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Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
Our panel picks: Carol Burnett, "Twin Peaks," "Battle of the Network Stars" and more!
Sep 13, 2004 |
Editor's note: Each day this week, we pose a different question to our rotating round table of experts and enthusiasts, who include Miss Alli, of Television Without Pity; Ron Cowen, co-executive producer of "Queer as Folk"; Al Franken, comedian and star of "The Al Franken Show"; Jon Kroll, creator of "Amish in the City"; Phil Rosenthal, creator of "Everybody Loves Raymond"; Spencer Rice, co-creator and star of "Kenny vs. Spenny" on the Game Show Network; Kris Slava, vice president of acquisitions at Trio Network; and Wil Wheaton, "Star Trek" alum and proprietor of Wil Wheaton dot Net.
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What was the best show in the history of television, or which show had the biggest influence on you? And what old show or formula do you wish would return to the small screen?Miss Alli: The show that influenced me the most was "Moonlighting." There are still large regions of my brain primarily dedicated to "Moonlighting" dialogue storage. That's what I miss, too -- adult romantic comedies. I miss banter. Right now, it's all brooding and alcoholism and death and cute little cupcakes trying to credibly pretend that they're hot for Dennis Franz.
Kroll: I've gotta go with "Twin Peaks." It was so incredibly twisted, and yet so watchable as well. And it shares an odd kinship with reality shows (dramatic pause for horrific scream from D. Lynch) in that you never knew what would happen next. One of the lead characters might die. Or go psycho. Or tie a cherry stem into a knot with her tongue. I'm a firm believer that the growth of reality has been a direct result of the predictability of standard-issue one-hour dramas. While older demographics continued to tune in to those shows because they were comfortable and predictable, younger viewers flocked to "Survivor" and the like because one of the lead characters could "die" (be eliminated) at any moment. And now that reality elimination shows are constructed in such a way that they have become predictable, the onus is on the producers to come up with new ways to challenge and surprise viewers who will not settle for the predictable.
Franken: In all seriousness, "The Simpsons" is the best show in the history of television. The biggest influence on me was "The Dick Van Dyke Show" because Rob Petrie was a comedy writer and the show made comedy writing look like fun. The formula that I wish would return to the small screen is the ban on interracial kissing.
Rosenthal: Oh, there are so many wonderful shows. I couldn't pick one show. For me, "The Honeymooners" was the be all and end all. But that's very subjective and personal. I was in love, and still am in love with that show. I love "The Jackie Gleason Show." I love "The Tonight Show." I can't believe that Jay Leno has that show now. Letterman has been absolutely great. "The Daily Show," "The Sopranos" are great. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was genius. I remember sitting with my family when I was 11 and watching "All in the Family," and just being riveted and learning from it.
Cowen: I loved "The Carol Burnett Show." Those hilarious sketches, the musical numbers. I wish they'd bring back that whole variety format. But somehow I can't picture "The Britney Spears Show."
Rice: Tough one. I love television. Hmmm. My head will explode over this. I love "The Honeymooners," "The Larry Sanders Show," "Hardball," "The West Wing," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Kenny vs. Spenny," "The Sopranos," "60 Minutes," "Real Time With Bill Maher," "The Andy Griffith Show," "All in the Family," "South Park," "The Simpsons" ... My head just exploded!
Wheaton: I would bring back "Battle of the Network Stars." I would pay $500 to watch the cast of "Will and Grace" play against the cast of "Seventh Heaven" on the Tug of War ... and can you imagine the ratings if you put the Gilmore Girls in the dunk tank? That's a good enough reason for me to get TiVo. And as much as I hate reality TV, I'm convinced that reality TV stars would kick the ever-loving shit out of real actors.
