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
Peter Boyle - He is best remembered probably for his role as Ray Romano's father on the massive hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond that ran from 1996-2005. Most probably didn't know he had health problems over the years. In 1990, Boyle had a stroke and couldn't talk for six months. In 1999, he had a heart attack on the Raymond set. He soon regained his health, however, and returned to the series. Boyle was still working quite actively and just last month he co-starred in the holiday movie series The Santa Clause 3 starring Tim Allen (he has also appeared on the first two installments). Boyle also still a movie or two yet to be released. He was set to start filming on a new movie this February called Chatham. Mr. Boyle has starred or co-starred in many movies and has appeared on many TV series as a guest such as The King of Queens & Cosby (portraying his role from Raymond), The Single Guy, Lois & Clark, The X-Files, NYPD Blue, Flying Blind, Midnight Caller, Cagney & Lacey and Tripping the Rift. He was a regular on two very short lived shows called Philly Heat and Joe Bash. He also had an infamous failed pilot called Poochinski, where Boyle starred as a hard boiled cop who was killed in the line of duty and his soul goes into the body of a dog he had befriended. He even hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1976, but it was Everybody Loves Raymond for who people will remember him for. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy series for 7 straight years (1999-2005). He never won an Emmy for the show but he did win an Emmy in 1996 for his guest spot on The X-Files and was also nominated in 1989 for his guest spot on Midnight Caller and his first nomination was in 1977 for the TV-movie Tail Gunner Joe. Mr. Boyle passed away on December 12, 2006, at the age of 71, at New York Presbyterian Hospital after suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease.
Ruth Brown - She was known mainly for her singing, but she also was on sitcoms. She established Atlantic Records in the 50s and 60s, with lots of hit songs. In all, Brown charted 24 singles, only three of which failed to reach the R&B top 10. After her split with Atlantic in the early '60s, Brown's fortunes waned; for a time, she worked as a domestic. Under the aegis of comic Redd Foxx, she began a comeback in the late '70s, appearing on such TV sitcoms as Hello, Larry and The Jeffersons. She also was a regular on the short-lived Jeffersons spin-off Checking In. Ms. Brown died at age 78 on November 17, 2006, from complications following a heart attack and stroke she suffered after surgery in October 2006.
Harvey Bullock - He was a television and film writer and producer. His work included episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Hogan's Heroes, Love, American Style, My World and Welcome to It, Alice and The Love Boat. Mr. Bullock passed away on April 24, 2006, due to an age-related illness at age 84.
Red Buttons - He was an Academy Award-winning actor and comedian. In 1952, Buttons received his own variety series on television - The Red Buttons Show - which ran for three years, and achieved high levels of success. His many memorable TV appearances include Cosby, Roseanne, The Cosby Show, 227, The Love Boat and Love, American Style. Mr. Buttons died of vascular disease on July 13, 2006, at his home in the Century City area of Los Angeles. He was 87 years old.
Jean Byron - Byron had more than 80 credits in film and television over a long career, but was likely best remembered for her role as the mother, Natalie Lane, on The Patty Duke Show. She appeared on many TV series as a guest over the years including The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Dobie Gillis, Batman, Maude, and Mannix. Byron's final acting appearance was the "Patty Duke Show Reunion" movie in 1999. Ms. Byron passed away on February 3, 2006, of an infection following hip surgery at the age of 80.
Pat Corley -He was best known as Phil the barkeep on Murphy Brown. 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 had a recurring role on Hill Street Blues as Chief Coroner Wally Nydorf. Mr. Corley died on September 11, 2006, of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California at the age of 76.
Franklin Cover - Cover was best known for his role as Tom Willis, who was in an interracial marriage with a black woman, in The Jeffersons. Cover guest starred on many TV series over the years including The Jackie Gleason Show, The Love Boat, 227, Who's the Boss?, Living Single, Coach, Mad About You and Will & Grace. Mr. Cover died on February 5, 2006, of pneumonia at the age of 77 at the Lillian Booth Actor's Fund of America home in Englewood, New Jersey. He had been living at the home since December 2005 while recuperating from a heart condition.
Robert Donner - He made more than 100 TV and film appearances over a 40-year career. He had recurring roles as Exidor on the Robin Williams ABC sitcom Mork and Mindy and Yancy Tucker on the CBS drama The Waltons. He appeared on dozens of series as a guest, including Bonanza, Columbo, Big Valley, The Incredible Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man, Murder, She Wrote, Fame, MacGyver, Married...with Children, Hearts Afire, Dharma & Greg and Matlock. His most recent sitcom appearance was on the CBS series, Center of the Universe, starring John Goodman. Mr. Donner away passed away on June 8, 2006, of a heart attack at the age of 75 in Sherman Oaks, California.
