SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

ABC Changes Name for Applegate Sitcom; More Summer Shows; ION RHI Movie Weekend Release

Clearance issues with the estate of Dr. Seuss has caused ABC to change the name for the upcoming Christina Applegate ABC sitcom coming this fall. The previous title was Sam I Am. The title played on the fact that Applegate's character, Samantha Newly, has amnesia and can't remember anything about her life.
As good as the title may have been, it also drew on the first lines of the classic Dr. Seuss work "Green Eggs and Ham." It's believed the Seuss estate didn't take kindly to ABC's literary allusion.
So now, ABC has opted to call the show Samantha Be Good.
The new title may not have the same ring as Sam I Am, but it still reflects one of the show's themes. Turns out that, before she lost her memory, Applegate's character was a not very nice person. Now that she's got a chance to start over, she'll be trying to be good.
I have seen the pilot, it is quite good. Look for our review later this summer, as we get closer to the fall season.

Moving on to new summer series news, in addition to all the new summer series airing already, CBS, Fox and ABC will have one more each. Let's start with Fox. Fox will add a new talent game show starting July 10. Wayne Brady will host this series that will be called Don't Forget the Lyrics!. The half-hour series will air twice a week--Wednesdays at 9:30PM and Thursdays at 8:30PM. Contestants will choose songs from different genres, decades and musical artists. Then they'll take center stage to sing alongside the studio band as the lyrics are projected on screen but suddenly the music will stop and the words will disappear. Will the contestants belt out the correct missing lyric, or freeze under pressure?
Moving on to ABC, they will launch a new hidden-camera comedy type show called Just for Laughs on Tuesday, July 17. Comedian Sinbad will host. It is based on the popular Canadian series by the same name. ABC will air this series Tuesdays at 8:30PM following encores of George Lopez. The premiere episode will be from 8 to 9PM however.
Finally, CBS will launch a new game show in August hosted by Drew Carey. So we are three for three in brand name hosts today. Power Of 10, a high-stakes, primetime game show where contestants compete for the chance to win $10 million, will have a special broadcast premiere on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 8:00PM. The series then moves to its regular time period on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 8:00PM. The contestant who can most accurately predict the American public's response to intriguing poll questions could walk away winning millions. Power Of 10 reaches out across America to poll thousands of people and ask them, well, just about everything - from "What percentage of Americans said they were virgins the day they got married?" to "How many Americans believe they are smarter than president George W. Bush?" Each week contestants will be tested to see if they have their finger on the pulse of the people and can accurately predict the results of the nationwide surveys. With the first question worth $1,000 and only five questions to answer, and each one increasing 10 times in value, the contestant who has the best take on the American mindset could walk away with a $10 million payday.

Finally, we detailed ION Television's July line-up nearly two weeks ago, but today they issued a press release on their new RHI Weekend programming that will start June 29 airing Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays from 7-11PM. RHI’s exciting lineup of programming for ION will include the creation of exclusive original programming as well as quality library titles. The first of 12 originals is Killer Wave, an action-packed thriller in which nature’s deadliest ocean phenomenon-massive tidal waves-meet the dark nature of man by way of a terrorist plot.
The premiere of RHI/ION weekend features Broken Vows (Friday, June 29), starring Tommy Lee Jones and Annette O’Toole; Lonesome Dove, a digitally re-mastered edition of the blockbuster miniseries whose all-star cast includes Robert Duvall, Anjelica Huston, Tommy Lee Jones, Diane Lane, Danny Glover and Chris Cooper; and Cleopatra, the lavish miniseries that stars Timothy Dalton and Billy Zane, with Leonor Varela in the title role.
For the entire press release highlight click HERE.

Sony Classic TV Minisodes Launches Today, Full Details; Interviews with Marion Ross and Dan Lauria

MySpace today announced the exclusive debut of The Minisode Network, a selection of episodes from hit TV shows from the Sony Pictures Television library that have been pared down for the Internet audience. Each minisode is three to five minutes in length, and retains the full story arc of the original episode. Starting today, MySpace Video users can watch minisodes from each series at http://www.myspace.com/minisodenetwork.
The Minisode Network will launch with three episodes each from 15 classic series: The Partridge Family, Starsky & Hutch, TJ Hooker, Charlie's Angels, Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, Who's the Boss?, What's Happening!!, Dilbert, Sheena, Fantasy Island, Police Woman, VIP and Ricki Lake. New minisodes will be added weekly with more than 500 episodes available by the end of the year.
Among the classic episodes include the famous "Angels in Chains" episode of Charlie's Angels, "Shoplifting" episode of The Facts of Life and "The Spanking" episode of Diff'rent Strokes!
To discuss this news and to read the full press release, click HERE.

Eric's JustMyShow.com Podcast is back for episode 14 and it features interviews with a classic TV mom and a classic TV dad...and the best part is both are sitcom stars! The guests are Marion Ross from Happy Days and Dan Lauria from The Wonder Years.
Marion Ross is one of TV's most beloved moms for her 11 years as "Mrs. C" on Happy Days. A five-time Emmy nominee, Ross also starred in the critically acclaimed series Brooklyn Bridge and had a recurring role on The Drew Carrey Show. She was most recently seen on an episode of the current ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.
Dan Lauria is best known to audiences as Jack Arnold, Fred Savage's TV dad on The Wonder Years. A former Marine, Lauria gives his time to various veteran causes. When he's not appearing on TV & film, he's focusing on his first love, the theater.
Head on over to JustMyShow's 14th episode listen to these two great interviews! There are bonus clips as well that you will for sure want to listen to. Good job once again to our buddy Eric!

DVD Update, Including TV Land's I Pity the Fool; LG Mobile Phones Celebrates with Classic TV Stars

Now you can enjoy the original TV Land series I Pity the Fool all over again at your own leisure, as TV Land and Lionsgate Home Entertainment will release the complete season on DVD on August 21 for just $14.98! The series of course stars Mr. T as a help-guru giving advice to fans need of a change. The series ran for 6 episodes in October on TV Land. No word yet if there will be a second season on TV Land.
Also coming soon to DVD: The Complete First Season of the current CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment! The set will street on September 4 and Amazon is taking pre-orders already for the sitcom starring David Spade and Patrick Warburton. All 7 first season episodes will be included. The series will be back for a second season this fall on CBS Mondays!
Finally, The Complete Fourth Season of the classic sitcom I Dream of Jeannie will also be release on September 4 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment! That's another fun year for Barbara Eden and company!

LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A., Inc. (LG Mobile Phones) is hosting The LG Mobile TV Party, an event to celebrate the evolution of the television. Bringing together television stars from the past, present and future, LG is taking us at warp speed to the future of television.
Taking place on June 19 at famous Paramount Studios, some of the most well-known names in television will gather together to reminisce about the past and take a peak at the future. The party will recreate themes from three of television's most memorable shows including the Brady Bunch, Star Trek and Happy Days.
The LG VX9400 is capable of delivering programs from some of the
biggest television networks right into the palm of your hand. Users can catch their favorite show by checking out the easy-to-use one touch program guide. With the VX9400, you have the ability to make calls, answer messages, and when finished, go right back to enjoying TV programs -- just like if a consumer were to step away from the television set during a program for a minute or two at home.
Celebrities expected to attend LG's Mobile TV Party include Scott Baio (Chachi, Happy Days; Charles, Charles in Charge), Jason Hervey (Wayne, Wonder Years), Christopher Knight (Peter Brady, The Brady Bunch), Gary Coleman (Arnold Jackson, Diff'rent Strokes), Shannen Doherty (Brenda Walsh, Beverly Hills 90210), Alan Thicke (Dr. Jason Seaver, Growing Pains), George Takei (Sulu, Star Trek), Jack Coleman (Steven Carrington, Dynasty; Noah, Heroes) with DJ AM spinning into the early morning hours -- all to celebrate the launch of the LG VX9400.

