SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

New Chapter For 'Knights of Prosperity' Starts Tonight; Bob Barker Come On Down to a Sitcom!; Pastore Out of 'Stars'

If you haven't seen any episodes of the hilarious new sitcom The Knights of Prosperity shame on you, but you have a chance to jump-in tonight and you won't get lost. A new chapter begins tonight as the task of robbing Mick Jagger came to a conclusion last week, they are now scheming a new plan. There will be tons of celebrities appearing tonight such as Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa and Ray Romano. They will make their plans to rob one of them. Who will it be? Watch tonight and every Wednesday after the hilarious George Lopez at 8:30/7:30 central only on ABC! Head on over to ComplainInVain and they will sum the show up quite well.


Also, According to Jim and In Case of Emergency return tonight after three weeks off. Emergency will return with a bang with steamy scenes with guest star Jane Seymour (pictured above). The fun begins right after The Knights of Prosperity at 9/8 central with According to Jim then Emergency.

Bob Barker, come on down! You're the next guest star on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The legendary game-show host, who's leaving The Price is Right in June, has signed on to guest in an episode of the CBS Monday sitcom, Variety reports. He'll play himself, of course.
Taping Barker's bit is set to take place next week on Price is Right's CBS Television City set. Barker's storyline has him interacting with Barney, played by former Doogie Howser star Neil Patrick Thomas. No airdate has been set yet.

Vincent Pastore, sixty years of age, has withdrawn from the Dancing with the Stars competition after one week of training. Pastore came to the decision that the physical demands of a ten-week season would be too difficult for him to undertake. No replacement has been named yet. The show debuts its fourth cycle on March 19 on ABC.

Hallmark Channel's New Slogan; NBC Renews Las Vegas For Next Season, Adds News Shows to NBC.com

On Thursday, Hallmark Channel will introduce a new on-air look and campaign with the new tagline, Make Yourself at Home, reinforcing the networks reputation as a destination for quality, family-friendly programming where viewers can get comfortable and tune-in for great stories.
The new on-air campaign will be seen in every daypart and will include new music, new graphics, new colors, and, of note, creative and engaging uses of the letter H that capture happy, humorous and touching moments of family life, at home both in celebration and in everyday activities.
This marks the first time since its launch in 2001 that the channel has done an extensive revamping of its on-air image and its consumer website, www.hallmarkchannel.com. Elements including design, editing, production, graphics and even new music were created and produced by the networks in-house Creative Services Department in coordination with Spark Inc.
Let's hope they can get some new shows in there now. Maybe some sitcoms?

NBC has renewed its veteran drama series Las Vegas (which currently airs Fridays, 9-10 p.m. ET) for a fifth season through 2007-08. This marks the fifth NBC series that has gotten an early renewal for next season, joining My Name is Earl, The Office, Law & Order: SVU, and new drama Heroes.
Meanwhile, NBC.com today announced plans to stream NBC's new upcoming mid-season primetime series -- The Black Donnellys, Andy Barker, P.I. and Raines, if you miss them on TV. In addition, in an innovative promotion, NBC.com will be streaming all produced episodes of Andy Barker as well as the Raines pilot before their broadcast dates. Andy Barker, P.I. starring Andy Richter, will debut on Thursday, March 15 from 9:30-10 p.m. ET. Raines will debut on Thursday, March 15 from 10-11 p.m. ET followed by a second episode on March 22 before the series settles in its regular day and time on Friday, March 30 from 9-10 p.m. ET.
The site also will have bonus episodes of The Black Donnellys and Andy Barker which will be Web-exclusives. The primetime drama series Medium and the game show Identity will also begin streaming in March.
Additionally, this spring, NBC.com will offer viewers a chance to catch up on the full season of both Heroes and Friday Night Lights by streaming all episodes, beginning with the pilots of each program.
With the addition of these new shows (The Black Donnellys, Andy Barker, Raines, Identity, Medium), NBC.com will offer full episode streaming of 13 primetime and daytime series.

ION Television March Highlights; Improv Comedy Series Coming to NBC in April

ION Television finally released the rest of March's schedule. We previously just had March 1-11, so we thought maybe they would be changing or expanding the line-up starting March 12. That isn't the case though. The schedule will remain the same as it is now. ION Life has been added to Mondays at 10PM, but that was added late this month. Charlie's Angels will continue to air Tuesdays-Fridays at 10. But for the week of March 26-30, a special Kung Fu week is slated for the slot. There are no other specials and stunts, as of now. ION Weekend Movies include Mad Max and Superman III. Hopefully the hours expand and we get some of those shows (like Perfect Strangers, Wonder Years!) from their poll rolling in soon. We will be the first to let you know, of course. For now, click here to view the March highlights.

NBC's new improv comedy challenge series Thank God You're Here hosted by David Alan Grier (In Living Color, Life with Bonnie) alongside presiding improv judge Dave Foley (NewsRadio) -- will premiere on Monday, April 9 from 9-10 p.m. ET and Monday, April 16 from 9-10 p.m. ET, both preceded by game-show hit Deal or No Deal from 8-9 p.m. ET. The series will then resume in its regular day and time on Wednesdays at 8 starting Wednesday, April 18 from 8-9 p.m. ET.
The show showcases the improvisational skills of a group of four different brave actors each week as they walk into the high-wire act known as improv each one entering into a live sketch without a net or script -- their only armor and motivation is an unforeseen and unexplained wardrobe change.
The only thing the celebrity can count on when walking into the scenario is a desperate greeting from a fellow actor in the skit, proclaiming upon their arrival, Thank God You're Here! This is the only show on television that gives the performers costumes, sets and props but no script! Taped in front of a live audience, the series' pilot episode features Jennifer Coolidge, Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle), Joel McHale and Wayne Knight (Seinfeld).
Other guest stars trying their hand at improv in subsequent episodes include Fred Willard, Tom Arnold (Roseanne), Fran Drescher (The Nanny), Tom Green, Chelsea Handler, George Takei, Shannon Elizabeth, Paul Rodriguez, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Mo'Nique, Angela Kinsey (NBC's The Office) and Alanis Morrisette. Former Seinfeld star Jason Alexander also joins the fun as well as former Saturday Night Live star Ana Gasteyer as they both return to NBC.

Week 23 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

Week 23 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: Fox: 12.5/18.8; CBS: 8.6/13.4; ABC: 6.4/10.0; NBC: 6.0/9.3; The CW: 1.8/2.7.
Total Viewers: Fox: 21.7 million; CBS: 13.64 million; ABC: 9.96 million; NBC: 9.14 million; The CW: 2.73 million.
Adults 18-49: Fox: 8.6/21.3; CBS: 4.0/10.2; ABC: 3.9/9.9; NBC: 3.2/8.2; The CW: 1.2/2.9.

