SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Thursday Night Reaching New Lows; Writers of Classic American Series Looking to China

Saturday, November 30, 2013

SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Thursday Night Reaching New Lows; Writers of Classic American Series Looking to China

Happy Thanksgiving weekend, and welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's a slow week for us this week due to the holiday, but we've got all of your regular features as usual. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

NBC is facing a serious dilemma with their Thursday night lineup, as the historically top-rated lineup came in at a historically low sixth place in the ratings race last week, falling behind even The CW in key demographics last week. Could it be time for a major shakeup in this lineup? (LA Times)
Many TV writers of the 70's, 80's, and 90's still interested in working just aren't finding work on today's networks in line with their style, but as it turns out, China may be the perfect place to develop new series like the ones they wrote for in the past. Sitcom writers such as Marilyn Anderson (Murphy Brown and The Jeffersons) and Michael Elias (Head of the Class and The Bill Cosby Show) are just a few among thousands of other writers of past American hit series working with a Chinese production company to bring high quality productions to a nation that is claimed to be lacking in great stories for television. (The Hollywood Reporter)
On Sunday's episode of Family Guy, fans were given one of the most shocking deaths to ever occur in an animated series as one of the major characters was killed off. This has caused quite an outrage from fans on the internet, even inspiring one of the largest online petitions ever revolving around the plot of a TV series. But is it all real, or a complicated publicity stunt to spike ratings? (LA Times)
Actor Jay Leggett, who appeared as a cast member on the final season of In Living Color, died this week at the age of 50. (TV Guide)
MeTV is adding a pair of classic Sid & Marty Krofft series to their Saturday morning lineup beginning December 29, with the addition of H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Just before the April premiere of the sixth season of the Showtime series, Lionsgate is set to release Nurse Jackie - Season Five on DVD and Blu-ray on February 18. As usual, the set will contain plenty of special features.
eOne Entertainment is prepared to bring a somewhat forgotten '80s syndicated gem to DVD with their release of Monsters - The Complete Series. For those unfamiliar with the series, it was a horror anthology series from the same producer who previously brought fans the syndicated series Tales from the Darkside.

RECENT HOME MEDIA REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00E0FW054/ref=nosim/happydaysonline4-20

Family Guy - Volume Eleven: The three-disc set brings all 23 episodes of the 2011-2012 season of the animated Fox series to DVD, along with a few nice special features.
MADtv - The Complete Fourth Season: Shout! Factory's latest release of the late night Fox series that ran for 15 seasons brings fans one of the greatest seasons of the series.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Kunal Nayyar (Twitter), "I play Raj on the Big Bang Theory. I love playing Ping Pong, and long walks on the beach. Thats about all I like doing, especially on the sand."

Claim to Fame: Nayyar was born in London and raised in New Delhi, but came to the United States in 1999 to pursue a degree in finance. While in college, he appeared in a few stage performances and found that was what he really loved, and by 2007, the relatively unknown actor found huge success when he was cast as Raj Koothrappali in the CBS series The Big Bang Theory.

Pick of the Tweets: "FAQ- I can talk to women without alcohol now. On the show as well." (September 26, 2013)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Monday, February 18

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Malcolm's Job" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Tina agrees to give Grover piano lessons and her son Malcolm lands a job in retail sales, neither Butler has a first day that goes quite according to plan.

Man with a Plan - "Put Him on the Ground" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Adam sees a kid push Emme, he convinces Teddy to dish out some old-school justice to defend his younger sister, to Andi’s dismay. Also, Adam and Don persuade Joe to hire a nurse to help out after his upcoming knee surgery. Ron Funches guest stars as Funches, Joe’s home nurse.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 18

Monday, February 18

Paul Shaffer (A Year at the Top) - Watch Paul on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The College Years/Truth Be Told) - Mark-Paul visits Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Michael Strahan (Brothers) - Michael chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Courteney Cox (Cougar Town/Friends/Family Ties) - Courteney stops by The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Kate Walsh (Bad Judge/The Drew Carey Show) - Kate chats about her new Netflix show The Umbrella Academy on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
NeNe Leakes (The New Normal) - NeNe is a guest on ABC's Strahan & Sara at 1pm.
Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about The Enemy Within on the BUILD Series at 3:30pm.