TVSquad

Did you watch Reading Rainbow yesterday? If you missed it, that's too bad, because PBS' third-longest running show (behind only Sesame Street and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood) ended its 26 year run on Friday.

According to NPR, the children's program is being cut from the PBS stable of educational programming because of ... wait for it ... the Bush administration.

Hey, did you hear Mad Men's third season debuts tonight at 10 on AMC? Actually, when the show is this good, I don't mind the hype.

To prepare for the third season, here are some more web goodies for you (in addition to avatars, sneak peeks and recaps). The New York Times has an article on the cocktails of the Mad Men era, and if you want to make some of your own AMC has the drink recipes. AMC also has a Which Mad Man Are You? quiz. Or how about buying some of the era's items for your house?

There are also several interviews to read before the premiere, including Jon Hamm (here too), Christina Hendricks, Elisabeth Moss, and Vincent Kartheiser.

Oh, something from the other night, after the jump...

I made it my business to catch the episode of Family Guy which guest-voiced the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and I have to say I was somewhat disappointed.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed some parts of the episode. The "shut up Wil" line by Patrick Stewart had me in stitches, as well as the sudden death of Denise Crosby (obviously, the writers are ST:TNG fans). Hell, Patrick Stewart is a recurring guest on Seth McFarlane's other series American Dad.

It just seemed to me that after the brilliant Star Wars parody from last year, they would do something more with such a line-up of talent than simply "Stewie gets to hang out and go bowling with the cast." It was even relegated to the "B" plot, with the "A" plot being Meg's sudden faith in God as a result of watching Kirk Cameron on TV.

I was hoping for something more akin to an episode of The Next Generation done Family Guy-style. Or would that have been redundant of the Star Wars episode? What do you think? Was the episode decent or could it have used improvement?

Star Trek: The Experience is ending after an 11 year run at the Las Vegas Hilton on September 1st, 2008. The interactive ride contained elements from the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager.

Chad Boutte, Operations Manager and Director of Marketing, said in a press release, "Hailing frequencies open. We'd like to thank all the fans and friends of Star Trek, whose constant and amazing support we've enjoyed throughout our tenure at the Las Vegas Hilton. As we boldly go into the futures that await, know that we take your love of Star Trek: The Experience with us. We share the memories of time spent in the most unique place in the Galaxy, and we carry those memories into our futures with us. Live long, and prosper. Hailing frequencies closed." He said it in this fashion because he's a big nerd.

It's always been a dream of mine to take a road trip to Tennessee to visit Graceland and Dollywood -- a white trash pilgrimage of sorts. I don't foresee that happening any time soon, so I'll make do with American Idol's homage to Elvis, and keep my fingers crossed for Dolly's night next season.

Everything about tonight was backwards -- the favorites sorta sucked, and Elliott finally found his moment to shine. My crappy internet connection keeps going out, so enough of the pleasantries...let's do this!