Sunday, December 31, 2006
Week 15: How the Sitcoms Did
We don't have final numbers for the first four nights for Week 15, so we won't bring that to you...we apologize. The analysis is also not in session today due to plenty of repeats, we will return next week with both, but how the sitcoms did are available today:
Week 15 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):
Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A
Adults 18-49: N/A
Analysis: N/A
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Dec. 18-24)
- Reba (The CW) 2 episodes - Two repeats tonight, 2.54 and 1.71 million.
- American Dad (Fox) - A repeat at a special time of 7pm did just 1.91 million...but it was Christmas Eve.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) 3 episodes - Three repeats on Christmas Day. 8pm, 8:30pm and 9:30pm. They all did pretty bad. 3.54, 3.46 and 4.54 million.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - A repeat on Christmas Day did 5.9 million, jumping a lot from the lead-in.
- CW Monday Comedies: Chris, All of Us, Girfriends, The Game. A repeat episode of Chris started it off with 1.38 million. The rest were also in repeats and were all higher and ranged 1.4 to 1.57 million.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Big Day (ABC) 2 episodes - Two new episodes both were series lows. 3.97 and 3.83 million. I wonder if ABC will pull it after this week?
- The King of Queens (CBS) - CBS aired a repeat this week and it did OK with 7.72 million.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - Last week CBS aired a repeat of How I Met Your Mother and did just 6.0 million, this week Men did 8.1 million for a repeat.
- George Lopez (ABC) 4 episodes - The 4 episode marathon encores did a bit better than last week. Last week ABC aired 3 episodes and they did: 8pm did 4.34 million, 8:30 did 4.88 million and 9:30pm did 4.82 million. This week it aired 8-10pm and went up each half-hour: 4.58, 4.65, 5.07 and 5.17 million.
- My Name is Earl (NBC) - NBC aired repeats of its four-comedies tonight, all went down each half hour. So, this was the highest of the bunch with a 4.4/7 fast national rating. We don't have final numbers for this night yet.
- The Office (NBC) - A repeat did 3.6/6 fast national rating, again not final yet.
- Scrubs (NBC) - NBC's sitcom repeat drop continued with a 2.8/5 fast national rating for this repeat.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - And the drop concluded at 9:30 with just a 2.6/4 rating for this struggling sitcom.
None.
Saturday Sitcoms
Airing tonight (Sunday) are repeats of American Dad on Fox and Reba on The CW.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The King of Queens, and 9:30pm airing of George Lopez were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Office and My Name is Earl) or just plain old terrible (such as Big Day and 30 Rock).
Saturday, December 30, 2006
In Memoriam: Sitcom Actor Deaths in 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
New Year's Eve/Day Marathons; Sony TV-DVD Poll; Be 'Ugly' in 2007!
Today we will take a look at the end of the current year/start of the new year marathons. Sci-Fi Channel will air its annual Twilight Zone marathon. Starting New Year's Eve at 9 a.m., back-to-back episodes of the cult TV series hosted by Rod Serling are featured. First up: a murderer loses his memory in "In His Image." The marathon doesn't end until Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 6 AM! Talk about a marathon!!
TBS will close the year with Seinfeld. A 12-episode block of the "show about nothing" opens with four stories built around riding New York's subway. Included: A beauty picks up George; Jerry befriends a naked guy; Kramer is tipped to a hot horse; and Elain gets stuck en route to a lesbian wedding. This will air New Year's Eve from 7 p.m. to 12 midnight. ABC Family and SOAPnet will have Ugly Betty marathons on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, see our Ugly Betty story below.
Comedy Central will have a South Park New Year's Eve Rock-a-thon featuring six episodes from the past year starting at 10 p.m. New Year's Eve.
TNT will bring 'law & order' to the new year, with a 17-episode block of the absorbing police-and-lawyers procedural--Law & Order. Things get fishy in the first hour when a caviar entrepreneur is found dead the day after he marries a much younger woman. The suspects include his bride and his daughter from a previous marriage. The crime stopping starts 11 p.m. New Year's Eve.
TV Land will encore the 5-part Top 100 Catchphrases special from 7p-12a on New Year's Eve. Other notable marathons include Court TV's Cops marathon and USA Network's New Year's Day Monk marathon.
I saved the best for last...us New Yorkers can catch the classic sitcom The Honeymooners on WPIX from 12 midnight to 5 p.m. on New Year's Day! What better way to spend the first day of 2007! Click here for episode info!
Sony Home Entertainment has a new poll featuring shows like What's Happening Now!!, Cupid, Bette, The Rookies, and Police Story. You choose the top three shows from that list and they will consider putting them on DVD! Come on What's Happening!! fans we need What's Happening Now!! on DVD! So vote for the grown-up Raj, Rerun and the gang by clicking HERE.
Ugly Betty, the Golden Globe nominated and most watched new comedy of the fall season, proves ugly is the new beautiful. On Sunday, Dec. 31 ABC will launch "Be Ugly '07," a pro-social campaign that asks America to resolve to be real, be smart, be passionate, be true to yourself and be ugly, just like Ugly Betty in 2007. "Be Ugly '07" will turn the word "ugly" upside down and challenge conventional perceptions and stereotypes of real beauty. Promoting self esteem and empowerment, the effort kicks off with cross-network support, an original song, stunts, appearances, interstitials, a dedicated web site (www.BeUgly07.com), and an event designed to create awareness for the movement.
