Day 47: WGA's Strike; SitcomsOnline.com Interactive: Your Top Sitcom Christmas Episodes; Nick at Nite's Family Initiative

Friday, December 21, 2007

Day 47: WGA's Strike; SitcomsOnline.com Interactive: Your Top Sitcom Christmas Episodes; Nick at Nite's Family Initiative

We are in day 47 of the strike. Two more late night talk shows will go back in production without writers now. This time Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. "We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence. We continue to hold out hope for a swift resolution to the current stalemate that will enable the shows to be complete again," the network said in a statement.
They will go on without writers on Monday, Jan. 7. The WGA was not pleased by the decision: "Comedy Central forcing Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert back on the air will not give the viewers the quality shows they've come to expect. The only way to get the writing staffs back on the job is for the AMPTP companies to come back to the table prepared to negotiate a fair deal with the Writers Guild."
In scheduling news, ABC has indeed moved the last new pre-strike episode of Grey's Anatomy to Thursday, Jan. 10. Literally within minutes of that move, NBC moved Celebrity Apprentice's premiere back to Jan. 3 to avoid Grey's. What a cat and mouse game! NBC is so scared. I hope ABC doesn't move Grey's back to Jan. 3 now. The Donald is dead anyway just as his hair has been dead for years.

After a long lay-off our special feature SitcomsOnline.com Interactive is back! In the past we have asked for similar sitcom plot episodes and what sitcoms you would want to see on ION Television. Since we are very close to Christmas, we will ask you sitcom fans to list your top sitcom Christmas episodes. It could be just two, or 5 or even as high as 10. Make sure you name the show and episode title. If you don't know the episode title, please describe what happened in the episode. For example: Three's Company: "Three's Christmas," Perfect Strangers: the one where Larry can't go home for Christmas, and Diff'rent Strokes: "Santa's Helper."
We are trying to see which holiday episode is the most liked. So, let's get your favorite Christmas episodes ready and post them HERE!
We'll start this now and end it by next Friday, and we'll post the most liked ones here next week!

Just in time to make those New Year's resolutions, Nick at Nite announces the launch of "Kick One, Pick One" (KOPO), the network's new pro-social campaign to encourage families to eat smarter, get fit and spend more time together. Bowing Jan. 1, KOPO is an on-air, online and grassroots initiative campaign that continues Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group's legacy of empowering its audiences with information and tools to help better their lifestyles and communities.
The campaign launches on-air Jan. 1 with funny and fact-filled PSAs and time-anchored lower thirds (graphics at the bottom of the TV screen) communicating KOPO's goals for the New Year: activity, nutrition and togetherness. Additional spots, focusing on breaking a bad habit in 21 days, are scheduled to debut on-air and online throughout 2008. The campaign will run into the fall of 2008, leading up to Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group's annual Worldwide Day of Play celebration. Worldwide Day of Play is a global celebration of kids' and families' KOPO accomplishments for the year.
for complete details, click HERE!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 30

Abbott Elementary - "Costume Contest" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! Janine and Gregory proudly show off their couple’s costume, but it fails to translate. Meanwhile, Barbara faces pushback from parents concerned about hygiene and her beloved apple-bobbing tradition.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Saved by the Spell" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
On her first day of school, Billie uses magic to impress Roman's best friend; when a jealous Roman steals Billie's wand, he falls into the grasp of a wizard-hunting phantomus.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Something Wizard This Way Comes" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On Halloween, Billie tells Roman about Pumpkin Belly, a ghoul who eats anyone whose house isn't spookily decorated; Justin, Milo and Giada defend the home from pranksters.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 28)

Wednesday, October 30

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Watch Sheryl on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kieran Culkin (Solar Opposites/Go Fish) - Kieran is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
Keri Russell (Running Wilde/Daddy's Girls) - Keri talks about The Diplomat on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty talks about improvising scenes on the hit show The Bear and how he started his career in restaurants on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna is chatting with Drew about directing her first film Woman of the Hour, the crazy serial killer case the movie is based on, finding boundaries in her life, turning 40 and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan discusses her sitcom Lopez vs Lopez on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talks about NBC's Happy's Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.