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Thursday, September 28, 2006

i Network Saturday Marathon Episodes; Three's Company Season 8 DVD Review; Ugly Betty - New Series Premieres TONIGHT

The i Network has announced the episode info for their Saturday marathons for October. The Monkees, Welcome Back Kotter, and The Partridge Family will be airing Oct, 7, 14 and 21. We have the episodes for those marathons now! We still don't have the launch marathon episodes for Amen, which launches Oct. 28.
The Saturday marathons starting Oct. 7 will be cut to 8:30-10pm instead of 8-10pm. At 8 p.m. they will air a new half-hour weekly series called i Health Presents ... The series will take a look at cholesterol, diabetes, osteoporosis, among other health issues.
As for the episode info for the Saturday marathons, click HERE.

The Three's Company Season 8 DVD comes out next Tuesday (Oct. 3), and we have already reviewed it for you. The eight and final season features 21 memorable episodes with great special features, including hilarious bloopers and a feature called "John Ritter: Working with a Master." The set is great and it is a great way to end the series on DVD. Also, I have started a campaign to push DLT Entertainment and Anchor Bay to release the spin-offs (The Ropers, Three's a Crowd) on DVD. Please e-mail them and let them know we need these shows on DVD, too: TVonDVD@anchorbayent.com and 3sco@dltentertainment.com. Please do it, because it will make a difference. To read my review of the season 8 DVD go to my website (DVDs section) or you can read it right here at SitcomsOnline.com.

We have given you sitcom pilot reviews of every sitcom so far that has aired ('Til Death, Happy Hour, The Class, Help Me Help You). Tonight a one-hour comedy is premiering on ABC called Ugly Betty. This show is labeled as a comedy and is one-hour, so we won't give you a review on it, but I saw the pilot before and it is VERY good. I highly recommend you to watch it. Most are calling this one of the best new series and I also would put it up there among those. So, tune in tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT for a truly charming and funny show called Ugly Betty.
Tomorrow we will have a pilot review of the new CW sitcom The Game, which premieres this Sunday. So come on back!

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

TV Land Officially Announces MAS*H Coming in January; Celebrity Jeopardy!

Last week we gave you word that TV Land has bought reruns of M*A*S*H to start this January. Today, TV Land officially announced it. And we were correct, they will share the series with The Hallmark Channel. Meaning, TV Land will have access to air the episodes in primetime and overnight (8pm-8am ET/PT), while Hallmark gets mornings and afternoons (8am-8pm).
TV Land has secured the exclusive primetime and overnight rights to all 255 episodes of Twentieth Television's M*A*S*H - one of the most successful shows ever seen on television - beginning in January 2007, it was announced today. M*A*S*H will join TV Land's line-up with a special week-long primetime and overnight showcase (8PM - 8AM, all times ET/PT) from January 1 through Sunday, January 7, 2007.
Throughout the week, TV Land will complement classic episodes of M*A*S*H with specials, including the shows' 20th and 30th Anniversary retrospectives, the original M*A*S*H movie, the shows' landmark series finale and other M*A*S*H themed programming. The M*A*S*H finale remains one of the most successful show installments in television history and - when broadcast in 1983 - was a major programming milestone which attracted over 105 million viewers, the largest TV audience ever.
Read the full press release here.

To celebrate Jeopardy!’s 5,000th episode milestone, America’s Favorite Quiz Show® rolls out the red carpet to celebrities such as, James Denton (Desperate Housewives), Regis Philbin (Live with Regis & Kelly), Rachael Ray (Rachel Ray Show), Martin Short and Curt Schilling. They will join a variety of other TV stars, newsmakers and pop culture icons for the show’s most “famous” competition of all — Celebrity Jeopardy!
The two-week competition features stars competing for at least $1 million to be donated to their special causes. Celebrity Jeopardy! tapes at the historic Radio City Music Hall on Oct. 5, 7 and 8 and is slated for broadcast nationwide Wednesday, Nov. 8, to Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006.
Among the other celebs include sitcom stars Joely Fisher ('Til Death), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Jane Kaczmarek (Help Me Help You), and Bebe Neuwirth (Cheers, Frasier). To view the full list and press release, click here.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Syndication Deals for 'Hope & Faith', 'Cops', 'Degrassi'; TV Land/Nick@Nite November

WE tv has acquired all 73 episodes of the sitcom Hope & Faith, which ABC canceled in May after a three-season run.
The series, starring Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford, will premiere on WE in an all-day post-Thanksgiving marathon (Nov. 24) from 12 noon to 10 p.m. and will assume its regular time slot, weekdays at 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., beginning Nov. 27. Dharma & Greg, will lead into the Hope & Faith block.

Comcast's G4 cable network has agreed to pay up $16 million for a shared window to reruns of Twentieth TV's Cops, Variety reports. G4 chief exec Neal Tiles declined to discuss license fees but said the net has committed to 160 half-hour episodes of Cops and will run six episodes a day beginning in December or January: two in primetime, two latenight and two in daytime. License term is three years at a cost of about $100,000 an episode.
G4 will share Cops with Court TV, which has the rights to a different set of episodes, stripping two of them back-to-back every weeknight at 7.

