Two Tivos To Paradise 07.10.09: Anniversary Edition

Posted by Al Norton on 07.10.2009

Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise hits the big 1-5-0 this week, and we've got a ton of friends here to help us celebrate! Joel McHale, Jennifer Garner, Donald Trump, Alison Sweeney, Mark Schwahn, Andrew Zimmern, plus stars from The Office, Chuck, Army Wives, Hannah Montana, and Heroes, all stopping by to share their favorite TV moments! Click here now to join in the festivities!

Hello Friends. What started in late July back in 2006 is now celebrating 150 editions. Actually it's 151 but why let a little math get in the way of a more round number. If you go back and read that first column you'd probably be surprised that I made it to 15, let alone 150, but after a lot of fine tuning we seemed to hit our stride around column 50 and have been going strong ever since.

A few well deserved thank you's to start things off. First, to Leonard Hayhurst, who along with Ashish gave me my big break here at 411mania. John Black was my editor at Boston NOW and let me run wild with the TV section of the paper. Bill Simmons and Joel McHale also deserve a lot of credit for their public and private support of my writing. My brother Walter, who may be the busiest person alive, never fails to read TTTP start-to-finish every Friday and I love him for that. I am eternally thankful to all of you who show up each week; even when you let me know that I am epically failing, I still appreciate your passion. Harry and Genevieve have been a huge inspiratiion for the 10+ months they have been in the world. Finally, I quite literally would not be here for you without the support and encouragement of Mrs. Tivo. Tina, I love you always.

Some will win, some will lose, some were born to sing the news.

I Can Smile At The Old Days, I Was Beautiful Then
For last year's 100th column we asked a bunch of folks the same three TV-related questions, and since that was so well received we decided to stick with the same basic concept and put a spin on it, this time asking people to share with us some of their favorite TV moments. We left it up to them if they wanted to submit a list, write about one moment, or give us a few paragraphs. Everything you read below are responses from the actual people, given specifically for use in this column. Please to enjoy…

Andrew Zimmern is the host of Travel Channel's popular Bizarre Foods. His new series for the network, Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World premieres in September.

As a TV junkie I have several all time great moments that come to mind….
Music: Prince's guitar lead on While My Guitar Gently Weeps during posthumous George Harrison induction into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Rockets: Neil Armstrong stepping out onto moon. I was sitting on the lawn of Adolph and Phyllis Green's home in East Hampton Long Island, in my Dad's lap looking at TV's rolled out on the lawn moving my gaze (along with a hundred other guests) from the tube to the moon over our heads and back again. Amazing.

Sports: Knicks-Pistons series with Bernard King dropping 50 like it was no big thang', The 49er football playoff runs with Joe Montana, the Miracle on Ice, Billie Jean vs. Bobby Riggs, Tiger playing in the dark at Pebble Beach and sending a clear message to the everyone, October homers: Kirk Gibson, Kirby Puckett, Chris Chambliss and Reggie Jackson, Ozzie, Paul O'Neil, Magic vs. Bird, Villanova and NC State winning the NCAA men's hoops tourney, LT Theisman-izing Joe Theisman's ankle, Flutie's Hail Mary

Celebrations: 2000 Millennial NY Eve fireworks, the Tall Ships.

High Drama: Tiananmen Square

Worst Moment Ever: Coming home from LA on 9-11-01 on red eye, walking in door, napping and waking to the horror of the Towers belching smoke.

Best Moment Ever: Being a teenager and having cable TV in NYC and finding the Robyn Byrd Show on Channel C.

Laughs: Fawlty Towers, Little Britain, Flight of the Conchords, Arrested Development, All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Chef with Lenny Henry.
Action: The Wire, The Sopranos, 24, Prime Suspect, Traffik.

Melora Hardin is best known for her role as Jan on The Office. She can be seen this fall in the new FX drama Lights Out, and you can find more information about the independent film You, which she directed, at www.youthefilm.com.