Analysis: The 23rd week saw Fox leading the pack with three airings of that Hurricane American Idol. Aren't we lucky to get three airings this week? CBS is in a solid second place in HH, viewers and 18-49, and I doubt they will overtake Fox in HH and viewers for the week like they did last week. ABC will likely catch CBS after the Oscars tonight in HH and total viewers, and of course in 18-49. Fox will prevail in 18-49, with ABC taking. NBC will be 4th place in all categories. As usual, Friday and Saturday numbers are not above, since final numbers are not available yet. ABC will do very well tonight with the Oscars...expect over 40 million. On Monday all four of the top four networks had something to tout about, but CBS still remained supreme. CBS's CSI: Miami was on fire and did 19.23 million at 10pm (down slightly from last week), and NBC's Heroes did very well in 18-49 rating at 9pm with a 6.0 rating, but it seems to be going down some each week. Deal or No Deal started the night off well though with 17.62 million for NBC, up from last week. CBS sitcoms did not do as well as it has been doing in the 8pm hour doing 8.95 and 8.68 million. Two and a Half Men rose from those numbers and did 16.56 million (up some from last week), with episode two of Rules of Engagement following and holding on well with 13.86 million. Even more impressive was matching last week's 18-49 rating at a 4.9 rating! Fox was on the map with 24 doing 13.05 million, following the cult hit Prison Break's 9.55 million. ABC saw decent numbers for all-new episodes of Wife Swap & Supernanny doing 9.01 and 8.94 million. The 18-49 rating for both was also decent. The CW's comedies are still under performing on this night.
Tuesday was Fox's night. American Idol did 29.53 million for two hours and that was more than enough to win the night. CBS was second with NCIS, The Unit from 8-10 doing well, and a repeat of CSI: Miami aired at 10. NBC got decent numbers from both Law & Order spin-offs doing 9.39 and 11.94 million from 9-11pm, with Dateline kicking the night off with a so-so 5.81 million. ABC saw a AFV repeat open up OK with 5.54 million, but then Primetime: The Outsiders was way off last week's 8.64 million and did just 5.02 million. A new episode of Boston Legal did 9.43 million, should be a bit better than that. The CW aired Gilmore Girls (4.05 million) and Veronica Mars (2.27 million). The latter didn't hold on to the lead-in well yet again.
Wednesday again Fox got the boost from its one show wonder American Idol, doing 30.46 million. And again it was two-hours like Tuesday was. CBS was second for the night but started off slow with the return of Jericho doing just 8.3 million...not good news. Criminal Minds and CSI: NY followed and did good (but not dominant) with 13.7 and 13.67 million. NBC saw Friday Night Lights go down from last week's 7.43 million to just 5.16 million, Deal or No Deal followed with 7.94 million, also down big from last week. Medium followed with 7.84 million, down from previous week. ABC's comedy block opened up with George Lopez doing 5.83 and The Knights of Prosperity did 4.12 million--a series low. Thank American Idol for that. ABC then followed with an encore of Lost not doing great with 5.27 million and an all-new Lost did better than last week with 12.95 million, though it did win the hour in 18-49. Lost should move back to 9pm next month...it can do better there even if Idol is there. The CW aired Beauty & the Geek doing just 2.99 million this week but One Tree Hill was but from last week's 2.25 million to 2.89 million.
On Thursday we saw ABC and CBS dominate with all-new episodes, and Fox brought you know who in the mix. Fox opened the night on top with American Idol doing 24.44 million...lower than it usually does on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. CBS's Survivor Fiji dipped from last week's 16.08 million to 13.47 million. ABC aired a repeat of last week's Grey's Anatomy doing 9.72 million followed by the conclusion of the three-part episode of Grey's Anatomy doing a dominant 16.9/25 rating (27.39 million), Oprah Winfrey's Oscar Special followed with a first place finish of 15.45 million...so Clooney who was a part of the special beat his old show ER. CBS's CSI did a 13.0/19 rating (21.78 million) and Shark followed with 14.19 million. NBC aired all-new episodes of comedies from 8-10pm and did decent for the first hour, but saw bleeding from Scrubs and 30 Rock. ER was new and did just 10.0 million, 30 Rock is not helping it, as it did only 4.61 million before it. And Fox saw pathetic numbers for the series finale of The O.C. doing just 6.59 million, out of the 24.44 million lead-in.
Friday (numbers not counted in our ratings), saw CBS win each hour. CBS's NUMB3RS was #1 at 10 p.m. and for the night. NBC was second in each hour, with its line-up of 1 vs. 100, Las Vegas and Law & Order. ABC re-aired the thrilling Thursday's Grey's Anatomy and did OK but 20/20 built on that and did a bit better. And The CW and Fox battled for last place, but Fox did better. Saturday ratings are not available yet, but it seems ABC's Forrest Gump airing might have done well. I love that movie! As for tonight, ABC will win BIG thanks to the Oscars. As for this week in general, I expect Fox to win the demo and in total viewers most likely, unless the Oscars do record numbers, then ABC will win. This coming week will be interesting as February sweeps comes to an end on Wednesday. ABC has two specials that will likely draw well (Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy on Monday and Bob Woodruff To Iraq and Back). Fox will battle with CBS for the final three nights I think and it will be close on who wins for the entire sweep period among those two.

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Feb. 5-11)

• Reba (The CW) 2 episodes - The series finale did good but it should have done more than what it did. 3.4 million watched the first part and 4.44 for the final part.
  
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - 8.74 million for a new episode at 8, repeat at 7:30 did 6.51 million. The new episode should do a bit better, bit it was up from last week.
  
• King of the Hill (Fox) - 7.19 tuned in for a new episode--down more than a million from lead-in.
• Family Guy (Fox) - 8.53 million for a new episode...up from last week, but still not as well as Fox would like.
  
• American Dad (Fox) - Just 7.06 million. All the Fox lineup was under a 4.0 18-49 rating last week, this week two of the four were above that, and you know which ones...
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 8.95 million...decent, but down from last week's 9.68 million...a downward trend since the Super Bowl themed airing.
  
• The Class (CBS) - 8.68 million. Same as above. But at least the retention from the lead-in was great this week.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 16.56 million for a new episode...very good like usual, up over 1 million from last week.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 13.86 million..pretty good retention from lead-in, but even more impressive was the 4.9 18-49 rating, which was the same as last week's number.
  
• CW Monday Comedies: Chris, All of Us, Girfriends, The Game. New episode of Chris started it off with 2.97 million, the highest of the block and up from last week. The rest ranged 2.24 to 2.52 million. Down from last week. Consistent, but needs to be doing 3 to 3.5 million.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) - 5.83 million...down from last week as Idol hurt it.
  
• The Knights of Prosperity (ABC) - 4.12 million only this week...thank Idol. The gang entered Jagger's apartment, too. Tune in this week as they get a new target.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 8.71 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating...both disappointing, while down from last week, not down much against Idol.
  
• The Office (NBC) - The same goes for this show. 8.25 million, but a decent 4.2 18-49 rating.
  
• Scrubs (NBC) - Just 5.66 million. NBC might not bring tis back maybe.
  
• 30 Rock (NBC) - This show is killing ER, just 4.61 million this week.
  

Friday Sitcoms
None.

Saturday Sitcoms
None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are repeat episodes of Fox comedies and Reba on The CW.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, My Name is Earl and Rules of Engagement were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Class) or just plain old terrible (such as Knights of Prosperity and 30 Rock).

Mini-DVD Review: The Best of The Flip Wilson Show (Feb. 27)

Welcome to another edition of mini-DVD reviews! Today we take a look at Rhino's The Best of The Flip Wilson Show. The Flip Wilson Show of course was the popular '70s variety show that was both funny and entertaining. There were tons of guests and music, but the comedy was the main draw. See skees53's mini-DVD review of The Best of The Flip Wilson Show:

The Best of The Flip Wilson Show (Rhino, $49.98) contains 6 full episodes of Flip Wilson's variety show from the 1970s along with plenty of bonus features to go along with it. These aren't those lame 22 minute excuses of an episode that you'll see running on TV Land every once in a while, but instead the whole 50 minute episodes as they originally aired (though one runs at 44 minutes, leading me to think this one COULD be a syndicated version, but I have nothing to support that claim), complete with all of the skits and the music in every episode as originally intended. On Disc 1, we get to see a 1972 episode with George Carlin reciting his "Hair Poem" (don't worry, there is much more excitement than this in the episode) and another 1972 episode featuring legendary musician Johnny Cash as well as June Carter Cash. On Disc 2, we have a 1973 episode featuring Ray Charles (he actually performs on the episode as shown on DVD!) and Phyllis Diller (the episode even has an introduction by Diller, who looks much better these days than she did back in the 1970s!) as well as a 1973 episode featuring Redd Foxx, Helen Reddy, and Joan Rivers. Finally, on Disc 3, we have a 1973 episode featuring Richard Pryor and Tim Conway (with an episode introduction by Tim Conway), as well as a 1974 episode with Tony Randall and Lena Horne.
One of the best parts of the set is the special features, and there are plenty of them to go around. on Disc 1, you'll find an interview with Bob Henry, producer of the show, as well as a very weird cartoon special, "Clerow Wilson and the Miracle of P.S. 14." On Disc 2, you'll find another of the animated special featuring Flip's Clerow Wilson character, "Clerow Wilson's Great Escape" as well as a Photo Gallery that has many snapshots from episodes, including one of Geraldine with Muhammad Ali (that would have been a good episode to include on this set but I guess just because the "greatest" is in the episode doesn't make the episode the greatest). Disc 3 has a bonus feature that sounds promising but is really a letdown--a special feature called "Flip Wilson: Portrait of an Artist." This isn't much more than just an all text biography that you have to read yourself. Oh well. To be honest, the price is a bit steep for just six episodes, but considering the quality of the episodes and the special features, you may be pick this one up... the devil will make you do it.
-- Reviewed by skees53
(4.5/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
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Get 'Three's Company' Spin-Offs on TV Land; DVD News; Nick at Nite Schedule Change; ABC & Fox Schedule News, Includes Return of Sitcom 'The Loop'

I have moved my Three's Company website Jack's Bistro to right here at Sitcoms Online if you didn't know yet. So update your favorites to this new URL: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/jacksbistro
Anyway, you can make a difference in getting The Ropers and Three's a Crowd on TV Land! This is very imperative...if you want both The Ropers and Three's a Crowd on TV Land, please call 1-212-846-2550 and press 1. Then, please leave a message saying that you thank TV Land for airing Three's Company, but you'd like to see all the episodes of The Ropers and Three's a Crowd also on TV Land, even if it is on the weekends only. This is very important, because they DO have the rights to air both series. Let your voice be heard, use those cellphones! Call today...I'm serious! I have more news on Three's Company at Jack's Bistro in the news section, including something from DLT Entertainment regarding the spin-offs on DVD. Go head over there!

