Top 10 TV Action Heroes of All Time

TV Guide recently released its list of the 24 greatest action heroes on TV in the history of the medium. Here is one viewer’s opinion of the 10 best action heroes on TV of all time, based on too many years of watching television…

The Top 10 TV Action Heroes of All Time

10) The Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore, The Lone Ranger, ABC, 1949-1957)
9) Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter, Wonder Woman, ABC, 1975-1979)
8) Xena (Lucy Lawless, Xena the Warrior Princess, syndicated, 1995-2001)
7) Nikita (Peta Wilson, La Femme Nikita, USA, 1997-2001)
6) Emma Peel (Diana Rigg, The Avengers, ABC, 1961-1969)
5) Jaime Somers (Lindsay Wagner, The Bionic Woman, ABC/NBC, 1976-1978)
4) Steve Austin (Lee Majors, The Six Million Dollar Man, ABC, 1973-1978)
3) MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson, MacGyver, ABC, 1985-1992)
2) Superman (George Reeves, The Adventures of Superman, syndicated, 1952-1958)
1) Batman (Adam West, Batman, ABC, 1966-1968)

Yankees Girardi might as well throw away his binder

Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi might not be using his trusty binder as much these days.

 

The numbers were impossible to ignore, but for the second time in five games Girardi refused to be seduced by them and didn’t start Ichiro Suzuki against Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester.

 

“I looked at possibly sitting down one of the other lefty hitters against Lester,’’ Girardi told reporters. “You look at Ellsbury and he has had success and you look at Brett Gardner and he has been playing extremely well and important at the top of our lineup. Soriano has had a double and homer in two games he has played against him this year. Part of it is, possibly you would like to give one of your lefties a day off and I am going to play the guys we have been playing every day.’’

 

So, Ichiro took a seat despite having a .340 (18-for-53) average against Lester. That came after Ichiro wasn’t in the lineup Tuesday night in Toronto against lefty Mark Buehrle, against whom he was batting .421 (24-for-57). I know the game has a heartbeat, but even I would have made sure Suzuki was in the lineup against Lester and Buehrle.

 

Soriano went 0-for-3 and is now hitting .273 (6-for-22) against Lester.

 

Girardi was correct saying Gardner has been very important to the top of the lineup, but he is 3-for-13 (.231) against Lester after going 1-for-2 with a walk. Ellsbury went 1-for-3 and is 4-for-9 (.444) against his former teammate.

 

A regular player in the big leagues since 2001, Soriano has had trouble adjusting to not playing every day. His last homer was May 17 and he is without a homer in 62 at-bats. His skills have eroded, and this is likely his last year in the majors. The Yankees are unlikely to get any significant production out of him for the remainder of the season.

The Mentalist / Red John storyline ends in disappointment

Well broadcast television disappoints again. All the best shows are still on cable.

After six years of developing the Red John serial killer storyline on The Mentalist, it came to an unsatisfying conclusion. The way the Red John story was built for the first four years of the show was fantastic. Things slipped story-wise in season five and the start of season six, and now that it has supposedly concluded with Patrick Jane killing Red John, I’m feeling let down. Too much of the back story does not make sense at this point. Sherriff McAlister as Red John doesn’t fit. The few times we heard the serial killer’s voice just doesn’t jive with how McAlister was played by Xander Berkeley and how the sheriff’s lines were written. I’m supposed to believe that McAlister changed his voice that much? Nah.

I expected more from the The Mentalists’ writers and producers. The idea that law enforcement was somehow involved with Red John is kind of shaky and doesn’t add up. A better way to go, after the end of season three, might have been to develop some of the law enforcement characters as possible Red John suspects, but in the end have him not be in law enforcement. The whole “Blake Association” idea doesn’t make much sense or add to the story at all.

The Mentalist was pretty good with weekly stories that were wrapped up in an hour. The Red John story left much to be desired.

Ah well. At least Justified and The Americans will be returning in January 2014. On the FX channel – cable TV, of course.

Television’s 25 best catchphrases

A catchphrase is a way to build a character and give an identity to a television show. TV Guide recently released its list of the 60 most notable catchphrases on TV shows in the history of the medium. Here is one viewer’s opinion of the best 25 catchphrases of all time, based on too many years of watching television…

 

25) “Kiss my grits!” (Flo Castleberry, Alice)

24) “Dy-no-mite!” (J.J. Evans, Good Times)

23) “This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.” (Mission: Impossible)

22) “Resistance is futile.” (Star Trek, The Next Generation)

21) “How you doin’?” (Joey Tribbiani, Friends)

20) “Yadda, yadda, yadda.” (Elaine Benes, Seinfield)

19) “Baby, you’re the greatest.” (Ralph Kramden, The Honeymooners)

18) “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” (Jim McKay, Wide World of Sports)

17) “You look mahvelous.” (Fernando, Saturday Night Live)

16) “Danger, Will Robinson!” (The Robot, Lost in Space)

15) “To the Batmobile!” (Batman, Batman)

14) “Yabba Dabba Do!” (Fred Flintsone, The Flintstones)

13) “Eat my shorts.” (Bart Simpson, The Simpsons)

12) “Live long and prosper.” (Commander Spock, Star Trek)

11) “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!” (Adventures of Superman)

10) “Good night, John Boy.” (The Walton family, The Waltons)

9) “I’m listening.” (Frasier Krane, Frasier)

8) “Come on down!” (Johnny Olson, The Price is Right)

7) “Make it so.” (Captain Picard, Star Trek the Next Generation)

6) “Book’em, Danno.” (Detective Steve McGarrett, Hawaii Five-O)

5) “Let’s be careful out there.” (Sergeant Phil Esterhaus, Hill Street Blues)

4) “And that’s the way it is.” (Walter Cronkite, CBS Evening News)

3) “Aaay!” (Fonzie, Happy Days)

2) “D’oh!” (Homer Simpson, The Simpsons)

1) “Heeere’s…Johnny!” (Ed McMahon, The Tonight Show)

The best animals on television of all time

There have been many animals on television since its beginning. Some have had starring roles, others supporting roles; some have been real, others cartoons.  TV Guide recently released its list of the 60 most notable animals on TV shows in the history of the medium.  Here is one TV viewer’s opinion of the best 15 animals of all time, based on too many years of watching television…

15) Yogi Bear (cartoon, 1961-1962)

14) The Pink Panther (cartoon, 1964-1980)

13) Gentle Ben (1967-1969)

12)  Flipper (1964-1967, 1995-2000)

11) Winnie the Pooh (cartoons, 1966-2010)

10) Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (Late Night with Conan O’Brien, 1997-present)

9) Dino the Dinosaur (The Flintsones, 1960-1966)

8) Miss Piggy (The Muppet Show, 1976-1981)

7) Scooby Doo (cartoons, 1969-1993)

6) Eddie (Frasier, 1993-2004)

5) Rin Tin Tin (The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, 1954-1959)

4) Kermit the Frog (Sesame Street, 1968-present)

3) Snoopy (cartoons, 1950-2000)

2) Bugs Bunny (cartoons, 1940-2011)

1) Lassie (1954-1973, 1989-1991, 1997-1999)