TVSquad

If you need one example as to how 1950s television was different than 2000s television, here it is: this show ran for three years and they made 117 episodes.

This is a complete set in the most literal of ways. It has every single episode of the show, and they got them not just by digging into studio archives but by also asking fans for help. This set was originally going to be a "best of" set because they didn't have all of the episodes. But fans actually filled in the gaps with episodes that they had on tape for one reason or another. So now this is truly a set that was "completed." So you get to see every episode of a show that was rather groundbreaking.

And you also get to see where the cult classic Police Squad! got a lot of its structure.

About this time last year, give or take a few days, we reported that veteran actor Leslie Nielsen had signed on to the NBC comedy pilot Lipshitz Saves the World. His role on the show was to be the man who helps the 17-year-old nebbish in the title become the savior that he was destined to be. Unfortunately, the show was not picked up by the network for the fall season. Instead, they picked up another season of Heroes. Cold, heartless bastards!

Because the show wasn't picked up you would think that footage of the pilot would be gone forever. No sir, not in this day and age! Why, you could just go to YouTube -- where unaired pilots go for their final rest -- type in the keyword lipshitz, and you would probably find it fairly easily. We did, and that's why you'll see a preview of the pilot after the jump.

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.

Starting July 14 at 8:00 and 8:30 p.m., Discovery Health will air a new program called Doctor*ology, a look at all the different "ologies" going on at your local hospital.

The series will be hosted by actor Leslie Nielsen, who will inject a bit of comedy into each episode along with his nephew, Robert. Based on the press releases, expect an educational program with plenty of goofy comedy to make it appealing.

If you're under the age of 30, you probably only know Leslie Nielsen as a comedic actor. It's understandable, as he's only done a small handful of dramatic roles since he was in Airplane! twenty-six (!) years ago. It seems like almost every role he's taken since then has been a variation on Det. Frank Drebin, the bumbling cop he played in Police Squad! and the Naked Gun movies. Sometimes that gets good results, sometimes it's God awful, as anyone who's seen the Scary Movie series can confirm.

So I don't know what to make of the news that Nielsen has signed on to the pilot Lipshitz Saves the World, an NBC comedy pilot written by Cars writer Dan Fogelman. He'll play the part of the man to help the 17-year-old outcast in the title become the savior that he is supposed to be. Fogleman wrote the part with Nielsen in mind, so it may be a part that gives Leslie a little more room to roam. Hopefully, at his advanced age -- he turned 80 this year -- he'll be able to read lines better than he was able to play game shows, because the poor guy looked a little lost when he was on Gameshow Marathon earlier this summer.

No, I didn't put that exclamation point in the title because I'm overly excited, it's actually part of the Police Squad title. Like Smackdown!

It's been a long time coming, but Police Squad! - The Complete Series hits your favorite store shelf and internet shopping place on November 7, just in time for Christmas. The set will include all 6 episodes, plus extras: an interview with Leslie Nielsen, commentaries, a behind the scenes feature, and a gag reel. Wow, a gag reel for Police Squad! That should be interesting.

(S01E04) It could be my imagination, but I could swear that the remaining three celebrities vying for the last seat of Game Show Marathon semi-finals were having a good time. Maybe they were finally warming up to each other after four games, maybe it was a 'I don't care what happens, I'm going to have fun' belief. Or, maybe it's the fact they were playing Press Your Luck and, dammit, they really had a competition going on.

The original Press Your Luck, which aired on CBS from 1983 until 1986 was such a cool concept that the show is still a favorite to this day. So, it was great to see it in all it's glory on Game Show Marathon. Other than the late Peter Tomarken all of the elements were there, the spinning set, the big board, the theme music, and, of course, the Whammys. In addition, it was probably the best episode of the series so far.

That's the word from tvshowsondvd.com. They have confirmation from Paramount Home Entertainment last week that the show is finally coming to DVD next year (no specific info on the date or extras or anything like that).

This is really good news, since I'm sure hardcore Police Squad fans have played their videotapes over and over and over again, until the tapes have been stripped bare. There were only six episodes of the show made, so we'll probably see them all on one DVD. The movies just weren't as good as the TV show, in my opinion, and even though I have them on DVD, I don't think I've watched them half as much as I've watched the episodes of the show, so this release news is great indeed.