TV Quote Weekends

"It holds two billion songs. Two billion songs! Billions! With a B!"

TV Guide Ads: The Latest Technology

DuMont wasn't just a failed television network, it also was a failed television manufacturer that stooped to running ads insinuating that Betty Hutton would give you a lap dance if you bought one.

Well not exactly a lap dance, but practically a lap dance...

Motorola used to make televisions. Televisions that would make your kids smarter!

Put down those books, kids and watch some of that 'tele-vision'!

The best was yet to come, however. Imagine how amazing it would be if you owned one of those 'VCRs'? I hear they're as small as a Volkswagen now.

Literally the Cadillac of VCRs.

BANNED by SNL Viewers: Andy Kaufman

While many guest stars have gotten banned from SNL by show producer Lorne Michaels for their various transgressions, one guest was banned by the audience themselves- Andy Kaufman.

While Andy's sense of humor was not everyone's cup of tea, he had always been a source of irreverent humor for the show. In 1983, having used then new 1-900 numbers to decide the fate of a lobster and to choose a host for the show, Dick Ebersole, decided to let the audience decide whether Andy should be banned forever from the show or not. Viewers could call one number to vote yes and one to vote no. The show's actors and actresses were obviously trying to sway the audience to keep Andy and not ban him. The audience had different plans and he became the first and only person banned from the show by the viewers themselves. Was it another Andy Kaufman con job? Possibly, but he never appeared on the show again.

Mr. Rogers Theme Park

Everyone remembers the kindly Mister Rogers and his imaginative television show.

Not everyone knows, however, that there was once a Mister Rogers theme park ride. Located at the Idlewild theme park in Pennsylvania, the attraction was a trolley ride through the "Land of Make Believe".

Sure, it sounds like a fun attraction, until you see the life size puppet animatronics that didn't quite look as good as they might have in the mind of the designers.

Even creepier was the Lady Elaine Fairchild animatronic. Sweet dreams, kids!

The ride was closed after a 25 year run and replaced with a new attraction based on Mister Rogers' Daniel the Tiger character.

Rest in Peace, Martin Milner

Martin Milner, star of the classic television series Route 66 and Adam-12 has passed away at age 83.

Mr. Milner started his career in the 1950's, beginning with bit parts on shows like The Lone Ranger and Dragnet. He made friends with Dragnet's Jack Webb, who found parts for him. It wasn't until 1960 that he would get his big break- Route 66. The classic road trip drama made him a household name and led to movie roles in films, the highest profile of which was Valley of the Dolls. He would rejoin his mentor Jack Webb on his second classic show, the police drama Adam-12, which was produced by Mr. Webb. His role as a tough but honest cop would cement his place in television history.

Over the years, Martin would appear in guest stints on various shows. He concluded his career with a stint on Diagnosis Murder in 1997.

Happy Labor Day!

TV Quote Weekends

"I'm beginning to think this alumni party was just a ruse to get our money!"

TV Quote Weekends

"He's not even washing his hands!"

It's Neurotology...

"We, we are the future
We’re like a rocket into the sea
We used to be starfish
Enslaved by the seagulls
But now we are free"

The Learning Channel: No Longer Educational

Unbelievably, the channel currently known as TLC was once dedicated to actual learning. Started as a free service in 1970 by NASA and the Department of Education, the channel featured educational programming and scientific documentaries. In 1980, the channel was privatized, but it still sought to present intriguing, educational programming.

During the 1980's and 90's, politicians who attacked PBS pointed to The Learning Channel as an example of private industry taking care of educational programming. Right around the late 1990's the network began referring to itself as TLC and began its eventual slide. At first, its reality programming had a bit of education attached to it. Soon all pretenses of "learning" were thrown out the window. Once held up as a model of privatization taking care of educational television efficiently, it soon became a cautionary lesson. Imagine if PBS had been abolished and this was the only "educational" programming available?

Fake Facts About Abe Vigoda

* Abe Vigoda is not older than Moses, but they did go to high school together.

* Abe Vigoda can only estimate his age due to his being born before modern calendars were invented.

* When Abe Vigoda was born, New York was still called "New Amsterdam" and the invention of trains was a distant dream.

* Abe Vigoda was there when Apples were invented. (The fruit, not the computers)

* Abe Vigoda's first role was broadcast on CBS- The CaveWall Broadcast Network.

Temporary Layoffs is One!

We made our internet debut just one year ago! It's party time!

ARRESTED: Hamilton Burger

Throughout the long run of the classic television drama Perry Mason, viewers loved to hate Los Angeles District Attorney Hamilton Burger, who relished fighting Perry Mason in court. Despite his overwhelming losses against Mr. Mason, DA Burger always smarmily insisted that *this* time things would be different and he would be victorious. Sadly for Hamilton, that rarely proved true.

But there was one case that struck home for the actor who portrayed the hard charging DA. In 1960, William Talman, who played the uptight Hamilton Burger was arrested for attending a marijuana smoking party at a friend's house. Even more salaciously, some of the gentlemen and ladies at the party were naked. The scandal was too much for CBS, which promptly fired the actor for violating his morals clause. After a show producer voiced his support and viewers launched a letter writing campaign, CBS relented and brought the actor back. Sadly the scandal likely cost him his career and he quietly retired after the show left the airwaves.