Saturday, June 30, 2007
Mini-DVD Review: The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 (June 26); Solomon's Weekly Rant: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 (Shout!, $29.99) brings all 13 half-hours from the short-lived animated series based on the popular video game!
In this series, after sending King Koopa into the banishment zone, Mario & Luigi finally made it home to Brooklyn! But just when the Mushroom People thought they were safe, Koopa escaped and brought with him seven of the most vile creatures the world had ever known: the Koopa Kids. Can Mario and the gang get rid of them? Each episode runs approx. between 23-24 minutes. The lowest one is 22:52, which is the first episode. The highest one is 24:12. There are 5 chapter stops, which is always handy. There are 13 episodes, but actually it is 26, since each half-hour has two mini-episodes. The video is decent, I think a bit better than The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, but that was a bit older. This series doesn't have any live action segments, like the other series. The closing logo is the DiC out the window logo, if you know what I mean. The audio is decent, nothing too bad about it. Packaging has a nice yellow outer box with Mario flying it seems on the front cover...the back cover has information on the series and set and a picture of King Koopa and the Koopa Kids. Inside the box is three slim cases. Each disc has its own slim case. The first two discs cover all the episodes, while the third disc is the extras.
The menu screen has Play All and Episodes for discs one and two. The main menu is video game style, with great sound effects. Disc one features Mario in the video game and disc two is Luigi.
Moving on to the extras. The extras are found on disc three. The menu is a notebook, with a list of items we can select. It is titled Writer's Bible. Then it says Table of Contents, then we get a list of items: The Back Story, The Series, The Characters (Heroes - Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad; Villains - King Koopa and the seven Koopa Kids), The Worlds (21 section of photos!), The Music (10 cool songs, like a soundtrack). Besides the latter two categories, each category has a short video describing the item, usually 1-3 minutes.
I highly do recommend any fan of Super Mario to pick up this set, especially if you have started to pick-up The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Can Super Mario and Luigi and the gang get rid of the Mushroom Kingdom of Koopa and his deviant minions? Find out yourself!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, June 30, 2007
"Sony Picture Home Entertainment Needs To Show Some Class to Classic TV"
By Solomon Davis
If a DVD company wants TV fans to enjoy the TV shows they release on DVD, why do they have such a lazy and uncreative way of distributing the DVD to TV fans? I thought the purpose of releasing DVD's was to entertain fans not just make a profit. Why does Sony seem uninterested in putting together a nice DVD set for us to purchase? The season set releases by Sony are always slow with no bonus features included on the DVD. We should at least get to see some sort of nice extras that goes well with the season on the DVD, look at Anchor Bay's Three's Company sets, they were well made. But it appears Sony doesn't care about bonus features just making money after making us wait 12 months for the next season of certain shows.
You would think if Sony would put out powerful DVD sets since the wait is so long but it's just the same old lazy sets with Bonus Previews included. And since when did bonus previews become an attractive feature on a DVD set? I'm sure 97% of TV fans who purchase DVD's released by Sony did not watch one second of Bonus Previews because it falls no where near the category of ENTERTAINMENT...and plus they are OUTDATED! I also hear that poor sales is the reason for some of the slow releases by Sony and if that's the case then why are the seasons still released if Sony feels it won't make any money? Sony can at least release two seasons of a certain show a year instead of making us wait almost a year so we can see CRAP. If Sony is going to release crappy DVD sets, then we should get it a lot faster. Why should Sony wait to release seasons 7 to 11 of The Jeffersons? Just give us our crappy DVD season sets so we can have a compete crappy TV collection of our favorite shows. And can you believe that it has taken Sony almost 6 years to release just six seasons of The Jeffersons? The first season was released in 2002 and now in 2007 fans of The Jeffersons can only buy up to season 6 on DVD. That is what you call the true definition of LAZY and it really confuses me why Sony can't be more like studios like Shout! Factory when releasing shows on DVD. It makes no sense that 2008 is 6 months away and there is still no word on when season 7 of The Jeffersons will be out on DVD. And since it's very likely Sony will give us more crappy DVD sets, the future releases of Sony TV shows should be included in a box of cereal as a BONUS for buying the cereal. That way we wouldn't care about bonus features, just the episodes and good quality.
Sony needs to take DVD release lessons from other studios like Warner Bros. or Shout! since their TV shows has very nice bonus features like the "Gag Reel" on the season 3 DVD of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and "the never before seen unaired pilot episode" of Full House on the season 1 DVD of Full House. Sony did try to top those features by including a small booklet of pointless TV fun facts with the season 3 DVD release of Sanford and Son. Sony has no clue at all on how to give TV fans their money's worth. Then Sony tries to really be creative and make a profit off the recent CBS One Day at Time Reunion with the season 1 DVD release of One Day at a Time. A reunion that was seen by everyone on CBS in February of 2005 was given to us as a BONUS? That should have been on the last season, not the first season. The Sanford and Son booklet looks kind of attractive compared to that poor feature. So basically out of 31 seasons of Sony DVD's I have purchased, I only saw two bonus features. No cast commentary or bloopers just some cereal box giveaway like a 3 page Sanford and Son booklet. We are actually paying money for SEEN BEFORE FOOTAGE on a DVD which gives off this message, "just put anything together so we can make money off of TV fans." Should we be annoyed with Sony for their crappy bonus features and untimely releases or with ourselves for discovering our favorite shows in syndication? Though at least Sony is releasing a lot of their sitcoms (much more than other companies), it's just that they are bare-boned and sometimes edited.
Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.
DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Canada Stations Adds Rare Classics This Fall; Biggest Flintstones Marathon Ever on Boomerang
On TV Land Canada, everything old is new again! New to the TV Land Canada schedule this September is Fantasy Island; Hart to Hart; Love, American Style; and It's Garry Shandling's Show. Also returning to TV Land Canada this fall are: Dallas, Happy Days, Lassie, 21 Jump Street, Petticoat Junction, Joanie Loves Chachi and Wiseguy.
None of those new shows are airing anywhere on cable in the U.S. currently.
We have the full schedule posted. To take a look, please click HERE.
Now let's move on to my personal favorite, DejaView! Starting September 10, they will be adding lots and lots of new shows! Coming to weekdays are: My Secret Identity, Roseanne, Cosby Show, Good Times, Maude, Miami Vice, and Magnum P.I.! On the weekends they will add: The Ropers, Three's a Crowd, Who's the Boss?, The Facts of Life and Square Pegs! Boy I would kill to have this channel. So many rare shows. Shows that will return include classic '70s sitcoms Three's Company and All in the Family. To view the full schedule, I urge you to click HERE!
Sister station TVtropolis, which was known as Prime some years back, will also add some new series. They have moved away from classic TV a bit, putting them on sister net DejaView, but they will still have some classics! First they will add Family Guy and Fresh Prince to the line-up. Returning are Mad About You, Grace Under Fire, The Nanny, Frasier, Seinfeld, Beverly Hills 90210, and Married...with Children. So not much new and not really anything that old.
