TVSquad

Did you know they're making a big screen version of The Equalizer? It's true, and it seems like a really bad idea to me.

Not that there's anything wrong with the show (as you'll see in my review after the jump) it's just that this type of lone, ex-spy hero bit has been done to death in the past 20 years, and there's nothing really special about it anymore. And like all big screen versions of a TV show, it's not only going to miss the boat by just being BIGGER than the show (big name stars, celebrity villains, explosions, explosion, explosions), it's going to miss the point of what makes an audience love the original TV show in the first place. It's not the plot or how they did the show, it's that the show came at a certain time (in our lives and TV-wise), in a certain way, and it starred a certain person. Just look at the Charlie's Angels movies or that horrid Beverly Hillbillies movie. It's not that either of the original shows had original plots or any incredible innovation, it's that they were of a time, the way we experienced them.

So I cringe when I hear there's going to be a big screen Equalizer. Thank God we have the DVDs of the original.

I saw this picture over at Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily site and I had to post it here. It's Jerry Stiller on the picket lines in New York City, supporting the writers during the current strike.

But something strikes me as wrong about the photo. It's fine and dandy that it says "Solidarity," but wouldn't it be even funnier if it said "Serenity Now!"? His famous line from Seinfeld not only fits the situation but would also illustrate that, hey, that line was actually written by a television writer. I'm sure that someone in that picket line must have said that to him during the day.

We first told you about this back in August, and now the complete list is out: Turner Classic Movies is letting celebrities program the network for the month of November. Each celeb is picking three or four films, and here are a few of the more interesting choices (it started Thursday with Alfred Molina's picks).

Whoopi Goldberg likes A Face in the Crowd and Funny Girl. Jerry Stiller likes A Night At The Opera. Kermit The Frog loves dancing to Singin' In The Rain and The Band Wagon. Martha Stewart would probably have some decorating ideas as Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.

Brett Cullen has been replaced in the new CW series Life is Wild. This really comes as very little shock since I can't think of anyone who was looking forward to this series.

Cullen is being replaced by D.W. Moffett who was most recently seen on the summer series Hidden Palms. You may also remember Moffett from such forgettable series as Skin & For Your Love.

Personally, I think Moffett is a little young to play a seasoned veterinarian and father of a teenager, but I'm sure his youth had a lot to do with the recast.

(S09E12 / S09E13) Last month, I wrote a post praising The King of Queens for not making their 200th episode into any kind of "special" episode, just doing the same goofy but funny comedy the show has always done. There was no character development, no great revelations, no massive earth-shattering changes, and no story arcs. I expected them to do the same for the finale; just show another day in the life of the Heffernans and fade to black.

We got none of that; in fact, everything I listed above was exactly what we got, not only in this one-hour finale, but the two episodes before that. Drama isn't this show's strong suit, and it made for a finale that was wildly out of character in comparison with the rest of the series.

Believe it or not, The King of Queens aired its 200th episode last night. They didn't do anything special to celebrate it. No guest stars, no plot twists, no revelations; Kevin James and company just did the same thing they've been doing since 1998, which is put on a funny show that will never be compared to The Office, but it won't be compared to According to Jim, either.

The plots? Doug and Carrie wonder how Deacon and Kelly can afford a vacation home when they can't, and do their best to try to find out. Also, Arthur coaches Spence in the art of finding a new job, then swoops in and steals a position Spence was looking to get. Nothing different than we haven't seen before, and the humor was the same: some laugh-out-loud moments, a few chuckle-worthy moments, mostly generated by the actors' timing and skill rather than the script itself.

CBS has announced that, after nearly a decade of being on the air, King of Queens will end after its current season runs out in May. Now that Will & Grace and That 70s Show are out of the picture, the program is currently the longest-running sitcom on air

Although the show still experiences some decent success in ratings and only recently got their first Emmy nomination (a nod to star Kevin James, this year), I think it's time to pull the plug. I actually used to find the show relatively enjoyable (compared to similar sitcoms like According to Jim), but the whole "Check out the fat guy with the hot chick!" thing began to wear thin a few seasons ago.

Ooh! Here's an idea: A wacky sitcom all about a fat wife and her super-hot husband. Haha, I'm just kidding... We've already seen that on Roseanne, with Roseanne Barr and that smokin' super-fox John Goodman.

Who would have thought that something mentioned in an episode of a sitcom nine years ago would become such a phenomenon?

Today's Boston Globe has a piece about the holiday of Festivus, the holiday-alternative first mentioned on an episode of Seinfeld in 1997. Show writer Daniel O'Keefe's family celebrated it in his home when he was a kid, and he still celebrates it today. But he's not the only one. More and more fans of the show are holding Festivus celebrations every year. O'Keefe wrote a book about it, as did Allen Salkin, and the name has become not just a pop culture craze but a real, solid holiday like any other. OK, maybe not like any other, but it's something that people are really starting to celebrate. (I can sense morons like Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson cringing - Festivus is just another war on Christmas!)

Even TV Squad celebrates it every year (the official Festivus day is December 23). Don't forget to enter our contest by midnight tonight!

The ill-fitting blue suit and red tie. The sweat-soaked shirt. The bulging eyes and fidgety manner. The rapid-fire jokes about getting "no respect." Rodney Dangerfield was in the Pantheon of comedy greats for all those reasons, but his fantastic stand-up comedy was just a part of his legacy, as we find out in the fun Comedy Central documentary Legends: Rodney Dangerfield, which airs Sunday night at 9.

This is the first in CC's Legends series, where the lives of comic giants are examined through interviews with the stars that were influenced by them. In this episode, the mega-stars come out to talk about the man they equally admire and are indebted to: Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, Chris Rock, Robert Klein, Bob Saget, Stiller & Meara, Bill Murray, Jay Leno, Norm MacDonald, Jeff Foxworthy, Adam Sandler, Sandra Bernhardt, Susie Essman, Ray Ramone, Bill Maher and Rob Schneider all provide commentary on how Rodney influenced their careers from afar, and how gracious he was with his knowledge and advice.

For 2007, it looks as though the Hollywood Walk of Fame is going retro! This year's recipients in television have been busting their chops for decades. Former C.H.i.P.S star (and current reality television fodder) Erik Estrada is getting one. So are Jerry Stiller, Kiefer Sutherland, Barbara Walters, and Law & Order creator Dick Wolf. There were more than 200 nominees (also in movies, recording & theater) and the committee in charge of Hollywood immortality chose 23 stars.

Other recipients include P. Diddy (or whatever they're calling him now), Matt Damon, Jamie Foxx, Michelle Pfeiffer, Shania Twain, Lily Tomlin, and Crystal Gayle. The full list is here.