Summer Week 3 Sitcom Ratings; Coming Week Preview

It is summer time! Which means repeats, but there will be some originals, such as burn-off episodes of the Fox sitcom The Loop. Like last summer, we will just look at the sitcoms, but we will be back in the fall with our normal weekly reports. Here are the summer week 3 sitcom numbers:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of June 4-10)

• War at Home (Fox) - A 7pm encore airing did just 1.91 million, down even from previous week's 2.52 million.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - 2.74 million for a repeat.
• The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 5.27 million, doubling from lead-in.
• The Loop (Fox) 2 episodes - Two all-new episodes did just 3.43 million at 8:30 and 3.6 million at 9:30
  
• Family Guy (Fox) - 4.54 million for an encore.

Monday Sitcoms

• Creature Comforts (CBS) - Just 4.53 million for the third airing, down from last week's 5.27 million.
  
• Old Christine (CBS) - 4.71 million for a repeat, down from last week's encore.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.38 million for a repeat, again down from last week.
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 7.37 million for a repeat.
• Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, Girlfriends, The Game (The CW) - Repeats of these sitcoms did all under 2 million this week with Chris, the highest at 1.64 million.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Creature Comforts (CBS) 2 episodes - Wednesday encores from 8-9pm did 3.48 and 3.1 million, way down from King of Queens the last two weeks.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 4.94 million for a repeat.
  
• 30 Rock (NBC) 2 episodes - 4.09 million for a repeat...at least it had 4 million.
• The Office (NBC) - 4.49 million for an encore, built from lead-in a bit.
• Scrubs (NBC) - The lowest of the bunch, 3.86 million for a repeat.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None

Saturday Sitcoms

• None

So what is new or notable this week that you might want to catch? Tonight ABC will have an- all new Fast Cars & Superstars. Fox will burn-off more episodes of sitcom The Loop at 8:30 & 9:30p. NBC will have an all-new Last Comic Standing from 9-11pm.
CBS will air episode two of the new clay animated sitcom called Creature Comforts, airing Monday at 8. An all-new Hell's Kitchen is at 9pm on Fox and ABC will a new The Ex-Wives Club at 9pm as well, and NBC will premiere new reality Age of Love also at 9pm, following Deal or No Deal. On the cable front, its an all new Kyle XY on ABC Family at 8/7 central. TNT will have the season premiere of The Closer followed by the series premiere of Heartland!
Tuesday NBC will air a two-hour America's Got Talent from 8-10pm. Fox will continue to air low-rated reality series On the Lot at 8pm. ABC will air an all-new episode of Fast Cars & Superstars.
Wednesday ABC will be all-new all night, with the surprise hit The Next Best Thing at 8pm, followed by American Inventor, and finally at 10pm the action packed drama Traveler. Fox will air two-hour So You Think You Can Dance. NBC will a new Last Comic Standing at 9. The CW will air Hidden Palms at 8. And on the cable front, two episodes of the hit new sitcom House of Payne on TBS from 9-10pm.
Thursday Fox will be new all-night with an all-new Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and So You Think You Can Dance-Thursday. CBS will air a new episode of Pirate Master at 8 and NBC will continue to burn-off Studio 60 at 10, following encores of their sitcoms.
Friday ABC will air a repurposed episode of Kyle XY at 8, followed by the season finale of National Bingo Night at 9, leading into the always new 20/20. Fox will burn-off an episode of Standoff at 9pm.

Mini-DVD Review: Perry Mason - Season 2, Part 1 (June 19); Solomon's Weekly Rant: ION Television

Welcome to another edition of mini-DVD reviews! Today we take a look at CBS DVD's Perry Mason: Season 2, Part 1. Perry Mason of course is the very popular law series. The series stars the great Raymond Burr. See skees53's mini-DVD review of Perry Mason: Season 2, Part 1:

Perry Mason: Season Two, Part 1 (CBS DVD, $39.98) brings the first 15 episodes of the second season of the show that featured America's all-time greatest defender (as well as Hamilton Burger, who HAS to be the worst DA EVER) in a four-disc DVD set. In this set, you'll find a case where a man is charged twice for killing the same man, a case where a woman is blackmailed by her ex-husband (who turns up dead), a case where a camera flash becomes part of a murder trial, a case where a parrot's testimony could incriminate one of Perry's clients, and many more. And if you have to ask who won the cases, then you just
don't know Perry Mason! Plus, there are guest roles featuring John Dehner, Joseph Kerns, Edgar Buchanan, and others there were bigger in their own time than they'll be remembered for in this set.
The set itself is presented in double slim cases (which is actually nice to see considering that CBS DVD seems to have abandoned these for other series) with artwork that is very similar to the two season one sets. And what is always amazing about these sets is the video and audio quality... sometimes we get shows that are ten years old that look lousy on DVD, yet somehow with these Perry Mason sets, with episodes that are FIFTY YEARS OLD, we get a beautiful picture on pretty much every episode along with audio that is generally pretty good too (it is improved in this season over the first season sets).
And there is never a need to worry about whether or not these are edited, as every single one runs over 51 minutes (this means that even if you are seeing reruns on a more generous station that airs 44 minute syndicated episodes, you are still missing out on up to 7 minutes per episode).
The only thing missing in this set is (once again) bonus features. Before the first volume was released, there was talk of the studio looking for special features to include in these sets, but so far, CBS DVD has been a disappointment in this area and we have yet to see any special features. Granted, many of the people involved with the show are no longer alive, but there has to be SOMETHING out there for this show... if nothing else, maybe some fans could contribute some special features for this set (there are plenty of Perry Mason fans out there). But in light of the evidence, such as the great episodes and the great quality of the set, I have to give a not guilty verdict to this wonderful DVD set!
-- Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, June 16, 2007
"There's a New Girl in Town, With a Brand New BAD Style, And That is ION Television"
By Solomon Davis

I don't know where to start with the ION network because this channel has made my TV watching time very ODD so let's call this channel the "INCREDIBLY ODD NETWORK." One of the odd things about ION is the editing style which seems to be the Microsoft Word version of editing episodes. When watching episodes of Alice, it looks like they just cut and paste instead of cut and blend. It's the sloppiest form of editing I have ever seen in my rerun watching life. Not only that but ION goes to a commercial every 4 minutes during Alice making it impossible to follow a storyline. So why do they want to treat our eyes like a newborn baby and spoon feed us small doses of every episode?
This sloppy editing has made me stop recording Alice and wait for the DVD to be released because the ION episodes needs lots of improvement.
Not only is the editing crappy but the quality of the color of the episodes is very POOR. When watching Alice on ION it looks like the hours of operation for Mel's Diner is 12 midnight to 6am because the lighting is so dim. It makes me wonder if ION is being broadcast from someone's basement because everything presented to viewers just comes out as high school material.
Then the audio for the closing theme of Amen some nights is extra fast making it sound like it's being sung by Alvin & the Chipmunks. "Watch out cause here we come," is ION's motto, I guess.
I think ION should just go back to paid programming because they have shown they don't have the audio or editing skills to air TV sitcoms. Hey ION STOP DESTROYING OLD CLASSIC SITCOMS and get some real editors to work for your station instead of amateurs. People who tune in to see certain TV shows, especially rare to find series such as Alice, want well edited episodes, not SLICED and DICED episodes that are CRAZY GLUED to any scene making the storyline seem very ODD!! So until things change at this station, the new name for this channel is the ION: INCREDIBLY ODD NETWORK.

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.

