I was aware that, like fellow Star Trek icon William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy released an album or two in his day. I wasn't aware, however, that Nimoy made a music video that accompanied one of the songs on those albums.
The song is "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" and was released in 1968 (which was during his run on Star Trek) on an album called The Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy. I'm surprised this video did not get more air time on MTV back in the day. Perhaps it should be considered for VH1. More info, and the video, is after the jump.
When I heard that Michael Jackson died, I tried to think of how his career touched the world of TV. What surprised me was that he utilized TV much more than most people realized: from his first appearances on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, to his groundbreaking MTV videos and moonwalk on Motown 25, to even the coverage of his court battles, Michael has been as much a TV fixture as a musical fixture.
But when I think of MJ on TV, my mind will always drift to his memorable appearance on The Simpsons. It was the first episode of the third season (all the way back in -- gulp -- 1991), in an episode called "Stark Raving Dad." Homer is thrown in a mental institution for wearing a pink shirt to work. In there, he meets a huge galumphing patient named Leon Kompowski, who happens to sound like Michael Jackson. Leon leaves with Homer (he's there voluntarily) and helps Bart write a stirring birthday tribute to his sister, "Happy Birthday Lisa."
You knew that Conan O'Brien would pay tribute to Ed McMahon (who died yesterday), the only question was how. Last night Conan showed clips of some great Tonight Show moments with Ed and Johnny (though not enough in my opinion), and he also showed a great clip of Ed and Andy Richter playing quarters on Late Night.
This probably isn't a surprise to most people, since McMahon has been in poor health for a number of years and also injured his neck severely in a fall in his home in 2007.
McMahon is best known, of course, for being the announcer and couch mate for Carson on The Tonight Show for 30 years. McMahon also hosted the original version of Star Search for many years, co-hosted Bloopers and Practical Jokes with Dick Clark, and was a staple of the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon every September. Besides appearing in a number of TV shows and movies, he was also a spokesman for American Family Publishers (though, oddly, every single joke about these commercials with the giant checks and McMahon mentions Publisher's Clearing House for some reason).
McMahon died at Ronald Reagan/UCLA Medical Center in L.A.
As John Howard noted in the comments in last week's Jane After Dark column, I really haven't talked much about Omar yet. I just finished season two of The Wire, and to be honest, most of my thoughts right now revolve around the Sobotka clan.
First of all, how stupid was Ziggy? The guy's always been a live wire, and you could see the bad karma building throughout this season, with him flashing money around, showing off his Italian leather coat, and going a little bonkers with the stolen Mercedes. Things were bound to go bad for him, and they did just that when his deal with Double-G went oh so wrong.
I may be getting a little obsessed. Most of the postsI'vewrittenrecently have been about the soon-to-be-departing Doctor Who lead David Tennant. I'm also quite disappointed that a lack of time and funds did not permit me to take a trip to England to see Tennant in the RSC production of Hamlet. Thankfully, the BBC has come to the rescue.
For those like me, the BBC is reassembling the cast and filming that production of Hamlet for broadcast in late 2009, with American and Japanese broadcasts to occur in 2010 (I wonder which channel would show it in the States? BBC America? PBS?). To sweeten the deal for us nerds, former Star Trek: The Next Generation captain Patrick Stewart plays Claudius.
Perhaps they'll even let Tennant improvise the role a bit. I would love it if he could throw a little script that Neil Gaiman wrote for him upon hearing of his participation in the role.
I don't ask this question because I've watched David Letterman a lot more and think he's better than Leno (though I have and I do). This isn't about quality, it's about what exactly we're saying goodbye to.
When Johnny Carson left The Tonight Show in 1992, it was major news because ... well, jeez, he was Johnny Carson. He had hosted the show for 30 years and we probably weren't going to see him on television again (and we didn't, except for an appearance on Letterman's show).
When Letterman left Late Night, it was a big thing that he was saying goodbye because he was not only leaving the network, he was moving to another time slot to compete head to head with Jay. When Conan leftLate Night earlier this year, it was a big deal because he was moving across the country to another location, and he was taking over the most iconic late night talk show in history.
... not what you think it is, probably. Last night NBC had The 50 Funniest Phrases of All-Time special, and here are the top ten phrases. For the whole list, click here.
The top 50 list is pretty good, but this top ten has several lame entries, eh?
1. "Yada, yada, yada" (Seinfeld) 2. "Doh!" (The Simpsons) 3. "How you doin'?" (Friends) 4. "Ayyyyy" (Happy Days) 5. "We are two wild and crazy guys!" (Saturday Night Live) 6. "Burn" (That 70s Show) 7. "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!" (South Park) 8. "Lucy, you've got some 'splainin to do" (I Love Lucy) 9. "Excuuuuuuuse Me" (Saturday Night Live) 10. "Homey don't play dat" (In Living Color)
John Cleese, Connie Booth, Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs reunited for the filming of a Fawlty Towers reunion. At first I'd hoped it was new material, but sadly it was more of a retrospective than an actual new episode. Mind you, it would be pretty unique to wait thirty years to film the third season of a show.
