Television Anniversary - December 11, 2015

Today is the 35th anniversary of Magnum, P.I., the private detective show set in Hawaii and starring Tom Selleck.

Television Anniversary - November 27, 2015

Today is the 35th anniversary of Bosom Buddies, the sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari.

Television Anniversary - November 23, 2015

Today is the anniversary of the first episode airing of Doctor Who. Here are some choice quotations from the recent incarnation of the program.

“Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day. Not today. Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair and the Doctor comes to call, everybody lives.”

“Letting it get to you. You know what that’s called? Being alive. Best thing there is. Being alive right now is all that counts.”

“This is one corner… of one country, in one continent, on one planet that’s a corner of a galaxy that’s a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying and never remaining the same for a single millisecond. And there is so much, so much to see.”

“You want weapons? We’re in a library! Books! The best weapons in the world!”

Television Anniversary - November 3, 2015

Today is the 20th anniversary of Mr. Show with Bob and David.

Television Anniversary - October 28, 2015

Today is the 65th anniversary of the first episode of The Jack Benny Show.

Television Anniversary - October 5, 2015

Today is the 65th anniversary of You Bet Your Life, the game show hosted by Groucho Marx.

Television Anniversary - October 4, 2015

Today is the 25th anniversary of the first episode of Beverly Hills 90210.

Television Anniversary - October 3, 2015

Today is the 55th anniversary of The Andy Griffith Show. (insert whistle here)

Television Anniversary - October 3, 2015

Today is the 60th anniversary of the first episode of Captain Kangaroo.

Television Anniversary - October 3, 2015

Today is the 60th anniversary of the first episode of The Mickey Mouse Club.

Television Anniversary - October 2, 2015

Today is the 60th anniversary of the first episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Television Anniversary - September 30, 2015

Today is the 55th anniversary of The Flintstones, the prime-time animated television series.

Television Anniversary - September 28, 2015

Today is the 35th anniversary of Cosmos, the limited series on public television as created by Carl Sagan.

Television Anniversary - September 24, 2015

Today is the 45th anniversary of The Odd Couple, the television show based on the Neil Simon play and film.

Television Anniversary - September 19, 2015

Today is the 45th anniversary of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. 

Television Anniversary - September 15, 2015

Today is the 50th anniversary of the first episode of Lost in Space.

Television Anniversary - September 10, 2015

Today is the 25th anniversary of the first episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

She Alone: Revisiting Buffy, the Reluctant Feminist Hero

At least once a year, I manage to revisit Buffy the Vampire Slayer in its entirety. There are a few shows I hold in high esteem as the most intriguing, well-written, and compelling: The Wire, Six Feet Under, The West Wing, just to name a few. But I have watched none of those as much as I have watched Buffy. The premise was simple enough, and yet it defied all existing tropes up to that point. Buffy Summers is the chosen one, the next in a long line of Vampire Slayers, called when the preceding Slayer dies. It is her duty to protect the world from bloodsucking creatures of the night, and all other manner of beasties. Creator Joss Whedon’s intention was to take the helpless girl in the alley in every cliché horror movie and give her agency and power. That, in itself, was likely enough to make me watch, despite the somewhat silly title, but the transformation of “High School as Hell,” from the figurative metaphorical to the literal made it even more appealing.

Fans know the origin of the show already. Originally, Buffy was a movie starring Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, and Luke Perry, with Rutger Hauer and Paul Reubens as the baddies. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Whedon was unsatisfied with the result, despite Reubens performing one of the best death scenes in film history. It certainly wouldn’t be Joss’ first disappointment with Hollywood. But, he was given a second chance with this great character, the reprise to appear on the small screen. Cleverly, Whedon managed to reboot the property while maintaining the mythology created in the movie. Later, a comic book adaptation of Whedon’s original script was released, which he explains is to be taken as canonical. But the basics are the same. A new Slayer is called in L.A., she is trained in her fight against the vampires, she loses her original Watcher, and then she has to move.

