TVSquad

(S02E06) One of the really good things about Army Wives is that it presents situations and problems that don't have easy answers. As a viewer, you watch and wonder, "What would I do if I was in his/her shoes?"

That was what I was wondering when Claudia Joy was faced with advising a soldier/mother who's teenage daughter was acting out because she didn't want her mother to leave for another tour of duty. With little recourse that doesn't involve court martial and loss of benefits, Clare Duncan, faces a moral dilemma that most TV shows never address.

I have to admit I didn't even know that issues like dual deployment -- when both a father and mother are serving in combat, leaving kids behind and in need of care -- existed till tonight. It seems unfair for the children of military families, which is the point the program was making.

There were plenty of personal stories going on as well. Trevor's a wreck, uncomfortable with being hailed a hero, and Roxy is unsure how to help him.

Though not the most obvious of translations, PBS has nevertheless transformed NPR's hit radio series Car Talk into an animated series. The show, dubbed Click and Clack's As The Wrench Turns, premieres July 9th at 8 p.m. ET and is set to run in two-episode blocks for five weeks thereafter. Click and Clack, the on-air alter egos of Tom and Ray Tappet, are as self-deprecating off-air about the series as they are on air. "I hope that people look at it mercifully," said Ray, "It's lame enough that people will laugh at some of the lame stuff."

The brothers are the heart and soul of the radio show, which has become a huge hit for NPR, but the TV show is looking to spotlight a more expanded roster of characters. And while the two will be playing animated versions of themselves, and those versions will also host an auto talk show, the similarities really end there. You really have a more family-oriented animated show the creators say is more akin to Family Guy or The Simpsons than the radio show.

If you have a leisure suit in your closet and think it'll never be in style again, you may be wrong. Everything has a way of coming back around, even game shows. With that in mind, Queen for a Day, a game show that ran in daytime for 20 years, is being resurrected for today. RDF USA has obtained format rights and plan to present their resurrected, revamped edition to cable and broadcast nets this week.

Queen for a Day was originally a radio show, but appeared on TV in 1947 and ran on and off until 1970. It was sort of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition of its day, albeit on a much more modest level. Female contestants would appear to tell her story of woe and misfortune in order to be eligible to become queen for a day, wherein she would win prizes, be feted with a crown and robe, offered roses and other gifts. "Make every woman a queen, for every single day," was the host, Jack Bailey's closing line each day. If it sounds hokey, it was. Comedy shows regularly satirized it.

Popular public radio program Car Talk, hosted by Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers (actually Tom and Ray Magliozzi), is coming to television next year, as an animated sitcom on PBS.

Really?

Yes, me, really. I assumed it would just be the brothers dispensing advice and offering help to people with car problems, just like on their radio show, but instead, the new program will focus on the brothers' lives outside the radio show as they work in their fix-it garage, and deal with angry customers.

The Sound of Young America, a public radio show and podcast about cool pop culture stuffs, will be taping live this Saturday in Santa Monica, California.

Why should I care about that?, you might ask.

Well ,if you're a fan of Veronica Mars, creator Rob Thomas will be there to chat with SOYA host Jesse Thorn, and tickets only cost ten bucks. Is ten bucks too much to pay to see Thomas, someone who provided you with hours of free entertainment? No, you cheap bastard, it isn't.

First Kentucky Fried Chicken and now you, Museum of Television and Radio? Oh, why must things change?

Anyway, the Museum of Television of Radio is changing its name, but not to "MTR." No, it will henceforth be known as "Paley Center for Media," which TV trivia-heads will recognize as being named after William S. Paley, who founded CBS and started the museum in 1975 (back then it was called the "Museum of Broadcasting," so it's not like this is the first time the name has changed).

So why the change? It's quite simple: we don't just get our information through TV and radio anymore. We now have this thing called "the internet," not to mention video content through mobile devices.

Major apologies for being late with this review. I've had a bit of a pain in the gulliver the last few days, but I'm doing better now, thank you very much.

Anyway, perhaps it was because I was sick, or maybe my humor sensors just weren't tuned in properly, but this episode kind of left me cold. I'll admit I loved the whole idea of Orel and the Pious Scouts going on a camping trip but never really exposing themselves to nature, and I loved all the signs at the nature preserve that read, "Warning: Actual Nature" and "No Birds After Six PM," and if you really want to make me laugh, a squirrel committing suicide via hanging is always a good way to go, but the overall theme of this episode felt like something I had seen too many times before.

There was a great piece on last week's episode of This American Life (the radio version) by John Hodgman about how television has changed his life. John Hodgman is, as many of you know, a regular contributor on The Daily Show and also plays "P.C." in those popular Mac ads.

His monologue on This American Life was about suddenly becoming recognized when he's at Radio Shack or at the airport and not knowing how to respond to the stupid things people say to him. For example, the employee at Radio Shack was just shocked that Hodgman would be shopping at Radio Shack in Greenfield, Connecticut! Hodgman lays out all his star struck encounters in his typical Hodgman style, making the things we all do and take for granted sound just plain stupid. I highly recommend listening, it's the first "chapter" and you can listen for free on iTunes for the next week. It can also be streamed at This American Life's official website.

