely wouldn’t want published in the local newspaper or discussed on television. I suspect many of you out there in the Manoverse might feel the same about your mistakes. As my relationship with God & our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ evolves & deepens I become more grieved by past errors and increasingly aware of when I choose the wrong path (which isn’t as often as it used to be but still far too much). I would hope that, if a wrong that I did ever grew into some kind of public spectacle, that others would grant me some level of mercy…but after these recent events I have my doubts.

What’s worse is that I can look back and see where I have been just as judgmental as the people who left those awful comments. I am far too quick to size up a person…assess their motives, assume their lack of moral fiber, and judge their actions. It is so easy to be reactionary in 21st century America. Social media gives us all an avenue to respond without thought, to opine without knowing all of the facts. Everyone is a critic, a pundit, and an expert. The mere fact that I can call myself a writer, publish The Manofesto, and dole out my viewpoint on anything I choose is proof of this. Who am I?? I am no better than you. I do sincerely believe that I don’t go off half-cocked and say anything too crazy in this forum, but in other situations I am easily angered and lack patience, understanding, wisdom, & compassion.

Jesus asks “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” and cautions us to “first remove the plank from your own eye, and handsthen you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” I am not advocating free reign. I am not saying that criminals should not be punished or that people should not be criticized when they make bad choices. But The Bible teaches us that “as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend”, countenance in this case meaning character. Unfortunately too many of us spend a lot of time tearing others down instead of trying to help them or lead them to become better people.

I don’t have any easy answers or quick fixes for this issue. However, I can confidently say that we would all benefit from taking a moment to think…to look in the mirror and reflect on the mistakes that we’ve made and the skeletons we have in our closet whether they are big or relatively benign…before we haughtily lash out at others. No one is perfect…not you and certainly not me. The world would certainly benefit from more empathy & kindness rather than judgment, contempt, and anger.

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The Sammy Awards 2012 – Part 3: From Appalachia With Love

Resin-Trophies-1348257350204Welcome back to Part 3 of the 2012 Sammys. I hope you have enjoyed Part 1 and Part 2 and 34111_clint0gswill join us in the next day or so for the exciting conclusion. For now though we re-join our host Clint Eastwood and continue with the show.

 

 

 

bmw1To present our next award The Manofesto is thrilled to reunite the cast of the vastly underrated bmw21354758382_4b-will-friedle-56090’s sitcom Boy Meets World. Please give a warm welcome to Ben Savage, Rider 1354758486_6a-william-daniels-560Strong, Danielle Fishel, William Daniels, & Will Friedle. And the nominees are:

 

 

 

Best TV Show

Mike & Mike in the Morning

The two time defending Sammy Award winners just keep plugging along. I think I described this as “comfort food TV” last year, and that characterization remains accurate. I love coming home from work every morning, giving lovins’ to my boy Rocco, having a nice breakfast, and settling down to watch Greeny & Golic do their thing. If you are a sports fan and you’re not watching this show then you are totally missing out.

 

 

Pardon the Interruption

Just like The Mikes do their thing every morning Michael Wilbon & the crotchety yet loveable Tony Kornheiser debate the sports issues du jour every evening at 5pm, albeit for only a half hour as compared to the 4 hour marathon that their compadres produce. These guys are not only entertaining but they are smart. Few television shows nowadays compel me to stop whatever I am doing and watch…this is one of the few.

 

 

The Big Bang Theory

I grew up in an era of incredibly entertaining sitcoms like The Cosby Show, Cheers, Happy Days, & Night Court. My tastes lean toward well written, intelligent, yet traditional & comfortable comedy. I need multiple cameras, a live audience, and a laugh track. Big Bang suits my fancy on all accounts. It is an old-fashioned sitcom that is smart, funny, edgy without being vulgar, and consistent in its quality. Not only do I do my best to keep up with first run episodes, but TBS now shows all the reruns so it’s a show I catch frequently.

 

 

How I Met Your Mother

It is amazing to me that a show built around one simple idea…the story of how one man eventually meets the mother of his children…has been able to successfully string along the audience without resolving the central question for 7 years yet few seem to mind. Neil Patrick Harris & Jason Segal are bona fide stars, and the writing remains superb. This is one of the very few network TV shows that has been able to hold my interest for any length of time.

 

 

NFL Redzone

I am not sure whether it’s a show or a channel. All I know is that in 2012, a few weeks into the football season, Time-Warner Cable finally brought the NFL Network to my area and this is its companion offering. I have thoroughly enjoyed coming home from church each Sunday afternoon and immersing myself in football for the next several hours. I have always done that to a degree, but now instead of being stuck with only a couple of games I get to see all of the most notable action in each & every NFL matchup. It is sensational, and whoever came up with the concept deserves to have some sort of statue carved in their honor.

 

 

American Restoration

Like many Americans I have embraced the growing trend of original programming on cable channels as the old network system continues to wither on the vine. I am convinced that the overall quality of what’s on television has diminished in comparison to my childhood, but the fact that there are many many more channels helps to offset the drift toward inane “reality” TV and the increase in violence, sexuality, & general depravity. Now I suppose this is technically a reality show, but it isn’t like the craptastic stuff the masses usually embrace (The Bachelor, Real Housewives, Breaking Amish, etc.). When one watches American Restoration one might actually learn something. That’s a concept I can dig.

 

 

Dan Lebatard Is Highly Questionable

I feel sorry for Lebatard, a Miami sportswriter who first came to my attention when he used to fill in occasionally on PTI. He was given his own show, but ESPN kind of treats it like a bastard stepchild. It’s usually on at 4:30pm, but is often pre-empted or moved around on the schedule. That’s too bad because it’s a really fun & quirky program. Dan’s co-host is his elderly Cuban father, who I absolutely adore. He reminds me just a little bit of my late grandfather. If you’ve checked out ESPN’s other shows but somehow missed this one (understandable given its nomadic scheduling) I urge you to give it a whirl.

 

 

American Pickers

The History Channel airs a lot of stupid stuff that I don’t really like and has nothing much to do with history (Life After People?? Really??), but when they get it right they do it quite well. American Pickers satiates one’s inner pack rat without the hassle of actually filling your house with junk you don’t need. Anyone who enjoys going antiquing or trolling yard sales every summer can appreciate the peculiar charm this show offers.

