Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Family Matters Now Coming to Nick at Nite in April; Biography Acquires Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals; TV Land Greenlights 4 Pilots
Sorry for the late notice, but The Biography Channel has acquired the series of specials called TV Guide's Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals. If you all remember or didn't know, these specials aired in 1999 and 2000 on Fox. They had about 5 specials under this name and profiled a lot of sitcoms behind-the-scenes details (some very scandalously) such as Three's Company, The Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, The Jeffersons, M*A*S*H, Diff'rent Strokes, Gilligan's Island, Welcome Back Kotter, Facts of Life, Roseanne and more. Then they changed the name for three more specials called TV Guide's Truth Behind the Rumors and profiled series such as Growing Pains, Charlie's Angels, Cheers, Laverne & Shirley, and Dynasty. Well starting tonight (Tuesday, March 18) The Biography Channel will re-air most of these specials! It will air Tuesdays at 10:00PM and re-air 2:00AM later that night.
Tonight they will air special #3 of Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals. First stop in this episode is a look back at The Love Boat, the series the critics claimed would "sink like the Titanic," but which sailed on for nine years with its Aaron Spelling formula of bikinis, blondes, celebrity guests, and lovable, yet troubled stars. Then we'll hear Loretta Swit as she recalls what it was like to be the only woman on the set with all men in the hugely popular medical comedy M*A*S*H.
Up next week is special #4 of Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals. Stars from Happy Days, The Jeffersons and One Day at a Time reveal controversies. We don't have April episode info yet, but keep checking back on our message board's thread on this. To view that and to discuss these specials, click HERE! I remember watching all of these, and I taped a few even originally. If you haven't seen this or need to tape it, I would advise you watch/tape.
TV Land announced that it has greenlit four pilots as part of its ongoing original programming agenda. The channel, which recently rolled out new original series High School Reunion to double digit ratings increases, will continue to rev-up production on programming designed to appeal specifically to viewers in their 40's. The four pilots are all reality based and are:
- First Love, Second Chance -- gives long-lost sweethearts an opportunity to rekindle their romance -- years later.
- Now or Never -- Empty nesters are given the chance of a lifetime to open a new chapter in their lives by pursuing careers that they always dreamed of but never dared to pursue. In each installment, couples try out their dream jobs, a new place to live and a whole new social scene before making the gut-wrenching decision of which path to follow.
- Make My Day -- provides a window into one day in the life of an unsuspecting participant. Hidden cameras capture the action as contestants are put through a series of weird coincidences, extraordinary situations and surprise appearances.
- What's In The Box? -- TV Land's first game show in which individual contestants square off in the ultimate, fast-paced 20 question competition.
For more info about these pilots, and to discuss this, click HERE!
Upcoming TV Land originals after the conclusion of High School Reunion include: The Big 4-0 (launches April 16), She's Got the Look (launches June 4) and Family Foreman (launches July 16). In addition, the 6th Annual TV Land Awards will now air this summer instead of the spring (June 22 is the tentative date).
And don't forget the premiere of sitcom Miss Guided tonight after Dancing with the Stars at 10:30pm ET/PT on ABC. Hope you saw our review on Friday...because this is one of the top 3 sitcoms I think of the season behind Big Bang Theory and Samantha Who? So if you like those, you'll like this. Episode 2 is even funnier, so tune in to that on its regular night and time on Thursday at 8pm.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, April 24
Happy's Place - "Everyone's a Critic" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Bobbie lets Isabella try giving the staff a "compliment sandwich" during their performance reviews, nobody is pleased with the outcome.
Happy's Place - "Couples Counseling" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After Bobbie starts serving patrons at the speakeasy, Isabella accuses her of stealing customers, causing the sisters to attend couples counseling; Emmett tries his best to gently break up with Monica.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 20)
Friday, April 24
- Zach Galifianakis (Baskets) - Watch Zach on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Paradise on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Rachel Dratch (Grimsburg/Imaginary Mary/30 Rock) - Rachel is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ellen Burstyn (The Ellen Burstyn Show) - Ellen talks about Poetry Says It Better: Poems to Help You Wake Up on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Nia Long (Uncle Buck/The Cleveland Show/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Nia talks about Michael on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Kathy Griffin (Suddenly Susan) - Kathy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Laura Marano (Austin & Ally/Back to You) - Laura talks about Original Sound on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Ayo Edebiri (Big Mouth/The Bear) and Don Cheadle (The Wonder Years/Black Monday/House of Lies/The Golden Palace) - Ayo and Don talk about Broadway's Proof on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am. Don will also be on in the 9am hour.
- Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Kit and Melissa check out How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie and Sunny Anderson are joining Drew for the news and Val is telling Drew about her Lifetime movie on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jill Kargman (Odd Mom Out) - Jill tells Drew about her new movie Influenced on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
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