The World’s Most Famous Zip Code

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the premiere of Beverly Hills, 90210.  During its freshman season, 90210 added value to the nascent FOX network, which targeted a younger demographic with its programming, much like ABC did in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The...

The Studio 8H Launching Pad

Saturday Night Live has been and continues to be a launching pad for actors to break into the movies. Chevy Chase and Foul Play. John Belushi and Animal House. Eddie Murphy and 48 Hours. Mike Myers and Wayne’s World. Tina Fey and Mean Girls. But Saturday Night...

The Big Three

In the 1980s, America’s three television networks changed hands. ABC to Capital Cities.  NBC to General Electric.  CBS to Loews. Ken Auletta documented the decade in his 1991 book Three Blind Mice:  How the TV Networks Lost Their Way.  It is, indeed, a fantastic...

Springfield’s First Family

The Simpsons began as cartoon shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987.  It was the debut year of the FOX network.  FOX expanded The Simpsons to a half-hour show in 1989.  The Simpsons got so popular that FOX moved America’s favorite dysfunctional family from...

Before He Was Colonel Potter

Before he was Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H, Harry Morgan was one of Hollywood’s cornerstone character actors.  He shared the silver screen with legends. Inherit the Wind with Spencer Tracy.  High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.  The Glenn Miller Story with...