1) When Mira Sorvino won her Academy Award and thanked her father. It resonated so strongly with me because my Dad is also a successful character actor and I would love to be able to say "thank you" to him one day in the same way!

2) The first year they telecast the space shuttle taking off to go into space. I watched it with my family and I remember getting chills all over my body and thinking it was so incredible.

3) I distinctly remember being allowed to stay up late on Wednesday nights (I think) to watch ‘Charlie's Angels.' I just loved the theme song, the clothes, the pretty women and how cool they were.

4) Finally, one of my favorite TV moments that I am actually in: Probably a Saturday morning show I starred in called 'Thunder'. I was 9 and all I wanted to do was star in a show with a horse. I mentioned it to my Mom and it happened the next week. It was so much fun to make; remarkably through the wonders of YouTube, somebody just sent me a link to the show, so I was able to watch part of an episode and show my young daughters: "Mommy at 9!" It brought back so many happy memories…

Ryan Hansen first came to our attention on Veronica Mars, which he followed up with a hysterical turn on the TheWB.com series Rockville. He can currently be seen on the Starz comedy Party Down.

On "Saved By The Bell" when Jessie Spano got addicted to caffeine pills and sang "I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so…so…scared!" I definitely learned a lesson about caffeine pills that day. Everyone at school was talking about it. And then we all started doing it – just kidding!

Romi Dames is best known for her role as Traci on the Disney Channel megahit Hannah Montana.

I used to LIVE for Saved By the Bell. I remember an episode where Jessie Spano, the over achiever that she was, had been burning the candle at both ends. She and her 80's perm had been performing quite the balancing act: juggling her duties as Senior Class President, struggling through finals, and all the while rehearsing for her singing debut at the Max with her all girl group, ‘The Hot Sundaes'. The pressure was too much. My favorite TV moment happened when Zack tries to convince Jessie that caffeine pills are not the answer. Jessie, in an addict's panic, cries out, "I need them…I NEED THEM!". Zack shakes her and tells her she can't go onstage like this and she defiantly begins to sing, "I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so…(sob) SCARED!". Classic. My absolute favorite ‘just say no to drugs' moment in television.

Marissa Jaret Winokur is a Tony Award winning actress and a Dancing with the Stars alum who currently can be seen as the host of Oxygen's hit series Dance Your Ass Off.

Happy Anniversary!!!! Here's to another 150 columns ! I am a huge fan of TV and have been since I was a little kid watching John Denver on the Muppet Show. There are so many great moments that make me love TV. Who can forget Elaine's horribly funny dance on Seinfeld, or the "Yadda yadda yadda" girl. The hooker that Larry David took with him to the baseball game to drive in the car pool lane on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" . The many, many reality TV moments! When Kelly Clarkson beat out the curly haired boy on "American Idol" the first season, and Richard Hatch - even though everyone hated him - won the first "Survivor" in the buff. A new show that reminded me that TV can still be entertaining is the new show "Glee." I love watching geeky teens sing their hearts out for a hot teacher who wants the best for them. YUM. All my favorite TV moments are victorious and make me happy to watch over and over again! My son will watch "Yo Gabba Gabba" for HOURS...God Bless TV.

James Kyson Lee will begin his fourth season starring as Ando on NBC's Heroes this fall.

My favorite TV moment of all time - is from Three's Company, episode "Up in the Air" when Jack Tripper (John Ritter) mistakenly drinks a tranquilizer at a party... and manages to become a one-man circus. The dance he does is awesome.

Vik Sahay plays Lester on the Norty Award winning series Chuck.

I think my answer to that question, and there are SO many, Jon Stewart's Post 911 Speech...a beautiful mix of deep emotion and intellect and reflection and heart and humor.

Jenni Pulos' third season As Jeff Lewis' Girl Friday on Bravo's Flipping Out begins next month.
I have to say one of my favorite dramatic TV moments was when Jack Bauer (24) shot his boss Chapelle in the back of the head. I not only never saw it coming, I gasped in horror thinking ok he is somehow going to get up and be ok. He never got up! He NEVER got up! I could not believe it. A brilliant TV moment!

