Reality TV, 1956 Edition: When Giants Roamed the Earth

The next time you find yourself, dazed and appalled, sitting in front of this week's edition of America's Extreme Next Top Dancing Fat Wedding Survivor, cast your mind back a few decades and weep.

Seen here are the 1956 season regulars on television's Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein (a year before West Side Story); Agnes de Mille (a year after the Oklahoma film); host Alistair Cooke (a decade-plus before Masterpiece Theatre, but 20 years into his BBC "Letters from America"); Bert Lahr (The year of Waiting for Godot), McCarthy foe Joseph "Have You No Decency?" Welch (just because the rest of the lineup didn't have enough gravitas?); and boyish actor Christopher Plummer (for height, apparently).

Let's think. Today, we could bring together, um... dashing musical sensation Davd Hasselhoff, distinguished choreographer Paula Abdul, thoughtful host Ty Pennington, polymath comic Howie Mandel, crusading lawyer Star Jones, and versatile stage heartthrob Clay Aiken.

Same diff, no?