I looked and looked and nowhere could I find Evening Shade, Ned and Stacy or Dweebs.
Also not making the list were such classics as The Monroes, The Tony Danza Show and M.A.N.T.I.S.
These were all TV shows that graced the airwaves way back in the '90s. That, fellow Arkansans, was in another century. I suddenly feel so old.
Today we're discussing the recent list of Top Shows of the '90s as picked by the TV experts at www.aol.com. Granted, it's a Web site and anybody with a computer can be an expert these days, but it makes for interesting conversation around the dinner table.
The Web site gave a Top 40, but the Top 20 will do for our purposes. Here they are with pithy comments from me. Is your favorite near the top? No? Still a fan of Madman of the People and Thunder Alley?
20. Twin Peaks (1990-91). We finally found out who killed Laura Palmer, but we forgot why we cared.
19. Sports Night (1998-2000). It was from Aaron Sorkin and it was about so much more than sports. It also gave us the wonderful Felicity Huffman.
18. Melrose Place (1992-99). Two words: Heather Locklear. Say no more.
17. Murphy Brown (1988-98). The TV series that made Dan Quayle look foolish. Wait. He did that on his own. Never mind.
16. South Park (1997-present). One of these days those "b******s will have killed Kenny" and he'll stay dead.
15. Northern Exposure (1990-95). Look up "quirky" and you'll find a photo of a moose and Cicely, Alaska.
14. Frasier (1993-2004). The series won 37 Emmys. A record. It still makes us laugh.
13. Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000). A brilliant series. Too brilliant for broadcast television and a mass audience.
12. NYPD Blue (1993-2005). Any series that can expose Dennis Franz' rear end and stay on the air deserves to be nearer the top of the list.
11. Law & Order (1990-present). The series is closing in on Gunsmoke as the longest-running prime-time drama ever. No drawn-out story arcs. No complicated characters. Wrapped up in 60 minutes. The fans like that.
10. The Sopranos (1999-2007). What? Only No. 10? Tony will have somebody whacked.
9. The Larry Sanders Show
(1992-98). Forgot about this one, didn't you? Garry Shandling, Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor were brilliant spoofing Hollywood talk shows.
8. Homicide: Life on the Streets
(1993-99). May have been too gritty for most, but it still was one of the most talented ensemble casts to work on TV.
7. Roseanne (1988-97). The early years showcased Roseanne at her most domestic-goddess brilliant. Then she and the show got weird.
6. The X-Files (1993-2002). Mulder? Scully? I still don't know if the truth was out there, but it was a fun place to visit each week.
5. Friends (1994-2004). We came to view Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe as our extended family and watch them grow from young adults to not-so-young.
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(1997-2003). Dismissed as silly, and underappreciated by the industry, Buffy dealt with universal emotions and teen angst. Besides, staking the vamps was a cool special effect.
3. The Simpsons (1989-present). Brilliant subversive satire that never grows old.
2. ER (1994-2009). I watched for six or seven years then lost interest once they killed off Dr. Mark Greene in 2002. I did, however, learn the meaning of glioblastoma multiforme.
1. Seinfeld (1990-1998). You'll get no argument from me. Once up to speed, the show was mustsee brilliance every week. It still is in syndication.
Maybe your show didn't make the Top 20. Every series, no matter how insipid, is somebody's very most favorite of all time.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
1987 homicide inspired change in cold-case policy
Charged with murder more than 20 years ago in the shooting death of a neighbor, Tho Minh Quach’s bail was revoked after he failed to appear in court for a hearing as his 1988 trial approached.
Now, after living openly in Boston for two decades, Quach never will stand trial on the murder charge after a Harris County judge’s ruling that the law missed its chance to prosecute because of a clerical error and a lack of effort to find him over the years.
It is the kind of case that makes prosecutors shake their heads, and is the foundation of the policies and procedures being developed by the recently recast cold case unit of the Harris County district attorney’s office.
Russell Turbeville, who heads the division, said Quach’s case, with all of its missteps , is the example prosecutors will look to when going after cold cases.
