Lucy at the chocolate factory, Nixon's Checkers speech, Lucy stomping grapes, the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald, Lucy with the Friends of the Friendless, The Beatles with Ed Sullivan, Dan Ackroyd as Julia Child, Carol Burnett wearing the drapes, Ernestine, Edith Ann, Lucy setting fire to her nose while meeting William Holden, Dr. Richard Kimble finding the one-armed man, Sammy Davis Jr. kissing Archie Bunker, Lucy with the loving cup on her head. You remember these great moments of television, don't you? Of course you do. In fact, you remember them even when you don't think you remember them, because each time the history of television is anthologized or encapsulated, these clips are ceremoniously trotted out as if trained by Siegfried & Roy.

Ralph threatening to send Alice to the moon, Nixon chanting "Sock it to me," Don Knotts' man on the street, Paul Lynde as the Secret Square, Lucy guzzling Vitameatavegamin. These are the 501s of television's past: dependable, ubiquitous, and common knowledge. But they're not the stuff of private jokes - the you-were-theres that heighten relationships, the sources of laughing-till-you're-stupid that remind you why someone's your best friend. Don't ever sell TV short. In an environment that now cross-references more than it cross-pollinates, Chuckles the Clown's motto (#23), what Aretha Franklin had on her head when she sang at the 1969 Academy Awards (#24), how Dukakis blew the second debate (#29), and the sporting event that bares the name of Claudine Longet (#21) - these are often the recollections that cement friendships and forge the ties that bind for a lifetime.

Therefore, in the interest of fraternity, frivolity, and ultra-high frequency, we invite you to open a tin of General Foods International Coffees (Swisse Mocha: our favorite), call a good friend, and share some of the moments of your life with Egg's 100 Favorite Moments In Television.

- Lisa Kogan and the staff of Egg