TV One July Highlights; Nick at Nite, The N Changes; Honda Sponsors Sony Minisodes

There are not many highlights related to actual TV series for TV One in July, but we do have some. Here are some:
On Sunday, July 8 at 8pm, TV One premieres the legendary mini-series Roots: The Next Generations, the 14-hour, 7-part sequel to the original Roots miniseries that made television history. The story picks up in 1882 just after the original left off where Tom Harvey, the great grandson of Kunta Kinte has established a marginal existence as a blacksmith in Henning, Tennessee. The series continues the story of author Alex Haley’s family line from the Post American Civil War era to Alex’s search for his genealogical roots which led him to Africa. The mini-series stars Georg Stanford Brown, Lynne Moody, Debbi Morgan, Henry Fonda, Stan Shaw, Irene Cara, Marlon Brando, Paul Winfield, Ruby Dee, and James Earl Jones as Alex Haley. The first six parts air at 8pm all week through Friday, with encore showings at 10pm and in the weekday noon movie slots. They will also re-air on Saturday, July 14 from 12 noon to midnight. The final part will air Sunday night, July 15 also at 8pm and 10pm – and will be repeated on Monday, July 16 at 9pm.
Beginning Sunday, July 29 from 2am-6am, In the House replaces Amen in TV One’s Sunday weekly overnight comedy mini-marathons.

Nick at Nite has made a minor change for Saturday, June 23. From 10pm-2am, they have scheduled a mini-marathon for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. What else is new, though?
The week of June 18, The N will air overnight marathons of the teen drama Summerland from 12-3am, but Monday it will be 12-6am.

Next week Sony will officially announce the full details for the Sony minisodes we mentioned a few weeks back. Today, Sony said Honda will be the sole sponsor for the short episodes. It is scheduled to begin next week. Visitors to the MySpace Web site will be able to watch episodes of 15 (initially...more will come soon) vintage Sony series like Charlie's Angels, Police Woman, The Partridge Family, Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, What's Happening!!, Fantasy Island and Who's the Boss?, edited from their original lengths of approx. 30 or 60 minutes each to an Internet-friendly 4 to 6 minutes.
Honda and its longtime agency, RPA, have agreed to run only eight seconds of commercials with each episode, appearing before the shortened show starts. First, there will be an on-screen billboard lasting three seconds, declaring, "The Minisode Network, brought to you by Honda." The billboard will be followed by a five-second commercial for the Honda Fit, the mini-car that American Honda introduced last year, and its website.
The minisodes will appear exclusively on MySpace through the end of August. Initially, there will be three episodes of each series, with new episodes to be added each week. Sony Pictures Television announced the idea in April, describing it as a way to re-purpose for the new media programming that was originally produced for the traditional media.
The minisodes are not intended as pastiches or excerpts; they are edited carefully so the plots can be followed from beginning to end. (It helps that many of the series are formulaic sitcoms or police dramas.)
After the exclusivity with MySpace ends the goal is for the minisodes to come to other websites while remaining on MySpace. Sony Pictures Television is looking at sites like AOL.com, Yahoo! and YouTube, as well as posting them on a micro-site, a special site of their own.

Real Story on Bob Barker's Retirement? New Book By Chris Mann Coming; ABC Modifies Fall Friday Schedule

The great Chris Mann, who Three's Company fans know and love (as he wrote the excellent book Come and Knock on Our Door), just did an article for RadarOnline.com regarding the real dirt and scoop on why possibly Bob Barker announced his retirement from The Price is Right earlier than planned. Click HERE to view this great multiple page article. Chris interviews a lot of people for it and it really is interesting. Remember to tune in tomorrow (Friday) for Bob Barker's final episode of The Price is Right at 11am ET or in primetime at 8pm ET/PT on CBS! You don't want to miss this piece of television history...so come on down!
In addition to this article, Chris is working on a tell-all book on the show. I can't wait to read it, as this show had a lot of backstage problems, mostly with Bob and his "beauties" -- from sexual harassment to being fired because of weight gain. Good luck Chris!

ABC has not announced this yet, but the Men in Trees' official website has a blog, which the creator of the series informs fans of updates. The creator has learned that ABC will shuffle the timeslots for all three shows slated for the night. Here it is in her own words:
Season Two (of Men in Trees) will start airing Fridays at 9:00 pm (our launch slot) starting at the end of September or beginning of October. NOTE: ABC officially announced we were on at 8pm on Fridays, this has been changed to 9pm. We are now premiering in the 9:00pm time slot, after 20/20, which will move from 10pm to 8pm. So, don't get confused. 9:00 pm, Friday nights. We will be followed by new drama Women’s Murder Club at 10pm.

There you have it. I'm sure she is correct, but it won't be official until ABC actually announces it.

Nick at Nite July Sees Summer Marathons; Larroquette Heads Back to Court

Nick at Nite has announced its July plans and looks like they will be airing marathons. Stick with Nick at Nite all week long this summer to catch over 100 episodes of your favorite shows: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Roseanne, The Cosby Show and Full House!
These "wall to wall marathons" start at 9:30pm Mon-Thurs & Sun and at 10:30pm on Fri & Sat. Marathons end every night at 5am with the rotating trio of Designing Women, Hi-Jinks and Murphy Brown at 5am followed by Full House at 5:30am. AFV will still kick-off each night, leading into the marathons.
These marathons are probably going to continue in August as well. The marathons start June 25 with Fresh Prince week, then the week of July 2 it is more Fresh Prince, Roseanne gets the week of July 9, Full House gets week of July 16, Cosby Show gets week of July 23, and more Fresh Prince week of July 30.
For more details and to discuss this piece of news, click HERE.

Emmy Award-winning actor and sitcom legend John Larroquette (Night Court) is set to join the cast of ABC's Boston Legal next season as a senior partner from the New York offices of Crane Poole & Schmidt who transfers to the Boston office. The show will return for a fourth season on ABC next season.

TV Land August Schedule Includes Month-Long Elvis Salute; Network Notes

As promised, today we will detail you the TV Land August schedule! First, they have altered the post-summer marathon schedule starting July 23. You know, the marathons that started June 4 will run through July 20, every weeknight from 10pm to 4am. Starting July 23 they were supposed to return the regular 10p-4a schedule that was in effect before June 4, but now they have changed that a bit. The Jeffersons will come to 9 & 9:30pm, shifting Sanford & Son up an hour to 10 & 10:30pm. M*A*S*H's 10p-12a block will just be 11 & 11:30pm now. Single episodes of Sanford & Son and Good Times will air approx. 12:05 and 12:35am. Three's Company will move to 1:10am, followed by back to back Cosby Show episodes at 1:45 and 2:20am. Another Good Times is at 2:55 followed by Three's Company at 3:30am. Yet another Sanford & Son will air at 4am followed by All in the Family at 4:30am. M*A*S*H will now air back to back at 5 & 5:30am.
Other changes that week are All in the Family at 7:30am replacing Sanford & Son.
The week of July 30 will see more changes. Keeping the schedule that started July 23, we get these additional changes: On Monday nights at 5am now will be an additional All in the Family followed by The Jeffersons at 5:30am. Fri-Sun starting at 8pm all month long will be Elvis movies. Friday and Saturday nights at 5 & 5:30am will now be I Love Lucy, with Andy Griffith taking that slot on Sunday nights. Talk about confusing! This week also sees changes to weekends, especially Saturdays. Both days from 6-8am have changed...I Love Lucy from 6-7am and Green Acres from 7-8am. I Love Lucy will continue to air weekends from 10am-12pm, but now on Saturdays it will also be 12-1pm, leading into a movie encore block from 1-5pm. Andy Griffith follows at 5 & 5:30pm, followed by Little House at 6 and more Andy from 7-8pm--the same as Mon-Fri. So TV Land Goes West is not on Saturdays anymore. It will still air Sundays.
The week of August 6 is the final changes for awhile. TV Land Goes West will now be Mondays! So, Sundays and Mondays in August. Bonanza will air 8am-12pm on Mondays and Gunsmoke will air 2pm-6pm on Mondays. Other changes starting this week are on Tues-Fri: The Jeffersons at 7:30am, All in the Family at 8:30am, Gunsmoke returns to weekdays at 10am & 4pm, Green Acres at 11am only, Elvis movies every weekday at 12 noon, followed by back to back Beaver from 2-3pm and one Munsters at 3pm.
Holy confusion Batman! I know, so confusing! Click HERE to view the list of changes.

