Having watched it, and a lot in the genre, I'll comment. It's not a bad show. If you liked "Top Gun" and/or "Delta Force," you'd probably enjoy it. A bunch of naval aviators and marines from the Pensacola Naval Air Station fight evil at home and abroad. Lots of pretty shots of the cool toys our taxes buy racing across the sky, and a number of implausibly handsome/beautiful people running around with automatic weapons. Overall, it ain't "Citizen Kane," but there are worse ways to spend an hour. As to James Brolin, Nicola will probably be pleased, there are frequent shots of him looking ruggedly handsome.

My boss went down the waterslide with Felicity at last week's opening of the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas.

I could not agree more about the ridiculous nomination for both Keri Russell and the show "Felicity." Half a season and it gets a nomination?!! This show was over-hyped from day one and still is. With all the talk about it you would think it could at least crack the top 90 from time to time in the ratings, but it is not even close to being the top rated show on the WB network! There are numerous other shows that should have been nominated ahead of "Felicity:" "NYPD Blue," "Chicago Hope," "Party of Five," etc.... the list could go on.

I also had a comment about the Rugrats Chanukkah special. My little sister was very confused over the past week. She loves the Rugrats & watched the Chanukkah special. Then, a few days later there was a Christmas special. I thought the Rugrats were Jewish?!?!?!

I was very surprised when Mad About You (as well as the cast) did not receive any Golden Globe Nominations. Everyone knows that this is MAY's last year so one would think that Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt, or the show itself would get a nomination, right??

(Note from TK: all the critics pretty much agree that this has been MAY's worst season, and for once, I agree with them. So although it might be nice to give them some sort of lifetime achievement award (for the lifetime of the show, not THEIR lifetime), I'd be a little bitter if they were nominated for a regular award just because they were ending. That would be like giving Roseanne an award for her last season on the air which was so bad that it almost ruined all the earlier seasons for me.)

I really hate the fact that I read your newsletters way after I receive them (today being the exception). It's not because I'm behind on TV, since I'm WAY behind on that (like 26 years), but because I'm behind on people's responses. I think something, and then read the next one and see someone else has just said the same thing.... (like, "I LOVE driving my VW!" I don't have one, but I drive one a lot, and I always pretend I'm Mario Andretti, because the car lets you drive it like that, unlike my ancient BMW, whose wheels will move while the body of the car stays exactly where it was, burning rubber...)

Anyway, I loved Shane's "too much TV" essay. Very personal, but fabulous. I always feel like people pity me a little because I've never watched TV (much). They don't look at me the way my mother thought they would and think "Oh, what a strong, intelligent person she must be! She never watched TV! I bet her brain hasn't rotted and is in tip-top shape!" They say things like, "Did you live in a bubble?" or, "You don't know who THE WALTONS are!?!?" I feel like I've missed out on a major part of my generation's culture, never mind that I have certain excrutiating and silent moments when I can't make cocktail-party talk because I have no idea what the Beverly Hillbillies did or what Greenacres is or where Petticoat Junction is or who Got Smart or whatever (in fact, to write that sentence, I needed my boyfriend's assistance). So I guess I defend Shane's position, and when we do marry/conceive etc., our kids can watch TV together, just maybe not TOO much. Maybe we can teach our kids how to watch television responsibly and in moderation, just like drinking and everything else?

So thanks for the newsletter. I wish you had a lending library of tapes you've got of TV shows. I could like catch up over vacation the way you do when you're in school and you get behind on that lengthy James Joyce story...

I actually DID watch something on TV this month - I heard about and caught a very different and exciting version of "It's a Wonderful Life" on PBS - it was done as a reading, by a group of actors (mostly, well, actually, probably all chosen for their current popularity) in front of mics.

There were probably some script adaptations (I'm sure there were - the angel [CLARENCE?] was instructed and conveniently provided a good deal of narration & exposition in ways that implied to me descriptions of visual scenes in the film).

The cast included Alec Baldwin, Bernadette Peters, and Nathan Lane... but despite the fact that it was a bit of a star-f**ker of a show, it was actually really absorbing.

It's nice to see someone take a production that's been done to death and give it a new examination.

• The pilot episode of "Ally McBeal" at a special time
• "Sleepless in Seattle"
• Dick and Sally switch bodies on "3rd Rock from the Sun"
• Taxi driver strike on "Spin City"
• Isaac might be leaving "Sports Night"
• Russell is tempted to drink on "NYPD Blue"
• "The Craft"
• "Lateline" is back
• Frasier gets arrested
• Claire might uncover Trevor's identity on "Cupid"
• Tyne Daly and John Bennett Perry guest star on "Veronica's Closet"
• Dr. Green starts to get suspicious of Dr. Lee on "ER"
• Series premiere of "Providence"
• "The Flintstones"
• It's Murder 101 on "The Pretender"
• Dean Cain guest stars on "Fantasy Island"
• Series premiere of "Batman Beyond"
• Series premiere of "The PJs"
• A rainmaker on "The X-Files"
• The 25th Annual People's Choice Awards
• Bobby and Eugene uncover the truth about a murdered infant on "The Practice"