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In 1982, seven years after The Odd Couple left the air and became a hit in reruns, ABC revived the show as The New Odd Couple. What was new about The New Odd Couple? Not much. First, Felix and Oscar were black with Ron Glass of Barney Miller and Demond Wilson, formerly of Sanford and Son as Felix and Oscar. The only caucasian cast member was John Schuck as Murray the Cop. It seemed that Al Molinaro, who originated the role in the original series was unavailable since he was in Joanie Loves Chachi, a Happy Days spinoff.

The familiar Neil Hefti theme is given an update and is a lot more up tempo than the original. I liked the updated theme.

As for what hasn't changed, Felix is still a photographer and Oscar is still a sportswriter. Unlike Tony Randall's portrayal of Felix, he leads a theatre group instead of an opera company. Several episodes were remakes of the original series. This was due to a writer's strike that paralyzed the television industry.

All of this adds up to a show which lacks the chemistry of Randall and co-star Jack Klugman and was canceled after only 18 episodes. I should also point out that JoMarie Payton, who played Mona, one of the Pigeon Sisters and Telma Hopkins, who portrayed Felix's ex-wife Frances, the same name as the character in the Neil Simon played would later work together in the sitcom Family Matters.

I have been watching the first prime time network incarnation of Lingo and to me it has the potential to be the first hit game show of 2023. RuPaul Charles, in his first hosting assignment is outstanding and has great rapport with the contestants. But what makes this version stand out from the 1980s original version in syndication and its previous run on GSN is that Lingo is able to reach a bigger audience and more important, it's a show the viewer can play along with. Lingo is the show that will make you shout at the screen as the contestants try to solve Lingoes of five, six and 10 letters to win thousands of dollars in cash.

If you haven't seen Lingo yet, do so. It's a game you will be hooked on and it is destined to have a long run.

I have been watching the entire run of Here's Lucy on Tubi and to me, Lucille Ball's third sitcom is very funny. An revamping of The Lucy Show, Ball plays a widow, Lucy Carter, with a daughter Kim and a son Craig. They are played by her real life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. The one holdover from The Lucy Show was Gale Gordon, who plays her brother in law/boss Harrison Otis Carter. To me, he is the nastiest sitcom boss between Mr. Slate of The Flintstones and Louie Depalma on Taxi. The chemistry between Ball and Gordon as well as Ball's outstanding physical comedy are the keys to the show's success. The younger Lucie and Desi Jr. Bring a youthful vibe to the proceedings.

By the show's fourth season, things begin to change. Desi Jr. Leaves the show for a movie career and Lucie Arnaz appears less frequently. The show seems to lose identity as more episodes revolve around guest stars and there are episodes that resemble a variety show. What Ball should have done after the cancellation of Mayberry RFD in 1971, is expand the show to an hour and change the format to a comedy/variety show.

In the fifth season, the show really goes downhill after Ball broke her leg skiing in Colorado. The show loses a lot of the physical comedy but semiregulars Mary Jane Croft and Vanda Barra get more screen time. More focus is on the Lucy/Harry relationship as well as more guest star episodes. Ball was going to end the series after the fifth season but CBS persuaded her to return for a sixth and eventually final season.

One thing you might notice throughout the show's run is that Ball's voice gets a lot deeper as a result of years of heavy smoking. There are also a number of episodes that feature Sid Gould in various roles. Gould is a cousin of Ball's husband Gary Morton.

If you've never seen, Here's Lucy watch it on Tubi or any streaming service that carries it. You'll see a very funny show for most of its run.

Charlie Brown is looking forward to the holiday off from school. But alas, his teacher assigns him to read War and Peace and write a book report. This is why I think the show is inane. Why would an elementary school teacher assign a 1400 page book to read in War and Peace?

To make things more difficult, pushy Peppermint Patty wants Charlie Brown to be his date for a New Year's Eve party she is hosting, but she gets jealous and upset when he tells her about the Little Red Haired Girl. He tries to read his book but keeps getting distracted by musical chairs and Peppermint Patty. In the end, he gets a D- on the report.