Now that is just the schedule changes...let's move on to the highlights now! TV Land celebrates August with Elvis month, including an all-new TV Land original special: TV Land Myths & Legends: Elvis. This half-hour special coincides with TV Land's month-long salute to Elvis Presley. Thirty years after his death, TV Land takes an in-depth look at some of the most popularly held mysteries about the "King of Rock and Roll" and dissects them to separate fact from fiction. Tons of movies, specials, documentaries, concerts and more are airing. I suggest you view our highlights below for more details.
Millions watched the weekly heart-filled stories of families in need unfold. Now it can be seen on TV Land, reinforcing the gift of giving! Extreme Makeover: Home Edition starts on August 7th, and airs every Tuesday night at 11pm.
Friday movies this month include the premieres of Major League, Honeymoon in Vegas, and 1974's The Longest Yard.
And finally, two originals will wrap up this month with TV Land Confidential and Back to the Grind. Again, click HERE to view the list of changes and the highlights for this action packed month.

The CW is closing the door of new summer drama Hidden Palms a little earlier than thought. Currently airing Wednesdays at 8, with encores Sundays at 8, it will now be doubled-up Wednesdays at 8 & 9pm on June 20 and 27, so it can end its run after the July 4 airing. Ouch, last episode will air on the 4th of July. Who will watch?? The encores on Sundays will be replaced by 7th Heaven repeats, while Reba repeats will take the 7pm hour effective immediately (June 17).
Jericho, CBS's drama about how residents of a small, peaceful, Kansas town band together to survive in the wake of a nuclear explosion, will return to CBS beginning Friday, July 6 at 9:00 PM, ET/PT. Rebroadcasts of episodes from the first season will air in the Friday, 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT time period for the remainder of the summer.
Jericho, which last week received a seven episode mid-season order following an impassioned display of fan support, will return on July 6 with a rebroadcast of the pilot episode. Watch it now so CBS won't have to cancel it again!

TV Land Details TV Land Confidential Season 2 and New Series Back to the Grind; TV One Weddings with Amen and Good Times

Today TV Land announced the episode info and details for two new original series coming this July. The second season of the addictive TV Land Confidential and the series Back to the Grind, where classic TV stars actually go work in their classic TV character's profession!
Why was Ray Romano so reluctant to go to Italy to shoot Everybody Loves Raymond? What did Michael Jackson confess to Donny Osmond? What made the dance scenes in Saturday Night Fever so hot? TV Land, the network dedicated to building the ultimate Baby Boomer entertainment brand, answers these questions and reveals the untold stories behind viewers' favorite TV guest stars, finales, blockbuster movies and hit songs when the original series, TV Land Confidential, returns on Wednesday, July 11 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. This six-episode series, premiering with back-to-back episodes -- "Oddballs" and "Movies" -- airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. through August 8.
For complete episode descriptions of the second season, click HERE.

What happens when Sherman Hemsley spends the day sweating it out at a real dry cleaning establishment? Can Loni Anderson really hack it as a receptionist at a top radio station? And does the courtroom listen when Harry Anderson starts hitting the gavel? Viewers will find out when TV Land airs Back to the Grind, a new original series premiering Wednesday, July 18 at 10:30 p.m. This half-hour series challenges iconic TV performers to actually work in the jobs their TV characters held on shows like The Jeffersons, Night Court and WKRP in Cincinnati. Other performers featured in the series include Erik Estrada (CHiPs), Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons), Betty White (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Mark Curry (Hangin' With Mr. Cooper), Bea Arthur (The Golden Girls), Ed Begley Jr. (St. Elsewhere) and Jimmie Walker (Good Times).
This sounds good actually, and to learn more about the episodes, click HERE!

June is of course known for lots of things...Father's Day, First Day of Summer, among other things, but it is also a very popular month to get married! TV One celebrates with classic TV weddings from two very popular sitcoms...Amen & Good Times! See classic engagements, weddings, and more on Saturday from 2pm-10pm on TV One with happenings like Thelma finally marrying the Reverend on Amen! See eight episodes each of these two classic sitcoms!

We'll be back tomorrow with TV Land August details and later in the week details on TV One July.

Summer Week 2 Sitcom Ratings; Coming Week Preview

It is summer time! Which means repeats, but there will be some originals, such as burn-off episodes of the Fox sitcom The Loop. Like last summer, we will just look at the sitcoms, but we will be back in the fall with our normal weekly reports. Here are the summer week 2 sitcom numbers:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of May 28-June 3)

• War at Home (Fox) - A 7pm encore airing did just 2.52 million, leading into a movie, so the rest of Fox's comedies were pre-empted.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• Creature Comforts (CBS) - The series premiere of this clay-animated sitcom did 6.18 million, almost a million more viewers than last week's How I Met Your Mother encore which did 5.27 million.
  
• Old Christine (CBS) - 5.74 million for the second repeat of the summer season, down from last week's 6.23 million...blame that on the compatibility of the lead-in.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 11.27 million for a repeat in the summer is a "wow" for a sitcom. Even up from last week's 10.75 million
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 8.72 million, just about on par from King of Queens' 8.6 million last week in this slot, but remember the 9pm lead-in this week was higher.
• Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, Girlfriends, The Game (The CW) - Repeats of these sitcoms did all over 2 million this week but Chris, which did 1.92 million.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) - Just the one episode this week. 3.8 million only tuned in at 8p, down from last week's 4.68 and 4.98 million from 8-9p.
  
• According to Jim (ABC) - Aired at 8:30pm this week, and did just 3.41 million, compared to last week's 5.2 and 5.38 million for two repeats from 9-10pm.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• King of Queens (CBS) 2 episodes - Wednesday encores from 8-9pm did 5.36 and 5.85 million, up from last week's 5.05 and 5.22 million.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) 2 episodes - Final numbers for all of Thursday are not available yet. Fast nationals show a 3.4/6 and 3.2/6 rating for two encores. Last week the show just aired at 8p and did 4.89 million for a repeat.
  
• The Office (NBC) - 2.6/4 rating for a repeat. Only 3.92 million last week.
• Scrubs (NBC) - 2.5/4 rating for a repeat, as last week it did just 3.82 million. It looks like each half hour went down..

