TVSquad

This week, we're going to take a bit of a departure from the shows we normally cover. It's very rare that a show that puts out 76 episodes could be considered by anyone to be gone too soon, and yet I make the argument that 8 Simple Rules (for Dating My Teenage Daughter) is that show.

I'm also not going to try and convince you that 8 Simple Rules was one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, because it simply wasn't. It was a fairly standard, solid series headlined by a brilliant comic actor... and then it became something else.

The Rockford Files was one of my favorite shows as a kid. When I got my first car I even looked around for one just like his. So this news that NBC is doing a remake of the show has me both excited and scared. Why try to redo one of the classic private eye shows of all-time?

Maybe because it is one of the classic private eye shows of all-time. House creator David Shore is writing a new, updated version of the show, and if there's one thing that makes me feel better about it is the fact that Shore hates updating shows like this but made an exception because it's one of his favorite shows, too.

Jacob at FoodNetworkAddict.com has come up with five good reasons why he thinks Melissa Darabian will win The Next Food Network Star when the competition wraps next Sunday. His points are well thought out, especially the one that suggests that Melissa's journey on the show has been dramatically edited to make her seem like an underdog who has now emerged as a dynamic player. However, I'm banking on Jeffrey Saad to win. Here's my five reasons:

1. The likability factor
Since the opening episode, there hasn't been a more attractive and likable competitor on The Next Food Network Star. Jeffrey makes viewers feel comfortable, like a Tom Selleck or James Garner, and when you're talking about TV personalities, that's the most important asset. Jeffrey would be welcomed on TVs in living rooms -- and kitchens -- around the country.

Sometimes it's really easy to forget that some of your favorite stars are getting up there in age. For example, Rockford Files/8 Simple Rules star James Garner.

The veteran actor, now 80, suffered a minor stroke the other day. Entertainment Tonight is reporting that he had surgery and will be home later this week. No other details are available at this time (even that ET page above is rather brief), but he seems to be doing well. I'm sure the TV show will have more information later today.

Older fans will remember Garner from such shows as Nichols. Really old fans will remember him from the '50s western Maverick (a role he reprised in the early '80s series Bret Maverick). Checking his credits, I completely forgot that he played God in the short-lived animated series God, The Devil, and Bob in 2000. Of course, I forget that show in general.

[via TV Tattle]

Pete Emslie, a Canadian-born artist who works mostly as an illustrator for Disney merchandise and children's books, has a site with some really amazing caricatures, many of them television celebrities. His drawing of Larry King is on the right, but also check out this drawing of Don Rickles from Jeff Pidgeon's blog, where I first read about Emslie's site.

As Pidgeon points out, Emslie's caricature is more than just a good likeness, it also captures the essence of the real person. That mischievous grin and those bright ornery eyes tell volumes. I also love how King's shoulders are almost higher than his head.

(S02E19) I think that if I was going to choose one line to describe this episode it would be Dean's boast to Sam, "I am freakin' velvety smooth." Because, he was tonight, and more importantly for the viewers, the Supernatural team is just as velvety smooth as their wise-cracking hero. This was a very well done installment that hit all of its marks.