SUN TV in Canada will also add some new shows. They will add My Secret Identity (wow, this sitcom will be on two channels there!) Wonder Woman, Incredible Hulk, America's Funniest Home Videos, among others. Leave it to Beaver will remain on the fall line-up! View the fall schedule HERE.
We haven't yet obtained CTS TV's Fall 2007 schedule. Currently they air shows like Facts of Life, Happy Days, Full House, Step by Step, and Fresh Prince. No idea what will leave and what will come yet. We'll try to let you know, when we do.
Back to the U.S., the station called Boomerang, will air a huge Flintstones marathon this 4th of July! It is so big that every single episode will air, and it will be commercial free!
Programming an Independence Day tribute it has never before attempted, Boomerang, Cartoon Network's 24-hour commercial-free sister network, brings true fireworks to the Fourth of July holiday weekend with a first-time presentation of every episode of television's first prime time animated series, The Flintstones, including its original pilot, entitled "The Flagstones." The three-and-a-half-day marathon-THE FLAGTONES TO THE FLINTSTONES, featuring all 166 episodes without commercial interruption-will kick off at 6 a.m. (ET) on Wednesday, July 4, and culminate on Saturday, July 7 at 5 p.m. In addition, Boomerang VOD offerings in July also will reflect the FLAGSTONE TO FLINSTONES theme to present several all-time favorite episodes via a "Flintstones Fourth of July" tab for the VOD menu.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
AmericanLife July 2007 Highlights, Includes New Monday Classic Sitcom Block; Nick at Nite Change for July 1; Jim Renewal Now Official
Among the episode highlights for this new block in July include:
Monday, July 2
- WKRP in Cincinnati: The late film and stage legend Sylvia Sidney guests as Mama Carlson on "Pilot (Part 1)" (9:00 p.m. ET/PT).
- The Bob Newhart Show: Comedian and actress Penny Marshall guest stars as a stewardess on "Fly the Unfriendly Skies" (9:30 p.m. ET/PT).
Monday, July 9
- Newhart: William Sanderson, John Voldstad and Tony Papenfuss make their first appearance on the show as Larry, "my brother Darryl and my other brother Darryl" on "Mrs. Newton's Body Lies A'Mould'ring in the Grave" (8:30 p.m. ET/PT).
Monday, July 30
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show: NFL star turned actor Timothy Brown guests as himself on "Keep Your Guard Up" (8-8:30 p.m. ET/PT).
Visit our highlights section for AmericanLife July 2007 for complete highlights for the entire month!
Nick at Nite will air the 1978 John Travolta and Olivia Newton John movie Grease on Sunday (July 1) from 9 to 11:30 p.m., pre-empting the regular line-up. A marathon of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will follow from 11:30pm-5:00am...but what else is new? The movie will kick off the summer season for Nick at Nite, which will be wall-to-wall marathons (a week of one show from 9:30pm-5am each night), as we mentioned already.
Today ABC made it official, According to Jim will return next season for its 7th season! "When Brillstein-Grey approached me with the idea of doing a family show, I didn't realize the family would extend so wide," said Jim Belushi. "For six years, it's been a joy being part of the ABC and Touchstone families and part of each and every family who have been loyal viewers of our show every week. This season will top all the rest. I'm thrilled to continue this seventh season with these extended families."
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Another Change of Title for Applegate's Sitcom; ABC Family Schedule Change
The sitcom premieres this fall on ABC airing Mondays at 9:30pm right after Dancing with the Stars' performance shows.
In other ABC news, for the next two weeks on Fridays, George Lopez repeats will air from 8-9pm and Kyle XY will air at 9pm, instead of 8pm. Ratings is the reason for the change, as it would make sense for a family sitcom to lead-off the night.
ABC Family has made some minor changes to its line-up that will take in effect on Monday (July 2). New addition Sister, Sister is not doing too well in its 2-3pm slot, so ABC Family will bring back its veteran sitcom Step by Step from 8-9am to 2-3pm. Sister, Sister will be moved to just the weekdays at 8am half-hour and 7th Heaven makes its return to the line-up, airing weekday mornings at 8:30am. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch was airing weekdays at 9am, now they will move it to 4-5pm, its old slot, replacing Full House, which will just be 12-1pm now!
It looks like everything else is doing decent, including the new weekday evening line-up from 6-8pm of 8 Simple Rules and Grounded for Life.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Scott Baio Is 45...And Single on VH-1; TV Land Elvis Statue in Hawaii
Premiering Sunday July 15 at 10:30 PM ET/PT, Scott Baio is 45...And Single, reveals that Scott, at 45, in the midst of a mid-life crisis wondering why he's still single and unable to settle down even with his current girlfriend Renee, a woman he loves and who is perfect in his eyes. It's time for Scott to confront his commitment phobias or settle into the life of a bachelor who is forever searching for the perfect "unobtainable" woman.
With nowhere else to turn, Scott has decided to fully surrender the next eight weeks of his life for some exhaustive introspection with the highly-regarded life-coach, Dr. Alison Arnold, otherwise known as "Doc Ali." Doc Ali will guide him on a grueling, soul-searching mission; forcing him to confront a laundry list of old flames in order to hopefully get to the heart of his lonely heart condition. To get to the core of his problem, Scott will be forced to revisit ex-girlfriends, take a vow of celibacy and take a break from his current girlfriend Renee while he goes on his soul-searching journey.
Regularly appearing are: Doc Ali, Jason Hervey (The Wonder Years), and Scott's best friends: Johnny and Cooch.
TV Land and the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, will dedicate a life-sized bronze sculpture of Elvis Presley on Thursday, July 26 at 10 a.m. (HDT). The statue will grace The Neal S. Blaisdell Center, formerly The Honolulu International Center, the site of Elvis' 1973 Aloha from Hawaii concert. The sculpture - which commemorates this historic Aloha from Hawaii event seen globally on television — portrays the King of Rock 'n' Roll as he appeared in that performance and pays tribute to him during the 30th Anniversary year of his passing. Then, in August, as we have mentioned many times, TV Land will celebrate Elvis Presley's work with a month-long tribute commemorating his legacy.
This bronze sculpture is the network's sixth work to honor people, places and moments from pop culture by recognizing the site as a "TV Land Landmark." The network's landmarks include: a bronze statue of Ralph Kramden of The Honeymooners at the entrance of New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal; a sculpture of Mary Tyler Moore from The Mary Tyler Moore Show at Nicollett Mall in downtown Minneapolis, MN; The Andy Griffith Show statue in Raleigh's Pullen Park; a bronze statue of Bob Newhart commemorating his role as Dr. Robert Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show in Chicago and most recently, a tribute to the beloved series Bewitched with a life-size statue depicting a magical view of character Samantha Stevens, played by actress Elizabeth Montgomery, in Salem MA. Fans can visit TVLand.com to see photos, virtual tours of the statues as well as streaming video of some of the dedications.
Monday, June 25, 2007
According to Jim Renewed by ABC for 2008; Unsolved Mysteries To Return; NBC Notes
Broadcasting & Cable is reporting today that the 1987-97 series Unsolved Mysteries might be revived! HBO Television Distribution--reaching outside its own pay channel's original-programming ranks for the first time--and Cosgrove/Meurer Prods. are bringing back Mysteries, the granddaddy of hybrid reality/scripted crime- reenactment series.