Well, I'll spill some of that news here, too regarding Three's Company. Remember that Capturing the Laughter: Jack's Favorites DVD set that Anchor Bay released a few weeks ago? Well, they were also supposed to release a Janet's Episodes set on that day but they delayed it. It was supposed to be a Best Buy exclusive. Now we have a new update! It will street on May 1 and it will be nationwide...not just Best Buy! No details yet on the episodes and if any extras are on it, but check back to Jack's Bistro soon.
In other DVD news, a few weeks back we mentioned The Cosby Show Seasons 3 AND 4 will be released in June by First Look Studios. Now we have a date. Both will be out June 5. That is not official, but very likely it is June 5. Can't wait for more Huxtable family fun!

Nick at Nite has made more changes. This time starting Monday, Feb. 26. Sun-Thurs, except Tuesday at 9:00PM Full House replaces Growing Pains and Fri-Sat at 10:00PM Full House replaces Growing Pains. So, Growing Pains will now just air Sun-Thurs, but Tuesday at 9:30pm and Fri-Sat at 10:30pm. No late night airings.
The schedule effect. Feb. 26 is now Full House/Growing Pains to start each night (Sun-Thurs 9-10pm and Fri-Sat 10-11pm). Nick at Nite movie airs Tuesdays 9-11pm. Roseanne airs 10-11pm Sun-Thurs, but Tues. Fresh Prince is 11p-12a every night and The Cosby Show is 12-1am every night. And now marathons are 1-5:30am every night. Mon: Roseanne, Tues: Cosby Show, Wed: Fresh Prince, Thurs: Roseanne, Fri: Cosby Show, Sat: Fresh Prince, Sun: Roseanne.
And Full House airs 5:30am every day. Will we see more changes? Probably. This is just getting annoying.

ABC has announced one of its spring premieres and a return of another show. New drama series October Road will premiere Thursday, March 15 from 10:00-11:00 p.m., ET. Current timeslot occupant, Men In Trees will return in this timeslot in six weeks following an initial run of the new series.
In addition, rookie drama Six Degrees will return with seven original episodes in a new timeslot, Fridays at 9:00 p.m., as of Friday, March 23.
Still no news on new drama Traveler and new sitcom Notes from the Underbelly. I'm hearing April for Traveler when rookie sitcom The Knights of Prosperity finishes its 13-episode season (which will be after its March 28 airing).
As for Fox, they have announced some summer news. From Mark Burnett, Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Television, On the Lot affords aspiring filmmakers the opportunity of a lifetime: a $1-million DreamWorks development deal. The show will premiere with a one-hour auditions episode on Wednesday, May 16 following American Idol. A special two-hour Film Premiere episode, featuring the first films produced by the 16 finalists, will air Monday, May 28 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Four finalists will be eliminated from the competition the following night on the first Box Office results show Tuesday, May 29 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). On the Lots weekly Film Premiere episodes air in their regular time period beginning Monday, June 4 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and the weekly Box Office results shows will air on Tuesdays (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) starting Tuesday, June 5.
Season Three of reality show So You Think You Can Dance premieres with two audition episodes: a one-hour show on Thursday, May 24 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) and a special two-hour episode airing Wednesday, May 30 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Once the dance auditions conclude, weekly performance shows will air on Wednesdays (starting at 8:00 PM ET/PT), and weekly results shows will air on Thursdays (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).
FOX's sitcom The Loop comes back around for its second season premiere Sunday, June 10 (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT).
Finally, Season Three of reality hit Hells Kitchen premieres Monday, June 25 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).

TV Land Schedule Change on March 7, No More 'Brady', 'Family', 'A-Team'; Nick at Nite Weekends Change

After just two days of the new schedule starting March 5, TV Land will change the schedule a bit once again starting March 7. The Brady Bunch, All in the Family, and The A-Team will get booted starting Wednesday, March 7. Star Trek will move from 7am to 6am, Sanford & Son & The Jeffersons will air in the 7am hour, Bonanza will air at 8am (back-to-back with Gunsmoke, which remains at 9am), Green Acres will return to the mid-day line-up and air at 10:30am, I Love Lucy will also return to weekdays and air in the 11am hour (it will continue to air 10am-12pm on weekends too), The Munsters hour moves to 12 noon, and The Addams Family moves to 1pm. So, that gets rid of The Brady Bunch and All in the Family from 12:30-1:30. The next change happens at 3pm where Bonanza moves from 4pm to 3pm, replacing The A-Team. You can still watch The A-Team on sister net Spike TV, weekdays at 9am. Leave it to Beaver & The Addams Family will now air in the 4pm hour, The Munsters will take the 5pm hour from Three's Company which now moves to 11pm hour replacing Sanford & Son, which moves up to 10pm hour replacing The Jeffersons. Andy Griffith Show's late night hour moves up to approx. 1:10am replacing Star Trek. Little House on the Prairie will replaces Andy's previous late night hour at approx. 2:20am. Three's Company will replace The Jeffersons' 3:30 & 4am slot, and Good Times returns and will replace Sanford & Son's 4:30am slot. Finally, Star Trek will air in the 5am hour, so now it will air back-to-back at 5am and 6am.
They should have just changed the schedule on March 5, instead of just doing it two days later. This will get confusing, I'm sure. We will keep you up to date of any latest scheduling news on this. But for now click HERE to view the full list of changes happening on March 7.

And Nick at Nite once again has changed the schedule for week of Feb. 19. This time Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. This is getting very annoying. Though, this schedule makes it more balanced. 1-5:30am Mon-Fri is the marathon block and Sat-Sun 2-5:30am is the marathon block. Roseanne gets three of those marathons, Fresh Prince two, and Cosby Show two. Now, Mad About You & Designing Women join A Different World in being gone completely because of these marathon blocks.
Click HERE to view the changes.

TV One March Highlights; 'Dancing with the Stars' Season 4 Celebs Announced

TV One has released its full March 2007 highlights and they have quite a few marathons in the works! On Saturday March 17 beginning at 1pm and ending at 10pm, TV One presents a knock-down-drag-out battle of two of the most memorable sitcom characters: Mary Jenkins of 227 and Deacon Frye of Amen in an all-day comedy smackdown marathon to decide which sitcom is funniest. This 227 and Amen marathon hosted by Sherman Hemsley and Marla Gibbs features footage of the two of them in a comedy boxing match to determine who has the funnier sitcom. The hilarity is repeated in the overnight beginning at 2am and ending at 6am.
On Saturday March 31 beginning at 12pm and ending at 8pm, TV One presents a fantasy trip marathon as characters from your favorite TV One sitcoms (227, In the House, Amen, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Eve, For Your Love, Martin, and All of Us) travel to fantasy destinations with hilarious and sometimes dire circumstances to keep viewers glued to their televisions. This day long fantasy marathon is hosted by Kim Coles from the spectacular Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The marathon fun continues on Saturday March 31 at 8pm, with the TV One premiere of the Cool Factor movie The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh starring NBA legends Julius Erving, Meadowlark Lemon, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The film about a losing NBA basketball team in Pittsburgh that starts a miraculous winning streak with the aid of an astrologer also stars Margaret Avery, James Bond III, Stockard Channing, Flip Wilson, and Debbie Allen. Guess where there probably going if they win the big game? To join Kim Coles ... at Disneyland!
Other TV One March highlights include a special on the late James Brown. On Sunday March 4 at 7:30pm, TV One commemorates the life of the 'Godfather of Soul', the late James Brown with a documentary on his life and career entitled James Brown: The Man, The Music & The Message. This TV One special presentation uses rare performance footage of James Brown mixed with interviews to highlight major concerts and events in Mr. Brown’s life.

