Who should play the king (and I don't mean Elvis)

The news hit today that NBC is developing a miniseries based on the life of The King of Late Night.

Of course, I mean Johnny Carson.

Let me let you in on a little secret. Johnny Carson is my idol. More than Elvis, more than Ernie Pyle, more than anybody but my Dad, I have always wanted to be Johnny Carson.

I wanted to host "The Tonight Show." I wanted a sidekick like Ed and a bandleader like Doc (and a band like Doc's). I try to time my jokes like Johnny and it frustrates me that his is one of the voices that I can't impersonate. I've worked on it for years and just can't get it.

Anyway, the press release says the miniseries is based on a book called "Carson the Magnificent" by Bill Zehme (which is all but impossible to find) and that the Carson role hasn't yet been cast.

"Who should play Johnny Carson?" IMDB asks.

One answer and one answer only: Kevin Spacey.

Need proof?

I would have said Rich Little (and here's why), but he's too old.

Get Spacey or give up.

Meanwhile, here's a note to Carson Entertainment: Get the original shows on TV. Not "Carson's Comedy Classics." The show. The full show. Unedited. Please. Pretty please?

I'd watch it every night at 11:30, certainly over Leno and what's his name on ABC, and even over Letterman, who has lost his edge.

HIYO!

P.S. This is my all-time favorite Carson moment.

Maybe he needs to get out of the Beltway...

Twitter is one of those interesting aspects of modern life that sometimes makes me wonder if it's just another excuse to waste time.

Oh, don't get me wrong. Twitter is a good way to find links to news stories you might otherwise miss, blogs, coupons, traffic tips, weather updates and amusing one-liners. I use it to plug my blog and my newspaper column. And I also follow a few celebrities, mostly news types.

Somewhere along the way I started following Luke Russert. I like his take on sports. I liked his dad, Tim, and still miss Tim's steady presence on "Meet the Press." Luke is a young man (born in 1985) who covers Congress for NBC.

Luke has made me give my Twitter feed a double take a couple of times, though. During one of the Republican presidential debates earlier in the year, he tweeted something like, "Where the hell was gas $1.59 a gallon in late 2008?" after one of the candidates mentioned it.

Well, I knew quite well that gas got that cheap here in Knoxville, so I told him so. He didn't reply.

Today he tweeted: "The entire #Bills bar including myself just went 'Who the hell is Michael Buble?'" No doubt they'd just seen one of CBS's previews for tonight's "60 Minutes" story by Lara Logan on the popular Canadian singer.

Dang, Luke, get out of the Beltway every now and then!



Buble is a Grammy Award-winning pop singer (granted that doesn't mean what it once did) who has sold more than 30 million records. He had a huge hit in 2005 with "Home" and his Christmas CD has roared to the top of the charts. I first saw him 11 years ago in the film "Duets" and enjoyed his concert at Thompson-Boling Arena in 2008.

(He's also hosting a Christmas special on Luke Russert's own network on Tuesday night.)

I can somewhat give Luke a bit of a pass on this one. I don't know much of anything about modern day music. But I do know Buble. He's a throwback in a lot of ways. He wears a coat and tie on stage and has a stronger vocal range than Frank Sinatra did. But he croons in that same style and actually has talent, which is more than one can say for most of what passes for popular music.

I will say that I did shake my head when I saw Logan was going to be profiling Buble on "60 Minutes." But, heck. It's Christmastime. And he can ring-a-ding-ding almost as well as the Chairman of the Board.

I hope you know who that is, Luke.

The best show on TV

For once, a TV drama actually, oh, takes the time to reflect modern American life.

I know that sounds simple enough. But, come on, did "Green Acres" ever really depict actual farm living? Didn't think so.

I speak, of course, of "Friday Night Lights," which is simply the best show on television. I know I've written about this before, but here's a shout out to set your TiVO or be in front of the tube at 9 p.m. (EDT) tonight for the second season premiere. You'll be glad you did.

I gave up on "Lights" early on last season. Didn't want to commit to a weekly series. But a screening of the first season DVDs showed me what I've been missing.

Everybody thinks this show is about football. Not so. It's about growing up in a small town -- and the best and worst aspects of what that means. It's about character; we see these people -- and, yes, they feel like actual living, breathing people -- change, grow, screw up and learn something about themselves.

It's honest, it's fun and it's just so darn addictive. If you watch only one network program this fall, let it be "Friday Night Lights." Saved from the cancellation axe due to under performing ratings, NBC listened to the critics -- or just realized what a gem they have here -- and brought the show back for another year. I can't tell you how badly I hope this program makes it.

OK, that's enough for now. Gotta get back to editing news copy.

Watch this show. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

"Friday Night Lights" airs Fridays at 9 p.m. (EDT) on NBC. Full episodes can be seen at NBC.com.