They plan to make the classic show attractive to network buyers, through major reconstructive surgery. HBO began knocking on doors last week, offering an all-cash deal for 175 refurbished episodes of the documentary-style series about unsolved crimes and paranormal occurrences.
Lifetime has a contract to air reruns of the show, but that is expiring in 2008. HBO is taking out the series without a host, believed to be a first, and will leave it up to the acquiring cable network to choose the late Robert Stack's replacement.
Work is under way to expand the number of unsolved evergreen stories from four to five per episode, each cut down to a maximum of seven minutes. Cosgrove/Meurer and HBO are choosing their material from 900 hours of footage shot for the original 255 episodes.
They also plan to add newly produced updates--the most popular segments of the original series--that will focus on the solving of crimes and shedding new light on cold cases, which make up 60% of the stories, according to Executive Producer John Cosgrove.
Other additions include a new set, logo, music and, most important, the computerized effects needed to bring the stories up to current standards.
New weekly original episodes are also a distinct possibility and could come as part of the initial deal or at some point later.
NBC has quietly removed the summer encores of low-rated drama Friday Night Lights from its schedule. The show was repeating Sundays at 9pm, but was quietly replaced last night by a repeat of Law & Order, which did much better than Lights. Lights will return for a second season on Fridays at 10pm this fall, and NBC says they plan on returning the repeats either in late August or early September.
Meanwhile canceled drama Kidnapped is being burned-off during the late nights on most NBC affiliates on Sunday nights. It started last night on NBC stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta etc. The #1 NBC station, WNBC in New York, is not airing it however. Check your local listings on Sunday nights for exact times (usually varies between 12-3am).
Finally, NBC is rushing to put new reality series The Singing Bee on the air ASAP because of Fox trying to put a similar show on air before they do. NBC was going to air Bee in late fall on Fridays at 8, but that will not happen now. The Singing Bee will premiere on Tuesday, July 10 at 9:30 PM ET following a 90-minute installment of America's Got Talent. Talent is hosted by former Dancing with the Stars alum Jerry Springer, so what does NBC do? They will bring another alum of Dancing with the Stars to host The Singing Bee. Last season's runner-up Joey Fatone will host!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Coming Week Preview
So what is new or notable this week that you might want to catch? Tonight ABC will have the finale of Fast Cars & Superstars from 7-8pm. Fox will burn-off more all-new episodes of sitcom The Loop at 7:30, 8:30 & 9:30p. On cable, The 4400 and The Dead Zone will be all-new on USA and at 10pm on Lifetime, Army Wives.
On Monday it will be a battle of news at 9pm, an all-new Hell's Kitchen on Fox, ABC will air the finale of The Ex-Wives Club, and NBC air episode two of the new reality series Age of Love also at 9pm, followed by a special called Science of Love at 10pm. On the cable front, it is an all new Kyle XY on ABC Family at 8/7 central. TNT will air a new episode of The Closer followed by the new series Heartland!
Tuesday NBC will air a two-hour America's Got Talent from 8-10pm. Fox will continue to air low-rated reality series On the Lot at 8pm. ABC will premiere the new reality series Shaq's Big Challenge at 9pm, followed by the premiere of Primetime: Family Secrets at 10.
Wednesday ABC will be all-new all night, with The Next Best Thing at 8pm, followed by American Inventor, and finally at 10pm the action packed drama Traveler. Fox will air a two-hour So You Think You Can Dance. NBC will a new Last Comic Standing at 9, followed by Dateline. The CW will air Hidden Palms at 8 & 9pm. And on the cable front, two episodes of the hit new sitcom House of Payne on TBS from 9-10pm.
Thursday Fox will be new all-night with an all-new Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and So You Think You Can Dance-Thursday. CBS will air a new episode of Pirate Master at 8 and NBC will continue to burn-off Studio 60 at 10, following encores of their sitcoms. On cable, Starter Wife will be all-new on USA at 9pm followed by the premiere of Burn Notice at 10.
Friday ABC will air a repurposed episode of Kyle XY at 8 and at 10pm the always new 20/20. Fox will burn-off an episode of Standoff at 9pm.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Mini-DVD Review: The New Adventures of Batman (June 26); Solomon's Weekly Rant: Cable TV
The New Adventures of Batman (Warner, $26.99) brings all 16 episodes from the short-lived classic animated series reuniting the Caped Crusader (Adam West as Batman) and The Boy Wonder (Burt Ward as Robin)!
In this series, we see Batgirl from time to time and a new sidekick called Bat-Mite. Some of the villains they will battle include The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, and Mr. Freeze. Can they save Gotham City from these dangerous masterminds? You'll have to watch the episodes to find out! Each episode runs approx. 22:50. The lowest one is 22:14, which is the first of a 2-part episode. There are NO chapter stops, which is not good. The video is OK, not great, but not bad either. There are some white flashing dots from time to time, but that is to be expected. This series is also available on AOL's In2TV for free view, if you have never watched it. The audio is decent, nothing too bad about it. Packaging has a nice slim outer box with Batman and Robin running on the front cover...the back cover has tons of information a picture of Batman and Robin in the Batmobile. Inside the box is the very slim digipak case. All two discs are inside. There are two panels, the first panel gives a breakdown of each disc, which episodes, and if any extras. The second panel holds the discs...overlapping each other. The second disc is double-sided, so there is no art on it. The first disc's art has the villains, The Joker, Penguin, etc.
The menu screen has Play and Episodes. The main menu has a nice blue background with Batman. The selector is cool, when we point to an option, it is the Bat sign.
Moving on to the extras. The only extra is on disc two side B. A featurette called Dark Knight Revisited. It is very interesting and packed with lots of information on Batman. It runs 18:45 and any fan of any type of Batman series, movie or comic strip will enjoy it.
I highly do recommend any fan of Batman to pick up this set, especially fans of the classic '60s Batman. And if you never have watched the show, give it a try on In2TV for free then pick this set up! Holy DVDs Batman!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, June 16, 2007
"Cable Companies Making It Hard To Enjoy Television"
By Solomon Davis
It now seems like cable companies are competing with one another in coming up with creative ways to suck money out of cable customers. This really seems unfair to customers who pay their bills on time and are never late with a payment. But Comcast has made TV watching very expensive these days and it appears they will continue to jack up cable fees because they know true cable fans will always pay the increase. I guess this means that DirecTV is currently winning the battle and Comcast has made up for it by turning into "Jack the Increaser." I swear the President of Comcast should just put on a mask the way Comcast has sneakily drained money from us cable lovers.
First of all, I cannot believe I'm being charged to watch reruns of the NBC sitcom, The Office on Demand when it is completely free to watch on NBC from September to May. But once again Comcast is so money hungry and sneaky that they had to charge its customers 99 cents to watch a network TV program and didn't even tell customers there was a fee. We didn't find out until the bill came in the mail and saw that it is a dollar to watch NBC or CBS shows through Comcast OnDemand. When you first clicked on The Office you never saw that it was 99 cents, it was just recently put there now because of angry calls from cable customers. At least TubeTime is FREE!
