Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Day 24: WGA's Strike; Hallmark Channel Acquires 7th Heaven, Cheers, I Love Lucy; Animated Dennis the Menace to DVD!

It is day 24 now of the writers' strike. It is still early in the day, but no news yet on an agreement. We do have some news. Talk show host Carson Daly has crossed the picket line. Which means his show, NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, will soon be back with new episodes. The half-hour talk show airs on NBC late nights at 1:35am. Unlike other talk show hosts like Kimmel, Letterman and Leno, Daly is not a member of the WGA, so it was easier for him to cross. The WGA is however disappointed. No word yet when we will see new episodes, but I'm betting starting next week.

Hallmark Channel has just completed a major deal to acquire several award- winning series, including the critically acclaimed 7th Heaven, the ever popular Cheers and classic baby boomer favorite, I Love Lucy, along with additional episodes of Matlock and Touched By An Angel from CBS Television Distribution. The deal also includes rights to 12 off-net holiday movies, including Finding John Christmas, Town Without a Christmas and When Angels Come to Town.
7th Heaven is the first show that will be ready to launch on Hallmark Channel as early as January of 2008 with Cheers having the next window later in 2008 and I Love Lucy in January of 2009. Matlock has been renewed through 2011, with a similar extension for Touched By an Angel.
Now what does this mean for ABC Family still airing 7th Heaven? That fate will be revealed on tomorrow's blog as we announce ABC Family January. Come on back for that...it will include a new show for ABC Family!
As for Cheers and I Love Lucy, Hallmark says it is not an exclusive cable deal, so TV Land could still run it, but Cheers is expiring from TV Land in September 2008 and I Love Lucy expires on TV Land in December 2008, which makes me think TV Land will not renew both series and Hallmark will just air it. That is still awhile away, so we will find out more details soon. I bet Cheers will launch next fall on Hallmark. Anyway, stay tuned for further details! We hope to have the January line-up soon. For now click HERE to view the press release and to discuss this big news!

Finally, a personal favorite of mine, the '80s animated series Dennis the Menace is finally coming to DVD this March! Dennis The Menace: Trouble, Trouble Everywhere debuts on DVD March 18, 2008 from Fox Home Entertainment.
In Dennis The Menace: Trouble, Trouble Everywhere entire nations can't run and hide. If they did, they surely would when lovable troublemaker Dennis Mitchell pays a visit! Like most families, the Mitchells love taking vacations, but wherever they go, young Dennis seems to wind up in the center of numerous hilarious catastrophes. Whether he’s chasing crooks in Venice or kangaroos in Sydney, outrunning Mayans in South America, or bulls in Spain – or even proving that erupting volcanoes in Hawaii wreak less havoc than he does, Dennis is always drawn to find trouble, wherever it is!
I wish it was a full set with full episodes and not just a best of set. I hope this sells well so we can get all of them on DVD in the full form. Episodes on this set are: "Dennis in Venice," "Mayan Mayhem," "The Big Candied Apple," "A Royal Pain," "Dennis and the Kangaroo Cavalry," "Dennis Plasters Pamplona," and "Black and Blue Hawaii."
To read more about this and to discuss this, click HERE!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, December 3

Krapopolis - "Ty's Tail Tale" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Tyrannis is possessed by his deceased grandfather who rules with fear and a large scorpion tail, Shlub must fight to bring back the old Tyrannis; Hippocampus and Stupendous bring a pregnant pegasus home.

The Simpsons - "AE Bonny Romance" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Groundskeeper Willie is kidnapped to Scotland, Bart and the Simpsons follow, only to be faced with Homer's worst nightmare.

Bob's Burgers - "Fraud of the Dead: Zombie-docu-pocalypse" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
A documentary film profiling world-class archer Louise Belcher is interrupted by unexpected visitors.

Family Guy - "Baking Sad" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Meg discovers her tears produce delicious cookies; Peter and the guys launch a male talk show.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 27)

Friday, December 1

  • Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Watch Henry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Brie Larson (United States of Tara/Raising Dad) - Brie is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Eric Idle (Suddenly Susan/Nearly Departed) - Eric appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Ms. Pat (The Ms. Pat Show) - Ms. Pat appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Angela Means (Cousin Skeeter) - Angela is a guest on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - NBC's Today catches up with Kelsey in the 9am hour.
  • Brandy Norwood (Zoe Ever After/The Game/Moesha/Thea) - Brandy chats and performs on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Patrick sits down with to chat about his book Making It So on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus tells Sherri about his coming-of-age film, How I Learned to Fly, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Chris Redd (Bust Down/Kenan/Disjointed) - Chris discusses his upcoming film Candy Cane Lane on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell/Alexa & Katie/Good Morning, Miami/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Tiffani discusses her latest cookbook, Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers, and cooks on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)

Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


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