I though it was a good special but inane about having to read a long book. Why couldn't she assign the class to read age appropriate books such as Tom Sawyer or Fudge by Judy Blume? It shows that Charlie Brown has a strict teacher. Good grief.

I have seen several episodes of the Password revival.and to me I had a mixed reaction to the newest version of the classic word game. On the plus side, it was great to see the original set design and the basic game play with a different scoring system. In the original version, the first tem to score 25 points won the game. This version, it's 15 with the first clue worth six points. It's a best two out of three game match but if a third game is needed, it uses the old Password Plus format where up to five words are revealed. The contestant who rings in first gets to guess the word and if they are right, they win game. The bonus round was identical to Alphabetics and Super Password but should have been better. Instead of using both celebrities for 30 seconds, the civilian can choose one for 60 seconds for a chance to win $25,000.

But on the minus side, does Jimmy Fallon have to be on every episode? What was good about the previous versions of Password is that many celebrities got a chance to play the game, including Carol Burnett, Peter Lawford and Betty White. It would be good to get two different celebrities on each show. But my overall beef with this incarnation is that it's way too loud. Keke Palmer screams so much like Leslie Jones did on Supermarket Sweep. She's not the right person for this show. The original host Allen Ludden was so good at this game because he was bright, personable and stayed out of the way. The celebrities as well as the audience were also overly loud. Password is a very cerebral game that doesn't require a lot of histrionics and could do without the extra curricular activity from the celebrities.

It would be a better show if the honchos at Fremantle found a host that wasn't as loud as Palmer such as Anderson Cooper or Matt Lauer. A host that's a better fit for the show. Otherwise, the password is cancellation.

I have seen this episode numerous times and to me it is hilarious, especially when Ralph refers to Alice's mother as a blabbermouth. Her arrival ruined what was to be a grand evening that included a chance to see the Broadway hit Murder Strikes Out. From the moment Alice's mother entered the apartment, she was rude, mean, insensitive to Ralph and crossed the line when she revealed the surprise ending of the play. And what does Alice do? Nothing except leave after her mother gets kicked out by Ralph. I don't blame him for kicking her mother out after insulting him by talking about his weight and Alice's old boyfriend Chester Barnes.

What made the episode so funny was when Ralph recorded an apology to Alice and he cracked me up when he said about her mother SHE'S A BLABBERMOUTH!!! The way he delivered that line really cracked me up. If you've never seen this episode, watch it. It's definitely a barrel of laughs.

The success of The Flintstones in 1960 spawned other prime time cartoon shows that included The Alvin Show. Based on the group created by Ross Bagdasarian (aka David Seville) that was created by speeding up his voice on a tape recorder, the show featured the adventures of Alvin, Simon and Theodore along with their manager/guardian Dave Seville. There was always a song in each episode as well as a sing along for viewers.

Another segment was The Adventures of Clyde Crashcup, where the inventor, voice by Shep Menkin invented things that were already invented. Assisted by his short, balding sidekick Leonardo, Crashcup did all the talking and Leonardo only whispered.

The show lasted only one season on CBS before it was moved to Saturday mornings the following season and later in syndication. That's where I remember watching The Alvin Show and it was a funny show that wasn't violent. If you watched the credits closely, you'll see that many of the people who worked on the show also were involved in the production of the made for TV Popeye cartoons that Format Films, the co-producers of the show also produced.

If you're a fan of The Chipmunks or never seen the show before the later shows that aired on NBC in the 1980s, give them a view on YouTube. You're positively gonna love The Alvin Show.

I remember watching Bridget Loves Bernie when we moved from New Jersey to Minnesota in 1972. It was an outstanding comedy that CBS put in its Saturday night lineup between two classics All in the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It had the potential to be a hit.

Unfortunately, viewer protests.over interfaith marriage and complaints from religious groups contributed to the network axing the show after one season.

The show had an outstanding cast anchored by David Birney as Bernie and Meredith Baxter as Bridget. Portraying Bernie's parents were Harold J. Stone and Bibi Osterwald. Bridget's parents were played by David Doyle and Audra Lindley. There was Robert Sampson as Bridget's brother Michael, a priest and William Elliott as Bernie's friend Otis.

