SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Classic '80s Sitcom to Join ABC Family Channel in April; Sitcom News for ABC and Showtime; GSN Honors Knotts, McGavin and Weaver

'Life is such a sweet insanity..." Yes, life IS such a sweet insanity! Because the more you learn, the less you know...well not in this case, because you are ALL about to know what the new sitcom is coming to ABC Family Channel this April! I mentioned last week that a "TBD" slot has been filled in starting April 3 and it clearly had to be a sitcom because ABC Family airs nothing but sitcoms from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. So, if you have not guessed by now with all those clues (and the picture) the sitcom is the 1986-1991 sitcom The Hogan Family. It will air WEEKDAYS @ 12 PM & 12:30 PM starting April 3. They will start with season three, by passing the Valerie years.
The show was titled Valerie in its first two seasons, then Valerie's Family for season three, before being called The Hogan Family by season four. You can read all about that on our Hogan Family website. The series starred Valerie Harper, but she left show by season three. Sandy Duncan replaced her. The series also starred Jason Bateman, who went on to star in Arrested Development.
The series last aired as a regular on PAX some years ago. TV Land aired two episodes this past June for a Warner Bros. 50th Anniversary Weekend marathon. It will be SO good to have this series back on the air again. Now, let's hope we can get '80s gems Mr. Belvedere, Small Wonder, and Perfect Strangers back on the air. For more on ABC Family April 2006, click here!

ABC has announced the return date of third season sitcom Hope & Faith. It will return and air Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. starting March 21. It will replace Rodney, which airs tonight for the last time, since the next two weeks (March 7 & 14) a special According to Jim will air in its slot. No idea yet on when or if ABC will air the remaining 8 episodes of Rodney, as only 14 will have aired by tonight. Hope & Faith has 10 more episodes remaining, as 12 have aired earlier in the season. Still no word yet on when ABC plans to bring back sitcoms Crumbs, Less than Perfect and Jake in Progress. My guess would be in June.
ABC also announced other mid-season plans and changes. Veteran spy-drama Alias will return for its final eight episodes starting Wednesday, April 19 at 8 p.m. replacing sitcoms George Lopez and Freddie, who both would have finished their 22 episode order for the season by then. New J.J. Abrams drama What About Brian has been pushed back two weeks to a Sunday, April 16 premiere following DH, then will air Mondays at 10 p.m. starting the next night. Invasion will return Wednesday, April 19 at 10 p.m., after a four week break to let the new mid-season drama The Evidence air. Invasion is all-new on March 8 and 15--don't miss it, it is by far the best new drama this season! And ABC's new mini-series, a revival of the classic movie The Ten Commandments will air over two nights on Monday, April 10 and Tuesday, April 11 from 9 to 11 p.m. starring Naveen Andrews of Lost. Read all that and more here.

The New York Post is reporting that sitcom Arrested Development is very close to be picked-up by Showtime for 26 episodes. They would divide it by two and have 13 episodes for next season and 13 more the following season. The two-hour finale of the critically-acclaimed series nabbed only 3.3 million viewers when it aired on Feb. 10 on Fox. We certainly will keep you all updated on this as Showtime has not officially said anything on it, but it sure looks good!

In honor of the recent passing of legendary television actors Don Knotts, Darren McGavin and Dennis Weaver, GSN is planning special programming tributes showcasing some of their memorable appearances on classic game shows. GSN is honored to present these acclaimed and award-winning actors as they appeared as themselves on such memorable series as I've Got a Secret (Knotts), Password (McGavin) and Family Feud (Weaver.) To see when these special episodes are airing, click here.

Don Knotts Tributes on TV Land Tuesday and Saturday/Sunday; Remembering Darren McGavin and Dennis Weaver

TV Land will pay tribute to dear friend Don Knotts with a Primetime Tribute Marathon of The Andy Griffith Show on Tuesday, February 28 starting at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) and a 48-Hour Don Knotts Tribute Marathon featuring The Andy Griffith Show and Three's Company this coming weekend, March 4-5.
The network will showcase a six episode presentation of Knotts' memorable work on The Andy Griffith Show as the lovable, bumbling small town deputy, Barney Fife on Tuesday, February 28 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT. Additionally, beginning Saturday March 4 at 6 a.m. ET/PT, TV Land will air a 48-hour marathon of both The Andy Griffith Show and Three's Company, the latter of which he played the eccentric landlord Mr. Furley. Andy will air 6a-11p & 5-6a both days while Three's Company will air 11p-5a both days.
For the full schedule for both the Tuesday and the weekend tributes, click here.

We have lost two more TV greats, too. Darren McGavin and Dennis Weaver. Darren McGavin something of a patron saint for rumpled old reporters in his role as Kolchak on the original ABC show, The Night Stalker, died on Saturday. McGavin also was known for his role as the father in the holiday movie classic, A Christmas Story. He was the title role in the TV series Mike Hammer. He was also the father of Candice Bergen's Murphy Brown, which earned him an Emmy nomination for a guest appearance. McGavin even had his own sitcom, a short lived 1983 sitcom that lasted six episodes for CBS called Small & Frye. He made the rounds on various TV series such as Grace Under Fire, The Commish, The Love Boat, Love American Style, and Mannix. McGavin was 83.
Meanwhile it was announced today that veteran actor Dennis Weaver also died this weekend. He died Friday. He was best known for his roles on TV classics Gunsmoke and McCloud, died Feb. 24 at his home in Ridgway, Colo. The serious actor was never in a sitcom but had a well respected dramatical TV career. Weaver was one of television’s original sidekicks, playing obtuse deputy Chester Goode (whose twangy "Miiister Dillon!" when addressing James Arness' Matt Dillon became a trademark), in the CBS Western Gunsmoke from 1955-64. He won an Emmy for the role in 1959. From 1970-77, Weaver portrayed the more quick-witted deputy Sam McCloud in McCloud, the sheriff from rural America who joins the NYPD. The series ran on NBC. Weaver reprised the role in a 1989 TV movie, The Return of Sam McCloud. Weaver’s most recent TV role was that of Henry Ritter on the ABC Family series Wildfire. Weaver was 81.

Special Note for Today; Week 23 First Four Day Ratings; How The Sitcoms Did; Andy Griffith Remembers Don Knotts

Today is a special day here at SitcomsOnline.com. Yes, it is our founder and owner's birthday! I hope Todd has a great day and many more birthdays to come. Thanks for everything and thanks for this wonderful website that just gets better and better each day! You can wish him a happy birthday and give thanks here.

Week 23 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: NBC: 13.5/20.1; FOX 13.2/19.1; CBS: 7.0/10.4; ABC: 6.3/9.3; The WB: 1.8/2.6; UPN 1.5/2.1.
Total Viewers: FOX: 22.87 million; NBC: 22.17 million; CBS: 10.66 million; ABC: 9.57 million; The WB: 2.62 million; UPN: 2.11 million.
Adults 18-49: FOX 9.7/22.2; NBC: 6.6/15.7; CBS: 3.5/8.3; ABC: 3.5/8.2; The WB: 1.0/2.4; UPN: 0.9/2.0.

Analysis: American Idol aired three times this week and killed The Olympics each time. Idol was two-hours long on Tuesday and Wednesday and a special hour episode on a Thursday. That Thursday 8 p.m. slot this week was very competitive. More on that later. The WB aired movies Mon-Thurs, so their numbers are way down from usual numbers. Monday saw The Olympics winning the night as the competition wasn't that good, but Fox had a strong showing for an all-new episode on a special night and time episode of House, with 14.18 million. Tuesday it was all Fox with American Idol with 30.16 million viewers, but the Olympics on NBC did very well too with 25.08 million, easily its best night in 2006, but still way down from previous Olympics. Wednesday again Fox's Idol ruled with 31.69 million, The Olympics suffered a ton, only 16.01 million, after getting two straight 20+ million nights. ABC was out of the picture tonight as Lost was a rerun. Thursday NBC, Fox, ABC and even CBS had something to write home about. American Idol won the 8 p.m. hour with 23.38 million, followed by the Olympics, Survivor and the first hour Dancing with the Stars. It was the most competitive hour in recent history In normal weeks CBS would rule 9-11pm, but not tonight. CSI and Without a Trace were in repeats AGAIN, so The Olympics and Dancing with the Stars ruled. The Olympics finally did above 30 million for the 10 p.m. hour, but overall the night for The Olympics came out to 25.72 million--its best yet. Friday had the Winter Olympics winning on NBC, but it was not above 20 million. Saturday was all NBC with the Olympics, but like Friday night it was weak. ABC's Dancing with the Stars Finale will battle with NBC's closing ceremonies for The Olympics for Sunday night--and Grey's Anatomy will do an open heart surgery on the ratings for The Olympics at 10 p.m. If only CBS had aired original episodes of CSI, Without a Trace, Two and a Half Men, CSI: Miami and some others, then The Olympics would have been even worse, but still it beats whatever NBC does in the ratings normally.