Friday Sitcoms

• None

Saturday Sitcoms

• None

So what is new or notable this week that you might want to catch? Tonight ABC will be all-new with the second episode of Fast Cars & Superstars, followed by Game 2 of The NBA Finals between Cleveland and San Antonio. CBS will air the Tony Awards, while Fox will burn-off episodes of sitcom The Loop at 8:30 & 9:30p. On cable, the series finale of The Sopranos on HBO will score big and will outscore everything on broadcast.
CBS will air episode two of the new clay animated sitcom called Creature Comforts, airing Mondays at 8. Second airing of Hell's Kitchen is at 9pm on Fox and ABC will air episode three of The Ex-Wives Club at 9pm as well. On the cable front, check out the season premiere of Kyle XY on ABC Family at 8/7 central.
Tuesday NBC will air a two-hour America's Got Talent from 8-10pm. Fox will continue to air low-rated reality series On the Lot at 8pm.ABC will be all-new with the third episode of Fast Cars & Superstars, followed by Game 3 of The NBA Finals between Cleveland and San Antonio.
Wednesday ABC will be all-new all night, with the surprise hit The Next Best Thing at 8pm, followed by American Inventor, and finally at 10pm the action packed drama Traveler will air its fourth episode. Fox will air an encore of So You Think You Can Dance at 8, leading into an all-new episode at 9. NBC will air Deal or No Deal leading into the premiere of Last Comic Standing from 9-11. The CW will air Hidden Palms at 8. And on the cable front, two episodes of the hit new sitcom House of Payne on TBS from 9-10pm.
Thursday ABC will be all-new with Fast Cars & Superstars, followed by Game 4 of The NBA Finals between Cleveland and San Antonio. Fox will also be new all-night with an all-new Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and So You Think You Can Dance-Thursday. CBS will air the third episode of Pirate Master at 8 and NBC will continue to burn-off Studio 60 at 10, following encores of their sitcoms.
Friday CBS will air Bob Barker's final Price is Right episode in primetime at 8 leading into the Daytime Emmy Awards. ABC will air a repurposed episode of Kyle XY at 8, followed by another episode of National Bingo Night at 9, leading into the always new 20/20. Fox will burn-off an episode of Standoff at 9pm.

Mini DVD Review: Picket Fences - Season One (June 19); Solomon's Weekly Rant: TV Land

Welcome to another edition of mini-DVD reviews! Today we take a look at Fox Home Entertainment's Picket Fences: Season 1. Picket Fences of course follows the lives of the residents of the small town of Rome, Wisconsin, where weird things happen, including cows giving birth to human babies, transgender teachers, and a spate of people turning up dead in freezers. The series stars Tom Skeritt and aired from 1992-06 on CBS. See skees53's mini-DVD review of Picket Fences: Season 1:

Picket Fences: Season One (Fox, $59.98) takes you to the quaint town of Rome, Wisconsin... a small town in a Midwestern state that is calm and serene at all times. Yeah right! Rome may just be one of the most screwed up small towns in all of America, as is seen in this series. In how many other small towns will you find a hand in a jar, a police chase involving an elephant and a dwarf, drunken cows, murderous nuns, transsexual elementary school teachers (that want to play the Virgin Mary in a school play on top of that!), and a man keeping a dead wife on life support in his home? And that isn't even half of what happens in the first season of this dysfunctional town!
For those unfamiliar with the series, it stars Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker as Jimmy and Jill Brock. Jimmy is the town sheriff and Jill is a doctor. They have two sons together, and Jimmy also has a daughter from a previous marriage. The unusual events that occur in Rome almost
never involve the Brock family directly, but in almost every case, they somehow manage to get involved in almost every case and often times on opposing sides. The series is mostly a drama, but that isn't to say that it isn't a comedy either--the series has many funny moments involving the nutty people of Rome, particularly with one of the attorneys in Rome, Douglas Wambaugh (played by Fyvush Finkel, who later played Harvey Lipschultz on Boston Public). The series was created by David E. Kelley, and those that are familiar with his television work (which includes many popular television series, including the current series Boston Legal) know that to him, a drama always has comedic moments.
The presentation of the episodes is generally pretty good, with all episodes appearing to be unedited and having great audio and video quality, but the set becomes really disappointing on the special features front. Basically, there is a featurette called "All Roads Lead to Rome," which sounds promising as it is advertised to be an all-new featurette featuring interviews from the cast and crew members. And the best part is that they DID get many of the living cast and crew members to participate in this featurette. But the featurette is only 10 minutes long and didn't get into too many specifics! It would have been better if the DVD producers had just skipped this featurette and done commentaries, as those probably would have provided more insight into the series. Still, this is a great show, and for those that may have been so unfortunate as to miss this when it aired on CBS or in syndication, you'll definitely want to consider this set, particularly if you are a fan of David E. Kelley's unique style of comedic drama.
-- Reviewed by skees53
(4.5/5 stars)

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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, June 9, 2007
"TV Land Taking the 'C' Out of Classic TV"
By Solomon Davis

This week I want to rant about the once great cable channel, TV Land, which has in the past five years turned into the Diverse TV Network since we are given all types of TV programs. First, this channel made viewers appreciate classic television. Now..."DTVN" is adding anything but classic TV to their programming schedule. Instead we are given wonderful Friday Night Movies that makes me want to run home from work every week and be home by 9PM. Doesn't DTVN know that we can turn to channels like HBO or Cinemax if we are in a movie watching mood? I have never seen Cinemax air I Love Lucy and do you know why? Because it's a MOVIE CHANNEL not a network figuring out its identity in the cable world. So is DTVN thinking of competing with Cinemax for the best movies on Friday nights? Which makes me wonder if there was another network that aired classic TV would DTVN compete with that network by adding more Classic TV shows? Guess we will never know.
DTVN has also made another groundbreaking decision for its viewers by picking up Extreme Makeover: Home Edition which will air Tuesdays at 11PM starting in August and now we can watch someone's house be made over and over until our eyeballs fall out of our head. I think this network needs an 'Extreme Makeover: The Cable Edition.' And expect more surprises in the upcoming months which will disappoint 80% of the viewing public since DTVN loves taking the C out of Classic TV. In 2008 we probably will be treated to Sunday Night Game Shows like Deal or No Deal or Saturday Morning Cartoons like Pokemon, why should this network stop now? Just give all kinds of programming and make us forget classic TV ever existed. It makes me so giddy to wait for DTVN's
next big programming decision because I know whatever it is, it will make me almost break down my front door so DTVN can be the first channel I turn to as soon as I get in from work!

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.

ION Television July: Designing Women and Who's the Boss? Join Line-Up; Still Standing Joins Atlanta TBS; Network Notes

ION Television has released its July schedule and they will be adding two new sitcoms and of course the RHI Entertainment programming on weekends (Fri-Sun) from 7-11pm. Joining the schedule on June 25 will be the Linda Bloodworth produced sitcom Designing Women! The show will air Mon-Thurs at 7:00 & 7:30 p.m. replacing Amen and Alice. Diagnosis Murder will air Mon-Sat at 6 p.m. starting June 25, replacing Moral Court on Mon-Fri. ION Life will replace Battlestar Galactica on Sundays at 6PM, while the RHI Entertainment Weekend will air 7-11PM on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. So, yes, Alice, Amen, Moral Court, and Battlesta Galactica are gone.
Later in July, veteran sitcom Who's the Boss? will join the line-up and air Mon-Thurs at 9:00 & 9:30 p.m. starting July 9, replacing Diagnosis Murder. Diagnosis Murder will still air at 6 p.m. Special baseball-themed episodes will kick-off Who's the Boss?, before the episodes go in order.
Among the RHI Entertainment movies and mini-series airing are: The mini-series, Lonesome Dove, which will air each Saturday in July at 9pm, Sundays will be epic night as four-hour mini-series such as Cleopatra will air. ION will debut the mini-series Killer Wave on July 22.
So what about Perfect Strangers? We were told it was coming in July, but as you can see, that is not the case here. I would expect it in August or for sure in the fall. We will let you know when we do!
We are planning on an interview with ION Television, so if all goes well, we will get a lot of answers, including if the hours will expand. Let's hope the interview will come about, as our AmericanLife TV interview this past Wednesday got a lot of praise. I will keep you all up to date on this. But for now, click HERE to view the full July highlights on ION!

