One of America's greatest TV icons has been officially recognized as one of its greatest humorists. Yes, he's still one of the greatest TV icons, but giving him another honor for his work in TV is like giving Jay Leno a free car.
Bill Cosby received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Monday at the Kennedy Center.
The event, set for broadcast on PBS on Nov. 4., featured presentations and words from comedy notables such as Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld. It also featured a Cosby Show reunion of sorts with Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. It's a good thing Dr. Huxtable didn't take his boy out of the world after all.
This week marks the 25th anniversary of the premiere episode of The Cosby Show. Here's the famous scene from the episode where Cliff explains to son Theo about the realities of living on your own and not going to college. This was an instant classic, because Cliff's reaction to Theo's speech about being a "regular person" wasn't expected, especially by an audience that had just clapped at what Theo had said.
Leo G. Carroll did it in 1966. Lisa Bonet sort of did it in 1987. What am I talking about? Double duty. That is, playing the same role on two series which are running at the same time. There are probably quite a few other instances, but Leo was head man Mr. Waverly on both The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. for a year, and Lisa was Denise Huxtable in college (A Different World) and when she came home to visit the family in Brooklyn on The Cosby Show.
Does Gary Coleman have a reality show yet? At this point, it seems that everyone and their brother is getting a reality show. You knew the end was nigh when Kim Kardashian's entire family got a reality show. That's a family getting a show based on a big ass. And I mean that in more ways than one. Keshia Knight Pulliam, who's famous for being a cute little girl on The Cosby Show twenty years ago is getting her chance to shine. Now 30, Pulliam is set to "star" in a reality show for Oxygen about her fun, young life with her live-in boyfriend. Yawn, man I think I fell asleep typing that.
But that's not all! Fantasia Barrino is getting her own reality show on VH1 and it doesn't have anything to do with skanks or dating! Fantasia won American Idolway back in Season 3, had her own Lifetime movie and a successful book and musical accolades to spare. But she's been more out of the public limelight in recent years while she performed on Broadway in The Color Purple. But still, I think Taylor Hicks needs a reality show more than Fantasia.
On this Tuesday morning, we've got a copy ofThe Cosby Show - 25th Anniversary box set on DVD for one lucky, random commenter. The DVD set -- with all eight seasons of the classic show -- is available in stores starting today.
To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, November 14 simply telling us why you'd like to own this DVD set. As always, we'll randomly choose one winner amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating why you'd like to own The Cosby Show 25th Anniversary DVD set.
The comment must be left before November 14, 2008 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
You may enter only once.
One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
One winner will receive The Cosby Show 25th Anniversary DVD set (valued at $124.98).
Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
Where are the family comedies these days? They're a rare commodity on the big three plus Fox, and even if you include the animated clans on The Family Guy and The Simpsons and American Dad, you can count the family-type comedy shows on one hand.
I've watched The Bill Engvall Show and enjoyed it. It's meant to evoke Cosby, but I also found a lot of Everybody Loves Raymond and Home Improvement in it as well, and that's a good thing. Engvall's a funny guy, and he's greatly aided in the show by sitcom vet Nancy Travis as his smart, attractive spouse.
Watching the coverage of the Democratic convention has caused my old carpel tunnel syndrome to act up. I've been doing so much channel surfing; going from channel to channel to find just the right coverage has been a chore.
Good luck finding a balance between astute punditry, quality reporting, over-hyped production and clear coverage of the activities on the floor and stage by the political party. It's not easy. Here's some things, good and bad, that I've noticed in these first three days:
1) The Obama family are the Huxtables After Michelle Obama's speech on Monday night, her two daughters -- Sasha and Malia -- rushed onto the stage and Barack appeared via video hook up to speak with them and Michelle, congratulating her for the speech. It was a perfect TV moment. As good as her speech was, the image of the family was even better. In a voice that reminded me of Rudi Huxtable, Sasha talked to her father and chirped, "I love you, Daddy." The Obama's became The Cosby Show. If that doesn't connect to the TV audience, nothing will. (Check out the video below.)
One of the fun games to play when it comes to TV shows is "What If." What if Mickey Rooney had been cast as Archie Bunker on All in the Family? What would have happened to the show (and to Rooney)?
That's one of interesting revelations (though that one has been known for quite some time) in the new bookMickey Rooney as Archie Bunker and Other TV Almostsby Eila Mell. It lists a bunch of actors and actresses who almost got roles we know and love. For example, Jenna Fischer (The Office) tried out for the role of Sydney Bristow on Alias, but was deemed not sexy enough for the part (as we told you about before). Whitney Houston didn't want the role of Bill Cosby's daughter on The Cosby Show so the role went to Lisa Bonet. And Leonardo DiCaprio almost played David Hasselhoff's son on Baywatch (the role went to Brandon Call and later Jeremy Jackson). That one isn't surprising at all, considering DiCaprio did work on Growing Pains and other shows.
It's Father's Day. Dad's day of the year. Earlier this week, I took the AOL TV Dad's Quiz, like Debra, and I was reminded of the variety of fathers on the tube. I think I have a unique take on TV dads. My own died when I was just eight, so I tend to admire those characters that remind me of him. For that reason, the pipe-smoking, cardigan sweater wearing Jim Anderson on Father Knows Best doesn't ring true; neither does the coarse Archie Bunker of All in the Family.
So, here's my five favorite sitcom dads, the ones I related to the most. That means I've excluded single dads and animated dads. That means Hank Hill, Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin and Fred Flintstone are ineligible for my list. Also, this is strictly sitcom pops.
Reunions are hot, you know? On February 12, for example, Oprah reunited (most of) the kids from The Cosby Show, with Bill appearing via satellite. Well, never one to let a good idea go to waste, NBC jumped on the theme. They recently had a Family Ties reunion on Today, so now the morning show is commencing tomorrow with a series of more "Together Again" features. Tune into 8:00 a.m. hour each day so you don't miss a thing!
There's a great discussion happening over at Pop Candy today about the fictional characters that have shaped our world. It's based on the book, "The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived". The list includes Big Brother, The Marlboro Man, and Kermit the Frog but commenters are pointing out some glaring omissions including Harry Potter, Homer Simpson, Bugs Bunny, and Charlie Brown.
I'm not even going to pretend to narrow down the five most influential television characters ever... I'll just give you the list of five TV characters that had the biggest effect on me. Interestingly, none of mine are from cartoons. List your Top Five in the comments.
One of America's greatest TV icons has been officially recognized as one of its greatest humorists. Yes, he's still one of the greatest TV icons, but giving him another honor for his work in TV is like giving Jay Leno a free car. 
Does Gary Coleman have a reality show yet? At this point, it seems that everyone and their brother is getting a reality show. You knew the end was nigh when Kim Kardashian's entire family got a reality show. That's a family getting a show based on a big ass. And I mean that in more ways than one. Keshia Knight Pulliam, who's famous for being a cute little girl on The Cosby Show twenty years ago is getting her chance to shine. Now 30, 
On this Tuesday morning, we've got a copy of The Cosby Show - 25th Anniversary box set on DVD for one lucky, random commenter. The DVD set -- with all eight seasons of the classic show -- is available in stores starting today.
Where are the family comedies these days? They're a rare commodity on the big three plus Fox, and even if you include the animated clans on The Family Guy and The Simpsons and American Dad, you can count the family-type comedy shows on one hand. 
Watching the coverage of the Democratic convention has caused my old carpel tunnel syndrome to act up. I've been doing so much channel surfing; going from channel to channel to find just the right coverage has been a chore. 
One of the fun games to play when it comes to TV shows is "What If." What if Mickey Rooney had been cast as Archie Bunker on All in the Family? What would have happened to the show (and to Rooney)? 
It's Father's Day. Dad's day of the year. Earlier this week, I took the 
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.
Just last night, a fan named Kevin sent me this query...
Reunions are hot, you know? On February 12, for example, Oprah reunited (most of) the kids from The Cosby Show, with Bill appearing via satellite. Well, never one to let a good idea go to waste, NBC jumped on the theme. They recently had a 
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow. It's a complete series extravaganza!
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.
There's a great discussion happening over at 
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