SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Criminal Minds Details For A&E Starting in May; According to Jim Season Finale Moved to May 27

As we mentioned last week, A&E will bring reruns of Criminal Minds to cable starting in May for once a week play then five-days-a-week starting September 2009, when broadcast network ION Television also starts airing reruns of the show. A&E Network will become the official cable home to the hit CBS drama series Criminal Minds. The acquisition from CBS Television Distribution gives A&E the exclusive cable rights to the critically acclaimed series beginning September 2009. Additionally, beginning in May 2008, A&E will be airing episodes from the first three seasons of the series once weekly before fully stripping the series in September 2009.
We are pleased to give you the exclusive full details on the weekly play starting in May! The show will air Fridays at 11PM ET/PT with an encore later at night at 3AM ET/PT. Both airings will follow mini-marathons of CSI: Miami. The weekly play starts Friday, May 30 on A&E! So you can catch the show from the very first episode.

Veteran sitcom According to Jim was scheduled for two all-new episodes next Tuesday (May 6), but ABC will preempt it for Dancing with the Stars: Judges' All-Time Top 10 special from 8-9pm on May 6 leading into the 100th episode of Dancing with the Stars on a very special Dancing with the Stars: The Results! Fan favorites and Season Four champions Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough reunite for a special performance, while Season Five standout Mel B. hits the dance floor with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Other stars joining the celebration include Sabrina Bryan, Joey Fatone, Master P., Jerry Rice, Jane Seymour, Jerry Springer, Wayne Newton and many more. Also, Season Two finalist Mario Lopez returns to the ballroom as "Macy's Stars of Dance" presents "A Chorus Line." Mario is currently starring in the Broadway production of the hugely successful musical.
Anyway, May 13 was supposed to be the season finale of According to Jim, but the two preempted May 6 episodes will air on May 13 now instead and ABC will move those two season finale episodes out of sweeps to Tuesday, May 27. ABC has not announced what will air May 20, but it will likely be a Dancing with the Stars recap leading into the two-hour grand finale.
For those of you wondering, Cheryl and Dana return to According to Jim on the next episode airing May 13! So it will be a good end to the final four episodes of the season. The show will return sometime in 2008-09 as According to Jim is taping new episodes in late May and June for next season. Possibly the final 6 episodes. We should know by upfront.

Nick at Nite May 2008 Highlights; Classic Cannell Dramas Come to iTunes; Ghost Whisperer Officially Announced for ION in 2009

This May Nick at Nite will give viewers a few special marathons and the premiere of the classic '80s movie E.T. The Extra Terrestrial! Nick at Nite is celebrating Cinco De Mayo with a 7 hour George Lopez marathon from 9pm-4am on Monday, May 5, 2008. They are calling it Cinco De Lopez!
This Mother's Day, Constance Marie from George Lopez will host Nick at Nite's "Hot Mother's Nite" honoring the hot sexy moms of television. Throughout the night, Constance will be treated to some poolside pampering and primping for all her hard work being a Mom on Nick at Nite. The block will be from 9pm-1am and feature episodes of Jill from Home Improvement, Angie & Benny from George Lopez and Vivian & Will's mom on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air!
Then on Friday, May 16 from 8pm-10:30pm, an extra-terrestrial is accidentally left behind on Earth and is befriended by a young boy and his brother and sister on the Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite premiere of the classic '80s movie E.T. The Extra Terrestrial! As Elliot attempts to help his extra-terrestrial companion contact his home planet so that he might be rescued, the children must elude scientists and government agents determined to apprehend the alien for their own purposes...which results in an adventure greater than any of them could have imagined. Premieres on Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite! The movie premieres on sister station TV Land this Friday (May 2).
Finally, this Memorial Day and the days after, Nick at Nite serves up a seven day marathon chock full of tools and fools of Home Improvement! 10pm-6am each night from Monday, May 26 to Sunday, June 1!
Still no word on Family Matters, but a good guess would be June or July. We'll let you know when we do. Anyway, to discuss Nick at Nite May 2008 and to view the full highlights with episode info for the stunts, click HERE!

Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Inc. and New Video announced that top series from the vast Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Inc. library of groundbreaking television drama programs are now available for purchase and download on the iTunes Store.
Effective yesterday, iTunes customers are now able to purchase compelling character-driven series such as 21 Jump Street, Hunter, Silk Stalkings, The Greatest American Hero and Wiseguy, with other titles to be added in the coming weeks.
Individual episodes are available for purchase at $1.99, and full season passes of each series are available at a discount. New Video and Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Inc. look forward to expanding their partnership to make more quality Cannell programming available in digital format on iTunes.
Two more popular series, The Commish and Renegade will also be available on iTunes in the coming months.
To view the full press release and to discuss this news, click HERE!