"Be Ugly '07" starts on-air during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, and hundreds of Betty look-alikes will be in Times Square and Walt Disney World handing out Ugly Betty masks to help people see the world through Betty's eyes, where ugly is beautiful. ABC will air the last three episodes to date on Saturday, December 30 from 8 to 11 p.m. Also on Dec. 31, ABC Family will feature a marathon of all the episodes to date from 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET. January 1 look-alikes will distribute masks at the Rose Bowl Parade, with a SOAPnet marathon airing all the episodes to date from 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET. Finally, an original half-hour special The Beauty of Ugly Betty will made available to ABC affiliates and The Walt Disney Companies' wholly owned cable channels in English and Spanish. The special will feature interviews with the cast and editors of the magazine, who take a look at how Ugly Betty has become a phenomenon and how the show has redefined "ugly." Haven't seen all the episodes yet and won't be able to watch the marathons? That is OK, you can catch all the episodes to date on abc.com before Jan. 5! This is truly the year to be ugly!
Thursday, December 28, 2006
ME-TV in Chicago Winter Schedule: 'Chill With ME'; i Network Ratings Has Gone Up Since Classic TV/Movies Started in August
New or returning series to the line-up include: The Patty Duke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, The Lucy Show, The Rockford Files, You Bet Your Life, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Four Star Playhouse, Family Ties, Who's the Boss?, Starsky & Hutch, Kojak, Mad About You, The Nanny, Have Gun, Will Travel, Bonanza, Rawhide, and Mission: Impossible.
While it is nice to have those shows return, some other shows had to be sacrificed this Winter to make room for these returning or new shows. Off the schedule this Winter are: Eight is Enough, Cisco Kids, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, Petticoat Junction, Charlie's Angels, I Dream of Jeannie, The A-Team, Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Black Sheep Squadron, and Daniel Boone.
Click HERE to view the full Winter schedule and you can also Chill with ME-TV! And a special thanks to Josh for bringing this schedule to our attention!
We have covered the i Network in much detail since its "re-launch" in August with classic TV and it looks like the network is much better off airing classic TV! They recently announced their ratings since August and shows like Mama's Family and Diagnosis Murder have really propelled the network! It's not just those two shows, too, classic TV marathons and theatricals have helped the network’s weekend primetime average go up 49 percent. Click HERE to view the full ratings release. And let's hope i Network expands their hours soon and brings us even more classic TV! I'm personally hoping for Perfect Strangers, Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons, Facts of Life, One Day at a Time and some other sitcoms that are hardly seen these days.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
TV One Adds 'Mr. Cooper' in January, 'Roc' Returns; You Can Join The 'Knights'
Included in this change is the TV One launch of the classic '90s sitcom Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, starring Mark Curry as an Oakland high school coach/teacher. Co-stars include Holly Robinson, Omar Gooding, Raven Symone, and Nell Carter. The sitcom will air weekdays at 6:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Starting Tuesday, January 2, the changes are to weekdays between 6am-8pm, everything else will remain the same as it is now. As mentioned Mr. Cooper will air weekdays at 6:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Other changes include the return of Roc, airing weekdays at 2 p.m. Fastlane moves to 11 a.m., in which it will share the slot with the short-lived series A Man Called Hawk. Hawk will air Tuesdays and Thursdays, while Fastlane will air Monday, Wednesdays & Fridays. Boston Public moves from mornings to 4 p.m. And Amen will now only air weekdays at 6 & 6:30 a.m. It will also still air Sundays at 1:30 p.m.
The month has various special programming as well. On Monday, January 1, TV One rings in the new year with a rebroadcast of its popular "Many Mugs of Martin Marathon" which showcases Martin Lawrence playing some of his most memorable characters from the sitcom Martin. On Monday January 15 in honor of the Martin Luther King Holiday, TV One presents a "Moving Movie Marathon" with movies beginning at 8am that may move you to action, move you to tears, or just move you to think. And On Saturday January 27, it's all about Anthony Anderson as TV One airs a marathon of his sitcom All About the Andersons in which all 16 episodes produced will air beginning at 12 Noon.
There are other specials, but they are about original programming such as Bill Bellamy's Who's Got Jokes? week (week of Jan. 29) counting down to the finale on Feb. 3. There will also be new episodes of TV One originals The Tom Joyner Sky Show, TV One Access, TV One on One, The Gospel of Music with Jeff Majors, and the newest originals Black Men Revealed, The Star Jones Reynolds Report and Tavis Smiley's Road to Health.
To see the FULL list of regular schedule changes and complete highlights, click HERE.
The most fun sitcom in years is coming next week! Yes, The Knights of Prosperity debuts next Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and now you can Join the Knights, too! Log onto www.JoinTheKnights.com to download your official membership certificate and print your membership card. The site also has propaganda and cool free things, including a downloadable recruitment poster, a recruitment video, and you can make your own KOP tee. Additional tactics include recruitment teams passing out KOP beanies and recruitment fliers, branded pizza boxes, taxi tops and wild postings.
On Dec. 30, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., hundreds of thousands of patrons at malls across the country will get the opportunity to be one of the lucky few selected to win big money in The Knights of Prosperity cash grab booths. Events will be held simultaneously at key malls in New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas and Minneapolis. Grand prize finalists will be chosen by a random drawing, and each winner will enter the money booth to “test their skills” with the chance to grab as many airborne bills before time expires! No purchase required.
For full details, click HERE. And we will be back in the coming days with our review of this sitcom. It is the funniest and wackiest sitcom in recent memory! It is a fun show for everyone! Make sure you tune in!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Even More 'Mama' on CMT
Since it is the holiday season, I will be nice and put the schedule dates in a list format for you right here on the blog:
Saturday, December 30 - 5-11 p.m.
