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In the "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." episode "The Project Strigas Affair", it's explained that Laslo Kurasov (Werner Klemperer from "Hogan's Heroes"), a Khrushchev-like diplomat from an unnamed Balkan state, is aiming to disrupt arms talks between the United States and nations behind the Iron Curtain. Agents Napoleon Solo (Robert Wagner) and Illya (David McCallum) are tasked with removing Laslo from his position without assassinating him (which would make him into a martyr). They instead concoct a very, very elaborate plan to embarrass Laslo and discredit him in the public eye. 

The plan begins with an agent from U.N.C.L.E. playacting his own death-by-stabbing in front of Laslo, yelling the cryptic (and made-up) phrase "Strigas YL893." This startles Laslo and causes him to assign his aide, a man named Vladeck (Leonard Nimoy), to investigate what that codeword might mean. U.N.C.L.E. secretly feeds Vladeck some fake information,...

The subject of war never seems like a topic that lends itself to much hilarity, but one TV show that proved it was possible is streaming for free on Freevee, and has found itself climbing into the streamer’s Top 10. That series is Hogan's Heroes, the 1960s comedy series that managed to retain a 100% audience score across its six seasons and is hailed as probably the funniest show to have ever been set in a Nazi P.O.W prison camp.

Like many older shows and movies, Hogan’s Heroes has found itself being put in front of a whole new audience with its inclusion on Freevee. While the series is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, the show has actually been available on the platform for over 200 days, making its charge up the chart somewhat baffling and indicative of the way there is usually no rhyme or reason behind what becomes popular on streaming.

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In 1953, Billy Wilder scored a critical and commercial success with his film adaptation of Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski's stage play "Stalag 17" (one of his 14 best films according to /Film). Set in a World War II Pow camp behind Nazi enemy lines, the movie is a rambunctious account of how imprisoned soldiers misbehave and attempt to make their captors' lives miserable. They're also ever on the verge of hatching a new escape plan, though they wind up having a rat in their ranks who complicates their efforts.

Given that World War II was a desperately bloody affair on both the European and Pacific fronts as the Allies fought to save civilization from the clutches of genocidal vermin, you might not think it appropriate for artists to find humor anywhere within the conflict. But the ability to laugh when...

The 1966 "Batman" TV series -- one of the best TV shows of all time -- wasn't shy about including shameless cameos. Early in the show's run, the producers invented an organic conceit that would allow famous people to literally poke their heads in for a moment to deliver a few lines of dialogue. While Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) were scaling the side of a building -- something they did often -- a celebrity guest would open a window to see who might be making noise on their outside wall. The series featured peek-ins from Sammy Davis, Jr., Jerry Lewis, Art Linkletter, Don Ho, and Dick Clark. 

Other notable stars also provided peek-ins, but many appeared in character, playing their roles from other hip TV shows at the time. Ted Cassidy, for instance, appeared as Lurch from "The Addams Family." Werner Klemperer had a cameo as Colonel Klink from "Hogan's Heroes.

The nominations for the 77th Tony Awards will be announced in less than three weeks, but the lay of the land is ever changing because seven more musicals and musical revivals will open between now and the eligibility cutoff. As these remaining shows have started preview performances, our savvy users have been updating their choices for the most likely nominees in 10 of the 15 musical categories. See below for a breakdown of how our official odds have changed in the top categories since our last predictions center update on March 21, according to the 1,200 readers currently making their picks. Scroll to the bottom of the article for a tally of nominations by show in 10 of the 15 musical categories.

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“Cabaret” — This immersive revival of the classic John Kander and Fred Ebb musical has been leading our odds for the most nominations of any musical revival of the year. It has now added...

Gabrielle Upton, who wrote the screenplay for the classic California surfing movie Gidget, starring Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson and James Darren, has died. She was 101.

Upton died Sept. 13 in Santa Rosa, California, her daughter, Greer Upton, told The Hollywood Reporter. News of her death had not been reported until now.

A three-time WGA Award nominee, Upton wrote for such network shows as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour/Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Ben Casey, Convoy, One Step Beyond, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, The Virginian, The Big Valley and The High Chaparral.

She also worked on several daytime soap operas during her career, including Guiding Light, As the World Turns, Edge of Night, Search for Tomorrow, The Secret Storm and Love of Life.

