TVSquad

When I read the release today announcing the artists who will receive the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors -- actress/singer/director Barbra Streisand, actor Morgan Freeman, singer George Jones, choreographer Twyla Tharp, and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who -- my first reaction was, "It's about time!"

That was mostly about Barbra Streisand finally being named. Streisand, who's been recognized with every major show business award (two Oscars, multiple Emmys and Grammys, a special Tony, Peabody awards, an AFI, more Golden Globes and any other performer, and lots more) has been overdue for this one. It's been a glaring omission in her resume. Of course, the catch with the Kennedy Center is that you have to be there to get it.

OK, this isn't exactly "Who Shot JR," but it does have people guessing.

NBC Nightly News will have a new announcer starting tonight (longtime announcer Howard Reig retired in 2005), and they're trying to make it a surprise. The only clues from the network is that it's a name we all know, and this person had "an extensive, award-winning theatrical career for nearly forty years." Some of the guesses from fans include James Earl Jones, Patrick Stewart, James Lipton, Morgan Freeman, and ... Tom Brokaw? Yes, he was great in A Streetcar Named Desire.

If you were a kid during the early 1970s, those were your salad days for children's programming. If you weren't getting up before your parents on Saturday mornings to watch Scooby-Doo or Superfriends, you were up before your parents on weekday mornings to watch Captain Kangaroo or your local kid's show.

Also likely, since you only had about four channels to choose from back then, you were spending some time watching your local public television station. If you were really little, you would probably be watching Sesame Street, which was just hitting its stride with all of the preschool set (we called it nursery school back then, dangnabit!). If you had already learned all of your letters and numbers, and Susan was losing some of her allure, you were probably watching Sesame Street's older brother -- The Electric Company.