Quotes About Television

It's people, not possessions, that make home for me. It's not that I get much time to entertain, or any of that, what with the television production schedule and, now, singing concerts all around the country and making recordings.

The way television is done, you're kind of set on a certain path, and then episodic directors come in every week to try to recreate that.

The black characters on TV are the sidekicks, or they're insignificant. You could put all the black sidekicks on one show, and it would be the most boring, one-dimensional show ever. Even look at the black women on 'Community' and 'Parks and Recreation' - they are the archetype of the large black women on television. Snide and sassy.

Can we all admit that 'Parks and Recreation' is horrible? Is this something we would all know, but don't say? Maybe everything should not be improv'd.

Aziz Ansari was on 'Parks and Recreation' for, I don't know, what, seven years? And he was a really popular stand-up comedian. He even says that his Netflix show wouldn't have gotten made unless he created it himself. No one was probably willing to put someone like Aziz as the lead in a show until he actually created it himself.

I love the NBC comedies. I DVR 'Parks and Recreation,' 'Community,' 'The Office,' '30 Rock.' I love most of the HBO shows. I love 'Archer.' 'Archer's a great show. I'm big on Netflix; I've seen every episode of 'Freaks and Geeks.' We need more shows like that.

I wanted to do Buddy Faro as a small budget movie. They said no. So I wanted to do it as a series of recurring TV movies, and they said no. So I agreed to do it as a series.

I wish I could have a recurring role on 'Modern Family'. I think 'Modern Family' is the best comedy on television. It's extremely well written, extremely well acted and directed.

I really feel all my adult life has been spent in that little black box. If a wonderful part on TV came along I would do it. But I don't want to do a recurring role. It would just be my luck that the thing would be successful. I'm old enough now and also secure enough financially that I really only want to do what I want to do.

Everybody asks, 'How do you do it?' And I'm like, 'Well, I'm recurring on both shows, so the reality is, I can do both shows.' And that's the best position to be in. And 'Heroes' just asked me to come back and do more. So once I stop airing on '24' for a little while, I'll be on 'Heroes,' and then I'll be back on '24.'

I had no idea this thing was televised. Boy, is my face red.

Let it be said that the makeup artist at '90210' made me look better for the fake red carpet than I've ever looked on an actual red carpet.

For me, the best part about doing television is the moment the red light comes on and you are live. As a former NBA player, performing live on air gives me the same exhilaration.

And I tried it and I felt, I guess I must have been pulled in by the red light of television and now I've been on TV since 1992.

I'm an actor first then an anchor. Had I not been a popular actor, I'd have probably not got the opportunity to host a show. I enjoy the latter because it's me there and I rediscover a lot of things personally.

We're all very fond of a black box in our living room that works on diminishment of images, that spoons somebody up in a very limited way. It can be a reduction at its worst.

I can't think of my life without Donna Reed. She has been such an enormous influence on my life.

My '50s were different than other people's '50s. The myth didn't permeate our world, 'Donna Reed' and all that. I longed for that, I wanted to be like other normal families on TV.

When I was on KNX I did a lot of television and motion pictures and as you know I did the 'Donna Reed Show' for two years while I was still a DJ on KNX. In fact when I started 'Hogan's Heroes,' I was still doing my daily show on KNX.

It's fun to deliver material on live TV because it's more off-the-cuff, but I like writing better. You really can measure the joke, think an extra second and nail the right reference.

I've never seen 'Friends;' I've never seen 'Seinfeld.' I've heard people reference these things but I've never seen them.

I don't necessarily believe that 'The Cosby Show' should disappear as a cultural reference, but it is. That's sad to me. I understand why. He was a man who possibly did some really bad things, and he should be punished beyond a doubt. But that show, and the impact it had not just on black culture, but culture, was amazing.

There is a pool of references in New York and Los Angeles that are almost exclusively drawn from the media, from the world of television and advertising.

For years, I was either referred to as a 'rubber-faced funny man' or 'the 'Men Behaving Badly' star.'