Now I just found out that my grandmother who is a huge fan of Gunsmoke will have to upgrade her cable service in 2008 because Comcast is getting rid of basic cable. So now it is going to be all digital cable and that is not fair to a 79 year old woman who is on a fixed income and can't afford to pay more money to see a 1955 TV show. I haven't told my grandma this horrible news because I know she will be forced to pay the increase because she is so used to having cable. But Comcast can care less and they know my grandmother will find a way to pay the bill because of her cable TV addiction. My grandmother has gotten used to paying $33.00 a month for basic cable and now will have to pay a $15.00 increase for a TV show that started way before there was even cable television. Now it's looking relaxing and enjoying TV at home will be a costly experience and since Comcast MUST pull in more money than satellite rivals like DirecTV. With all the fees like maintenance, payment over the phone fee, and sales tax fee, everything will seem like PAY-PER-VIEW TV soon and we will all feel like putting a quarter in back of the cable box every time we turn on the television. I just want to know should I be furious with Comcast for finding ways to steal money from me or mad at myself for being a fan of cable television?
Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.
DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.
Friday, June 22, 2007
TBS Acquires My Name is Earl for Fall 2009; ABC Family Removes Heaven; The N's New Show
What a day for TBS, announcing two acquisitions in one day. TBS has reportedly paid close to $1 million an episode.
Local channels will also get the show for daily play in fall 2009, but no buys as of yet.
To view the press release and to discuss this news, click HERE.
ABC Family will remove 7th Heaven from the line-up effective this weekend. The show was only airing weekend mornings at 7am & 8am. ABC Family will replace the show with the same thing that airs weekdays from 7-9am...an hour each of the sitcoms Family Matters and Step by Step. Heaven probably wasn't doing that well in the mornings.
No idea if 7th Heaven will return to another slot, but so far it is off the schedule completely after this change.
The N has issued an update for July. The 12-3am marathon for the week of July 2 is...Laguna Beach. Yes, the MTV show. It will launch July 2 from 6pm-6am and air in nightly marathons that week from 12-3am. That is not all, though...it will air weeknights at 8pm & 12am that week and until further notice. Weird. Maybe just for the summer. They should air Growing Pains. Anyway, click here for the highlights.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Office Will Be Repurposed on TBS This Fall, Daily Airings Coming in Fall 2009 on TBS and Locals; Fox Renews American Dad Through 2009
Big news indeed for the sitcom. Maybe it can generate more viewers this way. The show is a hit among adults 18-49, but it lacks in total viewers of the hit sitcoms of the past.
To discuss this news and to read the full TBS press release, click HERE!
Oh and did you think that was all for fall 2009 for this sitcom? It will also join local channels that year for daily repeats as well! Fox-Owned Channels have bought reruns of the sitcom. The Fox Television Stations group, one of the nation's largest owned-and-operated network broadcast groups, comprises 35 stations in 26 markets, covering nearly 45% of U.S. television homes. This includes six duopolies in the top 10 markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, D.C. and Houston; as well as duopolies in Minneapolis, Phoenix and Orlando.
Click on the same link as above for more details (see post #2)!
We all know that American Dad will return next season on Fox Sundays, but now Fox has issued even better news for fans of the animated comedy! They have renewed it through the end of 2009 at least! So, two more seasons at the very least.
Fox issued the following statement on this news:
Fox has picked up the subversive animated series American Dad, featuring security-obsessed CIA agent and devoted family man Stan Smith, through the 2008-09 season. American Dad (Sundays, 9:30PM ET/PT) ranks No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-34, Teens and all male demos.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
ABC Changes Name for Applegate Sitcom; More Summer Shows; ION RHI Movie Weekend Release
As good as the title may have been, it also drew on the first lines of the classic Dr. Seuss work "Green Eggs and Ham." It's believed the Seuss estate didn't take kindly to ABC's literary allusion.
So now, ABC has opted to call the show Samantha Be Good.
The new title may not have the same ring as Sam I Am, but it still reflects one of the show's themes. Turns out that, before she lost her memory, Applegate's character was a not very nice person. Now that she's got a chance to start over, she'll be trying to be good.
I have seen the pilot, it is quite good. Look for our review later this summer, as we get closer to the fall season.
Moving on to new summer series news, in addition to all the new summer series airing already, CBS, Fox and ABC will have one more each. Let's start with Fox. Fox will add a new talent game show starting July 10. Wayne Brady will host this series that will be called Don't Forget the Lyrics!. The half-hour series will air twice a week--Wednesdays at 9:30PM and Thursdays at 8:30PM. Contestants will choose songs from different genres, decades and musical artists. Then they'll take center stage to sing alongside the studio band as the lyrics are projected on screen but suddenly the music will stop and the words will disappear. Will the contestants belt out the correct missing lyric, or freeze under pressure?
Moving on to ABC, they will launch a new hidden-camera comedy type show called Just for Laughs on Tuesday, July 17. Comedian Sinbad will host. It is based on the popular Canadian series by the same name. ABC will air this series Tuesdays at 8:30PM following encores of George Lopez. The premiere episode will be from 8 to 9PM however.
Finally, CBS will launch a new game show in August hosted by Drew Carey. So we are three for three in brand name hosts today. Power Of 10, a high-stakes, primetime game show where contestants compete for the chance to win $10 million, will have a special broadcast premiere on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 8:00PM. The series then moves to its regular time period on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 8:00PM. The contestant who can most accurately predict the American public's response to intriguing poll questions could walk away winning millions. Power Of 10 reaches out across America to poll thousands of people and ask them, well, just about everything - from "What percentage of Americans said they were virgins the day they got married?" to "How many Americans believe they are smarter than president George W. Bush?" Each week contestants will be tested to see if they have their finger on the pulse of the people and can accurately predict the results of the nationwide surveys. With the first question worth $1,000 and only five questions to answer, and each one increasing 10 times in value, the contestant who has the best take on the American mindset could walk away with a $10 million payday.
Finally, we detailed ION Television's July line-up nearly two weeks ago, but today they issued a press release on their new RHI Weekend programming that will start June 29 airing Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays from 7-11PM. RHI’s exciting lineup of programming for ION will include the creation of exclusive original programming as well as quality library titles. The first of 12 originals is Killer Wave, an action-packed thriller in which nature’s deadliest ocean phenomenon-massive tidal waves-meet the dark nature of man by way of a terrorist plot.
The premiere of RHI/ION weekend features Broken Vows (Friday, June 29), starring Tommy Lee Jones and Annette O’Toole; Lonesome Dove, a digitally re-mastered edition of the blockbuster miniseries whose all-star cast includes Robert Duvall, Anjelica Huston, Tommy Lee Jones, Diane Lane, Danny Glover and Chris Cooper; and Cleopatra, the lavish miniseries that stars Timothy Dalton and Billy Zane, with Leonor Varela in the title role.
For the entire press release highlight click HERE.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Sony Classic TV Minisodes Launches Today, Full Details; Interviews with Marion Ross and Dan Lauria
The Minisode Network will launch with three episodes each from 15 classic series: The Partridge Family, Starsky & Hutch, TJ Hooker, Charlie's Angels, Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, Who's the Boss?, What's Happening!!, Dilbert, Sheena, Fantasy Island, Police Woman, VIP and Ricki Lake. New minisodes will be added weekly with more than 500 episodes available by the end of the year.
Among the classic episodes include the famous "Angels in Chains" episode of Charlie's Angels, "Shoplifting" episode of The Facts of Life and "The Spanking" episode of Diff'rent Strokes!
To discuss this news and to read the full press release, click HERE.
Eric's JustMyShow.com Podcast is back for episode 14 and it features interviews with a classic TV mom and a classic TV dad...and the best part is both are sitcom stars! The guests are Marion Ross from Happy Days and Dan Lauria from The Wonder Years.
Marion Ross is one of TV's most beloved moms for her 11 years as "Mrs. C" on Happy Days. A five-time Emmy nominee, Ross also starred in the critically acclaimed series Brooklyn Bridge and had a recurring role on The Drew Carrey Show. She was most recently seen on an episode of the current ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.
Dan Lauria is best known to audiences as Jack Arnold, Fred Savage's TV dad on The Wonder Years. A former Marine, Lauria gives his time to various veteran causes. When he's not appearing on TV & film, he's focusing on his first love, the theater.
Head on over to JustMyShow's 14th episode listen to these two great interviews! There are bonus clips as well that you will for sure want to listen to. Good job once again to our buddy Eric!
Monday, June 18, 2007
DVD Update, Including TV Land's I Pity the Fool; LG Mobile Phones Celebrates with Classic TV Stars
Also coming soon to DVD: The Complete First Season of the current CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment! The set will street on September 4 and Amazon is taking pre-orders already for the sitcom starring David Spade and Patrick Warburton. All 7 first season episodes will be included. The series will be back for a second season this fall on CBS Mondays!
Finally, The Complete Fourth Season of the classic sitcom I Dream of Jeannie will also be release on September 4 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment! That's another fun year for Barbara Eden and company!
LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A., Inc. (LG Mobile Phones) is hosting The LG Mobile TV Party, an event to celebrate the evolution of the television. Bringing together television stars from the past, present and future, LG is taking us at warp speed to the future of television.
Taking place on June 19 at famous Paramount Studios, some of the most well-known names in television will gather together to reminisce about the past and take a peak at the future. The party will recreate themes from three of television's most memorable shows including the Brady Bunch, Star Trek and Happy Days.
The LG VX9400 is capable of delivering programs from some of the
biggest television networks right into the palm of your hand. Users can catch their favorite show by checking out the easy-to-use one touch program guide. With the VX9400, you have the ability to make calls, answer messages, and when finished, go right back to enjoying TV programs -- just like if a consumer were to step away from the television set during a program for a minute or two at home.
Celebrities expected to attend LG's Mobile TV Party include Scott Baio (Chachi, Happy Days; Charles, Charles in Charge), Jason Hervey (Wayne, Wonder Years), Christopher Knight (Peter Brady, The Brady Bunch), Gary Coleman (Arnold Jackson, Diff'rent Strokes), Shannen Doherty (Brenda Walsh, Beverly Hills 90210), Alan Thicke (Dr. Jason Seaver, Growing Pains), George Takei (Sulu, Star Trek), Jack Coleman (Steven Carrington, Dynasty; Noah, Heroes) with DJ AM spinning into the early morning hours -- all to celebrate the launch of the LG VX9400.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Summer Week 3 Sitcom Ratings; Coming Week Preview
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of June 4-10)
- War at Home (Fox) - A 7pm encore airing did just 1.91 million, down even from previous week's 2.52 million.
- King of the Hill (Fox) - 2.74 million for a repeat.
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 5.27 million, doubling from lead-in.
- The Loop (Fox) 2 episodes - Two all-new episodes did just 3.43 million at 8:30 and 3.6 million at 9:30
- Family Guy (Fox) - 4.54 million for an encore.
- Creature Comforts
- Old Christine (CBS) - 4.71 million for a repeat, down from last week's encore.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.38 million for a repeat, again down from last week.
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 7.37 million for a repeat.
- Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, Girlfriends, The Game (The CW) - Repeats of these sitcoms did all under 2 million this week with Chris, the highest at 1.64 million.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- None
- Creature Comforts (CBS) 2 episodes - Wednesday encores from 8-9pm did 3.48 and 3.1 million, way down from King of Queens the last two weeks.
Thursday Sitcoms
- 30 Rock (NBC) 2 episodes - 4.09 million for a repeat...at least it had 4 million.
- The Office (NBC) - 4.49 million for an encore, built from lead-in a bit.
- Scrubs (NBC) - The lowest of the bunch, 3.86 million for a repeat.
So what is new or notable this week that you might want to catch? Tonight ABC will have an- all new Fast Cars & Superstars. Fox will burn-off more episodes of sitcom The Loop at 8:30 & 9:30p. NBC will have an all-new Last Comic Standing from 9-11pm.
CBS will air episode two of the new clay animated sitcom called Creature Comforts, airing Monday at 8. An all-new Hell's Kitchen is at 9pm on Fox and ABC will a new The Ex-Wives Club at 9pm as well, and NBC will premiere new reality Age of Love also at 9pm, following Deal or No Deal. On the cable front, its an all new Kyle XY on ABC Family at 8/7 central. TNT will have the season premiere of The Closer followed by the series premiere of Heartland!
Tuesday NBC will air a two-hour America's Got Talent from 8-10pm. Fox will continue to air low-rated reality series On the Lot at 8pm. ABC will air an all-new episode of Fast Cars & Superstars.
Wednesday ABC will be all-new all night, with the surprise hit The Next Best Thing at 8pm, followed by American Inventor, and finally at 10pm the action packed drama Traveler. Fox will air two-hour So You Think You Can Dance. NBC will a new Last Comic Standing at 9. The CW will air Hidden Palms at 8. And on the cable front, two episodes of the hit new sitcom House of Payne on TBS from 9-10pm.
Thursday Fox will be new all-night with an all-new Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and So You Think You Can Dance-Thursday. CBS will air a new episode of Pirate Master at 8 and NBC will continue to burn-off Studio 60 at 10, following encores of their sitcoms.
Friday ABC will air a repurposed episode of Kyle XY at 8, followed by the season finale of National Bingo Night at 9, leading into the always new 20/20. Fox will burn-off an episode of Standoff at 9pm.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Mini-DVD Review: Perry Mason - Season 2, Part 1 (June 19); Solomon's Weekly Rant: ION Television
Perry Mason: Season Two, Part 1 (CBS DVD, $39.98) brings the first 15 episodes of the second season of the show that featured America's all-time greatest defender (as well as Hamilton Burger, who HAS to be the worst DA EVER) in a four-disc DVD set. In this set, you'll find a case where a man is charged twice for killing the same man, a case where a woman is blackmailed by her ex-husband (who turns up dead), a case where a camera flash becomes part of a murder trial, a case where a parrot's testimony could incriminate one of Perry's clients, and many more. And if you have to ask who won the cases, then you just
don't know Perry Mason! Plus, there are guest roles featuring John Dehner, Joseph Kerns, Edgar Buchanan, and others there were bigger in their own time than they'll be remembered for in this set.