Tuesday, January 2 - 8-10:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 3 - 11 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Monday, January 8 - 5-7 p.m., 11 p.m.-2 a.m.
Tuesday, January 9 - 8-10 p.m.
Tuesday, January 16 - 8 to 10 p.m.
Thursday, January 18 - 4-7 p.m.
Sunday, January 21 - 11 p.m.-2 a.m.
Tuesday, January 23 - 8-10 p.m.
Wednesday, January 24 - 11:59 p.m.-2 a.m.
Friday, January 26 - 4-7 p.m.
As you can see, there is no real set schedule except for Tuesday nights. We will keep you up to date on more dates and if any changes occur. As always, all dates & times are subject to change.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas from SitcomsOnline; ABC.com's Video Player Adds Two New Shows and Full Season to Date of Hit Shows
Disney-ABC Television Group announced late last week that it is giving viewers a Christmas gift that keeps on giving, making available all episodes to date on the ABC.com video player of this season's Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty and What About Brian from Touchstone Television beginning TODAY, Christmas Day (December 25). Since formally relaunching the video player in September, a staggering thirty million episodes have been started on ABC.com.
The episodes will remain on the player until their first new episode in January at which time the player will revert to carrying the new episode and the most recent three airings for a total of the latest four episodes. This is the first time Brothers & Sisters and What About Brian will be available on the player and they will become part of the regular offerings. Woohoo!
In addition, also beginning TODAY, the first act (it is hilarious!) and music video (also hilarious!) of the new sitcom The Knights of Prosperity will be available. The series will be added to the player following its premiere on January 3. Believe in the Knights and join them! Got any cookies? Look for our review of the series next week!
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Week 14: How the Sitcoms Did
We don't have final numbers for the first four nights for Week 14, so we won't bring that to you...we apologize. The analysis is also not in session today due to plenty of repeats, we might not return that until January, but how the sitcoms did are available today:
Week 14 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):
Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A
Adults 18-49: N/A
Analysis: N/A
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Dec. 11-17)
- Reba (The CW) 2 episodes - A repeat and new episode did decent but down a bit from last week. The repeat did 2.54 million and a new episode built on that and did 3.47 million.
- The Simpsons (Fox) -A new episode did 8.88 million, up from last week's 8.31.
- American Dad (Fox) - A new episode did 7.4 million, up from previous week's 7.11 million.
- Family Guy (Fox) 2 episodes - A new episode and a repeat did decent with 8.91 million and 7.91 million.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat did 6.28 million...should have been higher.
- The Class (CBS) - Last week a new episode built on the lead-in, this week a repeat didn't. It did 5.64 million.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 10.7 million for a repeat, still the #1 sitcom.
- New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) - 8.05 million for a repeat..should have been a bit higher.
- CW Monday Comedies: Chris, All of Us, Girfriends, The Game. A repeat episode of Chris started it off with 2.24 million, that should be much better. The rest were in repeats and ranged 1.95 to 2.19 million.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Big Day (ABC) 2 episodes - The first of two new episodes did 5.06 million, up from last week's 4.77 million. The next episode went down to 4.23 million, a series low. It should have built, but it shows this sitcom might be weak.
- The King of Queens (CBS) - The drop continues, but it is still doing better than CBS Monday at 8pm..this week it did 8.29 million, down from 9.02 & 9.04 million last week. Only one episode from now on. The show will go on hiatus again after Jan. 3.
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat dropped big and did just 6.0 million...why not air King repeats in this slot, CBS?
- George Lopez (ABC) 3 episodes - 3 last minute Christmas episode encores did not do so well. 8pm did just 4.34 million, 8:30 did 4.88 million and 9:30pm did 4.82 million.
- According to Jim (ABC) - A Christmas episode repeat from 2003 did decent and jumped a lot from its lead-in and did 5.62 million. ABC should have aired this show at 8 and 9pm or 9-10pm tonight.
- The Office (NBC) - A repeat of the one-hour Christmas episode from a few weeks ago aired tonight in the 9pm hour did a 3.7/6 rating. We don't have final numbers for this night yet.
- My Name is Earl (NBC) - Airing at a rare special time of 10pm, the sitcom encore jumped from its lead-in to a 4.1/7 rating.
- Scrubs (NBC) - A drop from the lead-in to a 3.4/6...though 10:30pm for a sitcom these days is unheard of, even if it was a repeat.
- 'Til Death (Fox) - A new episode did just a 3.3 rating.
- The War at Home (Fox) - The show holds on to a better percentage of its lead-in than Happy Hour did, a 2.9 rating...nothing like it did on Sunday, but on Sunday it was dropping a lot from its lead-in.
None.
Saturday Sitcoms
Airing tonight (Sunday) are repeats of American Dad on Fox and Reba on The CW.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The King of Queens, and The New Adventures of Old Christine were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as My Name is Earl and According to Jim) or just plain old terrible (such as 'Til Death and The War at Home).
