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Is it really a big surprise that television advertising isn't as effective as it used to be? As TV watchers -- okay, we're uber-watchers -- we know that with DVRs and TiVos we're zooming through ads, or we're channel surfing in between segments of our favorite shows, or renting/buying content in formats that allow us to avoid commercials altogether. Now, according to the Association of National Advertisers and Forrester Research's TV & Technology Survey, we learn that six out of 10 marketers believe that TV advertising has become less effective in the past two years. And it's getting worse.

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CBS's daytime drama Guiding Light celebrated its 71st year on the air on January 25. First, on radio, then and now on television, this grand old soap opera has never stopped telling its stories, making broadcast history. Production goes on, but starting February 29, 2008, viewers will be seeing Guiding Light in a brand new light. Led by innovative Executive Producer Ellen Wheeler, Guiding Light it busting out of the studio to starting filming in a more realistic, cinema verite style. "Soap operas have been shot, by and large, the same way since the 1950's, the same way I Love Lucy was shot - with pedestal cameras, in just a few interior sets," said Ms. Wheeler recently. According to her, the "[it's] old-fashioned, and it isn't working anymore."

Love is in the air, which makes it the perfect time to take a walk down (lovers') memory lane with 20 of TV's all-time best couples.

From the will-they-or-won't-they duos of 'Cheers' and 'Moonlighting' to current faves Jim and Pam and Mer and McDreamy, these tube twosomes all have one thing in common: We love to love them, baby.


-- By Kimberly Potts

I think it's a safe bet that's a headline I never thought I'd write and will never write again.

Two Tampa Bay Devil Rays fans are angry at the team for a contest held at the baseball stadium on June 23. The contest was to dress as '50s icons, and Bob Phibbs and Christine Sullivan went all out and dressed like Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, even down to the detailed costumes from an episode and bongo drums. They didn't win, however. The judges gave the prize to a woman and a kid who dressed in standard period wear. And this is why the couple is angry. They say the winners didn't follow the rules of dressing like an icon, and that they should either be disqualified or, at the very least, Phibbs and Sullivan should be given first prize too (they came in third - the first prize is a trip to NYC and tickets to a Yankees game and a Broadway show).

Looking for that special last minute Mother's Day gift? Nothing says Mother's Day like the death certificates of your favorite TV star!

Someone is selling the death certificates and wills of Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley on ebay. These aren't just one page descriptions of the date and manner of death, they are the actual detailed wills that they wrote before they died. Lucy didn't want to be embalmed and wanted to make sure her brother Fred and his wife didn't get anything. Desi made sure his mom was cared for. Vance left most of her estate to her much younger husband, and Frawley's will has a lot of bills and notes from creditors attached. It's probably interesting reading, but creepy.

For more background on the stars, here are the Wikipedia pages for Ball, Arnaz, Vance, and Frawley. Vance and Frawley hated each other.

[via TMZ.com]

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.

Ah, the friendly neighborhood drinking hole. In one way or another, they're there to give you that much needed morning/evening buzz before/after work or school. In what order you visit them is up to you. We've seen our fair share of these booze and caffeine shoppes on TV throughout the years, and here's my pick for the top 18 -- why settle for just ten?

1) Cheers (Cheers) -- Let's get right down to it and start with the obvious number one choice before we move on. I'm not going to insult you with dragging you on to the end to see what is very obviously the most famous of all TV bars. And since I'm from the area, I have no business not making this number one.

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.

This Sunday marks the 95th birthday of legendary comedienne Lucille Ball, and her hometown of Jamestown, NY is having a three day celebration. Not only was Jamestown the birthplace of Lucy, there is also a Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in the city.

Organizers expect thousands of Lucy fans from around the world to attend, and special guests include writers from the show and actors who appeared on the show too.

Another guest is actually older than Lucy would have been if she was still alive. Charles Lane, an actor you'll immediately know from his face and his resume, is 101, and he'll be attending the party as well.

Can you believe that Ford actually created a convertible in the 1950s with a system that was so easy to use even a woman could operate it? No, kidding, an honest to goodness woman. Anyway, that's the premise of this retro commercial featuring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz of I Love Lucy. Apparently women didn't develop the basic motor skills needed to push a button until the latter half of the 20th century. You gotta love the whole atavistic vibe of the ad, from Ricky telling Lucy she's better suited to taking ice cubes out of the freezer to the salesman only addressing Ricky and not even acknowledging Lucy. Check out the clip after the jump.

Every Tuesday here on TV Squad , we will highlight the week's TV-on-DVD releases. Some noteworthy releases today, May 2, 2006:

• 3rd Rock from the Sun - Season 4
• Andromeda - Vol 5.5
• Dinosaurs - The Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons
• A Fall of Eagles (mini-series)
• Hee Haw - Collection Vol 6
• I Love Lucy - The Complete 6th Season
• Kate & Allie - The Complete 1st Season
• King of the Hill - Complete 6th Season
• Leave It to Beaver - The Complete 2nd Season
• Life in the Undergrowth (mini-series)
• The Nanny - The Complete 2nd Season
• The Omega Factor
• Red Dwarf - Series 8
• The Red Green Show - 1997 Season

Here is the list of the Top 10 Dead Celebrities, as ranked by Marketing Evaluations, a company that has done surveys every year for 41 years:

• Lucille Ball
• Bob Hope
• John Wayne
• Jimmy Stewart
• Red Skelton
• Johnny Carson
• John Ritter
• Jackie Gleason
• Charles Schulz
• Michael Landon

Most of these names aren't a surprise, but I can't understand how Red Skelton is on the list yet Elvis Presley and Princess Di aren't.