The series starts with Buffy as a new student in Sunnydale, having just moved from Los Angeles. She meets her new Watcher, Giles, though she is at first resistant to resume her destined role, and quickly subverts a major tradition amongst Slayers by having friends. This becomes a key issue in the series. Though Whedon certainly follows his thesis of celebrating female power, he also follows the maxim that no one is truly alone, prophecy or no. The first set of episodes, a mid-season replacement, had twelve installments. They acted as a blueprint, establishing character, setting, situations, and mythology. Though the twists and emotional complexity would be more fully explored in later seasons, there were definitely some shining moments in the original dozen shows.



From the first show, Whedon wanted to establish the notion that nobody was safe. Eric Balfour, later to star in several shows including the aforementioned Six Feet Under, was to have appeared in the opening credits (though the network balked at the idea), only to be made a quick casualty in the war against darkness. While it wasn’t necessarily Game of Thrones, it was daring nonetheless. All of the chess pieces are put in place in the first two episodes. We have our heroine, Buffy, her substitute father figure in Giles, the Watcher, and her friends, Xander and Willow. In addition, we meet two different foils, the cliquish Cordelia and her mysterious romantic interest, Angel. We also have what Whedon establishes every season, what he likes to call “The Big Bad.” In the case of the first season, this is the elder vampire known as The Master.

The Master sets the architecture for major season-long enemies to come. While every episode may have some new challenge to face, there is always the threat of the major villain, ever plotting in the background for some major battle that will inevitably come. He and his minions, Luke (played by an actor who would later come back as baddie, The Judge) and Darla (a recurring fan favorite), scheme to rise from their underground “mystical” prison, and subsequently doing what nearly every Buffy baddie wants to do, open the Hellmouth and release untold evils upon the earth. The point is made again and again, as it probably needs to with such fantastical stories, that this is a lot of responsibility for one teenager to bear, even with special powers.



The Master’s arc over the season is peppered with what has become the norm for supernatural shows, which is appropriately called “Monster of the Week.” Buffy deals with witches, praying mantis monsters, animal possession, ancient demons, a cursed spirit inhabiting a ventriloquist’s dummy, waking nightmares, and a vengeful, invisible girl. And yet, they go far beyond those pedantic descriptions. All take on the subtext of the metaphorical becoming literal. The overbearing mother who lives vicariously through her daughter actually switches their bodies through witchcraft. Hyenas possess the cruel, preying clique. The ignored and scorned girl actually becomes invisible. And, though the bulk of the episode, “I, Robot…You, Jane,” is somewhat clunky, it is memorable not only for the introduction of Jenny Calendar, but also for its books vs. technology messages that are still relevant, fifteen years later.

“Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a-a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and-and-and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a - it, uh, it has no- no texture, no-no context. It's-it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then-then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible, it should be, um, smelly.”

The season finale, meant to wrap up the entire series in case it wasn’t renewed for a second season, has Buffy finally meeting and facing the Master. Though this seems formulaic, the episode is anything but. For one thing, when Buffy learns of the prophecy that predicts her death, she has a real, emotional, visceral reaction. There is no “rah-rah” moment or a stiff upper lip in the face of danger. Buffy is a reluctant hero. She’d much rather lead a normal life, and when faced with impending death, shows her true humanity. It is authentic and memorable. Secondly, the fact that the Slayer, the chosen one, has friends ends up to save her life. Though the prophecy actually comes to pass, Xander revives her, a circumstance that would never have happened had Buffy been a more “conventional” Slayer. And, though Buffy lived, she did die temporarily, which would have lasting effects in later episodes. This bit of business ended up becoming a touchstone of the series that proved to obsessive nerds, like myself, that no detail was insignificant.



Of course, a lot of fans will point to the Buffy and Angel romance as the hallmark of the series. It wasn’t the first instance of the vampire as romantic figure by a long shot, but it, and possibly Anne Rice, helped redefine the vampire as an elegant, all consuming, passionate character. Though it wasn’t the first, it definitely helped spawn an entire generation of supernatural romance, from True Blood to Twilight. With Buffy, however, there are no religious overtones and no sparkles. Angel is cursed, forced to walk the earth as an immortal, but with a human soul, aware at all times of the damage he has done and the pain inflicted. He is another piece of this Slayer’s unconventional life. Because of his unlikely curse and his desire to help this Slayer, who he falls for, Buffy has an advantage over past incarnations.