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Book Review - 5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows on DVD 2007
5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows on DVD 2007 (Watson-Guptill, $14.95)
With 5000 EPISODES of television of DVD, who needs to go to the movie theater?! Sales of TV DVDs are outpacing all other categories. The Simpsons, 24, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Alias, even old chestnuts like Columbo and Home Improvement are blowing out of the stores as fans and collectors rush to buy their favorite shows, compact and complete. Did you miss the third episode of Grey's Anatomy's second season? Not to fear: it's now on DVD! How do buyers know which shows are the best, which season contains that favorite moment, which episode features that guest star? 5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shos on DVD 2007 (Watson-Guptill; $14.95; November 2006), by TV Historian Dave Hofstede, is a celebration of television's greatest moments, most memorable achievements, and silliest mistakes. Each entry offers a quick reference guide for finding the best scenes and episodes in each collection, and lets viewers know when to reach for the fast forward button. You'll also learn which sets contain bonus features, and which use syndicated-episode cuts and music substitutions. 5000 Episodes and No Commercials lists, reviews, and rates on a 0--5 star scale the DVD release of every prominent television series--including season sets, individual episodes, and "best of" compilations. The objective is to let fans know what is out there, and whether it's worth picking up.
346 pages ~ 6 x 9 ~ 0-8230-8456-6
$14.95 ~ Indexed ~ 2 Appendices
Watson-Guptill ~ November 2006
About the Author
David Hofstede has written twelve books on film and TV, including What Were They Thinking? and the successful companion volumes to The Dukes of Hazzard and Charlie’s Angels. He covers the film and theater beat for AOL’s Digital City Las Vegas website and serves as film editor for Cowboys & Indians magazine. He lives in Las Vegas.
My Review: This book is a pretty good off-line reference for the TV on DVD fan and collector. Each series profiled lists the seasons currently available (as of the fall 2006), star rating, the studio that released it, video and audio information, description of the series, great moments, fast-forward (episodes that you should skip) and extras. There is also a section of Christmas episodes and an index of personalities.
This paperback book will probably appeal to and be more useful for people that don't have internet access. A lot of information on TV DVD releases can be found at online databases such as TVShowsonDVD.com or the listings at Amazon.com . The information in this book, while well researched and presented, is just not incredibly detailed. There are many omissions (only 2 seasons of ALF, 1 season of I Dream of Jeannie, and 3 seasons or Roseanne are listed - no entries for Alice, Chico and the Man, Dinosaurs, Dream On, Hazel, The Job, Kate & Allie, Living Single, Titus, Welcome Back Kotter) in this book and with 50-100 new sets being released every month, information in this book will fast become out-dated. I would have preferred to see a book that profiled the top 50-100 TV DVD releases in great detail rather than short entries on hundreds of series.
-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller
3.5/5 stars)
To purchase the Book, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Friday, December 22, 2006
'Jeffersons' First Lionel, Actor Mike Evans Dies; TV Land January Changes
And speaking of The Jeffersons, we have some TV Land schedule updates for January. Due to the recent changes made earlier this week, the January schedule will be altered a bit. The Andy Griffith Show will remain 8-10 p.m. every night. The Jeffersons were scheduled to move to 11 & 11:30 p.m. when M*A*S*H arrives, but that will not happen anymore, and Sanford & Son will keep its 11 & 11:30 p.m. slot. So, The Jeffersons will only air at 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. late nights. Everything else that was changed this past week will be incorporated to the January line-up that starts Jan. 8.
M*A*S*H week's (Jan. 1-7) schedule has been announced. As mentioned a lot already, M*A*S*H, the movie, the anniversary specials and the finale will air between 8pm-8am that week. During M*A*S*H week, some of the regular shows weekdays airing between 8am-8pm will be pre-empted: From 12-1pm The Andy Griffith Show will air instead of The Brady Bunch/All in the Family hour; 1-2pm will be a full hour of TV Land's 5-part Top 100 Catchphrases encore; 5pm Gunsmoke will air instead of Green Acres; 6-7pm The Andy Griffith Show will air instead of Leave it to Beaver and 7-8pm The Andy Griffith Show will air instead of Little House. So, Andy will lead-in to M*A*S*H that week.
To view the complete January updates, including episode numbers for M*A*S*H episodes airing in the marathon and which shows are airing when with M*A*S*H stars on other TV Land shows, I suggest you click HERE!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
CBS Schedules New Sitcom 'Rules of Engagement', Moves 'Christine', Ends 'Class' Early and 'King' Ends With a Bang
Finally, this looks to be good moves, as 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. will be all new episodes of sitcoms from Jan-May. The question will remain, will The Class return next season? Right now, it doesn't look good, especially if Rules hits.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
AmericanLife TV January Highlights; More 'Mama' on CMT; Spike Re-Adds 'A-Team'
Click HERE for complete highlights for January 2007 that will make you 'jump' for joy because there is even a Gordon Jump (WKRP) sighting on Harry O!
We told you some days back that CMT is airing Mama's Family on Dec. 30 and Jan 2 & 3, now we have learned of even MORE dates for Mama! Mama's Family will also air on Monday, January 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. & 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. and on Tuesday, January 9 from 8 to 10 p.m. We will keep you up to date if we hear of any more airings! Catch them all when you can!
Spike TV will re-add The A-Team to weekday mornings at 9 a.m. ET/PT starting January 2, replacing Blind Date. Also, starting Jan. 2, the network will add its new acquisition Star Trek Voyager to weekdays at 5 & 6 p.m. Star Trek: The Next Generation will now be 3 & 4 p.m., with Star Trek Deep Space 9 still at 2 p.m. The Equalizer, which was airing at 10 a.m., seems to be gone. Another episode of World's Wildest Police Videos has replaced it. I don't know when that happened, though.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Fox Moves 'King' and 'Dad' Slots, Keeps 'War' on Thursday; TBS Wants More 'Boys'; Remembering Joseph Barbera
TBS ordered nine more episodes of its original sitcom My Boys. The show has been a success so far, averaging more than 1 million adults 18-49 over six episodes. It will go back into production in early 2007, with the new episodes premiering this summer.
