TVSquad

Poor Tim Daly. Ever since Wings ended back in 1997 he hasn't had much luck in the television world. Sure, he's had a number of successful guest appearances, and he did have a good run as the voice of Clark Kent/Superman on the WB's Superman: The Animated Series, but those don't really count. Where his luck has been failing is on series where he has had a leading role.

It's not like the shows themselves were bad. Quite the contrary, all three shows that Daly starred in were decent critical successes. In addition, Tim himself was credited by professional and fan alike as having a strong performance in all these shows. The problem was either the fan base wasn't strong enough to keep the shows on the air or the networks just decided they had a more successful show to fill the spot.

You know how Lewis Black appears on The Daily Show once a week to talk about news stories that have "slipped through the cracks?" Well, consider this one of those "slipped through the cracks" stories that I thought was just too cool not to mention. I trust some of you haven't heard this story, but if you have, then take this time to go do something else. Make yourself a muffin, have a cup of tea. Be good to yourself.

TVShowsOnDVD reports that the supposedly-canceled Mr. Magoo DVD set is now available through Classic Media. "The Mr. Magoo Show Complete DVD Collection" includes 130 cartoons from the '60s animated series. It does not seem to include Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, however, which is kind of a shame. Still, the entire series on DVD is a pretty sweet deal, so I'm certainly not complaining.

After Columbia Pictures picked up United Productions of America (UPA) to create theatrical shorts, the third short created was Ragtime Bear, which contained the first appearance of Mr. Magoo. When cartoons made the transition from theater screens to television, the company created The Mr. Magoo Show, which ran from 1960 to 1962. Magoo then returned yet again for two more series: The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo and What's New, Mr. Magoo?

Every year at this time, we here at TV Squad give our lists of what we want for Festivus. The shows we'd like to see renewed, the shows we'd like to see canceled, the TV-related DVDs and books and toys that we want, etc. Here's my list of stuff I want as 2007 rapidly approaches. A couple of things I doubt I'll ever see, a few I suspect I will see, and a couple I might have to do myself, like buying that new deluxe Alias DVD set.

But as I said last week, if someone who reads TV Squad bought me that, I'd be a happy camper.

(S02E14) If you check out the Adult Swim schedule grid, the words "Worst episode ever" are written next to this particular episode. The men and monkeys who run Adult Swim have never been above a bit of self deprecation, but I actually thought this episode was pretty damn hilarious.

The show opens with the Mayor poking Tom in the eye with a sharp metal rod. It's okay, though, because Tom's eye is made of glass. It seems he had an accident while playing with his step-sons. Tom, however, isn't there just to have his eye poked buy the inquisitive Mayor, he's there to sell hoagies for the annual Father/Son Barrel Goat Hunt, in which the father/son teams hunt the dreaded barrel goat, a creature that is driven insane by the scent of pickle barrels. The Mayor has never heard of a hoagie (he pronounces it "hoogie") before, and he can't get enough of the sandwiches. He also takes a liking to Tom's glass eye and buys two for himself, which of course makes it difficult for him to see and move around.

(S05E04) In this episode, Monk must investigate a murder by arson, despite being blinded by the man who committed the crime.

While visiting the local fire station to have his thirty smoke alarms tested, a man from the street walks in. The fire chief tells the man he's not supposed to be there, and then he tries to apprehend him, the man beans the fire chief with a shovel and throws liquid solvent into Monk's eyes, blinding him. The doctor tells Monk it's uncertain whether or not his eyesight will return, and Monk's colleagues do their best to help him out. Disher tries to help out, too, though his idea of helping is to explain everything he's doing, whether it's relevant or not. There's a funny scene later in the episode when Disher is looking for his notebook and tells Monk which pockets he's looking in, as if that even matters. I also laughed when he tells Monk he's going to work 24/7 to figure out who blinded him, except for May 11 because that's when his niece is getting confirmed.

The Best

1. Eyes: One of the smartest, most stylish private eye shows to come along in years. So ABC cancels it quickly and doesn't even run the remaining episodes. 
2. Surface: The best of the sci-fi/horror shows (Threshold, Invasion, Supernatural) that debuted this year.
3. The Daily Show: Always dead-on, always funny.
4. Arrested Development: I don't know if this show is as funny as it used to be, but even at 90% strength it's better than most other comedies. 
5. Lost: I don't know if they'll ever have answers for all the questions, but the ride so far has been great. 

• "One year I had to take my cousin to the prom, and I don't know who was more embarrassed, me or him." - David Letterman
• "Giving advice is so much easier than living." - Trish, to Meg, about dating, on Eyes.
• "Oceanic flight 815 nonstop to Sydney now boarding at gate 17..." - airport announcement, on Alias.
• "Am I wrong to worry when our houses of worship start sounding like they could fight Godzilla?" - Jon Stewart, about a "mega-church" in Louisiana, on The Daily Show.