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
Sunday, May 11
The Simpsons - "Full Heart, Empty Pool" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Homer and Grampa team up to create a new sport that rivals pickleball, until Homer kicks Grampa off.
Family Guy - "One Foot in Front of the Mother" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Due to a police complaint about his excessive barking, Brian has to wear a shock collar; looking to join an after-school team, Chris discovers a talent for speed walking.
Krapopolis - "Don Tyxote" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Ty gets a fancy new suit and with it, the confidence to invade Persia; Hippo is left home to defend the throne; Deliria and Shlub role-play.
The Great North - "Sunset Beeflevard Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Judy joins the cast of a dinner theater production; Wolf and Honeybee help Moon sell jerky door-to-door.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 5)
Friday, May 9
- Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Watch Paul on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Matt Bomer (Mid-Century Modern) - Matt appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Asif Ali (Deli Boys) and Saagar Shaikh (Deli Boys) - Asif and Saagar are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Busy Philipps (Girls5eva/Vice Principals/Cougar Town/Love, Inc.) - Busy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory/Happy Family/Welcome to New York/Cybill) - Christine talks about Nine Perfect Strangers on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/For Your Love/Like Family/Love, Inc.) - Holly swings by for a chat about her new film Hats Off to Love on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) and Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother/Free Spirit) - NBC's Today catches up with Sarah and Alyson in the 9am hour.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - In this a little bit extra episode Drew shares more of her conversation with Brooke at the news desk on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel joins Sherri to talk about starring in the new film Juliet & Romeo, so check your local listings.
- Terri J. Vaughn (She the People/Mann & Wife/Meet the Browns/All of Us/The Steve Harvey Show) - Terri talks about starring in the new Netflix series She the People on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Julia Sweeney (Shrill/Work in Progress/Maybe It's Me/George and Leo) and Marsha Mason (Grace and Frankie/The Middle/Sibs) - Julia and Marsha talk about My First Ex-Husband on PIX11 Morinng News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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