My Boys, which stars Jordana Spiro as a sportswriter with guy best friends, will finish its first batch of episodes over holiday weekend, with two new episodes on both Dec. 26 and Dec. 27 and the finale Dec. 28. No word yet if TBS's other original sitcom (10 Items Or Less) will get a similar additional episode order.
Legendary Hollywood animator Joseph Barbera, whose characters Fred & Wilma Flintstone and Scooby-Doo made generations of people laugh, died on Monday the Warner Bros. film studio said in a statement. Barbera founded Hanna-Barbera Studios with his partner William Hanna nearly 50 years ago, and it grew to become one of Hollywood's best known animation companies producing hundreds of cartoons and winning numerous awards. William Hanna died in 2001, so now both of them are together again up their in the heavens. They both produced or created over 300 animated series. Almost everyone, if not all, has seen at least an episode of one of their series. SOME of the classic series include The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo Where Are You?, Smurfs, Space Ghost, Superfriends, Top Cat, Jonny Quest, Tom & Jerry, and even sitcoms that turned into animated series like The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang and Laverne & Shirley in the Army. Barbera even produced and directed live action comedies such as Love American Style and Abbott & Costello.
Mr. Barbera lived a long and successful life and was 95.
Monday, December 18, 2006
TV Land Makes Some Changes, More 'Andy' and 'Beaver', 'What's Happening' Gone; TV Land Discusses New Original Series
We stick with TV Land today for more news. We mentioned last week TV Land has slotted a new original for 6 episodes starting Jan. 10 called Myths & Legends, but now TV Land has given much more details on it. TV Land takes a look at the most compelling and intriguing mysteries in Hollywood with the premiere of TV Land Myths and Legends on Wednesday, January 10 at 10 p.m. (all times ET/PT). From delving into the secret of which of Carly Simon's former lovers inspired her hit song "You're So Vain", to the truth behind a possible Poltergeist curse, to if Lucille Ball was a Communist, to if Gilligan's Island was a metaphor for hell, to whether Barry Williams was really high during an episode of The Brady Bunch -- this six-part series goes behind-the-scenes to investigate Hollywood's most fabled myths and legends.
Full episode info and dates are HERE.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Week 13: How the Sitcoms Did
Week 13 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):
Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A
Adults 18-49: N/A
Analysis: N/A
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Dec. 4-10)
- Reba (The CW) 2 episodes - A repeat and new episode did decent, up from last week. The repeat did 2.93 million and a new episode built on that and did 3.91 million, the highest rated CW sitcom by far.
- The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat at 7:30 didn't do much with 5.37 million but a new episode following that did 8.31 million, down from normal first run episodes.
- American Dad (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat at 7pm lost to the CW and did 2.87 million but a new episode at 8:30pm did better of course with 7.11 million, down from usual first run numbers though.
- Family Guy (Fox) 2 episodes - Back-to-back repeats in the 9pm hour did OK with 7.51 and 6.73 million.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - The last first run episode before the holidays did pretty good, but not up to potential with 8.66 million.
- The Class (CBS) - Finally after many weeks, this sitcom built on its lead-in and did 8.7 million!
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 15.69 million for this sitcom dominating the sitcom world.
- New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) - 11.96 million...CBS should consider leading this show the night off come March or so when they debut their new mid-season sitcom.
- CW Monday Comedies: Chris, All of Us, Girfriends, The Game. News episode of Chris started it off with 2.8 million, that should be much better. The rest ranged 2.71 to 2.81 million--VERY consistent. While this is no UPN Monday, this is at least consistent.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Big Day (ABC) - 4.77 million for episode three, down from last week's 6.31 million and the premiere's 7.55 million. This week there will be two episodes, and until further notice. ABC doesn't want below 5 million again, so hopefully it goes up.
- Help Me Help You (ABC) - 3.54 million down from last week's 5.02 million is nothing to write home about...in fact ABC has written the show off the schedule because of this weak showing, even Reba did better on Sunday.
- The King of Queens (CBS) 2 episodes - Last week the premiere episodes did 9.42 and 10.17 million, this week it dropped slightly to 9.02 and 9.04 million but still it is doing better than the Monday 8-9pm comedies. Coming this week ABC's George Lopez Christmas encore episodes will battle Kevin James and company.
- The Office (NBC) - One hour Christmas episode did decent. We don't have final numbers did fast nationals had the hour at a 5.3/9 rating and a 3.9 A18-49 rating.
- Scrubs (NBC) - No final numbers for this either but it held on to much of the lead-in with a 5.1/8 fast national rating.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - A drop from the lead-in to a 4.0/6...disappointing since CBS and ABC were in repeats.
- 'Til Death (Fox) - A 3.1 is nothing to write home about.
- The War at Home (Fox) - In its first outing on its new night and time the show did just 2.7/4 rating, but in its defense it held much more of a percentage from the lead-in than the canceled Happy Hour.
None.
Saturday Sitcoms
Airing tonight (Sunday) are a mix of new and repeats of Fox comedies and Reba on The CW.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The King of Queens, The Class, How I Met Your Mother, and The New Adventures of Old Christine were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Office and Scrubs) or just plain old terrible (such as Help Me Help You and The War at Home).
