Product Description
-------------------
The satirical comedy " Squad" pits an ace detective and
his captain (Leslie Nielsen & Alan North) against the criminal
elements that befoul a big city. From the creators of
"Airplane!".
.com
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In addition to spawning the popular Naked ( /dp/B000065U35 )
movie franchise, Squad! had a lasting impact on TV comedy,
and it's still a guilty pleasure. Hot from the success of
Airplane! ( /dp/B000B5XOWA ) two years earlier, the ZAZ team
(brothers David and Jerry Zucker and writing partner Jim
Abrahams) decided to spoof TV cop shows, using the late '50s Lee
Marvin series M Squad and the popular series format of Quinn
Martin Productions (e.g., The Streets of San Francisco) as their
template for supremely silly, gag-laden satire. With Airplane!
star Leslie Nielsen as straight-faced detective Frank Drebin and
Alan North as Drebin's befuddled boss, Capt. Ed Hocken, this
half-hour series quickly established an irresistible combination
of nonstop gags, non sequiturs, and repeated routines
("?" "Yes, it is") that dared viewers to pay close
attention or miss the laughs if they didn't. Ironically, this
very quality--you had to actually watch the show instead of
casually listening for punchlines--is what ultimately sealed the
series' e. After only six poorly rated episodes, Squad!
was canceled without fanfare, and six years passed before Drebin
returned as the bumbling hero of The Naked .
Will all six episodes on one DVD, ZAZ fans can get reacquainted
with a series that was arguably ahead of its time. In addition to
the rib-tickling disparity between onscreen episode titles and
narrated titles, and "special guest stars" (including William
Shatner, Robert Goulet, Lorne Greene, and others) who get killed
in the opening credits, loyal viewers could count on a weekly
dose of hilarity from Nielsen, North, and their supporting
players. Character actor William Duell appeared each week as
shoeshine boy "Johnny the Snitch," capable of answering literally
any question if you repeatedly greased his palm (a gag that led
to info-seeking cameo appearances by Dick Clark, Dr. Joyce
Brothers, baseball manager Tommy Lasorda, and others). And while
original Mission: Impossible ( /dp/B000HEWEDK ) costar Peter
Lupus poked fun at himself as the dim-witted Det. Norberg (later
played by O.J. Simpson in the Naked movies), Ed Williams--an
actual high school science teacher--is hilarious as "Mr.
Wizard"-like lab technician Ted Olson, who dispenses dubious
science lessons to unsuspecting children. The fast-paced barrage
of humor guaranteed that every episode would deliver as many hits
as misses, and while some of the jokes have lost their punch,
Squad! still delivers the belly-laughs... and always will,
as long as humans have an appetite for shameless stupidity.
--Jeff Shannon
On the DVD
Two episode commentaries by the Zucker brothers, Jim Abrahams,
and producer Robert K. Weiss are good for a laugh, as the ZAZ
team laughs at their own material and recalls the rigors of a
5-day shooting schedule, battles with network censors (also
outlined in the revealing "Production Memo Highlights" feature),
and the never-shown "celebrity guest death" of John Belushi, who
actually died shortly after the gag was filmed. Comedian and
writer Robert Wuhl's commentary is more autobiographical and
somewhat perfunctory (he barely remembers the episode he wrote),
but contains a few nuts-and-bolts details about the show's
production. The 10-minute Leslie Nielsen interview shows the
gracefully aging star in fine form as he recalls his affinity for
the ZAZ brand of humor; the brief gag reel offers about a dozen
on-set bloopers (several from crude workprint sources); "Behind
the Freeze Frames" is an extended outtake to illustrate the
elaborately faked "freeze frame" gag that ended each episode; and
"Celebrity Death s" is a list of guest-star death gags
proposed (and mostly used) for the series. Also included are
casting tests for Alan North and Ed Williams, and an animated
producers' photo gallery of Squad! sets, props, and
scenery. --Jeff Shannon