After Frederick Kohner took a crack at adapting his best-selling 1957 novel Gidget, the Little Girl With Big Ideas for Columbia Pictures’ Gidget (1959), Upton came on and received sole screenplay credit.

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Robert Clary, the French actor, singer and Holocaust survivor who portrayed Corporal LeBeau on the World War II-set sitcom Hogan’s Heroes, has died. He was 96.

Clary, who was mentored by famed entertainer Eddie Cantor and married one of his five daughters, died Wednesday morning at his home in Los Angeles, his granddaughter Kim Wright told The Hollywood Reporter.

CBS’ Hogan’s Heroes, which aired over six seasons from September 1965 to April 1971, starred Bob Crane as Colonel Robert E. Hogan, an American who led an international group of Allied prisoners of war in a convert operation to defeat the Nazis from inside the Luft Stalag 13 camp.

As the patriotic Cpl. Louis LeBeau, the 5-foot-1 Clary hid in small spaces, dreamed about girls, got along great with the guard dogs and used his expert culinary skills to help the befuddled Nazi Colonel Wilhelm Klink (Werner Klemperer...

In 2019, after having worked as a writer on the 44th season of “Saturday Night Live,” Bowen Yang changed roles and became a featured member of the show’s cast. Two years later, he made history as the first featured “SNL” performer to be nominated for an acting Emmy, specifically in the category of Best Comedy Supporting Actor. Now that the recently-promoted repertory player is up for the same award again this year, he stands with Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Bill Hader, Alec Baldwin and Kenan Thompson as the sixth man (discounting guest stars) to receive multiple acting Emmy notices for the NBC sketch series.

Yang has submitted “Host: Rami Malek,” the third installment of the 47th “SNL” season, for Emmy consideration this year. This is the episode in which he went viral for his performance of a proud, gay Oompa Loompa at the Weekend Update desk. He also plays a...

By Lee Pfeiffer

"The High Cost of Loving" is yet another worthy film that has been plucked from obscurity by the Warner Archive. The 1958 comedy offered a rare starring role to Jose Ferrer as well as an opportunity for him to direct a feature film. Ferrer plays Jim Fry, a 15 year veteran of working diligently in the purchasing department for a mid-size company. He is frustrated with the corporate red tape that inhibits productivity but is overall happy in his work as well as with his home life. Why not? He's in his late 40's and his wife Ginny (Gena Rowlands in her big screen debut) is a ravishing blonde beauty twenty years younger than him (though the poster for the film simply ignores this and refers to them as the "young couple".) The film opens on an amusing note that will be familiar to many working couples. We see...

Happy Monday, dear readers! We have a brand new slate of home media releases to look forward to as we head into a new month, and there are some great films coming out on Tuesday that genre fans will definitely want to pick up. Rlje Films is finally releasing Horror Noire on both Blu-ray and DVD this week, and they’re also bringing home arguably the most talked-about horror film of 2020 as well: Rob Savage’s Host. Kino Lorber is showing some love to Dark Intruder with their new 2K Blu, and Code Red is giving us more reasons to fear the water with their Blu-ray for The Great Alligator.

Other releases for February 2nd include Satan’s Blood, Sky Sharks, Deadcon, and Hellkat.

Dark Intruder

Brand New 2K Master! Dark Intruder stars Leslie Nielsen (Forbidden Planet) as Brett Kingsford, an Occult expert who is brought in by police to help...

Our 75th guest! The legendary filmmaker John Sayles joins Josh and Joe to explore some of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Ulzana’s Raid (1972)

Django (1966)

The Birth Of A Nation (1915)

City Of Hope (1991)

Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980)

The Challenge (1982)

Avalanche (1978)

Eight Men Out (1988)

Piranha (1978)

The Howling (1981)

The Wizard Of Oz (1939)

The Killers (1964)

The King And I (1956)

Time Without Pity (1957)

The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)

Ben-Hur (1957)

The Ten Commandments (1956)

Two Women (1960)

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Citizen Kane (1941)

Spartacus (1960)

Fixed Bayonets! (1951)

The Steel Helmet (1951)

Merrill’s Marauders (1962)

Targets (1968)

Touch Of Evil (1958)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Woodstock (1970)

Crime In The Streets (1956)

The Bad Seed (1956)

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Fedora (1978)

Dune (1984)

The Cotton Club (1984)

Choose Me (1984)

Raising Arizona (1987)

El Norte (1983)

Yellow Sky (1948)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

The Irishman (2019)

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (2019)

The Thing (1982)

Chinatown (1974)

Manhattan (1979)

Duck Amuck (1953)

Goodfellas (1990)

Humanoids Of The Deep (1980)

Cockfighter (1974)

Dynamite Women a.k.a. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase...

