1.) It's arguable. I think seasons 2 and 3 were better than 1, but I've only seen through most of 5. I'm curious (and very trepidatious) to see how the show will change when, as Peter Griffin put it, "Kirstie Alley eats Shelley Long."

I've been watching for the first time gradually throughout the last three years. I'm on season 5 right now. I can tell you, Diane gets worse as her run on the show nears its end. In season 1 I loved her. Season 2 I didn't mind her. Season 3 gave her some of her best material ever, largely thanks to having Kelsey…

NORM!

That's the thing about it that I find especially baffling. Flockhart managed to get flack from both sides. I always thought she was quite fetching myself, but she seemed too glamorous for the Feminist crowd (mainly because of how skinny she was), and too wiry for the mainstream crowd who wanted her to have more of a…

I don't get it. Was this production so low-rent that they didn't make Eisenberg sign an affidavit allowing them to use his image before they shot his scenes? I thought that was standard operating procedure, and ought to exonerate Lionsgate.

I find it interesting (and telling about the public perception of Feminism) that many of Ally McBeal's most outspoken critics used her body type as ammunition against her. Most of the Feminist writing I see these days talks about how society uses body shame as a tool to make women feel bad about themselves (usually…

Oh, I loved "Arthur After Hours." One of my favorite episodes, right up there with the one being reviewed today.

I'd love to see how a "dark, dramatic reimagining" of The Munsters intends to utilize "all the classic Munsters archetypes" like the fast-motion slapstick sequence.

I was indeed talking about Cougar Town, but @avclub-3db41011acc2d229176bf6a92202728d:disqus cast a successful instance of Henson's Bad Pun, which he happens to know is one of my weaknesses. I crumbled like a paper soufflé.

Well, they've already done one crossover…

Santa looks like he's about to swat that helicopter out of the air, King Kong-style.

His name is Biggus Dickus, sir.

Ooh, it's a tough call. I really want to see Todd review Daria, especially with the Beavis & Butthead revival causing a peak in interest, but the movie/miniseries idea intrigues me, especially because The Singing Detective is one of my all-time favorite television productions EVER, and I've been looking for an excuse…

The "Telephone Pole" bit from the Williams episode is a really great example of the function (joke) following the form (show-within-a-show) of The Muppet Show. Imagine being in the audience and having none of the backstage prep to build that joke up. What you see is Fozzie going up on stage, saying "I am a telephone…

Carla gets a moment to reassert her character soon, in "My Nickname" (the recap will be two weeks from today). Honestly, I thought it was one of the only instances of unearned melodrama in the first few seasons, but it informed Carla as a character. So did "My Bed Banter & Beyond" half a season down the line.

Well, it's stunt casting because of the motivations that caused it, but if you as a viewer have no familiarity with the actor or the character, then it's just ineffective stunt casting.

Hmm, I don't remember that joke. But that's not terribly surprising. I've got the first four seasons practically memorized, but I'm a bit fuzzy on everything after that. If that did happen, it is a pretty egregious error. Admittedly, one that a lot of white people make, but an egregious one nonetheless.

Quoted in full for posterity:

YOU ARE BEING UNNECESSARILY CRUEL STOP I ADVISE YOU TO CEASE YOUR MOCKING STOP THE AGE OF THE TELEGRAM WAS THE APEX OF HUMAN SOCIETY STOP THAT IS WHY THIS MESSAGE ONLY COST ME SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS TO SEND STOP THE POST OFFICE CANNOT BEAT THAT PRICE OR SPEED STOP

Yeah, the writers were still operating under the assumption at this point that the Janitor is all in J.D.'s head. They changed their minds midway through season 2, and if you're paying attention, you can actually see the awkwardness in each of his first-time interactions with the rest of the cast.