The set itself is presented in double slim cases (which is actually nice to see considering that CBS DVD seems to have abandoned these for other series) with artwork that is very similar to the two season one sets. And what is always amazing about these sets is the video and audio quality... sometimes we get shows that are ten years old that look lousy on DVD, yet somehow with these Perry Mason sets, with episodes that are FIFTY YEARS OLD, we get a beautiful picture on pretty much every episode along with audio that is generally pretty good too (it is improved in this season over the first season sets).
And there is never a need to worry about whether or not these are edited, as every single one runs over 51 minutes (this means that even if you are seeing reruns on a more generous station that airs 44 minute syndicated episodes, you are still missing out on up to 7 minutes per episode).
The only thing missing in this set is (once again) bonus features. Before the first volume was released, there was talk of the studio looking for special features to include in these sets, but so far, CBS DVD has been a disappointment in this area and we have yet to see any special features. Granted, many of the people involved with the show are no longer alive, but there has to be SOMETHING out there for this show... if nothing else, maybe some fans could contribute some special features for this set (there are plenty of Perry Mason fans out there). But in light of the evidence, such as the great episodes and the great quality of the set, I have to give a not guilty verdict to this wonderful DVD set!
-- Reviewed by skees53
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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, June 16, 2007
"There's a New Girl in Town, With a Brand New BAD Style, And That is ION Television"
By Solomon Davis
I don't know where to start with the ION network because this channel has made my TV watching time very ODD so let's call this channel the "INCREDIBLY ODD NETWORK." One of the odd things about ION is the editing style which seems to be the Microsoft Word version of editing episodes. When watching episodes of Alice, it looks like they just cut and paste instead of cut and blend. It's the sloppiest form of editing I have ever seen in my rerun watching life. Not only that but ION goes to a commercial every 4 minutes during Alice making it impossible to follow a storyline. So why do they want to treat our eyes like a newborn baby and spoon feed us small doses of every episode?
This sloppy editing has made me stop recording Alice and wait for the DVD to be released because the ION episodes needs lots of improvement.
Not only is the editing crappy but the quality of the color of the episodes is very POOR. When watching Alice on ION it looks like the hours of operation for Mel's Diner is 12 midnight to 6am because the lighting is so dim. It makes me wonder if ION is being broadcast from someone's basement because everything presented to viewers just comes out as high school material.
Then the audio for the closing theme of Amen some nights is extra fast making it sound like it's being sung by Alvin & the Chipmunks. "Watch out cause here we come," is ION's motto, I guess.
I think ION should just go back to paid programming because they have shown they don't have the audio or editing skills to air TV sitcoms. Hey ION STOP DESTROYING OLD CLASSIC SITCOMS and get some real editors to work for your station instead of amateurs. People who tune in to see certain TV shows, especially rare to find series such as Alice, want well edited episodes, not SLICED and DICED episodes that are CRAZY GLUED to any scene making the storyline seem very ODD!! So until things change at this station, the new name for this channel is the ION: INCREDIBLY ODD NETWORK.
Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.
DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.
Friday, June 15, 2007
TV One July Highlights; Nick at Nite, The N Changes; Honda Sponsors Sony Minisodes
On Sunday, July 8 at 8pm, TV One premieres the legendary mini-series Roots: The Next Generations, the 14-hour, 7-part sequel to the original Roots miniseries that made television history. The story picks up in 1882 just after the original left off where Tom Harvey, the great grandson of Kunta Kinte has established a marginal existence as a blacksmith in Henning, Tennessee. The series continues the story of author Alex Haley’s family line from the Post American Civil War era to Alex’s search for his genealogical roots which led him to Africa. The mini-series stars Georg Stanford Brown, Lynne Moody, Debbi Morgan, Henry Fonda, Stan Shaw, Irene Cara, Marlon Brando, Paul Winfield, Ruby Dee, and James Earl Jones as Alex Haley. The first six parts air at 8pm all week through Friday, with encore showings at 10pm and in the weekday noon movie slots. They will also re-air on Saturday, July 14 from 12 noon to midnight. The final part will air Sunday night, July 15 also at 8pm and 10pm – and will be repeated on Monday, July 16 at 9pm.
Beginning Sunday, July 29 from 2am-6am, In the House replaces Amen in TV One’s Sunday weekly overnight comedy mini-marathons.
Nick at Nite has made a minor change for Saturday, June 23. From 10pm-2am, they have scheduled a mini-marathon for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. What else is new, though?
The week of June 18, The N will air overnight marathons of the teen drama Summerland from 12-3am, but Monday it will be 12-6am.
Next week Sony will officially announce the full details for the Sony minisodes we mentioned a few weeks back. Today, Sony said Honda will be the sole sponsor for the short episodes. It is scheduled to begin next week. Visitors to the MySpace Web site will be able to watch episodes of 15 (initially...more will come soon) vintage Sony series like Charlie's Angels, Police Woman, The Partridge Family, Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, What's Happening!!, Fantasy Island and Who's the Boss?, edited from their original lengths of approx. 30 or 60 minutes each to an Internet-friendly 4 to 6 minutes.
Honda and its longtime agency, RPA, have agreed to run only eight seconds of commercials with each episode, appearing before the shortened show starts. First, there will be an on-screen billboard lasting three seconds, declaring, "The Minisode Network, brought to you by Honda." The billboard will be followed by a five-second commercial for the Honda Fit, the mini-car that American Honda introduced last year, and its website.
The minisodes will appear exclusively on MySpace through the end of August. Initially, there will be three episodes of each series, with new episodes to be added each week. Sony Pictures Television announced the idea in April, describing it as a way to re-purpose for the new media programming that was originally produced for the traditional media.
The minisodes are not intended as pastiches or excerpts; they are edited carefully so the plots can be followed from beginning to end. (It helps that many of the series are formulaic sitcoms or police dramas.)
After the exclusivity with MySpace ends the goal is for the minisodes to come to other websites while remaining on MySpace. Sony Pictures Television is looking at sites like AOL.com, Yahoo! and YouTube, as well as posting them on a micro-site, a special site of their own.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Real Story on Bob Barker's Retirement? New Book By Chris Mann Coming; ABC Modifies Fall Friday Schedule
In addition to this article, Chris is working on a tell-all book on the show. I can't wait to read it, as this show had a lot of backstage problems, mostly with Bob and his "beauties" -- from sexual harassment to being fired because of weight gain. Good luck Chris!
ABC has not announced this yet, but the Men in Trees' official website has a blog, which the creator of the series informs fans of updates. The creator has learned that ABC will shuffle the timeslots for all three shows slated for the night. Here it is in her own words:
Season Two (of Men in Trees) will start airing Fridays at 9:00 pm (our launch slot) starting at the end of September or beginning of October. NOTE: ABC officially announced we were on at 8pm on Fridays, this has been changed to 9pm. We are now premiering in the 9:00pm time slot, after 20/20, which will move from 10pm to 8pm. So, don't get confused. 9:00 pm, Friday nights. We will be followed by new drama Women’s Murder Club at 10pm.