 

 

And the Sammy goes to…..

 

Mike & Mike. It’s an unprecedented 3rd consecutive Sammy for Greeny & Golic!! This show just never gets old. mikemikeIt’s fun, informative, and amiable. The guys have a good time but know when to tone it down and be serious as circumstances dictate. They lost some points on Halloween when they dressed up like that ridiculous Gangnam Style guy & his weird sidekick (they even did a parody video), but I am willing to overlook that one indiscretion (unlike a certain late night talker who Slow Jammed the News with Obama….a misstep that cost him a Sammy nomination). I like Golic so much that he’s even got me pulling for Notre Dame in the National Championship Game. I didn’t know there was any kind of voodoo in the world to even make that possible.

 

 

 

Rod StewartThere’s always time for good music, so please enjoy a brief interlude by two artists that span phillip_phillips_280x280the generations. Singing a duet of the Wilson Pickett classic In the Midnight Hour welcome to the stage legendary rocker Rod Stewart and American Idol winner Phillip Phillips.

 

 

kgTo present our next award it is an honor for The Manofesto to welcome the former star of CheersFormer-television-talk-show-hosts-20 & Frasier, Emmy award winning actor Kelsey Grammer, and award winning actor, comedian, writer, and talk show host Dennis Miller. And the nominees are:

 

 

 

 

The Rosie O’Donnell Memorial Just Go Away Award

Tim Tebow

I’m probably going to catch some flak for this one, but I don’t care. Hasn’t Tebow gotten the message yet?? No one outside of ESPN’s resident buffoon Skip Bayless seriously believes that he can play QB in the NFL. The NY Jets obviously brought him in for a publicity stunt. They did get a ton of publicity in 2012, but for all the wrong reasons. Look, I’ve stated numerous times that I am sure Tebow is a nice guy. Is he a bit of a phony?? Probably, but aren’t we all?? Nevertheless, the circus needs to end and he needs to move on to whatever he is really meant to do with his life.

 

Roseanne Barr

Rarely is a person nominated for 2 Sammys in a single year. As a matter of fact I am pretty sure it’s never happened, although I am far too languid to do the necessary research. Anyway, suffice to say that Roseanne is an idiot and has been for years. She’s not funny, she has no class, and she’s wrong about just about everything she decides to spout off about.

 

Lindsay Lohan

Has this crack whore hit bottom yet?? Sadly I don’t believe she has. I’ve heard that her latest project, a Lifetime (television for women) movie called Liz & Dick in which The Hohan portrays Elizabeth Taylor, is hilariously bad. This is a gal that many once believed could be the next Meryl Streep. It is sad how all that potential has been completely wasted.

 

Taylor Swift

I’m not a real big fan of country music, but I don’t hate it. But compare a classy country artist…maybe Carrie Underwood or Martina McBride…to this kid and you’ll quickly realize that it’s like comparing fine scotch to cheap wine coolers. Have you ever listened to one of her interviews?? She is 23 going on 13. This immaturity has begun to noticeably bleed into her songs. Shouldn’t it be going in the other direction?? Shouldn’t her work become better & more refined as she gets older?? There’s also the matter of her personal life, which has become a national joke. I saw a quote somewhere that said that “this young woman doesn’t date…she trolls for potential lyrics to future songs”. There was also a Facebook meme that said something to the effect that one of Taylor Swift’s exes should write a song titled Maybe You’re the Problem. I think what Ms. Swift needs to do is go off the grid for a few years and come back when she’s gotten a little more life experience and can manage to be less annoying.

 

Kristen Stewart

I’ve never read Twilight and I never will. I’ve never seen the movies and have no intention of doing so. I suppose that disinterest is why I am sick to death of hearing about this human blank page. She’s got the charm & personality of rice cakes. For God’s sake you are rich, famous, & successful at the tender age of 22…can you atleast pretend to enjoy it rather than constantly looking like you are in the midst of a root canal & really have to take a dump??

 

Justin Bieber

Do I really need to explain?? Look, I know most teenage girls & senile grandmas think this kid is cool. I am not an teeny bopper or a granny though, so I think he’s a douchebag.

 

Dwight Howard

Has there been a bigger whiny little bitch in sports the past year?? He wanted out of Orlando, then he didn’t. He wanted to be traded, then he agreed to stay. He got Orlando Magic coach Stan van Gundy fired and still wanted out. Now he’s an LA Laker and they are mediocre at best. I am starting to fondly recall the good ol’ days of Shaquille O’Neal in comparison.

 

Piers Morgan

Roseanne Barr has some company. As you may recall Piers earlier won the Assclown of the Year Award, so I am sure he’d be quite proud of this daily double. Here’s the funny thing…he might actually go away…literally. Not only is there a legitimate petition to have him deported, but the man himself has stated that if more gun control legislation isn’t passed he may voluntarily leave of his own volition. That’d be fine by me.

 

 

 

And the Sammy goes to…..

Y’all know the drill by now, right?? It’s a TIE!! None of these people add anything of substance to our culture. loserThey are all just a big ol’ waste of time. Take heart America…past nominees/winners of this award have included the likes of Jersey Shore (which just ended), Bret Favre (who finally retired for good in 2010), Twilight (which is finally o-v-e-r), and Heidi & Spencer (Remember them?? Probably not), so there is always hope.

 

 

 

charles-barkleyWe are so glad that for the 2nd year in a row the man for whom the next award was named can be here to present it. Please welcome one of the all-time great professional basketball players and current analyst for TNT’s Inside the NBA, Mr. Charles Barkley. And the nominees are:

 

 

 

The Charles Barkley Memorial Role Model Award

 

Eric LeGrand

On October 16, 2010 Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand made a tackle that would change his life forever. LeGrand was paralyzed from the neck down. I am a paraplegic myself but have always felt fortunate that it happened at birth rather than as a result of an accident when I was older. My life is the way it has always been and I know no other reality. To be able-bodied and have that suddenly change has to be traumatic. I have met people in that situation in my life, and oftentimes they are bitter, disillusioned, and angry at God. I completely understand that reaction. However, there is another way, and LeGrand has chosen that path. He has become an inspiration to millions who have heard his story. He has not shrunk into the background. He continues to live a full & satisfying life and work toward recovery. It is my understanding that he has regained some sensation & movement. At this year’s ESPY Awards LeGrand stated his belief that he would walk again and his intention, when that day comes, to return to the the field where he was injured, go to the exact spot, lay down, and then get up & walk off the field like he was unable to do on that horrible autumn day.