Mike Evans - He was best known for his role as Lionel Jefferson on All in the Family and The Jeffersons. Evans is also famous for co-creating and writing the popular sitcom Good Times with Eric Monte. He has not acted in anything really since The Jeffersons, which he left for and was replaced by Damon Evans (no relation) for a few years and then he came back to. In the '70s he guest starred on series such as Love American Style, The Streets of San Francisco and the short-lived sitcom The Practice. His last credit (and his first credit since The Jeffersons ended) listed was for a Walker Texas Ranger episode in 2000...but was that him really or not? In recent years he had invested in real estate in Southern California. Mr. Evans died of throat cancer at his mother's home in Twentynine Palms, California on December 14, 2006. He was only 57.
Paul Gleason - He is best remembered as Principal Richard Vernon in The Breakfast Club. During his career - which spanned five decades, Gleason starred in blockbuster movies such as Die Hard, Trading Places and National Lampoon's Van Wilder. He also appeared in various TV shows as a guest such as the sitcoms Friends, Malcolm in the Middle, Seinfeld, Cursed, Veronica's Closet, Grace Under Fire, NewsRadio, Boy Meets World, The Wonder Years and George Lopez; and TV dramas such as Dawson's Creek, Life Goes On, Cold Case, LA Law, The A-Team and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Mr. Gleason passed away on May 27, 2006, at the age of 67 at a Burbank, California hospital from mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer connected with asbestos.
Barnard Hughes - He was best known for his roles on Doc (70s version), Blossom, The Cavanaughs, and the short-lived sitcom Mr. Merlin. He received an Emmy Award in 1978 for a guest appearance on Lou Grant, and began appearing on television in the 1950s in shows such as Kraft Television Theatre and The U.S. Steel Hour. He appeared on other series as a guest such as All in the Family, Hawaii Five-0, The Bob Newhart Show, The Love Boat, Hotel and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. He later had stints on the soap operas The Guiding Light, The Secret Storm and As the World Turns. He had a Broadway career dating back to 1935 and has won Tony Awards. Mr. Hughes died on July 11, 2006, after a brief illness. He was 90.
Bruno Kirby - He was best remembered for his movie roles in City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally, and The Godfather: Part II, but he was also on TV. He guest starred on sitcoms such as The Super, M*A*S*H, Room 222, Detective School, Frasier, Mad About You and It's Garry Shandling's Show. He was last seen this past season on an episode of HBO's Entourage. Mr. Kirby passed away on August 14, 2006, at age 57 in Los Angeles from complications related to leukemia.
Don Knotts - Don Knotts of course was a big time TV star who co-starred with Andy Griffith as Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show (a role which earned him five Emmy Awards) in the '60s and joined the cast of the John Ritter sitcom Three's Company in the 1979-80 season as Mr. Furley. Both Fife and Furley were memorable characters. Both different yet so similar in style. He has made tons of memorable movies, too, such as The Incredible Mr. Limpett and The Ghost & Mr. Chicken. He also appeared on other shows as a guest star, such as Dobie Gillis, Joey Bishop, Mayberry RFD, Here's Lucy, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, She's the Sheriff, Step by Step, Newhart, with John Ritter again on the 'Three's Company' episode of 8 Simple Rules, last season on Las Vegas, and he had a recurring role on Andy Griffith's other series Matlock. He also was the host of his own show in 1970 titled The Don Knotts Show. Mr. Knotts passed away on February 24, 2006, of pulmonary and respiratory complications related to lung cancer at the age of 81.
Al Lewis - He is most remembered playing Grandpa Munster on the hit 1960s sitcom The Munsters. He also co-starred on the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You?. He made guest appearances on TV series such as The Phil Silvers Show, Gomer Pyle, Green Acres, Love American Style, Here's Lucy and Taxi. He played Grandpa Munster in many reunion movies of The Munsters and also played Grandpa Munster on the ABC/Nick at Nite sitcom Hi Honey, I'm Home in 1991. Mr. Lewis died on February 3, 2006, of natural causes at the age of 82 in New York City.
Mako (Makoto Iwamatsu) - He was a pioneering Japanese-American actor. He appeared on M*A*S*H, playing multiple roles such as a Chinese doctor, North Korean soldier, and South Korean Major. Some of his other sitcom appearances included Lost at Home, Platypus Man, Frasier, The Facts of Life, Love, American Style, F Troop, Gidget, I Dream of Jeannie and McHale's Navy. Mako died on July 21, 2006, at the age of 72 after a long battle with esophageal cancer.
