TVSquad

Yesterday brought sad news for anyone who's a comedy writer, aspired to be a comedy writer, or just appreciated a well-turned and funny phrase. Larry Gelbart passed away; he had been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. He died at his Los Angeles home yesterday morning at the age of 81.

Gelbart is probably best known for his writing on M*A*S*H during its early years. The almost lyrical comedic dialogue he gave Hawkeye, Trapper, and the rest of the gang is what drew me to the show, and he influenced almost everyone who worked on the show afterwards, including FOS (Friend of Squad) Ken Levine, who was just "too devestated" to write a tribute on his blog (expect one on Monday, though).

You mean Bea Arthur wasn't already in the TV Academy Hall of Fame before today? Well, actually, that was Bea's choice. In a very Maude-like way, she had turned them down. "I said, `So sorry, very nice of you, but I can't possibly accept. There are so many talented people in the business,'" Arthur recalled.

However, she's had a chance to think it over and when asked again, she agreed to become a Hall of Famer, just like Lucille Ball, Johnny Carson and Bill Cosby.

As I wrote previously, the TV Academy Hall of Fame will expand to include Bea Arthur, Merv Griffin, Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H), Sherwood Schwartz (Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch), and ABC executives Thomas Murphy and Daniel B. Burke. On December 9 in Beverly Hills, the awards will be presented.

Each year, the Emmys honor the best in current TV. They also recognize the all-time greats. This year Bea Arthur, Larry Gelbart, Merv Griffin, Daniel Burke, Tom Murphy and Sherwood Schwartz will be entering the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame. Grand choices, in my opinion, with only a minor quibble which I'll mention later.

According to ATAS chairman and CEO John Shaffner , "The Hall of Fame is a special recognition for those who have made significant contributions and have left an indelible mark on the television business." As Maude in the 1970's and Dorothy on The Golden Girls in the 1980's (into the '90s) Beatrice Arthur, made her mark. She was more effective on TV than she was in the theater, and she was a dynamo on stage.

Adam told you in September that TV Land was going to start airing M*A*S*H, and now comes word that the network will have a week long marathon of just M*A*S*H episodes in January. The marathon will start on New Year's Day and run until January 7.

In addition to the marathon, the TV Land web site will have a trivia game for fans of the show and will also include bios of the cast and other information about the show.

Starting on January 8, the show will go into it's regular time slot. It can be seen Tuesday through Sunday at 10pm, and there will also be another episode at 10:30pm on Monday and Wednesday.

There was a time when I was obsessed with this show and watched it every single day. But then I just stopped watching it, so I'm ready to watch it again and it's great that it will be seen on a regular basis again. There's a new DVD box set of the complete series that looks pretty cool.

[via TV Tattle]

For anyone I owe money to (friends, family, phone company, etc), you might just have to wait several months if they keep releasing these damn complete series DVD sets.

It's not official yet, but TVShowsonDVD is reporting that a box set for M*A*S*H is on its way November 7. The set will include every episode on 36 discs, along with the original Robert Altman-directed film, and two discs of bonus materials including a trivia game and a 30th Anniversary cast reunion. Throw in a special collector's booklet and you have the ultimate Christmas gift for the 4077 fan on your list.

Hopefully one of them is me.

David Fincher, the director of the best movie ever made Fight Club is developing a new comedy series for FX. The story is about a psychologist who becomes a hot item among the Hollywood elite because of his tendency to be brutally honest. M*A*S*H* writer Larry Gelbart is signed on to executive produce. If FX picks up the yet-untitled comedy, it'll be the first television series for David Fincher, who also directed Se7en and Panic Room.

[Via TV Tattle]