TVSquad

There is a marvelous article on CNN about the origins of the word "Frak", the replacement curse word used heavily in the series Battlestar Galactica. It seems that the word was invented in the original 70's version of the show by creator Glen A. Larson but it was seldom used.

It got me thinking about other replacement profanities used by scripted television to replace the normal curse words that the FCC bans from televised broadcasts. We have previously posted about made-up words on television (including the profanities "Smeg" from Red Dwarf and "Frell" from Farscape), but I have a few to add to that list:

Television has often been a benchmark of current popular culture. Whether it's clothes, cars or furniture, people have always looked to TV to help them decide how to look and how to live. Here are ten great examples of how TV characters have "helped" us look our best.

Daisy Duke's Daisy Dukes (The Dukes of Hazzard)
No one knew it at the time, but when Catherine Bach slipped on those ultra-short denims, she was making an impression on more than the teenage boys who were watching. Years later, a brand new and very different generation embraced the Daisy Dukes, much to the delight of those teenage boys who were now old enough to know better.

It feels like a sweeps moment -- a big name star guesting on a long-running show. But it's not set for sweeps. It is, however, a special occasion and a reason to do something festive. So, on April 29, Robin Williams will make a guest appearance on Law & Order: SVU in part to celebrate the 200th episode of the intense NBC crime drama.

The Oscar-winning actor (for Good Will Hunting) is no stranger to television, as we all know. Till the day he dies, he'll be Mork. Na-noo, na-noo. As an alien from the planet Ork, Robin Williams was catapulted from obscure comic actor to overnight sensation thanks to the Garry Marshall sitcom Mork & Mindy. It was the beginning of a stellar career.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Bud Molin: He was a film editor who worked on several TV shows, including the Sheldon Leonard-produced The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and I Spy, as well as projects with Carl Reiner, including the movies The Jerk, Oh, God, The Man With Two Brains, and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. He also worked on I Love Lucy. Molin died in Rancho Mirage, CA at age 81. (That's him on the left, with Desi Arnaz and Dann Cahn.)

Though he appeared in many memorable films, including Rio Bravo, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, Chisum, and Cool Hand Luke, character actor Robert Donner will probably be most remembered from his role as Exidor on Robin Williams late 70s/early 80s sitcom Mork and Mindy.

Donner appeared in, well, just about every TV show of the past 30 years, including The Waltons, MacGyver, Simon and Simon, Blue Thunder, Fame, Matlock, Charlie's Angels, SWAT, Gunsmoke, Adam-12, Columbo, and Kung Fu. His last role was in this year's family movie Hoot.

Donner died of a heart attack on in L.A. on June 8.