Who Are The Biggest Stars On Network Television?

I like network television. There's something comforting about the consistency of a show that's on nearly every week between September and May. I'm sure there's a lot of nostalgia too. It's remembering watching Cheers, In Living Color, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and other shows when I was younger. In the time of cable and streaming services, it’s nice to see that ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and the other one (is it CW or WB? I don’t know) still produce shows that could be part of a national shared experience. I write "could be" since that doesn’t actually happen anymore other than the Super Bowl or Will Smith hitting Chris Rock. With so many shows on so many different stations and streaming services, I feel like the only place where there could be a shared experience is on network TV. That seems doubtful though as I'll explain below.

I started thinking about the current biggest stars on network television. Who would be the most recognizable actors in a modern-day Battle of the Network Stars? 

Are there any A-listers like George Clooney, Tina Fey, or Steve Carell on network TV? Before we proceed, my self-imposed rule is that it can’t be someone on a reality or news show. That removes probably the biggest names on network TV such as Ryan Seacrest, Sofia Vergara, Blake Shelton, and Anderson Cooper. My first stop was to look up the most-recent Nielsen ratings.

Taking out sports, reality, and award shows, we're looking at four scripted shows. My wife watches the Chicago shows, so I'm familiar with them, but I can't name any actor except for S. Epatha Merkerson and Oliver Platt from Chicago Med. While I don't know any cast members on Young Sheldon or Ghosts, I believe that Jim Parsons serves as the narrator on the former. Of course, if we're allowing voices, Don Cheadle counts for his voice on Wonder Years. With all of that written, the clear winner as the most famous person on TV has to be The Rock from NBC's Young Rock. While I've never watched an episode, based on commercials, it seems like he has an on-screen role unlike Parsons and Cheadle. And if we're doing a Battle of the Network Stars, who's going to beat Dwayne Johnson and NBC? 

Here are others who receive consideration and should be a part of network star competition:

Ellen Pompeo - Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

Mariska Hargitay & Ice T - Law & Order: SVU (NBC)

Actually, any current cast member of these two shows who has been on for at least 10 years is eligible.

Queen Latifah - The Equalizer (CBS)

George Lopez - Lopez vs. Lopez (NBC)

Tom Selleck & Donnie Wahlberg - Blue Bloods (CBS)

Chris O'Donnell & LL Cool J - NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

Mayim Bialik - Call Me Kat (FOX)

Rob Lowe - 9-1-1 Lone Star (FOX)

Quinta Brunson - Abbott Elementary (ABC) -  I would love to see the event where Quinta faces off against The Rock!

Hilary Swank - Alaska Daily (ABC) - Yes, a 2-time Oscar winner is the star of a network TV show in 2023.

Ernie Hudson - Quantum Leap (NBC)

Cedric the Entertainer - The Neighborhood (CBS)

Are there any others I'm missing? Am I the only one who cares about network TV?

Happy 5781

Happy Rosh Hashanah to those of you who are celebrating! The Jewish new year begins Friday night and things are going to be a little different this year. Instead of being at synagogue or having meals with friends, I'll be watching a live-stream of services at home and eating with my family like I have every night for the last 6 months. One thing remains the same though. A Rosh Hashanah post with various videos to welcome the year!

First up is Blossom, I mean Amy Farrah Fowler, I mean Mayim Bialik giving a nice overview of Rosh Hashanah.

The Maccabeats are back again this year, and perhaps they have emerged victorious in their battle (in my mind) with fellow a capella group, Six13. I don't see a Rosh Hashanah video from Six 13 this year, so advantage Maccabeats!

Need recipes and ideas of things to do from home during Rosh Hashanah? This may be the video for you!

And here's "Donald Trump" wishing everyone a Happy New Year! The voice is spot on and made me chuckle. 

Finally, the perfect Rosh Hashanah video for my Spanish-speaking friends. I mean, unfortunately, I don't speak Spanish, so I'm just assuming that it's the perfect video.

Happy New Year! While some may say next year in Jerusalem, I'll say next year out of the house!

You can also check out my previous Rosh Hashanah posts including some fun videos by clicking here.

Party Like It's 5778

Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Wednesday and thus begins year 5778 in the Hebrew calendar. Happy New Year! Like previous years, I thought I would share some Rosh Hashanah videos to help you celebrate.

The Maccabeats - This Is the New Year (originally performed by A Great Big World)



The Maccabeats have been a staple of Sean's Ramblings as they perform new songs for seemingly every Jewish holiday and I always post them. Random question: Is acapella out? With Glee and Pitch Perfect, it appeared that acapella music was the in thing a few years ago. Has acapella lost its audience?

Rosh Hashanah Robot Party



There ain't no party like a Technion-Israel Institute of Technology's Cognitive Robotics Lab in the Davidson Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management party!