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Mini-DVD Reviews: JAG: The Complete Second Season (Nov. 7) and He-Man Season 2, Volume 2 (Sept. 19)
JAG - The Complete Second Season (CBS, $64.99) brings us the first 15 episodes after the series cancellation by NBC and pickup by CBS! This season introduces us to Major/Lt. Col. Sarah "Mac" McKenzie, played by Catherine Bell. The series was canceled by NBC in 1996 after one season and a 77th place finish in the ratings. CBS saw the potential in the series, and picked it up in January 1997. The show finished out 16 episodes that year, and performed strongly enough for CBS to renew it. Admittedly, this isn't my favorite season, so I can't really speak as well for some of this year's episodes. The episode Full Engagement I do like – Harm takes Mac for a flight, but has to make an emergency landing in the mountains. They surprise a band of poachers who just murdered a game warden, and now want to kill Harm and Mac. I'm also a fan of The Guardian, in which the duo defend a former Navy Seal turned homeless man accused of killing three men who tried to hold up a convenience store.
Menus are as plain as can be - Paramount/CBS's releases have almost always disappointed me when it comes to menus. Only a few sets does it look like more effort is put in. In JAG's case, there is nothing but a still image with all the options on a single page. In this instance, the top half of the front cover art (everything below the JAG logo) is the menu picture, with the menu options (at top) and Complete Second Season text (at bottom) in front of the photo on a grid. I really don't get how NCIS (a spin-off series) can have such wonderful menus while JAG's are so poor. Video quality and audio quality are good. The show is about ten years old, but looks like it was recorded yesterday (lack of HDTV aside). Run-times are in the 46:00 to 47:00, which is about right for the mid-to-late 90s. Chapter stops at the end of each scene. Special features include three commentary tracks, plus the "Setting Sail on Season 2" production feature, and an "Inside the Real JAG Corps" feature, similar to what they did on NCIS S2.
If you're a fan of the show, you've probably picked this up by now, and hopefully you're enjoying it. But with only 15 episodes, minimal features, at a season that may not necessarily be the best in the run, I can't recommend it for blind buys. ESPECIALLY at a $65 MSRP. That's absurd for a DVD set with FIFTEEN episodes. Maybe a rental.
-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(3.5/5 stars)
To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
JAG TV.com Page
He-Man - Season 2, Volume 2 (BCI, $49.98) brings the final 32 episodes from the series' second and final season. BCI has done a VERY nice job with this series. The series had two seasons, but each season had 65 episodes each. Like Thundercats, this was a first-run syndicated series and aired weekdays after school in the 80s, so every day was basically a new episode. BCI had two volumes for each season, which was a smart move. So, of the 130 episodes, we got them on just four six-disc sets...not bad at all. Plus extras were included. And now the final episodes are on DVD, meaning we have the entire series now on DVD! Comparing the He-Man and Thundercats DVDs, I think He-Man's sets were produced with more quality and the price is cheaper, too...Warner did a great job with Thundercats, but BCI did even a better job with He-Man. I wish BCI released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles too, because Lionsgate is doing a lousy job on the video quality and the series is coming out in just 12-13 episodes a set. BCI would have done at least 30 episodes a set and with great extras, oh well...back to He-Man. In these finale episodes we have lots of action and adventure and of course the morals! It was so much fun back then watching this show, and it still is on these DVDs. The menu screen has the options of Play All, Episodes, and Settings, with nice animated menus. There are two different versions of the animated menus, discs one, three and five have one version; and discs two and four have another. Nice change. Disc 6 has all extras so that is different. When we select a sub-menu we get a nice transition music or even a nice transition video. When we select Settings, we change from English to Spanish, or vice versa. When we go to Episodes, nice animation and music plays with the episode title listed, you can choose play or select chapters to get to a scene faster. If it has commentary you can turn it on or off from here, too. The director and writers of each episode are listed along with a nice long synopsis of the episode. This is the most informative episode menu I have ever seen. Nicely done! Chapters sub-menu has 4 stops with a nice little video in the box of each and interesting facts from Orko on the right...again informative! The video is on par with the other volumes and the audio is also decent. The show is older than Turtles, and it looks SO much better than those DVDs...shame on Lionsgate. The packaging is the same style as the other sets, a nice outer box with a very nice looking digipak. There are nice images on the digipak along with memorable quotes from the episodes on this set. Each disc has its own section, so no overlapping and easy to take out. A nice episode booklet comes with the set that details so much along with two collectible 4 X 6 cards by two wonderful artists. On the episode itself, each one runs around 21:30 or so. When you choose an episode it shows a black screen with the words He-Man and the announcer says He-Man! There are three audio commentary episodes on this set. On disc one we have one for "The Greatest Show on Eternia," disc four has one for "The Problem with Power" and disc five has one for "Bargain with Evil." The commentary is hosted by the producer of this DVD Andy Mangels and has commentary from crew members from the show: Lou & Erika Scheimer, Larry DiTillio, Tom Sito, Tom Tataranowicz, and Dave Teague. As for the rest of the extras, they are all on disc six. Disc six seems to have the closing theme playing in the background. All the extras are listed on the main menu. The first option is Documentary Features, there are two of them: "The Stories of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Season 2 Part 2" and this runs 34:15. The creators reveal inside secrets from episodes 99-130, which are on this set. The next documentary is "Animating He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" and this runs 36:27. See how the "Power" was created! Then the next extra is called "Character Profiles." 50 detailed profiles of various Characters, Creatures and Artifacts. When selecting one from each category, you get some text and you can play a little clip related to what you chose. Very cool. Then we have "Animated Storyboards." This is very interesting and I have never seen this done on DVD...the episode plays in Picture-in-Picture with the storyboards playing as the main video, you can switch to Episode View and the storyboards would go in the PIP while the episode goes to the main video, or you can choose Side-by-Side view and have both the same size. There are two episodes that this can be done for..."Revenge is Never Sweet" and "The Problem with Power." Then we have 5 scripts from episodes that can be accessed on your computer via DVD-ROM. They are in PDF format, so you will need Adobe Acrobat. Then we have a 1:06 trailer for The New Adventures of He-Man Season 1, Volume 1 coming soon (Dec. 26, that is). We hope to give you a mini on that in the coming weeks. Finally, we have an Image Gallery where we can see various Background Artwork and Character Design Sheets.