I loved every single episode and the finale of Six Feet Under. I was so moved by the final montage when Lauren Ambrose was driving away. I cried knowing that the show was finished, I really felt a chapter of my life was over. Brilliant television!

I thoroughly enjoyed the fight this year between Kelly and Bethany and when the Countess went to talk to teens and give them inspiration on The Real Housewives of NY.
Priceless.

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Need I say more?

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip- such a shame this got cancelled. The writing, acting, and directing on this show.....all genius. Every episode would end and I would think, that was an hour really well spent appreciating fine acting, directing, and writing. That's what television or any medium should do, inspire you. A beautiful piece of art. It is unfortunate it did not get more recognition.

Arrested Development. Genius comedy.

The Comeback. Lisa Kudrow. Genius comedy. (Also under appreciated)

I can always, never fail ,watch Price Is Right and lose myself. It takes me right back to being a young girl in my living room. "Come On Down". A longtime dream of mine is to drop one chip down that Plinko board.

Danielle Fishel, fondly remembered as Topanga from Boy Meets World, is in her second season as the host of Style's The Dish.

I love the SNL digital shorts! Synchronized swimmers with Martin Short is a classic and who can forget "D*** in a box?"

I am also mind-blowingly obsessed with the American version of "The Office." The fire safety episode will be a favorite for years to come.

Adam Richman's second season as host of Travel's Man vs. Food begins August 5th.

I have become an unabashed addict of the American version of "The Office." There are so many incredible moments that this talented, diverse ensemble throw at me regularly that it seems hard to choose one - but choose I must.

In the episode "Money," in Season 4, Dwight has been dealing with profound heartache at the loss of his relationship with the stern Angela - he did, after all, kill her beloved cat Sprinkles. He's hollow. After Angela harshly says that she is actively looking to date in front of an utterly destroyed Dwight, he runs into the stairwell to hide, cry, fall apart. Then of all people, Jim - his direct opposite and nemesis in many ways, gets up and goes after him. He finds Dwight curled up fetal in the corner of a stairwell landing - crying and facing the wall. Jim sits down next to him. The speech that follows, delivered with simple clarity and heart by John Krasinski is only matched by Rainn Wilson's Dwight's completely honest, heartbreaking reactions to it. Jim explains why he had to leave the Scranton branch because he could not be with his true love Pam, who he is now dating. How food had no taste. How it was just awful. And from Dwight's reaction we know this is where he's at. And the last moment absolutely crushes me: Jim says: "And I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy - and that includes you." Dwight sobs. Jim stands and leaves. And Dwight in a rare moment of tenderness - reaches for him. But Jim is gone. Jim walks into the office somnambulistically - clearly still caught in the moment in the staircase. He suddenly strides over to Pam at her desk, she can barely get out, "Where do you want to go to dinner tonight?" before he kisses her, passionately for the first time ever in the office. And immediately after, in true Jim style he says, "I was thinking that we'd try the little Italian place." Cut to a smiling Pam's talking head: "Jim's just really passionate about Italian food." Cut to Jim's: "I am. In fact, I'm in love with Italian food."

Cried like a baby.

Will Dailey's songs have been heard on everything from CSI: NY to Gossip Girl to Army Wives to NCIS to 90210. His new album Torrent Vol 1 & 2 was just released to rave reviews.

I am starting to have most of my TV moments online (that lady who sings well in the UK) but nothing beats the anticipation of a series finale. I will always remember watching the last episode of Battlestar Galactica and I want to throw a final LOST party. I am in the planning stages but I know I am going to dress up as Kate.

Mark Schwahn is the creator and executive producer of One Tree Hill, which begins its 7th season this fall on The CW.

There are a few television moments that I remember being significant because I watched them with my family. I grew up in a small town in Illinois, and I remember the ROOTS mini-series being significant. The kind of production that you innately knew was important while you were watching it. Many years later, BAND OF BROTHERS became that type of show for me and my wife. Every Sunday night we waited with anticipation for the next installment. On a lighter note, I never missed SUPERFRIENDS on Saturday morning. In the winter I'd sit and watch with a blanket over the heating vent and my father would scold me for being greedy with the heat.

