TVSquad

(Originally aired Dec. 1, 1972)

Since CBS will debut a new, updated version of the classic game show Password this Sunday at 8, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about one of the great episodes of The Odd Couple, appropriately titled "Password." (it's also Jack Klugman's favorite). It's the one where Oscar is asked to go on the game show and he gets to choose his partner. Will he choose Felix, a nut for the show, or his girlfriend, who isn't too, um, bright? The answer after the jump...

This is a very odd story, and not because it involves one-half of TV's most enjoyable sitcoms ever, The Odd Couple, but it's not about that show. It's about his other successful series. Jack Klugman has filed suit against NBC Universal over profits from Quincy, M.E. The oddity is that the show hasn't been in production for 25 years and this hasn't come up till now!

We first told you about this back in August, and now the complete list is out: Turner Classic Movies is letting celebrities program the network for the month of November. Each celeb is picking three or four films, and here are a few of the more interesting choices (it started Thursday with Alfred Molina's picks).

Whoopi Goldberg likes A Face in the Crowd and Funny Girl. Jerry Stiller likes A Night At The Opera. Kermit The Frog loves dancing to Singin' In The Rain and The Band Wagon. Martha Stewart would probably have some decorating ideas as Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.

Veteran Match Game panelist Brett Somers has died at age the age of 83.

I was going to say that Somers "was" married to Jack Klugman, but an interesting fact: even though they separated in 1974, while The Odd Couple was on the air, they never divorced! Somers played Klugman's ex-wife on the show.

Besides her many game show appearances, Somers also guest starred on The Love Boat, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Love, American Style, Barney Miller, Battlestar Galactica (the original), The F.B.I., The Defenders, Ben Casey, Naked City, and many other shows.

Somers died of cancer in Westport, CT on Saturday. Her co-star Charles Nelson Reilly died earlier this year.

Update: GSN is having a marathon this Saturday from 9am to 4pm, featuring Somers' Match Game appearances and a Password where she guested with Jack Klugman.

The first thing I noticed about this DVD is that on the back it says in fine print that the music has been altered for the release, and I got a little apprehensive after the whole WKRP In Cincinnati fiasco. But looking over the episodes I can't find any music replaced or any weird edits to the music that would then make a scene oddly edited. So I would buy this and not even worry about anything missing.

But there are a few things missing extras-wise, but we'll get to that in a minute. Overall, how is the second season set of The Odd Couple? Click on the link below for a look.

Turner Classic Movies has asked several well-known celebrities to pick their favorite movies, which will be shown every night throughout November, and I have to say I'm very impressed with their picks.

Some of the choices fit the celeb. For example, Martha Stewart picked Enchanted April, Madame Bovary, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, and Anna Karenina, which you can imagine Martha watching at home, a bowl of popcorn in her lap (and critiquing the job Mr. Blandings did), and James Ellroy's picks (Stakeout On Dope Street, The Lineup, Armored Car Robbery, and Murder By Contract) stay along the lines of his noir/mystery background. But a few picks are interesting. Access Hollywood co-host Maria Menounos picked the 1932 cult classic Freaks, and Food Network icon Alton Brown picked the Lee Marvin classic Point Blank. As for non-human celebs, Kermit The Frog picked Singin' in the Rain and The Band Wagon.

I've been looking for a copy of this Playhouse 90 episode for years. VHS, DVD, some guy doing a puppet show version of it in his living room, whatever, I've really wanted to see it since seeing snippets of it on the excellent PBS American Masters episode "Submitted For Your Approval" (it's on one of the Twilight Zone DVDs). And now, thanks to YouTube, we can all watch it.

Well, most of it anyway. After the jump, I posted the opening of the show (complete with intros and commercials!), and then if you follow this link you can find other segments of the show (on the right), but I have no idea what order they go in because they aren't labeled. It's well worth watching though. I mean, look at the cast: Art Carney, Jack Klugman, Leslie Nielsen, Burt Reynolds, and the kid is Mickey Dolenz from The Monkees! They don't do TV like this anymore.

Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

Ah, the police detective genre. It's one of the staples of a network's TV lineup. We all have our favorites, whether the characters are in blue uniforms or suits. Here are my Top 5 (and just so we're clear, I'm talking about police detectives, not private eyes or amateur investigators. I'll have that list tomorrow!)

1. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk): No contest, really. Sure, there are some other great cops and detectives, but not many with the sheer Sherlock Holmes-like smarts as Lt. Columbo. He walked around sorta lost and bumbling, with a constantly lit cigar, a rumpled raincoat, and hair that made it look like he just woke up. But he was no fool, which all the murderers found out a little bit too late.

You don't see as many made-for-TV movies today as you used to. Sure, Lifetime does some and you'll find some on cable and the odd one on CBS, but the networks don't really do them anymore (and if they do they stretch them to two or more nights and call them a mini-series). But you could see them all the time in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Here are five they hardly show anymore, if ever, but I remember them fondly.

1. One Of My Wives Is Missing (1976): Mystery about a man who reports his wife missing, then a woman shows up claiming to be his wife and he says she isn't. Stars Jack Klugman, Elizabeth Ashley, and James Franciscus. I pride myself in being able to figure out the shocking endings and plot twists that so many movies have (that's what happens when you watch so much TV, not much surprises you anymore), but this movie completely blew me away. It doesn't just have a twist ending, it has about three, and you just smile at the end because it's so clever, and you try to think back to everything that happened to see if they played fair. I haven't seen this movie in about 15 years. It's not on DVD and I can't remember the last time someone ran it. (It was remade years later with a different title, but it wasn't as good.)

Here's an odd little tidbit I didn't know. The first season of The Odd Couple that was released earlier this year was not released by Paramount. It was actually released by Time-Life (they also did that cool Get Smart set). But now the first season is going to be released again.

Paramount has announced that they too will release the first season of the show on April 24. TVShowsonDVD says that the set will probably be the exact same set as the one released by Time-Life, but there's no official word on it yet.

I'm still waiting for season two to be released! As I've said before, the first season of the show is rather lackluster to me. It's not that funny, and it has a different apartment set and wasn't filmed in front of a live audience. The later seasons are much better, as I think any fan or even crew member on the show would tell you.

"On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife."

Happy Odd Couple Day! Today's the day Odd Couple fans can celebrate the 70s ABC sitcom. How to celebrate? Maybe if you're a really messy guy you can clean the entire apartment today. Vacuum all the rugs, scrub the shower, clean out the fridge and throw away all the old food. And if you're a really neat guy, maybe you can walk around in an old shirt, go one day without sweeping the kitchen floor, or drink beer and leave the cans on the coffee table.

The Odd Couple is one of the best sitcoms of all-time. Smart, well-written, great cast. Except for that odd first season where they had that different apartment and used more cameras and didn't have a studio audience. But after that it took off. Hey, is it even being shown anywhere nowadays? I'd love to watch it again.

[via TV Tattle]

There have already been so many Twilight Zone sets released already that even hardcore fans might be wondering if they should spend the money on yet another set. Is it really presented in a different way, packaged differently, and have enough extras to buy it?

The answer is a definite yes. This is one of the best TV DVD sets I've ever seen, and an absolute must for diehard fans of Rod Serling's classic show.

Oh, I've been waiting for this. The first season of The Odd Couple, the Jack Klugman/Tony Randall comedy from the early 70s, will be released on DVD on August 14.

Sure, the first season isn't half as good as other seasons, but it's still quite entertaining. And look at the extras on this set: audio intros from Garry Marshall on each episode, Jack Klugman commentary on the classic "It's All Over Now, Baby Bird" episode, clips of Klugman and Randall on The Mike Douglas Show, a gag reel, footage of Klugman's Emmy Award win, and various promos.

And if you haven't bought it already, Klugman's autobiography, Tony and Me: A Story of Friendship, is well worth a read, and comes with a gag reel on DVD too.