Artsandentertainment: Side show

Side show

By SHARON FINK

WHO'S IN FIRST: Dr. Who, the British science fiction show seen over here for years on PBS, is rated the most influential cult TV program of all time.

Fawlty Towers (also a PBS staple) is second and Star Trek third in ratings by media historian Jeff Evans for a new reference book.

Evans says Dr. Who, about a time-traveling doctor of unspecified specialty, is No. 1 because "It ran for 26 years (on the BBC), it's highly escapist, and everyone has their favorite doctor, enemy or assistant story."

You can say the same things about Monday Night Football, and it's been on longer. So let's define a "cult" show. That's hard, Evans says, but he gives it a shot: A cult show should "set fads and fashions, generate merchandise, inspire fan clubs and conventions, or pervade the national consciousness to some degree."

Monday Night Football, in. Judging Amy, out.

ENGLISH LESSON I: The century's first major dictionary is aimed at college students' problems with grammar, usage, spelling and vocabulary.

And that covers just about every area of the English language.

Editors of the Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary went to the professors to find out the worst offenses.

Among the complaints: Because computer spell checkers don't flag words that sound alike but are spelled differently, papers with sentences such as "It prayed on her mind" constantly get turned in.

(Would I be teaching you something if I told you the correct word?)

So the dictionary includes 400 notes warning of homophones. Look up "stare," for example, and you'll find: "Do not confuse 'stare' with 'stair,' which has a similar sound. Beware: your spell checker will not catch this error."

ENGLISH LESSON II: This editor's note appeared in the corrections column of Sunday'sNew York Times:

"Readers who solve the Times's Sunday puzzles may wish to skip this note until they have completed today's crossword.

"That puzzle . . . is titled 'Homonames.' Its principal answers are homonyms of well-known names -- words pronounced like the names but spelled differently and unrelated in meaning. After advance copies of the magazine had been delivered, a few readers, perhaps prompted by the sound of the title, said they perceived allusions to gay life among the puzzle clues. Slurs involving sexual orientation would be a violation of the Times's standards. The newspaper has requested and received assurances from the puzzle editor and the puzzle creator, a veteran Times contributor, that no such allusions -- nor any suggestions about anyone's sexual orientation -- were intended."

Among the clues and answers: Ruins a good book? was WRECKS READ, a homonym for movie critic Rex Reed. Gomer Pyle star Jim Nabors showed up as GYM NEIGHBORS. Other celebrity names included Bette Midler, Carrie Fisher, Phil Spector and Robin Leach.