I am outraged.

Outraged and appalled. "The Jerry Springer Show" was named the

worst TV show of all time by TV Guide. The worst of all time? Worse than

"Cop Rock," which landed at number eight? Worse than the "XFL,"

which placed third?

The show may

not be for everybody but it has lasted for a long time (since 1991) and

has had everything from the rescue of a 1,500-pound man (Jerry is a hero

to the obscenely obese) to a week of secret spousal revelations. I mean,

Springer isn't even the worst talk show of all time. Remember Morton Downey

Jr. screaming at his guests and smoking in their faces or how about Pat

Sajak's short-lived late night show? Springer may be trashy but that is

part of its appeal. Otherwise "60 Minutes" would be on every

day of the week.

I also could

not believe that "Hogan's Heroes" was ranked the fifth-worst

show of all time. I know people who swear by that show. I never thought

it was the greatest thing on TV after all, it is a show about POWs in

a Nazi prison camp but fifth worst? The writers of the list found "The

Ropers" to be a better program. What's that about?

The rest of

the list makes a little more sense. Heck, there are a number of shows

I guess I'm fortunate to never have even heard of. Has anybody heard of

"Holmes and Yo-Yo," "Manimal" or "Supertrain?"

I don't doubt that these shows were terrible but I do wonder about why

shows like "Small Wonder" or "The Starlight Vocal Band

Variety Hour" weren't included. I guess they had to narrow the list

down. If they were truly going to make a comprehensive list it would have

had to have been the worst 1,000 shows in the history of television.

What surprised

me most looking at the list was the number of shows that were sequels

to popular programs. I had no idea that they made "AfterMASH,"

"Still the Beaver" or "Hee Haw Honeys," which I imagine

was just hokey jokes told by girls in Daisy Duke shorts and tied shirts.

If the TV Guide writers didn't care for the ribaldry of "Hee Haw

Honeys," where was "Benny Hill?"

I am also surprised

that they ranked "The Tom Green Show" at number 41. Where was

"Jackass?" If you don't like Green's sense of humor and find

the show to be random and sometimes idiotic and cruel, watch one episode

of "Jackass" and Tom Green will look like Jack Benny.

Ultimately,

it is all about taste and personal preference. The people who enjoy "Baywatch,"

which was ranked 21st, are not usually fans of programs like "The

Dick Van Dyke Show," which was on TV Guide's Top 50 of all time.

This is a list to generate discussion and possibly enhance viewership

of a television program based on the list. I'm sure the ratings will be

very high. After all, who wouldn't want to see clips of the "Hee

Haw Honeys" or a "Manimal."

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