TVSquad

How many people remember Dragnet? Or maybe I should say how many people remember actually watching Dragnet, the "just the facts" police show starring the iconic Jack Webb? The reason I ask is because the U.S. Postal Service is immortalizing Dragnet with a postage stamp tomorrow.

In light of the fact that letter writing and postal service are dramatically in decline, my guess is that there will be an older crowd nodding appreciatively when Dragnet is honored. You see, the younger generation (did I really say that?) doesn't have much use for stamps and won't be buying the Dragnet first class stamp.

Last month's triumphant return of the "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketch to Saturday Night Live was a hilarious bit of celebrity snark genius. It is without a doubt the only sketch in the show's history that just gets better and better every time a new one is rolled out for the public to digest and enjoy.

The most recent incarnation of the sketch was no exception. In fact, it built on the solid foundation that lay before it by casting Tom Hanks as a clueless himself and bringing back Norm MacDonald as Burt Reynolds. MacDonald's appearance was funny not just because he does a scary good Reynolds, but I also like to think that every time he returns to the show, Don Ohlmeyer cries a little inside.

As much as there was to laugh at in the sketch, a tiny but hilarious joke seeped through the cracks and no one seemed to spot it -- until now. I have found the missing joke from last month's Jeopardy! sketch, thanks to my keen eyes, my intrepid nose and my ever-widening butt.

(S34E23) Wow. Way to go, Will Ferrell. Maybe they should just bring back Saturday Night Live alumni for season finales from now on, because this episode was spectacular. Ferrell brought back some old favorites and a slew of famous faces, from the familiar to the inexplicable, including Amy Poehler, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway and Artie Lange. Here are some video highlights from the evening (Hulu vids are US only. Sorry, kids... you can also watch these videos at NBC's website).

In the immortal words of Lennon and McCartney, all you need is love. That's especially true for the Hendrickson family of Utah, also known as Big Love. The polygamist clan that's been the center of more complicated stories than most daytime dramas has taken hold and HBO has given Big Love a fourth season renewal.

The Tom Hanks produced series recently returned to HBO after an extended lay-off -- thanks in part to the Writers Strike -- and it's come back stronger than ever. I know for me, it's one of the main reasons I haven't dropped HBO.

Do you remember what film won the Oscar for Best Picture last year? (No Country for Old Men). What about Best Actor and Actress? (Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard). If you didn't remember, don't feel bad. You're probably like most people. Most of us weren't watching in 2008. Even though they were celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Academy Awards, it was the lowest rated and least watched telecast ever.

As I perused the Academy Award nominations yesterday, I couldn't help but think that this year's broadcast is going to have a hard time drawing a huge TV audience. And considering that the only thing you can usually count on with the Oscars is that they'll run over three hours long, the show will probably leave something to be desired, too.

In fact, here's six reasons the Oscars -- which will be broadcast live on February 22 on ABC -- will probably stink.

So I've been back from LA for a couple of days, watching Rich and Keith file frantic reports from Comic-Con. It just makes me shake my head in sympathy. Though CC is a different animal from the TCAs, in both structure and in sheer volume of people and activities, I still know exactly how they feel. It all starts to feel like a blur after awhile -- panels, reporter scrums, parties, meeting your favorite (and not-so-favorite) TV stars... When you get back to "normal life," it almost feels like it never happened.

Anyway, now that I have a day or two to reflect, I took a cue from our friends at AOL and came up with a list of things I learned on this press tour. But this list will involve both the network-related things I learned with what I learned about celebrities, my fellow critics, and myself.

Have you seen all those feel-good commercials on CBS showing the actors returning to work after the WGA strike, the message promising us that good times -- and fresh new episodes -- would soon be on the air? Well, here comes the cold shower. The big story this morning out of L.A. is that Hollywood is shaking with fear that the actors will strike this summer if a new contract isn't hammered out before June 30.

Big names like George Clooney and Tom Hanks have been quietly urging Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg to commence negotiations now in hopes of averting another contentious battle. Even AFTRA (SAG's sister organization, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) reportedly wants to start formal talks.

There are those in the world that will try to convince you that Bosom Buddies, the early 80s sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari as two advertising guys who have to dress as women in order to afford the rent at an apartment building, is a terrible show. A show that was short-lived because it was so bad. A show that Tom Hanks is probably embarrassed to have on his resume.

None of those things are true. Hanks is proud of the show and has talked about it fondly for years. And the show is actually good. Sure, the premise is ridiculous and "sitcommy," but so what? If it's funny, it's funny. This show was funny, and the two leads and the supporting cast (including Telma Hopkins, the late Wendie Jo Sperber, and Holland Taylor from Two and a Half Men) are great together.

TVShowsOnDVD is reporting that the first season of the show is finally coming to DVD, after many years of speculation. No official word from the studio yet, but there is a pic of the box for the set, which will include 19 episodes. Hopefully there will be some commentaries too.

Jon Stewart was terrified by the image of two Dubyas on C-SPAN this Saturday (Myth: Bush has started reproducing asexually to build his Bush-Army. Fact: It was a Bush impersonator helping the president out on his speech), but calmed himself down once he saw his buddy Stephen Colbert take the stage. Stewart gave major props to Stephen Colbert for his performance at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner (an event at which the White House and the press "consummate their loveless marriage"). He called it "ballsalicious" and remarked, "We've never been prouder of him but... and... holy shit." His praise sounded like that of a proud father. I love the friendship between Jon and Stephen. As a viewer, one can really feel it. Group hug!

It seems that the big guns are being pulled out for the last few weeks of Saturday Night Live. First, it was announced that Tom Hanks, who will probably be promoting his movie The DaVinci Code, would be hosting the May 6th episode along with musical guest Red Hot Chili Peppers. Now we learn from the fan site drivingmrspacey that actor Kevin Spacey will be hosting the May 20th season finale.

Spacey, who will be starring as Lex Luthor in this summer's Superman Returns, hasn't hosted SNL since 1997 (at least according his IMdb entry). This will place him far down the leader board in a tie with, er, Lindsay Lohan.

If you have been reading Jonathan Toomey's SNL reviews this year (and I know you all have), you know that this season has been a bit of a hit-and-miss, with the highlights being the pre-recorded sketches and the TV Funhouse cartoons. Let's see if the combined power of Hanks and Spacey will get the writers pumped to produce some great comedy.

[Thanks to Anthony for the tip]

Which of these things is not like the other: Al Pacino, Don Cheadle, Robert Downey, Jr., Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, and... Tim Allen? Bravo is touting all of these actors' upcoming appearances with James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio (a title that is screaming for an apostrophe!). Hanks will be the first actor to make a second appearance in the Studio, while Dustin Hoffman will be the Studio's 200th celebrity guest. No air dates are set, but the network says they'll appear this spring.

While most of the names are impressive, they might also be a bit boring. My favorite guest was Mike Myers, who did all sorts of voices and had some fun at Lipton's expense.

Who would you like to see Inside the Actors Studio?