A few days back we mentioned Diff'rent Strokes has joined the WTBS-17 in Atlanta line-up, airing weekdays from 2:30pm-4:00pm. Well, looks like that will just be for two weeks, as starting Monday, July 18, 3-4pm will be Still Standing. Diff'rent Strokes will still air at 2:30pm at least. Remember this is ONLY for the TBS in Atlanta (and in some cases Canada, since they can get that feed). Still Standing airs on Lifetime nationwide, as WTBS-17 is just a local channel.

Finally, some network notes. CBS will launch a new season of veteran reality series Big Brother on Thursday, July 5 at 8pm, shifting struggling new reality series Pirate Master to 9pm for this night. The move will just for this week, as starting Tuesday, July 10 at 10pm, Pirate Master will move to this slot until further notice. CSI repeats will still air Thursdays at 9. Big Brother will also air Sundays at 8 and Tuesdays at 9.
Fox will debut its comedy-reality hybrid Anchorwoman with a one-hour special at 8 p.m. Aug. 21. It will settle into its regular 8pm half-hour on Tuesday, Aug. 28.
The series follows the travails of buxom blonde Lauren Jones, a swimsuit model striving to transform herself into a hard-hitting news anchor on a small, low-rated Tyler, Texas, TV station. Jones makes her live debut on KYTX’s 5 p.m. newscast June 11.

House of Payne Scores Big for TBS; CBS News; More TubeTime and Fresh Prince News

The unprecedented deal that brought Tyler Perry's House of Payne to TBS has now resulted in a record-breaking victory, as the series claims ad-supported cable's #1 sitcom telecast of all-time in delivery of adults 18-34, adults 18-49, adults 25-54, viewers and households, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. The show, which grew a strong 12% from the first episode to the second, also provided TBS with the network's top series telecast of all-time among all key adult demos, households and viewers, as well as ad-supported cable's top scripted telecast for the year to date among adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.
The sitcom centers on the lives of three generations of an African-American family living under one roof, runs each Wednesday with back-to-back episodes at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (ET/PT) on TBS.
The 9:30 p.m. telecast this past Wednesday now ranks as ad-supported cable's top sitcom telecast of all-time among adults 18-34 (1,416,000); adults 18-49 (3,056,000); adults 25-54 (2,985,000); viewers (5,820,000); households (3,551,000). It also scored a strong 3.8 household coverage rating/3.2 national rating.
The 9 p.m. episode ranks second to the 9:30 p.m. episode on the list of ad-supported cable's top sitcom telecasts of all time among adults 18-49 (2,723,000); adults 25-54 (2,728,000); viewers (5,206,000); households (3,320,000). It also scored a very strong 1,174,000 delivery among adults 18-34, as well as a 3.5 household coverage rating/3.0 national rating.
Wow! 5.21 million and 5.82 million for even a network sitcom these days is decent!

CBS has picked-up an additional sitcom for mid-season! Last week The CW picked up an additional sitcom, now CBS will pick up the sitcom The Captain for mid-season. CBS has ordered six episodes of this single camera sitcom. The series stars Fran Kranz, Chris Klein and Jeffrey Tambor. The series centers on a young writer whose life changes when he moves into a legendary Hollywood apartment building.
Thanks to the fans, rookie drama series Jericho will return next season! After upfront last month, the network canceled the series, but thanks to fans, the show will return. CBS has ordered seven episodes of Jericho for mid-season next year.

We have some more Comcast TubeTime news. In addition to yesterday's story, two more series are also added to the OnDemand service. '90s sitcom Ned & Stacey and the classic drama Fantasy Island. It appears Diff'rent Strokes and What's Happening!! will leave since no new episodes are appearing, but Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie has new episodes. Soap will return will new episodes on June 18.

In Nick at Nite news, we will see yet more Fresh Prince this weekend, as the network will pre-empt their Fri-Sun programming this week and air Fresh Prince from 10:30pm-5am on Friday & Saturday and 9:30pm-5am on Sunday. Excited???

SitcomsOnline.com Exclusive: Interview with AmericanLife TV's Mark Ringwald; Comcast Adds 'Boss', 'Pegs,' and Returns 'Facts'

We have had the pleasure to interview Mark Ringwald, VP of Programming for AmericanLife TV! AmericanLife TV Network of course is the only full-time cable network devoted to America's 78 million "baby boomers." AmericanLife TV Network delivers entertaining classic TV shows along with award-winning originals to create its 24-hour schedule. The network reaches over 10.5 million subscribers across the US. The network started out in 1985 as the Nostalgia Channel, then it was renamed to GoodLife TV, and now we have AmericanLife TV. Despite the name changes, the network always focused on classic TV.

Mark Ringwald has been good to us for quite some time. He has always provided prompt responses to SitcomsOnline and we thank him for that. This will be our first public interview with him, so I hope you all get a good taste of this fine cable network. So, without further adieu here is our interview with Mark Ringwald, VP of Programming for AmericanLife TV:


"Seven Questions with AmericanLife TV's Mark Ringwald"


SitcomsOnline: Hi Mark, this is Pavan from SitcomsOnline.com, hope you remember me from our previous conversations? First off let me say thanks for this opportunity and for your time. We are very excited for the 20th TV library deal that AmericanLife has struck. How will we see these shows eventually? We know the Sunday night line-up will change in June with Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere and L.A. Law.
Mark: Yes I do and it is always great to talk to you and your readers about great classic TV series.
We are going to be introducing a new night of series each month through October, so that by then there will be at least a few new series on every night. And we have started off with three big dramas. I told our promotions staff that we should create promos just using the theme songs, because they are so popular. In fact after screening the first couple of episodes, I can't get the theme to St. Elsewhere out of my head. I've been humming it in meetings!

SitcomsOnline: As of now, we have heard that you guys possibly have a library deal with CBS Paramount as well. Mission: Impossible was announced, but can we expect any more shows?
Mark: The deal with CBS Paramount was only for the one series, although we license Combat from them also. There is some similarity, at least in my mind, between the two series. They were both so well written and so well acted that it never occurs to you that they are over 30 years old. If you like great television and you start watching a show like Mission: Impossible, then there is no way you can change channels, which is good for AmericanLife TV.

SitcomsOnline: We really love your Saturday line-up of classic sitcoms such as Chico and the Man and Welcome Back, Kotter. Will we see more sitcoms join the line-up, via the Fox, CBS or Warner deals? Also, how are the classic TV shows doing in the ratings?
Mark: Look for a new night of comedies, similar in stature to the dramas, to premiere in July. And because we are not chasing the 18 to 34 audience, we are not relying on ratings as much as the response from viewers. So keep those cards and email coming!
http://www.americanlifetv.com/contact.php

SitcomsOnline: The Warner Bros. deal has carried the network for a number of years. How long will this deal last and can we expect more shows from this library anytime soon?
Mark: At this point a lot of the shows have been airing close to five years, so it is time they took a rest. I am sure we will be doing another deal with them soon; they are after all one of the largest studios.

SitcomsOnline: Fans have asked us quite frequently if AmericanLife will also add classic TV in the mornings/afternoons on weekdays in addition to primetime? Will we see series aired multiple times a week rather just once a week in the future? Most of the classic TV ALN airs is unedited, can we continue to expect that?
Mark: The only problem we have is that there aren't enough hours in the day. As a destination for Baby Boomers our goal is to provide entertainment, information and lifestyle programming that specifically caters to them. So we have to provide a balance of programming. There are fans (including me) of Fixing Dinner and 'Til Debt do Us Part also.
As far as editing, we will continue to air the classic programs uncut. I hate watching badly edited programs as much as the next guy.