Hogan's Heroes is one of the most brilliant masterpieces of television to emerge from the 1960s. This show managed to make fun of Germans and make certain situations of wartime lighthearted, which is no easy feat. The setting is in a German Pow camp during World War 2, featuring the sly and smart Colonel Hogan (Bob Crane), the incompetent camp commandant Klink (Werner Klemperer) and the sweet but misguided sergeant-of-the-guard Schultz (John Banner).

The show had plenty of heroic and comedic moments, and moments that weren't quite so beloved. Unlike Schultz, we know something about selecting the 5 best episodes--and the 5 worst.

Is Hogan's Heroes making a comeback? Deadline reports a sequel to the classic TV show is in the works.

The original sitcom launched in 1965 and "centered around a group of Allied POWs imprisoned in a German prison camp, led by U.S. Colonel Robert Hogan, who secretly used the camp to launch Allied espionage missions." The cast included Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, John Banner, and Richard Dawson. The series ran on CBS through 1971.

Read More…...

I see nothing… particularly interesting about the premise behind it. And yet a sequel to Hogan’s Heroes is apparently in the works.

As reported by our sister site Deadline, the original series’ co-creator, Al Ruddy, in association with Village Roadshow Entertainment Group and Danny McBride’s Rough Pictures, is developing a follow-up to the World War II-set comedy, which aired from September 1965 to April 1971 and starred Bob Crane (as Hogan), Werner Klemperer (Colonel Klink), Richard Dawson (Newkirk) and John Banner (Schultz), among others in a somewhat rotating cast.

More from TVLineSaved by the Bell Revival Has Not Approached 'Governor'...

“Hogan’s Heroes” is the latest classic TV series seeking the reboot treatment, with a sequel series from original series co-creator Al Ruddy in the works.

The new single-camera comedy would be set in present-day and would center on the descendants of the original characters as they team up for a global treasure hunt. No writer or network is currently attached to the project.

Ruddy will serve as an executive producer on the project, alongside “Vice Principals” trio Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Jody Hill. Brandon James of Rough House Pictures and Alix Jaffe and Adam Dunlap of Village Roadshow will also executive produce.

Also Read: 'Battlestar Galactica' Reboot From Sam Esmail in the Works for NBCUniversal Streaming Service

The original “Hogan’s Heroes” ran for six seasons and 168 episodes on CBS from 1965 to 1971. Bob Crane, Robert Clary, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon and Larry Hovis starred as...

Exclusive: Another classic TV sitcom is mounting a comeback. The iconic 1960s comedy Hogan’s Heroes is being rebooted by the original series co-creator Al Ruddy, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group and Rough Pictures.

The reimagined version will be a single-camera action adventure comedy series set in present day focusing on the descendants of the original heroes, now scattered around the world, who team up for a global treasure hunt.

Ruddy will executive produce with Rough House Pictures principals Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Jody Hill and the company’s president of production Brandon James. Alix Jaffe and Adam Dunlap will oversee for Vreg

Co-created by Ruddy and the late Bernard Fein, the original Hogan’s Heroes spanned 168 episodes that ran on CBS from 1965-1971. It centered around a group of Allied POWs imprisoned in a German prison camp, led by U.S. Colonel Robert Hogan, who secretly used the camp to launch Allied espionage missions.

Two years ago, there was a fierce online debate over the cast of a future movie about the 2016 Republican presidential race, which would probably be called Clown Car! (although Every Which Way But Left and A Kochwork Orange were also strong suggestions).

Twitter users attacked difficult questions like, “Could veteran character actor Daniel Von Bargen of Seinfeld fame play George Pataki despite being dead?” and “Was Justin Timberlake training for the role of Rand Paul in his portrayal of dry-humping weenie Scott Delacorte in Bad Teacher?”

This week, there’s...

Tony Hale won’t win a third Best Comedy Supporting Actor Emmy for “Veep” this year, since the series is sitting out the season, but he could take home a third career statuette for his other Emmy-winning comedy, “Arrested Development.” If Hale does manage to pull it off, he’d join Art Carney as the only multiple winners of the category for two different shows.