 

 

Dan Cathy & Mike Huckabee

The Chick-Fil-A controversy was obviously a big story in 2012. It all started last summer with a couple of interviews in which Cathy, the company’s CEO & son of its founder, espoused his & the company’s support of Biblical principles & “the biblical definition of the family unit”. Those statements created a firestorm of controversy stirred by the leftist, God hating, alternative lifestyles crowd. There were threats, there were boycotts, there were petitions…predictable reactions from what my man Rush Limbaugh refers to as “phony baloney plastic banana good time rock n’ rollers”. However, this time Christian conservatives fought back. Former Arkansas governor & 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee organized Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day and on Wednesday August 1st the masses turned out in droves. I know the parking lot was packed and the drive thru line longer than I’ve ever seen it at my local restaurant, and my friend The Owl reported similar activity from his base in Columbus, OH. I am sure the business enjoyed a healthy bottom line, but that’s not really what it’s all about. Kudos to Cathy for standing by his values & running a first-class operation, and to Huckabee for doing what more Christians need to do…find a way to fight back that is tasteful, intelligent, peaceful, and examples Christ.

 

 

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

After having been duly elected thru the democratic process in 2010 Gov. Walker was forced to endure a recall election in 2012 after less than a year in office. His crime?? He pissed off the unions in Wisconsin while trying to instill some fiscal responsibility to his state. Fortunately for Wisconsin Walker endured & won the recall. We need more public servants like Walker who are willing to tighten the belt, say no, and make a good faith effort to be proper stewards of that with which they have been entrusted.

 

 

Pat Summitt

I am not a big fan of women’s basketball or any other women’s sport. I guess maybe some would call that sexist. Maybe it is. At any rate, that being said, even a non-fan like me knows about the dominance of the University of Tennessee & their coach Pat Summitt. Between 1987 & 2008 Summitt led the Lady Volunteers to 8 national championships. Over the course of 38 years she became the all time winningest NCAA basketball coach, surpassing even the best men’s coaches like Duke’s Coach K., UCLA legend John Wooden, and Bobby Knight. In 2011 she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, but continued coaching. In 2012 she stepped down and let someone else take over. She didn’t have to…no one forced her to. But Pat Summitt knew it was the right thing to do…for her health and for the long term success of the program that she’d built. She has handled herself & the situation with grace & class. I do not know the current state of her health, but I wish Pat Summitt all of the favor & blessings that God may see fit to bestow.

 

 

Felix Baumgartner

On October 14th the 43 year old Austrian daredevil set multiple world records when he skydived from 24 miles up into the Earth’s stratosphere, becoming the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power in the process. Why’d he do it?? I don’t know. All I do know is that it was pretty freakin’ cool and an amazing feat.

 

 

Angus T. Jones

I do not watch Two & a Half Men. It comes on at 9pm on Monday nights, and nothing is going to tear me away from my pro wrestling. I’ve seen a few episodes here & there over the years, enough to know that Jones portrays the “half man”, the son of the character played by Jon Cryer (otherwise known as Matthew Broderick Light in the 80’s). A few months ago the 19 year old Jones, who apparently had been born again recently, expressed refreshing honesty about the program on which he appears when he said that it was “filth” and encouraged people to stop watching. Now there are some that have called Jones unprofessional & hypocritical, pointing out that he is biting the hand that feeds him & also still cashing those paychecks since he hasn’t quit his job just yet. Those are valid arguments. However, I choose to blame the admittedly clumsy way in which the young man handled the issue on his youth. He’ll learn to approach situations with more elegance & finesse as he matures. I would rather focus on the fact that The Lord has a new soldier in His army that is beginning to recognize some basic truths about life. I wish young Mr. Jones nothing but success in whatever pursuits he may decide upon in the future and sincerely hope he continues on the path of faith.

 

 

Howard Cooper

Who?? Yes, I know…you’ve never heard of him. Well not everyone worthy of our praise is a celebrity. Cooper is an 83 year old Michigan man who owned an auto dealership until last spring. Upon his retirement he decided to thank his 89 employees in a very practical…and generous…way. Cooper gave each employee $1000…for every year of service they’d given the business, which opened 47 years ago. In other words, anyone who’d been with Mr. Cooper since the beginning received a check for $46,000. Someone who’d only been around half that time received a still handsome sum of $23K. He had also insisted that the business who’d bought him out retain each employee as a condition of the sale. The total sum of these gifts is unknown, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the world would be a much better place if every boss was as thoughtful as Mr. Cooper and cared about their security as much as him. Kudos to Howard Cooper. Well played sir.

 

 

 

And the Sammy goes to…..

Eric LeGrand. Maybe I am a bit biased since I myself am in a wheelchair. I hope that LeGrand is able to someday s111006_01-eric-pg-horizontalwalk again, and I would love to see him fulfill his dream of walking off the same field that he once left on a stretcher. Only God knows if that will actually happen, but in the meantime I am sure he will keep working, stay active, and show the world that a disability is not a death sentence. In May the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (now coached by former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano) signed LeGrand to an NFL contract, which was a damn fine gesture on their part. In July LeGrand officially “retired” so as not to take up a roster spot…an equally classy move.

 

 

 

 

This seems like the appropriate place to take another break. Please stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of the 2012 Sammy Awards!!

 

 

 

 

 

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50 Favorite TV Shows…..The Top 5

I bet you thought I forgot, didn’t you?? Well, I didn’t. Today at long last we conclude the Top 50 Favorite TV Shows series with the Top 5. I am sure there won’t be any big surprises here. All five finalists are generally thought of as being amongst the finest franchises to ever grace the small screen. You’ll see three sitcoms, one drama (or nighttime “soap opera” if you prefer), and one comedy/talk/variety show that has stood the test of time & come into our living rooms for over a half century. Television, like movies, sports, and other forms of entertainment, isn’t necessarily vital to our existence, but it certainly adds an undeniable layer of pleasure and relaxation that can enrich our lives. I appreciate the opportunity to learn something and gain knowledge from any medium…books, music, film, radio, and yes…television. However, at the end of the day a good television show should be…used to be…comfort food for our souls. It should be like an old friend that we welcome into our lives for 30-60 minutes every week (or every night in some cases), that makes us smile & feel content, that when it leaves the airwaves makes us kind of melancholy and nostalgic, and that we remember fondly long after the final episode has aired. These five shows are being lauded for a variety of reasons…smart writing, memorable storylines, great acting, and the indelible mark they have made on pop culture in general and my own life in particular. They are indeed old friends that I miss dearly but have provided a plethora of memories that I will cherish always.

