When I think hilarious comedy, Freddie Prinze Jr. is the first name that comes to mind.

It works well because Spielberg ripped it off directly from Cornel Wilde's BEACH RED, right down to the soldier who picks up his arm that was blown off.

No doubt Kovacs was also an influence (I think Merrill Markoe has said this, but I could be misremembering), but I see a lot more Allen than Kovacs. Stuff like the 360-degree episode and the Monkey Cam and the episode where actors dubbed everyone, including Dave, that seems like Kovacs. The Guy Under the Stairs —…

Oh, man, I want all those tapes.

Letterman probably owes more to Steve Allen (which Letterman has acknowledged) than Kovacs.

Would love to see NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, SHORT ATTENTION SPAN THEATER, POLITICALLY INCORRECT and COMICS ONLY have some kind of afterlife on DVD or streaming.

Not mentioned in this article, but highly relevant: REDS was nominated for 12 (!) Academy Awards, winning three. And was a decent-sized hit (13th grossing film of 1981). Can you imagine a studio even *making* REDS today, much less the Academy nominating it and boobs who pay $17 to see Superman and Batman fight…

It was a Dick Wolf series, so it was a solid, competent police procedural ripped from the headlines. O'Neill was good.

Nag, nag, nag.

There are also episodes of THE AVENGERS and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (with guest star George Takei!) with this plot.

It teaches the danger of pencils.

ABC brought it back with Ed O'Neill and Eva Longoria a few years ago.

I guess this could work, but you know this version will be much less sexually charged (and will not feature underaged girls infatuated with an adult male), which sort of violates the point of THE BEGUILED.

RED NIGHTMARE is fantastic. Not only is it hilarious, but it's also great fun to spot the future TV stars: Bob Conrad, the recently deceased Peter Brown, Jeanne Cooper, Peter Breck, Mike Road (whose Race Bannon voice is always instantly recognizable). How anyone can find this film "incredibly boring" is beyond me.…

Admit it: you can't get the BENSON theme out of your head.

And still married to Morgan Fairchild.

Co-starring ME AND THE CHIMP's Ted Bessell.

Well. Ted Bessell. How could it have succeeded?

It's worth pointing out in an election year that Patty Duke played America's first woman president in the ABC sitcom HAIL TO THE CHIEF.

I understand hot dogs made her crazy.