The Larry Sanders Show

With Stephen Colbert entering the late night talk show wars, audiences have another choice to wind down their day.  Late night, a programming block invented by NBC with Broadway Open House in 1950, spurred a slew of hosts. Steve Allen debuted Tonight, later...

Chandler Bing, Oscar Madison, et al.

Undoubtedly, Matthew Perry’s most recognized role is Chandler Bing on Friends, the powerhouse sitcom on NBC’s Must See TV Thursday night lineup in the 1990s.  Perry has a distinguished roster of roles beyond the wisecracking Bing, who used humor as a...

Stern and Stars

The 1997 movie Private Parts, based on Howard Stern’s autobiography of the same name, has fairly rich television connections. Stern, a shock jock, portrayed himself in the story recounting his rise from a $96 a week disc jockey to the King of All Media.  His...

Pembleton, Bayliss et al.

In the 1990s, NBC dominated with a powerful lineup of programs, including Seinfeld, Friends, and ER.  Homicide:  Life on the Street, while overflowing with quality scripts, story lines, and actors, did not bathe in the glitz factor of NBC’s other shows.  Still,...

Battle of the Bands

Susan Dey enjoyed a second wave of television success as Los Angeles Assistant District Attorney Grace Van Owen on NBC’s L.A. Law when she hosted Saturday Night Live on February 8, 1992.  Dey’s first stint in the spotlight occurred in the early 1970s as...