Darren McGavin - He was something of a patron saint for rumpled old reporters in his role as Kolchak on the original ABC show, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. McGavin also was known for his role as the father in the holiday movie classic, A Christmas Story. He was the title role in the TV series Mike Hammer. He was also the father of Candice Bergen's Murphy Brown, which earned him an Emmy nomination for a guest appearance. McGavin even had his own sitcom, a short lived 1983 sitcom that lasted six episodes for CBS called Small & Frye. He made the rounds on various TV series such as Grace Under Fire, The Commish, The Love Boat, Love American Style, and Mannix. Mr. McGavin died on February 25, 2006, of natural causes at the age of 83.
Moose - He was Kelsey Grammer's Jack Russell terrier sidekick, known as Eddie on the long-running show, Frasier. Moose played Eddie for 10 years on the former NBC must-see TV staple and was known for his ability to steal scenes from his human costars. His resume includes: My Dog Skip, as an older version of Skip (who was played by his son, Enzo), gracing the covers of Life, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly, and penning his autobiography, My Life As a Dog, with a little help from TV writer Brian Hargrove (Wanda At Large, Titus). In 2003, Animal Planet ranked Eddie the Dog fifth in its 50 Greatest TV Animals special, behind only Lassie, Kermit the Frog, Flipper and Mister Ed. Moose passed away on June 22, 2006, at the ripe old age of 15 and a half.
Kasey Rogers - She was best known probably for her role as Louise Tate on the hit sitcom Bewitched. She was a series regular on Peyton Place. She has guest starred on series such as Perry Mason, Marcus Welby, Maverick, Hawaiian Eye, Adam-12, Wyatt Earp and Cheyenne. She had basically stoped acting in recent years, but she did interviews for The E! True Hollywood Story: Bewitched and TV Land Confidential. Ms. Rogers died from complications from a stroke on July 6, 2006, at the age of 79.
Herbert Rudley - He hadn't acted since the early '80s, but he had a massive list of credits from the '40s to the '80s. His sitcom credits include The Mothers-in-Law, My Living Doll, The Beverly Hillbillies, Leave it to Beaver, My Favorite Martian, Green Acres, The Munsters, I Dream of Jeannie and House Calls. Mr. Rudley passed away on September 9, 2006, of a heart attack in Los Angeles. He was 95.
Pablo Santos - He was best known for his role on the WB short-lived sitcom Greetings from Tucson. In his short-lived career he had guest starred on TV series such as Alias, Law & Order: SVU, Boston Public and The Shield. He died at age 19 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. Officials are still investigating the cause of the crash, but suspect the plane crashed because it was overloaded.
Aaron Spelling - He produced over 200 movies and TV shows. He brought us The Love Boat and many other hit shows. He also appeared in a 1955 episode of I Love Lucy. In 1986, he produced Life with Lucy - starring Lucille Ball. Mr. Spelling passed away on June 23, 2006, from complications of a stroke at the age of 83. See our Remembering Aaron Spelling entry for many more details on the life of the world's most prolific television producer.
Richard Stahl - He was an actor whose more than 40-year career stretched from New York theater to film and television comedies such as Laverne & Shirley. Stahl guest starred on many sitcoms such as Empty Nest, Living Single, Married...with Children, Hudson Street, The Golden Girls, Good Grief, Night Court, Newhart, Who's the Boss?, Family Ties, The Facts of Life, Barney Miller, Love Sidney, Benson, What's Happening!!, House Calls, The Bob Newhart Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, Happy Days, On the Rocks, Maude, That's My Mama, Good Times, Archie Bunker's Place, The Tom Show, The Partridge Family, Harry and the Hendersons, All in the Family, That Girl, Love American Style and Soap. He also was a series regular on the '80s sitcom It's a Living and short-lived sitcoms Turnabout starring Sharon Gless and Struck by Lightning. And had recurring roles on The Odd Couple and Laverne & Shirley. Mr. Stahl passed away on June 18, 2006, at the age of 74 after a 10-year battle with Parkinson's disease.
Robert Sterling - He was best known for the 1953-1956 TV series Topper, based on the Thorne Smith novel, and the 1937 film starring Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. He appeared with his wife Anne Jeffreys in the television series. Sterling and Jeffreys played George and Marion Kirby, a fun-loving couple killed in an accident but returned as ghosts to haunt the new occupant of their home, a banker named Cosmo Topper. Sterling appeared as a guest star in series such as Love American Style, Nanny & the Professor, Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Murder She Wrote, Hotel, Simon & Simon and Fantasy Island. Mr. Sterling died on May 30, 2006, of natural causes at the age of 88 at his home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles.
