I used to post a “Ten Best” Christmas episodes list but Santa was feeling a little more generous this year. Here, therefore, are 15 holiday faves from the past, sitcom episodes that stand the test of time — just like this TV Guide cover from the week of December 24, 1955. Created back in the
The tributes to Bob Newhart last week were universal in tone. A great comic, great sitcom star, great guy. If there was anyone who had a bad word to say about Newhart, I didn’t hear it or read it. The passing of Newhart brought back memories for those of us lucky enough to remember his
As Douglas Pucci reported Tuesday on The Programming Insider, hardly anybody watched Fox’s broadcast of the 75th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Part of the tune out could be blamed on confusion. The Emmys usually air in September at the start of the TV season. It was pushed back four months due to the actors’ strike,
Every year I plan on taking a short cut by posting this list with the idea of simply cutting and pasting something I wrote from a previous year. Every year, however, a few shows jump to the top of the list that were overlooked in the past. This year is no exception, starting with the
Some of the people who make the TV we love pass away so soon we can’t believe it. Then there are those legends who live so long, we’re surprised that they pass away at all. Norman Lear died Tuesday, Dec. 5 in Los Angeles at 101. His face, under that trademark floppy off-white hat, would
Pluto TV is one of the newest, and most heavily promoted, of the free streaming services to arrive in Canada. Part of the Paramount entertainment colossus, it boasts 100 channels and thousands of movies, all free. Canadian content, especially newscasts and “How To” shows, is boosted through an alliance with Corus Entertainment. The service is
Many of the TV icons I grew up with are dropping like flies. Poor Tony Dow, for example. The Leave it to Beaver brother clings to life after already being declared dead in many premature on-line reports. It’s wonderful, then, to celebrate the impressive and productive longevity of Norman Lear. The producers of such shows
By the time I started covering television in the mid-’80s, one of the titans of the industry was already switching sides — Fred Silverman. The native New Yorker, who passed away Thursday at 82, did what nobody before or since has ever accomplished — he was the top programming exec at each one of the