Even the show lasted only one season, Birney and Baxter fell in love in real life and got married. Unfortunately, they got divorced. Baxter Birney would go on to play Elyse Keaton in Family Ties.

If you have never seen Bridget Loves Bernie, you can find it on Crackle. Though interfaith marriage was controversial in the 1970s, it's much more accepted today and you'll enjoy seeing a sitcom that got cancelled too soon.

I remember the Magilla Gorilla Show growing up in New Jersey. It had an interesting history, starting out in syndication, then moving over to ABC's Saturday morning lineup and back in syndicated reruns.

The theme song was memorable. If you listen closely, the line "he's really ideal" is a reference to the show's original sponsor Ideal Toys. To me, that is one of the first examples of product placement in a TV show.

Poor Mr. Peebles. He desperately tries to sell Magilla but the customer usually returns him, putting a drain on his business. But wait, there's a little girl named Ogee, who sounds a lot like Pebbles from The Flintstones since it's the same voice, Jean VanderPyl. She really wants to have Magilla for a pet but her parents won't let her.

Also featured on the show were Ricochet Rabbit and Droop-a-Long, set in the Old West. It's best known for the catchphrase "Sheriff BING BING BING! Ricochet Rabbit" Also there was Mushmouse and Punkin' Puss which I vaguely remember since I primarily watched the title character's cartoons.

Even though Magilla Gorilla hasn't been on the air in years, it's one of Hanna Barbera's memorable shows of the mid 1960s. I'll close this review with Magilla's familiar phrase after a customer returns him "We'll try again next week."

Sixteen years after Clarabell broken his silence to say "Goodbye kids", Howdy Doody returned in syndication in 1976.

Buffalo Bob Smith returned as host as well as the puppets Dilly Dally, Phineas T. Bluster, Flubadub and of course, the title character. Clarabell also returned, played by the same man in the latter run of the original show, Lew Anderson.

There were also some new characters added. Bill LeCornec, who played Chief Thunderthud, played the fictitious producer Nicholson Muir, named for the production company. Bobby Nicholson played Cornelius Cobb, Milt Neil played the artist Fletcher the Sketcher. Also, there was a new female character, schoolteacher Happy Harmony, played by Marilyn Patch.

The color barrier was broken on the show when Jack Davis served as the leader of the show's band the Doodlers.

Though it was great to see Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob, two TV pioneers, the reason why The New Howdy Doody Show failed because it wasn't as intimate as the original. The Peanut Gallery on the original seated 40 members, while the new show held five to six times as much in Miami's Video City studio.

Second, the show tried to cater to kids as well as adults (referred to by Buffalo Bob as alumni) and it was hard to come up with material that catered to both aspects of the audience.

Unfortunately, The New Howdy Doody Show lasted only 26 weeks but it was a valiant attempt to revive a kids show classic.

This season, Chuck Lorre has produced four sitcoms that air on CBS. They are Young Sheldon, Mom, Bob Hearts Abishola and the new Thursday night entry B Positive.

The first three shows have had success but B Positive is another show in the post Young Sheldon slot that is destined for an early cancellation. First of all, it's a lousy premise, focusing on a man who had a kidney transplant. Medical issues should stay with shows such as Gray's Anatomy or Amsterdam and not be turned into a sitcom.

But the main thing I dislike about the show is Annaleigh Ashford. Though she is a very talented stage actress and singer, her character Gina is another sitcom ditz. I did notice that Linda Lavin occasionally appears on the show and that's the lone bright spot.

Otherwise, B Positive gets an F. It will have a shorter run than any of Lorre's other shows.

When the opening theme (which was also used as the theme for the game show Jackpot) came on, along with the familiar voice of former Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen narrating major league baseball highlights, it would be a great way for baseball fans like me to get the latest baseball news.

But TWIB was more than just highlights. Before the first commercial break, there was a quiz question with the answer coming up after the break. There was also bloopers and outstanding plays followed by the player of the week.

