Maybe the show is going to the musical well a bit too often? I liked it, and it had good character growth, but I would not rate it as a top episode for laugh-out-loud humor.

My theory is that the 2 from 1982 (Belushi was also mentioned in the clue - the point was that they both died at age 33) somehow found its way into 1997.

The Sean McDonough I remember from Red Sox and Big East games was opinionated and sarcastic. Is he really "bland" and "soporific" now?

I remember that Al was upset that he had been "curt" to Mr. Binford the last time he saw him before he died. I still think of that whenever I hear that word used.

1980s and 1990s shows (except for the mega-hits) were never as relentlessly shown in syndicated reruns as those of previous decades. I think the rise of original cable programming (and also cheap-to-produce talk shows and reality shows) prevented a lot of these shows from having long afterlives.

That makes Miranda Sings look like Shakespeare in comparison. (The one time I watched one of her videos, I at least managed to finish it.)

Engagements last ever-longer even in ordinary life and often seem to last forever in Hollywood.

Family Ties was a major ratings hit and in its time was actually regarded as a Zeitgeist-defining show. No one ever regarded Wings or King of Queens that way.

It is true that "colorful" place names in general are rather rare in New England.

Dorcas looked identical to former Capital Gang pundit Margaret Carlson.

On the R & G objection, I think sloppiness of that kind has usually been permitted in the past.

I have missed your earlier comments, but I assume this was a friend of yours? And so young too - how awful. Please accept my condolences.

Maybe they are trying to attract screwball comedy fans.

You have to remember - a senior in college today was five in 2000. A thirty-year-old was fourteen and probably not very interested in politics. For them red and blue might as well have been around as long as the elephant and the donkey. (The red and blue seem to get more and more overused every year, which I…

The Anthology version without the sound effects is better.

Yes, I know it was not meant as a statement of fact. I may be a prude, but I am not a stupid prude!

Pretty nasty joke there. Actually, I think it was just one member who dropped out. (Sister of the lead singer. They were two pairs of sisters - the other two obviously being twins.)

Oh, come on - a music writer should know that Roy Orbison is long dead. But maybe the concert was released on DVD in 2012? That would be a more forgivable confusion.

Alex found Elizabeth's stories so interesting that he ran through two in one day! Tough luck for him that she is now back as the champ.

There was another Cobb clue a year or two ago that was a TS even though his picture appeared on screen. I think the dead ball era (or really any pre-TV baseball except for a handful of players) has faded from public consciousness.