TVSquad

Hey, so do I, and I didn't even protest anything.

A Salem, MA man who was arrested three years ago while protesting a statue put up by TV Land in honor of Elizabeth Montgomery and the classic show Bewitched is suing the Witch City for $1 million. He says his civil rights were violated, he was roughed up by two cops, and that the whole arrest was unnecessary. The man, Richard Sorrell, was protesting the placement of the statue, across the street from where several people died in the witch trials. The trial started yesterday. The police disagree with Sorrell and say that he was treated professionally. They also say that Sorrell actually elbowed and knocked down people during the protest.

This was actually a debate that was going on at the time, whether or not the town should let TV Land put the statue in Salem. The town heard arguments of various citizens for and against the statue and ultimately decided to erect the statue.

This one belongs in the "You've Got To Be Kidding Me" file.

This weekend, TV Land has an event devoted to movies (Footloose, Flashdance, Say Anything, etc) and trivia from the 1980s. They were going to call it "OhMyGod, That's So 80s," but after a protest from the American Family Association, they've changed it to OhMyGosh. The AFA issued a press release saying (among other things) that TV Land "easily disrespects Christians" and viewers should send e-mails to network President Larry Jones to protest.

I guess no one in that group was alive during the late 70s and 80s.

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.

Fans of TV Land have probably been hitting themselves in the head, like they do in those V-8 commercials, wondering when the cable channel was going to debut a reality show that searches for the next great supermodel.

The answer to that question is summer 2008.

That's the launch date for She's Got The Look (formerly titled The Next Great Supermodel, but that was probably too similar to America's Next Top Model for comfort), a new reality show that will look for a new 35-plus supermodel. That's age, not IQ. Though I guess it could also refer to their weight.

Friday's TCA, which continued cable TV presentations, felt like three days rolled into one.

Just how jam-packed and eclectic are the programs and announcements that were made?

Here's a sample: Dynasty diva Joan Collins is checking into BBC America's Hotel Babylon, Richard Dreyfus (Jaws) is not afraid to get back into the water as host of The Discovery Channel's Ocean of Fear: The Worst Shark Attack Ever and Jonny Fairplay (Survivor) of CMT's Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull-Riding Challenge sadly announced that his beloved grandmother passed away two weeks ago.

In March, I told you about a new TV Land series called Back to the Grind in which celebrities from classic TV shows actually attempt to do the jobs their characters performed on television. I told you it debuted on October 10, but clearly I was lying because it actually kicks off this Wednesday, July 18 at 10:30 p.m.

If you don't have TV Land, don't worry. You can actually watch full episodes on TV Land's site starting July 16. Right now you can just see a few clips, but I think they give a pretty good idea of what to expect. I especially enjoyed watching Erik Estrada continuously fail both the written examination and driving test for his motorcycle license. Also, Loni Anderson doesn't look that much different than she did when she was on WKRP in Cincinnati. It's almost as if she had some kind of surgery performed on herself to make her look younger than she really is.

TV Land, the network that caters to the baby boomers and everyone else who likes a dose of nostalgia in their TV viewing, is making some big changes. They're rebranding their network from being a retro TV destination to being a network that has a whole lot more. And apparently that strategy involves reality shows.

The channel has picked up reruns of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They'll start airing on August 7, and its regular slot will be Tuesdays at 11pm.

I'm baffled by this. Why destroy the network theme that has made you as successful as you are? Or do they consider Extreme Makeover a "future classic?" How many times can you watch the rerun of a home makeover show? And at 11pm??

It's great that they're also going to start running some original programming, but airing reality reruns is lame at best.

As many of you know, in the year 2000 I was crowned TV Land's Ultimate Fan. It was a great experience that I will always remember. I got to visit New York in the Fall and, again the following winter, I won a bunch of prizes and I also got to meet a lot of cool people. The coolest by far was Mr. T.

I met Mr. T before the competition started at a mall in Orange County, California. I decided to drive out there to audition for the show and, once there, I discovered that the celebrity appearing that day was Mr. T. Before the competition, Mr. T signed autographs for people and once that was done, he got onstage and answered questions. Many of the questions were typical; "Will there be an A Team reunion? How did you beat cancer? What projects are you working on?" But I will always remember the question asked by a young man in the front row.

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.

I have often said that all television falls into two categories, good and bad. However, I have recently discovered that television can also be categorized as classic and non-classic. But there's a catch.

When I was growing up, there wasn't a lot of good TV due to the fact that there were only three networks (four if you count PBS, which I certainly didn't). Consequently, local affiliates had no choice but to fill their daytime schedules with reruns of popular sitcoms like The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island and The Monkees. These shows and shows like them have become classics almost by default. Bottom line: when an entire generation can sing the theme song of a show, it's a classic.