TVSquad

The late Capt. Lou Albano wore many hats in his career (some wrestlers wear hats). But in my nostalgia filled mind, none of those hats were greater than the red service cap with the giant "M" on it.

The famed wrestler played both the live action and animated version of video game hero Mario on the top rated syndicated kids' show The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, along with actor Danny Wells as Luigi who Jeffersons fans will recognize as Charlie the bartender. Mario Bros. is a show I vividly remember from my childhood because my parents never bought me a Nintendo and that just drove me to want and watch anything and everything with the Mario Bros. on it.

Here's my all-time favorite episode because it combined the two things I worshiped as an organized religion: Nintendo and Ghostbusters.

Former Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson has "seen sh*t that'll turn you white!" I guess that makes him the perfect guy to chase down fugitives in the strange, super-powered world of NBC's Heroes.

The veteran genre actor will join the cast of Heroes next season as Captain Lubbock, a Baltimore cop hunting down another character on the show.

It's good to see Hudson returning to TV. He's a great actor who has turned in some memorable TV performances in the past (HBO's Oz, Desperate Housewives), but he always seems to get stuck working in the B-movie ghetto.

Sigourney Weaver starring in a Lifetime movie? It happened. It's called Prayers for Bobby, and the three-time Oscar nominee is racking up the Emmy buzz for her lead performance as a mother whose life is changed by tragedy.

I spoke with Weaver recently about the film, the Emmy buzz, her next big TV project and more. Here's a preview of that interview:

Weaver on the benefits of working for Lifetime, and other cable networks:

"I think Lifetime, along with other cable networks, show very compelling stories about what it is to be human in a way that a lot of films don't now, except for small independent films. They're interested in a smaller canvas and I think those stories are very helpful for people and I think that they bring us together."

Former Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd is talking about strapping on the ol' proton pack one more time for a third Ghostbusters movie. Aykroyd is saying his co-stars from the first two films -- Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Sigourney Weaver – are also on board, and that production could start as soon as this winter.

Aykroyd wants the new movie to introduce a team of five younger Ghostbusters, including several female members. He's hoping to land Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku and Alyssa Milano to be a part of the "next generation" of Ghostbusters.

Finally. Time Life has released the long-awaited The Real Ghostbusters: The Complete Collection on DVD. And it's frackin' loaded. The mammoth $179.99 set features all 147 eps of The Real Ghostbusters, plus more than twelve hours of extras, all packed in a box with hologram panels that resembles the firehouse from the show. Looks like I'm gonna have to sell my car. For $179.99.

I won't go on about how this animated spinoff of the Ghostbusters movie was the best thing on Saturday morning in the late 80s and early 90s (but it was), or how it was also the coolest thing to watch in syndication after school every day (but it was), or how Egon Spengler helped me overcome my own personal boogeyman (but he did). I also won't waste your time writing about the awesome Real Ghostbusters-inspired comics I used to create as a kid (but they were awesome), or how I still reference my favorite eps with my friends in casual conversation (but I do).

But I will ask you, dear TV Squad reader, to help make my Christmas wish come true by persuading my wife to buy me this box set. Because I really don't want to sell my car for $179.99.

(S01E08) "Guy I Don't Know is starting to look like Guy I've Known My Whole Life." - Noser

Yo, Wendy Watson. Thanks for wearing the skimpy dress in the very first scene of the show.