There you have it. I'm sure she is correct, but it won't be official until ABC actually announces it.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Nick at Nite July Sees Summer Marathons; Larroquette Heads Back to Court
These "wall to wall marathons" start at 9:30pm Mon-Thurs & Sun and at 10:30pm on Fri & Sat. Marathons end every night at 5am with the rotating trio of Designing Women, Hi-Jinks and Murphy Brown at 5am followed by Full House at 5:30am. AFV will still kick-off each night, leading into the marathons.
These marathons are probably going to continue in August as well. The marathons start June 25 with Fresh Prince week, then the week of July 2 it is more Fresh Prince, Roseanne gets the week of July 9, Full House gets week of July 16, Cosby Show gets week of July 23, and more Fresh Prince week of July 30.
For more details and to discuss this piece of news, click HERE.
Emmy Award-winning actor and sitcom legend John Larroquette (Night Court) is set to join the cast of ABC's Boston Legal next season as a senior partner from the New York offices of Crane Poole & Schmidt who transfers to the Boston office. The show will return for a fourth season on ABC next season.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
TV Land August Schedule Includes Month-Long Elvis Salute; Network Notes
Other changes that week are All in the Family at 7:30am replacing Sanford & Son.
The week of July 30 will see more changes. Keeping the schedule that started July 23, we get these additional changes: On Monday nights at 5am now will be an additional All in the Family followed by The Jeffersons at 5:30am. Fri-Sun starting at 8pm all month long will be Elvis movies. Friday and Saturday nights at 5 & 5:30am will now be I Love Lucy, with Andy Griffith taking that slot on Sunday nights. Talk about confusing! This week also sees changes to weekends, especially Saturdays. Both days from 6-8am have changed...I Love Lucy from 6-7am and Green Acres from 7-8am. I Love Lucy will continue to air weekends from 10am-12pm, but now on Saturdays it will also be 12-1pm, leading into a movie encore block from 1-5pm. Andy Griffith follows at 5 & 5:30pm, followed by Little House at 6 and more Andy from 7-8pm--the same as Mon-Fri. So TV Land Goes West is not on Saturdays anymore. It will still air Sundays.
The week of August 6 is the final changes for awhile. TV Land Goes West will now be Mondays! So, Sundays and Mondays in August. Bonanza will air 8am-12pm on Mondays and Gunsmoke will air 2pm-6pm on Mondays. Other changes starting this week are on Tues-Fri: The Jeffersons at 7:30am, All in the Family at 8:30am, Gunsmoke returns to weekdays at 10am & 4pm, Green Acres at 11am only, Elvis movies every weekday at 12 noon, followed by back to back Beaver from 2-3pm and one Munsters at 3pm.
Holy confusion Batman! I know, so confusing! Click HERE to view the list of changes.
Now that is just the schedule changes...let's move on to the highlights now! TV Land celebrates August with Elvis month, including an all-new TV Land original special: TV Land Myths & Legends: Elvis. This half-hour special coincides with TV Land's month-long salute to Elvis Presley. Thirty years after his death, TV Land takes an in-depth look at some of the most popularly held mysteries about the "King of Rock and Roll" and dissects them to separate fact from fiction. Tons of movies, specials, documentaries, concerts and more are airing. I suggest you view our highlights below for more details.
Millions watched the weekly heart-filled stories of families in need unfold. Now it can be seen on TV Land, reinforcing the gift of giving! Extreme Makeover: Home Edition starts on August 7th, and airs every Tuesday night at 11pm.
Friday movies this month include the premieres of Major League, Honeymoon in Vegas, and 1974's The Longest Yard.
And finally, two originals will wrap up this month with TV Land Confidential and Back to the Grind. Again, click HERE to view the list of changes and the highlights for this action packed month.
The CW is closing the door of new summer drama Hidden Palms a little earlier than thought. Currently airing Wednesdays at 8, with encores Sundays at 8, it will now be doubled-up Wednesdays at 8 & 9pm on June 20 and 27, so it can end its run after the July 4 airing. Ouch, last episode will air on the 4th of July. Who will watch?? The encores on Sundays will be replaced by 7th Heaven repeats, while Reba repeats will take the 7pm hour effective immediately (June 17).
Jericho, CBS's drama about how residents of a small, peaceful, Kansas town band together to survive in the wake of a nuclear explosion, will return to CBS beginning Friday, July 6 at 9:00 PM, ET/PT. Rebroadcasts of episodes from the first season will air in the Friday, 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT time period for the remainder of the summer.
Jericho, which last week received a seven episode mid-season order following an impassioned display of fan support, will return on July 6 with a rebroadcast of the pilot episode. Watch it now so CBS won't have to cancel it again!
Monday, June 11, 2007
TV Land Details TV Land Confidential Season 2 and New Series Back to the Grind; TV One Weddings with Amen and Good Times
Why was Ray Romano so reluctant to go to Italy to shoot Everybody Loves Raymond? What did Michael Jackson confess to Donny Osmond? What made the dance scenes in Saturday Night Fever so hot? TV Land, the network dedicated to building the ultimate Baby Boomer entertainment brand, answers these questions and reveals the untold stories behind viewers' favorite TV guest stars, finales, blockbuster movies and hit songs when the original series, TV Land Confidential, returns on Wednesday, July 11 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. This six-episode series, premiering with back-to-back episodes -- "Oddballs" and "Movies" -- airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. through August 8.
For complete episode descriptions of the second season, click HERE.
What happens when Sherman Hemsley spends the day sweating it out at a real dry cleaning establishment? Can Loni Anderson really hack it as a receptionist at a top radio station? And does the courtroom listen when Harry Anderson starts hitting the gavel? Viewers will find out when TV Land airs Back to the Grind, a new original series premiering Wednesday, July 18 at 10:30 p.m. This half-hour series challenges iconic TV performers to actually work in the jobs their TV characters held on shows like The Jeffersons, Night Court and WKRP in Cincinnati. Other performers featured in the series include Erik Estrada (CHiPs), Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons), Betty White (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Mark Curry (Hangin' With Mr. Cooper), Bea Arthur (The Golden Girls), Ed Begley Jr. (St. Elsewhere) and Jimmie Walker (Good Times).
This sounds good actually, and to learn more about the episodes, click HERE!
June is of course known for lots of things...Father's Day, First Day of Summer, among other things, but it is also a very popular month to get married! TV One celebrates with classic TV weddings from two very popular sitcoms...Amen & Good Times! See classic engagements, weddings, and more on Saturday from 2pm-10pm on TV One with happenings like Thelma finally marrying the Reverend on Amen! See eight episodes each of these two classic sitcoms!
We'll be back tomorrow with TV Land August details and later in the week details on TV One July.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Summer Week 2 Sitcom Ratings; Coming Week Preview
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of May 28-June 3)
- War at Home (Fox) - A 7pm encore airing did just 2.52 million, leading into a movie, so the rest of Fox's comedies were pre-empted.