 

 

 

5       Dallas

          CBS 1978-91

One of my fondest childhood memories is sitting in my living room every Friday night at 9pm with both of my parents and my sister watching the adventures of the lecherous & deceitful Ewing clan battle their enemies and each other in the race for power & wealth that only billions of barrels of oil could bring. My father loved the conniving JR Ewing and how he always seemed to be able to come out on top while totally screwing over his wife, his brother, his business rivals, and especially his sworn enemy…the slovenly, woefully overmatched Cliff Barnes. Dallas had elements of Shakespearean tragedy mixed with campy soap opera drama, and in no way resembled the real world. I think that was the key to its charm…even as a child I realized that this was all just great fun and that very few individuals (even rich people) actually behaved that way. It is a show that defined a genre and a generation. It gave us season ending cliffhangers and juicy sneak previews of next week’s episode. It gave us larger-than-life characters and stirring, emotion-filled theater that no “reality” show can ever dream of matching. Dallas was pure escapism, which is kind of the point of watching television, right??

 

 

4       Frasier

          NBC 1993-2004

Rarely does a sequel…or in this case a spin-off…excel to a point that it exceeds its predecessor. However, I must say that as much as I love Cheers I love Frasier even more. I think there are a few reasons for that. First of all, Cheers came about in the 80’s and to be honest I started watching it because it was something my Dad watched (not that there is anything wrong with that). Conversely, Frasier came on the scene when I was on my own in college. I made the conscious, independent, adult decision to watch. Secondly, by the time the 90’s rolled around I was past my “I watch way too much TV” phase. I much preferred hanging out with my friends, drinking copious amounts of adult beverages, and even occasionally studying to watching television. I had a life!! I was too busy for TV. Therefore the few shows that I made a special effort to keep up with during that time had to, by definition, be extraordinary. Also, the setting of Frasier…the professional & personal world of two intelligent yet socially awkward yuppies…spoke to me in a very personal way. I have always envisioned myself as a sort of yuppie-country boy hybrid, so I got a kick out of Frasier & Niles’ odd relationship with their blue collar father and their constant effort to ingratiate themselves into culture & society. The writing was about as quick-witted & razor sharp as any sitcom in the history of television. The characters were smart & relatable and the plots as sophisticated as anything you’ll ever see on a 30 minute comedy show. I’m not sure Frasier was as broad & accessible to the masses as many sitcoms, but that’s okay…dumbed down products don’t appeal to this humble Potentate of Profundity anyway.

 

 

3       The Tonight Show

          NBC 1954-Present

Anything that has lasted 50+ years like The Tonight Show has to be doing something right and must be given its due. It is undoubtedly the gold standard against which all other shows of its ilk are measured. Now I am way too young to have watched during the Steve Allen or Jack Paar years. Rather, I came along in the midst of the Johnny Carson era, and what a time it was. Admittedly I didn’t get to watch the show back then as often as I would have liked…afterall, 11:30pm is a bit late for a young boy who has school the following day. But I usually watched every Friday night during the school year and in the summertime got to see it more often. Carson was born to host a late night talk show. His monologue was always funny and current, but didn’t have the self-important, smartass edge that seems to be the norm today. He was an easygoing, smooth interviewer. And an appearance with Carson on The Tonight Show…especially if he gave the “okay” sign or waved the performer over to the couch for a chat…could legitimately make a young comedian’s career. That’s how far our society has fallen: from having the goal of making the preeminent funny man in show business laugh in order to launch a career, to saying “Ehhh…maybe I’ll just make a sex tape or do a reality show.” Personally I preferred the former protocol. At any rate, even Johnny’s retirement took late night television to a whole new level. The battle between Jay Leno & David Letterman brought much publicity, and eventually gave us more competition in the time slot, which is good for viewers. Leno took the Tonight Show mantle and was almost as solidly & comfortingly funny as Carson for many years. Then there was more controversy, Conan O’Brien got his shot, and eventually Leno returned. I didn’t like how that whole thing went down but hindsight being 20/20 I guess it all worked out. Conan wasn’t the right fit, and despite the fact that I think he handled the situation poorly the fact is that Leno is a worthy successor to Carson. At the end of the day (literally), we all just want to relax, put our troubles on the backburner, laugh a little, and forget how badly humanity can totally suck. Whether one does that by watching a movie, reading a book, praying, or making sweet love to a significant other, it’s all good. And it’s nice to know that amongst our plethora of choices The Tonight Show has been a viable option for so many years.

 

 

2       The Andy Griffith Show

          CBS 1960-68

I have been dreading this moment. Why?? Well, because while I feel like I am a decent enough writer I am unsure if I can come up with the exact right words to properly encapsulate not only my own but the world’s admiration for The Andy Griffith Show. It was…is…precisely everything a television show should be and more. Mayberry may ostensibly be a fictional town, but it is a place that I desperately wish was real and would absolutely move to in a heartbeat. The people are friendly, the pace is slow, and any problems that arise are easily solved with a little old-fashioned ingenuity and good solid love, understanding, and neighborliness. It is fascinating to think that this show was produced in the midst of the raucous counterculture 60’s but never dared to go near any of the controversy that decade manufactured. Now I suppose touchy feely, bleeding heart, politically correct types would consider that a damning indictment of The Andy Griffith Show, but I think it is part of its genius. Whereas so many modern television programs strive to be current, hip, & edgy, and utilize storylines “ripped from the headlines”, the powers-that-be in Mayberry understood that real life was hard enough, that when one sits down to watch TV they want to be entertained not preached at or talked down to. They understood that traditional values like friendship, family, kindness, hospitality, empathy, and respect for the law could be communicated in a way that was funny, inviting, and palatable. The Andy Griffith Show embodies everything great that America once was and could be again. I know that times have changed. We live in a different world these days. Entertainment seems to be all about sex, drugs, violence, werewolves, vampires, hating God, and embarrassing stupidity (Honey Boo-Boo?? Please, just shoot me.) I am so thankful that, even though this show was long gone before I was ever born, reruns have continued for over 40 years. Think about that for a second. This is such a great show that four decades after it went off the air it is still being shown. That is remarkable!! I get an opportunity to watch it every weekday at 12:30pm right after the afternoon news. I even interrupt my post-midnight shift daytime nap for it. We lost Andy Griffith just a few months ago, and almost all the rest of the cast (Don Knotts, Frances Bavier, George Lindsey, Jack Dodson, Hal Smith, etc.) have also gone to be with The Lord (Ron Howard, Jim Nabors, and Betty Lynn are still with us). However, the memories that they all created over 8 years & 249 episodes will remain forever, and for that I say a most heartfelt Thank You.

