If you would have told me....

If you would have told me 5 years ago that two of the actors in Big Momma's House (Paul Giamatti and Terrence Howard) would be nominated for Oscars in the same year no less, I wouldn't have believed you. And a decade ago, I that same skepticism would be applied to In Living Color. And the fact that the winner was Jamie Foxx makes it ever more shocking.

If you would have told me when the movie The Wizard came out that the female lead would be transformed just over a decade later into an indie/alt-country star, I would have told you you were crazy.

If you would have mentioned to me in the year 2000 that Kiefer Sutherland, James Woods, Hugh Laurie, Dennis Leary, William Petersen, Gary Sinise and Mary Louise Parker would all be doing dramatic episodic television in 2006, I would have had you checked into an asylum.

If you would have told me when Dennis Miller Live first started in 1994 that the host would a) become one of the most maligned people to ever sit in the Monday Night Football booth and then b) that he would become a frequent guest on a conservative political talk show I would have thought you had dropped acid. By the same token, if you had told me that Jon Stewart was going to become one of the most sought-after political comedians after this, I would have probably thought you needed medication.

And finally, if you would have told me in 1987 that a few 30-second animated bits from the Tracey Ullman Show would transform into the longest running cartoon of all time by over a decade, I may have been just a little wary.

Tags: dennis miller, jon stewart, daily show, tracey ullman show, the simpsons, kiefer sutherland, james woods, hugh laurie, denis leary, william petersen, gary sinise and mary louise parker, big momma's house, paul giamatti, jenny lewis, the wizard, in living color, jamie foxx