I'm a lifelong sports fan, and the Cubs only played day games when I grew up. In the summers I would watch every game with my grandfather during the day. Then we'd go outside and he'd hit me fly balls and call me "butterfingers" when I'd drop them. Those days seemed endless and the back yard seemed as expansive as Wrigley Field. It looks so small now. I also remember very vividly watching the major league baseball All Star games as a kid. We didn't have cable then and sports weren't routinely on television, so it was a big deal to see all of your sports idols in one place. And it was the only game that the Cincinnati Reds players could wear white shoes. Finally, I have two older brothers and we all loved the Pittsburgh Steelers. They treated us to several great Super Bowl victories and I remember watching them with my brothers. It was the only time there was a cease fire in my house and we weren't beating the crap out of each other. So thank you, Lynn Swann.

And thank you TWO TIVOS TO PARADISE. Congratulations on 150 installments. We hope to hit that number with ONE TREE HILL episodes this year. Crazy.

Alison Sweeney's Emmy winning portrayal of Sami Brady on Days of our Lives is now in its 16th year. She will start her 5th season as host of The Biggest Loser in September.

*Magic Johnson playing center in game 6, NBA finals
*Ricky Gervais doing the David Brent dance live onstage at Princess Diana tribute.

Garret Dillahunt is one of the industry's most in-demand character actors, finishing up runs on Life and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles this past season. He most recently was seen starring opposite Delroy Lindo in the New York Theater Workshop's production of Things of Dry Hours.

I'm gonna show my vintage tastes here...but I remember coming home after school and watching TV for a few hours while snacking on cinnamon toast. It was Flintstones, Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island and wrapping it up with The Carol Burnett Show, where one day they were doing a spoof soap opera called "As The Stomach Turns". Tim Conway falling in slow motion down a flight of stairs and then rolling himself up in a carpet, toppling all the furniture as he did so killed me--as well as Harvey Korman and Carol Burnett who could NOT keep it together. Obviously not what was rehearsed. Comic genius and TV gold.

Another, completely different jaw dropper for me...April 20, 1992. The Freddy Mercury Tribute Concert For Aids Awareness. I was fresh out of college when I happened across this televised event. David Bowie and Annie Lennox sang "Under Pressure" and it was one of the most moving performances I'd ever seen. Two artists at the top of their game, singing for a worldwide audience, for something larger than themselves and for the memory of their friend. Lennox was in mourning dress, ash-like makeup thickly applied around her eyes, was running down her face as she wept and sang her heart out. Truly moving, and a valuable early lesson for a fledgling performer.

Sally Pressman stars as Roxy in the record breaking Lifetime series Army Wives.

I am one of those people who grew up watching TV. And not just a little, but A LOT. I am not embarrassed, though, because I love it and it is part of the reason I pursued a career in acting. It has always been an important part of my life. My parents' earliest stories about me as a baby are how I would break out into blissful bouncing, smiling and gurgling at the first hint of the Sesame Street theme song. My first girl crushes were not on movie stars but on Michael J. Fox from Family Ties and on Kirk Cameron from my Growing Pains addiction. But TV wasn't just about passive viewing for me;. I was very involved in my programs. I wrote a letter to the producers of Who's the Boss telling them that Angela and Tony really needed to get married. It was over a page long and very detailed. I also remember in 3rd grade my mom would wake me up at midnight to watch the Mike Meyer's sketches on Saturday Night Live. Despite being bleary eyed, I loved it, laughing in the dark with my mom, both of us in tears. Even now, I have weekly viewings with fellow cast members as we watch Lost where there is a STRICT no talking rule. Only as the credits role do we whisper, "Oh. My. God." I am baffled and shocked by all the questions they raise and then the incredible way they answer those questions. TV truly makes me laugh and cry, but it also motivates me as an actor. There are so many amazing shows on TV now that inspire me to be more honest, more real, more connected and funnier. Thank you TV. If it weren't for you, I have no idea where I'd be.

