TVSquad

The "Cash For Clunkers" program ends tonight at 8PM, which is probably a good thing because we won't have to hear the term "Cash For Clunkers" anymore. But what about TV cars? Which famous television autos are in such bad shape they should be traded in? TV Tango has a fun list that includes the Beverly Hillbillies car and Columbo's old Peugeot.

It's a clever list, and includes the new vanity plates each car would have.

Office star Jenna Fischer is producing TV shows now, and the first one sounds pretty good.

She's putting together a show based on the exploits of real-life private eye Charlie Parker. It would be set in San Antonio and Fischer is developing the show for her network, NBC. She describes it as an hour long comedic drama (thankfully she didn't use the term "dramedy"), a lot like Magnum, P.I. or Columbo.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

I don't know why I haven't bought any of the Bewitched sets yet. It's one of my favorite sitcoms, but I think it has gotten so far into the releases (this week it's season 7) that I've convinced myself that there will be a complete series set and that I should wait for it. But I'm tempted to buy this set because it features an entire episode set and filmed in my hometown!

As for the Columbo movie set, well, I have to buy that now because I just bought the entire series on DVD.

• Afro Samurai - Resurrection (regular set and special editions)
  
• Becker - Season 2
• Bewitched - Season 7
• Columbo - Mystery Movie Collection: 1990
• Dave's World - Season 2
• Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Vol. 14
• Night Court - Season 2
• The Partridge Family - Season 4
• Tom and Jerry Tales - Vol. 6

First Patrick McGoohan and now Ricardo Montalban.

Montalban died earlier today in Los Angeles. He was 88. He was best known for playing Mr. Roarke on the odd ABC show Fantasy Island. Actually, he was probably equally known for his role in Star Trek. He played Khan in a classic episode of the original series in the 60s, and later reprised the role in the big screen flick Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, arguably the best of the Trek movies. Though I also liked the one with the whales.

Montalban had a long career, appearing in such shows as The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Wild, Wild West, I Spy, Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-0, Here's Lucy, Dynasty, Murder, She Wrote (which seems to show up in every obit I write here), B.L. Stryker, Chicago Hope, and many more. He was in my favorite version of Wonder Woman. His last role was on an episode of Family Guy earlier this year. He also did a ton of movies, the first one being Five Were Chosen in 1942.

Coincidentally, like McGoohan, Montalban also played a killer on Columbo. He killed a guy with a bull.

A legendary actor in the television industry, nay, the entertainment industry has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Peter Falk's daughter, Catherine, filed for conservatorship of her father's affairs. She claims the actor's condition has gotten so bad that he "requires full-time custodial care for his health and safety."

So far the family hasn't released an official statement confirming the daughter's claims and nothing has been confirmed or denied on the actor's official website. Either way, everyone here at TV Squad wishes him and his family all the best.

Sometimes a celebrity dies who wasn't just a TV star, they actually had a hand in almost every aspect of television over a very long period of time. We lost two such stars over the weekend.

For example, fans of NCIS will know Nina Foch (right) from her role as Ducky's mother on the show. But did you know she also starred in several vintage horror movies back as early as the early 40s, such as Return of the Vampire and Cry of the Werewolf? She also had the honor of being the very first murder victim on Columbo, in 1968's Prescription: Murder (done in by hubby Gene Barry). She also appeared in several other TV shows, such as Bull, Just Shoot Me, Dharma & Greg, Murder She Wrote, L.A. Law, Hunter, Lou Grant, Barnaby Jones, Hawaii Five-0, That Girl, and a ton of others. She appeared in Spartacus, The Ten Commandments, An American in Paris and others. She was even the associate director on The Diary of Anne Frank.

Foch passed away in Los Angeles on Friday at age 84.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Julius Carry: He was probably best known for his role as Lord Bowler on The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Carry was also a regular on The District, Doctor, Doctor, and Do Over, and had recurring roles on Murphy Brown, Boy Meets World, and Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place. He also did guest spots on many other shows, including Columbo, Diagnosis Murder, Spin City, Caroline in the City, Earth 2, Grace Under Fire, Hill Street Blues, Empty Nest, Tales from the Crypt, Murder, She Wrote, Moonlighting, and many others. His last role was on an episode of The Unit. He also appeared in such movies as The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, Moving, The Last Dragon, and The Man with One Red Shoe. He died of pancreatic cancer at age 56.

I was thinking about treating myself to a Brisco County marathon this weekend, and now I think that's a definite.

