LIFE IMITATES TV
On a 2010 episode of Desperate Housewives, Renee (Vanessa Williams) and Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) talk about past loves, and Renee quips, “Never marry a basketball player.” It’s an inside joke: Williams was once married to NBA star Rick Fox; at the time, Longoria was married to NBA star Tony Parker … until she filed for divorce a few days after the episode aired.
Agent Cooper on Twin Peaks was named after mysterious plane hijacker D. B. Cooper.
OFF THE RAILS
What the heck happened to Family Matters?
Family Matters was a spin-off from the sitcom Perfect Strangers, centered around the Winslows, a middle-class African-American family in Chicago. But midway through the first season, the Winslows’ nerdy teenage neighbor, Steve Urkel, appeared in an episode and became a pop-culture phenomenon. Before long, Urkel was everywhere—his catchphrase “Did I do that?” adorned T-shirts, and stores were deluged with talking Urkel dolls and Urkel-Os breakfast cereal. By season six, the family sitcom had become a science-fiction show. Most episodes revolved around Urkel inventing crazy contraptions, including a time machine (to transport himself to a pirate ship) and a cloning device (to make a cool clone of himself named Stefan Urquel). By season nine, it was canceled.
First TV theme song to reach #1 on the Billboard chart: “The Theme from S.W.A.T.” (1976).
TV TERMS
OVERSCANNING: When a broadcaster sends out a television signal, the image is designed to be a little larger than a TV screen, so it fills the entire screen. On some older TVs, as much as 10 percent of the image couldn’t be seen.
ZAPPING: Changing channels when a commercial comes on.
ZIPPING: Fast-forwarding through commercials while viewing a prerecorded show.
COLD OPEN: When a TV show goes right into the program before the title or opening credits appear, then runs the title and credits a few minutes later (or has no opening sequence at all). It’s a device used to get viewers interested in the show before they have a chance to change the channel.
Studies show: TV is the third most talked-about subject, after “cost of living” and “family.”
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