As time went on, with competition from ESPN and other sports cable channels, the show became more feature oriented. By 1995, Allen became ill and left the show. He would be replaced by frequent fill-in Warner Fusselle and in the next season Ozzie Smith. After the syndicated run ended, Fox picked up TWIB with Buzz Brainerd handling voiceover duties.

in addition, TWIB had outstanding writing and editing and it was also a key to the show's long running success. When video boards became commonplace at ballparks, TWIB would be shown before games and during rain delays. If you missed the show on the weekend and didn't set your VCR, it was another way to watch it.

I will wrap the review with Allen's familiar closing line "That's all for now folks."

Poor Stanley Belmont. He's a clerk in the lost and found department of a New York bus line and has to support his bossy and overprotective mother, his married sister Olive and her husband Arthur.

To make matters worse, he's the only family member with a job since his brother in law Arthur is unemployed and seems to be content staying home in his bathrobe and constantly smoking cigars.

But Stanley has some relief. He has a friend and co-worker named Bummy, played by Jack Knight who is a bus driver.

All of this adds up to what could have been a successful long running sitcom that was created and produced by three veterans of the classic Dick Van dyke Show, Carl Reiner, Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. But NBC put the show opposite CBS's long running western Gunsmoke and moved the show to Friday after Sanford and Son and it was canceled after one season and replaced by a new hit show Chico and the Man.

Now more than 45 years later, the show is rerun on Antenna TV late Saturday night and it is still hilarious. Dom Deluise in his first starring role is outstanding as Stanley, Kathleen Freeman as his mom frequently asks him "Do I have a son or don't I have a son when things don't work out. Beverly Sanders, who later went on to numerous commercials frequently appeared in hair curlers as Olive and Wynn Irwin as her husband Arthur.

What made the show stand out was the byplay between Stanley and Arthur since his brother in law lives off Stanley's earnings and eats a lot. It's the best part of the show and that's probably another reason why the show was canceled, the writers were running out of exchanges between Stanley and Arthur.

I should also note that Lotsa Luck was based on the British sitcom On the Buses. Be sure and watch the opening titles since the theme song is not only funny, it shows scenes of New York. If you haven't see this true one season wonder, do so. You'll be impressed. Lotsa Luck.

When Romper Room debuted on a Baltimore TV station in 1953, it came at a time when there were very few shows aimed at preschool children. Nancy Claster, the wife of the show's creator Bert Claster stepped in when the original teacher Jean Moseley backed out and it became a daytime hit with parents and preschoolers.

The Clasters got an offer from CBS to go national but they rejected it in favor of franchising the show, which meant that stations who paid for the format could used their own teacher and children. Nancy would train all the prospective teachers and they had to adhere to the format.

Many stations that aired the show fulfilled a need since it taught and educated the preschool audience it was targeted to. Good behavior was stressed on Romper Room, thanks to the show's Do Bee mascot. The teachers were always referred to as "Miss", regardless of marital status. The best known feature was the Magic Mirror, where the teacher would open with "Romper bomper stomper boo..." and then she would read the names of children who sent in postcards to the show.

By the 1960s, Romper Room romped in a local station's ratings, though Nancy Claster turned her teaching duties over to her daughter Sally in Baltimore. Local station's waiting lists for children to be on the show were pretty long in many markets. But later in the decade, the show was under fire from Action for Children's Television for its constant promotion of the toys used on the show and a new show would debut in 1969 that would cut into Romper room's dominance, Sesame Street.

The 1970s would also continue a decline for Romper Room when many local productions shut down to a rise in public school kindergarten and a ban on children's TV hosts delivering on camera commercials. But there were still some locally produced Romper Rooms as well as the national version hosted by Miss Sally that was also seen mornings in Minneapolis.

As many local Romper Rooms declined, the show was overhauled in 1981 and retitled Romper Room and Friends. New characters were added but the show continued to declined and by 1994, Romper Room ceased production.

For many preschoolers in the 50s, 60s and 70s, Romper Room was the video destination that educated and taught them to be good Do Bees.

When I found out that Antenna TV was going to rerun The Paul Lynde Show, which hasn't been seen since it was canceled in 1973, i watched a rerun on YouTube and last night on the aforementioned diginet and to me it was a funny sitcom that should have lasted longer than one season.