Buffy represents the power of feminism. This is not the kind of feminism that says women have to “be like men,” but instead showcases the strength of all women, distinct from men, yet equal, and uniquely powerful. It is a feminism that has the strength enough to share her power with others. This becomes a consistent theme throughout the series, making profound statements about humanity’s shared struggles, and how the battles we fight against our own demons are best assailed with the help of others.

In the days to come, I hope to share with you my thoughts about later seasons of this, one of my most beloved television series. I almost can’t wait to get to the second season, which is strange considering I’ve seen it so many times already. Buffy faces life after having faced death, a few more recurring vampire foes, including the enigmatic Spike, and a “Surprise” big bad that shocked everyone. Season two definitely raises the stakes on a show that had a strong beginning and near unlimited potential. Stay tuned.

Those Meddling Kids...

I’ve never been a big believer in the supernatural. Guess what? I’m still not. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t get creeped out from time to time. In fact, I do scare fairly easily. So why, if this is true, do I end up wanting to see things that scare the hell out of me? Ever since I was young, I’ve been drawn to ghost stories, the unexplained and the paranormal, despite a lack of any deep-seated belief. I started reading Stephen King novels when I was nine. Some of my favorite films as a pre-teen were The Exorcist, Psycho, and The Shining. (I want to clarify here, the difference between horror movies and gore films. I don’t usually watch films like Saw or Hostel.) I used to be terrified from listening to people’s personal ghost stories, stuff that they could not explain, stuff that they would swear they witnessed firsthand. There is something that we, as humans, love about the adrenalin rush of being scared.

One of the rites of passage of one’s freshman year of college is the ‘dorm urban legend.’ I don’t want to get too sidetracked here, but I remember vividly the stories of the student who came home to a darkened room, either leaving again or going to sleep, only to wake up to find her roommate mutilated, and the words, “Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?” in blood on the wall. There are many variations, and many other corresponding stories. My freshman year roommate, Rich, told me the story of La Llorona, the folktale of a woman who, in order to win the man she loves, drowns her own children, only to be rejected by the man anyway. She kills herself, and now roams the earth, crying, and looking for the children she murdered. Of course, he told this story during a holiday break when about 95% of the students had vacated the dorms. It made for the long walk down the desolate late night hallways to the bathroom that much more terrifying.

The bottom line is that I find these kinds of stories, though they can cause me some sleepless nights, highly entertaining. Somehow, I had missed the onset of the paranormal reality show boom. Programs from both sides of the Atlantic have been focused on trying to document evidence of the supernatural for the last few years. I’d caught a few bits and pieces of episodes here and there, but I never stayed tuned in for long (One, because I don’t like starting these kinds of shows from the middle. Two, because they would usually air late at night, and that would be a sure recipe for lying in bed wide-eyed for hours). But, now that I have streaming Netflix for the PS3, I decided to give one of these shows a try.

Ghost Adventures, which airs on the Travel Channel, is a program that spun off of a documentary film made in 2004. The film, which I have yet to see in its entirety (I’ve seen clips), had won some awards, gained some notoriety and supposedly captured some fairly compelling footage. It revolves around three men, Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin. Bagans is the ‘leader’ of the crew, driven by his own experience with the paranormal (always alluded to in the show, but never explained in full,…maybe in the documentary?), while Nick, another paranormal investigator, is a kind of sober puppethead yin to Zak’s over-the-top douchebag yang. Aaron is the Shaggy of this particular Scooby gang, an equipment tech who scares fairly easily. You can probably tell by some of my comments above that I’m a little disparaging of the show. Well, yes and no.

Let’s face it, as with everything else on television, this show is mainly for entertainment purposes. To that end, the show succeeds, despite its buffoonery. I find the first half to be the most interesting part of the show. The background information, location history, and stories surrounding the individual investigations are riveting. I suspect the fact that the show airs on the Travel Channel might have something to do with the time spent on the front end. As an example, my favorite episodes have very little to do with the investigation itself. I was fascinated to learn more about Italy’s Poveglia Island, a remote spit of land used to isolate the bodies of plague victims. The resulting ‘investigation’ was a joke, one in which it would not be a far stretch to think there was a great deal of ‘acting’ going on.

