TVSquad

Dear Stephen,

I was going to start this letter by telling you how much of a fan I am of you and your show. But I'm sure you already know that, right? You probably cannot conceive of a TV viewer who doesn't like your show, so my love of everything you do probably comes as no surprise to you. But last night you did something that hurt me and several of my friends deeply.

You made a joke about the Gorton's fisherman being kidnapped and said that he was in Maine. He's not, he's in Massachusetts. I should know because I grew up a mile from Gorton's and devoured their fish sticks every week (now with crispier breading!).

You've probably seen the new McDonald's commercial (couldn't find any video, unfortunately) for the special New England-only blend of the Newman's Coffee that they sell (or maybe the ad is only shown in New England?). It's actually a fun, clever ad, especially if you're from the area and you know the slang terms the two guys utter. I was born and raised in New England but even I'm stumped by one of the terms the two guys talk about.

I've been yelling at myself a lot lately for never watching The Dana Carvey Show when it aired back in 1996. Seriously, I sit alone in my apartment screaming at myself. Sometimes I even throw myself down the stairs. My apartment doesn't actually have stairs so I fling myself from my couch several times. I do this because every time I find a clip of that show I can't believe how hysterical it is. What in the world was I doing back then? I was in college for crying out loud, I had all the time in the world to watch TV. It's not like I was studying.

If you click here, you can watch a clip from The Dana Carvey Show called "Skinheads from Maine" featuring Dana himself and Stephen Colbert. I think it proves that the show had a little something for everyone, even racist New Englanders.

"Boom-Boom BOOMTOWN!"

I'm not sure if that makes any sense to anyone who grew up outside of New England, but it's the battle cry of many an adult who was a kid between 1956 and 1976. It's from Boomtown, the classic kids show hosted by Rex Trailer on WBZ-TV. Brings back a lot of memories of sitting in my pajamas on Saturday and Sunday mornings, eating breakfast, watching the show. Kids went crazy on that show. I'm talking TRL crazy. I don't really remember Pablo, but I do remember Sgt. Billy.

Trailer is alive and still going strong! He's 78 and appears in parades and at special events, teaches at Emerson College, and has a video production company and television training center. He's currently on a "Rex Trailer 50th Anniversary Tour," and there was a film about him and his show released last year.

He has a web site, where you can not only buy a DVD for the show but also music, postcards, and posters of the reunion tour.