The next installment of Dancing with the Stars premieres March 19 on ABC, but today ABC announced the 11 celebrities participating in this cycle. The cycle, the series' 4th, will air Mondays and Tuesdays. Mondays at 8 and Tuesdays at 9. The celebs this cycle are: Boxer and daughter of Muhammad Ali, Laila Ali; Singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus; Former NBA legend Clyde Drexler; Actor and former *NSYNC member Joey Fatone; GSN host and former Miss USA Shandi Finnessey; Celebrity television and radio personality Leeza Gibbons; Paul McCartney's ex with a wooden leg Heather Mills; Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno; Former Sopranos cast member Vincent Pastore; Sexy Super Model Paulina Porizkova; and Former Beverly Hills, 90210 star Ian Ziering.
No former sitcom stars this season, but we do have Cyrus who is on the current Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana and two former TV stars of The Sopranos and 90210. The former teen idol for this season will be Ziering. There is a popular star again, like last season we had Jerry Springer, this season's most popular name is Leeza Gibbons, who will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight to discuss the show. A few sexy women and a sports legend. So, it has everything the show had in the previous seasons. Good casting I think. Just needed a former sitcom star. Jaleel White and Danica McKellar were rumored, but guess that didn't happen.
Click HERE to view the full press release which details the stars and their professional dance partners.


Watch tonight's episode of The Knights of Prosperity at 8:30pm ET on ABC as the gang finally enter Mick Jagger's apartment as this heist comes to a conclusion. Will they rob him or give up? Find out tonight! And starting next week, they have a new target! Will it be Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa or Ray Romano? Find out for yourself!
Catch up on the episodes if you missed any by watching on abc.com, by clicking on the image above.

'A Different World' Coming to The N; TV Land's 'Myths & Legends' Scores in the Ratings

A Different World, which has gotten the shaft on Nick at Nite, will be coming to one of the many sister stations Nick at Nite has. It is coming to The N, the nighttime channel of Noggin. A Different World will however just air Saturdays. It will air at 7pm & 10pm starting this Saturday (Feb. 24), with encores at 1am & 4am. The sitcom will join an all sitcom line-up on Saturdays featuring One on One, Fresh Prince, Moesha, Sabrina and Clueless. These six sitcoms will air all night (6pm-6am) each Saturday. Let's hope A Different World does well and it joins the regular schedule! To make that happen tune in on Saturdays!

TV Land's newest original series, TV Land Myths and Legends, was a huge hit with viewers, scoring double-digit gains in demo rating, delivery and total viewers for its debut season. Over the last six weeks, the series, which premiered on Wednesday, January 10 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, took a look at the most compelling and intriguing stories in Hollywood.
Over the series' six week run (1/10-2/14/07), it averaged 819,000 total viewers, up +54% over last year. It posted a 0.4/445,000 among its core A25-54 demo over last year, an increase of +33% in rating and +76% in delivery. Among Boomers (Adults 40-54), TV Land Myths and Legends scored triple digit increases, posting a 0.6/319,000, up +100% in rating and +102% in delivery over last year.
Next up starting this Wednesday is season two of Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg.

ION Television Creates Poll of 16 Shows, Decide Which You Like; NBC Changes Sundays & Wednesdays Post-Feb. Sweeps

Happy President's Day! What better day to let you know about ION Television's poll. It is time for you to make decisions like a President would and vote on 16 shows they have put on their poll. Their poll is not asking you to just choose 1 or 2 shows. This poll is asking you from a scale of 0 to 10 (0 meaning you don't care to see it, 10 meaning you love it), how much do you want to see these 16 shows? It is easy to vote, you just vote by moving the orange slider located under each show from left to right accordingly. And when you're done, click on submit
I'm sure we will see some of these this year. The shows are: A-Team, Alice, Amen, Barney Miller, Growing Pains, In the House, Kate & Allie, Knight Rider, LAPD: Life on the Beat, Lingo (80s), Moral Court, Perfect Strangers, Starsky & Hutch, Wayans Bros., Welcome Back Kotter and The Wonder Years. Now this doesn't mean that these are just the shows they are considering. It is just at this time they plan on trying to put some of these shows on (they are airing LAPD as a filler on Feb. 25 at 10:30pm, after the Sunday movie runs a bit longer than expected). So, if you like a show give it a high rating and if you hate the show give it a low rating, but make sure you vote! Click HERE to vote!
We had our own poll in November and we did show it to ION and they have used quite a few of the shows in our poll in their poll. So, maybe we made a difference...who knows. Anyway, get on to ION's poll and pick from 0-10 on how much you like these 16 shows!

After February sweeps ends, NBC will make some changes to its Sunday & Wednesday line-ups. Starting Sunday, March 4 at 9 p.m. Deal or No Deal will be airing replacing The Apprentice, which shifts over to 10 p.m., replacing Crossing Jordan. Jordan will be on the move to Wednesdays at 9 replacing Deal or No Deal starting March 7. To recap, NBC will now have an all-reality Sunday line-up of Dateline, Grease, Deal, and Apprentice starting in March, while Wednesdays is all dramas with Friday Night Lights, Crossing Jordan and Medium. Will this make a big different? Probably not. Deal or No Deal Sunday will be facing Desperate Housewives and Cold Case, so it will likely be third place and maybe even 4th place in 18-49 with those two and Family Guy in the mix.

Week 22 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

After about a month off in the ratings, we are back! We didn't have the final numbers in time each of those weeks so we decided not to bring the ratings, but we are now back! Hopefully every Sunday again.

Week 22 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: Fox: 9.7/14.4; CBS: 8.9/13.7; ABC: 6.6/10.1; NBC: 6.3/9.7; The CW: 2.1/3.2.
Total Viewers: Fox: 16.73 million; CBS: 14.22 million; ABC: 10.2 million; NBC: 9.73 million; The CW: 3.28 million.
Adults 18-49: Fox: 6.8/16.5; CBS: 4.3/10.8; ABC: 4.0/9.9; NBC: 3.6/9.0; The CW: 1.5/3.6.

