The Fourth Name's a Charm

About 22 years ago—on November 7, 1973—the TV series, ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,'' aired for the last time.

Yes, it was a 1969 theatrical film and a short-lived ABC skein.

Why is the show important? B&C&T&A represents the early and long-lived impact of pop cultural references.

Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon were nominated for Academy Awards. Seven months after that Academy Awards ceremony, TV writers for ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' gave the first nod to B&C&T&A in an ep title. That's pretty fast.

Twenty-five years later, the writers for ''Will & Grace'' still paid homage to this controversial classic film.

I'm most interested to see how long B&C&T&A lives in the pop lexicon. Will future generations forget about the movie's impact? Or will the next great TV writers call out the pop cultural reference instead of the movie itself?

I've compiled the following list of TV ep titles that refer to B&C&T&A to give you a clearer picture of the breadth and depth of its impact.

Bob & Rhoda & Teddy & Mary (''The Mary Tyler Moore Show,'' 11/14/1970)

Bob and Emily and Howard and Carol and Jerry (''The Bob Newhart Show,'' 12/9/1972)

Fred & Carol & Fred & Donna (''Sanford and Son,'' 12/15/1972)

John & Sally & Fred & Linda (''The Girl with Something Extra,'' 10/19/1973)

Eddie and Delores and Herb and Marcia (''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts,'' 2/12/1980)

Viki & Eric & Simone & Alex (''Head of the Class,'' 10/4/1989)

Mona & Walter & Sam & Eric (''Who's the Boss?,'' 1/23/1990)

Bob & Murphy & Ted & Avery (''Murphy Brown,'' 11/5/1990)

Wood and Ava and Gil and Madeline (''Evening Shade,'' 1/7/1991)

Bob and Kaye and Jerry and Patty (''Bob,'' 1/22/1993)

Clyde and Vivian and Ed and Malice (''Five Mrs. Buchanans,'' 10/8/1994)

Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice (''The Critic,'' 3/12/1995)

Saul and Ellen and Ned and Stacey (''Ned & Stacey,'' 10/16/1995)

Bob and Carol and Lois and Clark (''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,'' 11/17/1996)

Mike & Kelly & Max & Kate (''Ink,'' 12/9/1996)

Arthur and Angie and Hank and Hercules (''The Larry Sanders Show,'' 1/22/1997)

Steve & Marty & Jordan & Uncle Lou (''Teen Angel,'' 12/5/1997)

Carter & Stuart & Bennett & Deirdre (''Spin City,'' 4/13/1999)

Nikki and Dwight and Ken and Alice (''Nikki,'' 4/8/2001)

Mike & Liz & Chau & Euan (''Off Centre,'' 4/7/2002)

Ted and Carol and Will and Abby (''Abby,'' 1/21/2003)

Will & Grace & Vince & Nadine (''Will & Grace,'' 11/4/2004)