With all the press coverage given to Michael Jackson, you'd think a special about his life would trample the ratings of all the other networks. Apparently, that isn't the case as an ABC special about the life of Farrah Fawcett won in the ratings against a similar Michael Jackson retrospective on CBS.

I think it likely helped that Barbara Walters hosted the ABC special (which was a 20/20 special and therefore had more name value than a generic special), whereas the special on Jacko was simply a CBS documentary. I'm still amazed at the rapid turnaround time that the networks can produce specials like these. They have turned it into an art.

It is debatable over who was the bigger name, although both were icons on their time. Jackson seems to be getting more coverage because his death was more of a surprise than Farrah's. Either way, Thursday was a hell of a day.

During some of the television obits I've been hearing about the late, great Ed McMahon, one of the most common misunderstandings about the Tonight Show sidekick's career has been perpetuated: that he worked for Publishers Clearing House, handing out big checks to unsuspecting sweepstakes winners.

Well, Ed did work for one of those sweepstakes-and-subscriptions houses, but it was PCH's main rival, American Family Publishers. He often appeared in the AFP's ads and mailings with his Bloopers and Practical Jokes buddy Dick Clark.

Not once did McMahon work for PCH, but as Bob pointed out in his obituary, jokes about his sweepstakes work often kept the mistake alive.

'Tonight Show' sidekick Ed McMahon died early this morning in Los Angeles.

According to his publicist, Howard Bragman, McMahon, who was hospitalized with pneumonia in February, died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering a "multitude of health problems the last few months."

Among the reported ailments: bone cancer, an anonymous source told the Associated Press.

He was 86.

When I heard that David Carradine was found hanging from a closet in his hotel room yesterday, one of the first things I thought was, "Huh. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would commit suicide." He just seemed like one of those full-of-life guys that wanted to experience all he could before he checked out. I even wondered aloud to my fiancee if he died doing something... else, using the rumored cause of death of INXS' Michael Hutchence as a reference.

I guess I wasn't far off. Now Thai police are speculating that Carradine may have accidentally died during a "sex game gone wrong," according to The Washington Post. This is after his manager, who was on Larry King Live last night, his friends and family, and his colleagues all agreed that there was no way Carradine was suicidal.

It's no secret, Prison Break is one of those shows that is not afraid to kill characters along the way, even major ones.

Therefore, it will be no surprise to you to learn that more deaths are coming in the final episodes of the series. But did you know that there is one that will be so major that the show's Powers That Be needed to meet face-to-face with the network to get approval?

Curious as to who may bite the dust by series' end? Want to speculate on how it will happen?

Extreme spoilers follow! You've been warned.

(S05E19) "I died just like I lived, as the complete, utter center of attention." - dead Edie

It's no secret anymore. Nicolette Sheridan is leaving Desperate Housewives, and this was her last episode as a series regular. Even if most major websites, newspapers, and magazines warned us in early February that the actress was exiting the show, some fans were still holding out hope that the news was untrue, as it wasn't the first time we heard a rumor about Sheridan leaving. Those fans must now come to terms with the fact that the sexy, perceptive, strong, beautiful, and one-of-a-kind Edie is now gone. If you ask Lynette, she would tell you that Edie looks like cat litter right now.

One thing is for sure, Edie/Nicolette went out with a bang with what may be the second best episode of the season (my favorite being the 100th episode featuring Beau Bridges).

So, if you saw the preview for last night's special two-hour Brothers & Sisters, you were anticipating that someone was going to die. Then, if you surfed the net, there were all kinds of rumors and spoilers that something life-altering was going to happen. Would it be Tommy? What about Kitty and Robert's newborn, coming via surrogate mom? Would Nora keel over from all that running in the hospital hallways? Maybe it was going to be something from left field, like Uncle Saul gagging on a wine cork and kicking the bucket?

Imagine my shock and surprise when all the build up turned out to be something unexpected. If you haven't watched it yet, I'll save it for after the jump.

