Free Republic

A list of - in the author's opinion - the 50 greatest TV characters of all time. Just something to take your mind off of all the bad news of the day.

The president can be heard — but not seen — supposedly answering a White House phone in a YouTube trailer posted Monday, but a Crackle press release photo appears to show Obama sharing a laugh with Seinfeld. Astute fans of Seinfeld's conversational series will note that, unlike previous "Coffee" installments that feature the host doubling as a chauffeur, the photo relating to the Obama episode shows both the host and guest as passengers in a vehicle emblazoned with a presidential seal. However, they took turns taking the wheel of a different vehicle at another point of their conversation. "The episode...

Tina Fey is sick of apologizing, and she's also tired of the Internet. "Steer clear of the Internet and you'll live forever," Fey told Net-a-Porter magazine in a wide ranging interview. "We did an 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' episode and the Internet was in a whirlwind, calling it 'racist,' but my new goal is not to explain jokes."

Fort Myers, Fla., NBC affiliate WBBH aired a graphic that was supposed to be from the Department of Homeland Security during Friday's 5 p.m. show, but instead showed a happy eagle with T&A on its chest, grabbing what looked like breasts on the left and a butt on the right.

COMPLETE INTERVIEW: Kelly and Michael Interviewes Donald Trump On "LIVE Show" (12/09/2015)

Donald Trump was ridiculed as a 'knucklehead with a big, fat orange Oompa Loompa face' last night on SNL as Will Ferrell reprised his President George W. Bush role for the show's cold opening. Dismissing the billionaire tycoon's policy to ban Muslims entering America, Ferrell turned deadly serious for a second to say the idea was 'impossible to implement and not what this country is all about.' And as he mocked the outspoken businessman it was difficult to tell if Ferrell broke character when he began laughing at the very thought of Trump and 'his hair, and the 100 foot...

Social media is big, and with old media embracing it we've seen local media in particular pump their social media follower count like it's the new ratings standard.... ....two days ago, when a tipster alerted me to WPLG's Twitter account @WPLGLocal10 and how fast they were gaining followers. They were literally adding 1,000+ followers per hour. Shortly after a few others emailed SFLTV about it, even viewers who found it humorous they're being followed and unfollowed by WPLG on Twitter. ....People we talked to alleged WPLG bought Twitter followers.... ...All told in the span of less than 3 days WPLG...

Robert Loggia, durable and versatile star of movies and TV shows including Brian De Palma’s 1986 “Scarface” and “Big,” died Friday in Los Angeles, his widow Audrey confirmed to Variety. He was 85. He was nominated for a Supporting Actor Academy Award for “Jagged Edge” in 1986 for his portrayal of a private detective. Among the films he appeared in were “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Prizzi’s Honor,” “Problem Child” and “Big,” in which performed a memorable duet on a giant piano with Tom Hanks. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 for his portrayal of FBI agent Nick...

With Thanksgiving having come and gone, we are now solidly into the Christmas season. Two stories that reveal Hollywood's attitude about Christmas in painful detail recently caught my attention. The first was an article in the L.A. Times about the 50th anniversary of "A Charlie Brown Christmas." It is now a classic; one of the most beloved of all broadcast television Christmas specials. Yet those in charge of its production at the time thought it was going to be a dismal failure. Why? Because cartoonist and author Charles M. Schulz refused to include a laugh track, and -- most significantly...

Young adults who watch tons of TV, and spend more time on the couch than at the gym, may end up paying for it with diminished mental performance in middle-age, new research suggests.

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The TV is on in the background, and you’re replying to a quick email on your phone nearby. You don’t know it, but the devices are communicating. During a commercial, the TV emits an inaudible tone and your phone, which was listening for it, picks it up. Somewhere far away, a server makes a note: Both devices probably belong to you. This information about which devices belong to whom is immensely valuable to advertisers hoping to target ads specifically to you. In a simpler time, targeted marketing was easy. Most people had a computer at work and maybe another at...

Two stars of Discovery Channel’s “Alaskan Bush People” pleaded guilty on Wednesday to submitting falsified residency documents in order to collect money from Alaska’s Permanent Fund dividend. Billy Brown, 62, admitted he claimed in Permanent Fund applications from 2009 to 2012 that he was living in Alaska when he was really residing outside of the state. During that time, he collected thousands of dollars from the state. "By submitting falsified PFD applications for myself and my children, I stole $7,956 from the people of Alaska," Brown wrote in a signed statement for a proposed plea deal, according to the Alaska...

On today's "LIVE with Kelly and Michael," hosts Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan announced that former Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, First Lady of the United States and current Democratic presidential candidate HILLARY CLINTON will sit down for an interview on "LIVE" today, November 19, 2015. This will be Secretary Clinton's fourth visit to "LIVE." She made three appearances on the show as First Lady in 1996, joining then-hosts Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford. On November 19, she'll talk to Ripa and Strahan about her life, her family and of course her campaign for the office of President of...

The Elvira Show. CBS filmed a pilot for the Elvira show hot off the heels of the movie "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark" though the shows plot line has nothing to do with the movie. I was lucky enough to actually be at the taping of this pilot. The show starred Cassandra Peterson as Elvira and Katherine Helmond as Aunt Minerva. The writing is witty and chocked full of innuendoes and one liners that are so bad they are great! Too bad it was never picked up.

Newhart (1982-1990) -Please forgive me but I actually like Bob Newhart's second major sitcom series -at the Stratford Inn in Vermont- more than the first 'shrink' series with Mary Tyler Moore, as good as that one was. In fact I think the 80s series Newhart is one of the most underrated comedy shows ever- watched it every week with friends when they were new, too funny. Interestingly, all 184 shows are -here- on this YouTube playlist. Cheers -This would probably make everybody's list, but honestly I never go back and watch them anymore... too much saturation I guess, and it just doesn't...

RUSH: ESPN is in trouble economically, financially. ESPN just announced that they're gonna have to cut a minimum of 350 jobs. And the reason why is subscribers are abandoning cable. Many people do not understand how all of this works, the cable bundle. I mean, you understand that you have to pay a minimum amount per month to get a bunch of channels, the vast majority of which you never watch, but the channels you want are in that bundle, and you have to pay for the bundle. So let's say you want your local stations, you want ESPN, maybe...

There was a B&W TV show I saw in the sixties set in the ETO in WW2 where Germans had hijacked an American convoy of trucks. They were hiding in the back with American drivers. One truck was stopped at a checkpoint and the driver said to the guard that everything was fine "But we got erryjays in the uctrays". The guard didn't understand this, let the convoy start through and mentioned it to one of the other guards who shouted "Jerries in the trucks!" and opened up with a Thompson. I have searched the net for "Combat' and "The...

Live from New York, it's Donald Trump! The GOP presidential frontrunner and real estate magnate will host NBC's "Saturday Night Live" on November 7, the show announced Tuesday. His appearance comes almost exactly a year before Election Day, which will fall on November 8, 2016. Trump last hosted the NBC comedy show in April 2004.

Singer Clay Aiken is no longer supporting Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton in 2016. Aiken announced Thursday that he plans on backing Vice President Joe Biden... ....“I’ll get in a leaky boat going in the right direction before I’ll get on a strong boat going in the wrong direction,” the former “American Idol” contestant said. “But I really want a strong boat next year on the Democratic side, and I think Joe Biden is a better candidate."