police squad-related stories
Posted Nov 2nd 2008 9:56AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, TV on DVD, OpEd, Video, Reality-Free
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.
Continue reading M Squad: Complete Series - DVD review - VIDEOS
Posted Jun 12th 2007 10:45PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Celebrities, Obituaries
Don Herbert taught science on television to kids on the 1951-1964 series Watch Mr. Wizard. I was a little young to remember that show, but I do remember watching him when the show was revived in the 1980s as Mr. Wizard's World. There was also another version of the show in Canada titled Mr. Wizard that ran from 1971-1975, and a short-lived ABC Saturday morning show in 1971 called Curiosity Shop.
Continue reading Don Herbert, aka Mr. Wizard, dead at 89
Posted Apr 9th 2007 10:01AM by Paul Goebel
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, The Five, Cancellations, TV Squad Lists
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.
No matter how much TV I watch, I can't seem to get over the first rule of television programming; if it doesn't get the numbers, it doesn't get renewed. I have watched many a beloved show get yanked from the schedule due to low ratings, even though critics and fans alike all raved about it.
Here are some examples of shows that were too good for the small screen.
Pasadena
The potential for greatness was here, sadly Fox didn't promote the show and nobody watched. I was lucky enough to watch the entire season on and finally get answers to some really nagging questions.I also got see favorites like Mark Valley & Dana Delaney really chew the scenery.
The Bob Newhart Show (the variety show on NBC)
This show won a Peabody award, but was clearly ahead of its time. It's pretty hard to find these days, but Tv icons like Ken Berry and Joe Flynn were regulars and the comedy was superb.
Continue reading Ten great shows that were canceled in their first seasons
Posted Aug 28th 2006 2:03PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, NBC, Talent, Industry
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.
Posted Dec 27th 2005 2:16PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, OpEd, Video
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.
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