bob newhart

I have often said that all television falls into two categories, good and bad. However, I have recently discovered that television can also be categorized as classic and non-classic. But there's a catch.

When I was growing up, there wasn't a lot of good TV due to the fact that there were only three networks (four if you count PBS, which I certainly didn't). Consequently, local affiliates had no choice but to fill their daytime schedules with reruns of popular sitcoms like The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island and The Monkees. These shows and shows like them have become classics almost by default. Bottom line: when an entire generation can sing the theme song of a show, it's a classic.

Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

No matter how much TV I watch, I can't seem to get over the first rule of television programming; if it doesn't get the numbers, it doesn't get renewed. I have watched many a beloved show get yanked from the schedule due to low ratings, even though critics and fans alike all raved about it.

Here are some examples of shows that were too good for the small screen.

Pasadena
The potential for greatness was here, sadly Fox didn't promote the show and nobody watched. I was lucky enough to watch the entire season on and finally get answers to some really nagging questions.I also got see favorites like Mark Valley & Dana Delaney really chew the scenery.

The Bob Newhart Show (the variety show on NBC)
This show won a Peabody award, but was clearly ahead of its time. It's pretty hard to find these days, but Tv icons like Ken Berry and Joe Flynn were regulars and the comedy was superb.

Like a lot of people, I'll be out there today spending cash and gift cards I got yesterday. There are a lot of TV-oriented books released every year, and many of them are quite good. Some of them are downright terrible (*cough* TWOP *cough*), but let's focus on the good ones. Below is a list of 10 great TV books to give the TV addict in your family.

1. Hello, Lied The Agent, by Ian Gurvitz: Excellent behind-the-scenes look at how the TV industry works, from a writer/producer of such shows as Wings, Becker, and Get A Life. He talks about the dos and don'ts for Hollywood writers, pitch meetings, cancellations, shows the journal he kept a few years ago, and even talks about the new shows that have debuted in the past couple of years. Very informative and just really, really funny.

Well, not that early, considering it premieres tonight on TNT. But it is early enough to let you know that if you are fan of the first Librarian film you will probably like the second installment as well. And, even if you never saw the first one you'll still enjoy it.

For those who are unfamiliar with the film series, The Librarian stars Noah Wyle (ER's Doctor John Carter) as Flynn Carson, holder of 22 college degrees and 'librarian' of the Metropolitan Public Library. Actually, Flynn's job is to find and protect historical and sometime magical items that are stored in the special section of the library. His position of librarian takes him around the world in search of said items, and it sometimes leads to situations no normal librarian would be involved with. I mean, librarians usually aren't held at gunpoint by villains whose books are overdue.

Everything you need to know about the web site Television Without Pity - and why I hate it so much - can be found in the subtitle of their new book. It's called Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love To Hate (And Hate To Love) About Television.

Why does it have to be like that? Why do they either have to "love to hate" or "hate to love" what they see on television? Is it not "hip" to really like television? I've long suspected that these people don't really like TV, they just find it a convenient place to use all of their snarky tools and be sarcastic. Of course, that doesn't mean that a book about television, even from them, couldn't hold some promise. But reading through the damn thing, this is what I found out about TWoP's view of television.

Since TV is in everyone's home, it's one of the pop culture things we can all talk about. Entertainment Weekly lists their 10 Big Watercooler Moments, those moments on TV shows that we were all talking about the next day at work (or school).

While some of their choices are obvious and deserving to be on the list (Lucy going into labor on I Love Lucy, Ellen DeGeneres coming out on Ellen, Maddie and David finally doing it on Moonlighting, the "Who Shot J.R." ep of Dallas), are they really serious when they list the episode that Michael J. Fox left Spin City? Really? Hey, I like Fox, but was his character (or even the show) that important and talked about? I think that Fox announcing he was ill was certainly something we all talked about, but I don't think that it should be on this list. Especially considering what EW left off the list: the finales of M*A*S*H*, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Friends; several Seinfeld moments (that was the topic of discussion every morning after where I worked), and the final episode of Newhart with Suzanne Pleshette.

I mean, Felicity cutting her hair? Gah.

[via TV Filter]

If I were to pick 10 of my favorite TV people of all-time, my list would include people like Rod Serling, Dick Van Dyke and Carl Reiner, everyone behind The Simpsons, and, of course, American Idol judge Paula Abdul.

OK, I'm kidding about that last one.

But also on that list would be veteran comic Bob Newhart. Not only did he star in two great classic sitcoms (The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart), and a third underrated one (George & Leo), he's also a brilliant standup comic. He even had the #1 album and won a Grammy, beating out people like Frank Sinatra. He's funny, has a unique style, and just seems like a helluva decent guy.

1. CBS, Saturday nights, 1970s: Come on, how can you miss with shows like Bob Newhart, All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, and The Carol Burnett Show. I think Carol Burnett was one of the first shows that my mom let me stay up late to watch.

2. ABC, Friday nights, 1970s: The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. Yeah, that's right, The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family! You got a problem with that? My sister and I would go down to the corner store and stock up on candy, chips, and ice cream, and then race home to watch Marcia get hit in the nose with a football. Good times.

Every Tuesday here on TV Squad , we will highlight the week's TV-on-DVD releases. Some noteworthy releases today, April 11, 2006:

• The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete 3rd Season
• Farscape - Starburst Edition - Volume 9 (3.3)
• In Living Color - Season 5
• The Merv Griffin Show - 40 of the Most Interesting People of Our Time