(S07E02) I really thought this was going to be a superb Monk. It had all the elements of a top notch cat and mouse affair, starting with guest star David Strathairn -- so brilliant in Good Night and Good Luck as Edward R. Murrow -- as a chess grand master, Patrick Kloster. The set up was elegant; Kloster's wife hires Monk to investigate her murder because she is certain her husband will follow through on his perfect plan to kill her. Within a day, she's dead and the chess master has an airtight alibi. How did he do it? It was a Columbo gambit, and only a genius like Columbo -- or Monk -- could figure it out.

Unfortunately, this episode wasn't written by Levinson and Link. The clues to the mystery fell into place without any great surprise or twist. The wife was poisoned when she drank from a secret stash of oleander laced wine, which was never found. That was just Monk's supposition after swiping the flowers from the garden. That would be inadmissible evidence because he had no warrant to get them from Kloster's home. Then he actually tried to plant the evidence -- again, not very smart or Monk-like.

(S01E05) It was the best of In Plain Sight, it was the less than best of In Plain Sight. For starters, the only carry-over from the previous episode was Marshall's arm in a sling. Hey, what about his nearly dying and Mary's emotional breakdown in the waiting room? The lack of follow-through was stunning.

Granted, this show isn't a serial, but I did expect at least a moment between Mary and Marshall that would connect back beyond her quip in the art gallery. It was too glib. Would it have killed them to have a moment? I can imagine a fight in the writer's room over this point and keeping it light and unemotional won.

(S04E10) I suppose one of the drawbacks of a suspenseful show like Medium doing a two parter is that while waiting a week for the second part, most viewers will have come close to figuring out what's going on. In this case, I wasn't too concerned with figuring out why Suzie Keener's roommate wasn't dead until I was stuck in traffic today and started thinking about reviewing the show tonight. Moreover, the previews made it pretty clear that Joanna was the mastermind of the entire abduction.

Luckily, this was all made clear in the first fifteen minutes of the show. What followed was my favorite kind of episode. The kind where we, the audience, know exactly what happened, and we get to watch the hero snare the guilty party. It was like watching a pretty version of Columbo.

I was just at the supermarket and saw the headline in one of the gossip mags that Suzanne Pleshette was on her death bed, and now I hear that Pleshette has died of cancer at the age of 70.

TV fans will remember Pleshette from her role as Emily Hartley, wife of psychologist Bob Hartley on CBS' The Bob Newhart in the 70s. She reprised the role in the classic final episode of Newhart. Pleshette appeared in several other TV shows as well, including a role as Mark Feuerstein's mom on Good Morning Miami and James Garner's love interest on 8 Simple Rules, as well as guest spots on Columbo, Will & Grace, The Name of the Game, Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Invaders, It Takes A Thief, The Fugitive, Wild, Wild West, and several others.

On the big screen, she appeared in The Birds, The Shaggy D.A., The Lion King II, The Power, Support Your Local Gunfighter, and many films.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Ronnie Burns: He was the son of George Burns and Gracie Allen and played himself on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and The George Burns Show. He also appeared in other TV shows, including The Honeymooners, Playhouse 90, The Jack Benny Show, and Happy. He died of cancer at age 72 in Pacific Palisades, CA.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Chef Tell (Paul Erhardt): He was better known to TV viewers as Chef Tell, who cooked on several shows over the years, including his PBS series In The Kitchen With Chef Tell, Regis & Kathie Lee, Evening Magazine, and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. According to some, the "Swedish Chef" character on The Muppet Show was based on Erhardt. He died of heart failure at age 63.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Pete Wilson: He was a veteran, award-winning news anchor and talk show host for California TV station KGO-TV. Over the years he also worked for KRON-TV and KTXL-TV. He died in Palo Alto from a heart attack during surgery. He was 62.

• At 7:55pm, Lifetime Movie Network has Destination: Infestation, which is Snakes On A Plane, only with ants (I'm not kidding).
• At 8, NBC has the Live Earth Concert (starts at 7 on CNBC).
• FOX has a new Cops at 8.
• Also at 8: HBO has The Devil Wears Prada.
• At 9, FOX has a new America's Most Wanted.
• Cartoon Network has four new episodes of Naruto starting at 9.
• IFC has Beyond The Sea at 9, followed by High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story.
• At 10, ESPN has Arena Football.
• Biography has Columbo: Murder, A Self-Portrait at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.