We gave you the news the other day that ION Television has gotten broadcast rerun rights to Criminal Minds for Fall 2009 and also mentioned that Ghost Whisperer was also coming. Today ION made it official!
ION Television officially today announced it has entered into a content agreement with CBS Television Distribution for the broadcast syndication rights to the hit television series, Ghost Whisperer. ION Television will debut this popular show in primetime, beginning in 2009. The deal continues the network's positioning momentum as a general entertainment destination.
The full press release is available HERE.
We will have more on ION's future on Thursday when they have their annual upfront presentation. I am told more programming will be announced and we hope to have an interview with them shortly after upfront.
Come back tomorrow for full details on Criminal Minds coming to A&E for cable reruns next month. We also hinted on that the other day with the ION news, but now we have the official information!

TV One June 2008 Highlights Includes Return of Between Brothers; Law & Order SVU Heads to Weekday Syndication in Fall 2009

Starting Monday, June 2, the TV One weekday daytime lineup from 10am-4pm on weekdays will undergo a summer makeover. Each day, TV One will now air a mixture of daily marathons of their various sitcoms, dramas, movies, and original shows that will keep summertime viewing fun and easy while still offering the variety that will keep viewers coming back for more.
The 10am-4pm marathons include series marathons of All of Us, Fastlane, Wanda at Large, Eve, Good News, Good Times, Roc, Parent'hood, NY Undercover, The PJs, A Man Called Hawk, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and Amen! Some of these are specially themed, such as Eve's Black Music Month Special featuring musical guests, Happy Birthday Bookman and Happy Birthday Jimmie Walker marathons of Good Times, Happy Birthday Ella Joyce Marathon of Roc, New York Undercover's Ice T & Tyra Banks marathon, Fastlane with Bill Bellamy, and Amen's Thelma's In The Army Marathon.
Another schedule chage will happen starting Monday, June 2 at 9:30pm. The '90s sitcom Between Brothers (1997-99 Fox sitcom) returns to the TV One lineup in place of The PJs at 9:30pm weeknights. Tommy Davidson, Dondre Whitfield, Kelly Perine, and Kadeem Hardison starred in this sitcom about four bachelor friends. No other changes will be made to the line-up.
Other highlights include: On Sunday, June 8 at 10pm, the mystery is finally revealed and all of your questions are answered as TV One airs the much-anticipated series finale of Day Break starring Taye Diggs airs for the first time on television.
On Saturday, June 28 beginning at 1pm, summertime romance is in full bloom on TV One as we present the "Will You Marry Me" Marathon, a day chock full of love, romance, engagements, and weddings in celebration of the June bride season. First up is the TV One and Essence Magazine original special "Will You Marry Me" that has suitors proposing marriage to their women in new and innovative fashions. Then from 3pm-9pm, watch three of your favorite TV One sitcom couples - Thelma and Ruben from Amen, Thelma and Keith from Good Times, and Martin and Gina from Martin - all get engaged and married in a romance filled day full of laughter, tears, and celebration.
As a preview to July, starting at 8pm on Friday, July 4, with the nation's best interests at heart, its megathon time again, and Martin is doing his patriotic duty to make everyone in America laugh through their fireworks and barbecue with a 24 hour marathon of favorite episodes through 8pm on Saturday, July 5!

NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has sold Dick Wolf's hit procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit to the Fox Television Stations in the nation's top markets, as well as other local stations from other leading broadcast groups for weekday runs starting in fall 2009. SVU has been sold to the Fox owned and operated stations in New York, Los Angeles Chicago, Dallas, Washington D.C., Houston, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Orlando and Baltimore. The series has also been sold in 18 of the nation's top 20 markets, as well as to stations from CBS, Sinclair, Sunbeam, Belo, Hearst, Granite, Capitol, Local TV and more.
The announcement comes on the heel's of Law & Order: Special Victim Unit's successful debut this season in weekend broadcast syndication. SVU will follow in the footsteps of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as that series has done pretty well in weekday play this season on Fox-owned locals and other local stations. Criminal Intent has ushered the return of hour dramas to weekday strip syndication. When SVU airs weekdays on locals, I'm sure it will not air on weekends anymore on locals.

Week 31 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

We didn't get the averages for Wednesday and Thursday, so we will not give you the first four nights averages for this week...we will still have everything else though!