4 Things Jews Do on Rosh Hashanah by Mayim Bialik



I love Mayim Bialik. I'm sure that I mentioned this before (since I tend to repeat myself after writing this blog for well over a decade), but when I worked at San Diego State University many years ago, Bialik called our office to talk to one of my colleagues about a similar program she was coordinating at UCLA. I remember being really excited and may or may not have screamed, Blossom is on the phone! Blossom is on the phone!

Rapture



Several things here. Rosh Hashanah is the hidden day? I just went to Google and found out that Rosh Hashanah is on September 7th in the year 2097. Not so hidden. In addition, this woman is praying for the rapture? Maybe pray for Hurricane Maria not to cause any destruction or death instead. Let's say that there is a 0.000001% chance that the rapture occurs over the next few on Rosh Hashanah. I'll take the under.

Meanwhile, I prefer this Rapture.



Have a Happy New Year!

Friday Video: Terry Bradshaw on Blossom

Terry Bradshaw. Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback. Television analyst. Author and singer. Bradshaw is all of these things as well as an actor appearing in films such as The Cannonball Run, Smokey and the Bandit II, and the awful Failure to Launch. Bradshaw also had television appearances in The League, Las Vegas, and Malcolm in the Middle. Perhaps hidden on his resume is Bradshaw's 1994 appearance on the television show Blossom starring Mayim Bialik and Joey Lawrence. Whoa! Here's Bradshaw playing Lawrence's coach and a video of the whole episode. Enjoy!

Enjoy your Friday and weekend!

Splash: A Review

After listening to my son scream in his crib for about 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon, it was apparent that a nap wasn't going to happen. Therefore, I took him out and went into a different room where many of his toys and books are located. We read several books, but then I noticed that my son's eyes were starting to close. I knew carrying him back upstairs to his crib and him staying asleep was unlikely, so I picked him up, sat on the couch and let him fall asleep on me. Unfortunately, I was so eager to make sure he fell asleep, I didn't make myself aware of the surroundings. The computer was too far away, and even though the remote was on the couch, I wouldn't be able to change channels since the DirecTV box was behind the sliding cabinet door (kids books are on one side; the TV box and DVD player are on the other). So I turned on the TV and hoped for the best. The result:

No, this Splash on ABC.

I was on the swimming and diving team for one year in high school. I was terrible and learned that diving is particularly difficult. Therefore, I have a lot of respect for anyone who attempts to dive, even if they are B or C-list celebrities. So if you haven't heard of Splash, this is a diving competition show with contestants including NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nicole Eggert of Baywatch and Charles In Charge, comedian Louie Anderson, Drake Bell, who is not the Canadian rapper, Miss Alabama and Brent Musburger favorite Katherine Webb, US Soccer star Brandi Chastain and some guy named Rory. In the part of the show I watched, they never gave Rory's last name, but I'm going to assume that it's not Rory McIlroy since his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki wasn't there and they never mentioned golf. There were two judges who I can't name and former Olympic gold medalist, Greg Louganis, who served as the role of diving mentor. There are also two hosts of the show, Joey Lawrence and another woman. Again, I didn't see the introduction, so I have no idea who she is. Meanwhile, if you took a poll 15 years ago and asked who would have a bigger career Joey or his Blossom co-star Mayim Bialik, Joey would be the easy winner, right? Now Bialik is getting Emmy nominations for Big Bang Theory, one of the biggest shows on TV and Joey, well, is not.

Without getting too much into the show, this appears to be a three-person competition between the non-rapper Drake, Brandi Chastain and the Rory guy. Apparently, Drake scored a 10 the previous week, but didn't do well this week and had some low scores. He wasn't happy with his performance but he survived for the next week. The Rory guy seems really good at flips. Meanwhile, Brandi dedicated her dive to her grandmother who recently broke her hip. She also credited her family and her teammates but didn't seem to mention Kevin Garnett.



Nicole Eggert and Kareem did okay, but I don't see them challenging for the title. The worst two divers of the week were Katherine Webb and Louie Anderson. Louie Anderson was terrible, but he's also 400 pounds. I'm not trying to be mean about Louie's weight since the show really referenced that he's around 400 pounds. His entire dive was sitting backwards on the platform diving board and flipping himself over. Take a look (the actual dive starts around the 3:00 minute mark.)



(A better version of the video is available on the ABC website.)

Meanwhile, Webb did some type of flip but didn't come close to going into the water straight. The judges decided that more people wanted to see Webb in a swimsuit than Anderson in a wetsuit, so Webb narrowly advanced. As you can see from the video above, she was devastated since she really liked Louie. I think she'll get over it in time for the reunion show.

This show seems to be right up my alley (see Hit Me Baby 1 More Time & Flavor of Love, but I think I'm done after this one episode. I have too many shows on my DVR, and sadly, I just don't have enough time to watch every show on television. With that written, I think I'll follow who gets eliminated each week.