Analysis: The 22nd week saw Fox leading the pack with Hurricane American Idol and lead-out House rule on Tuesday with more Idol on top on Wednesday, thus the network has the lead through Thursday. CBS is in a solid second place in HH, viewers and 18-49, and will likely overtake Fox in HH and viewers by the end of the week. Fox will prevail in 18-49, with ABC likely taking 2nd over CBS. NBC will be 4th place in all categories. As usual, Friday and Saturday numbers are not above, since final numbers are not available yet. ABC will do very well tonight with CBS also in the mix. On Monday all four of the top four networks had something to tout about, but CBS still remained supreme. CBS's CSI: Miami was on fire and did 19.9 million at 10pm, and NBC's Heroes did very well in 18-49 rating at 9pm with a 6.3 rating, Deal or No Deal started the night off well though with 16.07 million for NBC. CBS sitcoms did decent in the 8pm hour doing 9.68 and 8.85 million, but down big from last week's Super Bowl-themed episodes. Two and a Half Men rose from those numbers and did 15.5 million (down some from last week, but still #1 for all of the sitcoms), with episode two of Rules of Engagement following and holding on well with 13.43 million. Even more impressive was a 100% hold of the lead-in's 18-49 rating at a 4.9 rating! Fox was above average with a two-hour 24 doing well. ABC saw decent numbers for all-new episodes of Wife Swap & Supernanny doing 8.31 and 9.83 million. The 18-49 rating for both was also decent. The CW's comedies are still under performing on this night. Tuesday was Fox's night. American Idol did 31.2 million and an all-new House did 25.99 million and was more than enough to win the night. CBS was second with NCIS, The Unit from 8-10 doing well, and a repeat of Without a Trace aired at 10. NBC got decent numbers from both Law & Order spin-offs doing 8.5 and 12.94 million from 9-11pm, with Dateline kicking the night off with a so-so 6.32 million. ABC saw a AFV repeat open up OK with 6.24 million, but then Primetime: The Outsiders did very well with 8.64 million (beating NBC), up from last week. A new episode of Boston Legal did 9.5 million, should be a bit better than that. The CW aired Gilmore Girls (4.37 million) and Veronica Mars (2.37 million). The latter didn't hold on to the lead-in well. Wednesday again Fox got the boost from its one show wonder American Idol, doing 28.89 million. Lead-in Bones got the halo-effect of Idol and did 12.28 million, good enough to win 8pm. CBS was second for the night but started off slow with a Jericho Recap Special doing just 7.36 million...not good news. Criminal Minds and CSI: NY followed and did good (but not dominant) with 15.16 and 14.81 million. NBC saw Friday Night Lights improve a but with 7.43 million, Deal or No Deal followed with 9.58 million. Medium followed with 8.62 million. ABC's comedy block opened up with George Lopez doing 7.13 and The Knights of Prosperity did 4.9 million--a series low. Let's hope we see it go up this week after a few weeks of rising numbers. ABC then followed with an encore of Lost not doing great with 4.96 million and an all-new Lost did just 12.84 million, though it did win the hour in 18-49. Lost should move back to 9pm next month...it can do better there even if Idol is there. The CW aired Beauty & the Geek doing 4.19 million but One Tree Hill was anemic with 2.25 million. The problem with The CW is most of their 8-9pm shows (Tues-Thurs) do decent, but the 9pm dramas (Tues-Thurs) are doing terrible. On Thursday we saw ABC and CBS dominate with all-new episodes. CBS opened the night with week two of Survivor Fiji doing a 9.4 rating (16.08 million), ABC was right on its trail with an all-new Ugly Betty doing a 9.1 rating (13.66 million) followed by a new Grey's Anatomy doing a dominant 16.0/23 rating (25.76 million), Men in Trees followed with 10.87 million...it should be doing 12 million for more respect. CBS's CSI did a 13.8/20 rating (22.71 million) and Shark followed with a first place of 15.12 million. NBC aired all-new episodes of comedies from 8-10pm and did decent for the first hour, but saw bleeding from Scrubs and 30 Rock. They all did decent though in 18-49 from a 2.5-4.4 in range. ER was new and did just 11.6 million though up from last week, 30 Rock is not helping it. And Fox saw pathetic numbers with 'Til Death, War at Home and The O.C.
Friday (numbers not counted in our ratings), saw CBS win each hour. CBS's Ghost Whisperer was #1 at 8 p.m. and for the night with a 7.7 preliminary rating. NBC was second in each hour, with its line-up of 1 vs. 100, Las Vegas and Law & Order. ABC re-aired the thrilling Super Bowl 2-part episode of Grey's Anatomy from last season and did OK but 20/20 built on that and did well, nerly beating NBC in viewers and winning in 18-49. And The CW and Fox battled for last place, but Fox did better than usual. Saturday ratings were anemic like usual with CBS's repeats in the lead overall and Fox's reality in 18-49. As for tonight, ABC, CBS, will likely share a win and have something to brag about, with ABC's Desperate Housewives dominating 9 p.m. and the rest of its A-class line-up of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition & Brothers & Sisters. As for this week in general, I expect Fox to win the demo and CBS in total viewers most likely. This coming week will be interesting as ABC will end the week with The Oscars, and part three of the special Grey's Anatomy arc. Also of note is American Idol airing Thursday at 8 this week.. 3 nights of Idol? UGH!! I think this will be for two weeks.

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Feb. 5-11)

• Reba (The CW) 2 episodes - A repeats did 2.56 and a new episode did 3.24 million...better than their Monday comedies.
  
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - 8.18 million for a new episode at 8, repeat at 7:30 did 5.41 million. The new episode should do a bit better.
  
• King of the Hill (Fox) 2 episodes - 6.99 tuned in for a new episode--down more than a million from lead-in. Repeat at 7 did just 4 million.
• Family Guy (Fox) - 7.97 million for a new episode...seems a bit low.
  
• American Dad (Fox) - Just 6.6 million. All the Fox lineup was under a 4.0 18-49 rating...not good news.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 9.68 million...decent, but down from last week's Super Bowl themed episode, which hit a season high.
  
• The Class (CBS) - 8.85 million. Same as above.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 15.5 million for a new episode...very good like usual, but down about 2 million from last week.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 13.43 million..pretty good retention from lead-in, but even more impressive was the 4.9 18-49 rating, which was the same as the lead-in! 100% retention! Will this show be the hit sitcom CBS is looking for?
  
• CW Monday Comedies: Chris, All of Us, Girfriends, The Game. New episode of Chris started it off with 2.83 million, the highest of the block. The rest ranged 2.52 to 2.64 million. Consistent, but needs to be doing 3 to 3.5 million.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) - 7.13 million...decent, but Jim does better.
  
• The Knights of Prosperity (ABC) - 4.9 million only this week, after the rise the last two weeks. It should rise this week as the gang actually enter Jagger's apartment! Tune in!
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 9.1 million and a 3.918-49 rating...both disappointing. I think the return of Survivor has put a dent after season highs when that show was on a hiatus.
  
• The Office (NBC) - The same goes for this show. 8.84 million, but a decent 4.4 18-49 rating.
  
• Scrubs (NBC) - Just 6.23 million. NBC should air this at 9:30.
  
• 30 Rock (NBC) - This show is killing ER, just 5.01 million. They need to move this to 9pm.
  
• 'Til Death (Fox) - 5.21 million...not bad for this show and it beat 30 Rock and The Knights this week. What is American thinking?
  
• War at Home (Fox) - 4.79 million for a new episode...not good, but holding the lead-in's numbers well.
  

Friday Sitcoms
None.

Saturday Sitcoms
None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are new episodes of Fox comedies and the series finale of Reba on The CW.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, My Name is Earl and Rules of Engagement were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Class and George Lopez) or just plain old terrible (such as Knights of Prosperity and 30 Rock).

Mini-DVD Review: Penn & Teller: Bullsh**! (Feb. 20)

Welcome to another Saturday edition of mini-DVD reviews! Today we have another great mini-DVD review for you! This week we take a look at CBS/Showtime DVD's Fourth Season of Penn & Teller: Bullsh**! Penn & Teller brings us lots of bullsh** in this fourth season with titles like Prostitution and Abstinence. The show streets this Tuesday (Feb. 20). See Seth Thrasher's mini-DVD review of Penn & Teller: Bullsh**! - The Complete Fourth Season:

Penn & Teller: Bullsh**! - The Complete Fourth Season (CBS/Showtime, $29.98) brings us the fourth season of this award winning series. It brings back to us Penn & Teller, debunking another 10 piles of...well...see the title. The third season returns to the outer box and slim case style of packaging. I own all 4 seasons of the show released to DVD thus far, and this is the first time they've used the same packaging style more than once. Nice to finally see some consistency. Thanks to this being on premium/subscription cable (Showtime), the run times are close to a full 30 minutes – you'll never see that on network! Menus are plain yet nice. A bull rams through the background and its horns stick out behind the logo. The episode titles appear in the center, with an underline denoting the selected episode. A 2-D P&T wander around the menu doing various things. Theme plays in the background. Video is nice, except for some mild interlacing issues. Audio is nice – 5.1! The audio sounds nice on both 5.1 and 2.0 No defects, everything is loud and clear. Chapter stops are plentiful, coming 6-7 times per 30 minute episode.
Admittedly, these episodes are new to me, as I don't subscribe to Showtime – but that's another issue for another time. If you disagree with the viewpoint Penn exudes in each 20 minute show, admittedly you’re probably not going to love this show – though if by season four you don't understand that the pieces will be one-sided, you probably just aren’t paying attention. One episode that got my attention is the second episode. It's an interesting one, as they analyze the relative safe environment that prostitution exists in the few Nevada counties it is legal in, compared to the dark corners and red light districts of other areas – pimps are nonexistent, and the women submit to compulsory tests for STDs.
Extras are alarmingly minimal. They can be found on disc 3. More Penn & Teller is just a 30 second promo that plays. The Filmographies are just a static shot of each half of P&T with their respective film credits to their side. Photo Gallery contains a group of publicity stills that you can scroll through with the back/next navigation.
The quality of the show itself picked up from Season 3, in my eyes. Admittedly, if you're not a P&T fan, or you happen to believe in/support the things they shoot down as BS, you may not like this show. If you're on the fence, you might want to check episode summaries online first, or rent the DVD set. Still, I love this show, and highly recommend it. Unless you’re a "cryptozoologist."