“The law is that law enforcement has to make reasonable, diligent efforts to apprehend even a fugitive suspect,” Turbeville said. “Once the defendant has been charged, they have a right to a speedy trial and if there’s a significant delay, the court looks at four factors and does a balancing test.”
Quach’s attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said his client was defending himself when he shot Loan Van Tran, 36, in the head about 4 a.m. on Nov. 29, 1987, in an apartment in the 7800 block of Tierwester. Investigators at the time said the pair had been drinking when they began arguing. Quach, then 35, surrendered shortly after the shooting.
He was charged with murder and released on $10,000 bail. After receiving several threats, he moved to Boston to live with relatives. He continued to make court appearances in Houston, until his case was put on a docket and no one notified him, DeGuerin said. Eventually his bail was revoked and he was listed as a fugitive.
Even visited VietnamThrough the years, Quach lived openly in Boston, giving his real name and birth date to authorities several times for traffic tickets. He also asked for permission from the federal government to visit his native Vietnam, and passed through Customs during his international travels.
Investigators initially were befuddled in their attempts to locate Quach because his date of birth, Jan. 1, 1952, was incorrectly entered into police computers as “11/19/52.”
Ten years later, the error was fixed and the computer matched two men with the description — one in Los Angeles, and Quach in Boston.
Houston officials asked both cities to investigate. But police on both coasts put the case on the back burner, and police here did not follow up.
“Everybody dropped the ball on that case,” Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos said recently.
The open warrant for murder finally caught up with Quach in 2008, and he was brought back to stand trial.
“That case was snakebit at every level,” said Assistant District Attorney Bill Exley, who led the prosecution.
DeGuerin argued that because Quach had not tried to conceal his identity, police had missed their window to prosecute him.
State District Judge Denise Collins agreed, calling the case a fiasco, a disappointment and a mistake that she hopes is not repeated.
It still haunts prosecutors.
Now, after living openly in Boston for two decades, Quach never will stand trial on the murder charge after a Harris County judge’s ruling that the law missed its chance to prosecute because of a clerical error and a lack of effort to find him over the years.
It is the kind of case that makes prosecutors shake their heads, and is the foundation of the policies and procedures being developed by the recently recast cold case unit of the Harris County district attorney’s office.
Russell Turbeville, who heads the division, said Quach’s case, with all of its missteps , is the example prosecutors will look to when going after cold cases.
“The law is that law enforcement has to make reasonable, diligent efforts to apprehend even a fugitive suspect,” Turbeville said. “Once the defendant has been charged, they have a right to a speedy trial and if there’s a significant delay, the court looks at four factors and does a balancing test.”
Quach’s attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said his client was defending himself when he shot Loan Van Tran, 36, in the head about 4 a.m. on Nov. 29, 1987, in an apartment in the 7800 block of Tierwester. Investigators at the time said the pair had been drinking when they began arguing. Quach, then 35, surrendered shortly after the shooting.
He was charged with murder and released on $10,000 bail. After receiving several threats, he moved to Boston to live with relatives. He continued to make court appearances in Houston, until his case was put on a docket and no one notified him, DeGuerin said. Eventually his bail was revoked and he was listed as a fugitive.
Even visited VietnamThrough the years, Quach lived openly in Boston, giving his real name and birth date to authorities several times for traffic tickets. He also asked for permission from the federal government to visit his native Vietnam, and passed through Customs during his international travels.
Investigators initially were befuddled in their attempts to locate Quach because his date of birth, Jan. 1, 1952, was incorrectly entered into police computers as “11/19/52.”
Ten years later, the error was fixed and the computer matched two men with the description — one in Los Angeles, and Quach in Boston.
Houston officials asked both cities to investigate. But police on both coasts put the case on the back burner, and police here did not follow up.
“Everybody dropped the ball on that case,” Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos said recently.
The open warrant for murder finally caught up with Quach in 2008, and he was brought back to stand trial.
“That case was snakebit at every level,” said Assistant District Attorney Bill Exley, who led the prosecution.
DeGuerin argued that because Quach had not tried to conceal his identity, police had missed their window to prosecute him.
State District Judge Denise Collins agreed, calling the case a fiasco, a disappointment and a mistake that she hopes is not repeated.
It still haunts prosecutors.
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