TVSquad

Since I accepted TiVo as my personal savior, I have been afforded an opportunity to watch some great shows that air in the wee hours of the morning. Shows that, until now, have only been enjoyed by air traffic controllers with low attention spans, speed freaks and easily confused frat boys.

One of them is All in the Family, which airs at 8 a.m. on TV Land, the network with its rack of sour tasting reality shows and shrinking share of old sitcoms and serials that is in danger of becoming the new MTV.

A week ago, one of the show's -- and all of television history's greatest -- gems found its way to my "Now Playing List." That famous episode where Sammy Davis Jr. makes the trek to 704 Hauser Street and gives Archie a big wet one on the cheek. I had not seen this show since I was a kid, back in the 80s when All in the Family reruns flooded my television, but this most recent viewing unveiled an interesting factoid that almost went unnoticed.

Oh, Peter. They're breaking up that old gang of ours! There's a spin-off of Family Guy in the works at Fox. Peter's drinking buddy, Cleveland Brown, might be getting his own show. Oh no, does this mean he may be leaving Quahog? What, no more get-togethers at The Drunken Clam? (Note to self: He's an animated character; he could still be part of Family Guy.)

Cleveland is perhaps the most down to earth of Peter's pals on Family Guy, which could make him the perfect centerpiece of a new cartoon series. Zany new characters could be built around him. If history repeats itself, he could be the George Jefferson to Peter Griffin's Archie Bunker, i.e., The Jeffersons spinning off from All in the Family.

I've been thinking. Yeah, I know you might find that hard to believe, but it's true. I swear it is! What I've been thinking about is television. Ah, now you believe my thought processes are truly in motion. A lifetime of television watching is behind me and what do I have to show for my hours of dedication?

Well, other than the cool TV Squad gig, that is. That goes without saying.

What I have are life lessons learned from television, as well as some obscure bits of knowledge I may have overlooked had I led the scholarly life without television in my life.

Tony Soprano is a scumbag. Now don't get me wrong, he's probably the most likable and well received scumbag since Archie Bunker, but he's still a scumbag. He continuously cheats on his wife, takes advantage of other's weaknesses, does drugs, and is just an overall bully. Yes, I'm aware that he's a mob boss, but that still doesn't change his characteristics. Almost dying will change a man though, and for Tony, he really seems to be at odds with himself since his time in purgatory. After attending Allegra's wedding this past episode, Tony seems to be questioning his ways even more. He realized just how close he came to the pearly gates, and wants to make sure that he's around to be in his family's life. He wants to see Meadow get married and become a mother, the things that any normal father would want and expect as well. He's feeling intimidated and weak, something the Tony Soprano of old never would have felt. So my question to you is this-- Is Tony a changed man? Are his days with the "family" numbered, or his he just still "getting over" the shooting? Personally, I'd like to hope he is changed, but you know the saying, "a zebra can't change his stripes."