8 replies to this topic

[Scott]

The television series Police Squad! was released on DVD this month. One of the running gags in each episode is that the special guest star gets killed off in the opening credits (and so doesn't appear anywhere else in the episode). John Belushi was to be the special guest star in episode 6. He suggested they show him with a needle sticking out of his arm, that he had died from a drug overdose. Creepy, huh? They rejected the idea and went with the classic cement overshoes. John died before the episode aired, and he was replaced by William Conrad. The footage of John's cement overshoes death scene got lost and is presumed to have been destroyed. (If they could have found it, it would likely have been included on the DVD as a deleted scene.)

[JacobSteinAFM]

Yes, I just got that DVD, and apparently they haven't found the footage, and it's nowhere to be seen. I think they should've put a little more effort in finding it, since they managed to include a blooper reel.



But in the production notes, there is one brief reference to this scene-

Quote

Belushi--rocks attached to his feet; we see him sink down into frame as if underwater. Bubbles coming out of his mouth; fish swimming by.

[Swingkid570]

Gah. You beat me to posting this!

I watched the whole disc last night and spent time trying to find a possible "Easter Egg" with the footage, but no such luck. Still, unless someone intentionally destroyed the footage - and the Zucker Brothers, Abrams and their producer Robert Wise make no mention of it ib the commentary where they discuss John's cameo - then there still is hope that they might someday discover it. After all, every now and then they still discover some seemingly lost stuff from the silents. Hopefully whomever stumbles across it will recognize it for what it is!

[Scott]

It figures I'm not the only person around here who bought the DVD. It's cool how many of us have so many overlapping interests.

[JacobSteinAFM]

I'm a big fan of the Naked Gun films, so that's why I got the Police Squad! DVD.

I can't believe this brilliant show got cancelled after only six episodes. That really blows.

[TakkunEG]

It's always such a strange, ironic moment when you read/see of John being put in/planned for gag drug scenes for all sorts of things.

[bbcentral]

The Naked Gun movies were funny, although Leslie Nielson's style of comedy does get a little predictible after a while, seeing as he only really knows how to play one character.
I've always loved the theme music though, I have it on CD

[Scott]

I prefer the series over the films myself. The series is closer to what Airplane was in terms of jokes. The films were raunchier which isn't my cup of tea. I preferred OJ as Norberg, but the guy who replaced Alan North wasn't as good.

[TakkunEG]

The only thing I liked Leslie Neilson in was "Dracula: Dead and Loving It", but probably because it was a Mel Brooks flick.