The TV Zone

With the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show taking place this week (Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. on USA), it seems like the right time to take a closer look at one of TV’s most memorable pooches. We’re talking about Eddie from “Frasier,” the scene-stealing Jack Russell terrier owned by Martin Crane (John Mahoney) whose stare often freaked out Frasier. Here are five things you need to know about Eddie.

For the show’s first nine seasons, Eddie was played by Moose, with Moose’s son Enzo taking over for the final two seasons of the show’s run.

To make Eddie nuzzle the actors, liver pate was placed behind their ears to get the proper response.

When Eddie had to lick a performer’s face, sardine oil was applied on the actor.

Enzo was one of a few puppies bred specifically as possible replacements for Eddie when it became apparent that “Frasier” was a hit and would remain on the air for a long time.

The only character who seemed to rattle Eddie was Frasier’s ex-wife, Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth).

Watch Eddie and Frasier here

Immediately following Sunday’s Super Bowl, NBC will air an episode of “The Office,” continuing a recent network practice of showcasing one of its most popular series.

Time was when networks would use the Super Bowl to launch a brand-new series, hoping to attract a large viewing audience. Many were bombs, but a handful were successes, none more so than “The A-Team,” which followed NBC’s broadcast of Super Bowl XVII on Jan. 23, 1983.

The action-adventure series from Stephen Cannell centered on four Vietnam vets (Mr. T, George Peppard, Dwight Schultz and Dirk Benedict). They were framed for a crime they didn’t commit, and after busting out of a maximum-security prison, they became soldiers of fortune while trying to avoid the military police. Filled with car crashes galore and lots of cartoon violence, the show was an immediate hit, ranking in the Nielsen top 10 for its first three seasons. A big-screen version, with Ridley and Tony Scott as producers, is set for a June 2010 release.

Here are five things to you need to know about “The A-Team”:

NBC Entertainment chief Brandon Tartikoff pitched the series to Cannell as a cross between “The Dirty Dozen,” “Mission: Impossible,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Mad Max” and “Hill Street Blues.”

James Coburn was originally considered for the role of Hannibal Smith, which went to Peppard.

Notable guest stars playing themselves included William “The Refrigerator” Perry, Vanna White, Pat Sajak, Hulk Hogan and Boy George.

The B.A. in Mr. T’s character’s name stood for, ahem, Bad Attitude.

The gold Mr. T wore weighed between 35 and 40 pounds.

Check out the show’s memorable opening sequence (they don't make 'em like this anymore).

"Life on Mars,” the quirky series about a modern-day NYPD cop who suddenly finds himself living in 1973, returns to the ABC schedule Wednesday at 10 p.m. This got us thinking about parallel universes and the like, raising the question: Back in 1973, what show aired on ABC in that very same time slot?

The answer: “Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law,” one of TV’s finest legal dramas. From 1971 to 1974, Arthur Hill played a stalwart Santa Barbara attorney, considered by critics to be the legal equivalent of Marcus Welby, the stalwart doctor played by Robert Young on another popular ABC series.

Here are five things you need to know about “Owen Marshall.”

One of Marshall’s young partners was played by Lee Majors. In fact, for a while in 1973 and early ’74, Majors held down double duty on ABC, also playing Steve Austin on “The Six Million Dollar Man.”

When Majors decided to leave in February 1974, he was replaced by David Soul, who also would go on to greater fame in another ABC series, “Starsky and Hutch.”

And one final Lee Majors connection: Farrah Fawcett, who would marry Majors in 1973, appeared in two 1971 episodes, a half-decade before she became a superstar on “Charlie’s Angels.”

Steven Spielberg directed a 1971 episode featuring guest appearances by Anson Williams (Potsie from “Happy Days”) and David Soul (as another character).

Danny Paterno, a partner in the final season, was played by Reni Santoni, whom “Seinfeld” fans know well as Poppie, the restaurant owner with a nervous bladder.

Hey, you'd never believe it, but John Denver once appeared in a dramatic role on "Owen Marshall"!
Check it out here:

With “Lost” returning Wednesday, our thoughts turn to islands, specifically TV shows that take place on those land masses surrounded by water on all sides. Here are five (and we’re excluding “Survivor” and shows set in Hawaii and Manhattan,
because that would be too easy).

“Gilligan’s Island” (1964-67) — The classic story of seven castaways who set sail on a three-hour tour and ended up on an uncharted desert isle. You know the rest.

“Fantasy Island” (1978-84) — “Love Boat”-ish anthology in which visitors would schlep off to a remote island resort, where they would have one lifelong dream come true. (Props to myself for writing this item and not making one Herve
Villechaize joke.)

“Paradise Island” (on “Wonder Woman,” 1976-79) — Home of Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) and her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Carolyn Jones). They ruled over a race of super Amazonian women who derived their strength from prolonged exposure to a rare
element known as “Feminum” that was unique to Paradise Island.

“Temptation Island” (2001-02) — Sleazy, cheesy Fox reality show in which four unmarried but committed couples were sent to a tropical island. The bonds of their relationships would then be tested by stray hotties who were brought in expressly to
try and break up the couples.

“The Pruitts of Southampton” (1966-67) — The locale may not be as exotic as the others, but, hey, this sitcom was set on an island. Phyllis Diller starred as a down-on-her-luck East End matron who still pretended that her family was worth
millions. Gypsy Rose Lee played her nosy neighbor.

