http://www.unclebarky.com/index.htmlNews, views, and reviews from TV Critic Ed Barkenunclebarky@tx.rr.comCopyright 2006 Ed Bark2008-08-21T11:21:33-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:51:30 -0500unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2008-08-21T11:21:33-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/318acf64adbb7e8b14d6431f4cac1566-31.html#unique-entry-id-31http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/318acf64adbb7e8b14d6431f4cac1566-31.html#unique-entry-id-31unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2008-08-11T09:20:10-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/6be12c1fad088fc512bfd254c9fdf2eb-30.html#unique-entry-id-30http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/6be12c1fad088fc512bfd254c9fdf2eb-30.html#unique-entry-id-30 (1978) -- Just a year removed from the glory of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the star tried her hand at comedy-variety with a one-hour series whose repertory company included then newcomers David Letterman, Michael Keaton and Swoosie Kurtz. ...The Chevy Chase Show (1993) -- The late night terrain shifted big-time in fall 1993, with David Letterman jumping from NBC to CBS, Conan O'Brien replacing him and Fox hoping to capitalize with Chevy Chase behind a desk.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2008-08-07T11:04:01-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/19c4258e0521d0c7fe87fd417201dd5f-29.html#unique-entry-id-29http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/19c4258e0521d0c7fe87fd417201dd5f-29.html#unique-entry-id-29 -- The best ex-jock ever to hit a broadcast booth excelled as a kicker for the New York Giants before famously teaming with Tom Brookshier and later John Madden as the resident A-list pro football announcer for both CBS and Fox. ...Curt Gowdy -- People forget how big he was, serving as NBC's go-to guy for virtually every major sports event from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s after announcing the first five seasons of the American Football League on ABC.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2008-07-29T13:45:54-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/e7caa3717e034ae32aca14acf8ef42b8-28.html#unique-entry-id-28http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/e7caa3717e034ae32aca14acf8ef42b8-28.html#unique-entry-id-28 (Aug. 16, 1999, ABC) -- Launched as a two-week summertime "special event," the big-money quiz went on to carry ABC on its back for two seasons before flaming out from over-exposure. ...Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer didn't take their rightful, permanent place in NBC's famed "Must-See" Thursday night lineup until February, 1993, when the "show about nothing" began a five-season reign in prime-time's top 5.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2008-07-07T14:12:39-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/b4d62a9b9dcd8eca9f4103e8b8569a58-27.html#unique-entry-id-27http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/b4d62a9b9dcd8eca9f4103e8b8569a58-27.html#unique-entry-id-27The Beverly Hillbillies is bookended by stints as Davy Crockett's sidekick, Georgie Russel, on the old Disney series and as spry Barnaby Jones in the same-named detective drama. ...Oddly enough, his first of just two Emmy nominations came for a brief role as an injured soldier in 1977's Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2008-06-30T13:33:01-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/3745e903826c530c54ef2c6e3f8aa0ff-26.html#unique-entry-id-26http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/3745e903826c530c54ef2c6e3f8aa0ff-26.html#unique-entry-id-26 (main TV claim to fame: Mork from Ork in Mork & Mindy) -- He has a best supporting actor Oscar for Good Will Hunting and one of the signature comedic performances in film history as the title character in the mega-hit Mrs. ...WILL SMITH (main TV claim to fame: as himself in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) -- Seldom falling short of anything but box office gold, he's been reliably bankable since cutting his teeth in 1993's Six Degrees of Separation and following it up with the first of two Bad Boys films.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2008-06-12T08:54:13-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/83d6d2f038250eadc8c4354211bbf17f-25.html#unique-entry-id-25http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/83d6d2f038250eadc8c4354211bbf17f-25.html#unique-entry-id-25 (Dallas) -- Hard-driving Ewing patriarch shot just one for three, with good angel Bobby outflanked by prodigal, embittered Gary and diabolical J.R. ...Archie Bunker (All In the Family) -- TV's first king of Queens expected one and all to live at his beck and call.