Grab Bag #3
A Celebration of Classic TV

Great comedy never dies.

Neither does great TV. Whether it be through syndicated reruns or the resurrective powers of Nick At Nite, each half-hour series survives somehow, like videotaped cockroaches skittling along the surface of our shared pop culture history.

For the nostalgists out there, here's a few links to some sites that celebrate classic TV in their own unique ways--and trust us, some of them are QUITE unique.

TV Land

Probably the coolest vintage TV site on the web, which is appropriate, since TV Land and Nick At Nite have both given new life to tons of classic TV series. The fun part of the TV Land website isn't so much the avalanche of info provided about each series. No, it's the fun stuff, like the Fandemonium Weekend sections, where you can vote on which episodes of various series will be shown in future 48-hour weekend marathons. You can also enter some cool Fandemonium raffles, but don't bother entering the raffle for the unopened Mr. T doll--that's all mine, baby.

Don't leave before you've spent plenty of time playing in the TV Land arcade, either. You can play Shockwave games that let you do stuff like hitting Eddie Haskell like a gopher with a mallet. They're not just for fun, either--you get tickets for your performance, which you can then turn in for cool computer doohickeys. Hours upon hours of old-school TV fun.

The Honeymooners

Speaking of TV Land, they've got The Honeymooners in a sweet spot on their lineup: ten p.m. every night. They're also planning an upcoming Fandemonium Weekend marathon around the misadventures of Ralph, Alice, Norton and Trixie. Get yourself psyched for that ultimate test by browsing this site, which features tons of comprehensive Honeymooners info, including quotes from a 1985 press conference with Jackie Gleason about where the "Lost Episodes" actually came from. (They were locked in an air-conditioned safe in Jackie's home for thirty years. Who knew?)

WKRP In Cincinatti

An argument could easily be made for WKRP as the most underrated sitcom of the eighties. In four seasons' worth of half-hour installments, these writers and actors consistently put forth intelligent, character-driven situation comedy, with genuine complexity and emotion. One needs only watch scenes like Herb Tarlek telling his daughter about her dead frog, or Johnny Fever battling his disco-crazed alter ego Rip Tide for control of his own mind, to realize just how ahead of its time WKRP really was.

This site is written by Michael B. Kassel, the author of America's Favorite Radio Station, a guidebook for the series. Not only does it feature a comprehensive episode guide, but a special exclusive treat as well: WKRP writer and producer Steven Marshall writes about his experiences on the show in an excellent article.

Fawlty Towers

Not all great TV comedy has come from America. There's Monty Python, Absolutely Fabulous and especially Fawlty Towers, the series co-written by Python alum John Cleese and his wife Connie Booth for the BBC. The two spent so much time working on the episodes that only twelve were completed, but each one is an intricate, near-perfect comic gem. This site pays tribute to all things Fawlty, including info on the short-lived and ill-concieved Americanized version starring John Larroquette, Payne.

Golden Girls

It wasn't really a great show, but this is a great site, if only because it's exceedingly psychotic. Golden Girls fan fiction, a Golden Girls role playing game--where will the madness end?!