 

 

1       Seinfeld

          NBC 1989-98

As we reach the pinnacle a few things must be said. First of all, Seinfeld beats out Andy Griffith in a photo finish for one simple reason…it was on the air in my lifetime and I enjoyed it as it was happening rather than enjoying it in reruns several decades after it was gone. Secondly, I am more than a little surprised (even though this is my list) that a 90’s show comes out on top. I would have thought an 80’s show would have received the honor. And finally, the contrast between #1 & #2 couldn’t possibly be starker. Whereas Griffith is gentle, benevolent, and laid-back, Seinfeld boldly embraces the brash callousness, egotism, and pessimism of not only its NY City setting but of its era. However, it does this in such a way that is completely hilarious, more than a little ironic, and overwhelmingly self-aware. Jerry Seinfeld was The It Comedian at a time when the thing to do was give comedians their own sitcom. Sometimes it works (Gabe Kaplan/Welcome Back Kotter, Tim Allen/Home Improvement, Bob Newhart/Newhart, Bill Cosby/The Cosby Show, Ray Romano/Everybody Loves Raymond), sometimes it doesn’t (George Lopez/The George Lopez Show, Brett Butler/Grace Under Fire, Roseanne Barr/Roseanne, Ellen Degenerate/Ellen, DL Hughley/The Hughleys), but Seinfeld most definitely worked. When a show has been off the air for more than a decade and folks can still recite memorable lines and recall the plots of entire shows it says to me that the show was memorable and extremely well-written. It was always promoted as “a show about nothing”, and lived up to that promise. While lots of other programs would tackle big topics and have a point-of-view about certain themes, Seinfeld instead concentrated on life’s minutiae and mundane details. The supporting cast (Jerry’s ex Elaine, his next door neighbor Kramer, and his best friend George) was probably amongst the best in television history. As characters they were self-absorbed, insecure, cynical, superficial, and insensitive…but hysterically so. How many shows could take simple, relatable concepts like waiting for a table at a restaurant, forgetting where you parked the car in the mall garage, dealing with an eccentric boss, or leaving a regrettable voicemail, and turn them into 30 minutes of laughs that people remember 20 years later?? The answer is not many. Jerry Seinfeld himself was never a great actor, but he was saved by the writing and his superb co-stars. Seinfeld had the good fortune to come along at the perfect time. A decade earlier and it would have been dismissed as too mean-spirited and esoteric, a decade later it would have been lost amidst the white noise of shows trying too hard to be edgy, post-modern, and sardonic. We the viewers were the beneficiary of that perfect timing, and for that we should all be appreciative.

 

 

 

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50 Favorite TV Shows…..30-21

So, I’ve been thinking…

30 years from now another writer is going to do a list like this. If, like me, they are heavily influenced by the types of programming they grew up with, what will that list look like?? Will someone actually heap praise on crap like Family Guy, America’s Next Top Model, Wife Swap, or Glee?? I am well aware that there have been what most people would consider pretty decent shows produced in the past 10 or 15 years…stuff like Lost, 30 Rock, and The Sopranos…that for one reason or another simply never frosted my cupcake. But I maintain that the majority of what we see on television (and in movies for that matter) now isn’t nearly as good as what I grew up watching. Your mileage may vary. Anyway…on with the countdown!!

 

 

30     Wings

          NBC 1990-97

In the 90’s it seemed like NBC could do no wrong. They’d invented the idea of “Must See TV” in the 80’s and successfully made viewers buy into the concept for well over a decade. It didn’t hurt that the suits at 30 Rockefeller Plaza churned out a string of sitcoms ranging from exceptionally sublime to pretty darn good to better than average. I suppose there were a few clunkers in the mix (The Single Guy, Veronica’s Closet, Suddenly Susan, Just Shoot Me), but they were few & far between. One show that fell somewhere in the pretty good/above average area on the scale was this little tale of two brothers running a small independent airline on the Massachusetts island of Nantucket (you know…where that girl comes from). Wings was created by the same folks who brought us Cheers and Frasier (both of which will appear much higher in this countdown), so the elite pedigree is undeniable and the vibe was familiar. NBC kept moving its night & time slot throughout its 7 year run, so much like NewsRadio I think this is a show that never quite reached its full potential.

 

 

29     Entourage

          HBO 2004-11

Although I am fortunate to have made some good friendships in college that I maintain to this day, I don’t have any lifelong buddies that I’ve known since childhood, which are the types of relationships intertwined thru Entourage. The kicker is that one of the guys is a big time movie star who has transplanted his posse from Queens, NY to Hollywood. The language is a bit salty and these guys are clearly in a state of arrested development, but I guess young, rich, famous, good looking people can roll like that. There were some really well done cameos in Entourage’s 7 year run (Bob Saget, Mandy Moore, Gary Busey, and Mark Cuban immediately spring to mind), but the absolute best part of the show was manic, self-centered, foul-mouthed, politically incorrect uber agent Ari Gold. HBO is able to do its television seasons a bit different from the normal September-May/30 episodes thing that the broadcast networks have done for decades. Entourage usually aired in the summer for a dozen or so episodes, which atleast gave viewers something to look forward to apart from the reruns so prevalent on other channels. I just wish it was going to be on for a few more years…I wasn’t tired of it yet.

