TVSquad

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

The original version of Star Trek has been a show with two faces. On the one face, it was a serious show that dramatized the good and glorious future we humans could have after we screwed everything up (though, with so many wars going on around the galaxy, how good and glorious could it be?). On the other face, at least to some, it was a campy science fiction show that featured poor special effects, bad acting, and tunics that really didn't hold up to space travel too well.

Since the show left the airwaves in 1969, that second face is the one that television shows throughout the decades have parodied. Whether it be the original series itself, or the subsequent movies, or the conventions that sprung up from this show that lasted only 79 episodes. Shows both animated and live-action have found ways to skewer the show's, and its fans', good intentions. After the jump you'll find a few examples of those parodies either to laugh with or be angry at.

ABC is turning back to an old favorite, hoping to rekindle some comic magic for the network. Funny, irreverent and -- two snaps and a swish -- occasionally brilliant comic Damon Wayans has been tapped by ABC for a new single-camera sitcom pilot called Never Better. Damon starred as a family man in the five-year hit My Wife and Kids, doing a Cosby-esque turn from 2001-2005.

The new show, Never Better, is being directed by Marc Buckland (My Name Is Earl, Ed) and centers on another family man, only in this incarnation, Damon is a guy who's struggling to be a good father and spouse despite his flaws and mistakes.

Fake news must be Comedy Central's bread-and-butter these days. The network has no fewer than three fake news shows: The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and The Showbiz Show with David Spade. Now it's considering a fourth faux news program for its lineup. This time, it's The Chocolate News, starring David Alan Grier.

David Alan Grier is one of the funniest comedians out there right now, but nothing ever seems to stick for him. He was hilarious on Bonnie Hunt's short-lived show, Life With Bonnie, and on In Living Color back in the early 1990s. Mostly, though, he just plays great supporting roles or guest stars on current television shows.

Grier is currently rounding up writers and other talent to appear in the pilot he's pitching to Comedy Central. He has also agreed to host a new improv show on NBC this spring called Thank God You're Here.

[Via TV Tattle]

Every Tuesday here on TV Squad , we will highlight the week's TV-on-DVD releases. Some noteworthy releases today, April 11, 2006:

• The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete 3rd Season
• Farscape - Starburst Edition - Volume 9 (3.3)
• In Living Color - Season 5
• The Merv Griffin Show - 40 of the Most Interesting People of Our Time