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(4.5/5 stars)

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Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Penn & Teller: Bullsh**! TV.com Page

Nick at Nite Changes Schedule Again; TV One Schedule Change, 'Mr. Cooper' Marathon

It is Friday night (well afternoon, or whenever you read this) at the schedules! Today we have two schedule changes to report. One for Nick at Nite and one for TV One. Let's start with Nick at Nite. They will once again change their schedule starting Feb. 19. I think this is revision three already. Anyway, we reported yesterday that the Growing Pains marathon has been cut by two days, and we promised we would give you the Feb. 19 regular schedule today. So, this is what they are doing now...Growing Pains will still air Sun-Thurs 9-10pm (except Tuesdays, which a movie airs), the bulk of the changes are happening in the overnight hours, with marathons airing on six of the seven nights. Marathons run 1-5:30am on weekdays and 2-5am on Saturdays. Fresh Prince (Mon); Cosby Show starts 2am - Growing Pains airs 1-2AM (Tues); Roseanne (Wed); Fresh Prince (Thurs); Cosby Show (Fri); and Roseanne (Sat). There are some other minor changes here and there, so I suggest you click here to view those changes.

Beginning on Tuesday February 20, the TV One weekday 4pm to 6pm time block will change a bit. Replacing Boston Public and Showtime at the Apollo from 4-6pm will be the detective drama New York Undercover at 4pm followed by a full hour of the Sherman Hemsley sitcom Amen at 5pm.
On Saturday February, 24, TV One presents the "Look Who's Hangin' with Mr Cooper Marathon, featuring the show's most famous guest stars including Chris Tucker, Countess Vaughn, Charles Barkley, Shawn Wayans, Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, Queen Latifah, Elise Neal, and Tyrese Gibson. The marathon runs from 1pm to 10pm, and then most will rerun in the overnight hours from 2am to 6am.

New TV Channel: Chiller TV Launch Schedule; 'Growing Pains' Marathon Cut Short on Nick at Nite

The new TV channel from NBC Universal Cable (from the people who gave us Sleuth TV) called Chiller TV is launching on March 1, as we mentioned before, but now we have their full launch schedule and you'll see it here first! Their first program will be The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents from 1985 at 6am on March 1. The first few days will feature a lot stunt programming such as marathons for Tales from the Crypt and Friday the 13th: The Series, before settling into a normal schedule starting March 5. They will air the movie The Shining without commercials. Their series programming includes Twin Peaks, American Gothic, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, New Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Tales from the Crypt, Friday the 13th: The Series, Freddy's Nightmares, G vs. E, Monsters, etc. To view the full schedule and details, click HERE.

Nick at Nite will cut their smile a bit short. The Growing Pains marathon on Nick at Nite slated for Feb. 12-18 has now been cut to Feb. 12-16. So, tomorrow is the last night for the marathon. Feb. 17 and Feb. 18 will be a normal schedule that will be used for these two days only. Then starting Feb. 19 a brand new and edited line-up will start, which I will post on the blog tomorrow. So come back tomorrow for that! But in the meantime, click here for more on the cutting short of the Growing Pains marathon. Show Nick at Nite that anger!

TV Land April Highlights; TV Land To Unveil Elvis Statue in July, On-Air Elvis Programming in August; Network Notes

TV Land is not April fooling in April, as they have a whole bunch of specials and marathons! First off, this is no April Fool's Joke, but it seems TV Land will be "on the clock" late nights starting April 2. That means all your favorite shows between 12-6am will start on time finally! So, you'll see M*A*S*H from 12-1am, Star Trek at 1am, Andy Griffith 2-3am, The Jeffersons 3-4am, Sanford & Son 4-5am and Green Acres/Leave it to Beaver from 5-6am.
There will be no regular schedule changes as of now, but M*A*S*H will air Saturdays 10-11pm starting in April instead of The Jeffersons. The Jeffersons will still air in that hour on other nights. Other April highlights include the return of Friday Night Movies. You loved it in the summer and again in the fall, now it is back this spring with movies like Hot Shots Part Deux, Weekend at Bernie's and Basic Instinct. And as TV Land leads up to the TV Land Awards on Wednesday, April 25, they'll celebrate with some award-winning episodes of the highly-lauded series M*A*S*H from April 21-24 from 9-11pm each night. And then on April 25 from 9-10:30pm, its the 5th Annual TV Land Awards hosted by Kelly Ripa (Hope & Faith, Live! With Regis & Kelly). This will be a fun celebration for the television generation once again featuring classic and contemporary stars and cast reunions. The awards follows a special Andy Griffith Show marathon from 6-9pm. Finally, get some spring cleaning done with a special match between Aunt Bea and Florence! How will two of TV Land's favorite Domestic Divas of TV Land deal with this cleaning ... will they get it all done? Will they miss a spot? Find out Sunday, April 29 from 8-10pm (followed by M*A*S*H at a special time 10-11pm)
For complete TV Land April highlights, click HERE.

And we stick to TV Land for even more news. They will unveil their sixth statue in July. This time the honor goes to Elvis! TV Land will celebrate the life and times of music legend and pop icon Elvis Presley throughout the summer of 2007. Kicking off TV Land's tribute to Elvis in late July, TV Land and the city of Honolulu, Hawaii will honor Elvis with a life-sized bronze sculpture. The statue will grace The Neal S. Blaisdell Center, formerly The Honolulu International Center, the site of Elvis' 1973 Aloha from Hawaii concert, which was seen globally on television. Fans can log on today at TVLand.com to view video excerpts and photos from Elvis's historic Aloha From Hawaii performance.
Following this momentous event, beginning August 1, 2007, TV Land will celebrate Elvis with an on-air tribute commemorating his unprecedented legacy throughout the entire month. From the ’68 Comeback Special to Aloha from Hawaii to the documentary Elvis By The Presleys to his much-loved films like Love Me Tender and Wild in the Country, TV Land will showcase Elvis Presley’s work every single day in August. Full list of programs to air in August 2007:
* Performance specials -- Elvis: ’68 Comeback Special, Aloha From Hawaii, Elvis: the Great Performances and Ed Sullivan’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Classics: Elvis Presley.
* Documentaries -- Elvis By the Presleys, Elvis On Tour and Elvis: His Best Friend Remembers.
* Movies – Love Me Tender; Wild in the Country; Easy Come, Easy Go; Fun in Acapulco; Paradise Hawaiian Style; Roustabout; Girl Happy; Live a Little, Love a Little; Speedway and Elvis and Me.
For the complete press release and details, click HERE!

Finally we leave with some network notes. NBC will now debut its new drama The Black Donnellys on Monday, Feb. 26 at 10pm, following an all-new episode of Heroes. It was originally slated to premiere a week later on March 5, but NBC wants to give it a two-week support from Heroes, which will go on repeat leave for several weeks after March 5. The Black Donnellys pilot will also re-air on Thursday, March 1 at 10pm, in ER's slot.
And Fox has delayed the return of freshman drama Standoff by a week. Slated to return on March 30, at Fridays at 8, it will now return April 6. Repeats of House will air for four Fridays starting March 9 at 8 p.m., leading into new drama The Wedding Bells. Who will repeat better Fridays at 8? Grey's Anatomy or House? We shall see...

Finally, today's blog is brought to you by the "Batman and Robbing" hour tonight starting at 8/7 central on ABC. Adam West (Batman) returns on George Lopez (Holy typecasting!) and the stage is set for The Knights to fulfill their dream of robbing Mick Jagger on a special Valentine's Day theme episode of The Knights of Prosperity. Get your candy out!

TV Land Re-Adds 'Three's Company', Removes 'Miami Vice'; 'Jim' & 'Emergency' On 2-Week Break on ABC

TV Land has made two more revisions to their March schedule that we announced two days ago was altered a bit. That alteration will still be in effect, but now weekdays late afternoon/early evening has been changed a bit. Weekdays back-to-back in the 5pm hour starting March 5 will be Three's Company, which will return from hiatus. It will replace an airing of Bonanza at 5pm, which now moves to 4pm, replacing Miami Vice, which will be off the line-up once again. It just seems like Miami Vice is not a fit for TV Land, like The A-Team is (which does well for them and airs at 3pm), unfortunately. As for Three's Company, the show is one of their main players but they have used up a lot of episode plays on their contract, so TV Land was forced to give it a break. Hopefully they renew the current contract, which expires this coming fall, so they can keep airing it for many more moons. The show is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month, and TV Land will have a mini-marathon, as we mentioned a few days back.