Monday Sitcoms

• The King of Queens (CBS) - 8.91 million for a repeat--yes, CBS was scared of the anemic Olympics on NBC.
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - Only 7.41 million for a repeat.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - A jump from lead-in, to 12.17 million, but was a repeat .
• Courting Alex (CBS) - First repeat of the series did a decent 8.37 million.
• One on One (UPN), All of Us (UPN), Girlfriends (UPN), Half and Half (UPN) - Steady! Between 3-4 million, like usual for all-new episodes. They did normal numbers, so the Olympics did not effect its ratings.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - 8 p.m. episode against Idol suffered, only 5.86 million, it was a repeat anyway...the 9 p.m. all-new episode did 6.61 million.
• Rodney (ABC) - Much better than last week's terrible 4.61 million, this week it was 6.07 million.
  
• George Lopez (ABC) - A repeat on a special night and time did OK, 6.34 million.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) - Not too good for a new episode--5.9 million
  
• Freddie (ABC) - 5.05 million for an all-new episode, ouch.
• Still Standing (CBS) - Two all-new episodes barely beat ABC's comedies, 5.91 million and 5.98 million.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• Everybody Hates Chris (UPN) - Why did UPN air a repeat? 2.95 million.
  
• Love, Inc. (UPN), Everybody Hates Chris (UPN), Eve (UPN) - Cuts was replaced this week. Eve moved to its slot. Chris aired in Eve's old slot. All were repeats, but Chris jumped up at 9 p.m. to 2.15 million after Love, Inc only did 1.75 million.

Friday Sitcoms

The WB Friday had What I Like About You and Living with Fran in dead last place in the 8 p.m. hour. The 9 p.m. hour was slightly better with Reba and Twins as it beat Fox's repeat of 24.

Summing it up. REPEATS of The King of Queens, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Courting Alex were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as According to Jim 9 p.m., UPN Monday) or just plain old terrible (such as Freddie, What I Like About You, Living with Fran).


Finally, we leave you today with more on Don Knotts' passing. We don't have a date and time yet for the TV Land marathon tribute, but NBC's Today Show will have actor Andy Griffith on tomorrow morning's show in the 8:30 a.m. ET half hour. So tune in!
Andy Griffith will recall fond memories from his 50 year friendship with Don Knotts.

Breaking News: Don Knotts Passes Away at Age 81; Bernie Mac Hosts Sitcom Marathon on ME-TV in Chicago; Evening Shade Leaving CMT Already?

We have lost a big time legend. Don Knotts has passed away. He passed away Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, said Paul Ward, a spokesman for the cable network TV Land. Don Knotts of course was a big time TV star who co-starred with Andy Griffith as Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show in the '60s and joined the cast of the John Ritter sitcom Three's Company in the 1979-80 season as Mr. Furley. Both Fife and Furley were memorable characters. Both different yet so similar in style. He has made tons of memorable movies, too, such as The Incredible Mr. Limpett and The Ghost & Mr. Chicken. He was recently heard on an episode of Nick@Nite's Fatherhood and on the big screen movie Chicken Little. He appeared at the TV Land Awards last year in a Desperate Housewives skit, playing Paul Young. This year's TV Land Awards will for sure pay tribute to the legend. And I'm sure TV Land will air episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and Three's Company this coming week. So, I will let you know when they decide when to air a tribute marathon. Mr. Knotts also appeared on other shows as a guest star, such as Dobie Gillis, Joey Bishop, Mayberry RFD, Here's Lucy, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, She's the Sheriff, Step by Step, Newhart, with John Ritter again on the 'Three's Company' episode of 8 Simple Rules, last season on Las Vegas, and he had a recurring role on Andy Griffith's other series Matlock. He also was the host of his own show in 1970 titled The Don Knotts Show. Mr. Knotts will be missed by SO many. Fans ranging from all ages, as he had two hits in two different generations. Mr. Knotts was 81.

Bernie Mac usually talks to all of "America" but for one afternoon only he will talk to his hometown of Chicago. Hello Chicago! Spend your afternoon with “The Mac-man” as Bernie Mac hosts "Mac on Me" - four hours of Bernie Mac's all-time favorite Me-TV shows this Sunday, February 26 from 3 to 7 pm. CT. Bernie delivers a line-up of the classics as well as favorites from his own show. You don’t want to miss Chicago’s very own Bernie Mac on Me-TV, with a special simulcast on WCIU-TV channel 26 "The U!"

3:00 pm Bernie Mac "Keep it on the Short Grass”

3:30 pm Green Hornet “Praying Mantis”

4:00 pm The Honeymooners “TV or not TV”

4:30 pm All in the Family “Sammy’s Visit”

5:00 pm What’s Happening!! “Disco Dollar Disaster”

5:30 pm Sanford and Son “Mama’s Baby, Papa’s Maybe”

6:00 pm Good Times “The Debutante Ball”

6:30 pm Bernie Mac “Nut Job”
Don't forget Chicago - you can catch The Bernie Mac Show weeknights at 6:30 & 10:30 p.m. on Me-TV's sister station - WCIU, Channel 26, "The U!"

Moving on to national news, CMT looks like has made last minute changes. Apparently Evening Shade has not done too well in the ratings. It will air three more times next week at only 6-7 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before being completely gone by March 2, replaced by CMT Music--only lasting 2 full weeks. The Dukes of Hazzard will get new timeslots, too starting the 2nd. Weekdays 6 p.m. & 7 p.m. and midnight and 1 a.m. So what about that "TBD 30 Minutes" slot that I mentioned the other day? It looks like that is still happening, but now starting Monday March 6 at 5:30 p.m. (before Dukes of Hazzard) and 2 a.m. (after Dukes of Hazzard). Let's all hope it is a sitcom, but I am not holding my breath on it much now, since what just took place with Evening Shade. Pray that Alice is that sitcom! Enjoy Evening Shade for three days next week because then it seems it is gone again.

Nick@Nite To Premiere 90-Second Sitcom; MPI Home Video Answers

Nick@Nite will premiere a new sitcom starting April 4. The catch is it WON'T be a half hour sitcom, it will be a short sitcom running 90 seconds! The sitcom is titled At the Poocharelli's. This 90-second sitcom will air Tuesday nights at 9:57 p.m. immediately following premiere episodes of Nick@Nite's Search for America's Funniest Moms II. Details on this sitcom:
Finally, a sitcom that really knows how to sit? and stay and fetch! Maggie Poocharelli is the center of the family and the chaos of this classic sitcom, with loveable if sometimes dim husband Pete, forever-dating sister Evelyne, irascible Gramps and the kids: spunky twelve year old Cody, teen
socialiate Brittany, and the puppies. In each episode, they face traditional sitcom issues -from lost homework to mis-fired makeovers to special celebrity guest stars. Tune in each Tuesday at 9:57 p.m. for all the fun with the Poocharelli family!

MPI Home Video has let us know when we can expect the '60s sitcom Family Affair on DVD. They said to expect the first season (30 episodes on 4 discs) on June 27. MPI is known for great bonus features and this set will also have some. The exact contents will be announced later. Also, there is no further information on The Color Honeymooners DVD. I think we can expect that later in the year, as I mentioned sometime back. And we all know season three of The Doris Day Show is coming this May, but we can also expect season four of this series sometime in the 4th quarter (Oct-Dec) this year. I'm sure our friends at TVShowsonDVD.com will have news on all this, when announced. It is too bad MPI doesn't have rights to release more episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction! They have done a great job on those and all the other series they have released!

Turner South Sold to Fox; More Classic Sitcoms Coming?

