Quincy

While he'll always be known to me as Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple, television audiences also know Jack Klugman from his 1976 to 1983 series Quincy, M.E. (The M.E. stands for "Medical Examiner," just so you know.) Well, he's now suing over lost profits from that television show (and not for the first time either).

A lesson that has long been learned in television negotiation is that you never take profit shares from the net of any show or movie. The magic of Hollywood accounting can have that piece of programming in debt for centuries. I think Gone With The Wind has yet to make a profit. If you are ever negotiating salary, make sure it's a percentage of the gross profits, not net.

Not that any of this wisdom helps Jack Klugman at the moment. Hopefully his case can bring to light some of the insidious accounting practices in the entertainment industry, but I'm not holding my breath.

Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

Ah, the police detective genre. It's one of the staples of a network's TV lineup. We all have our favorites, whether the characters are in blue uniforms or suits. Here are my Top 5 (and just so we're clear, I'm talking about police detectives, not private eyes or amateur investigators. I'll have that list tomorrow!)

1. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk): No contest, really. Sure, there are some other great cops and detectives, but not many with the sheer Sherlock Holmes-like smarts as Lt. Columbo. He walked around sorta lost and bumbling, with a constantly lit cigar, a rumpled raincoat, and hair that made it look like he just woke up. But he was no fool, which all the murderers found out a little bit too late.

After all these years, I still don't know how to pronounced his name. Is it "Tigh?" "Tig?" "Teeg?"

Andrews is probably best known for his work on The Mod Squad. He played Captain Adam Greer, the police captain in charge of Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III and Michael Cole (the original show, not the movie with Claire Danes). Andrews also had recurring roles on Gomer Pyle and CHiPs, and guest starred on several other shows: Murder, She Wrote, Vegas, Quincy, M.E., Hawaiian Heat, Police Story, Marcus Welby, M.D., Police Woman, Playhouse 90, Inner Sanctum, The Dick Powell Show, The Phil Silvers Show, The Big Valley, The F.B.I., The Fugitive, and many others.

Andrews died of a heart attack in California on January 27.