SitcomsOnline: I have to ask a personal question here. I am a fan of '80s comedies, and am wondering if Mr. Belvedere and Small Wonder are part of the 20th TV deal? ALN has aired a few '80s comedies in the past such as My Sister Sam, so these would be nice, too. Perfect Strangers from Warner Bros. would also be nice to see.
Mark: Mr. Belvedere is part of the package, but we have no immediate plans to schedule it. Thanks for the suggestions!

SitcomsOnline: Finally, you guys have been known as "the only independent network devoted to the Baby Boomer generation." Competing cable network TV Land has also announced recently that they will also cater to the Baby Boomer generation by adding shows they grew up with (you know, M*A*S*H, Andy Griffith Show, etc) and shows they watch now (Scrubs). Any thoughts on this? And will AmericanLife follow that motto or just air shows that boomers grew up with?
Mark: Our philosophy is that the classic television shows must take them back to a better (a least in quality of the shows) time. If we air a more contemporary show, it must reflect back on those earlier times.

SitcomsOnline: I thank you once again for your time and wish you continued success!
Mark: Thank you very much.

EDIT, 6PM ET: Due to an overwhelming response regarding coverage of this channel, readers flocked in and asked us if AmericanLife will be on more cable or satellite systems soon. Mark kindly got back to us and gave us this response:
Cable companies, Dish and Direct TV have lots of demands for the "space" they have. Beyond lots of channels there is Video on Demand, telephone and high speed internet and now HD programming. We often hear from them that, "consumers haven't been asking for AmericanLife TV." Of course if people haven't heard of us, how do they know they want us, so for those of you that do know about us, please keep calling your cable or satellite operator and letting them know, "I want my AmericanLife TV!!!"

For more information on AmericanLife TV, including to see if it is available in your area or how to get the network, log-on to their website at http://www.americanlifetv.com. And as always, stay tuned right here on the blog for scheduling updates for this wonderful network!

Comcast's free OnDemand service TubeTime will add the short lived '80s sitcom Square Pegs starring Sarah Jessica Parker. The service will also add the long running ABC sitcom Who's the Boss? starring Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano. Both shows should be available to view on the service starting now. The Facts of Life will return to the service after nearly a year and should be available to view now as well.
I'm not sure yet if the current line-up of Diff'rent Strokes, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Soap and What's Happening!! will remain, but most likely they will. We will let you know when we find out.

We'll be back with more news, if there is anything.

Diff'rent Strokes Reruns Come to Atlanta TBS; Fresh Week on The N; Preview of Our Exclusive Interview with AmericanLife TV!

Effective yesterday (Monday, June 4), WTBS-17 in Atlanta added the hit '80s sitcom Diff'rent Strokes to its line-up from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Yes, three episodes in a row! It is unfortunate that only people in the Atlanta metro area can see this because the national feed of TBS airs Fresh Prince and Home Improvement in those slots.
WTBS-17 was airing Home Improvement up until the end of last week, but the local channel deal expired. So, even if you're not from Atlanta, check your local listings on when Home Improvement was airing, because now it is gone from all locals and will be exclusive to cable (airing on TBS and WGN, and Nick at Nite come this fall).
And why isn't Fresh Prince on WTBS-17 in Atlanta? Again that show is exclusive to cable now, too. It airs on Nick at Nite, The N and TBS.
Well, anyway, I just hope we get Diff'rent Strokes back nationwide. Let's hope the national TBS feed airs the show. Even if it is 4am or 5am, that would do! Lucky people in Atlanta...'the world don't move to the beat of just one drum' for them!

And if you have not gotten sick of Will Smith's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, then think again, because The N will have a nightly marathon all next week from 12-3am, which is of course all in addition to its regular slots on the network.
The N seems to be having a rotating 12-3am block each week. Last week it was Growing Pains. This week it is Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and now next week it will be Fresh Prince.

Calling all classic TV and AmericanLife TV Network fans! You will want to come to the blog tomorrow as we will have an exclusive interview with the network on their programming plans! See what they have to say, as we have asked some very good questions. All classic TV fans might want to read this! Come back tomorrow to see this wonderful piece!

TV Land Acquires 'Extreme Home Makeover', And Detail Summer Plans; Additional ABC Summer News

TV Land has acquired rights to air the hit ABC reality series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for once a week repeats starting August 7. The series will air Tuesdays at 11PM ET/PT. The deal gives TV Land access to prior seasons of the series. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which has won two consecutive Emmy Awards and is one of primetime's most popular shows, is a welcome addition to the line-up.
The hit series will begin its fifth season on ABC this fall. Like Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, & Medium on Lifetime, the show will air just once a week, but it is likely the deal will allow for 5-days-a-week play in a few years, like those series will on Lifetime.
Click HERE to discuss this news and also for more information.

And TV Land announced its full summer slate today. TV Land kicks off the summer armed with a slate of new original programming, a month-long tribute to Elvis Presley in August, the addition of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Tuesdays at 11PM starting Aug. 7) to its line-up, blockbuster movies and a programming marathon featuring the network's roster of hit shows -- all of which cater to Baby Boomers, America's "TV generation." New original programming premiering throughout the summer includes brand new episodes of the series TV Land Confidential (Wednesday at 10PM starting July 11), the premiere of the new series Back to the Grind (Wednesdays at 10:30PM starting July 18) and an original special airing as part of "Elvis Month" entitled Myths and Legends: Elvis (Thursday, Aug. 16 at 10PM).
TV Land also continues to air pop culture movie favorites viewers know and love like Parenthood, Arthur, Dragnet, Top Gun, Honeymoon in Vegas and more during its Friday night movie block.
Finally, "TV Land's Cocktail Party" -- airing weeknights starting June 4 -- showcases some of the network's most beloved shows such as The Andy Griffith Show, M*A*S*H, Three's Company, Good Times and more.
To read the full press release click HERE.

We have some ABC summer news for you. Repeats of According to Jim replaces George Lopez Tuesdays at 8PM for June 26, July 3, and July 10. According to Jim will still remain at 8:30PM.
Men in Trees encores return to the schedule Thursdays at 10PM until further notice.
George Lopez will air Fridays at 9 & 9:30PM for two weeks: June 29 and July 6. National Bingo Night's season finale is June 22.
Replacing George Lopez on Fridays at 9 starting July 13 will be repurposed episodes of ABC Family's new original series Greek on Fridays, July 13, 20, 27 and August 3.
Extreme Makeover returns with all-new episodes Mondays at 9PM for weeks of July 2, 9 and 16. The Ex-Wives Club season finale is June 25.
New game show Set for Life will air Fridays at 8PM starting July 20, replacing Kyle XY ABC Family repurposing until further notice. Kyle XY will be repurposed only on June 15, 22, 29, July 6 and July 13.
Finally, new drama Masters of Science Fiction will air Saturdays at 10PM for four weeks (Aug. 4, 11, 18 and 25).

Summer Week 1 Sitcom Ratings; Coming Week Preview

It is summer time! Which means repeats, but there will be some originals, such as burn-off episodes of the Fox sitcom The Loop. Like last summer, we will just look at the sitcoms, but we will be back in the fall with our normal weekly reports.

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of May 21-27)

• None
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 5.27 million for the first summer repeat airing.
  
• Old Christine (CBS) - 6.23 million for the first repeat airing, building on the lead-in.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - Even in the summer scoring in double figures, 10.75 million
• King of Queens (CBS) - 8.6 million for a repeats is good, but should have held more from the lead-in.
• Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, Girlfriends, The Game (The CW) - Repeats of these sitcoms did all under 2 million, but steady...with the first sitcom doing the best and the last sitcom doing the second best.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) 2 episodes - 4.68 and 4.98 million is OK for repeats for this now canceled sitcom.
  
• According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - 5.2 and 5.38 million for two repeats. This show still has a slim chance of returning.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• King of Queens (CBS) 2 episodes - Special Wednesday encores from 8-9pm did OK with 5.05 and 5.22 million.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 4.89 million for a repeat.
  