In its original run, the show ran against The Carol Burnett Show and Adam 12 before it was moved to Saturday nights opposite CBS's comedy lineup where it wilted in the ratings.

But to me, the best part of the show was the byplay between Lynde and his genius son-in-law Howie, played brilliantly by John Calvin. Poor Howie. He was so bright and he couldn't get a job to help support his wife, who was also Paul's oldest daughter Barbara. This reminded me of the confrontations between Archie and Mike on All in the Family.

As for the rest of the cast, Elizabeth Allen was supportive as Paul's wife Martha and Jane Actman who played Barbara and Pamelyn Ferdin as his youngest daughter Sally rounded out the cast. There were also episodes with Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara as Howie's parents. I did not see any episodes with them yet but they likely added a lot to the show, long before Stiller's portrayal of Arthur on The King of Queens.

One other cast note. Look for an early appearance by Anson Williams before he went on to play Potsie Webber on Happy Days.

Check out The Paul Lynde Show. It could be hilarious.

When Starcade made its debut in 1982 on Superstation TBS, it was the first game show to utilize a video game theme. The host was Mark Richards but he was replaced by a veteran who guided the show smoothly even though he didn't know about video games before he took the job Geoff Edwards. Edwards guided the show when it returned the following season in weekly syndication.

On the plus side, home viewers could test their knowledge of video games against the contestants, even during the "Name the Game" round. But on the minus side, it gets rather boring for the viewer when the teams play video games. The viewer becomes a spectator instead of an active participant.

Though Starcade didn't have a long run, it was a valiant attempt to capitalize on the video game craze. After two seasons, it was Game Over.

Steve Harvey is on fire. He saved the syndicated version of Family Feud from cancellation when he took over as host in 2010 and also hosts ABC'S summer hit Celebrity Family Family. He's also the host of his successful morning radio show, a daytime talk show, the Miss Universe Pageant and now NBC's showcase for talented youngsters Little Big Shots.

Airing Sunday nights on NBC, it is a refreshing and entertaining alternative to the investigative reporting on CBS'S 60 Minutes and the network's drama NCIS-Los Angeles. The kids are the stars of the show as they perform for Harvey and the audience. But it's Harvey who makes the show a hit. He doesn't talk down to the kids and brings plenty of humor like Family Feud to the proceedings.

There have been a number of young singers and dancers as well as a youngster who have an encyclopedic knowledge of US presidents. If you have never seen Little Big Shots, watch it and you'll see why it's a big hit.

It's great to see another version of the classic panel game show To Tell The Truth. For the first time since the original Bud Collyer left the airwaves in 1967, the show is back in prime time with Anthony Anderson of Black-ish handling the hosting duties. He is really funny and steers the show away from the staid format of the previous versions into a looser and funnier version.

Let's not forget the panel. Casting Betty White as a regular was a great move by the production staff since she has played the game many times in its 60 year history and asks really good questions. Also contributing are NeNe Leakes and Jalen Rose with a guest panelist each week. Give an assist to Anderson's real-life mother Doris who serves as the scorekeeper and contributes to the comedy.

But the hallmark of the show is extraordinarily talented contestants. In the episode my girlfriend and I saw, there was a female competitive eating champion, a man who was struck by lightning twice, a seven time lottery winner and a couple who got married 50 times. Kudos to the casting director for the great spots.

If you haven't seen this version of To Tell the Truth, it won't be on very long since ABC ordered only six episodes. It pays homage to the original Bob Stewart creation as Anderson quotes the famous phrase "Will the real...please stand up!" Missing from this version is another familiar phrase "Number One. What is your name please?" It has potential to be another game show hit for ABC.

i remember watching F Troop and to me it was a very funny satire of the Old West that took place in the post Civil War era. The first season theme song with vocals did a great job in explaining the premise on how Parmenter became captain of F Troop. Unfortunately, when the show went to color in the second season, they canned the vocal theme and went to an instrumental.

Also, the show had an outstanding cast, anchored by Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, Ken Berry and Melody Patterson. Patterson actually lied about her age to get the role of Wrangler Jane. There were also Frank De Kova as chief Wild Eagle and Don Diamond as Crazy Cat. Also adding to the mayhem was James Hampton as the inept bugler Dobbs.