Turner South, a regional cable network for outlets in the southeast, has now been sold to Fox. Turner South airs classic movies, sports (Braves, Hawks and Thrasher games), original programming, and some series as well (Major Dad, In the Heat of the Night). But now Fox has bought the channel and has plans to create it to an all-sports channel. They could treat it like a "Fox Sports Net" channel. While I am a sports fan, I don't like this because shows like Major Dad are rare to find these days.

As I mentioned, Fox could convert Turner South into an all-sports network by dropping its other programming, but regardless, the second channel gives Fox the opportunity to purchase more regional sports. Fox operates two separate regional sports networks in L.A. and now could have two in the southeast.
In a statement, TBS Inc. CEO Phil Kent called the sale “a win for Turner Broadcasting and for viewers of the Fox Cable Networks. It creates significant financial return for our company, adds quality programming to Fox’s portfolio and enhances the value for consumers of a popular cable service.”

OK, now for the sitcom story. As I mentioned last week, Evening Shade is now on CMT. But starting maybe next week (March 1) we might get another sitcom. They have not officially announced it yet but I have a strong feeling we will get another sitcom on CMT. Right now Evening Shade airs 6-7am, 1-2pm and 11p-12a. The 6:00am, 1:30pm and 11:00pm slot as of March 1 is now listed as "TBD 30 Minutes." That has to be a sitcom. What else could lead-in or lead-out of Evening Shade? We hope to have news on this VERY soon. So come on back.
Also, if that is not all, we have another cable network that now lists a "TBD" (stands for To Be Determined, if anyone didn't know) block. ABC Family Channel released their April line-up to us last week and we didn't post it right away because we saw that TBD slot. The TBD slot is listed for 12 noon and 12:30 p.m. The current occupant of that slot is Full House. Full House will slide over to 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. starting April 3, and Step by Step will move from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. starting April 3. So what will air at noon and 12:30 p.m.? We just don't know yet, but indication again is it could be a sitcom. Hopefully a sitcom that doesn't air on that channel right now. Maybe Perfect Strangers? Hangin' With Mr. Cooper? Or the return of Growing Pains? We will let you know as soon as we know!
And finally, in local channel news, a Webster marathon is in the works for Chicago's ME-TV. It has not been confirmed yet, but all indications list March 7 as the date. As soon as we have full details we will let you know on the pint-sized kid's return! We just hope that show returns nationally sometime soon, too (and DVD--come on Paramount!).

TV Land Honors 'Cheers', 'Dallas', 'Good Times' & 'Batman' at 2006 TV Land Awards; Fox-Owned UPN Stations Get New Mini-Network

TV Land announced today that Cheers, Batman, Good Times and Dallas are among the shows that will be honored at the fourth annual TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV, being taped at The Barker Hangar on Sunday, March 19. The two-hour special will premiere with a special simulcast on TV Land and Nick@Nite on Wednesday, March 22 beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The annual celebration recognizes shows and stars from television’s rich history, is hosted by Will and Grace’s Megan Mullally and is sponsored by M&M'S(r) Brand Chocolate Candies.
Several awards will be bestowed upon some of television’s legendary series’ and stars. The cast and crew of Cheers will be recognized with the Legend Award; Batman will be honored in celebration of its 40th Anniversary; Good Times will receive the Impact Award; and Dallas will receive the Pop Culture Award. TV Land will also present awards in several other categories, including the 2005 Future Classic Award – which TV Land unveiled in 1998 and is presented annually to the one new show from the past calendar year which best exemplifies the qualities of an emerging television classic. Last year’s recipient was ABC’s hit series, Desperate Housewives. Who will it be this year? Grey's Anatomy, My Name is Earl, House, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, Commander in Chief, or another series? My bets are on Grey's Anatomy.
Slated to appear at the show include: cast members from Cheers – Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Shelley Long, John Ratzenberger, George Wendt and Rhea Perlman; Batman’s Adam West and Burt Ward; John Amos, Jimmy “JJ” Walker, Ja’net Dubois, BernNadette Stanis, Johnny Brown and Ralph Carter from Good Times and Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Charlene Tilton, Steve Kanaly, Susan Howard, Ken Kercheval and Mary Crosby from Dallas.
To read the full details, click here.

And remember the Fox-owned UPN stations that will turn independent because of The CW situation? Well, Fox has just announced what they plan to do with those Fox-owned UPN stations. And frankly, I'm not too happy with it. They will create a mini-network for these ten stations called "My Network TV." I was hoping for a return of classic sitcoms/dramas in primetime, but guess not, hopefully we see those types of shows during the day at least. Here are the full details of My Network TV:
FOX will launch My Network TV, a new primetime program network scheduled to debut this fall. Fox Television Stations, Inc., and Twentieth Television will operate the new venture.
Upon launching on Tuesday, September 5th, 2006, My Network TV will feature quality primetime programming from 8:00-10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) Monday through Saturday, totaling 12 hours of original content per week. Providing broadcasters a viable and station-friendly option for primetime, involving no reverse compensation, My Network TV will position stations with operational flexibility through an appealing affiliation term and attractive inventory split, further building asset value.
Fox Television Stations’ WWOR/New York, KCOP/Los Angeles, WPWR/Chicago, KDFI/Dallas, WDCA/Washington, D.C., KTXH/Houston, WFTC/Minneapolis, KUTP/Phoenix, WRBW/ Orlando and WUTB/Baltimore will serve as anchor affiliates of My Network TV, representing 24% of the United States.
And the first two shows will be all-new primetime soaps running six days a week:
Twentieth Television’s new hour-long scripted dramas Desire and Secrets will inaugurate My Network TV. Structured in a 65-episode story arc stripped Monday through Friday for 13 weeks, Desire and Secrets are based on the worldwide success of the telenovela format. Desire chronicles the destruction of a family and the bonds of brotherhood take center stage when two brothers on the run from the mafia find themselves in a heated battle of passion, betrayal, deceit and murder over the woman they both love. Secrets goes deep behind-the-scenes to focus on the glamorous, yet sometimes brutally ruthless fashion industry, in which greed, lust and blind ambition surround a violent corporate takeover of the business’ hottest company.

They will also develop other shows when needed. Programs currently in development include:

• Catwalk (Twentieth Television) -- The ultimate search for the next “It” supermodel begins by crossing the country to discover 30 of the hottest, hippest and freshest faces who will compete for the once in a lifetime opportunity to be catapulted into stardom.
• Celebrity Love Island [Granada (Nanny 911)] -- Six gorgeous celebrity and six non-celebrity singletons are thrown together in a fantasy island setting, where a star-studded search for love takes place.
• On Scene (Fox News) -- This crime investigative series will cover all angles, examine all of the evidence and trace every single clue of the most compelling crimes committed today.
• America’s Brainiest (working title) [Celador (Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?)] -- This quiz show, based on the hit British program, will find the country’s smartest individuals and reveal them in an exciting format.
• In addition, Twentieth Television is in advanced negotiations with FremantleMedia North America (American Idol) on an international format.

What was wrong with Diff'rent Strokes, Small Wonder and Mr. Belvedere? :(

Felicity Huffman in Leave it to Beaver, The Munsters and The Brady Bunch?; In2TV Launches March 15 on AOL.com

If you all saw Desperate Housewives this past Sunday, then you saw a commercial starring Felicity Huffman promoting Dove Night's Calming Night product. She mentions to go online to dovenight.com and watch her in all-new "webisodes" of classic TV shows. Here is the info on it:

Beginning Feb. 20 women can follow Felicity Huffman into a dream state as she has mom-to-mom chats with America's beloved TV moms -- Carol Brady, Lily Munster and June Cleaver. Dove, the global beauty brand, is premiering three groundbreaking Webisodes to launch its new Calming Night product collection. Directed by Penny Marshall, each Webisode shows Huffman as she is literally transposed into the Brady, Munster and Cleaver households. The Webisodes are available at http://www.dovenight.com through Apr. 9, 2006.
Thanks to an evening shower with Dove Calming Night body wash, Huffman drifts off to a dream world where she finds herself living in classic episodes of The Brady Bunch, The Munsters and Leave it to Beaver. As Alice departs for vacation, Huffman arrives on scene to take care of the Brady sextet. At 1313 Mockingbird Lane, she discovers her own little monsters are not nearly as creepy as the Munster family. After meeting 'the Beav' she learns that he is not as charming as he seems. Sometimes it takes being in someone else's shoes to realize that life is not always as easy as it looks. For the full press release, click here.