For the most part, scenes with two attractive young people flirting with each other while spouting flippant duologue has been done to death. For some reason that I can't quite identify, the scenes in tonight's show worked for me. Maybe it's the huge crush I have on Natalie Morales, maybe it's the fact that The Middleman is chock full of that kind of dialogue, maybe it's because I still feel bad about what happened to Brendan Hines on The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Baa Baa Black Sheep - Vol. 2
• Batfink - Complete Series
• Chancer - Series 1
• Degrassi: The Next Generation - Season 5
• Dora The Explorer - Summer Explorer
• Eureka - Season 1
• George Lopez: America's Mexican (HBO standup special)
• Ghostbusters - Vol. 2
• Kate & Allie - Season 4 (Canada)
• Slings & Arrows - Season 4
• WWE - One Night Stand

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• America's Funniest Home Videos - Motherhood Madness
• George Lopez - Season 1 and Season 2
• Ghostbusters - Complete Series
• Happy Days - Season 2
• Highlander - Best of the Best
• Larry King Live - Greatest Interviews
• The Larry Sanders Show - Not Just The Best of The Larry Sanders Show
• Laverne & Shirley - Season 2
• Masters of Horror - Family
• Mork & Mindy - Season 2
• Murder, She Wrote - Season 6
• SpongeBob SquarePants - Friend or Foe
• The Venture Bros. - Season 2

(S02E15) I never skipped school when I was young, mostly because I was a good kid, but also because I attended school in a small town and it was likely that if I skipped, someone would notice.

In this episode, Chris and Greg skip school to see Ghostbusters, which is understandable since that movie was a huge phenomenon when it came out. We all had the shirts and the Ghostbusters Trapper Keepers and that ubiquitous theme song running through our heads incessantly. I think some teachers would actually yell at us if didn't skip school to go see it: "why the hell are you kids in class? Get out right now and go see Ghostbusters, it's one of the defining movies of this decade, damn it!"

(S05E09) For the first time in a month and a half, we finally have a new Family Guy. I'm not sure I understand the thought process behind the programming at Fox, but the bright side is it means we'll have plenty of new episodes for the second half of the season.

The FG team went back to familiar territory this week, bringing us another "Road to..." episode. If you close your eyes really tight, you can almost see the eventual special edition DVD commercial. Like "Road to Rhode Island" and "Road to Europe" before it, this one was split into two separate stories that had virtually nothing to do with each other. And also like those that came before, I preferred the Stewie and Brian story.

Well, heck, I guess you can learn something new every day. In 1975, Filmation produced a live-action series titled Ghostbusters. The series ran on CBS for two official seasons and eventually the name "Ghostbusters" was forgotten until the box office smash with the same title hit screens in 1984.

Folks around my age probably remember The Real Ghostbusters, a cartoon spun off from the movie with the clever hook that they were the actual Ghostbusters, and the guys in the movie were just actors. At the same time, however, after having settled out of court with Columbia Pictures for using the name, Filmation decided to try and cash in on the name by making a cartoon titled The Original Ghostbusters, which featured the sons of the original CBS series taking up the business once again.

Boo! Did I scare you? Well, if I didn't that's okay. I'm not much into scaring people since I gave Uncle Barry that heart attack at last year's Halloween party by putting a bloody finger into his apple-tini. Eh, Barry deserved it; he was always a putz. And constantly asking for money. I mean, one time . . .

Sorry, wandered off for a bit there. What was I talking about? Oh, yes, scaring people. There's really no need for me to scare anyone this upcoming Halloween since my good old friend television can do it much better. In fact, now that there are so many channels to choose from, you can watch hours of blood and gore and ooze into the wee hours of the morning while noshing on all of the 'good' candy that your children bring back (this would be anything from the Hershey or M&M/Mars family of candies).

So, to make your life a bit easier while you come down from that sugar buzz, we here at TV Squad have provided you with a comprehensive list of Halloween-themed programming that will be airing on from about dinnertime on October 31st into the first of November. It's all there, from the Halloween and Friday the 13th films (and their numerous sequels) to Halloween-themed Roseanne episodes, to classic Vincent Price movies such as House of Wax. We even mention Dark Town, which airs at 3:15 am on Wednesday, November 1st. In Dark Town a lesbian and a gangbanger team up to battle vampires. Gosh, what will the entertainment industry think of next?

The complete (or as near as complete list) can be seen right after the scary jump. Ooh!