Week 31 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A
Adults 18-49: N/A

Analysis: As stated, I don't have final network averages for the first four nights for this week, Week 31...but one can assume Fox is on top in HH/viewers, but CBS and ABC could be right behind. 18-49 is clearly Fox right now, but ABC should be a close second. So I can't comment more on this because of no averages...I apologize. Last week, week 30, CBS edged Fox for number one in HH once again but Fox also once again had a slight edge in total viewers. Fox had a big lead in 18-49. ABC was 3rd in all categories but it almost beat Fox for second in HH, with NBC fourth in HH/viewers but second in 18-49 (just ahead of ABC), as CBS was fourth in 18-49.
On Monday, ABC was on top with Dancing with the Stars doing 18.04 million for 92 minutes, up from the week before. The hit sitcom Samantha Who did 9.39 million, on par from the previous week. The Bachelor: London Calling followed with 7.3 million, up from the previous week. CBS started with sitcoms and leading it off was The Big Bang Theory at 7.39 million, seems lower than usual once again perhaps a series low, a new How I Met Your Mother followed and built on that and did 8.45 million...up from previous week, #1 sitcom Two and a Half Men followed with 13.36 million ... down a bit from previous week. Closing the sitcom block was Rules of Engagement at 10.57 million, up from previous week. A new CSI: Miami did 14.38 million...seems below normal, but then again all the scripted shows back seem lower than usual. NBC was led by another special two-hour Deal or No Deal at 10.11 million, up week-to-week and Medium closed the night off with 9.79 million, on par really from previous week. Fox aired a new Bones to start off the night and it did a solid 8.76 million, on par from the previous week and following at 9pm was a repeat of House doing 8.1 million, way up from New Amsterdam's finale the previous week. The CW had the return (OMFG!) of Gossip Girl doing 2.5 million and a new One Tree Hill at 2.92 million, up from previous week...it is sad when this show is one of their best shows now.
On Tuesday, Fox was on top thanks to Idol at 24.74 million at 8pm, up over a million from previous week. At 9pm Fox aired a new Hell's Kitchen and it did solid with 10.98 million...as it finally went up a bit after going down a bit each week. ABC was next with two episodes of According to Jim (new and repeat) at 8pm doing 4.05 and 3.96 million...both up a bit from previous week. Then at 9pm, Dancing with the Stars: The Results did a solid 17.97 million, up over 2 million from previous week as Marlee Matlin was the next to go. ABC closed the night at 10pm with a new episode of Boston Legal at 9.93 million, up over a million from previous week..the show moves to Wednesdays this week as Women's Murder Club returns this Tuesday at 10. CBS was next with a new episode of NCIS at 14.24 million, down from previous week, followed by the Tuesday edition of the disappointing Big Brother 9 at just 6.51 million, up a bit from the previous week. At 10pm a repeat of Shark did just 4.74 million...down from what aired in this timeslot the previous week. NBC was second last week, but this week it tumbled, as there was no two-hour Biggest Loser and the return of Most Outrageous Moments at 8pm did just 3.9 million and a repeat of SNL Primetime from 8:30-10 did a bad 3.92 million but a new Law & Order: SVU at 10pm drew 11.64 million ... but that was down considerably from the previous week. The CW aired a new Beauty & The Geek at just 1.54 million, down from previous week and a new Reaper did 2.25 million, not bad for the return episode.
On Wednesday, it was Fox on top again. American Idol Results seemed to do lower that usual from 9-10pm at 23.2 million...down from previous week a bit. From 8-9pm Fox aired sitcoms 'Til Death and Back to You doing better than the previous week but still a bit disappointing at 6.12 and 7.26 million. CBS continues to struggle with Big Brother 9 at just 6.6 million, thought it was up from previous week, and Criminal Minds and CSI: NY were repeats (yes all of CBS's dramas have had at least one repeat after coming back from the strike...so annoying) and they did 9.03 and 7.78 million...not that good for a repeat for the latter. NBC was next with Deal or No Deal starting the night off with 9.96 million for another two-hour episode...up just a bit from previous week when it was just one-hour and the original Law & Order returned with new episodes and did pretty good with 12.75 million..having CSI: NY as a repeat helps, too. ABC was next with new episodes of Wife Swap and Supernanny at a below normal 5.85 and 5.46 million...these would have been on Mondays I bet in December-February if not for the strike, with the best new dramas from the fall would probably be still on this night right now (Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money) if not for the strike. Closing the night for ABC was a new MEN IN TREES at 5.26 million, down from previous week...as the show goes on a hiatus for a month. The CW had an all-new Top Model at 4.35 million, probably a season high, and a new Pussycat Dolls on did just 2.3 million, up week to week but this was its season finale I believe. MyNetworkTV aired the second episode of Under One Roof starring Flavor Flav and it did better than the pilot it seems...1.27 million this week, up from the 1.21 million from the premiere.
On Thursday, May Sweeps has begun as CBS and ABC shared leadership. For CBS Survivor: Micronesia started the night off with 12.9 million, up from previous week...a new CSI followed with a below normal 17.02 million and a new Without a Trace closed the night off with 13.47 million...the latter two lost to ABC in 18-49 by a wide margin. ABC started the night off with the return of Ugly Betty at 8.52 million, a bit disappointing, the return of Grey's Anatomy did 16.37 million, lost to CSI in viewers but won in HH 10.7/16 to 10.6/16 and did much better in 18-49...6.5 to 4.7...with all that said both CSI and Grey's are down from the fall/winter. Both usually do over 20 million each. Lost was ABC's secret weapon for the night, as the show did 12.08 million, but a 5.3 18-49 rating, holding a large portion of its lead-in's ratings in that demo and beating Without a Trace by a wide margin 5.3 to 3.3. Fox was next with two episodes of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? doing 8.33 million and 8.92 million...nice solid block, but the two hours was down from Fox the previous week. NBC was next, with an all-new My Name is Earl doing 6.16 million, down from previous week again...Scrubs did just 5.39 million in its new slot, not a good move. The Office did 7.69 million and a 4.0 18-49 rating...down big on both counts from the previous week as Grey's/CSI aired. A new 30 Rock did just 5.52 million, down in its new slot and a new ER did just 7.53 million, down week to week...maybe a series low? 3.0 18-49 rating only as well. CW aired a new Smallville at 3.62 million and Supernatural was new too at 2.22 million.
Like usual, no Friday finals yet. CBS won though with new episodes of Ghost Whisperer, Moonlight, and NUMB3RS. NBC was led by a two-hour Dateline. Saturday ratings were not available to us.
Tonight will be all ABC thanks to Desperate Housewives and the return of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition after a few weeks off...a two-hour episode will air from 7-9pm. Closing the night at 10pm is Brothers & Sisters ... ABC could see its highest rated Sunday with regular shows since January. CBS will be second with Big Brother & Dexter the weak spots, but 60 Minutes & Cold Case will do solid. NBC has a new Dateline, which will do OK or average but repeats of USA Network's Monk and Psych will do terrible again from 8-10pm...especially the latter. Fox will have new episodes actually of its animated comedies from 8-10pm, so they will beat NBC likely.
As for the week, I believe it will be either a toss-up in HH & viewers, as CBS, ABC or Fox can win it. Fox has a better shot of winning in 18-49, but ABC could make it close. NBC will be 4th in everything as its struggles continue.
This coming week sees the first full week of May sweeps, as we are on day four tonight, with Thursday so far the only big day...tonight will be big, too, though. What to watch this week is how Women's Murder Club will do on its new night and time and Boston Legal on its new night (Wednesday).

