Mental Floss

TV

Photo illustration by Mental Floss. Image: iStock.

Television can be a hotbed of creativity (or mediocrity, depending on who you ask). But it's not just characters and storylines writers are coming up with—they also coin words.

Angela Tung
Paramount Home Entertainment

Unlike many sitcoms of its era, 'Taxi' focused on a group of blue-collar workers who—despite having aspirations of bigger and better careers—were never really destined to be anything other than what they were: cab drivers.

Kara Kovalchik


David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson star in 'The X-Files.'

Is the truth really out there? 'The X-Files' began its original nine-season run on September 10, 1993.

Jennifer M Wood


NBC Television, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

On September 8, 1966, Gene Roddenberry's galaxy-spanning saga debuted and transformed sci-fi TV into a genre rich with multilayered drama, ethnic diversity, and real-world issues

Bryan Reesman










A scene from The Kids in the Hall.

Twenty-five years after airing its final episode, a revival of 'The Kids in the Hall' will be coming to Amazon as its first original Canadian series.

Scott Beggs


Keystone/Getty Images

Alan Alda—who was born Alphonso D’Abruzzo on January 28, 1936—is the only person to win acting, directing, and writing Emmys for the same program.

Scott Beggs








Kevin Winter, Getty Images

By most accounts, Steve Martin—your favorite wild and crazy guy—is neither wild nor crazy. (Sorry.)

Stacy Conradt