Meanwhile, ABC will put sitcoms According to Jim and In Case of Emergency on a little hiatus that will last at least two weeks (Feb. 14 and Feb. 21). ABC will air an encore of the previous week's Lost at 9 p.m. leading into an all-new episode of Lost at 10 p.m. Sitcoms George Lopez and The Knights of Prosperity will continue to air in the 8 p.m. hour. Watch this week as ABC is labeling that hour "Batman and Robbin' Hour" (Adam West guest stars on George and The Knights are "robbin' Mick Jagger and make a big jump to that this week). That starts 8PM on ABC. Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel! POW!!!

YouTube To Share Free Classic TV Episodes; Minor Lifetime Schedule Change

As we mentioned a few months back, DMGI is looking to put over 4,000 hours of classic TV on the internet. YouTube.com has just made a deal with DMGI. Classic television episodes of Gumby, I Spy, My Favorite Martian, Peter Gunn, and more will be available for free for YouTube users. No idea yet when the content will launch, but keep checking YouTube!

Lifetime has made a very minor schedule change that will take place next Monday (Feb. 19). Desperate Housewives reruns will move from 7 p.m. Mondays to 11 p.m. Mondays. Grey's Anatomy reruns airs Sundays at 11 p.m., while Medium airs Saturdays at 11 p.m. So, this is better as they can promote three current shows that air on broadcast TV, for 3 nights in a row every week at 11 p.m.

If we have more news, we'll return.

TV Land Makes Changes to March Line-Up; 'Home Improvement' Season 6 DVD in May; Calling All 'Three's Company' Fans, Send Trivia to WGN Radio!

TV Land has made some changes to its March line-up. A few weeks back, we announced to you their March line-up, but now a few changes are being made to that. Don't fret, The Munsters & The Addams Family are still coming, but their times are a bit changed. They both were scheduled to start on March 1, but now that won't happen until March 4. The first changes to the new line-up will actually begin on Monday, Feb. 26 with a second M*A*S*H airing at approx. 12:35am (so back-to-back M*A*S*H that hour) and The Andy Griffith Show getting a second airing in the overnight hours at approx. 2:20am. Then more changes begin on March 3 for weekends. Leave it to Beaver will air weekends at 8:30 a.m., followed by The Munsters & The Addams Family in the 9 a.m. hour. Following that block will be a two-hour block of I Love Lucy. Yes, four episodes in a row twice a week, that is eight episodes a week...more than what TV Land originally planned (6 airings a week). Since Lucy will air in a block on weekends, they will remove it from the weekday morning line-up starting March 5. The new weekday line-up starts March 5, with back-to-back episodes of Leave it to Beaver at 10am, back-to-back The Munsters, at 11am, and one episode of The Addams Family at noon. There will be no other changes, but this means Green Acres will only be every morning at 5am now. TV Land has also altered the Three's Company mini-marathon encore. The encore was slated for 10am-1pm on Sunday, March 18, but now that will be 8-11pm...which is sure better. The premiere will still be Saturday, March 17 from 11pm-2am, but now a special two-hour block of M*A*S*H will air before that from 9-11pm. Three's Company is celebrating 30 years on television, as it premiered on ABC on March 15, 1977.
Click HERE to view the full list of changes in a list format, along with the full TV Land March highlights.

We have gotten word that Buena Vista Home Entertainment in association with Touchstone Television (or should we now say ABC Television Studio?) will release the 6th Season DVD of the Tim Allen sitcom Home Improvement on May 15. More power to us for telling you first! Still no date on the Scrubs Season 5 DVD we reported last week, but I expect it in May, too.

Finally, you think you know a lot of Three's Company trivia? Well, if you do get your questions ready and try to stump a huge fan at WGN Radio. His name is Andy Hermann and he is a huge fan. If you remember, this same show on WGN Radio brought us interviews with Chris Mann, Richard Kline and Priscilla Barnes. Not to mention the numerous segments on the Jack Tripper line, "Uno, dos, tres, catorce," which the U2 singer Bono has used in one of their songs. Has Bono paid tribute to Jack Tripper? Who knows. Anyway e-mail your questions to Nick at wgnnickd@aol.com, with the question and answer. He will not show the answers to Andy. Your questions will be heard live on the radio. This is a weekly segment every Sunday night at like 1:45am CT. If you can't stay up that late, you can listen to the archives of each segment here. I myself have submitted questions the last two weeks. Listen to those segments especially: Week 1 and Week 2. Both Sitcoms Online and Jack's Bistro (my site on the show), are mentioned! I will submit more questions for this week. So come up with some tough questions...but remember it has to deal with the show's plot, for example one of my questions was, What was the name of the plant that Larry told the trio was marijuana? The answer...False Aralia.

'Diff'rent Strokes' Star Guests on 'Chris' This Monday; Lifetime's 'Golden Girls' Sweepstakes!

Yes, it is Saturday and normally we would have a mini-DVD review for you today, but that segment will not be seen at this time and we hope to bring that back to you next week. So, the mini-DVD review for this week has been pre-empted, as we say in the TV world. We now stay tuned for news...already in progress:

Former Diff'rent Strokes stars Todd Bridges (Willis Jackson-Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes) plays Doc's nephew Monk, in the episode entitled, "Everybody Hates the Substitute," on Everybody Hates Chris, Monday, February 12, 2007 at 8:00PM ET/PT on The CW. Also guest starring in the episode is Orlando Jones (MAD TV, Men in Trees).

Don't miss your chance to be like a Golden Girl, with a spa trip to Miami for you and three friends — plus a copy of The Golden Girls: The Complete Seventh and Final Season DVD (available on February 13, see our review of the set). All you have to do is enter the Lifetime Stay Golden Sweepstakes.
Also, show Lifetime how much you know about Rose and the other girls by playing The Golden Girls Trivia Challenge! Thank you for being a friend!

Nick at Nite Edits Schedule Starting Feb. 19; Minor ION Television Change for Week of Feb. 19

Nick at Nite has made some more changes for the schedule starting Monday, Feb. 19. That is of course when Growing Pains joins the regular schedule. Now, they will air Growing Pains Sun-Thurs from 9-10pm and 12-1am. Also, on Friday and Saturdays from 10:30-11:30pm, in addition to mini-marathons on Friday nights from 2-5am. Other changes include The Cosby Show shifting one hour later to the 1am hour, replacing Full House, which will now just air every night at 5:30am and Fridays & Saturdays at 10pm (though, it will lead into Nick at Nite and air Mon-Fri at 8:30pm on Nickelodeon). The 5am half-hour of rotating Mad About You and A Different World will have now another show: Designing Women. That sitcom will return and air Wednesday & Saturday nights.
To view the FULL list of changes that start Feb. 19 click HERE.

ION Television has made a change for the week of Feb. 19. It will ONLY be for that week (but we know from the past that ION usually tries to make it permanent). ION will air Kung Fu that week at 10 p.m. instead of Charlie's Angels. So, this will be on Feb. 19, 20, 21 and 23. On Feb. 22 they have that Amazing Grace special at 10 followed by Amen. Kung Fu will also air at a special time of 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17 leading into the special BodogFight: USA vs. Russia at 8 p.m. Kung Fu will continue to air Sundays at 7 p.m.. So will it remain at 10 p.m. after that week? We shall see...

'Growing Pains' Nick at Nite Marathon Schedule; TV Land's 'Sit Down Comedy' Encores Added

Growing Pains Marathon

Monday, February 12, 2007 through Sunday, February 18, 2007
Mon-Thu 9pm-6am; Fri-Sat 10pm-6am; Sun 9pm-6am ET/PT
Growing Pains will launch on February 12th with a week-long, all-night marathon which will include a special Valentine’s Day stunt (Full House Valentine's "Little Shop of Sweaters" will air at 8:30pm that night)! Make sure you tune in to welcome the Seavers to the Nick at Nite line-up as they take over the entire week! Kirk Cameron is back in style, with his sister Candace Cameron's show Full House airing right before him at 8:30!