And we have the official date now for AOL's In2TV service. The service will begin on Wednesday, March 15. So you have three weeks to get ready. You have to have Windows XP and Windows Media Player 10.0 to play the full episodes I'm told. So, if you have not already, please upgrade!
On March 15, watch full-length episodes of popular TV series like Freddy's Nightmares, Chico and The Man, and Wonder Woman. In2TV is the first ever broadband network offering thousands of hours of full-length TV shows -- all free, and on-demand. Don't miss out.
A perfect way to test the system is to watch their first sneak peek video of In2TV, which is a "Where Are They Now?" feature on Linda Carter (Wonder Woman). You can view that here.

Stay tuned as we hope to have a list of episodes and more details on all the series at launch time!

President's Day Black History Sitcom Marathon on BET; TV Land Schedule Change Starting March 13

Happy President's Day! BET will be celebrating this day with a full day marathon of The Wayans Bros., The Jamie Foxx Show and In Living Color, part of their Black History Month celebration. Tune in bright and early at 9 a.m. starting with Wayans and ending with Wayans as well at 4 a.m. In between we get two blocks of Jamie Foxx and a nice evening block of the sketch comedy In Living Color. To view the full line-up with episode information, click here.

Meanwhile TV Land has announced that they will be making some minor changes starting Monday, March 13. They will be making use of that Universal library drama deal (four shows) that started last month. Every weekday from 1 to 3 p.m., we get back-to-back episodes of action dramas in TV Land Crimestoppers. Mondays we get The A-Team, Tuesdays we get Miami Vice, Wednesdays we get Simon & Simon, Thursdays we get Knight Rider, and Fridays MacGyver. And on the weekends, the crimestoppers dramas air from 12 to 2 p.m., with MacGyver at 12 p.m. and Hunter at 1 p.m. Other changes are Highway to Heaven moving to 6 a.m., Gunsmoke's morning slot moving from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., and Gunsmoke's afternoon slot moving from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Hunter and MacGyver will now only air in the crimestoppers block.
For the full list of changes in a list format, head on over here.

How the Sitcoms Did

Week 22 numbers first three nights, Mon-Wed only available; final Thurs numbers not available yet from Nielsen, so I will not post the numbers this week -- sorry about that!

Analysis: The Winter Olympics have certainly helped NBC, but the Olympics might be on pace for its worst ratings ever, as shows like American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy, and others have beat it head to head. I still think CBS made a huge mistake airing mostly repeats against the Olympics. On Monday everyone was at normal levels against the Olympics, even CBS's comedies and CSI: Miami in repeats. The Olympics easily won that night and thus far this week the only time they went over 20 million, with 21.07 million. Tuesday saw American Idol and House trounce the Olympics badly. Wednesday it was again American Idol and ABC's Lost that ruled and made the Olympics look like a loser. Thursday saw Dancing with the Stars beating The Olympics AND Survivor head to head. NBC won the 9 and 10 p.m. hours with the Olympis only because CSI and Without a Trace were repeats. Friday had the Winter Olympics winning again, but Stars Results gave a good performance once again. Saturday was all NBC with the Olympics. Again, ABC will battle with NBC for Sunday night. ABC has a good shot of beating the Olympics again tonight from 9 to 11 p.m at least.


Monday Sitcoms

• The King of Queens (CBS) - 9.17 million for a repeat is awesome.
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 8.1 million for a repeat is good, but a little drop from the lead-in.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - A repeat and still 13.6 million.
• Courting Alex (CBS) - A new episode scored 11.11 million--lowest yet.
• One on One (UPN), All of Us (UPN), Girlfriends (UPN), Half and Half (UPN) - Steady but down from last week's 3-4 million to 2.5-3.5 million.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim(ABC) 9pm - A repeat at 9pm did OK, with 6.62 million...a new episode will air at 9pm this week, like it did on Feb. 7 when it had over 8.3 million.
• Rodney (ABC) - With no Jim at 8 tonight, a new Rodney suffered a lot, only 4.61 million.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) - 6.16 million against Idol, and beat Still Standing.
  
• Freddie (ABC) - A drop, only 5.82 million.
• Still Standing (CBS) - 6.13 million, slightly behind ABC.
• Yes, Dear (CBS) - Sitcom leader in slot with 6.48 million--sadly the highest rated sitcom of the night.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• Everybody Hates Chris (UPN) - Whoa...no other sitcoms on any net than UPN...so Chris was the highest rated sitcom of the night! Wonder if UPN promoted that?
  
• Love, Inc. (UPN), Eve (UPN), Cuts (UPN) - New episodes of these sitcoms did pathetic as usual. They will not make it to the CW line-up.

Friday Sitcoms

WB Friday Comedies - dead last in each half hour.

Summing it up. Repeats of The King of Queens, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as a repeat of According To Jim, Courting Alex) or just plain old terrible (such as WB Friday, UPN Thursday, Rodney).

'The Gary Coleman Show' Back on Cartoon Network; VH1 Is Calling All Pop-Culture Fans

Cartoon Network is bringing back the short lived 1982-83 animated series The Gary Coleman Show starting tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. It will air 5 days a week (Sun, Tues, Wed, Thu, and Fri mornings) until further notice. So, you'll see all 13 half hours plenty of times. Gary Coleman of course starred on the 1978-86 sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, but this cartoon was based on a TV movie he did called The Kid with the Broken Halo. So you might want to set your VCR/TiVo's or set up that alarm clock to wake up at 5 a.m. for all 13 episodes (each half hour had two episodes, so really 26 episodes, but 13 half hours) as this is a rare shot of watching this series. See Gary's character as an angel trying to help other people so he can earn his wings. For more details check out our Gary Coleman Show webpage.

Do you know which college Allie Hamilton attended after leaving her summer love Noah Calhoun behind in the 2004 film The Notebook ?
Do you know which TV theme song asks you to take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have...?
Are you good under pressure?
Do you want the chance to win up to $100,000?
Then we ve got the game show for you!
VH1 and Entertainment Weekly are scouring the country to find 16 three-person teams who think they ve got what it takes to compete in the most intense pop culture trivia tournament to date, THE WORLD SERIES OF POP CULTURE.
The tournament, which will be taped to air on VH1 in late summer 2006, will happen over the weekend of April 28th through the 30th in New York City.
Whether teams consist of friends who gather to watch Lost every Wednesday, or co-workers who spend lunch hours discussing their favorite films, or siblings who grew up addicted to sitcoms, the three members must have extensive knowledge of the films, tv shows, music, and pop culture happenings of the 70s, 80 s and 90 s through today.
Do you think you and your cohorts have got the pop culture smarts to beat out the competition? Then come meet us in person and prove it!

Casting Calls followed by Regional Qualifying Games will be held by appointment only in the following cities on the following dates:
Los Angeles: March 4th/5th
Chicago: March 11th/12th
Dallas: March 18th/19th
Atlanta: March 25th/26th
New York: April 1st/2nd
FOR INFO ON HOW TO APPLY AS A TEAM AND ATTEND ANY OF THE SCHEDULED CASTING CALLS LOG ON TO: WWW.VH1.COM (click on Shows then Casting Call) OR CALL 212.456.3859

ABC Sitcom News, Includes Eva Longoria on the 100th Episode of 'George Lopez'

According To Jim episodes will air as a one time only telecast on Tuesdays, March 7 & 14, 2006 in the 8:30 PM ET/PT time period. It will also air in its regular time period. Rodney will be pre-empted these two weeks so Jim can give new comedy Sons & Daughters a better lead-in. Sons & Daughters premieres March 7 at 9 p.m.
Also, ABC announced that the Dancing with the Stars finale next Thursday will be expanded from 90 minutes to 120 minutes, so Crumbs again will be pre-empted and now has no set date for a return, as ABC Thursdays will be revamped with the American Inventor. The Dancing with the Stars final results show is on Sunday, Feb. 26 from 8 to 10 p.m.

And George Lopez is getting a Desperate Housewives star to guest star for its 100th episode! Eva Longoria (Gabrielle on Desperate Housewives) will guest star on Latino comedian George Lopez's sitcom as a crazed "bride-zilla" trying to plan the perfect wedding. The 100th episode is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, March 29. The episode will be taped later this week and has Longoria playing a bride who clashes with Lopez's TV wife, Angie (Constance Marie). During the show, also written by the Lopez, Longoria seeks out Lopez's help in planning her perfect wedding.