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2008-04-14T09:55:04-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/33f8d7cbf8e3ada862056be88f32c373-24.html#unique-entry-id-24http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/33f8d7cbf8e3ada862056be88f32c373-24.html#unique-entry-id-24Battlestar Galactica, USA Network's Monk, Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, TNT's The Closer, AMC's Mad Men, HGTV's Trading Spaces, Food Network's Iron Chef and others from hitting the cutting room floor when it came time to narrow the field to the appointed number. ...The series since has set up shop in Austin, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Boston, Hawaii, Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, etc. Subsequent hit MTV series such as The Osbournes, Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica and The Hills would be nowhere without Real World's spade work.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2008-03-18T12:42:38-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/ac6b7019c5a4150f8cb7bd925e4a2969-23.html#unique-entry-id-23http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/ac6b7019c5a4150f8cb7bd925e4a2969-23.html#unique-entry-id-23 (ABC, 2000-02) -- The godfather of modern-day, big-money game shows hoisted downtrodden ABC on its back and carried the network for two seasons before quickly burning out from too many airings and gimmicks. ...NBC also is prospering with its new Sunday Night Football series, which MNF preordained by packaging the pro game as both an entertainment spectacle and what's turned out to be prime-time's longest-running reality series.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-12-10T13:23:59-06:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/f781fbb0805461f1846383c4150fb519-22.html#unique-entry-id-22http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/f781fbb0805461f1846383c4150fb519-22.html#unique-entry-id-22Power of 10, NBC will return 1 vs. 100 to Friday nights, ABC has a British import called Wanna Bet on tap and Fox will be strapping contestants to lie detectors this January in The Moment of Truth. ...Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (premiered Aug. 16, 1999) -- No game show has ever been as hot in prime-time, but ABC prematurely burned it to the ground with too many weekly airings and too much celebrity stunting.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-09-12T10:56:44-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/3cd1af1cfaa85c18c94e7237883f93a5-21.html#unique-entry-id-21http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/3cd1af1cfaa85c18c94e7237883f93a5-21.html#unique-entry-id-21K-Ville, which opens on Monday nights at 8 against the closing half hour of Dancing with the Stars, NBC's Heroes, CBS' potent comedy duo of Two and a Half Men and Rules of Engagement, The CW's Girlfriends plus ESPN's Monday Night Football. ... Lloyd Owen of CBS' Viva Laughlin, Peter Krause of ABC's Dirty Sexy Money and you know who from Fox's you know what. 2.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-08-29T15:10:53-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/24cbceadcaee102abed1dda08fe0e762-20.html#unique-entry-id-20http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/24cbceadcaee102abed1dda08fe0e762-20.html#unique-entry-id-20 (Fox, 2003) -- Fox struck it rich in the ratings with the first Joe Millionaire, in which a bevy of golddiggers got deceived into thinking that well-chiseled construction worker Evan Marriott was loaded. ...I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here! (ABC, 2003) -- The word "celebrity" has seldom been used more loosely than in this jungle-set hoot starring the likes of "Downtown" Julie Brown, Alana Stewart, "Stuttering" John Melendez, Nikki Schieler-Ziering, Robin Leach (who battled leaches along with the others), Bruce Jenner and eventual champ Cris Judd.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-08-13T15:16:50-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/972ea0e6d50e7e28cce8891ba0c64d52-19.html#unique-entry-id-19http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/972ea0e6d50e7e28cce8891ba0c64d52-19.html#unique-entry-id-19 (1967-69 at KXAS, then WBAP) -- Durable, affable and still a key CBS News contributor, Schieffer's long, high-profile career at the network peaked when he replaced Dan Rather in March 2005 as interim anchor of the CBS Evening News. ...Schieffer continues to anchor Sunday morning's Face the Nation from Washington, D.C. An Austin native, he broke into journalism as a reporter for the The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered the Kennedy assassination and famously gave Lee Harvey Oswald's mother a ride to the Dallas police department.