Ryan Hurst recently won a highly coveted Norty Award for his work as Opie on TNT's Sons of Anarchy, which returns for a second season in September.

*Walter Cronkite's reaction during his report of the lunar landing.

*Geoffrey Lewis' Celestial Navigations on the second incarnation of the Smother Brother's Variety Show.

*Cuba Gooding Jr. accepting his academy award for best supporting actor at the 69th Academy Awards show.

*Cliff Clavin explaining a Freudian slip to Coach: "It's when you say one thing when you really mean a mother".

Saul Rubinek's career on film, television, and stage is now in its 4th decade. He can currently be seen on SyFy's new series Warehouse.

Lucille Ball's tour de force in an episode of "I Love Lucy". Lucy finagles her way in to doing an "on air" commercial for a product called Vitameatavegamin (a new sponsor
for her husband Ricky's show).. She does take after take, not realizing the liquid (which tastes horrible) is 23% alcohol. She has to taste a teaspoon of the foul stuff saying it tastes great –"…just like candy" - as she tries to hide her disgust from the camera. As she does take after take, she gets more and more drunk, and starts to love the taste, finally drinking from the bottle. One of the great, sustained comic acting scenes of all time!

One of the great TV comedies of all time in my opinion, "Everybody Loves Raymond", created by Phil Rosenthal, has so many hilarious moments, it's tough to choose just one. But there's one that made me laugh so hard I was in tears of delicious agony: it's from the episode "She's The One". Robert has a new girlfriend, Angela, who seems perfect – sexy, nice, ands mart. Only trouble is SHE EATS FLIES. And when Ray sees her do it, he tells his brother Robert: "She's not the one"…he says he saw Angela catch a fly…and he finally blurts out in shock, horror, disgust and pure awe, "And then…SHE…ATE IT!" What can I tell you? Beyond hilarious, into the realm of classic.

There's a great moment in the brilliant 1960's television series "The Prisoner",
starring the sublime Patrick McGoohan. Patrick McGoohan, playing a British secret agent, resigns. He is then kidnapped and taken to an island, where he is made to live in a "perfect" society. It's nice, shallow, frightening, and you can't get out. The story, which may be an urban myth, is that Patrick McGoohan got bored with doing a television series called "Danger Man". He quit. The reaction to his quitting must have been severe – it inspired him to co-create the series The Prisoner, in which the punishment for resigning is, well, severe. I believe the moment I love may be from the very first episode. Patrick McGoohan tells the people who have imprisoned him on an island: "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My Life is my own." He is told: "For official purposes, everyone has a number. Yours is number six." Patrick answers: "I am not a number. I am a person." The reply? "Six of one, half a dozen of another." Genius. And prophetic.

If you don't recognize Matt Iseman from Style's Clean House, you know him as the host of Versus' Sports Soup.

First of all, congrats on your sesquicentennial edition! You're like The Simpsons of TV blogs... so, to honor your great moment, I will recount some of my favorite TV moments:

MAGNUM, PI: Aside form the Ferrari and epic 'stache, the moment that made me wanna be Magnum was when he confronted Ivan--the man who tormented him as a POW and killed his bud Mac--and the episode ends on a freeze frame of the muzzle blast from Magnum's 45 magnum as he kills Ivan in cold blood. In that episode, Magnum became a man and so did I. Well, not really but I ran around saying, "Did you see the sunrise?"

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: That show made every Monday night in the fall an event. The best part was Halftime Highlights, when Howard Cosell would recap the best plays from the previous day's games... long before ESPN or the internet, this was the only way to see those highlights and, in my opinion, it was the best way. Just hearing the theme song takes me back to 6th grade and Lynn Swann (that's a Pittsburgh Steeler not a girl for those who aren't into football).

