TVSquad

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.

However, TBS has a throwback family comedy, one in The Cosby Show mode, and they're sticking with it. TBS's The Bill Engvall Show has just been given a third season renewal. The sitcom will be back in the summer 2009 with ten new episodes.

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 book Mickey Rooney as Archie Bunker and Other TV Almosts by 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.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• The Cosby Show - Seasons 7 and 8
• Deadliest Catch - Season 3
• Def Poetry Jam - Season 3
• Fortysomething - Complete Series
• Hell's Kitchen - Season 1
• The Last Detective - Series 4
• Living with Ed - Season 1
• Matlock - Season 1
• Meerkat Manor - Season 2
• Mythbusters - Collection 3
• Nanny 911 - Season 1
• Perry Mason - 50th Anniversary Set
• Rock of Love with Bret Michaels - Season 1
• Sense & Sensibility - Miniseries
• Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles - Season 6

Just last night, a fan named Kevin sent me this query...

"What actor/actress has received the most money for a sitcom syndication deal?"

Well, the short answer is Jerry Seinfeld. The long answer has all the details.

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!

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

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Complete Series
• The Bronx is Burning - Complete Series
• The Cosby Show - Best Of
• Count Dracula - Complete BBC Miniseries
• Davey and Goliath - Lost Episodes
• Dog The Bounty Hunter - The Arrest
• Drawn Together - Season 2 Uncensored
• Grounded For Life - Season 5
• Home Run Derby - Vol. 3
• Inside The Actor's Studio - Leading Men
• The King of Queens - Season 9
• Midsomer Murders - Set 9
• My Name Is Earl - Season 2
• Numb3rs - Season 3
• Robert Klein: The HBO Specials 1975-2007
• The Streets of San Francisco - Season 1, Vol. 2
• Thunderbirds - 40th Anniversary Megaset
• The Unit - Season 2
• The Untouchables - Season 1, Vol. 2
• Voltron - Collection 4
• What About Brian - Complete Series

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.

While watching Scrubs last night, I saw a familiar face in a promo for the new NBC sitcom, Teachers. The guy on my television screen had his arms stuck in the window of a car and I had to pause my TiVo and stare at the TV because I swear I knew him from somewhere!

With Scrubs on hold, I went to NBC's webpage for Teachers and found out who the guy was. It's Deon Richmond, y'all! He played Rudy's friend Kenny ("but I call him 'Bud'") on The Cosby Show. Since then, he appeared in Eddie Murphy's Raw and Spike Lee's Mo Better Blues. He's also appeared on a string of sitcoms, including a recurring role on Sister, Sister.

It's great to see him, but I'm still not going to watch that show.

As my newborn son (part of a twin set; the other is a girl) rests in my arms, I just want to take this moment to thank two cable channels for being there for us as we struggled through the sleepless first night home:  Nick@Nite  and The Hallmark Channel.

Yes, I said the Hallmark Channel!

The Hallmark Channel was on during the 11 P.M. till 1 A.M. shift with four episodes of M.A.S.H . When I was younger I never liked the early episodes with Frank Burns, Colonel Blake, and Trapper John. Now I like those more, as well as the first two seasons where Colonel Potter and B.J. Hunnicutt joined the cast (these are the episodes The Hallmark Channel is showing now). Once Frank Burns left and Charles Winchester joined the 4077th the show got a bit too preachy for me, and Col. Potter began to spout too many southern cliches.