Thursday, June 01, 2006

TV Land's 'My First Time' Episode Info Released; SitcomsOnline.com Exclusive: Comparing U.S. & Canadian 'Kate & Allie', 'Gimme a Break' DVDs!

TV Land will revisit the first major career milestones of some of America's favorite TV stars with the premiere of My First Time. The six-part series, produced for TV Land by Scott Sternberg Productions, will debut on Wednesday, June 28 in its regularly scheduled timeslot of 10 p.m. ET/PT and will air through August 2. Renown actor, producer and director Henry Winkler (Happy Days, Hollywood Squares) and actress Katey Sagal (Married...with Children, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter) are featured in the first episode.
Bolstered by original interviews with each star profiled, every 30-minute episode will trace the first "big break" of some of the biggest and brightest talents in Hollywood. Fellow cast members, producers, agents, directors and others who were part of making that first moment happen will also be interviewed for the series. Additionally, each show will contain rare footage from performances that many fans -- and maybe the stars themselves - forgot existed... and some clips that these performers would probably rather forget. My First Time also gives an intimate look at the stars' lives as they were then, their hopes for that first part and how they feel looking back at that moment in time.

The series rollout is as follows (Wednesdays at 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET/PT):
Wednesday, June 28: Henry Winkler and Katey Sagal
Wednesday, July 5: Ted Danson and John O'Hurley
Wednesday, July 12: Jim Belushi and Sarah Gilbert
Wednesday, July 19: John Schneider and Dean Cain
Wednesday, July 26: Cheryl Ladd and Glenn Campbell
Wednesday, August 2: Mr. T and Cybil Shepherd

For more details click here.

We have yet another exclusive for you. We recently obtained the Canadian DVDs for Gimme a Break! and Kate & Allie from VEI. I'm sure most of you saw the Canadian Gimme a Break! review last week. It is very similar to the U.S. one from Universal Home Video, content wise. So, it is up to you which one you want to buy. I'd buy both if I were a huge fan. Some might like the packaging better on the VEI set over the Universal set, or vice versa.
Last night we put our review up of the VEI Kate & Allie release. The Universal version only contains season one, and that has 3 of the 6 episodes edited. The VEI version has the first two seasons in a similar price. So, most fans were waiting to buy this version, rather than Universal's. I do have some disappointing news to report. It seems there are syndicated versions of episodes on this set, too. I don't think it is VEI's fault at all. Looks like distributor FremantleMedia gave them the episodes that way. In fact the same season one episodes on the Universal set that are edited, are edited on VEI's. There are a few more from season two that are edited, too. What I don't understand is how Universal would get edited episodes, because they distribute the show in the U.S., while FremantleMedia does it internationally. I'm sure many fans are bummed out, but I would still buy VEI's version of this set because it is nearly the same price and it contains two seasons, rather than just one. You can read our review of the Canadian version of the Kate & Allie DVD here.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, May 8

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Ladies Love Brunch" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie tries to juggle his mom, his mother-in-law and Mandy on Mother’s Day. Meanwhile, Audrey wants to meet Connor’s girlfriend.

Ghosts - "The Devil Went Down to Woodstone" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Sam and Jay host a big party for the launch of Sam and Isaac’s vampire book. Mary Holland (Patience), Punam Patel (Bela) and Matt Walsh (Elias Woodstone) return as guest stars.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 5)

Thursday, May 8

  • Paula Poundstone (Home Movies) - Paula performs stand-up comedy on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) - Natasha appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle talks about Netflix's Survival of the Thickest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) and Doug Benson (You're the Worst) - Maria and Doug are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • John Benjamin Hickey (HouseBroken/The Big C/It's All Relative) - John stops by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11:15pm on Bravo.
  • Patricia Clarkson (Davis Rules) - Patricia is a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11:15pm on Bravo.
  • Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - E! News has an interview with Kerry at 11pm on E!. Kerry and Omar Sy discuss their highly anticipated new film Shadow Force on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel chats about Juliet & Romeo on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/CafĂ© Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - In A Little Bit Extra Valerie and Ross Mathews are sharing more of their conversation with Al Roker in Charleston at the Food & Wine Classic on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) and Randall Park (Young Rock/Blockbuster/Fresh Off the Boat/Veep/Supah Ninjas) - Morris and Randall talk about Watson on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

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


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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05/07 - Netflix's A Man on the Inside Bulks Up Cast for Season 2; The Studio Renewed by Apple TV+
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05/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 5, 2025)
05/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Cancels The Equalizer; Wisteria Lane Offshoot of Desperate Housewives in the Works
05/02 - USA and SYFY Announce Summer Premieres; CBC in Canada Renews 5 Series, Including Wild Cards
05/01 - ABC Summer 2025 Schedule; Audible Scripted Comedy Podcasts for Summer
04/30 - The Carol Burnett Show Mother of All Marathons; Netflix Renews North of North
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04/19 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Clueless Reboot in the Works at Peacock; King of the Hill Cast Reunion and Revival Preview at ATX TV Festival Next Month
04/18 - 2025 TIME100 on ABC; Atsuko Okatsuka: Father Premieres June 13 on Hulu
04/17 - BET+ Orders Martin Spinoff Varnell Hill; It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Returns in July
04/16 - And Just Like That... Season 3 on Max This May; MGM+ Comedy Series Adds Big Stars
04/15 - HBO's Harry Potter Series; Classic TV Comes to Life in NYC
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04/11 - Bounce TV Renews Mind Your Business; AMC Networks 2025 Upfront Highlights
04/10 - David Spade's Prime Video Comedy Special; Brett Goldstein's HBO Comedy Special Filmed in New Jersey
04/09 - Paramount+ Orders Season 3 of Colin from Accounts; FX's Adults Premieres May 28
04/08 - Prime Video's New Comedy Overcompensating; Nine Perfect Strangers Returns on Hulu in May