Halloween Week: The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror

The gold standard for Halloween specials, The Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors has been making more laughs than screams for over twenty years. From possessed Krusty dolls to racist pumpkins and everything in between, the twisted minds behind The Simpsons have been turning out Halloween brilliance every year with no sign of slowing down.

Halloween Week: Roseanne

The undisputed Queen of Halloween during the 1990's was Roseanne Barr. Her now classic sitcom never ceased to amaze or horrify during its run on ABC. From ingenious costumes to amazingly carved Pumpkins and hilariously convoluted practical jokes, Halloween on Roseanne was always a huge treat for viewers.

Halloween Week: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

The granddaddy of all Halloween specials is It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Premiering in 1966, the special has become a classic, airing every year on ABC.

According to creator Charles Schultz, children felt so sorry for Charlie Brown's plight of only getting rocks instead of candy that they would mail him bags full of candy "for Charlie Brown." The show still gets huge ratings, even today.

Halloween Week: Disney's Halloween Treat

In the early 1980's, Disney had made the decision to start its own pay cable network- The Disney Channel. As a result, it began to get stingier with its approach to television. After all, they wanted people to pay up to $10 a month for their channel. Who would pay if they could get the programming elsewhere for free?

With the Disney classics and cartoons locked up tight in the Disney vaults, any Disney related programming that did get on broadcast television. was seen as a treasure. One such treasure became a Halloween tradition- Disney's Halloween Treat. Featuring spooky themed shorts, exciting clips from DISNEYLAND's Haunted Mansion and a catchy theme song, Disney's Halloween Treat certainly was one for generations of kids who grew up in the 1980's.

Halloween Week: The Addams Family

Though not specifically Halloween related, The Addams Family could nonetheless be classified as a quintessential Halloween mainstay. A totally creepy family, the Addamses were ahead of their time in that they did what they wanted and didn't care what anyone else thought. In fact, most of their adventures centered on the outside world infringing on their world. Rather than conform to society, the family always found their own way.

Today, the family is still remembered and loved. They might seem strange at first look, but they're actually more interesting and fun than so-called "normal" families. So if you happen upon their "creepy, kooky, mysterious & ooky" mansion, it's probably safe to knock on their door.

Rest in Peace, Marcia Strassman

Television and movie star Marcia Strassman has passed away at the age of 66.

Ms. Strassman has starred in many projects throughout the years, but she is best known for two of her biggest- Welcome Back Kotter and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

Playing the "straight man" to Gabe Kaplan in Kotter, she often spent many scenes listening to his stories about his crazy students or obscure members of his family. It is this role that earned her legendary TV status. 

She became a member of the Disney family after starring in the now classic Honey, I Shrunk the Kids opposite Rick Moranis.

Ms. Strassman will forever be remembered every time her various classic films and shows are seen by her eager fans.

TV Quote Weekends

"Cover-Alls that don't quite cover all!"

-Sideshow Bob

TV Quote Weekends

"Ayyyy!!!!!!!!!!!"

-Fonzie

One & Out Week: Married to the Kellys

Married to the Kellys ran for one season as part of ABC's short lived attempt to revive its TGIF lineup with programming geared to older audiences. It starred Clueless' Breckin Meyer who was no stranger to one & out sitcoms by this time, having starred in quite a few of them.

The show concerned Breckin's character, a successful author, moving to his wife's hometown. His in-laws, interesting characters when experienced from afar, are actually eccentric and suffocating when they're living in the same city.

The show setup a second season in which Breckin's more cosmopolitan parents would have a greater presence on the show, but that would never happen.

One & Out Week: Undeclared

Before he was hailed as a comedic genius, Judd Apatow was churning out criminally under appreciated television shows. And one of the most under appreciated of them was Undeclared.

Premiering on FOX in the tricky climate of Fall 2001, the show featured a cast of lovable freshmen, struggling to make it during their first year of dorm life. Future mega-stars Seth Rogen and Charlie Hunnam would feature in the cast as well as Amy Poehler as a stereotypically lame resident advisor.

The hilarious and sweet show started out strong, but the ratings bizarrely dropped as the season went on. FOX didn't help things by showing episodes out of order and eventually canceled the show.

One and Out Week: Police Squad!

Fresh off of the success of their classic comedy Airplane!, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker were entertaining tons of offers for various projects. One of these projects was Police Squad!

Airing on ABC, this unique comedy featured Detective Frank Drebin and his deadpan reactions to the bizarre things that happened around him. Sadly, it never found an audience and lived for one short season. Luckily, however, Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker turned the television show into the successful Naked Gun movie franchise

One & Out Week: Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell

Yes, there was a different Saturday Night Live and it was on ABC. Hosted by Howard Cosell, this comedy/variety show was more akin to The Carol Burnett Show than NBC's Saturday Night Live, despite featuring Bill Murray and Christopher Guest as part of Howard's stock comedy team. It was because of this show that the more recognizable one was called NBC's Saturday Night throughout its first season, despite show producer Lorne Michaels' affinity for the Saturday Night Live name.

Howard Cosell's awkwardness in front of the camera, coupled with his producer's unfamiliarity with the variety show format doomed his show from the start. After his show was canceled, he graciously allowed Lorne to begin using the Saturday Night Live name.

One & Out Week: My Mother the Car

In a process that begins with hundreds of scripts that are winnowed down to a small group of sample pilots that actually get filmed, to the handful that get chosen to air, one would think that the television networks would have their processes down pat by now and only the strongest, best shows would make it to TV. Yet the vast majority of shows that get flashy premieres are canceled in their first year. This week we look at shows good and bad that did not get a second chance.

First up- the legendary failure My Mother the Car.

The show had a legendary premise; an attorney played by Jerry Van Dyke buys a car and discovers that it is the reincarnation of his mother and speaks only to him. His mother guides him through life and he tries to use her advice without everyone thinking he's crazy.

The show's ridiculous premise doomed it to oblivion and it lasted just one season on NBC. Many people deem it to be the worst show ever made, though they most likely have never seen it. 

The Simpsons mocked the show with the Lovematic Grampa sequence of its spinoff showcase episode. While the premise is taken from My Mother the Car the segment itself is modeled after a Garry Marshall sitcom.