On the other side of the cable spectrum is Ghost Hunters on the newly rechristened SyFy. It’s amazing how many differences there are between the two shows despite having the same basic concept. GH is ‘hosted’ by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, two plumbers who started investigating the paranormal in their spare time. Supposedly, they still work in plumbing, though the positions are honorary. (Yeah, like Roto-Rooter would want to dump a couple of guys pulling in nearly three million viewers.) Whereas the Adventures crew do everything with hand-held night vision cameras (which can be spun as either ‘more authentic and raw’ or alternately ‘a gimmick to create atmosphere’), the Hunters double up on the investigators (six as opposed to GA’s three) and have cameramen following each pair. The biggest difference is in reaction and results. To the GA trio, literally EVERYTHING is evidence of the paranormal. Breezes, goosebumps, dust particles, bugs and creaky floorboards are all ‘evidence’ of present spirits. On the other hand, the GHers almost never fully admit to these things being paranormal. In fact, they rarely find much of value in any of their investigations. So, either one group is really bad at this, or one is faking a ton of findings. Both have been accused of faking results. I couldn’t care less.

My point is, the most frightening part of the paranormal is where your imagination can take you, not what someone can ‘prove.’ I’m not here to act as some kind of authority on the paranormal. I’m not, by any means. What I do know, however, is that when these guys present devices as ‘scientific,’ it’s the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. When it comes to the unknown, or anything that requires a leap of faith, there is no such thing as ‘scientific.’ I mean, please, a visor that attaches to a box that houses a ‘word database’ that spirits find ‘easy’ to manipulate? An electronic ouija board? Really? Why not just throw a bunch of Scrabble tiles into the darkness and see how they end up? A staticky device that spirits can speak through? Seemed more like an out of tune radio that picked up a few stray signals here and there. What makes these situations frightening resides in the mind. Half of the battle toward making someone piss his pants is in the introduction. The location has a lot to do with it. Sanitariums, abandoned hospitals, prisons, missions, plantations and underground passages are all amazingly frightening enough on their own. Throw in the stories and it paints a fairly spine-chilling picture.

Still, you couldn’t get me to be in this places at three in the morning with the lights out. I have a hard enough time viewing them from a distance.

An Incredibly Nerdy Post to Celebrate Something I've Spent Over Half My Life With...

I’ve been watching The Simpsons since the beginning, when, in high school, I heard that one of my favorite cartoonists, Matt Groening, had created a series of short cartoons for The Tracey Ullman Show. I tuned in, along with all of my senior buddies, on December 17, 1989 when the debut episode, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” aired. Ever since, I’ve been a nuisance to family and friends. I’ve been able to reference a particular Simpsons moment for nearly every life situation. For instance, on a recent trip down to San Diego, there was a moment when my companions and I smelled a skunk. “El gato malodoro,” I said in Bumbleeman’s fake Spanish.

In other words, I’m a superfan. I am writing and posting this on December 16, 2009, one day before the show turns 20. As much as I have loved The Simpsons, I never imagined that the show would last for two decades. We’re about to see a ton of hype surrounding the anniversary, with lots of promotion from Fox including contests and a Morgan Spurlock-created documentary. I’ve surprised myself upon realizing I haven’t yet written extensively about the show. But, upon reading the news this morning online (a notion that would have seemed particularly futuristic and alien in 1989), I found an article that spurred me to write: Click Here

This article had me in fits. I wasn’t necessarily angry, but I found myself at odds with myself over different segments of the piece. First of all, I’m never a fan of puff pieces. CNN could have easily written a superficial anniversary story, but instead they hit at the heart of what every Simpsons fan is obsessed with--the possibility of declining quality. I was both mortified and intrigued. They even quoted so-called devotees of the show who hinted that maybe it had worn out its welcome.

As a fan, I’ve always been disgusted by the remarks of other fans. When the creators of the show speak on commentaries about certain cast members, early Internet posters, or current bloggers denouncing particular shows, I want to scream. People who supposedly love the show are essentially biting the hands that feed them. And usually, the episodes they are denouncing end up to be some of my favorites, quoted extensively. Case in point, “Homer’s Enemy,” in which we are introduced to Frank Grimes, a very real-life inspired character who points out Homer Simpson’s inanities. I thought it was brilliant from the start, but fans at the time simply hated it.

