TVSquad

While channel-surfing on my little office TV last week around 1 a.m., looking for something to keep me company, I stumbled across an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (star Richard Basehart, pictured), followed by Combat!.

"What is this channel that plays all these old shows I remember as a kid?" I asked the TV Gods.

"It's AmericanLife," they replied. "They feature classic family shows aimed at Baby Boomers -- shows like Remington Steele, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Lost in Space, and Welcome Back, Kotter."

Ok, the TV Gods didn't really say that. I looked it up on the AmericanLife Web site, not to be confused with Showtime's This American Life, the fab documentary series hosted by Ira Glass.

AmericanLife also offers original shows, like Embassy Chefs, Flea Market Mania, American Family, and Fixing Dinner, which will air 13 new episodes this summer. The series features host and cookbook author Sandi Richard answering "dinnertime cries for help" for a different family each week.

I guess with the classic shows, they're treading into TVLand territory, but AmericanLife also airs newer shows like L.A. Law, China Beach, WKRP in Cincinnati, and St. Elsewhere. I can't tell you how excited I am to watch these shows again. China Beach is one of my all-time favorites, not to mention both of Bob Newhart's series and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

And I especially like the middle-of-the-night shows. I'm writing this on Sunday night and looking forward to Hill Street Blues at 12 a.m., L.A. Law at 1 a.m., and Mission Impossible at 2 a.m.

My mission -- and I do accept it -- is to watch AmericanLife whenever possible.