Lifetime Validates 'Desperate Housewives' Syndication Deal; Slow TV DVD News?

Friday, April 07, 2006

Lifetime Validates 'Desperate Housewives' Syndication Deal; Slow TV DVD News?

Lifetime confirmed the Variety report from the other day that they have picked up cable rerun rights to the megahit Desperate Housewives for 5 days a week play starting in fall 2008. But they will also air the show weekly starting with season one this August. Here is how they describe it: The Women of Wisteria Lane have just found a second home! Lifetime Television announced today that it has acquired the exclusive basic cable rights from Buena Vista Television, along with the repurposing rights, for the smash-hit, Emmy Award-winning series Desperate Housewives. Along with the repurposing rights starting September 2008, Lifetime will begin airing the first season of Desperate Housewives on a weekly basis this August.
You can read all the "juicy" details of this buy, by clicking here.

Have you noticed the dry spot among TV DVD news lately? Especially sitcom wise? It looks like June and July will be pretty much slow sitcom wise for DVD. Yes, we are getting sitcoms on DVD those months but most are returning series to DVD such as Roseanne, Cheers, Frasier, Home Improvement, Mary Tyler Moore Show and Three's Company. The new sets coming in June and July - sitcom wise are Coach, Family Affair, Dharma & Greg, The Color Honeymooners, The Bill Cosby Show and F Troop. And also 6 episode sets of Alice and Step by Step. So, I hope it is just not me that is thinking that the sitcom DVD game has been slow lately. The month of May will be big with many many sitcom sets (even a Facts of Life sighting!), but those have been announced for a while already. Let's hope August will shelve more new sets. And you Three's Company fans out there - Amazon.com has now put up the seventh season DVD (which is coming 7/25) up for pre-order--click here to order!

I hope everyone is enjoying our TV DVD reviews. We have worked hard to bring you EVERY sitcom on DVD a review. We also cover select dramas that we feel has a following and that our readers like. While April is not done yet, we will have reviews very soon of the many May sitcom releases such as The Nanny, That Girl, The Facts of Life, and Here Come the Brides. So, keep checking back to the number one TV DVD review site - your number one source for sitcom DVD reviews!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, July 3

The Dick Van Dyke Show - Now in Living Color! - (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
CBS will honor the memory of legendary actor, producer, director, writer, comedian and Emmy Award winner Carl Reiner with THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW – NOW IN LIVING COLOR! A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO CARL REINER, featuring two colorized back-to-back classic episodes of the beloved 1960s series, Friday, July 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. As series creator and co-star, Carl Reiner personally supervised the original colorization of the episodes.

The special features “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” which ranked #8 on TV Guide’s list of the “100 Greatest TV Episodes of All-Time,” and “October Eve,” which Mr. Reiner considered to be one of the series’ funniest episodes. Both were written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff.

In “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” Laura Petrie blurts out a top secret on a national television quiz show, revealing that comedian Alan Brady wears a toupee. The episode, which was the show’s fifth and final season premiere, was originally broadcast on Sept. 15, 1965. “Coast to Coast Big Mouth” won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1966.

In “October Eve,” a painting of Laura returns to haunt her when, despite her having posed fully clothed, the artist (played by Carl Reiner) takes the liberty of “undraping” her. The episode was first presented on April 8, 1964, during season three.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 29)

Friday, July 3

Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Watch Kevin on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:35am on ABC.
Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Laura Dern (Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mark Duplass (Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Mark appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa guest hosts a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Brett Gelman (Camping/Fleabag/Love/Married/Go On) - Brett appears on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/The Game) - Tika talks about the season finale of mixed-ish and her latest project helping new moms on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie/The Secret Lives of Men) - Peter talks about Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and Grace and Frankie on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.