Spike TV has picked up the original, non-scripted series 1,000 Ways to Die. The title of the show says it all -- it just chronicles the many ways people leave this world. It's from Thom Beers, the same guy who produced Ice Road Truckers, The Deadliest Catch, and Ax-Men. There seems to be a theme with Beers's shows, don't you think? The show was originally a two-part special that aired in May on Spike. It performed so well that the network has order ten 30-minute episodes.

Fans of Six Feet Under were floored, when at the end "Ecotone" (the fourth to last episode of the series) Nate finally succumbed to his AVM and passed away. His death earned one of the few "end of episode epitaphs" featured on the show.

Fortunately for Nate and his family, everyone had a chance to say good-bye. Claire and David spent hours in the hospital room with him, as did Ruth. Even Brenda visited, despite knowing about the affair with Maggie - until Nate says no more; we're done.

As fans, we cried. We mourned. We couldn't imagine the final three episodes of one HBO's finest programs without it's main player. Of course, we knew he'd be back - dead. That was a given, but it's still not the same. Little did we know what was in store for us.

A whole lot more crying.

(S02E02) Army Wives is reminding me of some of my favorite TV dramas of all time, shows like thirtysomething and Party of Five. Especially this episode where there are more feelings and reactions to the bombing at the Hump Bar. How does life go back to normal after a tragedy? How do you cope?

Time has passed and life may appear to be getting back to normal at Fort Marshall, but things are still quite unsettled among the close knit coterie on Army Wives. Chief among them are the Holdens. Claudia Joy is simply not returning to normal and it become clear as the episode progressed that she's an emotional powder keg.
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Just one day after Natascha McElhone celebrated her tenth anniversary with her husband Martin Kelly, he was found dead, slumped on the doorstep of their home in London. Kelly, who was only 42 years old, was one of Britian's premiere plastic surgeons. He was found by his friend, also a doctor. As of yet, no cause of death has been verified. But while Scotland Yard is treating the death as unexplained and will administer a post-mortem exam, Kelly is believed to have died of a heart attack.

McElhone is currently going back to the U.K. as she was filming in the States this week. Kelly had joined her Stateside for their anniversary celebration. The actress is expecting the couple's third child. A publicist for the actress said they had no comment at this time. However, McElhone's stepfather, Roy Greenslade, told the press,"It's still a mystery about the death,"It's so unexpected. Such a fit, handsome, fighting young man... We are in a bit of a terrible state to be honest."

Television icon Martha Stewart has suffered a family tragedy when her dog Paw Paw passed away from renal failure. He was almost 13 dog years old.

The dog's full name was "Kublai Khan Paw Paw Chow Chow". He was a 60 pound chow and had appeared on Martha's television programs a few times.

I admit I am neither a fan of dogs nor a fan of Martha but I find any death of a beloved pet to be tragic. All this being said, the conspiracy theorist in me wonders if we're being told the entire truth of the situation. I have a few alternate theories on Paw Paw's death:

So, sue me -- please don't, I can't afford a lawyer -- but I couldn't help using the pun. Garrison, who plays David "Tweener" Apolskis on FOX's Prison Break, will undergo a 90-day evaluation to help evaluate an appropriate sentence for his act of vehicular manslaughter.

In late May, Garrison pleaded guilty to the manslaughter and linked alcohol charges that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old passenger and the injury of two teenage girls. Garrison was driving with a blood alcohol content of .20 (California's legal limit is .08).

Wow. The people that permeated the TV landscape in the '70s and '80s are slowly starting to disappear, aren't they? That realization came to me when I went to the web site Romenesko and saw the news that talk-show host Tom Snyder died yesterday. The cause of death was listed as complications from leukemia. He was 71.

Most of us in the 35-and-up set will remember Snyder as host of the NBC talker The Tomorrow Show, which held the post-Tonight Show slot from 1973 to 1982. Much different than the show that preceeded it (and much different from what David Letterman would do in the timeslot), Tomorrow consisted of relaxed, long-form, smoky conversations with newsmakers and cultural icons like John Lennon, Charles Manson, and the Sex Pistols. It was also the show that provided "Weird Al" Yankovic with his first national TV exposure. Not sure why I remember that factoid.