 

 

28     The Wonder Years

          ABC 1988-93

I’m a sucker for the whole wistful, nostalgic zeitgeist, and few TV shows have ever captured that as well as The Wonder Years. Narrated by the vastly underrated Daniel Stern (Home Alone, City Slickers), the show follows the teenage angst of young Kevin Arnold as he deals with his family, friends, and puppy love for the fetching Winnie Cooper in the late 60’s & early 70’s. The show not only represents an era well, but nails small town life, family dynamics, and the growing pains of a boy evolving into a young man…sometimes fun, sometimes sad, complex yet quaint.

 

 

27     Star Trek

          NBC 1966-69

Full disclosure: not only was I not yet born during the original Trek’s run, but I didn’t really become a Trekkie until college and that was mainly influenced by the film series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, it is my belief that love of the entire Trek universe must encompass a respectful appreciation of the series that birthed all that followed. The idea was spawned from the creative genius of Gene Roddenberry, a former pilot & LAPD cop turned writer who envisioned Star Trek as a spaghetti western set in space. Nearly 50 years later millions of people still fondly recall the adventures of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy”, the half human/half Vulcan Spock, and the rest of the crew of the starship Enterprise, as well as the various alien races they battled like the Klingons & Romulans. It blows my mind that the show only lasted three seasons.

 

 

26     Jeopardy!

          Syndicated 1984-Present

My Grandma Pigott was a big fan of game shows. The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, Password, Press Your Luck, Family Feud, Tic-Tac-Dough, Card Sharks, The $10,000 Pyramid, Hollywood Squares, Match Game…I could go on. Has there ever been a cooler name on television than Wink Martindale?? In my opinion the best game show in history is Jeopardy. I’m a huge trivia buff, and I think it’s awesome when one can chill out watching TV for a half hour and still learn a few things. Too many things have contributed to the dumbing down of America, but I’m happy to say this show isn’t among them.

 

 

25     The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder

          CBS 1995-99

I’m a big fan of late night TV, partly because I’m a night owl and partly because I can vaguely recall a time when television stations actually ended their broadcast day at some point (usually with The Star Spangled Banner) and am still enamored with the fact that they don’t do that anymore. I am easily entertained. At any rate, most late night shows follow your typical funny host with a sidekick, live audience, & house band/monologue/comedy bit/interview with a celebrity guest plugging their latest project/end the show with a musical act formula, and that’s okay. However, I am a minimalist who finds it fascinating when two people can sit down and have a lengthy & interesting conversation. We don’t do enough of that in our real lives anymore, and we rarely see it on television. Tom Snyder hosted a late night show called Tomorrow on NBC in the 70’s when I was far too young to stay up that late. That show was cancelled in 1982 to make way for a new guy named David Letterman. A little more than a decade later Letterman restored balance to the universe by bringing Snyder back to host the 12:30am show immediately following his own. Snyder was such a unique host, with his hearty laugh, easygoing manner, and an ability to connect with the audience and his guests. Plus, even though he wasn’t a comedian like Leno or Letterman, he was hilarious. Who could ever forget his nightly appeal to “sit back & relax, fire up a colortini, and watch the moving pictures as they fly through the air”?? I don’t know whose idea it was to replace Tom Snyder with the sardonic Craig Kilborn in 1999, but I hope there is an especially warm place in Hell reserved for those responsible.

 

 

24     Growing Pains

          ABC 1985-92

Speaking of growing pains…whereas The Wonder Years took a distinctive, sentimental approach, this 80’s staple utilized the old fashioned, paint-by-numbers typical sitcom method, which was perfectly fine. It served as a launching pad for the career of Leonardo DiCaprio, and to a lesser degree Kirk Cameron. I say that because, even though Cameron was the centerpiece of the show throughout its run and DiCaprio was only on for 1 year, I think we can all agree that Leo’s superstar trajectory has reached a wee bit higher than Cameron’s (although to be fair Kirk Cameron has dedicated his life to serving our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, which in the long run is more significant than being a movie star, even if one of those movies is Titanic).

 

 

23     Little House on the Prairie

          NBC 1974-83

I think this may have been the very first television show I ever loved. Based on the series of childrens’ books by author Laura Ingalls Wilder published in the 1930’s, it is a family drama set in the small town of Walnut Grove, Minnesota during the latter half of the 19th century. Surprisingly I’ve never read the books.

 

 

 

22     Who’s the Boss?

          ABC 1984-92

Hey-oh, oh-ay!! The story of a widowed single father from Brooklyn moving to Connecticut to provide a better life for his young daughter. The catch?? He has to take a job as a live-in housekeeper for a snobbish single mother and her young son.  Hilarity ensued. Much like Growing Pains this show didn’t color outside the lines of sitcom convention, but it did what it did quite well. I’ve always enjoyed Tony Danza’s relatable charm, and Alyssa Milano was amongst my first celebrity crushes.

 

 

 

21     WKRP in Cincinnati

          ABC 1978-82

I really feel like this is one of the most heinously underappreciated sitcoms in television history. Heck, I even feel like I am underrating it!! I suppose the latter statement is due to the fact that it went off the air when I was 10 years old. Fortunately for me it became a much bigger ratings hit in syndication during the 80’s than it was in its original run. Workplace comedies with a bunch of quirky misfits aren’t exactly rare…they are a tried & true TV tradition (Barney Miller, Taxi, The Office, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Murphy Brown,  and so on…). However, when the workplace is a radio station and it is being produced at a time when some of the best rock n’ roll ever made is on the air then that is a winning combination. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with super cool DJ’s Dr. Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap?? Or have a lovably clueless boss like Mr. Carlson and an understanding supervisor like Andy Travis?? And who wouldn’t absolutely love to see a gorgeous receptionist like Jennifer (Loni Anderson) as soon as you walk thru the door every day?? Sadly I have felt varying degrees of malice toward every place I’ve ever worked and have not found a job environment nearly as awesome as those we see on TV. I would be remiss if I did not mention and highly recommend an episode called “Turkeys Away”, originally aired on 10/30/78, in which Mr. Carlson comes up with “the greatest Thanksgiving promotion in radio history”. It can be found online if you look hard enough and it is well worth the effort.

