"Police Squad!"

DONUT cross with a bad of do nots.

 

It was owned by Viacom when I originally posted this 13 years ago, but CBS owns the rights now. Paramount still owns the movies, though.

 

I would bet for sure Paramount has it in the vault, but I'm sure on some level they believe it would be in bad taste to show Belushi pretending to be dead, just a few weeks before he really died.

The O.J. thing doesn't bug me -- I can separate my dislike of someone as a person vs. how good or bad they are as an actor or an artist.

 

I read that after the success of the movies, when Comedy Central re-aired the TV show, the producers thought enough time had passed and wanted to put the Belushi clip in the episode it was meant for. But no one could find the film and it is presumed lost for good.

The OJ thing only bothers me if I try to watch the 3rd movie. Too close in time to when everything happened. But I can watch the first movie and not think about it. (It helps that the first movie is much funnier.)

 

I did,too. I was 22 at the time..

 

Vidiot,have you ever given any thought to writing a book about some of your best/worst/most insane experiences.
I bet you have some great stories...

 

If you are curious as to what Police Squad! would have been like if it wasn't funny, watch Angie Tribecca.

 

Too many are horrible and will get me sued! I just went through one awful experience last week that I think can't legally be told until 10 years after I die!

 

Yeah,I thought about that.I had written and deleted 'under an assumed name' in my original post but figured it wouldn't take a rocket scientist for the parties involved to know who or where the stories came from.Not worth losing work or needing lawyers.

 

In the episode "The Butler Did It," the band is asked to play something different.
When it originally aired, they played "Happy Birthday"
On the old VHS tape, it was changed to this:



The DVD brought back "Happy Birthday."
I prefer "Something Different," myself.
It suits the show better.

 

I once told a story online many, many years ago about a show that was "the darkest show in the history of network television" (and it was true), and how the producer fought for it to get on the air. The producer basically said, "I'm sitting here in the room with the colorist, I can see it on this screen, it's going to broadcast fine, shut up and air it." The producer was John Sacret Young, the show was China Beach, and this would've been about October/November 1989. The DP heard about what I said and hit the roof, and let's just say things were not great. Note that I never criticized the show myself -- I merely said the network complained, which was 100% true. The episode eventually got nominated for an Emmy for Best Cinematography, but the DP was still insulted. Note in this case, 27 years has passed and so I'm beyond being prosecuted by federal attorneys, the FAA, the CIA, LBJ, or the IRT.

But since that experience, I try to be careful in how I frame what I say and how I say it.

 

Good point..there were up at least recently legal issues with "Happy Birthday to You", whose copyright has recntly and long been of debate.

the song "Something Different", which I'm not familiar with now, and it does suit the "something different" request..

 

I always loved how the title of the episode was not the title the announcer told us in his stentorian tones. And whenever I watch M Squad or The Fugitive I crack up..... IN COLOR!

 

Evil guy : "Who are you and how did you get in here?"
Lt Frank Drebin : "I'm a locksmith... and I'm a locksmith."

LOL!!!!!!!

 

Yeah, I never understood why they didn't bring Peter Lupus back as Norberg; he had the history as the tech guy from Mission: Impossible and to see him doing the same thing but saying dumb stuff with a goofy expression on his face added a nice touch to his formerly-stoic persona.

 

Isn't it a double entendre? Rip also meaning Rest In Peace?

 

Drebin, looking for evidence, opens a drawer, 'Bingo!'

Pulls out a Bingo card!

Hehehe

 

In Technicolor

 

Back in the day, my local Blockbuster Video had some episodes on VHS. Great show and good times.

 

She just had it stuffed.

 

I only saw a couple of episodes of "Police Squad" (it came and went fast on Oz TV back in the day).

The Angie Tribeca series tries to replicate that kind of overly literal style of comedy, if yer after something similar in spirit if not execution.

--Geoff

 

Somewhat related, but as a kid I was a huge fan of the Naked Gun movies. And in middle school one of our weekly projects was to memorize and recite the Star-Spangled Banner word for word in front of the class without singing. I remember being extremely nervous that I'd get up there and start spouting out the Frank Drebin version instead and fail the assignment.

 

The producers of the first movie insisted that more well-known hollywood actors fill in the spots for Alan North and Peter Lupus.
The role of Johnny was great in the TV series, but would not fit in the movies, since it was easy to put him in a 30 minute sitcom in order
to find the quick answer and wrap up the episode, but in the movie series, it would be hard to put him in at a point somewhere near the end at around the 80 minute mark.

 

That's a good point, you're probably right about that.
But I still missed him!