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Can TV Watching Be a Hobby?
Before I started this blog there have been times, such as during interviews or in social situations, where I have been asked if I have any hobbies. And my standard answer was usually “golf and...
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Seeing Double: Comfort TV’s 10 Best Dual Role Performances – and the 5 Worst
The longer a TV show runs, the greater the temptation to indulge in one of the medium’s most time-honored clichés – having one of its stars take on a dual role. Most of these occasions are little more...
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Bonanza: A Classic for Every Season (Summer of MeTV)
Note: This review is part of the Summer of MeTV Classic TV Blogathon hosted by the Classic TV Blog Association. Click here to check out this blogathon's complete schedule.After two years, it's long...
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The Chronicles of Riverdale: Archie Comics on Television
Seventy years in high school? Even a Kardashian could graduate in that time, but not Archie Andrews. He entered Miss Grundy’s class during World War II and is still there, sitting next to that putz...
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The Disappearance of Murphy Brown
There is no pre-set formula for achieving classic TV status. But when a series stays on the air for 10 years, earns praise for the quality of its writing and ensemble cast, wins numerous Emmy Awards,...
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The Comfort TV Renaissance
Well, this was unexpected. When I started this blog two years ago, one of the first pieces I wrote expressed my hope that the television shows of the 1950s-1970s would continue to find an audience...
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Mission: Impossible: TV for Smart People
“Please slow it down – I get stomach cramps!” That quote was taken from a letter sent to the producers of Mission: Impossible from someone who apparently couldn’t take the stress. I’m glad they didn’t...
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Familiar Faces: A Salute to Classic TV Character Actors
Back when Sesame Street was fun to watch for adults as well as children (AKA the Pre-Elmo Era), it presented a series of musical segments called “The People in your Neighborhood,” in which kids were...
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The Comfort TV Career of Meredith Baxter
The Internet Movie Database lists more than 100 credits for Meredith Baxter; 90 of them are for television. Her career began in an era when TV stars rarely crossed into film, but even after such...
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When TV Stars Sing, Part One
I know what you’re thinking. This is going to be a succession of cheap shots at actors who try to parlay their television stardom into a singing career, regardless of actual singing ability. If that’s...
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When TV Stars Sing, Part Two
Welcome back, culture lovers, to Comfort TV’s tribute to (and occasional roasting of) classic TV stars that tried to be singers. As with the previous installment we’ll dig out some long-hidden...
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Peace, Love, and Laughter: The Jimmy Stewart Show
You never know what you’re going to get with a blind buy, but The Jimmy Stewart Show seemed like a safe investment. It is difficult to imagine any TV series starring Jimmy Stewart failing to validate...
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The Top 20 TV Theme Songs of the 1950s
I must still be in a musical mood after getting reacquainted with all those singing TV stars, so let’s spend the next few weeks on theme songs. Last year I did a series of pieces on the essential...
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The Top 20 TV Theme Songs of the 1960s
By the 1960s, producers and networks recognized the value of a memorable theme song, ushering in the golden age of this singular musical genre. The resulting embarrassment of riches means that some...
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The Top 20 TV Theme Songs of the 1970s
I haven’t perceived a significant change in approach to TV themes from the 1960s into the 1970s, beyond a more prevalent use of pop songs to encourage crossover promotion. There are still plenty of...
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The Top 20 TV Theme Songs of the 1980s
As with last year’s series of blogs on essential television series by decade, this series on theme songs will also conclude with the 1980s. Not only is this the last decade that qualifies as Comfort...
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The Love Boat: Sailing Away from Cynicism
My classic TV viewing is rarely influenced by current events. However, at those moments that the world situation seems more depressing than usual, I often find myself drifting toward less challenging...
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The (Real) Home of Comfort TV
There is a fantasy shared by many of us who love Comfort TV, and that is the prospect of visiting the fictional worlds created in classic shows. What would it be like to attend one of those...
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The Classic TV Legacy of Casey Kasem
Most Saturday mornings you’ll find me driving around Las Vegas listening to a 1970s edition of American Top 40 with Casey Kasem on Sirius XM. I live in the past as much with music as I do with...
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