Program Partners has acquired the U.S. broadcast syndication rights to Degrassi: The Next Generation to run as a strip beginning in the fall of 2007.
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a runaway hit on The N, the nighttime digital cable network for teens owned by MTV Networks.

A few days back we detailed the November/December highlights for TV Land and Nick@Nite. Today, we will give you the full details on their November schedules. The Munsters is expiring from TV Land and will be replaced by The Brady Bunch on Thursdays and Leave it to Beaver on Sundays. We have also learned that Star Trek will air everyday at 6 a.m. and everynight at 11 p.m., moving Three's Company to 12 midnight and 12:30 a.m. ET/PT, meaning the 12-4am marathons are now cut to 1-4am. Star Trek's launch will be Nov. 17-19, 8am-8pm on those days, but the week of Nov. 13 will have special blocks like Before they Were Trekkies and Spaced-Theme Sitcom Episodes. We will see the cast on other shows such as Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Miami Vice and MacGyver. And see spaced-theme episode of the sitcoms Benson, I Love Lucy, Brady Bunch, Happy Days, Wings, Green Acres, and Night Court. And for more on that and all of TV Land November, click here.
As for Nick@Nite, they won't make any changes to the line-up, but like we mentioned will have stunts for SpongeBob (yes on Nick@Nite) and a Thanksgiving marathon for Roseanne. Details on November is here.

Monday, September 25, 2006

ABC Sitcom Pilot Review: Help Me Help You - Premieres September 26th

Help Me Help You - Tuesdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres September 26th at 9:30PM ET/PT

Ted Danson ("Cheers," "Becker") stars in this comedy series about a collection of eccentric individuals in group therapy with a respected therapist -- who may quite possibly have more problems than his patients.

Dr. Bill Hoffman (Danson) is a brilliant therapist with a lucrative practice and the author of several definitive psychotherapy texts. He is an icon among his fellow therapists. But his over-inflated ego is dealt a blow when he is forced to come to grips with the end of his 25-year marriage to wife Anne (guest star Jane Kaczmarek, "Malcolm in the Middle"). Bill is also forced to deal with the news that his daughter is dating her psychology professor -- a man old enough to be her father and who also happens to idolize him. Things are changing too fast, and Bill is struggling to keep up.

When it comes to the group patients, Bill also has his work cut out for him: The newest group member, Dave (Charlie Finn, the film "The Dukes of Hazzard"), recently attempted suicide by jumping out of his office window -- and landing on his boss; Jonathan (Jim Rash, "Sky High") is a self-avowed metro-sexual who is in serious denial that he might possibly be gay; Inger (Suzy Nakamura, "Dodgeball") is a 25-year-old, self-made millionaire who totally lacks social skills and hasn't had a real date in over six years; Darlene (Darlene Hunt, "I Heart Huckabees") has too many psychological issues to count, including her obsession with Dr. Hoffman; and Michael (Jere Burns, "Good Morning Miami," "Dear John") has anger issues at work, which is what led him into mandatory group therapy.

The group will try to apply Bill's advice to their lives out in the world, while Bill tries to figure out his own life problems.

"Help Me Help You" was created by Jennifer Konner & Alexandra Rushfield ("Undeclared"), who also serve as executive producers, along with Alex Reid ("Malcolm in the Middle"). The show is from Regency Television.

Cast: Ted Danson as Dr. Bill Hoffman, Charlie Finn as Dave, Jim Rash as Jonathan,
Suzy Nakamura as Inger, Darlene Hunt as Darlene, Jere Burns as Michael.

Read our review of the pilot and 3rd episode here.

Discuss the show after you watch it on Tuesday on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

Help Me Help You Photo Gallery

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Week 1 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

Week 1 numbers (first four nights of the season, Mon-Thu):

Households: CBS: 9.3/14.7; ABC: 8.7/13.6; NBC: 7.4/11.6; Fox: 4.8/7.3; The CW: 2.4/3.8.
Total Viewers: CBS: 14.68 million; ABC: 13.09 million; NBC: 11.55 million; Fox 7.51: 7.98 million; The CW: 3.77 million.
Adults 18-49: ABC 4.7/12.4; CBS: 4.6/12.2; NBC: 4.2/11.2; Fox: 2.9/7.7; The CW: 1.7/4.7.