The main complaints that fans seem to have, as pointed out by the CNN article, is that the show seems packed full of jokes rather than telling an emotional story, as had been done early in the show’s history. The other complaint is that the show has become a revolving door for guest stars, with stories built around these random zeitgeist driven appearances. I sympathize with both of these complaints, and have had them myself from time to time. However, these complaints have never been strong enough to make me think that the show should be off the air. If given the chance to have a world without Simpsons, and one in which the characters still entertain every week, albeit in a degraded fashion, I’ll take the latter.

That being said, I’ll give you my own thoughts about the show, my favorites, least favorites, and general thoughts about one of my favorite shows on television.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the first three seasons of the show were the most centered on the family. With the show’s early creators forging a path from rudimentary beginnings, and the obvious influence of James L. Brooks, stories sprung from family situations such as Bart and Lisa’s troubles in school / not fitting in, the family’s money troubles, the threat of infidelity, and many brushes with success that never pan out as the family hopes. The first three seasons feature some iconic episodes counted among the show’s best, including “There’s No Disgrace Like Home,” “The Call of the Simpsons,” “Krusty Gets Busted,” “Simpson and Delilah,” “Itchy & Stratchy & Marge,” “One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish” and many others. (I don’t want to turn this post into one big nerdy list).

The show hit its popularity and quality peak in the next five seasons, with character voices and personalities hitting their stride, many of the background characters of Springfield not only introduced, but also fleshed out, strong jokes and great stories. Some of my favorite episodes of the show come from these particular seasons. Don’t misunderstand me; there are plenty of episodes I enjoy after season eight. Unlike many complaining fans, I don’t think Mike Scully (as showrunner), brought on the decline of the show. Scully brought on several talented writers and dared to take some risks with the show. HOWEVER, risk is a fine balance. Sometimes things can go too far, too ridiculous, and too “meta.” Not only that, but when you start destroying the vast history of the characters and their world, merely for the sake of making cultural references, you insult the fans who have stuck with you for years.

Fans as devoted as me could probably guess that I’m referencing a particular writer and one particular show. Matt Selman’s “That 90’s Show” is the one instance that made me think the unthinkable, that I didn’t like an episode of The Simpsons. For that reason alone, I could distinguish Matt Selman as my least favorite writer of the show. However, he has made it easy for me, in writing several other shows among my least favorites. For instance, the most recent episode aired, “O Brother, Where Bart Thou?” in which Selman places a clunky rip-off of South Park within the show. It is an example of what I find in most of Selman’s shows, constant pop culture references without a lot of humor or story. I know this is the trend with current animated shows such as South Park and Family Guy, but I conjecture that The Simpsons shouldn’t have to ape these other shows, but rather return to the family driven humor and pathos that made the show popular in the first place.

There is no reason why absurd cannot mix with great story, however, which brings me to my favorite writer, John Swartzwelder. Some may cry foul over choosing the most prolific writer, but every time I look at my favorite episodes, I am never surprised to find out they were from the mind of Swartzwelder. His scripts have featured iconic Simpsons moments: the flying rabbit when the family went camping (“The Call of the Simpsons”), the revamped family-friendly Itchy & Scratchy sharing lemonade (“Itchy & Scratchy & Marge”), as well as many others, and the entire episodes of “Rosebud,” “Homie the Clown,” “You Only Move Twice,” “Homer’s Enemy” and my all-time favorite, “Whacking Day.”

The perfect example of Swartzwelder being able to combine absolute zaniness with story-driven plots is with his show, “Homer Simpson in: Kidney Trouble.” In this particular episode, Grampa Simpson needs a kidney transplant, and Homer is afraid of going under the knife, fleeing at every opportunity, a solid, emotional, family-driven concept. In the opening act, the family visits a recreated Old West tourist attraction. According to the script, a stage direction is given that the cowboys start to shoot at one another, and one cowboy, for some reason, starts digging a hole. The animators chose to include it in the show, it goes by quickly, but it is absolutely hilarious, albeit crazy.

