Welcome To A TV Dream World

At the end of a long hallway in a warehouse in Los Angeles, there's a museum waiting to happen. It contains 5,000 TV artifacts, perfectly preserved.

There's Gilligan's hat, Columbo's badge and the costumes worn by Batman and Robin, CBS News Correspondent Steve Hartman reports.

"These are the Rembrandts, the Picassos and the Van Goghs of our TV medium," enthuses James Commisar.

Commisar has the world's largest collection of TV artifacts. He spent nine years buying and begging for these things, and says he didn't go to all the trouble just to let it sit around his house.

"We're going to bring the [I Dream of Jeannie] genie bottle to a hungry America. I promise you we're going to do it," Commisar says.

He calls it the TV Treasure Museum. He's already got the plans drawn up. All he needs now is someone with money to build the place. Someone who shares his passion.

"As far as TV is concerned, this is a Faberge egg," Commisar says of one item in his collection, the buoy from Gilligan's Island.

Commisar's dream has its critics. Robert Barrett is with the Los Angeles Visitors Bureau. He promotes art museums. So when he heard Commisar's idea it resonated - like nails on a chalkboard.

"Yes, I'm having trouble with this," Barrett says. "Gilligan's hat is not a Picasso. Gilligan's hat is Gilligan's hat."

Barrett says Commissar will have a hard time selling his museum idea because TV costumes and artifacts are just plain disappointing when you see them in person.

"Mr. Moose from Captain Kangaroo, how great is that?!" Commisar explains.

"They'd look at it, spend three seconds, move on to the next box and probably wouldn't come again," Barrett says of Mr. Moose.

He points to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland that recently reported falling attendance and a $1 million loss.

Until some investor sees the collection as true treasures, the Cowardly Lion costume will stay hidden behind Commisar's couch, like an old sock waiting for someone to miss it.

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