Analysis: The first four nights of the season had the big three each doing very well. And it looks like it will come down to tonight (Sunday) on who will win the week...and guess what? All three will do well tonight, too. Friday and Saturday numbers are not above, but those are slow nights. ABC's Grey's Anatomy and CBS's CSI battled Thursdays at 9pm and the result was surprising. ABC and CBS lead the pack so far with NBC close behind. On Monday, NBC's Deal or No Deal helped win the night with 15.76 million for its two-hour premiere, but CBS's CSI: Miami won the last hour with 17.62 million. NBC's Studio 60 opened so-so with 13.41 million (with a drop in its second half). Let's see how it does tomorrow. If it can have 13-14 million or so each week, then NBC will take it. If it goes under 10-11 million, then we have a bust. Tuesday, it was ABC's turn of excellence as Dancing with the Stars did 18.17 million for two-hours. CBS and NBC did good too as all their shows were above 10 million. Fox's House did well, too. CBS's Smith and ABC's Boston Legal at 10 p.m. saw drops in its second half hours--should be concering. Wednesday it was CBS's turn to win viewers, as the dramas from 9-11pm won their hours. ABC won the opening hour with Dancing with the Stars: The Results doing 15.03 million. CBS's Jericho opened decently with 11.66 million. NBC had a night to forget as their night was just at 7.31 million. And The CW opened nicely with the season premiere of America's Next Top Model. On Thursday we saw a historic night as ABC's red-hot drama Grey's Anatomy moved to its new night and time and came in and just swept CSI away in everything! Seriously! 25.41 million tuned in for the season premiere and an outstanding 11.0/26 A18-49 rating. Just unbelievable. CSI did 22.57 million and a 7.7/18 A18-49 rating. I think we will see this every week, but total viewers might vary from each week (GA should win on most nights), but expect GA to win 18-49 by a lot each week. A clip special of GA did even 13.7 million at 8 p.m. CBS looks like misses Without a Trace at 10 p.m. as Shark didn't premiere that well and dropped in its second half hour. 14.47 million tuned in. ABC premiered Six Degrees and had the same problem, 12.56 million tuned in. ER won the hour with 15.59 million. Friday (numbers not counted in our ratings), saw CBS's dramas so well, and NBC saw Deal or No Deal and Law & Order do decently. ABC saw some good numbers for Men in Trees. Saturday ratings saw ABC win with College Football. Tonight will be the deciding factor. Can CBS compete with NBC's NFL coverage? ABC will have no problem getting viewers, especially Desperate Housewives. Look for ABC to win the demo tonight and maybe total viewers, but that depends on how much new series Brothers & Sisters does. Without a Trace moves to its new night and time tonight at 10...will viewers follow? Or will CBS force it to move back to Thursdays? Time will tell. I expect ABC to win the week in demos and CBS in total viewers, with ABC a solid second. NBC should be third in everything. Fox is waiting for American Idol, because their fall is a big mess. As for new series, nothing has broke out yet, maybe Brothers & Sisters tonight will, but I have all bets on Ugly Betty on Thursdays.

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Sept. 11-17)

The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm did nothing with 4.37 million, but an all-new episode at 8pm did well with 9.01 million and a decent 4.2/11 A18-49 rating.
'Til Death (Fox) -Repeat at 7:30pm did 5.23 million...not bad.
American Dad (Fox) - 7.71 million is good, but lead-in did 9.01 million. Lost a little too much.
Family Guy (Fox) - 9.23 million and a 4.5/11 A18-49 rating. Very good.
The War at Home (Fox) - 6.75 million and 3.3/8 A18-49 rating. Yikes, big drop. They should move this to Thursdays at 8:30 and air a repeat of Family Guy or Simpsons at 9:30 for now.

Monday Sitcoms

The Class (CBS) - Series premiere was on-par with King of Queens from last year, with a 6.9/11 HH rating, 10.48 million viewers, and a so-so 3.6/10 A18-49 rating. CBS should be expecting a bit more.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - Second season premiere did decent, built on A18-49 with a 3.8/10, and held 100% of the lead-in's viewers with 10.48 million. HH rating went a bit down to 6.8/10. Decent start.
Two and a Half Men (CBS) - Season premiere did 15.09 million, but last season finale's 15.51 million, so slightly down, but certainly good.
New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) - 12.01 million tuned in for the second season premiere, down from the 13.06 million from the season finale.

Tuesday Sitcoms

None.

Wednesday Sitcoms

None.

Thursday Sitcoms

My Name is Earl (NBC) - In its new slot, the sitcom's second season premiere premiered to so-so numbers with 8.86 million and a 3.8/11 A18-49 rating.
The Office (NBC) - Season premiere was on par with last year's premiere, but this time it built on its lead-in. A very good sign. 9.11 million and a 4.3/11 A18-49 rating.
'Til Death (Fox) - Episode 3 of this terrible sitcom reached another low with just 5.78 million and a pathetic 2.2/7 A18-49 rating. Pattern will continue next week with numbers probably even lower.
Happy Hour (Fox) - Episode 3 of this even worse sitcom did just like its lead-in, go down more. 4.4 million and an anemic 1.7/4 A18-49 rating. And guess what? Fox has benched this show starting this week. Repeats of 'Til November, err 'Til Death will take its spot.

Friday Sitcoms
None.

Saturday Sitcoms
None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are repeats of Everybody Hates Chris from 7-8pm on The CW and the Fox animated sitcom block of The Simpsons, American Dad, Family Guy and the live-action sitcom The War at Home. We will have the numbers for these next week.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, and The New Adventures of Old Christine were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Class and My Name is Earl) or just plain old terrible (such as 'Til Death and Happy Hour).

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Mini-DVD Reviews: The Munsters: Two-Movie Fright Fest and The Benny Hill Show Set 5 (Sept. 26)

Welcome to another edition of Saturday mini-DVD reviews! Today we take a look at Universal Home Video's The Munsters: Two-Movie Fright Fest and The Benny Hill Show Set 5. Both have loads of laughs. See for yourself by reading our reviews. See Shawn Eaton's mini-DVD review of The Munsters: Two-Movie Fright Fest and My review of The Benny Hill Show Set 5.