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-07-06T11:05:40-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/a472fb5855aa5abc6bd88f0d1b160454-18.html#unique-entry-id-18http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/a472fb5855aa5abc6bd88f0d1b160454-18.html#unique-entry-id-18unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-06-25T11:17:27-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/4719395c04d78e8557fa0c992e0bc217-16.html#unique-entry-id-16http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/4719395c04d78e8557fa0c992e0bc217-16.html#unique-entry-id-16Ocean's Thirteen pretty boy and give the rest of us earthlings a chance to do good works on our own without your constant prodding. ...But there's no rest for the vapid, which is another way of saying that Bravo is premiering the new reality series Hey Paula on Thursday, June 28th.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-06-08T15:55:00-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/7ded4a396626ecbfa083d77e240e82dd-15.html#unique-entry-id-15http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/7ded4a396626ecbfa083d77e240e82dd-15.html#unique-entry-id-15By ED BARK Absent further comment and pictures -- it's late Friday afternoon and frankly I'm exhausted -- here's the third and last of our Top 10 countdowns tied to Sunday's finale of The Sopranos. This one lists the 10 best drama series ever, without regard to whether they were ratings hits.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-06-07T12:19:14-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/5879dc3e1f1895dab9884f1f7453e728-14.html#unique-entry-id-14http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/5879dc3e1f1895dab9884f1f7453e728-14.html#unique-entry-id-14Perry Mason series ran its course, Burr returned to play the character in a series of popular NBC movies. ...Ewing (Dallas) -- Larry Hagman struck it rich as a Southfork oilman who lived in fear of his daddy, aimed to please his momma and intended to screw just about everyone else, either in a dirty deal or on a satin-sheeted mattress.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-06-06T16:55:44-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/3850daa0034f0eed561c9afd9db0ff79-13.html#unique-entry-id-13http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/3850daa0034f0eed561c9afd9db0ff79-13.html#unique-entry-id-13Alfred Hitchcock Presents got there first in 1955, but its stories for the most part were no match for Serling's sagas of a "dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity . ...1.Hill Street Blues (1981-87, NBC) -- A new breed of ensemble drama -- intelligent, provocative, diverse -- arrived on the night Sgt. Phil Esterhaus first told his charges, "Let's be careful out there."]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-05-25T13:22:10-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/085eaf4fdfe95790adb5c90db250ae9b-12.html#unique-entry-id-12http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/085eaf4fdfe95790adb5c90db250ae9b-12.html#unique-entry-id-128. March 4-10, 2005 -- Prohibited from telling Michael Jackson jokes because he's a witness in his child molestation trial, Leno calls on other comics to stand in for him. ...4. May 20, 1993 -- Tonight originates live from Boston's Bull & Finch Pub, where the cast of Cheers is celebrating that night's series finale on NBC.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-04-04T12:16:24-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/959c944311c0ed49f3d7fadbf206b195-11.html#unique-entry-id-11http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/959c944311c0ed49f3d7fadbf206b195-11.html#unique-entry-id-11 -- He was The Sopranos' first big hit after growing up with Tony and becoming a surrogate big brother to him.... Cause of death: A barrage of gunfire on a boat, with Tony, Silvio Dante and Paulie Walnuts simultaneously pulling the triggers after Pussy asked only that they not shoot him in the face.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-03-18T20:38:05-05:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/df8dd82e5a155c25998742534e130ec5-10.html#unique-entry-id-10http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/df8dd82e5a155c25998742534e130ec5-10.html#unique-entry-id-10Good Day mainstay Megan Henderson, who's pulling the 9 p.m. shift until Heather Hays returns from maternity leave. ...The early hours so far haven't taken any visible toll on her, but now she'll get a brief respite filling in for Heather Hays at 9 p.m. At any hour of day or night, Megan's still the TV news beauty to beat.