Ben Tennison is back in the action packed collection of Ben 10 Omniverse from Cartoon Network.  In 10 newly released episodes we follow Ben and his fellow Plumbers as they do battle against the meanest and the ugliest aliens the galaxy has to offer, in our universe or any parallel universe out there. This cartoon is infectious.  From its catchy opening music, imaginative characters and fun action sequences this is a cartoon that simply grows on me more and more, and I have no shame in admitting that I’m a fan of this “kids’” show.  For a while I had my issues with Ben; he’s reckless and cocky, but this is what would be expected of a teenager who wields an Omnitrix, a device that allows Ben to transform into a selected alien when in the heat of battle.  What teen wouldn’t feel a bit over-entitled once they’ve done battle with the worst the universe has to offer and still managed to survive?

One of the standout episodes from disc one for me is the first episode, T.G.I.S. an episode that has Ben teaming up with a group that calls themselves The Secret Saturdays who specialize in hunting crypto-zoological creatures.  It’s a fun episode that explores the Undertown world while delivering Chupacabras along with fighting on the streets and in airships.  For those who dig Ben 10 for their fighting and assortment of aliens and creatures, this episode delivers it all.

So what made The Carol Burnett Show such an outstanding hit? You have to start with Carol herself, of course. She'd been doing this kind of show for years and was paying attention to what worked and what didn't. She knew it started with the writing staff, and she hired only the best and the brightest. When it was time to put together a cast, she knew the first thing she wanted was a "Harvey Korman type". She did better than that. She got Harvey Korman. She knew you had to have a ladies’ man in the cast, and she got that element with Lyle Waggoner. He was relatively unknown at the time, but she knew how to spot talent. Then there was the need for another female lead. She wanted someone who looked a little like her to play her sister is an ongoing sketch she had planned. That's when she remembered young 17-year-old Vicki Lawrence, who had written a fan letter to her a year earlier. Lawrence had invited her to attend a talent competition in her small town, and Carol decided to go. She was impressed enough by what she saw that she remembered the girl later when casting her show. The resemblance was quite remarkable. The last cast member didn't even really become an actual regular cast member for the first eight years. That doesn't matter, because who can imagine The Carol Burnett Show without the loveable Tim Conway? He would become such a great partner to Korman that the two continued to perform and tour together up until Korman's death in 2008.

Carol herself was not only quite funny, but she was famously generous. It wasn't important to her to feed her own ego. She was well known for feeding her fellow cast-mates and guests the best material. She knew how to get out of the way and was perfectly happy letting someone else shine. It meant the cast was always very comfortable together, and it showed in the performances. There was almost no turnover in personnel, and the unit functioned very much as a repertoire company and family. It's obvious that even today they enjoy each other's company and have only the fondest memories of each other.

"Ladies and gentlemen. You are about to see the Naked City. I'm Bert Leonard, the producer. As you can see we're flying over an island, a city, a particular city...and this is the story of a number of people, a story also of the city itself. It was not photographed in the studio. Quite the contrary. The actors played out their roles in the streets and the buildings of New York itself."

On September 30th, 1958 television audiences heard this narration for the first time. They had no way of knowing this, of course, but they were about to watch one of the most influential police dramas in the history of the industry. They were about to watch, for the first time, The Naked City.