Odd Couple Returns To Me

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Felix and Oscar are back on Friday nights!

The classic 1970s sitcom The Odd Couple returns to the MeTV digital network lineup tonight, airing back-to-back episodes Friday nights from 10-11PM ET. The show originally aired on ABC from 1970-75, mostly on Friday nights.

The Odd Couple features Tony Randall and Jack Klugman as fussy Felix Unger and sloppy Oscar Madison. It replaces The Dick Van Dyke Show which has left the MeTV lineup.

#OddCouple #MeTV

Hulu Plus Expands CBS Deal

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More classic TV shows are coming to a computer near you…and to your television too if you’re a Hulu Plus subscriber.

A revised deal between online streaming service Hulu and program supplier CBS will give Hulu access to 5,300 episodes from the CBS library. That’s nearly double the programming in their previous contract.

Among the classic favorites on the way: The Brady Bunch, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple and Taxi.

Hulu offers a limited number of episodes on their free online service. Subscribers to their paid service have access to more programs and can watch them on a variety of devices, including XBOX and Roku players. Both free and paid services include limited commercials.

To sample Hulu and learn more about their streaming service, visit their website.

1960s Sitcoms Viewing Guide

Our crack research team (consisting of me, myself and I) decided to take a look at where YOU could take a look at classic sitcoms from the 1960s.

I researched the primetime schedules from the 60s and put together a list of shows that have aired in syndication and/or on DVD. Note that I included some cartoons and the campy Adam West Batman series in this sitcom guide.

The table below shows where these shows are currently available for viewing (as of February 2014). The columns include Program Title (with a link to DVD releases), Diginets (national programming services carried by local TV stations), Cable/Satellite Networks and Streaming (Internet-based services like Hulu, Netflix).

Please note some shows may also air on broadcast stations, i.e. WFMY Greensboro NC still runs The Andy Griffith Show on weekday afternoons. These local airings are not included in this viewing guide…please check your local listings.

I hope you find this guide useful. Please contact me via Facebook with any errors or omissions.

Program Title w/DVD Link Diginet Cable/Satellite Streaming
The Addams Family This
The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet Retro
The Andy Griffith Show TV Land Hulu & Netflix & TV Land
The Ann Sothern Show
Bachelor Father Antenna
Batman Me
The Beverly Hillbillies Me & Retro
Bewitched Antenna Crackle
The Bill Cosby Show
The Bill Dana Show
The Brady Bunch Me Hallmark & TV Land CBS
Car 54 Where Are You? Me
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
Dennis The Menace Antenna Hulu
The Dick Van Dyke Show Me TV Land Hulu & Me & Netflix & TV Land
The Donna Reed Show Me Hulu
The Doris Day Show Hulu & Me
Family Affair Me
The Farmer's Daughter
Father Knows Best Antenna Hulu
The Flintstones Boomerang
The Flying Nun Antenna
F Troop Me
The Gale Storm Show
The George Gobel Show
Get Smart Me
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Gidget Antenna
Gilligan's Island Me TV Land
Gomer Pyle USMC Me*
Good Morning World
The Governor & J.J.
Green Acres Antenna Hulu
Hazel Antenna
Hennesey
Here's Lucy Hulu
Hogan's Heroes Me
I Dream of Jeannie Antenna Crackle
I'm Dickens He's Fenster
The Jack Benny Program Antenna
The Jetsons Boomerang
The Joey Bishop Show Retro
Julia
Leave It To Beaver Me Netflix
The Lucy Show Hulu & Me
Make Room for Daddy** Me
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis Me
Mayberry R.F.D.
McHale's Navy Antenna Hulu
Mister Ed Antenna Hallmark Movie Hulu
The Monkees Antenna
The Mothers-In-Law Hulu & Me
The Munsters Netflix
My Favorite Martian Hulu
My Living Doll Hulu
My Mother The Car Hulu
My Three Sons Me
The Patty Duke Show Antenna
Pete & Gladys
Petticoat Junction Me
Pistols 'N Petticoats
Please Don't Eat The Daisies
That Girl
The Real McCoys Cozi & Retro
To Rome with Love
Top Cat

*Not available in all markets
**Also known as The Danny Thomas Show

Obit: Ben Starr

Veteran TV comedy writer and producer Ben Starr has died at 92.

His writing career began on early TV shows like Duffy’s Tavern and I Married Joan, later working on such classics as Mister Ed, The Brady Bunch, All In The Family and Diff’rent Strokes. He went on to become co-creator of The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons.

Starr passed away January 19 in Los Angeles.

Classic TV Shows on Hulu

Although I no longer subscribe to Hulu Plus, the online streaming service has an impressive selection of classic TV series in their library.