But it was Storch who stood out as he played a number of dual roles including cousins Lucky Pierre and Russian Agarnoff. It showed his true talents as an impressionist.

There were numerous guest stars, including Henry Gibson, prior to Laugh- In as jinx Wrongo Starr. Though F Troop was still getting good ratings, ABC canceled the show after two season because of high production costs. It deserved a longer run since it was a very funny sitcom. Sound the "Charge" call that was heard at the end of the closing credits to end this review.

When Jim Brooks, David Davis, Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels left MTM to form their own production company, they applied what worked well for them on shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda to create and produce their own show and it would become Taxi.

The show was a true ensemble comedy like The Mary Tyler Moore Show with outstanding writing and a great cast with nobody dominating the story lines like Fonzie on Happy Days and Urkel on Family Matters,

The cast was anchored by Judd Hirsch, who played career cabbie Alex Rieger. He's the father figure of the bunch and supportive to would be boxer Tony Banta, played by Tony Danza, aspiring actor Bobby Wheeler, played by Jeff Conaway and the lone female driver Elaine Nardo, portrayed by Marilu Henner.

Also adding to the hysteria was Andy Kaufman as mechanic Latka, who comes from an unidentified foreign country. He created his mannerisms and language that brought a lot to each episode he was in.

But to me, the best character on the show was Louie DePalma, the nasty dispatcher that turned out to be the role that put Danny DeVito on the map. DeVito's portrayal of Louie turned to be the meanest boss on TV since Mr. Slate on The Flintstones. One the other side of the coin, Taxi was also the show that he worked with the woman who would become his wife, Rhea Perlman.

Another character who to me was very funny was Reverend Jim, the Christopher Lloyd character who became a regular in the second season after Randall Carver was let go. His portrayal of a burned out hippie, especially in the episode where he took his driver's test was outstanding.

One other character who came along later in the run was Simka Dahblitz, played by Carol Kane. She would later marry Latka.

The show would also be the launching pad for brothers Glen and Les Charles, who would later team up with James Burrows to create and produce another classic comedy, Cheers. Though Taxi won 18 Emmys and had a healthy five year run, it was sent to the garage after moving to NBC in the 1982-83 season. I'll close with the tag line that was heard after the closing credits "Thank you Mr. Walters."

Five years after I Love Lucy ended, Lucille Ball returned to TV in her second sitcom, titled The Lucy Show. Unlike Lucy Ricardo, she played a widowed mother of a daughter named Chris, played by Candy Moore and a son named Jerry, portrayed by Jimmy Garrett. Also adding to the hysteria was her former I Love Lucy sidekick Vivian Vance, a divorced mother of a son named Sherman, who was played by Ralph Hart.

As the show progressed, the kids were no longer seen on the show and Vance left after the third season. Also adding to the mayhem were Gale Gordon as Mr. Mooney and Mary Jane Croft. Ball and Gordon had outstanding chemistry that would last until Here's Lucy went off the air in 1974.

Just like I Love Lucy, the show featured the slapstick and physical comedy that made ball one of the funniest female sit=com actresses of all time. I saw Lucy Gets Caught Up in the Draft and she constantly gives her commanding officer a hard time. It was also a very funny episode. There were also numerous episodes with guest stars, including several with Ann Sothern as The Countess.

From the cute animated opening in the first season to the full color episodes in it's sixth and final season, the Lucy show is laugh out loud funny and Ball doesn't miss a beat.

Two years after Leave it to Beaver became the first show to look at life from a child's view, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis becomes the first sitcom to focus on a teenage perspective of life.

What made Dobie Gillis stand out was Dwayne Hickman's portrayal of the title character. His clean cut, good looks attracted lots of female viewers to the show. Also, he had one of the great TV sidekick as well as one of the most offbeat, Maynard G. Krebs, played by Bob Denver.

Denver, who would go on to greater success on Gilligan's Island would portray not only TV's first beatnik but also one of the first breakout sitcom characters. He wore a goatee and a sweatshirt and shuddered when anyone said the work "Work." I should also point out that Maynard's other catch phrase was "You rang?" The line was also used by Lurch the butler in The Addams Family.

