My Kinda Television

Ask my friends and they’ll tell you that I’m totally out of touch with pop culture. And, they’re not wrong. I freely admit that I don’t know Brad Pitt from Sean Penn, the Coen brothers from Christian Slater, and I could no sooner identify any of them in a line-up than I could fly to the moon. The same goes for Angelina Jolie (although I do know she’s Jon Voight’s daughter), Paris Hilton, Nicole Kidman, Britney Spears and the rest. I don’t know who they are and I seem to be surviving just fine, thank you.

When I do watch television, it’s Jeopardy and re-runs of Law and Order SVU and House. For a little variety, sometimes I check out The Food Network, Without a Trace or Cold Case, but that’s about it.

This week, my options seem to have increased exponentially. RCN expanded its channel line-up and tonight, while flipping through channel after channel after channel, I happened upon St. Elsewhere and all my old “friends” at St. Eligius -- Donald Westphall, Daniel Auschlander, Mark Craig, Philip Chandler (Denzel Washington), Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley, Jr.), Wayne Fiscus (Howie Mandel) and the rest – on American Life Television. Although Mrs. Hufnagel wasn’t in the particular episode I caught, I’m sure she’ll turn up soon enough and I’ll be waiting for her.

In the meantime, you can be sure I’ll be watching some of the other shows I've now discovered on American Life, including LA Law, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show (not to be confused with Newhart, which I never watched), as well as Lou Grant and Trapper John, M.D. I can’t wait to catch up with Grace Van Owen, Arnie Becker, Michael Kuzak, Roxanne Melman, Victor Sifuentes, Rosalind Shays, and, of course, Benny Stulwicz. From MTM and The Bob Newhart Show don’t forget about Mary, Rhoda, Lou, Murray, Ted, Sue Ann, Phyllis, Lars, and Bess, as well as Bob, Emily, Jerry, Carol, Howard and Mr. Carlin. Oh, to see Mary toss her hat again would just make my day! And Billie Newman and Rossi from Lou Grant... Trapper, Gonzo and the others from Trapper John...can't wait!

Now, if only American Life would add The Waltons and Little House to its line-up, maybe, just maybe, I’ll become a television junkie like everyone else I know…