Monday, February 12, 2007 (encores 1:30a-6a)
9:00 PM Growing Pains Pilot
9:30 PM Growing Pains Springsteen
10:00 PM Growing Pains Jealousy
10:30 PM Growing Pains Carol's Article
11:00 PM Growing Pains Superdad
11:30 PM Growing Pains Mike's Madonna Story
12:00 AM Growing Pains The Weekend Fantasy
12:30 AM Growing Pains Slice of Life
1:00 AM Growing Pains Dirt Bike

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 (encores 1:30a-6a)
9:00 PM Growing Pains Standardized Test
9:30 PM Growing Pains First Blood
10:00 PM Growing Pains Slice of Life II
10:30 PM Growing Pains Seavers vs Cleavers
11:00 PM Growing Pains Charity Begins at Home
11:30 PM Growing Pains Reputation
12:00 AM Growing Pains Anniversary that Never Was
12:30 AM Growing Pains Be a Man
1:00 AM Growing Pains Career Decision

Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - Valentine's Day Marathon (encores 1:30a-6a)
9:00 PM Growing Pains Long Days Journey into Night
9:30 PM Growing Pains The Love Song of M. Aaron Seaver
10:00 PM Growing Pains Some Enchanted Evening
10:30 PM Growing Pains Feet of Clay
11:00 PM Growing Pains Menage A Luke
11:30 PM Growing Pains Who's Zoom'in Who
12:00 AM Growing Pains Stop, Luke and Listen
12:30 AM Growing Pains Ben's First Kiss
1:00 AM Growing Pains Carol's Crush

Thursday, February 15, 2007 (encores 1:30a-6a)
9:00 PM Growing Pains Extra Lap
9:30 PM Growing Pains Jason and the Cruisers
10:00 PM Growing Pains Fast Times at Dewey High
10:30 PM Growing Pains Call Me
11:00 PM Growing Pains Employee of the Month
11:30 PM Growing Pains Dream Lover
12:00 AM Growing Pains Do You Believe in Magic
12:30 AM Growing Pains Jason's Rib
1:00 AM Growing Pains The Kid

Friday, February 16, 2007 (encores 2a-6a)
10:00 PM Growing Pains The Breakfast Club
10:30 PM Growing Pains Choices
11:00 PM Growing Pains Higher Education
11:30 PM Growing Pains Thank You, Willie Nelson
12:00 AM Growing Pains Thank God It's Friday
12:30 AM Growing Pains My Brother, Myself
1:00 AM Growing Pains Jimmy Durante Died for Your Sins
1:30 AM Growing Pains Carnival

Saturday, February 17, 2007 (encores 2a-6a)
10:00 PM Growing Pains The Awful Truth
10:30 PM Growing Pains Born Free
11:00 PM Growing Pains The Long Goodbye
11:30 PM Growing Pains Confidentially Yours
12:00 AM Growing Pains Aloha, Part 1
12:30 AM Growing Pains Aloha, Part 2
1:00 AM Growing Pains Taking Care of Business
1:30 AM Growing Pains Not Necessarily the News

Sunday, February 18, 2007 (encores 1:30a-6a)
9:00 PM Growing Pains MichaelGate
9:30 PM Growing Pains Big Brother Is Not Watching
10:00 PM Growing Pains A Star Is Born
10:30 PM Growing Pains Gone but not Forgotten
11:00 PM Growing Pains This Is Your Life
11:30 PM Growing Pains Broadway Bound
12:00 AM Growing Pains The Scarlet Letter
12:30 AM Growing Pains A Reason to Live
1:00 AM Growing Pains Nasty Habits


Growing Pains Related Links:

Purchase Growing Pains - The Complete First Season on DVD

Growing Pains Message Board

Growing Pains Photo Gallery

Watch Growing Pains Episodes Online

The Growing Pains Vault

Growing Pains Episode Guide (TV.com)

Growing Pains Episode Guide (epguides.com)

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

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Ray Romano is interviewed by comedian David Steinberg on TV Land's own Sit Down Comedy: March 28 at 10pm et/pt on TVLand.

Go to tvland.com to watch full episodes online before they air!
And an added bonus: visit tvland.com for chance to win a video ipod!

Sit Down Comedy is a talk show like no other: No tear-jerking. No fawning. No fake enthusiasm. Just spontaneous, unfiltered conversations with the biggest names in comedy.

TV Land's Sit Down Comedy encores have been added and it affects some programming:

2/23/07

* Sit Down Comedy pre-empts Andy Griffith at 12:30a
* Andy Griffith pre-empts The Jeffersons at 3:30a

2/25/07

* Sit Down Comedy pre-empts MASH at 2:30a
* MASH and Andy Griffith shift to 3a and 3:30a espectively

2/27/07

* Sit Down Comedy and Myths & Legends replace Little House at 6p

2/28/07

* 1a encore of Sit Down Comedy has been added

3/02/07

* Sit Down Comedy pre-empts MASH at 12a hour
* MASH pre-empts Star Trek in 1a hour

3/03/07

* Sit Down Comedy replaces Bonanza at 7am

- Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg Season 2 Schedule

Season Premiere Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Wednesdays a 10 p.m. ET/PT for 6 weeks
This year David sits down with legendary comedians such as Roseanne, Robin Williams, Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, and Garry Shandling. These celebrated performers offer hilarious stories about their personal lives and careers in the entertainment field. Don’t miss this change to get up, close, and personal with some of comedies favorite stars!

Jerry Seinfeld: Wednesday, February 21; 10-11 pm
Jerry Seinfeld and David discuss fatherhood, the greatest thing about being a comedian and his first Tonight Show appearance. Among other topics discussed include how he and Larry David conceived the premise of Seinfeld and the importance of playing the "straight man" in comedy.

Robin Williams: Wednesday, February 28; 10-11 pm
Robin Williams goes one-on-one with David Steinberg and speculates on what Condoleeza Rice is like behind closed doors. Williams recounts how he broke Robert DeNiro’s nose and his favorite moment during Comic Relief. Williams also opens up about what he was like in school and talks about his first stand-up experience.

Episodes for March:

Roseanne: Wednesday, March 7; 10-10:30 pm
Roseanne Barr sits down with David and discusses the awkward experience of what it is like to have your show bomb and then be stuck in an elevator with angry audience members. Roseanne also discusses what she believes the line is between being mentally ill and Jewish, and shares her spiritual awakening.

Jon Stewart: Wednesday, March 14: 10-11 pm
Jon Stewart and David Steinberg reminisce about the first time they worked together and compare what clothes they like to wear to work. Jon discusses his inspiration behind The Daily Show and recalls what his earliest memory is. He also shares how he learned not to fall in love with the audience, how he deals with his fans’ criticisms and recounts his experience hosting The Academy Awards.

Garry Shandling: Wednesday, March 21; 10-10:30 pm
In this episode, Garry Shandling opens up to David about how he started his comedy writing at UCLA and eventually sold his first script to Sanford and Son. Garry also shares what it was like to host The Tonight Show for the very first time. He recounts how he defended Whoopi Goldberg at a celebrity basketball tournament and the experience of accidentally boxing a rabbi.

Ray Romano: Wednesday, March 28; 10-10:30 pm
Ray Romano and David talk about his job as a futon delivery man in Manhattan -- delivering to Cher and Robert DeNiro -- as well as picking up a return from Larry David. Among other topics discussed include his experience living in his parents’ basement until he was 29 and why “vacation sex” is better than “home sex.” Romano also explains how Everybody Loves Raymond came about after an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.

Related Links:

Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg Official Site

Posted by Todd -- SitcomsOnline.com at 8:05 PM

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'Scrubs' Season 5 DVD Coming Soon; SOAPnet Acquires 'O.C.' and 'One Tree Hill' Starting in April

We got our Golden Girls final season DVD for review and inside that they had a preview saying that Scrubs Season 5 will be on DVD soon. A date was not given, but I think a May release date is likely. The set also had a preview for the final two seasons of Dinosaurs coming soon to DVD. No date was given, but from previous news, we know that set is coming May 1. Buena Vista told us that they might release some new sets soon...maybe Empty Nest, 8 Simple Rules, Blossom? Hopefully we'll know soon!

SOAPnet has made a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution to acquire the rights to all four seasons of The O.C. and all four seasons of One Tree Hill, both hit drama series from Warner Bros. Television.
The O.C. and One Tree Hill will air Monday-Friday, beginning April 9. The O.C. will air at 6PM and One Tree Hill will air before that at 5PM. SOAPnet's number one acquired soap with women 18-34, Beverly Hills 90210, will lead into both new series at 3PM and 4PM.
For the complete press release, click HERE.

Don't forget an all-new episode of The Knights of Prosperity tonight at 8:30/7:30 central on ABC, following an all-new George Lopez. The return of Lost follows the Knights from 9 to 11. And if you need to catch up on the Knights, watch the previous episodes online for free at ABC.com: