REMEMBER THOSE SHOWS?

I used to cherish the moments spent with family watching television shows. For some reason I don't quite understand my favorite shows usually revolved around unlikely hero figures. In my list of favorite shows were the following:

• JJ Starbuck 
• The Master
• Father Murphy
• Automan 

What these shows have in common is the fact that they were short lived series for the most part. JJ Starbuck was a vehicle for the aging Dale Robertson. The show was about an eccentric billionaire trying to solve crimes that were meticulously committed. Even with some good guest stars the show itself only had a single season run spanning a total of 13 episodes. The Master was similar to JJ in that the main character was an aging badass. 

Lee Van Cleef was the star of The Master, which was contemporary to the popular A Team. The premise of the series was an old ninja master (Van Cleef was 58) that gets into super cool ninja adventures with his young protege, Max. I found the fact that an old California guy would be a ninja master simply fascinating. 

I thought the best part of The Master was Van Cleef himself. My step dad would tell me about Van Cleef's work in westerns so I felt like I knew the guy. There's Father Murphy, a Michael Landon production that only ran a couple of seasons starring Merlin Olsen as the tittle character. 

I liked Father Murphy because it really tried to teach people about values while applying a historical context. The show centered on giving orphaned children some protection while prospecting in the old west. The show was slow in terms of pace and it wasn't much for action but it was interesting to look at. In part Father Murphy was the end of an era, as its cancellation, along with Little House in the Prairie signaled the end of western themed series on television. 

Yes, Father Murphy was good but the best, in my young eyes, was Automan. 

The series Automan was particularly high on camp but incredibly ambitious for its time. The series also ran during the 1983-84 season and aired 12 episodes. The series was about a nerdy computer whiz by the name of Walter Nebicher that creates a hologram able to leave the computer and fight crime. The thing that made the show great was not the stories so much as the visual appeal. The show took a lot of its visuals from the film Tron. The car was a souped up Lamborghini Countach, conditioned to look like a futuristic car. The series was produced by Glenn Larson, whom at that time was on a major hot streak with shows such as Fall Guy. 

That time was a time when shows were being cranked out in order to really entertain people. Since that point we've really lost that in television. Right now television is a bastion for imbeciles whose poor choices make them reality stars. Perhaps there will be a return to the glory days, when the audience actually mattered to some extent. 

THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER CARSON

When you think of The Tonight Show in terms of its legend you think of everything from Steve Allen to Jack Paar's classic interviews but the only real legend of the the show was Johnny Carson whose 30 year tenure made him the late night measuring stick for generations to come. If you look at the history of the show for the last 20 years you are looking at a late night soap opera. Since Carson made his shocking retirement announcement in 1991 the show has been at the center of some serious controversy.

The first firestorm started when Carson made his announcement setting the stage for a major war between the rightful heir and Carson favorite David Letterman and guest host extraordinaire Jay Leno. Just about everyone initially maligned Carson when truthfully it was the Jay Leno's agent putting pressure on Carson to leave and on NBC to chose Leno. Things on the show only got worst as time passed because of declining ratings, Letterman's move to CBS in the same time slot and Jay Leno's intense agent almost causing dead air during the 1992 elections. After Hugh Grant's Divine Brown bonanza in 1995 the show took a turn of dominance that lasted 14 years.

The 2009 exit of Jay Leno paved the way for low ratings, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno's failed primetime show and a comeback that made Leno the asshole of the 21st century. For the last few months they have talked about Jimmy Fallon becoming Leno's replacement and Leno has begun lobbing bombs at NBC in order to defend his spot. This is why there will never be another Carson.

Jay Leno has done to other people what David Letterman did not do to him. David Letterman was offered the show if Leno failed to turn ratings around during an 18 month period. David Letterman did not do that Jay Leno but Leno did it to O'Brien after 8 months and his own inability to provide NBC with the ratings he provided during his 17 years as Carson's replacement. Johnny Carson was going to leave the show in 1979 and was courted to stay by being allowed ownership of the show and the control over Letterman's show which his company produced.

Jay Leno will never come close to Carson, Conan could not do it and Jimmy Fallon can only dream of that zip code. Face it, there will never ever be another Carson.