The show wasn't just about Dobie and Maynard. There were also Dobie's parents Herbert and Winnie, played by Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus. Winnie was a patient, understanding mom like June Cleaver and Herbert would sometimes say in the early episodes "I gotta kill that boy." Let's not forget an early TV appearance by Warren Beatty, who played Dobie's rival in the first season Milton Armitage. When Beatty left the show, he was replaced by Steve Franken, who would play one of the most popular characters on the show Chatsworth Osborne.

And there were the girls. The actresses who appeared as Dobie's girlfriends would make some of their early TV appearances such as Michele Lee, Sally Kellerman and Marlo Thomas.

Even though I haven't seen a lot of episodes, I did watch a few on the new Decades channel and I though it was a pretty funny sitcom. Unlike Beaver, Hickman breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience. It was an added dimension to a successful teen sitcom. And that was Dobie with a "b".

I remember watching the 70s incarnation of The Odd Couple with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman and to me it was one of my favorite sitcoms.

I also remember with the New Odd Couple with Ron Glass and Demond Wilson and it wasn't very good since many of the episodes were remakes of the Randall-Klugman series.

Now, more than 30 years later, The Odd Couple is back, with Thomas Lennon as Felix and Matthew Perry (who is also the executive producer) as Oscar. It doesn't look a lot like the first two versions since there is a different supporting cast. Instead of the poker gang of Speed, Vinnie and Roy and also the Pigeon Sisters, there's Dani, Oscar's assistant played by Yvette Nicole Brown and Lindsay Sloane as their upstairs neighbor Emily.

The one character that's absent from this version is Murray the Cop. Al Molinaro made the character famous in the original and John Schuck took over the role in the Glass-Wilson version.

Also, Oscar is no longer a sportswriter, he's a sports radio talk show host. Felix is still a commercial photographer.

On the plus side, Lennon and Perry have good chemistry as Felix and Oscar. On the minus side, the episodes have a lot raunchier humor than the Randall-Klugman version.

The one thing the producers did right was bringing in Garry Marshall, who produced the first two versions as a consultant. With The Big Bang Theory as a lead in, it has been even more successful in the ratings than the first two versions. But can it sustain itself without Big Bang?

If you're a fan of The Big Bang Theory, then you probably heard of Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, who have played guest roles on the show. Micucci played Raj's girlfriend Lucy in a number of episodes.

But if you haven't heard of Garfunkel and Oates, the group that consists of Lindhome and Micucci, then the IFC show is your introduction to the funny female folk duo.

I have seen every episode so far, and to me their songs are funny and sometime dirty. I also like the avant-garde style videos that appear in each episode. It adds a lot to the comedy.

Even though IFC ordered only eight episodes, it's a show that deserves to be back for a longer run next season. It's a show that would also work on HBO since there are no restrictions on language. Give the show a chance, you'll see two outstanding and funny female comedy singers.

When Andy Griffith decided to leave his own show in 1968 to focus on a movie career, the show continued on under the title Mayberry RFD. Instead of Griffith, Ken Berry, a year after F Troop ended, portrayed a similar character Sam Jones. He was also a widower with a young son, played by Buddy Foster, the brother of actress Jodie Foster.

Also returning were the familiar characters of Goober, Emmett, Howard Sprague and Aunt Bee. Also returning was Arlene Golonka as Sam's love interest Millie. She brought beauty to the show. After the second season, Frances Bavier, who played Aunt bee since The Andy Griffith Show began in 1960, left the show and was replaced by Alice Ghostley as Aunt Alice.

Even without Griffith and Ron Howard, Mayberry RFD didn't miss a beat and turned out to be a very popular rural sitcom. Unfortunately, with ratings still high, CBS canceled the show as part of the Rural Purge in 1971. It's a show that hasn't had a long run as Andy Griffith and it deserves to be rerun on a network such as METV. Mayberry RFD continued the tradition of wholesome, rural sitcoms and shouldn't have been canceled while it was still on top of its game.