'Evening Shade' Now on CMT; Facts of Life DVD on May 9?

CMT has gotten rights to the early '90s sitcom Evening Shade starring Burt Reynolds. The show started yesterday and will air weekdays at 6am, 6:30am, 1pm, 1:30pm, 11pm and 11:30pm. It was a last minute addition it seems. We will have more details later. There is word that come March 1 it will only air once per hour in those three hour slots instead of the full hour, as maybe another sitcom or something is coming? Not sure yet.

TVShowsonDVD.com announced today that they have strong word that The Facts of Life will be coming to DVD on May 9. It is is very likely that it will be season one and two set, instead of just season one. Hopefully Sony speeds up Diff'rent Strokes with season three, and has it ready on the same day for a wonderful promotion. If May 9 is the release date, then February 27 would be the announce date. Mark those calendars!

NBC and CBS Sitcom Shake-Up; TV Guide Channel Showcasing TV Legends

NBC has made some shuffles to their sitcoms starting March 7. In a surprise move, second year sitcom Joey will return and will air Tuesdays at 8 and 8:30 p.m. starting March 7, replacing Fear Factor which will return this summer. The new mid-season sitcom Teachers, which was set to air Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., will now be Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. starting March 28. Also starting March 28, Scrubs will take over Joey's 8:30 p.m. slot with encore airing, followed by a new episode at 9 p.m. So what will air Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. now that Teachers is on Tuesdays? The Office! Encores of The Office will be airing along with an extra all-new episode for May 11. I highly doubt Joey will be airing in May, though. Expect it for March and April only. So when will NBC pull the plug on Four Kings? That is the only question now... For the NBC statement on these changes, click here.

CBS announced that new mid-season sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine will air Mondays at 9:30 p.m. starting March 13, replacing Courting Alex. Courting Alex will be shifted to Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. starting March 22. So some might be wondering, didn't CBS promise to bring back Out of Practice? Yes, they did, and they will, but to a new night and time. It will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. starting March 22. Still Standing and Yes, Dear are out of the loop. Both will be all but done after this month. I doubt both will be back at all next season.

The TV Guide Channel will be showcasing an all-new one-hour special tomorrow night at 9 p.m. They will remember TV Legends. Recollections from stars like Dick Van Dyke, Henry Winkler, Alan Alda, William Shatner and John Ritter. Tune in tomorrow night at 9 p.m. on TV Guide Channel. With encores slated for the same night at midnight, this Saturday at 8pm and this Sunday at 10pm.

TV Land and Nick@Nite April Highlights; ABC Notes; Veteran 'Patty Duke Show' Star Passes Away

TV Land and Nick@Nite has announced their April 2006 line-ups. Nick@Nite will debut the sitcom Mad About You on April 10, with a four day event from April 10-13, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. each night. Then the show will air seven days a week at 11:30 p.m., right after The Cosby Show. Katey Sagal will host The Funniest Mom in America Search 2, like I stated yesterday. Spend April Fool's Day with Hi-Jinks for a marathon and then the season two finale on April 4. All the details for NAN April are here.
As for TV Land, they will not do much except air new episodes of the original series Living in TV Land and a Western Weekend 48-hour marathon of Gunsmoke and Bonanza the weekend of April 22-23. All the details for TVL April are here.

ABC has passed us along some more scheduling notes. Sitcom Crumbs again will be pre-empted this Thursday at 9:30 p.m. with an encore of part two of the Super Bowl episode of Grey's Anatomy. Last week part one was on par with recent Crumbs airings in total viewers and slightly better in adults 18-49. I think ABC is trying to build as much of an audience as they can for Grey's Anatomy. This week Grey's Anatomy built on Desperate Housewives for the first time ever. Hopefully Crumbs returns February 23 as planned, because that is the last time ABC has it scheduled for now. Hopefully we see the remaining episodes at some point and I think the show is good enough for a full season next season.
Other notes include some Friday news. ABC announced starting Friday, March 3, AFV will air from 8 to 9 p.m. and it will also air in its regular Sunday at 7 p.m. slot. This puts more of a question mark on when sitcom Hope & Faith will return. Also, Less Than Perfect as well. The March 2 Thursday slot will be a movie. March 9 will probably be a movie, too, then starting the 16th ABC's new Thursdays will start with American Inventor. So, Alias is still MIA.

Jean Byron, an actress who played Patty Duke's mother in the 1960s television series and appeared in dozens of TV shows over three decades, has died.

Byron, who was born Imogene Burkhart in Paducah, Ky., but was mostly known by her stage name through a long career that included movies, died Friday at a Mobile-area hospital from an infection following hip replacement surgery, family members said. She had moved to Mobile in the late 1980s to be closer to her family. Byron had more than 80 credits in film and television over a long career, but was likely best remembered for her role as the mother, Natalie Lane, on The Patty Duke Show.

She appeared on many TV series as a guest over the years including The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Dobie Gillis, Batman, Maude, and Mannix. Byron's final acting appearance was the "Patty Duke Show Reunion" movie in 1999. Ms. Byron was 80 years old.
Special thanks to "Frank" for telling us about this!

Sitcom Mom Katey Sagal to Host Nick@Nite's Funniest Mom in America 2 Search; Minor TV Land Notes

Nick@Nite announced today that sitcom actress Katey Sagal (played the moms on the sitcoms Married...with Children, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter) will host Nick@Nite's Search for the Funniest Mom in America 2. The competition - a five-part reality series -- debuts on Tuesday, April 4 at 10 p.m. (all times ET/PT). The series airs at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT beginning Tuesday, April 11 and will culminate with an hour-long finale in which one winner is chosen on Tuesday, May 9 from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. (ET/PT). For the full press release, click here.

Meanwhile, TV Land has dropped even more encores of That's What I'm Talking About. Encores for Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 11p; Thursday, Feb. 16 at 5p; Sunday, Feb. 19 at 3a; Monday, Feb. 20 at 4a; Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 11p; and Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7a have been replaced with the normally scheduled shows.
Finally, The TV Land Awards Show premiere and encores are now scheduled for 2 hours instead of one hour and a half. The TV Land Awards premieres March 22 from 9 to 11 p.m., followed by the premiere episode of Living in TV Land featuring William Shatner only on TV Land.

Week 21 First Four Day Ratings; How the Sitcoms Did

Paralyzed by a blizzard, I still won't forget about the blog!

Week 21 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: CBS: 10.4/14.8; FOX 9.5/14.1; ABC: 7.3/11.0; NBC: 6.3/9.6; The WB: 2.7/4.0; UPN 1.7/2.5.
Total Viewers: CBS 16.44 million; FOX: 16.11 million; ABC: 11.09 million; NBC: 9.71 million; The WB: 4.14 million; UPN: 2.49 million.
Adults 18-49: FOX 6.5/15.6; CBS: 5.7/13.8; ABC: 4.0/9.8; NBC: 3.7/9.1; The WB: 1.8/4.3; UPN: 1.0/2.4.

Analysis: American Idol finally went under 30 million this week. The Wednesday edition did a 28.74 million, but the Tuesday edition was over 30 million with 31.15 million. Fox again had a strong Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Skating with the Celebrities was third in its timeslot with 10.46 million viewers and also third in adults 18-49 behind Wife Swap and CBS comedies--Skating is no Dancing with the Stars! 24 followed with great numbers again with 13.7 million (slightly down from previous week), but it did a first place finish in adults 18-49 for the hour. Courting Alex on CBS is now slipping. Out of Practice was doing much better in this slot. Tuesday again was all Fox with American Idol. Wednesday again Fox's Idol ruled, but CBS was strong with the Grammy Awards' 17 million, but that was no match for ABC's Lost which did 18.74 million. Bones at 9 p.m. on Fox, lost nearly 17 million from its lead-in this time. Still not good. Thursday it was all CBS and ABC. ABC won the 8 p.m. hour among households and total viewers with Dancing with the Stars, while CBS's Surviror won in adults 18-49. CBS won the 9 and 10 p.m. hours with CSI and Without a Trace. Friday had the Winter Olympics starting on NBC. The Olympics' opening hour just barely beat the Dancing with the Stars: The Results. The Winter Olympics will boost NBC a lot this sweeps, but the Olympics ratings will be way down from previous years. Why oh why is CBS airing repeats? I'm sure most of CBS's shows could have beaten the Olympics. Expect American Idol, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Lost to beat the Olympics each time. Saturday was all NBC with the Olympics. It'll be interesting who wins this week. Can NBC come back and win the week despite the Olympics not as good in the ratings? All the shows on Friday against the Olympics were on par with their normal audiences. Fox should win the week in adults 18-49 anyway. ABC will battle with NBC for Sunday night. ABC has a good shot of beating the Olympics tonight.