There have been attempts to make an American version of Fawlty Towers, starring such names as the recently departed Bea Arthur and John Larroquette. Somehow, they never managed to equal the brilliant writing of the original.
Here's a move that I'm surprised nobody thought of earlier. Iconic television weatherman Al Roker will be getting his own show on, get this, The Weather Channel. Wake Up With Al will air at 6 a.m. on weekday mornings and will be co-hosted by Stephanie Abrams. Al will be also continuing his duties on The Today Show.
In the standard workday, it's not unusual to find yourself discussing the weather with co-workers. It's a nice, harmless topic that everyone cares about to some degree. However, to dedicate an entire morning show to it seems excessive (mind you, I feel the same about an entire channel dedicated to it). On the other hand, if you're going to have a host of such a show, the natural choice is Al Roker.
Despite this achievement, I have no plans to consider Al as a serious journalist. Perhaps at some point he can get Mother Nature to appear on his show for an interview and discuss her infidelity with Father Time.
The thing that gets me about the TV Land Awards is this: they're celebrating the types of TV shows that TV Land will one day not even show anymore.
But before reality shows and movies take over the network, it's kinda fun to see the casts of Magnum, P.I. (too bad John Hillerman wasn't there) and Home Improvement again (but still no Jonathan Taylor Thomas ... guess that tension is still alive all these years later). Neil Patrick Harris was a good host, and the lineup of old and new stars they had is actually quite impressive.
I must be way behind on all the Monty Python hot gossip because, well, I didn't know there was gong to be any more hot gossip. Surely I am not the only one that completely missed this whole story about Terry Jones leaving his wife of thirty-some years for a much younger model, forty years his junior.
Now, as if that wasn't enough to boggle my mind for a good day or so, here comes to news that 67 year-old Jones is about to become a father again. Regardless of how you feel about this situation ethically, you've got to admit, that's ... pretty wild.
Golden Girls star Bea Arthur died this morning in Los Angeles. She was 86. This is actually a bit of a shock. Not that 86 is young, but she always seemed healthy and spry, even in the last few years, doing her stage show and guest starring on various TV shows and endless specials.
I'm starting a new column here on TV Squad called "Jane After Dark." Some of you know I work the "night shift" here at the Squad, editing and scheduling posts into the wee hours. I'm a big multi-tasker, so I also use those hours to get caught up on all the great shows I've missed along the way.
Over the past year, I've watched some really cool shows, including Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Moonlight, Weeds, Entourage, Gossip Girl, and many others. So I thought it would be fun to write about my After Dark musings, and I hope you'll chime in with your own thoughts about whatever I'm watching.
I just finished Joss Whedon's magnificent Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I loved so many things about the show. No one could look as stylish as Buffy as she slayed those vampires. Angel and Spike were both hot in their own way. The love between Willow and Tara was sweet and gentle, but also powerful. And the characters continued to grow and evolve throughout the series. By the last episode, you really felt like you knew these characters and had grown right along with them.
I know, I know, that's an impossible question to answer. But Harris just conducted a poll where they asked people what their favorite shows are. Topping the list are shows like M*A*S*H, Seinfeld, Friends, House, Star Trek, and The Simpsons. The number one show? CSI. Yeah, that's my thought exactly. What, do these people have long-term memory loss?
My list would include The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, The Twilight Zone, The West Wing, The Andy Griffith Show, NewsRadio, Sports Night, Lost, Magnum, P.I., Kate and Allie, and Columbo. Oh, and Mad Men and 30 Rock have zoomed onto the list in the past couple of years. What's on your all-time list?
I was aware that, like fellow Star Trek icon William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy released an album or two in his day. I wasn't aware, however, that Nimoy made a music video that accompanied one of the songs on those albums.
When I heard that 
Longtime Johnny Carson announcer and sidekick 
I may be getting a little obsessed. Most of the 
I don't ask this question because I've watched David Letterman a lot more and think he's better than Leno (though I have and I do). This isn't about quality, it's about what exactly we're saying goodbye to.
... not what you think it is, probably. Last night NBC had The 50 Funniest Phrases of All-Time special, and here are the top ten phrases. For the whole list, click 
John Cleese, Connie Booth, Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs reunited for 
Here's a move that I'm surprised nobody thought of earlier. Iconic television weatherman Al Roker 
The thing that gets me about the TV Land Awards is this: they're celebrating the types of TV shows that TV Land will one day not even show anymore.
I must be way behind on all the Monty Python hot gossip because, well, I didn't know there was gong to be any more hot gossip. Surely I am not the only one that completely missed this whole story about Terry Jones leaving his wife of thirty-some years for a much younger model, forty years his junior. 
And then there were two.
I'm starting a new column here on 
I know, I know, that's an impossible question to answer. But 
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
TV 101: How ESPN controls the world and what the other networks can learn from it
TV Squad previews CBS's new shows