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-03-07T09:53:39-06:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/6492c60dbfcf52e5b609ed8578159a0c-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/6492c60dbfcf52e5b609ed8578159a0c-9.html#unique-entry-id-9By ED BARK True story: Caught between a rock and a hard place with a slew of failing or faded sitcoms, ABC has commissioned a comedy pilot starring the Geico car insurance cavemen. ...The Marlboro Man and the Frito Bandito -- The Cisco Kid and Pancho are in retirement, so get ready to ride the range with a surly nicotine addict from Dead Man's Gulch and his always smiling saddle mate.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-02-12T10:41:16-06:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/1ef2ad13c5c6a84888efc773ae9f28cb-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/1ef2ad13c5c6a84888efc773ae9f28cb-8.html#unique-entry-id-8Entertainment Tonight and its running mate, The Insider.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2007-01-24T21:11:29-06:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/e93c66a84ca35b3b646e20111d4435af-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/e93c66a84ca35b3b646e20111d4435af-7.html#unique-entry-id-71. Finally we have the spectacle of bespectacled Ricky Blitt, who with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane (above left) is producing Fox's upcoming The Winner, starring Rob Corddry (right).]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2006-12-28T15:39:07-06:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/7a71c720e6c3fe635c4bbec54d730a92-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/7a71c720e6c3fe635c4bbec54d730a92-6.html#unique-entry-id-6SNL, were enough to cost him the presidency in a very close election with Democrat Jimmy Carter. ...Darrell Hammond as Al Gore -- His condescending, stiff-as-a-board demeanor in a "lock box" sketch later was shown to the real-life candidate in hopes of making him see what others had seen during Gore's first TV faceoff with George W.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2006-12-15T17:11:57-06:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/106925fd4c400a4a4f48ac32f28f756a-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/106925fd4c400a4a4f48ac32f28f756a-4.html#unique-entry-id-4Everybody Loves Raymond. ...4.Buffalo Bill's Bill Bittinger (Dabney Coleman) -- Vain, pompous and immensely insecure, "Bufffalo Bill" zealously guarded his turf as host of Buffalo's reigning local TV talk show.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2006-12-07T13:09:16-06:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/b1b95e190900359b4b59802a75bc1658-2.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/b1b95e190900359b4b59802a75bc1658-2.html#unique-entry-id-2Chevy Chase and you're not" and the show's weekly call to arms -- "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" Uncle B could go on and on, but will settle for listing the Top 10 catchphrases not included anywhere in TV Land's 100 Greatest.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2006-12-03T13:48:59-06:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/9f8e18837f45e3f5bd1c5b7f7ec45fe7-1.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/9f8e18837f45e3f5bd1c5b7f7ec45fe7-1.html#unique-entry-id-1 -- At the height of her fame as Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, the then Phylicia Allen heard him propose marriage during the halftime show of a Thanksgiving Day game between the Detroit Lions and New York Jets. ...John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal (1986-'94) -- The hot-tempered tennis champ and the Oscar-winning actress (as the child star of Paper Moon) hooked up for love, set and then a very bitter end-game.]]>unclebarky@tx.rr.comMaking a List2006-11-26T20:28:00-06:00http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/1e8f6c5eb06e779035156982a4665c49-0.html#unique-entry-id-0http://www.unclebarky.com/list_files/1e8f6c5eb06e779035156982a4665c49-0.html#unique-entry-id-0 -- The longtime general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers got tossed after he told Ted Koppel on a 1987 Nightline that blacks "may not have some of the necessities" to either manage or hold a high level front office job in major league baseball. ...Simpson specials titled If I Did It, Here's How It Happened. Immediate condemnation from all quarters prompted Fox to drop the idea six days later, with poobah Rupert Murdoch taking the highly unusual step of going public with an apologetic statement.]]>