Kyle’s mom called tonight actually insisting she speak with the poor boy to tell him Celine Dion was going to be on “Deal Or No Deal.” Yikes! With Howie Mandel doing his best imitation of “Mr. Clean,” this waste of an hour has me really worried about my country when this crap is a hit show, and more importantly, what my son is subjected to when he’s with his mom. The only good thing I can say about it is that the Canadian diva wasn’t on…

OK, let’s get positive… I’m thinking of getting my mom “I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This!: And Other Things That Strike Me as Funny,” an autobiography by Bob Newhart. The books first chapter opens with Mr. Newhart stating that comedians see life through a different lens. My first recollections of Mr. Newhart are from his appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I appreciated his dry wit and believe it had a lasting influence… He had two sitcoms on CBS in the late 70’s (Bob Newhart Show) and early 80’s (Newhart). I wasn’t a big TV watcher at the time, but knew enough about the first to really appreciate the ending of the second. On “The Bob Newhart Show,” he played a Chicago psychologist opposite Suzanne Pleshette as his wife, Emily. Many of their discussions took place in their bedroom which became a very familiar set to fans. In “Newhart,” a show I never saw, he played an innkeeper in Vermont. The second series ended with a brilliant and surreal nod to the first and may be the best ending to a sitcom in the history of television. I had never seen it, but ever since hearing about it over 20 years ago, I always wanted to. Now, through the magic of YouTube, I did and you can too.