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50 Favorite TV Shows…..40-31

As we continue the countdown a few random thoughts jump to mind. I understand the deal with reality shows…they are much cheaper to produce than a sitcom or hour long drama. But how ticked off must a lot of struggling actors…who work hard to hone their craft and juggle multiple minimum wage jobs just to pay the rent…be to see an idiot like Kim Kardashian or some clueless himbo from The Bachelor become famous just because they’ve successfully whored themselves out?? That being said, I do like some of the reality/documentary shows on The History Channel…stuff like American Pickers, Pawn Stars, and American Restoration. Atleast those shows offer some educational value alongside the entertainment. More random thoughts at another time. Until then…we ride!!

 

 

 

 

 

40     The Beverly Hillbillies

          CBS 1962-71

Here we go with another great theme song!! It’s a shame TV shows no longer have memorable theme songs. Most of them don’t even have one at all because bean counters figured out that was another 30 seconds that could be used for commercials. At any rate, this is one more fish-out-of-water tale about a family from the south who strike oil and for some reason feel compelled to move to California. Cultures clash, hilarity ensues. I have no statistics for verification, but this has to be one of the most rerun shows in television history. It was cancelled a year before I was born but was on all the time when I was a kid and can still be seen occasionally even today.

 

 

39     7th Heaven

          WB/CW 1996-2007

The CW (formerly the WB) has never quite risen to the level of the original three networks or even Fox, but it did produce this one good show, which actually holds the record for the longest running family drama ever, beating out both Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons. It followed the trials & tribulations of a minister, his wife, and their brood of seven children. Be fruitful & multiply indeed. Storylines didn’t shy away from serious topics like drug & alcohol abuse, racism, teen pregnancy, etc., but overall the show had an easygoing, breezy tone with likeable characters. The powers-that-be went for a general moral vibe rather than an overtly Christian message, which is about as far as the entertainment industry is willing to go nowadays.

 

 

38     Pardon the Interruption/Mike & Mike in the Morning

          ESPN 2001&2004-Present

As I’ve gotten older my tastes have naturally evolved, but television has also changed considerably. I just can’t get into all this reality stuff that’s on nowadays. My own life has enough reality, and I always thought the point of watching television was to escape reality. Anyway, one “real” thing I enjoy immensely is my sports. On autumn weekends you’ll find me glued to the 40 inch hi-def flat screen watching as much football as humanly possible. I like watching Nascar on Sundays, keep up with my Pittsburgh Pirates baseball, and follow the NBA and college basketball. ESPN provides a plethora of programming that examines, reviews, debates, and converses about the sports news du jour. Two of my favorites are Mike & Mike and PTI.

 

 

37     Remember WENN               

          AMC 1996-98

There seems to be a lot of buzz about American Movie Classics’ drama Mad Men these days. I must confess that I have never seen that particular show, but I was a big fan of AMC’s first foray into original programming about 15 years ago. The title is a play on words involving the call letters of the fictional Pittsburgh radio station depicted. Set during the early 1940’s before TV was the standard and radio was the most influential form of entertainment, it follows the personal & professional interaction between the talent & management that work at the station…sometimes funny, sometimes melodramatic. Remember WENN didn’t last long, but it made a memorable impression on its fans.

 

 

36     Beavis & Butt-head              

          MTV 1993-97

Take a group of college frat boys, add some beer or other intoxicants, and then throw in a cartoon about two dim-witted teenagers who sit around making fun of music videos. That’s a recipe for aheck of a fun time.

 

 

 

 

35     General Hospital/Days of Our Lives

          ABC/NBC 1963&1965-Present

My sister & I had a babysitter when we were in grade school that got us hooked on these two soap operas during the summer. I think there is a comfort factor with soaps…they are on the air every weekday – year round – for multiple decades, many characters never leave, and one can miss several days or even weeks and easily keep up with the general plot. We literally watch some characters grow up, get married, have kids, and die. Sometimes they have multiple marriages and deaths. It’s all quite kitschy & fun as long as one doesn’t take it too seriously. Many big time stars got their start in soaps…folks like Meg Ryan, Demi Moore, David Hasselhoff, Kevin Bacon, Marisa Tomei, Alec Baldwin, Sarah Michelle Gellar,  Robin Wright,  Ryan Phillipe, Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon, Julianne Moore, James Earl Jones, and Eva Longoria…just to name a few.

 

 

 

34     The Facts of Life

          NBC 1979-88

A spin off of Diff’rent Strokes, this show saw a former housekeeper take on the job of housemother to a group of young girls at an exclusive New York boarding school. Fun fact (pun unavoidable): after the first season the original group of girls was pared down considerably so that the focus could be on just 4 main characters (Blair, Jo, Natalie, & Tootie). Among those cut from the cast?? Molly Ringwald. Fortunately things turned out okay for her. Another fun fact: in 1985 there was a recurring handyman character. Who played the handyman?? George Clooney. He’s still doing just fine too.

 

 

33     Diff’rent Strokes

          NBC 1978-86

The premise: two orphaned black boys from Harlem are adopted by a wealthy white widower who lives in a penthouse on Park Avenue. It was a pretty unique concept 30 years ago. Unfortunately today Diff’rent Strokes is known for the later misfortunes of its three child actors. The breakout star, Gary Coleman, who was 10 when cast in the show, had a variety of legal, medical, and financial issues that made him a favorite of trashy tabloids and died tragically at the age of 42. Dana Plato, who played the spoiled daughter, battled drug addiction, did porn, was arrested for armed robbery, and died of an overdose when she was 34 years old. Todd Bridges, the elder son, had well publicized drug issues and arrests but has seemingly turned things around.

 

 

32     Six Feet Under

          HBO 2001-05

One would not normally think that a show about a family that runs a funeral home would be all that entertaining, but it was cool in its own dark, brooding, morbid sort of way. The writing was crisp and the acting superb. Each show would open with the death of some random character, with my favorites being the dude who was jogging through a canyon and got pounced on by a cougar (which scared the crap out of me) and the man who got chopped to bits by an industrial dough mixer. The series finale that aired on August 21, 2005 was amazing…I still can’t get that song out of my head.

 

 

31     All in the Family

          CBS 1971-79

For the most part I am not a big fan of preachy, socially conscious, “message” television. That’s just not what I watch TV for, and these days the messages conveyed are usually rather Godless, liberal, and morally corrupt anyway. However, part of the issue also lies in the fact that there’s just not much left to be said. Most of the boundaries have been crossed, nearly all the taboos have long since been broken. That wasn’t the case 40 years ago. With the arrival of Archie Bunker we had a guy whose blatant honesty and disdain for political correctness was way way way ahead of his time. Though the left leaning suits behind the show obviously meant to cast Archie as a depraved, racist malcontent in a blatant jab at conservative values a funny thing happened on the way to the soapbox. It turns out that Archie oftentimes expressed things that a lot of Americans were thinking but were too polite to say out loud. Archie Bunker was Rush Limbaugh decades before talk radio was cool, and we loved him for it.