See for yourself the wackiness of "The Pruitts":

"Scrubs,” a show given up for dead many, many times, has new life. The medical comedy returns Tuesday night — but this time it will air on ABC, not NBC, its network home since 2001. “Scrubs” thus joins a special group of shows that have aired on more than one network, including these five:

JAG — The legal-military drama aired for one season on NBC (1995-96), but finished 77th in the Nielsens and was canceled. CBS took a chance on the show, and after it debuted there in January 1997, “JAG” became a hit, remaining popular until it went off the air in 2005.

TAXI — After premiering in 1978 on ABC, the Judd Hirsch-Danny DeVito comedy became one of TV’s most popular shows. But “Taxi” began to run out of gas, ratings-wise, by 1982 and ABC canceled it. NBC picked up the show for one more season, before low ratings did it in forever.

BUFFY, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER — The teen vampire drama was one of the WB’s most popular shows from 1997 to 2001. But the series moved to UPN for its final two seasons (2001-03) because its producers were able to strike a deal with the network giving them more money than what the WB had offered.

MATLOCK — Crafty Atlanta attorney Ben Matlock (Andy Griffith) pleaded his case on NBC for six seasons (1986-92) before moving to ABC, where he had a three-season run (1992-95).

CANDID CAMERA -- The venerable hidden-camera show created by Allen Funt has the distinction of airing on four (well, maybe 3 1/2) networks: ABC (1948); NBC (1949, 1953); CBS (1949-50; 1960-67; 1990; 1998-2000) and PAX (2001-04). That’s reason enough to smile!

And speaking of smiling, check out this clip from "Candid Camera"

With Hanukkah beginning tonight at sundown, we thought it would be a good time to look at five TV episodes in which the Jewish Festival of Lights was a key part of the plot.

thirtysomething (Dec. 15, 1987) — Michael (Ken Olin) and Hope (Patricia Wettig) clash over whether their daughter’s first holiday should be Christmas or Hanukkah.

Rugrats (Dec. 6, 1996): The animated Rugrats (the products of interfaith marriages) celebrate Hanukkah while trying to settle a dispute between Grandpa Boris and his childhood rival Shlomo. Meanwhile, Angelica tries to find a TV to watch a Christmas special, and Stu Pickles tries to make it to the synagogue.

The Nanny (Dec. 16, 1998) — Fran (Fran Drescher) is excited about celebrating her first Hanukkah with her new husband and family. But Maxwell (Charles Shaughnessy, C.C. (Lauren Lane) and Gracie (Madeline Zima) have to drive to Boston in a snowstorm, and Fran is worried sick when they don’t arrive on time after they run off the road.

The OC (2003-07) — The Fox drama popularized the interfaith celebration of “Chrismukkah.” On the show, Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) has a Jewish father (Peter Gallagher) and a Protestant mother (Kelly Rowan). So to make the holiday season go smoother, Seth claims to have “created Chrismukkah” when he was 6 years old. The series included Chrismukkah episodes for every season of its run.

Friends (Dec. 14, 2000): In “The One With the Holiday Armadillo,” Ross wants to explain Hanukkah to his young son, Ben, but the boy just wants Santa. So Ross decides to buy a Santa costume — but he’s too late and all the costumes have been bought. The only remaining costume is an armadillo

Here's a clip from “The One With the Holiday Armadillo.” Happy holidays!

The Muppets return to prime time this week with the NBC special “A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa.” These lovable creatures have been entertaining viewers since the 1950s, when Jim Henson first presented them on a local Washington, D.C., show. But for many Muppets fans, the high-water mark for Kermit, Miss Piggy and Co., was the incredibly funky “Muppet Show,” which aired in syndication from 1976 to 1981. Here are five memorable guest-star moments from that show:

1. Rudolf Nureyev dancing a pas de deux from “Swine Lake” with Miss Piggy.

2. Elton John singing “Crocodile Rock” to a chorus of crocodile muppets.

3. Roger Moore singing “If I Could Talk to the Animals” to a random group of Muppets.

4. Beverly Sills in a soprano smackdown with Miss Piggy in “Pigaletto.”

5. Julie Andrews singing “When You Were a Tadpole and I Was a Fish” with Kermit.

Here's 007 warbling that classic from "Dr. Dolittle" on "The Muppets Show":

"Secret Millionaire,” a new Fox reality show based on a British hit, debuts Wednesday. Its premise is sort of intriguing: A millionaire agrees to give away tens of thousands of dollars of his or her own money after spending time in an impoverished community where no one knows they are rich. Nice touch for these times, eh?

Anyhow, the show’s title puts us in mind of these five “millionaire” TV shows or characters.

“The Millionaire” (1955-60) — Each week on this dramatic anthology, the title character, John Beresford Tipton (who was heard, but never seen on camera), would instruct his personal secretary to bestow a check for $1 million (tax-free) on an unsuspecting individual.

The millionaire and his wife (1964-67) — How the wealthy, stuffy Thurston Howell III (Jim Backus) and his wife, Lovey (Natalie Schafer), were referred to in the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song. They’re still the subjects of one of TV’s enduring mysteries: How did they know to pack three years’ worth of clothing on a three-hour tour?

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (1999-) — Incredibly popular game show hosted on ABC by Regis Philbin, and now in syndication by Meredith Vieira.

“Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?” (2000) — Infamous Fox reality show in which contestant Rick Rockwell winnowed out Darva Conger from a group of 50 women. Shortly after the show aired, it was revealed Rockwell had been slapped with a restraining order by a former girlfriend.

"Joe Millionaire” (2003) — Highly successful Fox reality show in which an ordinary schmo pretended to be a millionaire to win a hot babe’s heart. The test came when said hot babe learned Joe Millionaire wasn’t even Joe the Plumber

Take a trip on the wayback machine and check out this clip of TV's original "Millionaire."