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of April 14-20)

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - All-new episode did 1.14 million, down from the previous week a bit...
  
• Aliens in America (The CW) - A repeat did just 1.09 million, down from the previous week, but a better retention of holding the numbers from the lead-in.
  
• The Game (The CW) - A new episode did 1.46 million, down also from the previous week.
  
• Girlfriends (The CW) - A repeat did 1.27 million, slightly up from previous week....the only CW sitcom to go up week to week....and this was a repeat.
  
• The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 5.3 million...this show is going back and forth with new and repeat...Fox needs to schedule it better.
  
• King of the Hill (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat at 7pm did just 2.6 million, up a bit from previous week. A repeat at its normal time of 8:30 did 4.54 million.
  
• Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat did just 5.45 million...down from the repeat the previous week. I think only 2 episodes are left this season, as Fox has showed so many repeats it seems for this show....strike affected this show maybe?
  
• American Dad (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat at 7:30pm did just 3.04 million...down week to week and a repeat at 9:30pm in its normal time did just 4.98 million, also down week to week.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 7.39 million tuned in for a new episode...down from previous week and for the second week in a row a 2.9 18-49 rating for a series low.
  
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 8.45 million...up from previous week, but it should be doing better than this.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 13.36 million for a new episode ... clearly the #1 sitcom, but down from previous week a bit.
  
