Alex McNeil Report

These days, nothing is too trivial for TV people. We obsess over all the details in our favorite shows, devoting entire websites to them (see thelostnumbers site). The grandaddy of TV trivia is a Boston-area guy named Alex McNeil, who is the original author of the TV compendium of all TV compendiums, "Total Television." The guy just donated his TV Guide collection -- every single issue from 1953-2005 -- to Harvard.

In today's Globe, there's a good piece on McNeil by our former TV writer and current "Sopranos" lover Don Aucoin. Turns out McNeil has a new obsession, and its not "The Sopranos." He is currently trying to prove that Shakespeare was not Shakespeare, that the real author of the plays and sonnets was a guy named Edward de Vere.

Hey, maybe they were really written by David Chase? You can ask McNeil yourself today at 2: He's hosting a chat at boston.com.