Monday Sitcoms

• The King of Queens (CBS) - 11.6 million tuned in for a new episode.
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 10.94 million...pretty good retention from lead-in.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - Sitcom leader did just that, 16.33 million.
• Courting Alex (CBS) - 12.99 million. Not as good of a retention CBS would like.
• One on One (UPN), All of Us (UPN), Girlfriends (UPN), Half and Half (UPN) - Steady! Between 3-4 million, like usual.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim(ABC) 2 episodes - 8 p.m. episode against Idol suffered, only 6.57 million...BUT the 9 p.m. episode did very good with 8.37 million.
• Rodney (ABC) - Up from last week to 5.94 million.
  
• Crumbs (ABC) - Special airing at a special time did not do well. Lost well over a million from lead-in, only 6.97 million.
• Scrubs (NBC) 2 episodes - Nice jump at 9:30 p.m.'s episode from 9 p.m. 6.17 million to 7.1 million.
  
• 8-9pm UPN comedy repeats - Anemic ratings. 1.8 and 1.5 million.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) - Up from last week, but still not too good, 6.4 million.
  
• Freddie (ABC) - Same as above. 5.96 million.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• Will & Grace (NBC) - Up slightly from last week to 7.45 million.
• Four Kings (NBC) - Tick tock tick tock, 6.33 million...makes Joey look like Seinfeld.
  
• That's 70s Show (FOX) 2 episodes - An original episode did 4.68 million, a repeat followed with a better 5.11 million.
  
• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 10.2 million tuned in, just slightly down from previous week.
  
• The Office (NBC) - Same as above. 8.95 million.
  
• Everybody Hates Chris (UPN) - 4.39 million tuned in for an all-new show.
  
• Love, Inc. (UPN), Eve (UPN), Cuts (UPN) - New episodes of these sitcoms did pathetic. Betwen 2.4-2.8 million.

Friday Sitcoms

Arrested Development's final 4 episodes did a 2.0 rating...not good!

Summing it up. The King of Queens, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, My Name is Earl, and The Office were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as According to Jim 9PM, Courting Alex) or just plain old terrible (such as Arrested Development, UPN Thursday, Rodney).

'Happy Days' The Musical?; Saturday Shopping on Amazon.com

Happy Days is back with an all-new cast! This time it is a musical and it will be a play running in Burbank, CA at the Falcon Theatre. The musical will be directed by Gary Marshall himself. He of course created and produced the '70s sitcom that took place in the good 'ole '50s.
Grab your poodle skirt and letterman jacket and come on down to the Falcon Theatre! It's May, 1959 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Fonzie (Joey McIntyre of Dancing with the Stars) is still the king of cool at his favorite malt shop, Arnold's. The school year is coming to an end and Richie, Lori Beth, Potsie, Ralph Malph and the rest of the gang, are all getting ready to graduate from Jefferson High School. All your favorites from this famous sitcom, including Pinky Tuscadero and the Malachi Brothers, are here to sing you back into the '50s. Bring the ENTIRE FAMILY for a musical celebration of nostalgia at its best and brightest!
Previews start this Wednesday (Feb. 15) and will run through Feb. 23. The opening night will be Feb. 24 and will run through March 12. Showtimes are Tues-Sat at 8pm, Saturday at 3pm and Sunday at 4pm. Tickets are between $25.00 and $37.50. Starring Joey McIntyre (Dancing with the Stars) as The Fonz, Ernie Sabella (Perfect Strangers) as Arnold and Christine Lakin (Step by Step) as Joanie. The rest of the cast includes: Audra Blaser, Ryan Bollman, Joseph Leo Bwarie, Wayne Duvall, Cynthia Ferrer, Philip Lightstone, Heather Lindell, Matt Merchant, Jaclyn Miller, DeQuina Moore, Rory O'Malley, Robert Petrarca, Paul C. Vogt and Anna A. White. So come on down to the Falcon Theatre to hear the Fonz say, "Aaayh!!! It's a Musical!!"

Instead of going out shopping on a Saturday, sit back and shop right here with us! Today we will be giving away bargain prices of sitcom DVD sets that have not been selling too tell. Here are the items up for bids: 227 - The Complete 1st Season, Who's the Boss? - The Complete First Season, Barney Miller - The First Season, Night Court - The Complete First Season, Just Shoot Me - Seasons One & Two, Murphy Brown - The Complete First Season. If you are fans of these sitcoms, please buy the sets if you have not already (and if you are not a fan, try them anyway!). It will certainly make a difference to get the next season of these shows if sales spike up.
So, what's the next item up for bids? Well, one of the best DVD players to play these DVD sets, Bob! It's the Panasonic DVD S29S DVD Player and it is yours if the price is right! Do I hear $1? No, sorry we are not giving this away as a prize, but you can buy it for an affordable price at Amazon.com.
Now what is your complaint? You don't have a television set to hook up the DVD player to watch these DVDs? Not to worry, our next item up for bids is a great television set. It's the Sony KV-30HS420 30" FD Trinitron WEGA HD-Ready Widescreen CRT TV (say that ten times fast!) and it will be all yours if the price is right. You can buy that on Amazon.com for a great price, too.
What? You travel a lot and have no time to watch your DVDs? Well that's fine, too! You're in luck because we also have a portable DVD player item up for bids. It's the Samsung DVD-L70 7" Portable DVD Player and again it will be all yours if the price is right! Buy it right here with us at Amazon.com. After all this, I don't want to hear any complaints on why you didn't buy these DVD sets! I just gave you everything you need!
This blog story is brought to you by (not really!) by The Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular airing this Tuesday at 8/7 central only on CBS!

'Jeffersons' Co-Star Franklin Cover Passes Away; ABC Changes Tuesday Line-Up; Wonder Years to DVD?

Franklin Cover who played Tom Willis on the long running '70s & '80s sitcom The Jeffersons passed away on Sunday in New Jersey. Cover died of pneumonia Sunday at the Lillian Booth Actor's Fund of America home in Englewood, N.J., said publicist Dale Olson. He had been living at the home since December 2005 while recuperating from a heart condition. Cover was best known for his role as Tom Willis, who was in an interracial marriage with a black woman, in The Jeffersons. Cover guest starred on many TV series over the years including The Jackie Gleason Show, The Love Boat, 227, Who's the Boss?, Living Single, Coach, Mad About You and Will & Grace.
Hopefully TV Land or another network (maybe TV One?) will air a tribute marathon of Mr. Cover featuring his finest Jefferson episodes. Mr. Cover was 77.

ABC announced today that they will change their Tuesday line-up for the remainder of sweeps (Feb. 14, 21 & 28). Commander in Chief will be off the line-up to avoid the Olympics. Additional airings According to Jim and George Lopez will air in the 9 p.m. hour on these dates. Commander in Chief will return April 18 for its final seven episodes of the season. Chief has been one of the highest rated rookies this year, but lately has faltered in adults 18-49. I still feel confident the show will do well when it returns with less competition. And I also feel it will return next season, but on a different night and time, I'm sure.

Also, we have word that The Wonder Years is in the works for DVD from 20th Century Fox! It's about time that sitcom starring Fred Savage is coming. No additional details yet, but stay tuned! UPDATE 2/11/06: I spoke to Gord of TVShowsonDVD.com and his sources tell him that there are no new updates on this set. So, now we have no idea if the set is really in the works or not. The source I spoke to at Fox said it was in the works, but his source says it isn't. So we are now just confused. We'll try to get more details if it is indeed in the works at all now. Sorry about this!
Also, Ally McBeal fans don't fret, the show is coming to DVD but it has not been announced just when yet. Many fans saw the announcement at TVShowsonDVD.com for Boston Legal for May 23 and wondered if Ally was coming that day, too? It doesn't seem like it will, but it IS coming sometime soon. So that is good!