The Munsters: Two-Movie Fright Fest (Universal, $19.98) brings the classic TV series as feature movies. America's first family of fright make their way to DVD in this very special release. Following their highly popular TV series (which is still going strong in reruns on cable -- TV Land), original cast members Fred Gwynne (Herman), Yvonne DeCarlo (Lily) and Al Lewis (Grandpa) reunited in two movies -- giving us the Munsters as they were never before seen -- in color! In 1966's "Munster, Go Home!" (1 hr. 37 mins), Herman moves the family to an English estate he inherited. Starring in this are Gwynne, DeCarlo, Lewis and original cast member Butch Patrick (Eddie). Red-headed Debbie Watson portrays Marilyn. Guest stars include Bernard Fox ("Bewitched") and Richard Dawson ("Hogan's Heroes"). In 1981's "The Munsters Revenge" (1 hr. 37 mins), Sid Caesar stars as Dr. Diablo, who concots a plan to create robot "Munsters" to pull off a series of art heists. Starring in this are Gwynne, DeCarlo and Lewis. KC Martell portrays Eddie while Marilyn is recast again, this time with blonde Jo McDonnell. The cover art is neat in that the case is like a regular movie release case (a snap-case), but the cover you can slide off. The cover is a spider web that covers the main box. On the main cover is the original cast (Gwynne, DeCarlo, Lewis and Patrick) along with Debbie Watson (Marilyn in "Munster, Go Home!"), who's now blonde! The menu is simple. It features a spider-web and the two movies are listed that you can pick from. Both selections take you to a sub-menu that allows you to choose English or Spanish subtitles. Closed captioning is available.
The video is presented in both Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) or Full Frame (1.33:1) -- and in color (although personally, I turned the color all the way to black and white -- it really brings back the feel of the show doing so). To get the movies in wide-screen, you're TV should already either be wide-screen or you might have a menu selection that allows you to pick wide-screen. I did and it does make the movie wide-screen. The audio is Dolby Digital Mono. And on a side-note, the movies are clearly remastered. The color is vibrant and dust and debris free. There are chapter skips available during the movies so you can jump around to different parts.
So in closing, I was very happy to get both of these on DVD; they are a must have for any Munsters fan! It's nice both movies are on the same disc. No special features are included but regardless of that, these movies haven't been in print for a while (although I did find both in a cheap bin at Best Buy a few years prior) so you should definitely shell out the 20 bucks to get these -- two movies for the price of one. You can't beat that!

-- Reviewed by Shawn Eaton

(5/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Munsters TV.com Page

The Benny Hill Show, Complete And Unadulterated: The Hill's Angels Years - Set 5 (A&E, $49.95) brings the next 9 episodes from the classic British series to DVD. This set is available on a three-disc set that contains 9 classic hours from 1982-1985. Hill's Angels join the cast and my they are so good. Benny got even naughtier when they arrived! Each episode runs about 50-52 minutes. Packaging is very similar to the first four sets. The set even has special features. "Hill's Angels Off the Record" runs 11:56 and is produced by A&E and has interviews with some of the Hill's Angels--they share a lot and it is very interesting to watch. Then there is the little trivia game you can play titled "The Benny Hill Cheeky Challenge Trivia Quiz #5." The menu screen has video clips to start off then the main menu comes, and the art is like the cover art. Episode numbers are on each main menu then when selected, you get to a skit selection screen, or you can just play the episode straight through. Chapter skips are also there, if you need them. Now, if my calculations are correct, we should have one more final set with about 8 episodes. Let's hope we get those episodes very soon on DVD. I liked Benny Hill even better in the 1980s years, so I'm sure many others do, too, and this DVD is great to watch because you'll die of laughing. Don't show this to little kids, because Benny is very naughty!
-- Reviewed by Pavan

(4/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Benny Hill Show TV.com Page

Stay tuned tomorrow for our first week ratings blog for the 2006-07 season and on Monday a review for the new sitcom Help Me Help You, premiering this Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Previewing TV Land/Nick@Nite Holiday Season; Tides Shift in Thursday Night Ratings