 

 

 

 

 

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50 Favorite TV Shows…..50-41

I ran some numbers on this list just for fun.

As far as network representation, NBC has 21 shows, ABC 11, CBS 9, The WB/CW, ESPN, and HBO have 2 each, USA & MTV each have 1, and there are 2 shows that are/were strictly first run syndicated. Curiously enough Fox has apparently never produced a show that frosted my cupcake all that much.

18 of my choices were mainly 80’s shows, 14 were 90’s shows, 4 came and went before I was even born (ahhh…the magic of reruns), and only 5 shows emanate from this century (2000 and beyond for those of you in Wyoming County, WV who might be having a friend from civilization trained in the literary arts reading this to you). Only 8 are still in production.

27 of my selections are comedies and 11 are dramas. A couple of shows are the difficult to pigeonhole hybrid dramedy, and then we have a game show, a couple of soap operas (thanks to my childhood babysitter), four late night comedy talk shows, two sports talk shows, and a few shows that simply cannot be categorized.

This information may not interest anyone but me, but I found it thought-provoking.

Now, onto the first ten selections!!

 

 

50     Dawson’s Creek

          WB 1998-2003

I always found the crew from Capeside, Mass. To be far more interesting than those other high schoolers on the left coast that resided in the 90210 zip code.


 

49     Sanford & Son                      

          NBC 1972-77    

My Dad and my Papaw Jim loved the adventures of junkyard magnate Fred Sanford and his son Lamont. I always got a kick out of the banter between Fred and his sister-in-law Aunt Esther. This show was cancelled when I was 5 years old, but reruns were so ubiquitous throughout the 80’s that it was never really off the air.

 

 

48     Three’s Company

          ABC 1977-84

As a red-blooded American pre-pubescent boy I had an appreciation for “jiggle TV”, a term which makes me laugh now. The explicit, craptastic vulgarity so pervasive on television today makes this show seem like religious programming in comparison. In an early season of the 90’s hit Friends the characters are watching an old rerun and someone sardonically says “Oh…I think this is the episode of Three’s Company where there’s some kind of misunderstanding.”, which pretty much encapsulates the show perfectly. It wasn’t exactly Shakespeare, but I think maybe it flies under the radar when looking back at past great comedies.

 

 

47     The Waltons

          CBS 1972-81

The vast majority of this show’s original run came when I was too young to appreciate good quality television, but reruns were plentiful throughout the 80’s. One would not think a family drama about a large family’s triumphs & tragedies during The Great Depression would be all that entertaining, but I must say, television would be much better off if more family friendly, morally upright, well written shows like The Waltons were still around.

 

 

46     The Golden Girls

          NBC 1985-92

Here we have another premise that would seem to fly in the face of conventional wisdom but proves that maybe all that mumbo jumbo about target demographics and appealing to a younger audience isn’t always accurate. Who would think that a teenage boy would enjoy a show about a group of female seasoned citizens relishing the autumn of their years with the vitality (and libido) of women half their age??

 

 

45     Batman                                  

          NBC 1966-68

Spiderman is okay. Superman is…well…super. But for my money the coolest superhero of all time is Batman. He’s not from another planet. He isn’t the result    of some lab mishap. He doesn’t have any super powers. He’s just an ordinary guy that happens to be filthy rich, psychologically damaged, and dresses in a cowl & cape to exact vigilante justice on bad guys. And while the big screen versions of the story (both the 90’s Tim Burton flicks and Christopher Nolan’s gloomy vision) are more in line with the gritty tone of the comic books, I really love the campy, kitschy cheesiness of the 60’s TV show starring Adam West & Burt Ward (with the well-known rogues gallery of villains played by folks like Burgess Meredith, Caesar Romero, Eartha Kitt, and Frank Gorshin). It was on before I was born of course, but when Burton revived interest in The Caped Crusader two decades ago old reruns started showing up on television and I was instantly hooked.

 

44     The Love Boat

          ABC 1977-86

I’ve not been on a cruise…yet. But when the time comes how cool would it be to find love with another passenger, have dinner at the Captain’s table, and get drinks from a bartender as cool as Isaac?? Love Boat served as a side job for many past-their-prime TV & movie stars, who played passengers. This concept kept the show fresh for a few years longer than it otherwise may have been since the main cast were actually just supporting players on a weekly basis. And let’s talk about the disco infused theme song!! I’ll admit publicly that I still…25+ years later…randomly belt it out (badly) on occasion.

 

43     Full House

          ABC 1987-95

Cute babies?? Check. A saccharine sweet TV Dad no real father could ever live up to?? Check. A lil beefcake for the ladies?? Check. Conflicts that were all easily solved and wrapped up with a very special life lesson in less than 30 minutes?? Check. This wasn’t anywhere near the cutting edge, but rather a show that knew exactly how to push all the right buttons and did so with reasonable success for nearly a decade. It’s what we all seemed to prefer back in the day.

 

42     Newhart                                 

          CBS 1982-90

Some from an older generation might prefer comedian Bob Newhart’s previous effort, the 1970’s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show, in which he played a Chicago shrink hilariously interacting with co-workers and patients. However, I lean toward Newhart’s second foray into TV in which he played a Vermont innkeeper & author hilariously interacting with employees and townsfolk. This show produced undoubtedly one of the greatest series finales in the history of television on May 21, 1990 (less than 2 weeks before my high school graduation).

 

41         Coach

          ABC 1989-97

In 1983 Craig T. Nelson played a hardnosed high school football coach in the film All the Right Moves, one of Tom Cruise’s early stops on the upward climb to superstardom. Six years later Nelson would again play a football coach, this time at a fictional Minnesota college in quite possibly one of the more underrated sitcoms of the 1990’s. Curmudgeonly Coach Fox’s interactions with his two blundering assistant coaches, Luther & Dauber, were the centerpiece of the amusement, as was the relationship with his classy, way out of his league girlfriend.

 

 

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