TVSquad

It must have been hard to put a set together for a show like The Tonight Show. It's not the type of show you can do by season (way too many episodes), and Johnny Carson was host for 30 years (1962-92). A set like this is bound to disappoint some fans. But you know what? The set is just individual DVDs that have already been released in another form, and now they're packaging them under the Definitive DVD Collection title. That might tick off some fans who already bought the discs, but the set is well-done and has a variety of material to recommend it.

I have to agree with Whitney over at Pop Candy when she says she's confused that Marcia Cross made the list of TV Land/Entertainment Weekly's "Top 50 TV Icons" list. I mean, seriously, Marcia Cross?! Imagine all of the people left off the list that could have gone in that spot. Maybe if Cross had found a cure for cancer she could go on the list. Then again, she'd be on a "Top 50 Scientists" list, not a TV icons one.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow. It's a complete series extravaganza!

• The Andy Williams Show - Best Of
• The Bob Hope Show - The Ultimate Collection
• The Captain and Tennille - TV Specials
• The Colbert Report - Best Of
• The Cosby Show - Season 5 and 6
• Doctor Who - Series 3, Story #123 and 124
• Flight of the Conchords - Season 1
• Full House - Complete Series and Season 8
• Gilligan's Island - Complete Series
• House of Venus - Season 1
• King of Queens - Complete Series
• Martin - Season 3
• McLeod's Daughters - Season 4
• The Munsters - Scary Little Christmas
• The Pink Panther Show - A Pink Christmas
• Project Runway - Season 3
• Seinfeld - Complete Series and Season 9
• Sesame Street - Old School Vol. 2
• The Tonight Show - Heeere's Johnny: The Definitive DVD Collection
• Wildfire - Season 2
• Wings - Season 5
• Wonder Woman - Complete Collection
• The X-Files - Complete Collection Edition

There have been rumors swirling ever since Conan O'Brien was tapped by NBC to replace Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show that O'Brien would be asked to move to L.A. from his current New York City home. And now it's been made official by NBC: Conan will move to L.A. when he takes over the show in 2009.

Gallery: Conan O'Brien

Whitney Matheson has an interesting topic over at the Pop Candy blog. She lists her 10 favorite props from the movies, and includes some items like Indy's hat from the Raiders of the Lost Ark movies, Darth Vader's light saber, and many items from Steve Martin's The Jerk. This got me thinking, what props from TV shows would I like to own? I have a few from Ed, including a name plate from the courtroom and a drinking bird, but I'd like more. My list is below, in no particular order.

Anything from The Dick Van Dyke Show: In particular, the typewriter in the office or anything from the Petrie's kitchen. Or maybe the ottoman Rob trips over!

Talk about bizarre timing.

This morning I was just about to order two different Johnny Carson DVDs. I've been holding off on getting them for one reason or another but decided last night to just order them. Good thing I waited. Respond2 Entertainment has announced that they are going to release a 12 disc set this fall called Heeere's Johnny: The Definitive Collection. Yes, with three "e's."

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Will Schaefer: He wrote background music for a number of TV shows over the years, including The Flintstones, I Dream of Jeannie, Hogan's Heroes, The Jetsons, The Tonight Show, Disneyland, The Super Friends, The Phil Silvers Show, Barnaby Jones, and The Flying Nun. He also did music for over 700 commercials (!). He died of cancer near Palm Springs, CA at age 78.

New TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Chappelle's Show - Best Of
• CHiPs - Season 1
• The Cosby Show - Seasons 3 and 4
• Dark Angel - Seasons 1 and 2 (Thin)
• The Dead Zone - Season 5
• Doctor Who - Stories 115, 116 and 117
• The Fall Guy - Season 1, Volumes 1 and 2 and also a Season 1 set
• The Henry Rollins Show - Season 1
• Hex - Season 1
• Hogan's Heroes - Season 6
• Mission: Impossible - Season 2
• The Outer Limits - Vol. 1
• Rescue Me - Season 3
• Robin Hood - Season 1
• Seinfeld - Season 8
• SpongeBob SquarePants - Bikini Bottom Adventures
• Survivorman - Survivorman
• The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson - Best of Standup Comedians and The King of Late Night
• Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - Season 1
• What's New Scooby Doo? - Season 2

Jay Leno is currently celebrating his 15th anniversary on that late night talk show that I refuse to name because I hate associating the show that Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Johnny Carson once hosted with Leno. I won't go into all the reasons why (I've talked about it before), but let's just say the guy is incredibly lame and unfunny.

Almost a year ago, Bob linked to a segment from The Tonight Show in 1973 in which professional "spoon bender" Uri Geller was exposed on national television by Carson and frequent Carson guest and professional debunker James Randi. The clip, via YouTube, was part of a larger documentary about hoaxes.

Recently, citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Geller's company, Explorologist Ltd., demanded the clip be removed for violation of copyright. YouTube suspended the account of the user who posted the video.

Tommy Newsom, best known for being the bandleader on The Tonight Show when Doc Severinsen had the night off, died this weekend of cancer at his home in Virginia.

Newsom was also a saxophone player and joined the show in 1962, when Johnny Carson took over from Jack Parr. When Carson retired in 1992, so did Newsom. Newsom was a very dry, laid back guy, and Carson jokingly called him "Mr. Excitement."

Besides his work on The Tonight Show, Newsom also composed music for Kenny Rogers, John Denver, and Skitch Henderson, the first Tonight Show bandleader, who died in 2005.

You can watch several episodes of the TV Land talk show Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg right at the TV Land web site (full episodes from the second season and highlights of the first). Steinberg has interviewed everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Bob Newhart, but the show that I'd like to talk about is the one where he interviews Daily Show host Jon Stewart. It's actually one of the best interviews with Stewart I've ever seen.