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Though I’ve only been doing this column for two years, it seems like it’s been so much longer. And I mean that only in a good way. Writing this column has more often than not been one of the highlights of the week. I’ve always taken it seriously, and I’d like to think that you all always took it seriously (whether that was always the case or not, I’ll never know, and perhaps it’s better this way). Yes, I’m going to miss writing this weekly world of wonder that is my column. My point is (and you have probably guessed it already) that this is my last "On TV with Mike Thompson." I will be graduating in a couple of weeks, and taking my TV picks with me. So I thought that, in lieu of reviewing a specific show this week, I’d take a stroll down memory lane.

While I started going here in 1997, my first column didn’t come until the fall of 1999. In hindsight, I don’t know why it took me so long to get involved, and I soon found myself wishing I had gotten involved sooner. My first column was about NewsRadio, which had been cancelled a few months earlier. My column had not yet been given a name, and I was still only a staff writer (the days of ‘Mike Thompson: Head Copy Editor’ were still a ways away), but as soon as I saw that first column published, I knew that that was something I wanted to continue doing. So I did, and my column eventually got a name, and my picture (complete with my freakish long hair) included along with it.

When my senior year started this past September, I found myself wanting more. Maybe it was because I had started my column relatively late (not until my junior year) and I wanted to make up for lost time. For whatever reason, though, I volunteered to be Head Copy Editor. I checked for technical gaffes in most sections of the paper, making sure, for example, that quotes were handled correctly and commas were, well, comma-ed. I soon found myself staying with much of the Circle staff until the wee small hours of the morning each week. And……..loving it.

My first love, though, remained my "On TV" column. While I stuck mostly to shows that had debuted fairly recently or were still big network hits, I did try to spice things up sometimes. A look at my "On TV" archives (which are located at my website: http://lavender.fortunecity.com/fullmonty/22/mywebpage.htm) and you’ll find that I’ve penned tributes to shows that were cancelled before their time, such as Freaks and Geeks. I wrote a column about Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, which certainly isn’t a mainstream hit, but is a great show nonetheless. I did a column trashing NBC’s telecast of the Olympics last summer. There was my column about spending a night watching nothing but old TV shows (which revealed that I’m a fan of The Golden Girls), and, of course, my infamous column singing the praises of All My Children.

While doing these columns, I have noticed that my writing style has improved nicely. Looking at columns from days of yore, I’ve noticed that my columns started out as little more than glorified show summaries. But as the weeks and months flew by, and I talked to more people and actually interned at a professional daily newspaper, I discovered how to make my words count better. My columns soon sounded like real-world critiques, similar in nature to those you’d find in Entertainment Weekly. I was good enough, I was smart enough, and gosh darn it, people liked me.

They really did like me too. A few weeks ago, I was at one of the local drinking establishments (don’t worry, I behaved myself walking home), and these people that I had never seen before came up to and said, "Hey, it’s TV guy!" and proceeded to tell me how much they liked my column. And this wasn’t the first time something like that happened, nor was it the last. Of course, I don’t mean to imply that everybody likes my column. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I like "sucky" shows. Well, I’m sorry if you feel that way, but I don’t really care. Like most other columnists in The Circle, I don’t and never have geared my columns toward a specific audience. I write about what’s on my mind, and I hope to entertain and perhaps even enlighten you the reader in the process.

I know I don’t have the TV tastes of the typical college student. In fact, I pride myself on that, no matter how old man-nish it makes me seem. My favorite TV show is Get Smart, which was cancelled over 30 years ago. I think Friends and Will & Grace are two of the most overrated pieces of junk on the air. When given a choice between The Dick Van Dyke Show and Road Rules, Dick Van Dyke wins hands down. But, if you’ve been reading my column regularly, you probably know all this by now. I watch what I think is good, and I really don’t care if the majority of people my age are watching it or not. I don’t think anybody should care, really.

In closing, I’d just like to say that I’ve truly enjoyed writing this column for you folks the past two years, and hopefully it will lead to bigger and better things in the world of journalism. But even if it doesn’t, I’ve still had a blast. Hopefully I’ve turned you onto some shows you might not have thought of watching before. Maybe I’ve even made you give pause and think. If not, well, que sera, sera. In any case, goodbye The Circle, and goodbye Marist College. It’s been a lot of fun.