While the early years of the Emmys didn’t have genre-specific acting categories, Carney won the first three supporting actor awards: two for “The Jackie Gleason Show” and one for “The Honeymooners.” Since the latter sitcom was based on the popular recurring sketch of the same name on “The Jackie Gleason Show” and Carney played Gleason’s sidekick Ed Norton on both, along with other sketch characters on the variety show, Hale would be the first multiple winner for playing two different characters on two different,...

It’s a road picture, a spy chase and an oddball romance all in one. A casual highway hitch-hike leads to intrigues with shady doctors, guided missile secrets and espionage intrigues. Possible escaped nut case Ruth Roman enlists nice guy Sterling Hayden’s help, and before you can say Alfred Hitchcock they’re handcuffed together and on the run. It’s a B-picture gem from the mid-fifties, all the more amusing for its awkwardness.

Five Steps to Danger

Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1957 / Color / 2:35 1:85 widescreen 1:37 flat full frame / 81 min. / Street Date April 24, 2018 / 29.99

Starring: Ruth Roman, Sterling Hayden, Werner Klemperer, Richard Gaines, Charles Davis, Jeanne Cooper, Peter Hansen, Ken Curtis.

Cinematography: Kenneth Peach

Film Editor: Aaron Stell

Original Music: Paul Sawtell & Bert Shefter

Written by Henry S. Kesler, from a book by Donald Hamilton

Produced and Directed by Henry S. Kesler

Celebrity business agent Henry S. Kesler became a production manager,...

Secure one major book with a serious subject, sign up a wagonload of stars (including a legend or two) and make sure every cookie-cutter character repeatedly explains themselves to the camera in close-up. That formula worked well for Stanley Kramer in 1965; his film hasn’t much of a reputation but the cast is gold. A bright new transfer makes the picture look very good.

Ship of Fools

Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1965 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 149 min. / Street Date March 9, 2018 / 39.95

Starring: Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, José Ferrer, Lee Marvin, Oskar Werner, Elizabeth Ashley, George Segal, José Greco, Michael Dunn, Charles Korvin, Heinz Rühmann, Lilia Skala, Barbara Luna, Alf Kjellin, Werner Klemperer,

Gila Golan, Kaaren Verne.

Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo

Film Editor: Robert C. Jones

Special visual effects: John Burke, Farciot Edouart, Albert Whitlock

Original Music: Ernest Gold

Written by Abby Mann from the novel by Katherine Anne Porter

Produced and directed by Stanley...

What happens when a prosecutor tracks down one of the most evil criminals of the century, only to find that politics and corruption prevent him from issuing an arrest warrant? This is the true story of the hunt for the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann — not from the Pov of the Israeli agents that pounced on him in Argentina, but a German prosecutor hemmed in on all sides by Nazi sympathizers in his own government bureaucracy.

The People vs. Fritz Bauer

Blu-ray

Cohen Media Group

2015 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 105 min. / Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer / Street Date January 10, 2017 / 30.99

Starring Burghardt Klaußner, Ronald Zehrfeld, Michael Schenck, Cornelia Goöscher, Lilith Stangenberg.

Cinematography Jens Harant

Film Editor Barbara Gies

Original Music Christopher M. Kaiser, Julian Maas

Written by Lars Kraume, Olivier Guez

Produced by Thomas Kufus

Directed by Lars Kraume

As a movie reviewer I’m attracted to certain subjects. I’ve written up...

We could spend the rest of this year debating which American teevee show has been the weirdest, but Hogan’s Heroes has got to make the top 10 list.

The high-concept: Hogan’s Heroes is the story of a group of Allied prisoners-of-war who operate a highly effective spy and sabotage operation from a bunker beneath their prison building during World War II. Okay, that’s kinda weird. It’s also kinda in bad taste. Its weirdness is abetted by several additional factors, not the least of which is… there’s some truth behind the laughs.

There really was a WWII Pow named Robert Hogan who did time in a place called Stalag 13. He was Lt. Robert Steadham Hogan, a B24 pilot who was shot down on January 19, 1945 in while on a mission over Yugoslavia. Because he was an officer, Hogan was incarcerated in the Oflag 13 camp outside of Nuremberg because...

Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon (1947-1988) was one of the most celebrated adventure comic strips of the 1950s. The blond, square-jawed hero was on the cutting edge of action as he took to the skies and had adventures around the world. Caniff populated the strip with memorable supporting characters and adversaries so it was a rich reading experience.

