TVSquad

We may not live in Chicago, but we know the value of a legendary public access show when we see it. That being said, Chi-town's already-legendary homegrown variety show Chic-a-go-go -- on the air since 1996 -- seems to fit the bill, at least according to the footage we've seen online.

According to the astounding amount of nostalgic praise littered throughout the web, the fan favorite is a dizzying version of Soul Train for kids, if Soul Train employed children, hipsters, and whomever wanders into the studio to dance to oldies, indie rock, and everything in between.

Hosted by a puppet rat MC named ... wait for it ... Ratso, and his human co-host, Miss Mia, the show has rather unsurprisingly yielded a comparison to "an early David Lynch movie" and been described by another blogger as "frenetic, [yet] friendly and familiar."

The BAFTA Award-winning BBC program Spooks will be appearing on U.S. public television. Okay, it's now called MI-5, but the theory is the same. The show seems to be Britain's answer to 24 and from what I understand it's pretty good.

The interesting thing about the article for me was the fact that it's being released to public television. Let me put on my old person's hat for a moment and say that I remember the good old days when public television was the only place to watch BBC (or even British) shows. How do you think Monty Python got famous in the U.S.A.? Or Doctor Who? Now we have BBC America, Sci Fi and various other cable channels that show British imports.

Mind you, the nice thing about having this program on public television is that anybody with a set of rabbit ears on their T.V. can watch the program. However, you may need a digital converter box if you do.

Horrifying news out of New Hampshire: former Zoom cast member Jared Nathan has died in a car crash.

Nathan was home from school (he was studying acting at Julliard in New York City) for the holidays and was a passenger in a car driven by 19 year-old Gabriel King. King has been charged with drunk driving.

Nathan was on Zoom when the show made a comeback in the late 90s. I remember seeing the show a few times when it came back. I was curious to see what they did with the show that I used to watch all the time when I was a kid in the 70s. They had a good cast, and I remember Nathan as being quite funny and personable on the show.

No word yet on funeral arrangements.