Family Ties Gone From The Hallmark Channel Starting Monday; Classic Children's Series Back in Syndication This Fall

Family Ties joined The Hallmark Channel not even 3 weeks ago and now it is getting the boot. Low ratings has been the speculation once again for this sitcom. The sitcom has never found an audience on cable after a great run on NBC. Hallmark will replace the sitcom starting Monday (Feb. 13) with another episode of Little House on the Prairie. I don't think Hallmark had a similar show as a lead-in to Family Ties. They really need more sitcoms besides M*A*S*H. While this move is certainly not a surprise to us, but it will leave fans upset once again. It's time for this show to come to DVD so we can give a rest to see the show doing bad on cable. It would have been at least better if Hallmark would have moved it to Saturday mornings, but they just removed it all together.

Beakman is back! The 1993-98 educational series is coming to a local channel near you! Sony has cleared the live-action, off-net syndicated educational kids series, Beakman's World, in 65% of the country, including the Fox owned-and-operated stations, for fall 2006.

Wings Seasons1 & 2 DVD Confirmed for May; 'Full House' Cast on 'Larry King Live'; 'Joey' Dead

Yesterday TVShowsonDVD.com officially announced that Wings is coming to DVD this May. Seasons 1 and 2 will be out on May 23. Many fans right here at SitcomsOnline.com were very happy and have been waiting for this day to happen. I had hinted two weeks ago on this blog that we would get Wings in May, and seasons 3 and 4 sets later in the year, and now TVShowsonDVD.com confirms all that.
We were the first to mention the set was in the works. At that time the set was in the works for Feb. 7, but now it is May 23. Special thanks to TVShowsonDVD.com for giving everyone the official information and cover art. Hopefully there will be bonus material on this set, too.
I have heard reports that Frasier and Cheers Season 8 sets are also coming that same day. Hopefully we get official word soon from TVShowsonDVD.com.

And Larry King Live goes all sitcom again tonight. Last night the cast of Growing Pains were on and it was very interesting. Tonight the cast of Full House will be on. Full House's Stephanie, Jodie Sweetin will talk about her previous crystal meth addiction. Plus, former co-stars Bob Saget, John Stamos and Dave Coulier will also be on. Tune in tonight at 9 p.m. on CNN (and encores at 12 midnight and 3 a.m.).

Finally, TV Guide is reporting that NBC sitcom Joey will likely not return during this season. If the episodes ever air, they will be burned off this summer. So it doesn't seem Joey will be back at all next fall, if that wasn't obvious to you all already. And if that wasn't enough, Andrea Anders of Joey, has joined the high profile sitcom pilot for CBS called The Class. The show, about a reunion of former third-grade classmates engineered by one of them, has already earned a 13-episode order from CBS for the fall and stars Jason Ritter (Joan of Arcadia). This even more confirms that NBC will try to do Friends specials for every sweep period next season.

The WB Adds New Mid-Season Sitcom; 'Grey's Anatomy' Super Bowl Episode to Re-Air Thursday; 'Growing Pains Reunion' on 'Larry King Live'

Despite coming to an end, The WB will still debut new shows this season. The WB has added two more series to its mid-season line-up. Reality series Survival of the Richest launches Friday, March 31, (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) and will air for six consecutive weeks. Then sitcom Modern Men, the first comedy series from award-winning producer Jerry Bruckheimer, launches Friday, March 17 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET) and will air for seven consecutive weeks.
Survival of the Richest is from RDF Media with executive producers Joe Houlihan, Zad Rogers, Stuart Krasnow and Seven, with consulting producer Kevin Williams.
With a fresh male perspective on modern relationships, Modern Men is a half-hour comedy about three childhood friends – Tim Clarke (Josh Braaten, Less Than Perfect), Kyle Brewster (Max Greenfield, Veronica Mars) and Doug Reynolds (Eric Lively) – who have arrived at different stages in their lives when it comes to women. Desperate for advice and guidance in matters of the heart, they seek the help of Dr. Victoria Stangel (Jane Seymour, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), a renowned and beautiful life coach. The series also stars sitcom veteran George Wendt (Cheers) as Tim's father, Tug, and Marla Sokoloff (Desperate Housewives ) as his sister, Molly.

Meanwhile, we were the first to announce today that ABC will re-air the Super Bowl episode of Grey's Anatomy. ABC will re-air the special episode this Thursday after Dancing with the Stars, from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. New sitcom Crumbs will be pre-empted that night and the episodes of that will just be pushed back a week--so not to fret Crumbs fans. Don't forget Crumbs is on tonight at a special night and time (Tues at 9:30 p.m.) with a very special episode with Martin Mull and Ryder Strong guest starring.
Can the encore performance of Grey's Anatomy defeat NBC's original ER episode--it is very likely to happen, as Grey is now the hospital drama leader. Part 2 of the special Super Bowl episode of Grey's Anatomy will air this Sunday at 10 p.m. after an all-new Desperate Housewives only on ABC.

And finally we have news on a Growing Pains reunion! No, not another reunion movie, but the cast will be on Larry King Live tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CNN, with encores at 12 midnight and 3 a.m. if you miss it at 9 p.m. Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Joanna Kerns, Alan Thicke and Jeremy Miller will be on talking about the show's first season coming to DVD today and they also will be taking your calls! So, fans tune in and don't forget to mention SitcomsOnline.com ;)

TV Land Remember Al Lewis; Sitcom Stars Invade Season 2 of Nick@Nite's Hi-Jinks

TV Land will remember Al "Grandpa Munster" Lewis this Friday, February 10 from 8 to 10 p.m. featuring four classic "grandpa" themed Munsters episodes. See Grandpa give Marilyn sleeping potion; Grandpa turning into a bat; Grandpa being mistaken for a bank robber; and Grandpa with a rich woman. It's four classic episodes for a classic actor. Catch The Munsters in primetime this Friday night only on TV Land! Click here for the full line-up.

Sitcom actors are joining the fun on Nick@Nite's fun filled hidden camera show--Hi-Jinks! Hi-Jinks is back for another season starting Tuesday, February 28. The series' next thirteen episodes- in which adults play good-natured pranks on kids -- of all ages -- is being produced by Stone & Company Entertainment, with Leila Sbitani returning as host. Each week features a celebrity prank segment in which famous faces use their talents to play tricks on bewildered tikes. This season, actors Alan Thicke (Growing Pains), Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) and Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris), as well as sports stars Evander Holyfield and Tony Hawk are among the celebrities who have conspired with parents to prank kids. For full details click here.

Finally we leave you tonight with some history. 90.72 million tuned in last night for Super Bowl XL. That marks the highest rating since 1996, when the Cowboys were actually a great team. Who knew the Steelers-Seahawks could draw such a crowd for Super Bowl XL! Following the game was ABC's red hot series Grey's Anatomy. Grey's scored 38.1 million viewers. The highest rated post-Super Bowl programming since 2001 and the third highest in the last 18 years. Part 2 of that cliff-hanger episode airs next Sunday. Hopefully they can sustain 30 million viewers a week.

Week 20 First Four Day Ratings; How the Sitcoms Did

Week 20 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: CBS: 9.7/14.9; FOX 9.1/13.6; ABC: 6.0/9.3; NBC: 5.4/8.3; The WB: 3.0/4.4; UPN 1.5/2.2.
Total Viewers: FOX 15.45 million; CBS: 15.28 million; ABC: 8.97 million; NBC: 8.08 million; The WB: 4.48 million; UPN: 2.22 million.
Adults 18-49: FOX 6.3/15.6; CBS: 4.9/12.3; ABC: 3.1/7.6; NBC: 3.0/7.5; The WB: 2.0/4.8; UPN: 0.9/2.3.