The strip was so popular that when Captain Action was introduced in 1966, Canyon was one of the first heroes he could turn into. Somewhat earlier, Canyon also served as inspiration for an NBC prime time series that, sadly, bore little resemblance to the strip (a common problem back then).

In 2008, John R. Ellis brought us this forgotten gem with The Complete Steve Canyon on TV Volume 1 and followed up a year later with Volume 2. The silence until late last year when the anticipated Volume 3 finally arrived, completing the run. Thankfully it came...

José Ferrar stars in his second dramatic feature as director, teamed with newcomer Gena Rowlands as a married working couple. Ferrar's executive assistant isn't on the list of those invited to meet the new corporate bosses, which everyone knows means he's a dead employee walking. Things are looking darkest just as his loving wife is bringing news of a baby on the way. The show builds up a terrific critique of anxiety in the Rat Race, but then... The High Cost of Loving DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1958 / B&W / 2:35 enhanced widescreen / 87 min. / Street Date July 16, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring José Ferrer, Gena Rowlands, Joanne Gilbert, Jim Backus, Bobby Troup, Philip Ober, Edward Platt, Charles Watts, Werner Klemperer, Malcolm Atterbury, Jeanne Baird, Nick Clooney, Abby Dalton, Richard Deacon, Nancy Kulp, Lucien Littlefield. Cinematography George J. Folsey Film Editor Ferris Webster Original Music Jeff Alexander Written by Rip Van Ronkel,...

‘Gilda,’ ‘Pulp Fiction’: 2013 National Film Registry movies (photo: Rita Hayworth in ‘Gilda’) See previous post: “‘Mary Poppins’ in National Film Registry: Good Timing for Disney’s ‘Saving Mr. Banks.’” Billy Woodberry’s UCLA thesis film Bless Their Little Hearts (1984). Stanton Kaye’s Brandy in the Wilderness (1969). The Film Group’s Cicero March (1966), about a Civil Rights march in an all-white Chicago suburb. Norbert A. Myles’ Daughter of Dawn (1920), with Hunting Horse, Oscar Yellow Wolf, Esther Labarre. Bill Morrison’s Decasia (2002), featuring decomposing archival footage. Alfred E. Green’s Ella Cinders (1926), with Colleen Moore, Lloyd Hughes, Vera Lewis. Fred M. Wilcox’s Forbidden Planet (1956), with Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly, Robby the Robot. Charles Vidor’s Gilda (1946), with Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready. John and Faith Hubley’s Oscar-winning animated short The Hole (1962). Stanley Kramer’s Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), with Best Actor Oscar winner Maximilian Schell,...

By Lee Pfeiffer

I have always been a great admirer of Paul Henning, the crooner-turned-tv producer/writer of some of the best-loved shows of the 1960s. It was Henning who gave a voice to rural audiences by creating such classic TV series as The Beverly Hillbilllies, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. If you revisit any of them today, they remain far superior to most contemporary sitcoms. Henning not only created shows that have timeless appeal, but he also brainstormed the concept of interweaving characters and plot devices between the series- a stroke of genius that brought cross-promotion marketing to new levels. Henning also prided himself on making his country characters eccentric, but never idiotic. They were simple people living simple lives and if they seemed to exist in a time warp, they were all honest, admirable folks. It was always the sophisticated city slickers who would get their comeuppance at...

And you thought news that Hollywood was making a Good Times movie was the weirdest, most-unexpected TV-to-movie story that you would hear this week. No, Deadline now reports that after a 10-year legal battle, the rights to the once-successful sitcom Hogan.s Heroes will return to show creators Albert S. Ruddy and the late Bernard Fein, with Ruddy planning to produce a feature film in celebration. Ruddy and the Fein estate have been warring with Bing Crosby Productions, which originally produced Heroes in the late 1960s and is currently owned by Dallas Mavericks owner (and all-around billionaire) Mark Cuban. But an arbitrator finally handed the rights back to Ruddy, clearing way for a possible film. The original show starred the late Bob Crane as Colonel Robert E. Hogan, leader of a band of misfits in a German Pow camp who made life miserable for Colonel Wilhelm Klink (Werner Klemperer). This...