Amzie Strickland - She was best known for her guest starring roles on classic TV shows, but she also had a recurring role on short-lived shows such as Carter Country and Full Circle. Among her many guest roles include a few characters on The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave it to Beaver, I Love Lucy, My Favorite Martian, The Donna Reed Show, Gomer Pyle, F Troop, Petticoat Junction, The Doris Day Show, Happy Days, The Bob Newhart Show, Flo, Three's Company, The Golden Girls, ALF, Murphy Brown, Empty Nest, Full House, Sister Sister, Roseanne, Ned & Stacey, Wings, Ellen and many many more! Ms. Strickland suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had not acted in 5 years. She passed away on July 5, 2006, at the age of 87.
Jack Warden - He was nominated for a few Oscars for a few films and won an Emmy Award for the TV-Movie Brian's Song in 1971. He started his career way back in the early '50s. He moved to NY after serving in the Army and Navy during World War II. His first major break however was in 1952 when got the role of the Coach in the sitcom Mr. Peepers. He had quite a handful of films in the '50s, too. He was in another short-lived sitcom in 1955 called Norby. He did a lot of guest spots in the '50s and '60s, too, such as Bewitched, Route 66, 77 Sunset Strip, Bonanza. He also starred in the ABC drama N.Y.P.D, which lasted from 1967-69. The '70s he became a star of film and TV movies, notching Oscar nominations and an Emmy award. Later in the decade he starred in the TV comedy The Bad News Bears for CBS, but just lasted one season, 1979-80. Also, that year he tried to revive the classic sitcom Topper, but it didn't make it on-air. The '80s saw more films and TV movies, and also two TV series--a funny crime drama Crazy Like a Fox from 1984-86 (which got him two more Emmy nominations) and the sitcom Knight & Dave in 1989. In the '90s he starred in more TV-movies and films, including the popular Problem Child movies starring John Ritter, playing Big Ben Healy. Some of his last films include Bullworth, Dirty Work, and The Replacements in 2000. Mr. Warden passed away on July 19, 2006, of heart and kidney failure. He was 85.
Shelley Winters - She was a two-time Academy Award-winning actress for The Diary of Anne Frank and A Patch of Blue. In her later years, she played the recurring role of Nana Mary on Roseanne from 1991-1996. Her other sitcom appearances included The Love Boat, Chico and the Man and Here's Lucy. Ms. Winters passed away on January 14, 2006, of heart failure at the age of 85.
Jane Wyatt - Jane Wyatt, the actress who for six years on Father Knows Best (starring Robert Young) was one of TV's favorite moms. . She was best known for her role on the family sitcom as Robert Young's TV wife, Margaret Anderson that brought the actress her lasting fame. She appeared in 207 half-hour episodes from 1954 to 1960 and won three Emmys as best actress in a dramatic series in the years 1958 to 1960. The show began as a radio sitcom in 1949; it moved to television in 1954. After its run ended, it continued in reruns on CBS and ABC for three years in primetime, a TV rarity. The show came to an end because Young, who had also played the father in the radio version, had enough. Wyatt remarked in 1965 that she was tired, too. Besides this show, she did mostly movies, but she did have some other TV works (mainly one-hour dramas) such as Star Trek, Love, American Style, Here Come the Brides, Marcus Welby, Owen Marshall, Alias Smith & Jones, The Virginian, Medical Center, Quincy, St. Elsewhere, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Hotel, and even Happy Days. Ms. Wyatt died in her sleep of natural causes on October 20, 2006, at the age of 96.
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:
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Related links:
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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:
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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.
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, November 21
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "The 6:10 to Lubbock" (CBS, 10:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie and Mandy get fed up staying with her parents and reconsider their living situation after a fight with Mandy’s mom, Audrey.
Ghosts - "Man of Your Dreams" (CBS, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam learns that one of the ghosts’ powers is to enter the dreams of the livings and influence their decisions. Also, two of the ghosts think they’ve learned the secret to moving on.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)
Thursday, November 21
- Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Catch Jim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela), Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This/GLOW) and Timothy Simons (HouseBroken/Veep) - Justine, Jackie and Timothy are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Kristin Chenoweth (Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
- Maura Tierney (NewsRadio/The Van Dyke Show) - Maura is in the studio to discuss the neww season of Law and Order on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Paul Reiser (Mad About You/Red Oaks/Married/My Two Dads) - Paul is telling Drew about his huge return to comedy after thirty years with his standup special, Life, Death and Rice Pudding, and his new movie The Gutter on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- John O'Hurley (Seinfeld/Over the Top/The Mullets) - John will be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
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 UHD)
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)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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