FIRST 48: Watching a suspect who's been denying any wrongdoing for hours finally crumble, take a deep breath and then admit to snatching the life out of another human absolutely redefines drama. It is riveting to see someone make a confession that will forever alter their lives. And watching an officer get a confession simply by asking a few questions makes me rethink all those times when I would curse the Matlock or Perry Mason saying, "No one would ever just confess". I guess that Andy Griffith knows best.

STAR TREK: TNG-The show finale "All Good Things...": For my money, finales rarely live up to the expectation built on seasons of quality episodes. Many a great show has fizzled in its final outing but the last installment (on TV anyways) of The Next Generation was my favorite episode. It had all the great characters showing what made them great, it had time travel, and, most of all, it had Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean Luc Picard. When he realizes that the only way to save mankind is to sacrifice himself and the Enterprise and then having to convince his crew in 3 separate time frames to trust him, it made me want to enlist in Starfleet Academy. Sadly, I didn't have the grades so I went to medical school.

Donald Trump is perhaps the single most famous businessman in the world today.

I always liked watching To Tell the Truth when I was growing up, and I very much enjoyed hosting Saturday Night Live a few years ago—especially the Chicken Wings skit.

While Jennifer Garner may always be remembered for her career-making performance on Alias, she has since become a movie star, with such films as 13 Going on 30, Elektra, The Kingdom, Juno, and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past on her resume.

I always, ALWAYS, cry at the finale episode of a series. Remember the end of The Cosby Show? Or Seinfeld? I love the energy of the end.

I was a big fan of Battle of the Network Stars but was always afraid to say something when I was on a series for fear that network would buy the rights and I end up having to compete in something.

Joel McHale has been the host of The Soup since 2004. He is also the star of the new NBC comedy Community, premiering this fall.

Monty Python growing up was it for me. The sketch where someone brings his Mother's corpse into a funeral home in a plastic bag and the guy says, "I'd like to bury my Mother" and the funeral home guy says, "where is she", and the guy says "right here." The funeral director looks into the bag and then yells out, "we have an eater." She was still fresh enough to be eaten, and that's when Monty Python had the entire audience walk out. That was a wonderful moment.

The final episode of Extras comes to mind. The monologue Ricky Gervais did at the end transcended the genre and did something that television rarely does, which is be funny, and poignant , and real. It was just beautiful. That was a perfect television moment.

Any minute of Mystery Science Theater 3000...Joe Thiesman's leg breaking; that was one of the strangest and most horrific things to be shown. And then repeated over and over and over again.

Battlestar Galactica has so many…When they were on New Caprica during the cylon occupation. Ty had had his eye popped out and they were sending out radio signals every day and then, finally, one of them responded saying, "we're coming". That was a pretty terrific moment…The moment when Apollo had to scuttle the Pegasus, the whole ship is falling apart, he's the last guy on board and as he's running off of the bridge he turns and says, "thanks". That was awesome...

The Chris Farley Show on SNL with Paul McCartney was pretty unbelievable…The Geraldo Show riot when he got his nose broken was amazing…

Do you remember when there was this big thing about maraschino cherries? They were feeding massive amounts of them to rats, thousands of times their body weight in them and it was giving them cancer. It was a ridiculous study that later was found to be totally trumped up. I remember Walter Cronkite saying on the news, "this could affect one million dollar a year maraschino cherry business" and then he burst out laughing. It was such a wonderful commentary. I love that moment.

Al Norton is the writer/creator of Two Tivos To Paradise, the premiere TV news week –in-review column on the net. He also was TV Editor for the daily newspaper Boston NOW during its one year run.

Here are but a few…

*Every second of Every Mother's Son. It's from Homicide: Life on the Street's third season and I think the single best episode of dramatic television I have ever seen. It certainly was the moment I realized that Andre Braugher's performance, the way he brought Frank Pembleton to life, was unlike anything I had ever seen.

*Christopher Reeve's first appearance on Smallville, when his character, Dr Virgil Swann, asks Clark if he wants to find out what his destiny is. Right after he asks, the soundtrack uses the trumpet tiffany that is the opening to the theme of the Superman movies…I got goose bumps.

