Matt Santos vs. Arnold Vinick

In the later episodes of The West Wing, Matt Santos, a Democratic congressman from Texas and a former Mayor of Houston took on Arnold Vinick, a veteran Republican senator from California for the presidency. Santos had just a few years in national politics.  Three...

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...

Barry Williams, Greg Brady, and 4222 Clinton Way

Growing Up Brady, by Barry Williams with Chris Kreski, exposed life behind the scenes of The Brady Bunch; it was, for Baby Boomers who saw the show’s original broadcast and Generation Xers who feasted on reruns, a fascinating, revealing, and titillating look at...

Attorney, Cop, President

Jimmy Smits was a cornerstone on prime time television in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. In the 1980s, Smits played Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law, working in the Public Defender’s office before Michael Kuzak recruits him to the private sector, specifically, the law...

The Green Hornet and Batman

In the superhero multiverse, Batman and the Green Hornet parallel each other. First, they’re not really superheroes.  As mortals, they rely on cunning, logic, and detective work to solve crimes. Second, they each have younger sidekicks.  Batman has Robin.  The...