This is indeed a wonderful set and BCI should be very proud how they handled this series. Fans of this show have not seen the show on TV in years and the DVDs BCI produced were of high class. They are releasing spin-off She-Ra as we speak and The New Adventures of He-Man is coming in a few weeks. By the power of Grayskull I give you the power to buy this DVD by clicking on the link below! He-Man!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(5/5 stars)
To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
He-Man TV.com Page
Friday, December 15, 2006
i Network January Programming; In2TV's Christmas Episodes Channel; ABC Dumps 'Money', 'Day Break'
Remember i Network makes a lot of changes, so this is all subject to change. So, when they do make changes, we will of course let you know first. Anyway, for full details on the i Network January line-up, click HERE.
The online service In2TV, which features classic TV episodes, is going to bring us an all-new channel for the holidays! In2TV presents the 12 Days of Christmas with great cartoon specials from classic characters like Bugs Bunny, Flintstones and Yogi Bear. Movies that will warm the heart including The Gathering, Miracle in the Wilderness and A Christmas Without Snow. And it wouldn't be Christmas without your favorite In2TV sitcoms Alice, Welcome Back, Kotter and Perfect Strangers.
In2TV has created a whole channel just for the Christmas Episodes, Specials and Movies. They are broken down into sections:
Bugs Bunny, Flintstones: Features Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales, A Flintstone Christmas Carol, A Flintstone Christmas.
Smurfs, Yogu Bear, Casper & More: Features The Smurfs Christmas, 'Tis the Season to Be Smurfy, Yogi's All-Star Comedy Christmas, Yogi's First Christmas, The Town That Santa Forgot, A Christmas Without Snow, Casper's First Christmas, Christmas Comes to Pac-Land, Cabbage Patch Kids' Christmas.
Mary-Kate & Ashley: Features The Case of the Christmas Caper, Mary-Kate & Ashley's Christmas Party.
More Holiday Films: Features A Christmas Story animated, A Christmas Without Snow, Miracle in the Wilderness, Smudge, The Gathering, The Gathering Part 2, The Little Troll Prince.
Holiday Episodes of Your Favorite In2TV Shows: Features holiday episodes of:
Alice: "A Semi-Merry Christmas," "Mel's Christmas Carol," "'Tis the Season to Be Jealous"
Batman the Animated Series: "Christmas with the Joker"
Eight is Enough: "Yes Nicholas, There Is a Santa Claus" Parts 1 and 2
The F.B.I.: "Dark Christmas"
Gilligan's Island: "Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Swim"
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper: "Christmas"
Joey: "Joey and the Plot Twist"
Kirk: "The Christmas Show"
Perfect Strangers: "A Christmas Story"
Scarecrow & Mrs. King: "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag"
Scarecrow & Mrs. King: "The Long Christmas Eve"
Welcome Back, Kotter: "A Sweathog Christmas Special" and "A Winter's Coat Tail"
BREAKING NEWS: ABC has pulled Show Me the Money and Day Break from the line-up effective next Wednesday. Both shows will be replaced by holiday episode encores of George Lopez and According to Jim this Wednesday. Dec. 27 will have a George Lopez marathon before ABC's new Wednesday comedy line-up launches Jan. 3 of all-new episodes of According to Jim, Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency. That night of comedy will encore on Friday, Jan. 5, too.
Show Me the Money was scheduled to move to Tuesday starting Jan. 2, but that will not be the case anymore and ABC has temporary slotted encores of America's Funniest Home Video for Tuesdays at 8. ABC is working on bringing in Oprah Winfrey's show The Big Give by as early as February. 8 episodes have been ordered, and as of now Tuesdays at 8 looks good.
While with repeats of signature ABC shows and bad numbers for shows like Help Me Help You, Day Break and Show Me the Money, ABC has had a December not to remember. The Tuesday holiday specials and holiday movies have been a bright spot though, and ABC will do well this Sunday with the network premiere of The Santa Clause 2. It will look much better in January when the signature shows return with new episodes and especially after February when mega hits like Dancing with the Stars and Lost return from hiatus. ABC still has a great chance of winning the season in adults 18-49, despite this bump. Root for and watch the new sitcoms (and Jim and George)! We need some new sitcom hits!
For the complete last minute changes ABC made, which make us happy because we see more sitcoms, click HERE.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
TV Land January Sees 'M*A*S*H'; ABC Pulls Danson's 'Help Me Help You'; 'Golden Globes Nominees
TV Land kicks off 2007 in a "MAJOR" way when M*A*S*H -- one of the most successful shows ever seen on television -- debuts on the network with the week-long "Major Major M*A*S*H Marathon." Beginning Monday, January 1 through Sunday, January 7, viewers can ring in the new year with the gang from the 4077th as TV Land airs the following in prime time and over night (8pm-8am): all the major episodes from the series; the original major motion picture of the same name; the 20th and 30th major reunion specials and the major landmark series finale. Throughout each day, TV Land will showcase iconic M*A*S*H performers in guest appearances on other TV Land shows such as Gunsmoke, The Jeffersons, Good Times and The Andy Griffith Show, as well as M*A*S*H episodes in prime time featuring famous guest stars such as John Ritter, Laurence Fishburne and Blythe Danner.
