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).

I went to see Get Smart the other day. Judging by the box office numbers, I wasn't alone. Of course, I was curious about how one of my favorite TV shows from the '60s would be translated to the big screen. Would it be an inventive retelling in the tradition of The Fugitive, Maverick and The Addam's Family, or would it make me want to weep in horror like the dreadful I Spy, Bewitched, The Wild, Wild West and The Avengers? (And that's only the tip of the awful iceberg).

Would you believe it if I told you Get Smart falls somewhere in between? I could use the line many other reviewers have copped; you know, "The new Get Smart missed it by that much." Yes, well, it's true. Get Smart is not great on the big screen. It's okay. Nothing too shameful, but neither is it that inspired or wickedly built on the premise of the original situation comedy.

There's something really great about being able to buy an entire season of a TV show, or the entire run, on DVD. It can be addictive, too. But isn't it interesting that even though there are scads of great -- and some not-so-great -- series committed to DVD and readily available online or at the local superstore, there are a ton more that aren't? And what about great TV specials? When I read this list, it got me thinking about which TV programs I would buy in a heartbeat. My list is very subjective -- maybe even eclectic -- but here's my ten TV shows that need to be on DVD.

The Bob Newhart Show
Recently, when the American Masters did a special about Bob Newhart, they showed footage from The Bob Newhart Show. No, not the one with Suzanne Pleshette as Emily. They had clips from the 1961-62 Bob Newhart Show on NBC. It was a variety hour, showcasing many of his now classic routines. It looked really funny, filled with his inspired sketches and bits. And it was critically acclaimed, too, winning Emmy and Peabody awards. Naturally, NBC canceled it after just one season. I'd love to think that there's enough footage from those shows to create a DVD.

Friday at Comic-Con got underway with the Warner Brothers presentation. The swag bag included a Get Smart t-shirt with "KAOS" written on one side and "CONTROL" on the other. Not so surprisingly, no one under the age of 20 seemed to know what this meant, but Warner Brothers needn't worry because the kids love The Rock. And, because this is Comic-Con, The Rock (Agent 23) put in an appearance along with his Get Smart co-stars Steve Carrell, Masi "unofficial Comic-Con poster boy" Oka, Studio 60's Nate Torrence and Borat's Ken Davitian mercifully wearing pants.

If you were worried that G4 was in the process of turning into yet another obscure cable channel that just shows reruns of old TV shows, I'm right there with you. Apparently we shouldn't be so quick to write them off. In a partnership with MGM, Berliner Film Companie GmbH, and Brooksfilms Ltd. the one time video game network is set to bring the animated Spaceballs series to viewers.

Mel Brooks co-wrote the pilot for the new show with Thomas Meehan. The pair also worked together on the original Spaceballs, To Be Or Not To Be, and the musical version of The Producers.

The pilot will be similar to the movie with Dark Helmet kidnapping Princess Vespa and King Roland hiring Lone Starr and Barf to rescue her. Berliner is already at work producing the initial run of 13 episodes. They are set to begin airing on G4 in the fall of 2007.

This September, Turner Classic Movies will air a one-time, one-hour Dick Cavett Show special in which the famous TV talker will sit down with filmmaker and comedy legend Mel Brooks. The special will be filmed before a live audience on an updated version of the set of the original series. In addition to the new interview with Brooks, who is currently adapting his movie Young Frankenstein into a musical, TCM has also secured the rights to Cavett's "classic" interviews with the likes of Robert Mitchum, Bette Davis, Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Woody Allen, Groucho Marx, and Katharine Hepburn. Those interviews will also air during the month of September. Now I just have to remind myself to remind my Tivo to record the Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Groucho Marx episodes.