101 Best-Written TV Shows List Insanely Ranks Friends Above Deadwood

That’s like the Phillies beating the Pennsylvania Ballet at dancing.

The Writer's Guild of America—the labor union of film and TV writers—has made a list of the 101 Best-Written English-language TV shows of all time. All genres could be considered, from soap operas to children's programs, from cartoons to talk shows. Each union member could submit up to 20 titles. After all the submissions were processed, the final list was compiled, then released this week by the Guild. Two union leaders released a joint statement that was masterful in its ability to juxtapose a number of words in the English language yet say nothing at all:

“At their core, all of these wonderful series began with the words of the writers who created them and were sustained by the writers who joined their staffs or worked on individual episodes. This list is not only a tribute to great TV, it is a dedication to all writers who devote their hearts and minds to advancing their craft.”

They must write for The Talk. Many of the picks seemed to be chosen for their revolutionary qualities—shows that presented a way of life or social issues that had never been done before. Hence shows like M*A*S*H, All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Drexel University Branding Hits the Philly Skyline

A new sign at 32nd and JFK puts the university’s name in lights, and it’s got anti-blight naysayers laying low.

Signs are always portentous, but in Philadelphia, they’re contentious, too. Neighborhood activists launch vigilante campaigns against bandit-sign advertisers, sending robocalls to their phones and tearing their placards down at night. Local outlets team up to analyze data proving that the billboard industry is rife with corruption and violates zoning regulations. Anti-blight groups fight a war of words with Council over a bill allowing advertising on city property. Even a comparatively small exhibit sign outside the Franklin Institute brings protests at zoning meetings. Yet the city’s newest, largest, brightest sign—visible from the Schuylkill Expressway or a train coming into 30th Street Station—hasn’t caused a peep. Is it municipal sign fatigue? Or simply the satisfaction of seeing a long-overshadowed institution finally come into its own?

Top 5 “Hot Mess” Celebrities in Need of Help Not Harm

Amanda Bynes is just the latest seriously ill subject of TMZ obsession and Twitter jokes.

First of all, a disclosure: I'm not a doctor, I'm a journalist. That means I can't provide any medical diagnoses, only self-righteous opinions about pop culture, which I plan to offer about 3,000 characters from now. I don't know for sure what's medically wrong with the celebrities I mention below, but I do think they've all been victims of a print press and TV talk-show culture desperate to keep an audience share. And they've certainly been used by online media outlets as foolproof clickbait—and yes, I know there's a certain irony in my mention of that. But there is a difference...

The 50 Most Influential Jews in the World

Lena Dunham, Bar Refaeli make the list. Ed Rendell does not.

The Jerusalem Post released its hotly anticipated "50 most influential Jews in the world" today, and all we can say is, there are probably a couple dozen mothers out there who are plotzing. So much better than being a dentist. Below, I've singled out some favorites, particularly those with a local connection. Enjoy! Binyamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel Rank: No. 3 Local connection: Bibi went to Cheltenham High School, from which he graduated, and which obviously determined his success as a world leader. The best sentence on his entire Wiki page is this one: "To this day, he speaks American English with...

The Experience Project Is the Worst Social Networking Website

But you must experience it. You must.

The Experience Project launched in 2006, having been inspired by an online MS support group. Rather than focus on a single disease, though, the site allows someone in an asthma support group who's been talking about inhalers with the same 20 people for 20 years, for example, to talk about Kurosawa with film lovers or chicken marinade with at-home chefs--asthma or no. It's an admirable idea in a culture of labels: to be defined by our experiences and interests rather than our illnesses. But something's gone wrong here. It may be that the labels are more flattering than our true selves.

What It Means When Catherine Zeta-Jones Says She’s Getting “Bipolar Maintenance”

The actress has checked herself into a hospital for treatment.

Catherine Zeta-Jones, who has bipolar disorder, has checked herself into the hospital for treatment. Her publicist has explained this a proactive visit, and a source told TMZ the hospital stay is "maintenance." As a result, the National Alliance on Mental Illness' medical director has commended Zeta-Jones: "It's great that she is getting help for herself and serving as a role model."

Leave Gwyneth Paltrow and Her Bikinis Alone

Why we shouldn’t make little girls think there’s something dirty about two-piece bathing suits.

I was at a bat mitzvah a few years ago, and when the music started, the eighth-grade boys awkwardly grabbed the girls from behind and started grinding, and the girls were pushing right back as though they expected to feel something (later, girls, later). It seemed very music video-inspired and enormously embarrassing for them—as they'd learn 10 years later when they'd unearth the DVD. Some adults were disturbed by the pretend-adult sexuality in the dancing, but it just made me laugh.

Freaked Out By the Gender-Neutral Bathrooms in Jim Kenney’s LGBT Bill?

You might want to think about what that means.

Last Thursday, a City Council committee approved Councilman Jim Kenney's LGBT equality bill, which offers spousal partnership benefits to non-married life partners—hospital visits, "next of kin" designation, retirement benefits, even a tax-credit incentive to employers. Some of what's in the bill has been discussed by Philadelphia's City Council before, and some of it even passed in 1998—only to be struck down by the state Supreme Court.

Looking for Scandal in Mitch McConnell’s Secret Ashley Judd Tape

Mother Jones is wasting our time.

This week, Mother Jones released the audio of a February 2nd meeting between Sen. Mitch McConnell and some of his staffers during which they reviewed opposition research on a Democratic candidate--in this case, Ashley Judd. The audio bombshell is getting tons of press, with headline play like this: "Sen. Mitch McConnell Was Recorded Plotting Against Ashley Judd." To which I say, "Pshaw."