M*A*S*H will air in its regularly scheduled time-slot of every night at 10:30 p.m. and Tuesday & Thursday-Sunday at 10 p.m. (all times ET/PT) beginning Monday, January 8.
Other TV Land schedule changes include the return of Miami Vice and Benson, both will essentially replace Happy Days and MacGyver, both of which have expired. As we mentioned, M*A*S*H will air 10 & 10:30 p.m. (when originals air at 10 p.m., it will be 10:30 p.m. & 11 p.m). The Jeffersons move on up to 11 and 11:30 p.m. In the crazy over night slots, M*A*S*H will air at 1:10am and 1:45am replacing Andy Griffith's over night slots, which slide on over to 2:20am and 2:55am, replacing The Jeffersons' over night slots. Sanford & Son is only going to be on at 3:30 a.m. now. There are no other schedule changes, but there are a few more highlights. TV Land will premiere an all-new original series airing Wednesdays at 10 p.m. starting Jan. 10 called Myths & Legends. Mikey from the Life cereal commercials overdosed on Pop Rocks and soda, causing an explosion in his belly! Paul McCartney is dead! Julia Child dropped a chicken while taping her show, picked it up and continued to dress it, saying, "Remember, you're alone in the kitchen." Did any of this really happen? Myths and Legends sets the record straight about some of the most confused and confounding moments in entertainment history. Finally, TV Land will have a special Cosby Show stunt on Saturday, January 20 from 11 p.m. to 2:10 a.m. and it will encore on Sunday, January 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. ET/PT.
For COMPLETE January details, with highlights and the list of schedule changes, I urge you to click HERE.
ABC has pulled the Ted Danson sitcom Help Me Help You from its schedule effective next week. The sitcom had decent numbers following Dancing with the Stars in October and November on Tuesdays at 9:30pm, but since that show concluded, the sitcom has seen a big drop in the ratings, with its lowest ratings yet this past Tuesday. ABC has said they will bring the show back later in the season. The show has 13 episodes produced and only four episodes remain to air. ABC will replace the show with another episode of sitcom Big Day, which will now air back-to-back new episodes in the 9 p.m. hour, so that show could end much quicker (it should end after Jan. 16 now). ABC has two more sitcoms premiering on Jan. 3 and both of them are laugh out loud funny so let's hope they can succeed because we certainly are in a sitcom drought lately, especially this season. It is sad when the under-performing The Class is the highest rated of the new bunch. So, root for and watch Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency coming Jan. 3 to ABC!
The 64th Annual Golden Globes Awards nominees have been announced! ABC leads the broadcast nominees with 11, followed by NBC with 9, Fox with 3 and CBS with just 1. The telecast airs Monday, Jan. 15 on NBC. Here are the comedy nominees:
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
ENTOURAGE (HBO)
THE OFFICE (NBC)
UGLY BETTY (ABC)
WEEDS (SHOWTIME)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
MARCIA CROSS, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
AMERICA FERRERA, UGLY BETTY (ABC)
FELICITY HUFFMAN, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE (CBS)
MARY-LOUISE PARKER, WEEDS (SHOWTIME)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
ALEC BALDWIN, 30 ROCK (NBC)
ZACH BRAFF, SCRUBS (NBC)
STEVE CARRELL, THE OFFICE (NBC)
JASON LEE, MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
TONY SHALHOUB, MONK (USA NETWORK)
For the FULL list of television nominees, which include Lost, House, and Grey's Anatomy battling for Best TV Drama, click HERE.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, October 9
Abbott Elementary - "Back to School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
The neighboring construction site of a new golf course is causing issues at Abbott, forcing the teachers to find creative solutions. An HR representative visits the school. Following their kiss, Janine and Gregory’s relationship status is revealed.
Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Cheat Codes" (Comedy Central, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Chris debates using a cheat code to win a free Nintendo.
Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Halloween" (Comedy Central, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Chris spends Halloween at a church event, hoping to hook up with Tasha.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 7)
Wednesday, October 9
- Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Watch Quinta on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She also talks about the new season of Abbott Elementary on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Rachel Sennott (Call Your Mother) - Rachel is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Eric Idle (Suddenly Susan/Nearly Departed) - Eric stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - E! News has an interview with Michael at 11pm on E!.
- Ali Wong (Big Mouth/American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) - NBC's Today catches up with Ali in the 10am hour.
- Rita Wilson (Girls) - Rita stops by to talk about her new album on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Goldie Hawn (Good Morning World) - Goldie appears on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
- Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Sheryl Lee talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. She chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh talks about his new children's book PictureFace Lizzy and fatherhood on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jessica St. Clair (Avenue 5/Playing House/Best Friends Forever/In the Motherhood) - Jessica is sharing her breast cancer experience with Drew and Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz is talking about breast cancer diagnoses on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Abigail Spencer (Extended Family/Burning Love) - Abigail discusses her television series Shatter Belt on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Kim Matula (LA to Vegas) - Kim is a guest on PIX 11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:39am.
- Lea Thompson (Caroline in the City) - Lea appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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