little house on the prairie

There's a great discussion happening over at Pop Candy today about the fictional characters that have shaped our world. It's based on the book, "The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived". The list includes Big Brother, The Marlboro Man, and Kermit the Frog but commenters are pointing out some glaring omissions including Harry Potter, Homer Simpson, Bugs Bunny, and Charlie Brown.

I'm not even going to pretend to narrow down the five most influential television characters ever... I'll just give you the list of five TV characters that had the biggest effect on me. Interestingly, none of mine are from cartoons. List your Top Five in the comments.

One of these things is not like the other. I read this story and that's the song that got stuck in my head. The Hallmark Channel just bought the rights to air 29 feature films on its network. Soon, films like Miss Congeniality, Troy, The In-Laws, and New York Minute will pick up where Little House on the Prairie and Moment of Truth movies left off. The one movie that really stands out from the others is March of the Penguins. It actually makes a little bit of sense that it's on the Hallmark Channel, because the movie ends up being very emotional and about life's struggles and the saving grace of family. I just expected it to be on Discovery.

If you're not watching the Super Bowl today, you don't have to go out and, like, do something outdoors. You can still veg out in front of the television with a beer and some chips. Here are the five stand-out options for your television viewing pleasure:

5. TBS: Yes, Dear marathon. It seems like an odd choice of show to be watching all day long, but TBS thinks somebody will be interested. Sixteen episodes of Yes, Dear begin at 7 pm ET.