AUTHOR: Anonymous TITLE: Jack Schidt DATE: 4:39:00 PM ----- BODY:

So what's with the name Jack and network TV's obsession with calling their leading men this nondescript moniker. Here we have the beloved Jack O'Neill who repeatedly saves Earth one episode at a time. Admittedly, SciFi Channel's Star Gate, SG-1 is a spin off from the movie of the same name (without the SG-1), where Jack O'Neill is played by a rather stoic Kurt Russell. However, I find it curious how Samantha, Teal'C and Daniel Jackson's professionalism have carried Jack's rather quirky personality and unprofessional conduct to politicians, military brass, and aliens alike through nine seasons. It's a wonder he made Major General.

And then we have Jack Malone (affectionately called Lips McGee in our household, for his lack thereof) from CBS's Without a Trace. Here is one of the FBI's finest when it comes to finding missing persons. This is one show we'll watch when the pickings are pretty slim, but not a must see. And how can we forget NBC's Law & Order's Assistant D.A. Jack McCoy. Again, the original Law & Order is not on my "must see" list, but we'll tune in occasionally (at least enough for me to note Assistant D.A. McCoy's first name).

What really brought the Jack phenomenon to light was when Husband and I rented the first season of Fox's 24. "My name is Jack Bauer and this is the longest day of my life." Ah Kiefer, you do a good job saving America and saving face. Husband has been clamoring to rent seasons 2 and 3, but I've been dragging my feet - not sure why, maybe because aliens aren't involved.

But you can only imagine the lifting of eyebrows and rolling of eyes between husband and me when we tuned in this summer to the rerun of the first season of ABC's Lost only to discover their leading man is Dr. Jack Shepard (can't wait for that crew cut to grow out). This series is engaging enough to definitely make my weekly "must see" list. We'll see if the producers can keep this huge cast and complicated storyline contained.

So you can see the Jack phenomena spans all genre and networks. Come on guys, let's get a little bit more original - Horatio, Gil, Elliot - those are great names. Give me a call, we'll talk.

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