Monday, November 21, 2005

Trio TV Discontinued; Lifetime Nabs 'Medium' for Fall 2009; Classic 80s Sitcoms from Universal and Sony

We have a lot of good news to say today. Let me just start off with some bad news just to get that out of the way. Trio TV will be discontinued effective January 1. This is very sad news as they brought us lot of rare classic TV airings over the years. They will still be around in a broadband initiative way on bravotv.com, so we will still see their popular "Brilliant, But Cancelled" block this way. Although that is good, it still isn't as good as having a full TV network. You can read about the demise of Trio TV here. You can also discuss and post your comments there.

Lifetime TV has secured cable rights to the current NBC drama Medium starting in Fall 2009. The drama is currently in its second season on the air and has enjoyed steady ratings Monday nights on NBC. Medium will join a roster of shows including Will & Grace and The Golden Girls, with shows like Frasier, Reba and Still Standing still to come. You can read the press release about the buying of Medium here.

Now to the very big news. I'll start off with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. We already broke you the news that Diff'rent Strokes Season 2 was coming January 31, well, today Sony made it official! It will be a 3-disc set featuring all 26 half hours (we are not sure yet how the multiple part episodes will be handled, either in two parts or the full hour format). 650 minutes of Arnold at his best! No idea yet if any special features will be included again, but I doubt there will be any.
Sony also made it official today that season one of Archie Bunker's Place is coming the same day! Another 3-disc set featuring all 24 half hours running 590 minutes long. We were told Maude would be possibly paired with this show, but looks like it won't happen on this date. But I know Maude is coming soon, but no idea yet exactly when. So be patient Maude fans--you'll get Bea Arthur soon!
Now to the suprise of the day! Universal Home Video announced today that on Valentine's Day 2006 (Feb. 14) they will release two classic '80s sitcoms! Join the late Nell Carter in Gimme a Break! and Scott Baio in Charles in Charge for the first time on DVD! This was a great surprise to wake up to on a Monday morning. Universal made it official today with cover art! Get your first look at the full size cover art for BOTH sitcoms here. TVShowsonDVD.com has details on both sets, for Charles in Charge click here, for Gimme a Break! click here. This is very exciting and we hope Universal continues to release sitcoms. As of now they had only released The Munsters and Dream On, with Leave it to Beaver coming out tomorrow. Universal is known more for its movies and TV dramas, but they also have some good sitcoms. Let's hope and pray we get subsequent seasons of these two shows and they start releasing other sitcoms such as Coach, Amen, McHale's Navy, Out of this World, My Secret Identity, Major Dad, Harper Valley PTA, and the short lived Something So Right and Parenthood. This is a step in the right direction for Universal--please buy Gimme a Break! and Charles in Charge when they come out. It will make a big difference.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, April 26

Animal Control - "Giraffes, Gorillas and Penguins" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The crew must contain a freak zoo break; Frank realizes that he needs to break up with Yasmin; Emily finds an unexpected benefactor in a celebrity businesswoman.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 21)

Friday, April 25

  • Kathy Bates (Disjointed) - Watch Kathy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish/Girlfriends) - Tracee appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Paul and Greta are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Yvonne Orji (Insecure) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Yvonne who is now hosting Pop The Balloon Live on Netflix, so check your local listings.
  • Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew and Valerie are joined by Carla Hall in the kitchen to whip up some delicious cozy food on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Amy Schumer (Life & Beth), Jillian Bell (Bless the Harts/Idiotsitter/Eastbound & Down/Workaholics) and Brianne Howey (Dollface) - The cast of the new movie Kinda Pregnant join Drew to dish on their new film on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel talks about Bravo's Love Hotel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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