"I'm Read" and TV Issues

Over the last week I've spoken to several family members and a few friends who have told me they have been reading this log. I just want to say "thanks." You are the people for whom this blog is written.

While the length and details of the posts mostly serve as an outlet for my amature writing efforts; the information contained in them are to keep you informed. It's a real joy to know my posts are being read. Now I have actual verbal confirmation from others that I can recall any time during my day that verifies the fact that "I'm read."

If there is someone you know who might be interested in reading this blog please feel free to send them the link. Electronic word of mouth is how Internet blogs became so popular in the first place. Who am I to buck the system?

I was saddened to learn that Harvey Korman died a couple of days ago. Korman was a wonderful and valuable cast member of the Carol Burnette show in the 1970's. The show was the cherry on the top of the entertainment sundae that was the CBS Saturday night prime time lineup for nearly a decade. At it's best that line up was: M*A*S*H, All In The Family, Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show (the one where Bob's a Chicago psychologist not a Vermont innkeeper) and Carol Burnette Show. The shows ran from 8 to 10 PM and nearly always won the nightly ratings war for their network.

That line up gave American television watchers reason to stay home on Saturday nights when I was a teenager; myself included. You can insert your own "That's because he couldn't get a date" joke here. However you would be wrong because I chose to spend that night of the week at home in front of the TV. Here's a brief explanation as to why.

With only one color TV in the house when I was a teenager I usually had to watch what my parents wanted to watch at night or else go watch the small (we're talking 10 inch screen) black & white TV I had in my room. On any other night of the week I would be content to do just that. But on Saturday nights my parents regularly went to visit friends to play cards or some kind of board game; my younger sister would usually be on a sleepover at a friends house. I would have the whole house to myself. This meant the fridge and, most importantly, the television. The only thing that made those nights better was when my best friend, my cousin, would come over and watch with me. We spent the whole night laughing until our sides hurt.

As I said the whole CBS lineup built up to the "Burnette Show" which was a variety show based on sketch comedy. The most popular sketches were those that featured just Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. The two were comic actors not joke tellers. Their funny actions made me laugh not their one liners.

Conway was the comic and Korman was the straight man. What was great about Korman though was that he couldn't keep a straight face. When Conway would go into his antics 90% of the time Korman would break up right on camera. As disclosed by Tim Conway after the show was off the air; for him getting Harvey to laugh was the unspoken challenge of every sketch the two of them did together.

Prior to the "Burnette Show" an unwritten rule in the world of television comedy was that laughing during a sketch took away from the comedic effect. Harvey Korman was a integral part of the duo that broke that rule. As I said it was sad to hear of his death. However thanks to the wonderful world of DVD entertainment his antics with Conway will be around for future generations to see.

Friday night my wife and I watched the 2 hour season finale of "Lost." We recorded on our DVR and zipped through the commercials. For me it only held a couple of surprises but nothing that was unexpected. I won't reveal them in case someone reading this is a fan and hasn't watched it yet. Despite the lack of any jaw dropping events or revelations about the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 I still absolutely LOVED the show.

I think "Lost" is the best show on TV. I really enjoy the way the past, present, and future story lines are intermingled; each reavealing bits of information and clues about the other. It really keeps you guessing in several different directions at the same time. The writers and producers are unraveling this wonderful story like someone slowly pulling a thread on a cheap sweater. You know how it's going to end but you enjoy watching the process just the same. The excitement and anticipation of each episode keeps me on the edge of my seat the way the "Myst" computer games did a few years ago. Only for me in Lost the puzzle that has to be solved to "Win the game" is learning the ultimate secret of the island. The plane crash survivors, Ben & "The Others" and other characters from both on and off the island are the series of minor puzzles that, once solved, will together finally reveal the end of "Lost"

Having said that now that I've watched the last episode of this season I'm going to have to wait until next January to see new episodes of my favorite show on TV. Thanks for making me wait ABC. I guess I could show my displeasure with their scheduling decision and not watch next season. Yeah! That's what I'll do. I won't watch next year. I don't care if I don't ever find out just exactly what the Darma project was all about; or just exactly what the smoke monster is or why.... NO I CAN'T DO IT! I've got to go back. I've got to! I'm afraid that after 4 seasons the network execs at ABC have me by the island. When "Lost" returns in January I'll be watching.

Once again thanks for taking the time to read my blog and indulging my endless rantings about and remembrances of television. Maybe next time I'll give you a list of my top ten M*A*S*H episodes or explain exactly why I enjoy game shows so much. Be prepared both could take a while but then again when it comes to my posts things usually do.