*Any Dear Dad episode of MASH.

*The end of the season finale of season 6 of The West Wing - 2162 Votes - when Josh goes to Leo and tells him he (Leo) is the pick to be Santos' VP.

*Saturday Night's Main Event, October 3, 1987…The mega-powers unite. I was watching in David Bloom's basement with a group of friends and when Hulk Hogan and Randy "Macho Man" Savage shook hands, the room exploded. Ahhh, to be young again…

*Casino Night, the finale of season two of The Office. Written by Steve Carrell, it's an incredibly funny hour of TV that during the last five minutes brought a well earned tear (or three) to my eyes with Jim and Pam's first kiss.

*The Walkabout episode from Lost's first season, where we learn John Locke's back story, with the incredible reveal at the end. That may have been my first indication that the show, aside from being different than anything else I had ever seen, was destined for greatness.

*Speaking of Lost, Through the Looking Glass, where at the end you realize it's a flash forward, not a flash back.

*I was six (maybe seven) years old, watching Days of Our Lives at my Grandmother's knee, when Jake Kositchek was revealed to be the Salem Strangler. One of daytime TV's first serial killer storylines, the moment took place during a costume party with multiple characters dressed as the Phantom of the Opera. It was only in the last moment, when his latest victim managed to claw the mask off with as her dying act, that this formerly ultra nice (even wimpy) guy was shown to be a maniac. Years later I was pleasantly shocked when I saw the same actor - Jack Coleman - as HRG on Heroes.

*Once More With Feeling. I had resisted Buffy for a long, long time, and then one afternoon caught a rerun of this episode on my local UPN (at the time) station the Saturday after it originally aired. From the first second I was hooked, and immediately started watching the reruns on FX, which lucky for me were at the beginning of the first season so I could fully catch up.

*The last scene of the Homicide: Life on the Street episode Crosetti, when Frank steps out onto the front steps of the police station to greet the passing funeral procession in his dress blues.

*And finally, and perhaps most memorably, games 6 & 7 of the 2004 ALCS. I was lucky enough to go to games 4 & 5 at Fenway, seeing the Red Sox begin their historic comeback from being down 3-0 to the dreaded Yankees, and, like all of Red Sox Nation, was glued to the TV set for the last two games. Despite a brief panic attack when Terry Francona decided to bring Pedro Martinez in in relief during the late inning of game 7, this was perhaps the most cathartic television viewing experience of my life. I am not in any way ashamed to admit I cried.

I hope you enjoyed this anniversary edition of the column. Everyone is greatly encouraged to use the comments section to share their personal favorite TV moments.

Two Tivos To Paradise
30 Days, 30 Rock, The Academy, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Best Day Ever, Best Week Ever, Better Off Ted, Big Love, Bones, Breaking Bad, Brothers And Sisters, Burn Notice, Cake Boss, Celebrity Apprentice, Chopped, The Chris Isaak Hour, Chuck, The Closer, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Daddy's Girls, Damages, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Dirty Sexy Money, The Dish, Entourage, Eureka, Everybody Hates Chris, Flipping Out, Gary Unmarried, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, Iron Chef America, Jon & Kate + Eight, Last Comic Standing, Last Restaurant Standing, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Lost, Mad Men, Make Me A Supermodel, Man v. Food, Medium, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Nip/Tuck, The Office, One Tree Hill, Paranormal State, Party Down, Private Practice, Project Runway, Pushing Daisies, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Rescue Me, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Samantha Who?, Sanctuary, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Shear Genius, Skins, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Southland, Sports Soup, Step It Up and Dance, Supernatural, Table For 12, Top Chef, Top Chef: Masters, Top Design, Torchwood, True Blood, Ugly Betty, Warehouse 13, Web Soup, Will Work for Food

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. We'll be back next Friday with all the news we've missed the last two weeks along with a full rundown of the Emmy nominations, which are being announced on Thursday morning.

Feedback is encouraged at [e-mail] as well via the comments section below.