A few days back the official TV Land & Nick@Nite website, tvland.com announced some programming news for November and December for both networks. We will preview that today and have further information in the regular monthly posts we give.
Let's start with TV Land, as we mentioned before, Friday Night Movies return in October through early December. Movies airing in November are: Airplane! on November 3, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear on November 10, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on November 17. Stir Crazy will air on December 1.
I Pity the Fool debuts October 11, and new episodes will air through November 15.
The week of November 13 is Star Trek week, tune in all week long to see special space-themed episodes of TV Land shows as well as guest appearances by members of the Star Trek cast (before they were Trekkies). Then Nov. 17-19 from 8p-8a, Captain Kirk and Crew go on a whole new voyage as Star Trek lands on TV Land! Grab your taser gun and clip on walkie-talkies and boldly go where millions have gone and see why this show remains a cult favorite. As an added bonus, catch the second Star Trek feature film Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan on Nov. 17.
Celebrate Thanksgiving with your favorite frontier family! Join the Ingalls for a special 3-hour Thanksgiving Little House feast, featuring a look back at the most memorable Little House on the Prairie moments in these heart-felt retrospective episodes. Along with the standard turkey and apple pie, you’ll get a side of family love and great memories in Walnut Grove. In these three-part special episodes "The Little House Years," the Ingalls’ share memories at the Thanksgiving table. Following the Ingalls’ Thanksgiving episodes will be a “mockumentary” about the rock group the Half Pints, which takes its name from Pa Ingalls’ nickname for middle-child Laura. The entire group even dresses like their idol (yes – even the men). The Half Pints – takin’ the prairie to the people.
Christmas comes early to TV Land this year with Yule Love Fridays, featuring Christmas episodes from your favorite shows! Deck the halls with TV Land this holiday season with episodes of The Jeffersons, Good Times, All in the Family, Three's Company, Little House, and Andy Griffith.
Could the holidays be as merry without TV Land’s annual Merry-thon? Christmas spirit, eggnog and your favorite TV friends means a jolly good time all around! Tune in to TV Land’s 7th Annual Merrython featuring classic Christmas episodes of shows like Good Times, The Jeffersons, and Andy Griffith. And in keeping with the Holiday spirit of giving, we offer an encore of Top 10 Holiday Moments. Airs Dec. 2-3 10pm-10pm & Dec 24-25 6pm-6pm.
TV Land celebrates the latest That Girl DVD release with a weekend long marathon featuring episodes of the classic series along with the TV special Free to Be You and Me. That Girl starred Marlo Thomas as an aspiring actress trying to make a living in New York. Free To Be You and Me, also featuring Marlo Thomas, was the award winning TV special all about growing up. Airs for 48 hours Dec. 9-10.
First, there were memorable moments. Then, there were unexpected ones. Now, TV Land is counting down the 100 Greatest TV Quotes & Catchphrases. Who was coolness personified with “AYYYY”? Who said, “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.” Remember, two wild and crazy guys? See which ones make the list Monday, December 11 to Friday, December 15 at 10pm!
Tune in for New Year’s Eve marathon of all episodes starting at 7p!

And now Nick@Nite, Nick@Nite invites you to spend Thanksgiving with its top dysfunctionally functional family: The Conners. This evening-long cornucopia of difficult visitors, dinners-gone awry, tender moments and, of course, big turkeys is a warm treat that’s easy to digest! 3 hours of Roseanne on Nov. 23 from 10p-1a.
It’s that time of year again! ‘Tis the season to celebrate Christmas with Nick@Nite! Ho! Ho! Ho! meets Ha! Ha! Ha! in an all-nite marathon of holiday episodes! All the Nick@Nite families and friends gather to celebrate the magic of the season…only to see things go ridiculously awry. It’s a nite yule love! Thursday, December 7 & Sunday, December 24, 2006 from 9:00pm-6:00am. Episodes of Full House, Fresh Prince, Cosby Show, Roseanne, A Different World, and Designing Women.
This year, join Nick@Nite in saving the best for last. In what has become a year-end tradition, we reward our viewers with a week long marathon of the very best episodes of our most popular show! Think you can stay up for all of those back to back episodes? Where there’s a will, there’s a way. So, make sure to clear your schedule and get ready for some serious TV watching… it’s our holiday gift to you! Monday, December 11 to Thursday, December 14, 2006 from 10:00pm-2:00am.

And what everyone is talking about today is that the Thursday ratings tide has changed. It looks like CSI is no longer the show to beat on Thursdays, as Grey's Anatomy went head to head with it and beat it in both total viewers and adults 18-49...by a lot too! Grey's Anatomy finished with a massive 15.7/24 HH rating (25.14 million total viewers) compared to CSI's 13.5/20 HH rating (22.04 million total viewers). It was even broader in A18-49, as GA did a 10.9 rating to CSI's 7.6 rating. CSI was down 24% in viewers and 26% in A18-49 from last year, while GA was up 32% and 31%. Excellent promotion by ABC. While this is only on week, it looks like this will happen mostly every week and GA is doing even better than what everyone thought it would do vs. CSI. Is CBS in trouble for the night? I think so, as new series Ugly Betty will probably challenge Survivor next week as the leader at 8pm, too. and 10pm is up for grabs right now, ER, Shark, Six Degrees all were between 13-16 million, but we won't know really until next week on who will do what. Both Shark and Six Degrees had a big drop from its lead-ins and more drops in the second half hours. Without a Trace might be needed back for CBS faster than you think. What a night last night! More on the ratings this Sunday on our weekly ratings post!

Thursday, September 21, 2006

ABC Schedule Notes; New Sitcom 'The Game' Gets Lawsuit?

ABC has made some changes for its line-up next week. They will remove the encore of last season's Lost finale on Monday from 9-11pm with another Wife Swap and a Men in Trees encore. That was probably a better choice. Also, they will now air a special 20/20 next Wednesday at 10 p.m. replacing an encore of Men in Trees. The 20/20 Special will be with Barbara Walters as she interviews the widow of the late Steve Irwin.
ABC also will repurpose the pilot for the highly anticipated new series Ugly Betty on ABC Family and SOAPnet. Ugly Betty premieres next Thursday at 8 p.m. on ABC, and will encore next Friday at 7 p.m. on ABC Family and next Saturday at 12 noon and 11:59pm on SOAPnet. Betty has a chance of being the highest rated new shows this season.
ABC also announced that SOAPnet will encore the first season of What About Brian on Sundays from 12-2pm for the next three weeks, leading up to the second season premiere Mon. Oct. 9 at 10 p.m. on ABC.

