Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Hallmark Dumps The Good Wife; Remembering Ben Starr Co-Creator of The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons
The Hallmark Channel has pulled The Good Wife completely from its line-up effective today (Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014). The series started a few weeks ago by airing weekdays from 6-10pm but after just a week it was reduced to 8-10pm and now it is gone completely. The Waltons will now air in primetime from 8-10pm, so its 2-4pm airings will be replaced by Home Improvement. Hallmark will replace the 6-8pm Home Improvement block with the return of Little House on the Prairie. Classic '70s and '80s family dramas from 6-10pm trump over The Good Wife in the ratings for Hallmark it seems. Hallmark has a quick axe usually on shows that do not deliver in ratings, but for a big acquisition like this, it might have been too quick to pull. We'll let you know if and when it returns to the line-up. The rest of the Hallmark Channel weekday schedule will remain as is, with I Love Lucy from 5-8am, The Golden Girls from 8-10am, a new and encore of Home & Family from 10am-2pm, the aforementioned Home Improvement from 2-4pm, The Brady Bunch from 4-6pm into the classic dramas from 6-10pm (Little House & The Waltons). Comedies will rule in late night still with Frasier from 10pm-12am, The Golden Girls from 12-2am, Cheers from 2-3am, and more Frasier from 3-5am.
Television writer and producer Ben Starr, who helped create The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons, has died. He died on January 19 at his home in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure. Mr. Starr was 92.
Starr's early sitcom writing credits included Duffy's Tavern, My Hero, I Married Joan, The Ray Milland, December Bride, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and Bachelor Father. He wrote 40 episodes of Mister Ed from 1961-1963. Other sitcoms he wrote multiple episodes of included My Favorite Martian, Petticoat Junction, The Brady Bunch, Chico and the Man and All in the Family.
He worked as a writer and producer for Diff'rent Strokes from 1978-1982. He was instrumental in inadvertently coining the famous "Whatchu talking 'bout Willis?" catchphrase by Gary Coleman. The line was originally written as "What are you talking about, Willis?" before Coleman gave his classic delivery. He was interviewed in the E! True Hollywood Story specials on Diff'rent Strokes and Dana Plato in 1998 and 1999. In 1979, he helped develop the spin-off series The Facts of Life with Howard Leeds and Jerry Mayer. The popular series aired on NBC for 9 seasons and 209 episodes. Starr later helped create Silver Spoons with Leeds and Martin Cohan in 1982. The series, starring Ricky Schroder, Joel Higgins and Erin Gray, aired for five seasons (four on NBC and one in first-run syndication).
The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive interview with him on November 9, 2009. Survivors include three children and three grandchildren and nephew Andy Kaplan, who heads international channels for Sony Pictures TV. We thank him for bringing us the classic 1980s sitcoms The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons. He will be greatly missed.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September)
09/06 - Coach - Season One (Mill Creek) / Season Two / Seasons One and Two
09/06 - South Park - The Complete Ninteenth Season (Blu-ray)
09/13 - The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Ninth Season (Blu-ray)
09/13 - Newhart - The Complete Sixth Season
09/20 - 2 Broke Girls - The Complete Fifth Season
09/20 - Family Matters - The Complete Eighth Season
09/20 - Modern Family - The Complete Season 7
09/20 - Veep - Season 5
09/27 - The Wonder Years - Season Six
More TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Wednesday, September 28
The Goldbergs - "I Heart Video Dating" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Erica and Lainey try to find Bill a woman of interest by using new technology for dating. They recruit Adam to create a demo reel, but Beverly insists she will find someone the old fashioned way. Meanwhile, after a “failed” aptitude test, Barry decides he wants to be a gym teacher and becomes Coach Mellor’s apprentice.
Speechless - "N-E--NEW A-I--AIDE" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Maya struggles as Kenneth takes over as JJ’s full-time aide. Loving his new freedom, JJ avoids attending a physical therapy appointment, and Maya automatically blames Kenneth, using any excuse to confirm her misgivings and moves to fire him. Meanwhile, Jimmy struggles to teach Dylan the family way to not be so neighborly.
Modern Family - "A Stereotypical Day" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Jay does not want to give the new family moving in across the street the wrong impression and goes out of his way to make sure they know he is the best kind of neighbor, while Manny decides that the best way to an attractive and radical-thinking teenage girl’s heart is through his actions. Meanwhile, at the Pritchett house, the entire family is using Alex’s recent bout of mono to their advantage. Finally, Cam and Mitchell have always felt they were the most open, non-judgmental and supportive parents. However, when they overhear Lily insulting her new friend, they have to take a quick look in the mirror before they teach her a lesson about acceptance.
black-ish - "God" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Dre discovers that Zoey is questioning her belief in God, he undergoes a crisis of faith and leans on family members and coworkers for their input. Meanwhile, Bow’s brother Johan comes to stay with The Johnsons after living abroad and becomes an instant thorn in Dre’s side.
Younger - "A Kiss is Just a Kiss" (TV Land, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Liza sends Caitlin off to college and struggles to weigh her feelings for both Josh and Charles.
Impastor - "The Devil Went Down to Ladner" (TV Land, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Buddy’s attempt to outfox the detectives backfires. Dora, Alexa, and Russell suspect something ominous is going on with their new pastor. Schmidt learns the truth about Ashlee.
You're the Worst - "Twenty-Two" (FXX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Edgar spends the day trying to find some relief for his PTSD.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 26)
Wednesday, September 28
- Sarah Jessica Parker (Divorce/Sex and the City/Square Pegs) - Watch Sarah on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Daveed Diggs (black-ish) - Daveed stops by Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- January Jones (The Last Man on Earth) - January appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She will also be on LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings and on the AOL Build Show at 11am.
- Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Ken Marino (Marry Me/Party Down/Men Behaving Badly) - Ken is a guest on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
- Ted Danson (The Good Place/Becker/Cheers) - Ted stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley/The Goodwin Games/Carpoolers) - T.J. appears on Chelsea on Netflix.
- Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Jerry guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
- Kristin Chenoweth (Kristin) - Kristin joins the Chew Crew on ABC's The Chew at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.
- Nathan Lane (Modern Family/Encore! Encore!/Charlie Lawrence) and John Goodman (Roseanne) - Nathan and John talk about The Front Page on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Hilary Duff (Younger/Lizzie McGuire) and Debbie Mazar (Younger/Entourage/Working) - Hilary and Debbie talk about Younger on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. Hilary will also be on People Now at 8:30am.
- The Cast of Impastor - Michael Rosenbaum, Sara Rue, Mircea Monroe, David Rasche and Mike Kosinski discuss Impastor on the AOL Build Show at 12pm and on Facebook Live. Sara will also be on PIX Morning News on WPIX in New York.
- Marcia Gay Harden (Trophy Wife) - Marcia is a guest on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
- Norm Macdonald (Norm) - Norm appears on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
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