These jokes lie in stark contrast to Matt Selman’s lead balloon references. In fact, there are a few Selman penned episodes that revolve entirely around pop culture concepts. These, in my estimation, are the least entertaining episodes out there. For one, the aforementioned “That 90’s Show,” and for another, “Bart Gets a Z.” The latter episode seems to simply be a parody of the popular book, “The Secret,” which, with its ridiculous notions of being able to make things happen with the ‘new age’ assertion of the power of positive thinking, itself an notion already asserted for years, was already a parody of itself. Making fun of “The Secret” is like making Michael Jackson jokes. It’s been done, it never needed to be done due to its broad nature, and the jokes aren’t funny. Don’t get me started on “Blue Bronco,” his on-the-nose parody of Red Bull.

I know that writing for television is not easy. But, how Al Jean, a showrunner who has presented some of the best stories in the show’s history, has allowed Selman to continue to write and produce such inferior work is beyond me. In commentaries, besides coming off as extraordinarily pompous, Selman seems to exalt Swartzwelder’s scripts and novels, but never seems to take a cue from his writing. (Not to say that pompousness is a factor in my estimation of actual writing, it’s just more of a turn off. I feel the same way about Ken Keeler, who makes me want to punch him in the face during particular commentaries, but writes excellent scripts for The Simpsons and Futurama. Keeler also wrote another history changing episode with the highly controversial "The Principal and the Pauper," but this episode was much more story driven than referential, and so was inestimably better.)

Oddly, it appears that I am in a minority. Today’s young fans seem to love Selman’s episodes. I just don’t get it. Today’s fans also make a claim that stuns me every time I read it, that they absolutely abhor Lisa-centric episodes. When it comes to well written, emotional episodes, there are almost no better shows than Lisa shows. Think about it, “Lisa the Greek,” “Lisa’s Rival,” “Lisa the Vegetarian,” “Lisa the Iconoclast,” and maybe the most powerful episode, “Lisa’s Substitute,” are all funny, heart-tugging and well formed. She is the heart of the show. The show has gone through several phases including a very heavy Bart focus in the first few seasons, then switching to an increasingly intelligence-challenged Homer, and then exploring the various and sundry Springfield residents, but Lisa has remained steadfast throughout, always sticking to her beliefs and tolerant, if not loving with her family. When Lisa feels something strongly, we feel it too. Many great shows have this kind of character, and the best examples I can think of are the shows of Joss Whedon. Willow, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Kaylee, from Firefly, exemplify this archetypal character to the hilt.

After 20 years, I don’t think The Simpsons has run out of stories. With as many characters as exist in Springfield, it would seem to me that the options are limitless. Years ago, Matt Groening and company proposed a spin-off called Springfield Stories, a show that would not have to revolve around the Simpson family, but instead explore the town’s denizens more closely. Maybe that’s still a good idea, and a way to get good stories out of characters that may be underused in their original show. As far as The Simpsons, I would suggest that there are indeed some ideas that are played out or should be avoided: Homer in another job setting, retelling classic stories in a ‘Simpson-y’ way (other than the Treehouse of Horror episodes), and for Pete’s sake, any show that attempts to rewrite Simpsons history. There are plenty of work, family, school and everyday life situations that could still be explored. I’m not claiming to say that this is easy, by any means, but with so many producers and consultants, you’d think they’d be able to avoid the low points. After all, they made The Simpsons Movie, which had some of the funniest as well as most touching moments in the show’s history. Not kidding, there are nearly fifty producers in total in this current season.

After the last few paragraphs, you might get the idea that I am no longer a fan of the show. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I still watch the show religiously. I have a few complaints here and there, but I usually keep my silence and allow for a few mistakes in an otherwise highly entertaining show. Early in the show’s history, a writer made a joke with the 100th episode that they were “halfway there.” Of course, that turned out to be prophetic, and even shortchanged the eventual run. But, I sincerely hope that the show could last another twenty years. In an environment that finds most of my favorite shows canceled before their time (Firefly, Veronica Mars, Arrested Development, Carnivale, Dollhouse, Deadwood), I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Smell ya later.