To all the shows I've loved before
TV nostalgia: The ache that never quite goes away
By Todd Leopold
CNN
 |  "Friends" no more: The show's finale airs Thursday night. |
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| | ON CNN TV |  "Eye on Entertainment" talks about the weekend's happenings on CNN's "Live Today" between 10 a.m. and noon ET Thursday. |
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(CNN) -- So "Friends" and "Frasier" are going off the air.
I'll lament the passing of one, not so much the other, but regardless, that's just the way TV works. Shows premiere, they earn a TV Guide cover or two, they provide a few laughs or tears, and then they're gone. (Until you see them in reruns.)
Indeed, what we're really missing is often not the show but the idea of the show -- all the stuff wrapped around the series -- in the same way an old song can bring back memories of a lingering kiss or a summer vacation.
Eye on Entertainment takes a few steps down nostalgia alley.
Eye-opener
We can all make a list of our favorite shows or favorite individual programs. If you'll indulge me, a balding pop culture junkie in his (very) late 30s, here are a few of mine:
Friday nights on ABC, circa 1972. "The Brady Bunch," "The Partridge Family," "Room 222," "The Odd Couple" and -- though I wasn't allowed to stay up for it -- "Love, American Style." I'd plant myself on our ugly den rug at 7 p.m. Central, turn on Channel 8 and not move for the rest of the evening."Holmes and Yo-Yo." Looking back, this short-lived series with Richard B. Shull and John Schuck was dumb, but when you're 11, a guy who can make a Polaroid picture come out of his pocket is cool."Monty Python's Flying Circus." Need I say more, nudge-nudge?"Taxi." Rev. Jim takes a driving test: "What does a yellow light mean?" "Slow down." (pause) "What ... does ... a ... yellow ... light ... mean?" "Slow down." (longer pause) "What ..... does ..... a ..... yellow ..... light ..... mean?""WKRP in Cincinnati." Mrs. Carlson wants to hear Gershwin. Dr. Johnny Fever: "WKRP, where we dare to be different!" And those turkeys ... oh, the humanity! "M*A*S*H." Particularly the episode with Capt. Tuttle ... and "The Interview" ... and Edward Herrmann as the chipper guest surgeon who has a breakdown ... and "Tomorrow, he gets taller" ... and ..."Late Night With David Letterman." Letterman's still as funny as ever, but it was hard to beat his '80s shows for sheer nuttiness: Larry "Bud" Melman, the Guy Under the Seats, the 360-Degree Show and dropping things off buildings. "Hill Street Blues" and "L.A. Law." And gathering to watch them after quiz bowl practice."The Famous Teddy Z." The show rarely measured up to Alex Rocco's hilariously venal portrait of agent Al Floss, but because of that, I've never forgotten it."thirtysomething." Especially when Miles Drentell was around."The Simpsons" and "Seinfeld." Between "Sideshow Bob's Cavalcade of Whimsy" and "Not that there's anything wrong with that," I've rarely laughed so hard."Sports Night." The best show Aaron Sorkin's ever done -- and the only show that's known what to do with Sabrina Lloyd.And, of course, that's not including watching "Twilight Zone" reruns on my local PBS station or puzzling over the "St. Elsewhere" conclusion or -- well, I could go on and on. But you would have stopped reading by then. Not that you ... hello? Hello?
The "Friends" finale airs at 8:59 p.m. ET (yes, I'm not kidding) Thursday on NBC. It'll be preceded by a 59-minute retrospective. If you miss the finale, don't worry -- it'll be out on DVD Tuesday.
On screen
Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and several other beasties (all once in Universal Studios films, giving this new movie unmatched theme park possibilities) face off against the monster hunter title character in "Van Helsing." Hugh Jackman plays Van Helsing, based loosely on the vampire pursuer in Bram Stoker's "Dracula." The movie cost a bundle, but director Stephen Sommers' previous two films, "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns," made a bundle, so this one is getting the full summer blockbuster treatment. Opens Friday.The Olsen twins find themselves adrift in Manhattan, and a variety of improbable plots, in "New York Minute." Also starring: Eugene Levy, who I hope was paid very well. Opens Friday.On the tube
If you're not completely worn out and have decided to swear off TV after Thursday's "Friends" finale, there's the "Survivor: All-Stars" finale Sunday. In typical "Survivor" fashion, the show will chew up the entire night, with the two-hour conclusion followed by a reunion. 8 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS.It fills me with fear -- will it measure up to the sublime original? -- but the surviving cast of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" has gotten together for "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited," 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, CBS.Sound waves
Gordon Lightfoot's new album, "Harmony" (Linus/Ryko), comes out Tuesday.Gretchen Wilson's new album, "Here for the Party" (Sony), contains songs titled "When I Think About Cheatin' " and "Homewrecker." What else is there to know? Comes out Tuesday.Paging readers
Richard Ben Cramer -- the remarkable writer whose "What It Takes" set the standard of modern campaign books -- returns to the scene of his Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting with "How Israel Lost" (Simon & Schuster). The book, a look at the degeneration of the Mideast conflict, comes out Tuesday.Tim Russert offers a tribute to his father with his memoir, "Big Russ and Me" (Miramax). Due Monday.The latest in John Sandford's line of "Prey" novels, "Hidden Prey" (Putnam), comes out Tuesday. Incidentally, this is the 16th "Prey" novel, and not one of them has been titled "Prey for the Wildcats."