Author Staci Robinson is suing The CW, its owners and some producers for $40 million for allegedly stealing the concept of her unpublished novel to create the sitcom The Game, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The writer claims that in 2001, she had interviewed for a job as a writers assistant at Kelsey Grammer's Gramnet Prods. when she gave a manuscript of her novel to The Game executive producer Mara Brock Akil. The suit, filed Sept. 14, alleges that the series copies her premise and the characters in the book. She names the CW and its owners, CBS and Warner Bros., Akil and Gramnet as defendants. Besides the hefty monetary damages, Robinson is seeking a temporary restraining order to keep the network from premiering the show on Sunday, Oct. 1. Yikes...

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

TV Land Changes This Weekend's Schedule; CBS 'Mother' Karaoke Contest

TV Land announced they will make a change this weekend expanding the westerns and The Andy Griffith Show. On Saturday they will air Bonanza from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. followed by The Andy Griffith Show from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. On Sunday they will air Gunsmoke from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the previously scheduled CASA Family Night stunt from 9-11 p.m. and The Andy Griffith Show from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. View the changes here.

CBS Television Stations announced the launch of a cross-country karaoke contest tied to the hit CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother. Throughout September, the station group is sponsoring karaoke contests at venues in nine major markets across the U.S., with each local winner being flown to Los Angeles for a final match-up. The winner of that contest will receive a walk-on role on the hit CBS comedy. Each market event will include local sponsorship. his promotion is the perfect marriage between a young, popular sitcom and an interactive experience that has become extremely popular with this audience, said Julio Marenghi, President, Sales, CBS Television Stations. We think this cross-country karaoke contest is a great way to promote How I Met Your Mother while inviting its fans to be a part of the show, and it also presents a great opportunity for local sponsors seeking new and exciting ways to reach viewers. We look forward to doing more events like this in the future. The contest will be promoted in each market with on-air promos and on each participating stations website. Twenty contestants in each market will be chosen at random, and a panel of celebrity judges will determine which lucky winner goes to the next level the final match-up in Los Angeles with the winners from all the other markets. Cast members from the series will then help choose the winner. Viewers can also go online to each participating stations website to see the local winners performances and choose their favorite.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

TV Land to Add 'That Girl' & 'MAS*H', Rembering Herbert Rudley

We mentioned before that the '60s sitcom That Girl is coming to TV Land in December, but at that time we announced it would be on TVLand.com only, but TV Land has now also booked a 48-hour marathon of the show, plus the special Free To Be You and Me, the weekend of Dec. 9-10. Will That Girl air as a regular on TV Land? That is still yet to be determined. It could or it could be like Daniel Boone and just air for a week or two and remain on TVLand.com.
And the landmark sitcom M*A*S*H is coming to TV Land in January. I guess it will be a shared deal with Hallmark Channel, but I'm not positive yet. TV Land will have a week-long celebration from Jan. 1-7, with classic episodes and the 20th & 30th anniversary specials, and stars on other shows. It should be a fun week for fans of that show.

And one of our readers e-mailed us and told us that sitcom actor Herbert Rudley has passed away on Sept. 9. He hasn't acted since the early '80s, but he has a massive list of credits from the '40s to the '80s. His sitcom credits include The Mothers-In-Law, My Living Doll, Green Acres, The Munsters, I Dream of Jeannie, House Calls, and so many more. Thanks to Frank in letting us know. Mr. Rudley was 95.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Two Sitcom Stars Pass Away; First Day of Fall Season; Fox Adds More Shows to Broadband Player

SitcomsOnline.com today mourns the loss of two sitcom stars. One at 76 and one at only 19. Pat Corley, best known as the barkeep Phil on Murphy Brown, died of heart failure on Monday, Sept. 11 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Corley has guest starred on many sitcoms before such Mr. Belvedere, Coach, House Calls, Domestic Life, He's the Mayor, Night Court and the Saved by the Bell Wedding in Las Vegas. He has guest starred on many TV dramas as well, such as The Waltons, Starsky & Hutch, L.A. Law, Falcon Crest, Moonlighting, St. Elsewhere and so many more. He was a great character actor and we will certainly miss him.
And we have some tragic news on a sitcom star that was only 19 years old. Pablo Santos, best known for his role on the WB short-lived sitcom Greetings from Tucson, died Friday in a small-plane crash in central Mexico. Santos and six friends were flying from Monterrey to Acapulco when their Piper Malibu crashed during an emergency landing at the airport in Toluca, about 35 miles west of Mexico City, the Mexico State Security Agency said. The plane was owned by Santos' father. The crash also claimed the life of Santos' friend, Martel Fernandez, 19, who died early Saturday at a Toluca hospital. Officials were investigating the cause of the crash. In his short lived career he had guest starred on TV series such as Alias, Law & Order: SVU, Boston Public and The Shield. Such a tragic story and we want to send condolences to his family.

