Sometimes it is very small yet powerful things in the world of pop culture that make a lasting impact on the world as we see it. Television is one of those items that ultimately has formed and changed society’s impression of how we deal with everyday life.

Mental Floss has a list of TV Shows that have changed the world. For the most part, I agree with their list which is comprehensive, and oddly surprising, in it’s depth of coverage.

They list several obvious choices, such as “Star Trek” and Edward R. Murrow’s “See It Now” as examples of television that obviously engaged generations with the introduction of politics and James Kirk (William Shatner is probably one of the greatest living icons of TV who has been able to span 45 years in his career.)

Also included on the list are, which was surprising to me, Billy Graham’s “Hour of Decision” but it goes to show that his influence on televangelism was revolutionary. The most recent edition, and rightfully so, is “The Living Planet.”

A couple of series that were absent that might need a post in the future would be “Mary Tyler Moore” and “Lou Grant.” However, I do believe if this list were done in five years, “Lost” would top the count as would “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” which I believe were the two shows that incorporated the Internet base of fandom into weekly viewing rituals.

Rachel Christie is quite an accomplished young woman.  Or she was, anyway.  At age 21, not only is she in training for the 2012 London Olympics as a heptathlete, she also found some time on her days off to become the first black winner of the Miss England competition.  However, while she might still represent […]

The 2009 inductees for the National Toy Hall of Fame have been announced, and this year’s class of honorees is the direct opposite of last year’s class.  Where the 2008 version required a lot of imagination to wring the most fun out of them, 2009’s hall of fame class requires a lot less thinking and […]

After 13 years on the police force, Terry Ashe has seen and experienced a lot of crazy things.  However, he hasn’t lost his sense of humor, or his ability to tell an appropriately lurid tale.  When his police cruiser was bitten by an angry alligator (apparently this is a common problem in Florida), he could’ve […]

Any time a baby goes missing, a big manhunt breaks out.  Fortunately for 7-month-old Shannon Lea Dedrick, her story has a happy ending.  Unfortunately for Shannon’s mother, Chrystina Lynn Mercer, and babysitter, Susan Elizabeth Brown, the baby’s happy ending will probably get them both jail time.  Shannon was reported missing on Saturday, and was discovered […]

It was a scene worthy of the great Mark Twain; indeed, it was a crucial moment in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer!  A case of mistaken identity allowed a Brazilian man named Ademir Jorge Goncalves to make an appearance at a very unlikely event:  his own funeral.  It’s like something out of a Coffin Joe […]

The champagne is drying in the locker room, and the Bronx is celebrating this morning as the New York Yankees have claimed their 27th World Series championship as the best team in Major League Baseball.  To the victors go the spoils, like rings, a trophy, and a ticker-tape parade through New York’s Canyon Of Heroes.  […]

There’s one thing that’s fun about slot machines.  You put money into them, lights flash and bells ring, and if you’re lucky, you’re a winner and money clinks noisily into the winnings slot.  Most of the time, you don’t get anything but the lights and noise, but Bill Seebeck hit the jackpot.  Literally and figuratively.  […]