TVSquad

Each year, the Emmys honor the best in current TV. They also recognize the all-time greats. This year Bea Arthur, Larry Gelbart, Merv Griffin, Daniel Burke, Tom Murphy and Sherwood Schwartz will be entering the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame. Grand choices, in my opinion, with only a minor quibble which I'll mention later.

According to ATAS chairman and CEO John Shaffner , "The Hall of Fame is a special recognition for those who have made significant contributions and have left an indelible mark on the television business." As Maude in the 1970's and Dorothy on The Golden Girls in the 1980's (into the '90s) Beatrice Arthur, made her mark. She was more effective on TV than she was in the theater, and she was a dynamo on stage.

Et tu HP? Ya know, I just don't get the fascination with American Chopper. It's an ok show, but it has fallen into the Gilligan's Island trap long ago. You know, the joke about Gilligan's Island? "Did you ever see the one where they almost got off the island, but then they didn't?"

Well.... did you ever see the American Chopper where they almost ran out of time and then Paul and Paul Jr. had a fight? It's repetitive, and the bikes are too similar to keep me coming back to watch the show. For some reason though, companies all over the place want to be associated with them. Good for them on taking advantage of it. Their presence kind of killed this one for me, but it was a well done spot otherwise. Nice animation, and it gets the HP name out there to what must be an audience that I just don't comprehend.

I can't be the only one that sometimes suffers an attack of sticker shock when shopping for TV on DVD. Farscape and The Sopranos, well... anything by HBO for that matter, come to mind. So I was thrilled to find, while walking through my local Half Price Books, the TV Time Comedy Collection.

This 12 disk set contains The Andy Griffith Show (16 eps), Hal Roach's Rascals (9 eps), Dick Van Dyke (6 eps), Petticoat Junction (4 eps), The Lucy Show (19 eps), The Beverly Hillbillies (20 eps), Ozzie and Harriet (18 eps), Burns and Allen (10 eps), and the Rescue From Gilligan's Island movie. All for the low low price of $9.98, new in box. It's a fun collection. While I wouldn't be in the market for season sets of any of these shows, with the possible exception of Dick Van Dyke, it's nice to have them around when the networks go all repeat on us. And finding a twenty-something Dennis Hopper guest starring as a beatnik poet on an obscure Petticoat Junction episode makes it funny in a whole new way.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to track down this exact set anywhere online. Amazon does have a similar set from the same company with a slightly different mix of episodes, and minus the Gilligan movie, new for $23.99, and used for $10.97. Still not a bad deal.

There are a lot of great things about the internet, and unearthing crazy stuff like this is one of them. I've heard a few different versions of the Gilligan's Island theme song over the years, including The Sweaty Nipples singing the song to the music of Greenday's Longview.

Of all of them though, this one is the worst. Telling you it is the worst is probably not the best way to sell you on the video, but it's one of those 'so bad you have to see it' things. Whoever decided to redo the theme song was about as right as anyone has ever been in television. Take a look for yourself, the video is after the jump.