Today is the first official day of the 2006-07 TV season. Let's get yet another season started! I personally can't wait for new shows such as Knights of Prosperity, The Class, Six Degrees and Ugly Betty. And I am now a recent fan of Grey's Anatomy thanks to the DVDs, and I can't wait until that season premiere this Thursday.

Fox Broadcasting Company will stream free episodes of 'Til Death, Happy Hour and Justice on dozens of Internet portals and websites beginning today. The promotional episodes will be available at no charge and commercial-free to viewers across multiple portals and websites, including the network's own FOX.com as well as Google Video, Yahoo!, TVGuide.com and IGN.com, among others.
More than 40 portals and websites will stream two full episodes each of 'Til Death & Happy Hour and one episode of Justice. Each episode will be available online as early as the morning following its initial broadcast on FOX, through 3:00 PM ET on the next episode's air date.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Summer Week 16 Sitcom Ratings

The summer is now over! Tomorrow is the official start of the 2006-07 season! So, for next week's rating, we will be back with our full analysis, and of course our sitcom ratings!
Week 16 (Final Week!!) Summer Ratings: Sitcom Edition:

Monday Sitcoms

How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - Aired at 8 p.m. this week because of Bush's speech, did only 5.78 million. Season premiere airs tomorrow at 8:30 p.m.
Two and a Half Men (CBS) - Due to Bush's speech from 9-9:20, the sitcom aired at 9:30, did OK with 7.2 million, down from its usual repeat numbers.
The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) - Aired at 8:30 p.m. because of Bush's speech, 5.53 million tuned in.
One on One (UPN), All of Us (UPN), Girlfriends, Half & Half (UPN) - UPN is gone mostly everywhere now, as MyNetworkTV has taken a majority of the affiliates, so the numbers are again (like last week) just way way down. These sitcoms ranged from 640,000 to 930,000 viewers.

Tuesday Sitcoms

Nothing tonight and probably we will have to wait until Sept. 26 for a sitcom on this night.

Wednesday Sitcoms

UPN Comedies: Special airings of Chris, All of Us, and Half & Half...8-10pm ranged from 730,000 to 890,000. Again remember, UPN is gone mostly everywhere now.

Thursday Sitcoms

'Til Death (Fox) - Down considerably from its premiere, with 6.55 million, 4.4/8 HH rating and 2.5/8 A18-49 rating. As last week we saw: 8.82 million, 5.7/10 HH rating, 3.1/10 A18-49 rating. Expect a more drop this week as NBC debuts its comedies and the week after ABC brings in a high profile new series.
Happy Hour (Fox) - Down from last week's terrible premiere. 5.38 million, 3.6/6 HH rating and just a 2.2/6 A18-49 rating. Last week: 6.97 million, 4.5/7 HH rating, 2.4/7 A18-49 rating. Pattern will be continuing.
Everybody Hates Chris, Love Inc, Eve, Cuts (UPN) - Again a reminder, UPN is gone in most areas. Numbers are even down from normal: ranges from 700,000 to 1.1 million.

Friday Sitcoms

What I Like About You, Twins, Reba, Living with Fran (The WB) - Now they are all gone! No more!!! Yay!!!

Tonight (Sunday) Fox has its comedy block from 8-10pm with The Simpsons, American Dad, Family Guy, and The War at Home. Simpsons and 'Til Death repeats will air from 7-8pm. We will have a full report next week.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

CBS Sitcom Pilot Review: The Class - Premieres September 17th; My Name Is Earl Soundtrack Review; Bob Newhart's Book Review

The Class - Mondays at 8:00PM ET/PT on CBS
Premieres September 18th at 8:00PM ET/PT

THE CLASS is a comedy about the lives of a group of 20-somethings inextricably bound together by sharing the same third grade class. Ethan Haas (Jason Ritter) is head-over-heels in love with his fiancé, for whom he has planned the ultimate surprise party -- a reunion with their third grade classmates to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the day they met. The classmates include Lina Warbler (Heather Goldenhersh), who wears her heart on her sleeve and remains optimistic about love although she was recently dumped; her cynical twin sister, Kat Warbler (Lizzy Kaplan), whose sarcastic tongue hides her kind heart; Duncan Carmello (Jon Bernthal), the well-liked boy in school who is in a band and still lives with his mother Tina (Julie Halston) with whom he constantly bickers; Kyle Lendo (Sean Maguire), who every girl had a crush on and is now happily in love with his live-in boyfriend; Richie Velch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), a happy kid whose life has gone downhill since third grade until the reunion invitation sparked his curiosity; Holly Ellenbogen (Lucy Punch), whose heart was broken when Kyle cheated on her at the high school prom and can't wait to show him what a successful news anchor she's become and how happily married she is now to Perry (Sam Harris); and pretty, popular Nicole Allen (Andrea Anders), who was once in love with Duncan (Jon Bernthal) and is now the unfulfilled trophy wife of legendary football star/BBQ-grill spokesman Yonk Allen (David Keith). Two decades later, a group of grade-schoolers' lives intersect once again, giving them the uncommon opportunity to learn how everyone turned out and to rebuild old friendships.