- Creature Comforts
- Old Christine (CBS) - 5.74 million for the second repeat of the summer season, down from last week's 6.23 million...blame that on the compatibility of the lead-in.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 11.27 million for a repeat in the summer is a "wow" for a sitcom. Even up from last week's 10.75 million
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 8.72 million, just about on par from King of Queens' 8.6 million last week in this slot, but remember the 9pm lead-in this week was higher.
- Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, Girlfriends, The Game (The CW) - Repeats of these sitcoms did all over 2 million this week but Chris, which did 1.92 million.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- George Lopez
- According to Jim (ABC) - Aired at 8:30pm this week, and did just 3.41 million, compared to last week's 5.2 and 5.38 million for two repeats from 9-10pm.
- King of Queens
Thursday Sitcoms
- The Office (NBC) - 2.6/4 rating for a repeat. Only 3.92 million last week.
- Scrubs (NBC) - 2.5/4 rating for a repeat, as last week it did just 3.82 million. It looks like each half hour went down..
So what is new or notable this week that you might want to catch? Tonight ABC will be all-new with the second episode of Fast Cars & Superstars, followed by Game 2 of The NBA Finals between Cleveland and San Antonio. CBS will air the Tony Awards, while Fox will burn-off episodes of sitcom The Loop at 8:30 & 9:30p. On cable, the series finale of The Sopranos on HBO will score big and will outscore everything on broadcast.
CBS will air episode two of the new clay animated sitcom called Creature Comforts, airing Mondays at 8. Second airing of Hell's Kitchen is at 9pm on Fox and ABC will air episode three of The Ex-Wives Club at 9pm as well. On the cable front, check out the season premiere of Kyle XY on ABC Family at 8/7 central.
Tuesday NBC will air a two-hour America's Got Talent from 8-10pm. Fox will continue to air low-rated reality series On the Lot at 8pm.ABC will be all-new with the third episode of Fast Cars & Superstars, followed by Game 3 of The NBA Finals between Cleveland and San Antonio.
Wednesday ABC will be all-new all night, with the surprise hit The Next Best Thing at 8pm, followed by American Inventor, and finally at 10pm the action packed drama Traveler will air its fourth episode. Fox will air an encore of So You Think You Can Dance at 8, leading into an all-new episode at 9. NBC will air Deal or No Deal leading into the premiere of Last Comic Standing from 9-11. The CW will air Hidden Palms at 8. And on the cable front, two episodes of the hit new sitcom House of Payne on TBS from 9-10pm.
Thursday ABC will be all-new with Fast Cars & Superstars, followed by Game 4 of The NBA Finals between Cleveland and San Antonio. Fox will also be new all-night with an all-new Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and So You Think You Can Dance-Thursday. CBS will air the third episode of Pirate Master at 8 and NBC will continue to burn-off Studio 60 at 10, following encores of their sitcoms.
Friday CBS will air Bob Barker's final Price is Right episode in primetime at 8 leading into the Daytime Emmy Awards. ABC will air a repurposed episode of Kyle XY at 8, followed by another episode of National Bingo Night at 9, leading into the always new 20/20. Fox will burn-off an episode of Standoff at 9pm.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Mini DVD Review: Picket Fences - Season One (June 19); Solomon's Weekly Rant: TV Land
Picket Fences: Season One (Fox, $59.98) takes you to the quaint town of Rome, Wisconsin... a small town in a Midwestern state that is calm and serene at all times. Yeah right! Rome may just be one of the most screwed up small towns in all of America, as is seen in this series. In how many other small towns will you find a hand in a jar, a police chase involving an elephant and a dwarf, drunken cows, murderous nuns, transsexual elementary school teachers (that want to play the Virgin Mary in a school play on top of that!), and a man keeping a dead wife on life support in his home? And that isn't even half of what happens in the first season of this dysfunctional town!
For those unfamiliar with the series, it stars Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker as Jimmy and Jill Brock. Jimmy is the town sheriff and Jill is a doctor. They have two sons together, and Jimmy also has a daughter from a previous marriage. The unusual events that occur in Rome almost
never involve the Brock family directly, but in almost every case, they somehow manage to get involved in almost every case and often times on opposing sides. The series is mostly a drama, but that isn't to say that it isn't a comedy either--the series has many funny moments involving the nutty people of Rome, particularly with one of the attorneys in Rome, Douglas Wambaugh (played by Fyvush Finkel, who later played Harvey Lipschultz on Boston Public). The series was created by David E. Kelley, and those that are familiar with his television work (which includes many popular television series, including the current series Boston Legal) know that to him, a drama always has comedic moments.
The presentation of the episodes is generally pretty good, with all episodes appearing to be unedited and having great audio and video quality, but the set becomes really disappointing on the special features front. Basically, there is a featurette called "All Roads Lead to Rome," which sounds promising as it is advertised to be an all-new featurette featuring interviews from the cast and crew members. And the best part is that they DID get many of the living cast and crew members to participate in this featurette. But the featurette is only 10 minutes long and didn't get into too many specifics! It would have been better if the DVD producers had just skipped this featurette and done commentaries, as those probably would have provided more insight into the series. Still, this is a great show, and for those that may have been so unfortunate as to miss this when it aired on CBS or in syndication, you'll definitely want to consider this set, particularly if you are a fan of David E. Kelley's unique style of comedic drama.
-- Reviewed by skees53
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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, June 9, 2007
"TV Land Taking the 'C' Out of Classic TV"
By Solomon Davis
This week I want to rant about the once great cable channel, TV Land, which has in the past five years turned into the Diverse TV Network since we are given all types of TV programs. First, this channel made viewers appreciate classic television. Now..."DTVN" is adding anything but classic TV to their programming schedule. Instead we are given wonderful Friday Night Movies that makes me want to run home from work every week and be home by 9PM. Doesn't DTVN know that we can turn to channels like HBO or Cinemax if we are in a movie watching mood? I have never seen Cinemax air I Love Lucy and do you know why? Because it's a MOVIE CHANNEL not a network figuring out its identity in the cable world. So is DTVN thinking of competing with Cinemax for the best movies on Friday nights? Which makes me wonder if there was another network that aired classic TV would DTVN compete with that network by adding more Classic TV shows? Guess we will never know.
DTVN has also made another groundbreaking decision for its viewers by picking up Extreme Makeover: Home Edition which will air Tuesdays at 11PM starting in August and now we can watch someone's house be made over and over until our eyeballs fall out of our head. I think this network needs an 'Extreme Makeover: The Cable Edition.' And expect more surprises in the upcoming months which will disappoint 80% of the viewing public since DTVN loves taking the C out of Classic TV. In 2008 we probably will be treated to Sunday Night Game Shows like Deal or No Deal or Saturday Morning Cartoons like Pokemon, why should this network stop now? Just give all kinds of programming and make us forget classic TV ever existed. It makes me so giddy to wait for DTVN's
next big programming decision because I know whatever it is, it will make me almost break down my front door so DTVN can be the first channel I turn to as soon as I get in from work!
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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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