Analysis: February Sweeps has begun! We are already three days into the sweeps period, and day four is tonight with ABC of course winning tonight with the Super Bowl. But before sweeps started on Thursday, Mon-Wed had A LOT of repeats. Well FOX did have something new and big in American Idol that helped them on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday could have been bigger but President Bush pre-empted programming at 9 p.m. Idol barely went over 30 million this week. A good 4-5 million down from the previous week. 30.18 million tuned in for the Tuesday edition. 30.4 million tuned in this Wednesday. Fox again had a strong Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Skating with the Celebrities was first in its timeslot with 10 million viewers, but only third in adults 18-49 behind Wife Swap and comedy repeats on CBS. 24 followed with great numbers again with 13.82 million, including a first place finish in adults 18-49 for the hour. The new CBS sitcom Courting Alex was down almost 2 million viewers last week but still did a decent 13.27 million, out of a repeat from Two and a Half Men. As of now, I think Alex and Out of Practice are doing just about the same. Tuesday again was all Fox with American Idol. Wednesday it was a little better for the other networks but still Fox's Idol was too much for everyone. Lost was a repeat for ABC, so ABC was out of the loop. CBS's Criminal Minds was also a repeat, but like most of CBS's other crime dramas, they repeat well. Bones at 9 p.m. against repeats, lost nearly 18 million from its lead-in. Not good. Thursday it was all CBS and ABC. ABC won the 8 p.m. hour among households with Dancing with the Stars, while CBS's Surviror premiere won in total viewers and adults 18-49. CBS won the 9 and 10 p.m. hours with CSI and Without a Trace. Friday it was again a battle between CBS and ABC with the Dancing with the Stars: The Results, followed by first place finishes for the CBS dramas at 9 and 10. Saturday was very very slow. All the networks had nothing to write home about. ABC will win the week in both total viewers and adults 18-49 thanks to The Super Bowl. Who will be second place--Fox or CBS?.


Monday Sitcoms

• The King of Queens (CBS) - 9.57 million for an encore--decent!.
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) -8.77 million for an encore, it should hold more from its lead-in, but still good. I would like to see this show on Wednesday, so we know if it can survive on its own without King of Queens' help.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 15.04 million for a repeat--but who cares, still the highest viewed sitcom, and it was a REPEAT!
• Courting Alex (CBS) - Down from the premiere, but still solid with 13.27 million viewers and a 4.5 A18-49 rating.
• One on One (UPN), All of Us (UPN), Girlfriends (UPN), Half and Half (UPN) - All repeats and had usual repeat numbers.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) - Last week we saw a new episode score under 6 million. This week a repeat (a hilarious episode, too) scored better with 6.21 million.
• Rodney (ABC) - Like its lead-in, a repeat scored better than a new episode last week with 5.66 million, up from last week's 5.52 million.
• 8-9pm UPN comedy repeats - Wouldn't back-to-back Veronica Mars be better?
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Still Standing (CBS) - With Idol back, sitcoms in this hour will suffer. 6.44 million this week.
• Yes, Dear (CBS) - Built from lead-in and won the slot among sitcoms with 6.7 million.
• George Lopez (ABC) - Down 1/2 million from last week to only 5.83 million. George gets a younger audience than Still Standing, so Idol affects this sitcom more.
  
• Freddie (ABC) - Only 5.29 million. It should be better this week as Lost will be all-new right after this.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• Will & Grace (NBC) - Up slightly from last week to 7.27 million.
• Four Kings (NBC) - NBC thought this show would do well for them, but the last few weeks they have been probably thinking if putting new sitcom Thick & Thin here. Only 6.6 million.
  
• That's 70s Show (FOX) 2 episodes - An original episode did 5.76 million, a repeat followed with a better 5.81 million--both slightly up from last week.
  
• My Name is Earl (NBC) - Up from last week's 10.45 million to 10.6 million. Regained sitcom leader for Thursday after losing that title to Crumbs for the past few weeks.
  
• The Office (NBC) - 9.21 million tuned in, not bad! And so this show is finally doing better, and NBC will put a new sitcom in its place after the Olympics? What are they thinking?!
  
• Crumbs (ABC) - 9.13 million for a sitcom would be good, but Crumbs should do better. Tune in to a special episode this Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. featuring Martin Mull. I hear this episode is going to be HILARIOUS. Hopefully as good as the pilot was, if not better.
  
• Everybody Hates Chris (UPN) - 4.24 million tuned in for an all-new show.
  
• Love, Inc. (UPN), Eve (UPN), Cuts (UPN) - New episodes of these sitcoms did pathetic.

Friday Sitcoms

The WB Friday was dead last in each half hour. And two Bernie episodes on Fox were in the low 2 ratings.

Summing it up. A repeat of King of Queens & Two and a Half Men, a new Courting Alex, My Name is Earl, and The Office were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Crumbs, repeat of How I Met Your Mother) or just plain old terrible (such as WB Friday, Bernie Mac, Freddie).

Enjoy the Super Bowl and the special Grey's Anatomy tonight!

Rembering Al 'Grandpa Munster' Lewis; VH1 Countdowns Top 100 Teen Stars; 'Yes, Dear' Superbowl Sunday Marathon on TBS

The sitcom world lost a legend last night. Al Lewis passed away last night after years of failing health problems. Lewis, with his wife at his bedside, passed away Feb. 3, said Bernard White, program director at WBAI-FM, where the actor hosted a weekly radio program. White made the announcement on the air during the Saturday slot where Lewis usually appeared. Al Lewis is most remembered playing Grandpa Munster on the hit 1960s sitcom The Munsters. He also co-starred on the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? He made guest appearances on TV series such as The Phil Silvers Show, Gomer Pyle, Green Acres, Love American Style, Here's Lucy and Taxi. He played Grandpa Munster in many reunion movies of The Munsters and also played Grandpa Munster on the ABC/Nick at Nite sitcom Hi Honey, I'm Home in 1991. The Munsters currently airs on TV Land every morning and if they have any plans of a tribute marathon to Mr. Lewis, we will certainly be one of the first to let you know. To read the full obituary on 'Grandpa' Al Lewis, click here. Also, you can share your thoughts and memories of Al Lewis here. Mr. Lewis will be missed. He was 82.

Turning to other news, VH1 will have another countdown week next week. This time they will countdown the 100 Greatest Teen Stars. VH1 adds it all up and counts down the 100 Greatest Teen Stars in a new five-hour, five consecutive night special beginning Monday February 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Hosted by Deborah Gibson, 100 Greatest Teen Stars, brings you the most awesome teen celebs ever from TV, movies and music. We'll look back at what made them famous, plus check out what they're up to today. Get ready to revisit all the moments that made these teen stars so huge. We'll wallow in classic clips and sugary pop songs. With new original interviews about their teen heyday and what they're doing now. Did you know Willie Aames (Eight is Enough, Charles in Charge) plays the Christian superhero Bibleman? Michael Schoeffling (aka Jake from "Sixteen Candles") quit acting and runs a furniture company in Pennsylvania? Marc "Skippy" Price (Family Ties) is now a television producer? Well you do now, and you'll know a lot more by watching 100 Greatest Teen Stars. Find out if Kirk Cameron, Tina Yothers, Corey Feldman, Joey Lawrence, Barry Williams, Molly Ringwald, Scott Baio and Nicole Eggert make the cut!

If you are one of the very few not watching the Super Bowl tomorrow evening on ABC, then you might want to check out the sitcom marathon on TBS of Yes, Dear. TBS presents an eight hour marathon (um 16 episodes if you can do the math) starting at 4 p.m. and finishing at 12 midnight. Originally TBS had planned a marathon of original Daisy Does America, but looks like they went with Yes, Dear instead. Wives get your husbands to say 'yes, dear' when you watch the Yes, Dear marathon on TBS on Super Bowl Sunday.

Slight Change to TV Land Overnight; AOL's In2TV Update!

TV Land announced today that some last minute (but very small) changes will happen starting this Monday. It will only be late nights. Mon-Fri nights, except Tuesdays (because TV Land airs original encores then) 4-5 a.m. hour will now be another episode of Cheers and the return of Wings, replacing Brady Bunch and Happy Days encores. Initially, this change will only be on Thursday and Friday nights, because during the month of February in that slot on Mondays will be encores of That's What I'm Talking About and on Wednesdays TV Land will air Good Times before and after original That's What I'm Talking About episodes. Elsewhere, TV Land has dropped mini-marathon late nights on weekends. Gunsmoke and Bonanza won't air anymore from 2-4 a.m., they will be replaced by Andy Griffith, Sanford & Son and two more Good Times episodes. To see the changes listed click here.

We are all awaiting the launch of AOL's In2TV! In2TV is of course AOL's new Warner Bros. TV online system, featuring classic TV series not airing on television, such as Perfect Strangers, Welcome Back Kotter, Alice, and more. Originally it was slated to come out last month, but that didn't happen. We have an exclusive for you. The beta version will be out mid-month with the full launch coming in March. So get ready to test the system in a few weeks and then next month we can enjoy our missed shows all over again. We are trying to obtain a list of episodes for each series at launch time. 10 episodes of each series will be available the first month, with more episodes being added later. Stay tuned for more news on this and please don't forget to keep checking the In2TV website!