PRODUCED BY: craneklarik productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: David Crane, Jeffrey Klarik and James Burrows

Cast: Jason Ritter as Ethan Haas, Lizzy Caplan as Kat Warbler, Heather Goldenhersh as Lina Warbler, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Richie Velch, Jon Bernthal as Duncan Carmello, Sean Maguire as Kyle Lendo, Lucy Punch as Holly Ellenbogen, Andrea Anders as Nicole Allen

Read our review of the pilot and second episode here.

Discuss the show after you watch it on Monday on our message board.

Related Links:

CBS.com Official Site

Jason Ritter goes to head of 'Class'

The Class Photo Gallery

Related Stories:

STAGE TO SCREENS: Chats with "Class" Actors Halston, Ferguson, Goldenhersh and Harris

Sara Gilbert Takes The Class

The Class at Classmates.com

My Name Is Earl - The Album (Shout! Factory, MSRP: $18.98)

The soundtrack to the #1 NBC comedy features brand-new, never-before-released tracks from Matthew Sweet, Uncle Kracker, John Hiatt and rock newcomers Van Nuys, recorded exclusively for the soundtrack. In addition, the album includes some of Earl’s favorite songs used in episodes which aired during the premiere ’05-’06 season. The soundtrack also contains key sound bytes from the show, and an unheard vocal version of the “My Name Is Earl” theme song.

Here is the track listing:

1. I'm The Bandit (TV Dialogue) (:13)
2. Jerry Reed - East Bound and Down (From the Movie "Smokey and the Bandit") (From "Stole Beer From a Golfer" Episode) (2:46)
3. Uncle Kracker - The Weight (New Recording) (Original Version by The Band is in "Monkeys in Space" Episode) (4:58)
4. Los Lobos - One Time One Night (From "Didn't Pay Taxes" Episode) (4:50)
5. Young M.C. - Bust a Move (From "Ruined Joy's Wedding" Episode) (4:23)
6. Matthew Sweet - Livin' Thing (New Recording) (Original Version by ELO is in "Quit Smoking" Episode) (3:39)
7. Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock - It Takes two (From the series "Pilot" and "Bounty Hunter" Episodes) (5:00)
8. Sammy Davis, Jr. - Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) (From "Quit Smoking" Episode) (3:03)
9. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimme Three Steps (From "Ruined Joy's Wedding" Episode) (4:40)
10. Harry Nilsson - Joy (From "Something To Live For" Episode) (3:43)
11. Jerry Reed - Amos Moses (From "Teacher Earl" Episode) (2:26)
12. John Hiatt - Instant Karma (New Recording) (Original Version by John Lennon - not used in any episode)
13. Nescobar-a-lop-lop and the Camden County Band - What Goes Around Comes Around (My Name Is Earl theme song - vocal version) (3:09)
14. Van Nuys - 99 Red Balloons (Original Version by Nena is in the "Pilot" Episode) (3:37)

My Review: There is a ton of music used in every My Name Is Earl episode. Most episodes used 3-6 songs. By my own unofficial count going by various online music lists (hey NBC, please update your site - it only goes up to episode 9!), there were around 100 songs used in season 1. Breaking down the 14 tracks on the soundtrack: there are 8 songs that were originally in the episodes, 3 covers of songs that were in the episodes, 2 songs not featured in any episode, and 1 quote.
I love My Name Earl and the music they select for the episodes, but this soundtrack was a bit of a letdown and could have been so much better. There is a little over 50 minutes worth of music here. I think they could have added a few additional songs. Some great classics would have been awesome on here: George Thorogood & The Destroyers - "Who Do You Love?" and "Bad to the Bone"; Ram Jam - "Black Betty"; The Chamber Brothers - "Time Has Come Today," Blue Oyster Cult - "Don't Fear the Reaper," Wilson Pickett - "Mustang Sally," and Bachman-Turner Overdrive - "Takin' Care of Business" and "Roll on Down the Highway." If they could include 2 Jerry Reed songs, why not Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin'"? I guess it all comes down to music licensing rights and what they are able to get. I would have loved to hear a few of the memorable score tracks by composers Danny Lux and Mark Leggett. My favorite songs on this compilation were the 2 Jerry Reed songs, Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Gimme Three Steps," and Harry Nilsson's "Joy." The cover songs and new recordings were ok. My favorite of the bunch was Uncle Kracker's "The Weight." The vocal version of the theme wasn't my taste. I'm glad they just use a simple instrumental theme for the opening credits. The quotes that they tacked on the end of most of the songs were funny and memorable, but I would have preferred them as separate tracks. The booklet includes some notes from Earl to his brother Randy and a number of photos of the cast. Recommended for die-hard Earl fans and for people who like the artists that have new recordings on this soundtrack.

-- Reviewed by Todd

(3/5 stars)

To purchase the CD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Don't forget My Name Is Earl - Season One will be available on DVD on September 19th. It has all 24 season episode episodes and is jam-packed with extras. Look for our detailed review in the next day or so on our main page, DVD Reviews archive page, or via our RSS feed.

Related Links:

My Name Is Earl Official Site at NBC.com

My Name Is Earl Fan Site