ABOUT TEST PATTERN

Don't touch that dial: Test Pattern tunes into television, entertainment and pop culture links, gossip and idle chat from around the Web. Our annual commercial contest, held every summer, recognizes the best and worst in TV advertising. Multi-link Monday offers up five fast, fun links to fill in those workday boredom breaks. Other topics range from movie mistakes to canceled shows we're still mourning. ("My So-Called Life," anyone?)

MSNBC.com Television Editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper started Test Pattern in 2003. She also operates her own pop-culture Weblog, Pop Culture Junk Mail, which began in 1999 and has earned praise from Entertainment Weekly and the New York Times. You'll occasionally see her on MSNBC cable or hear her on radio discussing the ABCs of TV.



Tributes (RSS)

Thank you, Kurt Vonnegut

Posted: Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:06 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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The most shocking thing about losing Kurt Vonnegut was realizing he was already 84. Something about that shock of curly hair, the mischievious face, and above all, the accessibility of his writing made him seem forever thirtysomething. We thought we'd have him around forever, that he'd somehow managed to pull a Billy Pilgrim and come unstuck in time. CONTINUED >>

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Rob and Amber, 'Real World,' goodbye to Betty Hutton

Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 12:03 PM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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Some readers have complained that "American Idol" is beginning to dominate this Weblog. Sorry about that, but it's likely to play a prominent role in posts here until the show's May finale. It's the 800-pound gorilla of TV right now, and with stories such as the Mario Vazquez lawsuit, the show just keeps pushing itself into the news. CONTINUED >>

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A lily for Lily Munster

Posted: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 2:58 PM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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Yvonne DeCarlo, the Hollywood beauty best known to many of us as Lily Munster on "The Munsters," has died at 84.

Although one of my cats is named for Wednesday Addams of the rival monster-family series "The Addams Family," I was really a bigger fan of "The Munsters" as a kid. "Addams" wins out for edginess, but "Munsters" fulfilled its purpose beautifully -- it was a monster-starring spoof of the other black-and-white family comedies of its day, including "Leave It To Beaver" and "The Donna Reed Show." CONTINUED >>

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