TVSquad

Let me be honest here...I got thanks coming out of the wazoo. I have a wonderful family, a good job, food on the table, clothes on my back, and a roof over my head. Plus, I am dashingly handsome, which allowed me to obtain the wonderful family, the good job, etc. But, since this isn't Slashfood or ParentDish I'm really not going to list why I am thankful for the items I listed.

No, this is a list describing why I am thankful for the most important piece of my life: television (Uh, don't tell my wonderful family about that). I mean, without television I would probably be an incredibly literate scholar of 17th century mathematics who is a hit at social gatherings. And, that would pretty much suck, wouldn't it? Television is where it's at, baby, and here are some reasons why I'm thankful for it.

I have often said that all television falls into two categories, good and bad. However, I have recently discovered that television can also be categorized as classic and non-classic. But there's a catch.

When I was growing up, there wasn't a lot of good TV due to the fact that there were only three networks (four if you count PBS, which I certainly didn't). Consequently, local affiliates had no choice but to fill their daytime schedules with reruns of popular sitcoms like The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island and The Monkees. These shows and shows like them have become classics almost by default. Bottom line: when an entire generation can sing the theme song of a show, it's a classic.

Searching through my mental Rolodex, I think I remember Adam doing a post about the five best fictional bands on TV. And now IGN has weighed in on the matter, picking their Top 10 TV Bands.

Some of the usual suspects are here, such as Charlie's band DriveSHAFT from Lost and The Silver Platters from The Brady Bunch. But there are some funky choices, like Creation from Freaks and Geeks and Cold Slither from G.I. Joe (??). But what bands are missing here? How about the Monkees and The Partridge Family? IGN explains they were purposely left out because they were the main focus of the show, which I don't really think is fair, but whatever. This site might have some of the bands we can't think of.

I wonder how old this writer is though. I mean, how can you list The Blowholes from The Adventures of Pete & Pete and not mention that Marshall Crenshaw was in the band? He's the guy on the left in the photo. You can't just call him "a local meter man"! (Side note: wow, two Adventures of Pete & Pete mentions in one day!)