BTW, that episode also had an interesting interview at the very beginning with an astronaut who talks about how much she loves Battlestar Galactica, and also how The Borg figured out the ultimate spaceship.

Talk show host Don Imus has been suspended from his show by both CBS Radio and MSNBC, which telecasts his radio show every morning. The suspension is for two weeks but doesn't start until next Monday.

This is because Imus referred to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." Imus went on Al Sharpton's radio show on Monday and, as Howard Stern pointed out today, probably made things worse by the apology he made there and other comments he made.

MSNBC says that any "any future relationship with Imus is contingent on his ability to live up to his word." I wonder why the suspension doesn't start til next Monday. Do they want the ratings bump the controversy is going to create? Will Imus talk about it on his show the next four days? CNN has certainly been talking about it all day.

As we've previously reported, This American Life is coming to Showtime, and we were lucky enough to get a look at the first four episodes. It's no secret that I had high hopes for this show, and was all set to have them crushed, trampled, and stomped upon. However, I'm happy to report that that my hopes are still intact, at least after having seen four episodes. There's still room for my hopes to be smashed into a million crystalline fragments down the road.

First off, if you've never heard an episode of This American Life, it's high time that you head to iTunes and subscribe to their podcast. It's one of the best radio shows I've ever heard, and presents stories from Americans that you'll never hear anywhere else. It's pure documentary work where the hosts and interviewers don't overshadow the subjects, and features as much humor as it does touching drama. A real gem on the radio dial, and it's a labor of love on Public Radio International, which is more famous for its content, and not for the fortunes they pay their hosts.

I am getting Showtime.

When I read that This American Life was coming to television, I was cautiously optimistic. Ira Glass and crew do such a terrific job telling stories with audio that I admit I was worried about video taking away some of the intimacy. After watching this trailer (it's also embedded after the jump) I was blown away. It looks as beautiful as This American Life sounds. Apparently the producers of the television show found photographers and editors who think the way This American Life is produced. Just like the radio broadcast, the camera shots are from unusual angles. It's pretty much the opposite of anything you'd see on MTV.

This American Life premieres on Showtime on March 22.

When people talk about the greatest voice actors in cartoons, Mel Blanc is always at the top of the list, and for good reason: he solely provided the voice of the majority of the Looney Tunes characters, save for Elmer Fudd, who was voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan. His first real contribution was providing the voice of Porky Pig, a gig originally given to an actor named Joe Dougherty whose genuine stutter made it impossible for him to control the character's voice.

Blanc also worked in radio before and during his time at Warner Bros., working with such legends as Jack Benny, Abbot and Costello, and Burns and Allen. It was radio that helped him to create solid but unseen characters, a talent that carried over beautifully into animation.

After the jump is a clip from the Tonight Show featuring the man himself being interviewed by Johnny Carson. It's rather bittersweet to see these two great comedic minds on screen together, and to think of what the world of entertainment lost when they each passed away.

[via Frederator]

Check out the picture on the right. It just looks like a plastic bust of Homer Simpson, but it's actually a radio. The eyeballs are the tuning and volume knobs, which I guess means that while listening to the radio Homer takes on the appearance of "incredibly brain damaged Homer" complete with wandering eyes. I also found this SpongeBob SquarePants shower radio, this Tweety Bird combination phone and clock radio on eBay, and this Garfield radio (did you know he's coming back to TV?) which is very similar to one my brother had when we were younger, except his was a clock radio and the alarm was Garfield's voice saying, "time to wake up, sleepy head." If you pressed his nose / snooze button, Garfield would say, "Nah, don't get up. Stay in bed, sleep longer."

Now I'm curious: does anyone out there have any unique promotional toys for old (or new) TV shows that stand out from the usual plastic crap you can find in large chain stores? Let loose in the comments, this is your chance to break out your awesome toys and make everyone else jealous. Yes, it's childish, but what's the point of having these collectibles if not to make other people jealous?

I haven't a lot of time to really delve into Shokus Radio, but I've heard enough to recommend it to anyone with an interest in the early days of television. Besides interviews with folks in the TV industry, the internet radio show also replays classic radio programs that later became TV shows, featuring the likes of Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen. Also, episodes of Dragnet, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and You Bet Your Life. Every episode also includes the original commercials. You can see a schedule here.

There's also big band music, rock music, and some hip-hop show hosted by an eight year old girl. You know, if you like that sort of thing along with your Jack Benny Hour.

[via Mark Evanier]

Here she is (opens iTunes). Just like I promised. Storm Large, the best contestant on last summer's Rock Star: Supernova, was a guest on an Oregon public radio program called Live Wire. It's a variety-type show that is recorded in front of a live audience (I attended the December taping). She sang "Beautiful", a PG-rated version of "Ladylike", and a sultry rendition of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" at the very end of the show.

That show has finally aired- it made air in Oregon just before Christmas and now Live Wire's podcast is in iTunes. Not only does Storm blow away the public radio types with her performances, she also gives an entertaining interview about being a very scary stepmom.