• 30 Rock (NBC) - 3.93 million is a concern, because it dropped quite a bit from the lead-in. That will be concerning next fall.
• The Office (NBC) - Only 3.92 million, momentum from 30 Rock might not be good, and you might see NBC move Office back to 8:30 in the fall, because 30 Rock is a good show but can't garner the ratings.
• Scrubs (NBC) - 3.82 million for a repeat. So the whole comedy night went down each half-hour...I know it was repeats, but still.

Friday Sitcoms

• None

Saturday Sitcoms

• None

So what is new or notable this week that you might want to catch? Tonight it is just repeats and movies.
CBS will launch a new clay animated sitcom called Creature Comforts, airing Mondays at 8 starting tomorrow. They will move encores of How I Met Your Mother to 9:30, removing King of Queens, which will air Wednesdays 8-9pm for a bit. Season premiere of Hell's Kitchen is at 9pm on Fox and ABC will air episode two of The Ex-Wives Club at 9pm as well. NBC will have Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. How low can it go this year?
Tuesday NBC will air an original episode of Deal or No Deal leading into the two-hour season premiere of America's Got Talent. Fox will continue to air low-rated reality series On the Lot at 8pm. ABC will air the 2007 Alma Awards from 9-11pm, following encores of George & Jim.
Wednesday ABC will be all-new all night, with the surprise hit The Next Best Thing at 8pm, followed by the season premiere of American Inventor, and finally at 10pm the action packed drama Traveler will air its third episode. Fox will air an encore of So You Think You Can Dance at 8, leading into an all-new episode at 9. And if necessary, game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals will air on NBC.
Thursday ABC will be once again all-new with the premiere of the much anticipated series Fast Cars & Superstars, followed by Game 1 of The NBA Finals between Cleveland and San Antonio. Can LeBron deliver? Fox will also be new all-night with an all-new Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and So You Think You Can Dance-Thursday. CBS will air the second episode of Pirate Master at 8 and NBC will continue to burn-off Studio 60 at 10, following encores of their sitcoms.
Friday ABC will air another episode of National Bingo Night at 9, leading into the always news 20/20. Fox will burn-off an episode of Standoff at 9pm.
Saturday will see Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC, if necessary.

Mini-DVD Review: Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete First Season (June 5); Solomon's Weekly Rant: ESPN

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As we announced yesterday, one of the most popular members of our message boards, Solomon Davis, will be getting his own spot on the blog every Saturday after the Mini-DVD Review. Now the rest of the world who don't visit the message boards can see a taste of this person who is famous for his rants! In his first weekly rant, Solomon will talk about ESPN. In the coming weeks you will see him rant about TV Land, ION, among other topics sitcom related and non-sitcom related even. Remember what he says is not the voice of SitcomsOnline, it is his own opinion. In fact for his first rant, I don't agree with 1/2 of the stuff he says, but it is still interesting to read. So anyway let's get right into his rant:

Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, June 2, 2007
"ESPN Needs an Extreme Change"
By Solomon Davis

ESPN should be renamed the Yankees Network since that team seems to be the very first story every single weekday on the 6pm SportsCenter. I'm so sick of seeing Roger Clemens stories on how he is preparing to make a return or whether or not the Yankees can still catch the Red Sox for the division.
It's freaking June 2 and ESPN is talking about baseball like there is no NBA Playoffs currently going on which makes me want to cancel this channel off my cable service. Watching ESPN makes me feel I'm living in the Philadelphia section of New York City watching the YES Network and I just can't put up with this anymore. I have no more interest in watching SportsCenter at 6pm on the weekdays since ESPN is all Yankees all the time.
ESPN also needs to remove that annoying sports ticker at the bottom of the screen during regular programming. Sometimes I decide not to watch a baseball game until the 4th or 5th inning but find trouble watching other programming because ESPN feels the need to update you on all the baseball games every 5 seconds instead of twice an hour (at :28 and :58). What is going to change in a baseball game from 7:35pm to 7:38pm? I mean the constant updates of what's going on in the baseball world is ridiculous and the dumbest creation the network has ever come up with. What happened to the days when sports networks updated you on games when something actually happened instead of letting you know, "NOTHING HAS CHANGED" in a current baseball game. Maybe we should start calling it the ESPN "Nothing Has Changed" Sports Ticker.
Finally, I stumbled across the very disturbing NBA Finals News in the June 4th Edition of ESPN Magazine. Can you believe that ABC/ESPN is deciding to have Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy call the NBA Finals instead of Hubie Brown and Mike Tirico?? So they are letting The Three Stooges call the Championship round? Mike "Dull" Breen, Mark "Barbershop Voice Tone" Jackson and Jeff "Depressed Looking" Van Gundy? I'm really looking forward to hearing these clowns on June 7 so they can make the game sound so exciting. I feel so fortunate to have a channel like ESPN on my cable service.

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

Classic TV Comes to Utah, Includes Silver Spoons, Dennis, Facts of Life, Bewitched; New Saturday Feature Starts Tomorrow

KCSG in southern Utah (like St. George, UT) is revamping its afternoon and evening line-up by adding classic TV! What else is better than that? In fact, the network has struck a deal with Sony Pictures Television for the bulk of the programming. The only non-Sony shows that will air in the block are Family Ties & Cheers, which are both from CBS Paramount Television. The block will run from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. (with a break in action in the 5:30 p.m. half-hour for news).
The following is the line-up that will take in effect this coming Monday (June 4):
3:30PM - Dennis the Menace
4:00PM - The Facts of Life
4:30PM - Silver Spoons
5:00PM - Family Ties
5:30PM - News
6:00PM - Party of Five (MWF) Starsky & Hutch (Tu), Charlie's Angels
(Th)
7:00PM - Who's the Boss?
7:30PM - Bewitched
8:00PM - I Dream of Jeanie
8:30PM - Cheers

This classic TV block is officially being called "Family Block Party." Some of these shows such as Silver Spoons have not been airing at all on local or national television for years. Some of SitcomsOnline's favorites are on this line-up, including the aforementioned Silver Spoons, Family Ties and The Facts of Life.
You will notice that the block is all sitcoms except the 6 p.m. hour which will be rotating dramas. That's the way we like it...all sitcoms, especially from the 50s-80s!
Our special thanks to "vcrfan" from our message boards. If not for him, we would have not known probably for awhile (as this schedule is not listed on TV listings yet) and I would have not gone out and researched this wonderful news. Hopefully more stations around the country learn from KCSG!
Discuss this line-up by clicking here. It doesn't matter if you're from southern Utah or not.

We know many of you love our Saturday feature of DVD Mini-Reviews, now we will also have an ADDITIONAL Saturday feature starting tomorrow! One of the most popular members of our message boards is a person named Solomon Davis, or you may know him by his username of TheAnalyzer. Solomon always has his views and opinions on everything. Whether it be sitcoms, TV in general, sports, or anything in the news, Solomon has his own views on the topic. He is known for his ranting. Some find it very entertaining whether you agree with him or not. Most never agree with him, but there are times you wonder and say, hmm that actually makes sense. I myself do not agree with him in certain topics, but am always intrigued that this guy always has something to say.
Well, now he will have something to say each week for us right here on the SitcomsOnline.com News Blog! He will give us his "weekly rant" on topics dealing with TV, sitcoms, sports, or anything in his life. This will certainly be a hit because curiosity always follows this man from Philadelphia. So come on and join us tomorrow for the launch of "Solomon's Weekly Rant," every Saturday following the Mini-DVD Review, right here on the SitcomsOnline.com News Blog! Saturdays just got even bigger here!