TV's 100 Club

I once believed that no writer could ever replace John Carman, the former television columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. But Tim Goodman, who stepped into Carman's mighty boots several years ago, has accomplished the task with aplomb. Goodman is one of the funniest, most insightful people writing anywhere about anything, and his TV columns are the best in the business.

So go read today's Goodman column about the Hollywood Reporter's list of TV shows that have surpassed the 100-episode mark. If you're not grinning from ear to ear by the end of the article, you (a) need to cut back on the Botox, or (b) have pulled a Van Gogh, thus making an ear-to-ear grin physically impossible.

It's truly appalling to see some of the programs that lasted 100 episodes or more. 160 episodes of Step by Step, the sitcom starring Suzanne "Thighmaster" Somers and Patrick "The Man From Atlantis" Duffy? 209 adventures of Blair, Tootie and the gang on The Facts of Life? And 253 cruises on The Love Boat (and that's just the original series, not including the remake starring Robert Urich)?

Hokey smoke, Bullwinkle. Who watched all that garbage?

Goodman is aghast that One Day at a Time ran for 209 episodes, but I must confess to some responsibility for that one. I had a serious jones for Bonnie Franklin back in the day. (Oh, stop. You know there's no accounting for taste.)