DAILY DIRT: There were other great shows in the ’90s besides ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Friends’

Let us not forget all the Don Drysdales. Don’t worry, you’ll understand in a munte … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 409 of The Daily Dirt.

1. The 1990s might be one of the most underrated decades when it comes to TV shows.

That was the decade that gave us such shows as “Friends” and “Seinfeld” among a pretty solid lineup of prime-time blockbusters.

But there were also some shows in that era that never received the kudos they deserved. Maybe it was their time slot, or maybe they were just completely overshadowed by the heavyweights of that decade. For sports fans, they could be considered Don Drysdale, while “Seinfeld,” “Friends” and a few others were Sandy Koufax.

Here’s my choice for three shows for the 1990s you might consider watching again — or for the first time, either through scheduled reruns, streaming or however you enjoy your programming:

Gold medal: “Third Rock from the Sun,” which to be honest I never discovered until it was in reruns. John Lithgow won six Emmys for heading the cast of this quirky favorite about space aliens that land in Ohio, and try to pass for a suburban American family.

Silver medal: “Murphy Brown” was a comedy centered around the cast of a fictional news magazine. The show tackled such subjects as alcoholism, single parenthood and breast cancer, once drawing a single-episode audience of 38 million viewers. 

Bronze medal: “In Living Color,” which ran for five years, reminded many of what “Saturday Night Live” was in its formative (and best) years. It was once described as “sketchy comedy not only for white guys” and helped make household names out of Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Lopez, Jim Carrey and all of the Wayans Brothers.

2. Here are the top-ranked types of pens, which is very important to some people:

Best overall gel pen: The Pilot G2 is the Babe Ruth of gel pens. All others simply battle for the silver medal. A rainbow of colors are available in the conventional .7mm size. Pilot also offers .38mm, .5mm and 1.0mm pens, mostly in the conventional blue, black, red and green styles.

A close runner-up: The Pentel Energel pens are also outstanding, and like the Pilot G2 model, come in all sorts of colors. I think one plus the Energels have over the G2s involves the size and grip. If you prefer a stronger feel and larger build, go with the Energels, which also come in the same stream widths.

Best overall rollerball pen: Uni-Ball Onyx. Rollerball pens use a dark, saturated, fast-flowing liquid ink. They create finer lines than a conventional ballpoint pen, and unlike gel pens, the ink dries quickly enough for left-handers. Because of the free-flowing ink, rollerball pens require less pressure, arguably making them more comfortable to write with. However, a rollerball’s intense ink can sometimes bleed through paper if you’re not careful.

Best overall ballpoint pen: The Inkjoy model from Papermate is a solid choice if you are not a gel person. They are available in all sorts of colors. Personally, I enjoy the Quatro models that have the four pen colors and clicking options available in a singular shaft.

3. Our top NFL teams heading into Week 4:

1. Miami (3-1): The teamrankings.com site says the Dolphins now have an 86.4 percent chance of making the playoffs.

2. Philadelphia (3-0): These guys might just be the best team in the NFC.

3. Buffalo (2-1): Only loss is to Miami, so it’s kind of hard to drop them too far. 

4. Baltimore (2-1): The best word to describe Lamar Jackson is “electric.”

5. Kansas City (2-1): Don’t be too hard on the Chiefs. No team is going to go undefeated. And besides, we all love those Patrick Mahomes commercials.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Maybe it’s just me, but I think Tom Brady should have stuck to that retirement thing after last season.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He usually has the best pens. But if he doesn’t, he develops pen envy.