Exclusive: After a three-year battle waged to determine ownership of sequel and separated rights on the CBS sitcom Hogan’s Heroes, creators Albert S. Ruddy and the late Bernard Fein have been granted all rights. Ruddy will work with Fein’s estate to develop a feature film ensemble comedy using the show’s clever WWII German Pow camp premise. The duo was granted rights that include movies, publication, merchandising, radio and live rights, as well as TV sequel rights. The judgment was made by arbitrator Joel M. Grossman on March 1. The creators went up against Bing Crosby Productions, which produced the show, and whose rights are now owned by Mark Cuban. Ruddy and Fein were represented by Greenburg & Traurig’s Vince Chieffo and Alan Schwartz, and WGA’s Heather Pearson and Anthony R. Segall. Hogan’s Heroeswas a top-rated show on CBS that spanned 168 episodes that ran from 1965-1971, starring Bob Crane as Col.

Exclusive: After a three-year battle waged to determine ownership of sequel and separated rights on the CBS sitcom Hogan’s Heroes, creators Albert S. Ruddy and the late Bernard Fein have been granted all rights. Ruddy will work with Fein’s estate to develop a feature film ensemble comedy using the show’s clever WWII German Pow camp premise. The duo was granted rights that include movies, publication, merchandising, radio and live rights, as well as TV sequel rights. The judgment was made by arbitrator Joel M. Grossman on March 1. The creators went up against Bing Crosby Productions, which produced the show, and whose rights are now owned by Mark Cuban. Ruddy and Fein were represented by Greenburg & Traurig’s Vince Chieffo and Alan Schwartz, and WGA’s Heather Pearson and Anthony R. Segall. Hogan’s Heroeswas a top-rated show on CBS that spanned 168 episodes that ran from 1965-1971, starring Bob Crane as Col.

It may be guilty of a little make-believe, but Stanley Kramer's masterpiece does justice to the real-life Nazi judges' trial

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Director: Stanley Kramer

Entertainment grade: B+

History grade: A

The Nuremberg trials were a series of military tribunals carried out by Allied forces against military and administrative officials and private contractors of Nazi Germany. They took place between 1945 and 1949.

Justice

It's 1948, and American judge Dan Haywood (Spencer Tracy) arrives in Nuremberg. "Hitler is gone, Goebbels is gone, Goering is gone – committed suicide before they could hang him," he says. "Now we're down to the business of judging the doctors, businessmen and judges. Some people think they shouldn't be judged at all." The most attention-grabbing of the Nuremberg trials was that of the major war criminals in 1945-46. This film is about the judges' trial, which actually took place over the course of 1947. The date has been changed for a reason.

Steve Martin has been making people laugh so hard for so long that some — especially younger audiences — might not fully appreciate just how pure and fresh his early comic work was. Before the Oscars, before Father of the Bride, before Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, even before The Jerk, Martin was a total force of nature whose main platform was television, beginning with writing for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. In his wild and crazy prime, an appearance by Martin on Johnny Carson or other primetime showcase was insane, yet so carefully crafted. When he hosted Saturday Night Live or had a stand-up special,...

The medium of television is often a reflection of our times and sometimes an overly idealized, unrealistic portrayal of American life. As radio programming became nationally broadcast series, they reflected the rural lifestyles and Depression-era standards of its time. As a result, many of these shows were transferred with little change from radio to television. Similarly, as prosperity brighten America’s fortunes, so did the images of life shown in living rooms around the country.

On Tuesday, CBS Home Entertainment released seven samplers of six situation comedies and one drama with the contents selected by the fans themselves. In part one of our review, we’ll be looking at the earliest offerings and seeing what they tell us.

During the 1950s, as conformity and a rising middle class became the norm, those standards became a part of the sitcoms shown on the four networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, and Dumont). While...

Welcome to No Fact Zone’s weekly roundup of cultural references on The Colbert Report. From Darcy to Danger Mouse, String Theory to Shakespeare, we’ve got the keys to this week’s obscure, oddball, and occasionally obscene cultural shout-outs (hey!).

Hello Zoners! I hope the State of Your Union (wherever it may be) is strong! If anything, I hope the state of our stomachs is strong enough for the beeftacular tacos some of us will inevitably buy (despite all warnings to the contrary) because Stephen made it look so tasty and harmless! From coked-up vacuums to the Nazi-ometer, this week really delivered on its promises (probably via a toaster with wheels). What were your favorite clips?

Monday:

Stephen Rejects Keith Olbermann’s Power

The storied notion that power corrupts, while absolute power corrupts absolutely seems to never have occurred to this Cosa Nostra we’re calling our Congress who...