There are actually two Hulus, the original Hulu online and Hulu Plus. The latter is a subscription streaming service which costs the same as Netflix, $7.99 a month. The difference is Hulu Plus carries programming with “limited commercial interruptions.”

The commercials are kind of annoying for a pay service, but their classic TV library is pretty vast. Many shows are limited, however, so you may only see a season or two.

I spent a lot of time searching the Hulu site for classic TV shows (1950s-1960s-1970s) and put together the following list organized by category. Please note that not all series may be available on Plus. This list was researched in mid-January 2014 and is subject to change:

Adventure/Crime Drama
Adam-12, The Adventures of Black Beauty, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Avengers, The Buccaneers, Dangerous Assignment, Dragnet, Ellery Queen, Flipper, Highway Patrol, I Spy, Ironside, It Takes A Thief, Kojak, Man with a Camera, Movin’ On, Naked City, Peter Gunn, The Rockford Files, Route 66, Sea Hunt

British
I Claudius, UFO, Yes Prime Minister

Cartoons/Kids
The Adventures of Flash Gordon, The Archies, Archie’s Funhouse, Dick Tracy, Dudley Do-Right, The Electric Company, Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids, Felix The Cat, Fireball XL-5, Fractured Fairy Tales, Godzilla, Gumby, The Jackson 5ive, Jason of Star Command, Johnny Soko & His Flying Robot, Lancelot Link Secret Chimp, The Mr. Magoo Show, The New Three Stooges, Popeye the Sailor, Return to the Planet of The Apes, Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends, The Secrets of Isis, The Soupy Sales Show, Speed Racer, Supercar

Comedies
The Abbott & Costello Show, All In The Family, The Andy Griffith Show, Barney Miller, Bewitched, The Bob Newhart Show, Buster Keaton (Short Films), Date With The Angels, Dennis The Menace, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Donna Reed Show, The Doris Day Show, Ernie Kovacs, Father Knows Best, Good Times, Green Acres, Here’s Lucy, I Dream of Jeannie, I Love Lucy, Laurel & Hardy (Lost Films), The Lucy Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, McHale’s Navy, Mister Ed, The Mothers-in-Law, My Favorite Martian, My Living Doll, My Mother The Car, Nanny and the Professor, Rhoda, Sanford and Son, The Three Stooges, WKRP in Cincinnati

Dramas
Lassie, Studio One, The White Shadow

Game Shows
You Bet Your Life

Science Fiction/Dramas
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Battlestar Galactica, Dark Shadows, Flash Gordon, The Incredible Hulk, Land of the Giants, Lost In Space, Night Gallery, One Step Beyond, The Outer Limits, Space: 1999, Star Trek, Tales of Tomorrow, The Time Tunnel, The Twilight Zone, Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea

Variety
The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Lawrence Welk Show

Westerns
Alias Smith and Jones, The Big Valley, Bonanza, The Cisco Kid, The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, The Roy Rogers Show

If you like classic TV and don’t mind watching on your PC, check out all the free shows on Hulu. If you’d rather watch on your TV, get a Roku or other streaming box and subscribe to Hulu Plus.

Classic TV Shows on Netflix

I’ve had Netflix for several years now and L-O-V-E it! 8 bucks a month and you can stream on multiple devices…what a bargain!

I currently have it set up on 3 Roku boxes, my desktop PC and my Kindle Fire.

100,000 + Videos to Watch In Roku Player

Being a self-confessed classic TV junkie, I’m not very interested in movies. Netflix does have a nice selection of classic series and that’s what keeps me hooked.

Although I couldn’t found a simple directory of all classic TV shows in their library, I did some manual searching and came up with my own list of classic TV (1950s-1960s-1970s) on Netflix (as of January 2014):

Adventure/Crime Drama
Adam-12, Columbo, Dragnet, Emergency!, Hawaii Five-O, McMillan & Wife, Mission: Impossible, Quincy M.E., The Rockford Files

British
All Creatures Great and Small, Classic Doctor Who, Fawlty Towers, Upstairs Downstairs

Cartoons
Felix The Cat, Star Trek: The Animated Series

Comedies
The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It To Beaver, The Munsters

Science Fiction/Mysteries
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Battlestar Galactica, Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Incredible Hulk, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone

Keep in mind programming on Netflix comes and goes, so series may disappear and reappear from your queue. Still, for only $8 a month I can’t complain. I was even able to use my USA Netflix account when I visited Finland last year…not as big of a selection but it works for me 🙂

January Classic TV DVD Releases

New on DVD this month: the 1970s cop comedy Barney Miller (Season 4), Bill Bixby in The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (Season 3), Shirley Booth as bossy maid Hazel (5th & Final Season), plus a pre-Gilligan Bob Denver in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (Season 2).

Enjoy some classic comedies and help support ClassicTVBlog.com with your purchase!