Gloucester - The night Sebastian Junger arrived in town, it was a rather mild and cloudless day. There would be need to use the phrase “The Perfect Storm” to hype the writer’s talk and signing at Raleigh’s Quail Ridge Books. It was The Perfect Mild.

This appears to be a rarity in today’s journalism. Anything that happens now gets blamed on “A Perfect Storm” of calamities after Junger’s book about the doomed fishermen. Wall Street meltdown, Bp well disaster and McRib are all given The Perfect Storm treatment. Sadly enough, he does not get a nickel every time it’s said on TV.

This appearance didn’t include tales of the people who put seafood on your table or George Clooney’s pranks. Junger spoke of the men who fight for America in Afghanistan. The Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the...

Concord, Nh - The Rad Girls prove that women can be out of control without beating each other senseless. The trio of Ramona Ca$h, Munchie and Darling Clementine are in the midst of their third season of mayhem on MavTV. How could I refuse a chance to talk women who figured out how to give themselves bikini waxes using a car bumper?

Ouch. The trio called the Party Favors hotline from various parts of the Southwest including the lonely highway from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Munchie swore they were just in a convenience store that seemed a location from The House of a 1,000 Corpses. Please excuse me if I attribute a quote to the wrong member since the conversation moved fast and furious.

The outrageous series wasn’t always on MavTV. Clementine explained, “We had a really fun run on Fuse. We got a lot of fans. They were like,...

It’s that time of year again, when sites the web-over compile helpful holiday shopping lists to guide you into the deepest, darkest pits of retail with a map that will hopefully get you out alive. Here now, without further ado, is the 2009 Quick Stop Holiday Shopping Guide.

(If you see anything you like, please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make your holiday purchases - it’s appreciated!)

I’ve banged on about for years, and I’m going to keep going virtual door to virtual door until the word gets out about Qi. If you’ve never heard of the UK quiz program Qi, you’re missing out on one of the funniest “educational” shows ever devised (the devisee being creator/producer John Lloyd, formerly of Blackadder, Not The Nine O’Clock News, and Spitting Image). The key to Qi (which stands for “Quite Interesting...

We have six clips from "Hogan´s Heroes: The Komplete Series, Kommandant´s Kollection" which sees release via Paramount Home Entertainment on November 24th. The classic TV series was created by67 Bernard Fein and Albert S. Ruddyn and stars Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, John Banner, Richard Dawson, Robert Clary, Larry Hov and Ivan Dixon. The inmates of a German World War II Prisoners-of-War camp conduct espionage and sabotage campaign right under the noses of their warders. While the enemy is often gullible, easily fooled or downright incompetent - the real strength of Hogan's men are the elaborate ruses and sometimes dangerous lengths they will go to complete their mission...

Burbank – Chat Fatigue is coming.

Forget swine flu (or H1N1); Chat Fatigue will be the sickness that will overtake millions this fall. The group most susceptible to this are NBC viewers. Now that Jay Leno will be taking over the 10 p.m. slot from Monday to Friday (starting Sept. 14) on the Peacock network, viewers will get four hours of people sitting behind desks and talking directly to the camera.

Can the average viewer really handle going from Leno to local news to Conan O’Brien to Jimmy Fallon to Carson Daly? How many guys in suits and ties sitting behind a desk do you want to experience after an 8 hours of work day with guys in suits and ties sitting behind desks? They’re all going to stare at you through the boob tube and jibber jabber. Kinda like the doofus with the desk next to you at work.

Monday, we trekked through a worm hole together to revisit the TV series "Star Trek" when it competed at the Emmys in 1967 for best drama series. Now let's beam ourselves into "Star Trek's" other big Emmy battle: best supporting actor. Those are the only two award categories in which it competed during its brief three years on NBC.   It's odd that Leonard Nimoy was the only cast member nominated for acting, a feat he repeated all three years. Mr. Spock not only was the least emotionally flashy role aboard the starship Enterprise, the character prided himself upon expressing no emotion at all! Hey, did Mr. Spock have a secret Vulcan death grip on TV academy voters? If so, did he ever win for "Star Trek"? After voting below, check out the answer here. Answer: In 1969, Leonard Nimoy lost to Werner Klemperer, who portrayed a silly, bungling Nazi commandant on "Hogan's Heroes.