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 10.57 million...built from last week's return despite its lead-in going down a bit.
  
• Samantha Who (ABC) - A new episode did 9.39 million...on par from previous week...tomorrow the show airs at 9:38pm instead of 9:32...so watch out.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - 4.05 million for a new episode and 3.96 million for a repeat. Fed to Idol again...but both up a bit from previous week. Dana and Cheryl need to return ASAP.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• 'Til Death (Fox) - 6.12 million for a new episode, up a bit from previous week.
  
• Back to You (Fox) - 7.26 million for its second episode back, decent but still it is disappointing for a pre-Idol tune-in.
  
• Under One Roof (MyNetworkTV) - 1.27 million for its second episode...so it went up a bit actually from the premiere of 1.21 million. I give it props for that!
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 6.16 million for its fourth episode back...down again from the previous episode.
  
• Scrubs (NBC) - New time of 8:30pm. This slot did 6.5 million the previous week and the show itself did 7.19 million in its old slot...but this week only 5.39 million, so NBC lost on both counts.
  
• The Office (NBC) - 7.69 million...as the show was way down from previous week.
  
• 30 Rock (NBC) - New time of 9:30pm. This slot did 7.19 million the previous week and the show itself did 6.5 million in its old slot...but this week only 5.52 million...so NBC's shuffle of Scrubs/30 Rock so far didn't help.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None
  

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) is a mix of new and repeats of sitcoms on The CW from 8-10, and Fox's animated comedies are new from 8-10 (repeats 7-8p).

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, Samantha Who? & How I Met Your Mother were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (The Office, The Big Bang Theory) or just plain old terrible (According to Jim, Scrubs).

TV Rebels: Sid and Marty Krofft

The weekly Mini-DVD Review will be preempted today so we can bring you a special TV Rebels essay. As you all know, Solomon's Weekly Rant had its finale last week, so that is no more..but we will continue to have a mini-DVD review on Saturdays. Anyway, for today it is time for our monthly TV Rebels essay! We originally had special permission to publish the first 6 essays on TV shows and actors that will be featured in the upcoming book TV Rebels: 100 People and Programs That Shaped the Medium by authors Lou Orfanella and Oscar De Los Santos...now we have gotten rights to 6 additional essays, so we will be bringing you one each month until at least November! The book is in the works and will be released in 2009.

So without further adieu, we bring you the fifth essay of TV Rebels:

Sid and Marty Krofft: Psychedelic Saturday Mornings
by Lou Orfanella

Wacky witches. Talking flutes. Living hats. Land bound sea monsters. Rock and roll insects. Welcome to the world of puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft, a place where Saturday morning children’s programming was more like a bad acid trip than a day with no school, cozy pajamas, sugary cereal, and endless cartoons.
The Krofft brothers first gained television recognition as costume designers for the 1968 NBC Saturday morning series The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. A production from the Hanna-Barbera animation studio, the program combined live action and animated segments, with the live action being a quartet of life-sized "animal" puppets who performed music and skits between the cartoons. A year later the Kroffts would break new Saturday morning ground with the first of a string of children’s shows that turned the genre upside down.
In September of 1969 NBC premiered the initial episode of H.R. Pufnstuf, a live action series with all of the colorful trappings and visually shocking images of an animated show. Dragon H.R. Pufnstuf is the mayor of Living Island. Young Jimmy, played by Jack Wild, fresh from a starring turn as the Artful Dodger in the Academy Award winning musical Oliver!, is whisked to the island in a storm where he, along with his magic talking flute Freddie is pursued by the evil Witchiepoo (Billie Hayes). Similarities to The Wizard of Oz may or may not be intentional, but at the very least, the Kroffts have drawn frequent accusations of embracing the drug culture of their era in their work, though they have denied such implications as often as Peter, Paul and Mary have done so with "Puff the Magic Dragon." Still for some the surreal inhabitants of Living Island conjure images of the opium that might have been derived from the poppy fields of Oz.
Names like Pufnstuf and Lidsville (a Krofft production for ABC in 1971 about a land where the inhabitants were all talking hats) have been pointed at as euphemisms for marijuana use. Addressing the contention, Marty Krofft says, "There might have been some double meanings there, but that's for the audience to figure out. But some people, they hear the name Pufnstuf and they're immediately thinking about pot. In a way, I think that's what they wanted it to be about" (Martindale 6). Add to the brothers' list of hits 1970's The Bugaloos about an insect rock and roll band, and 1973's Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (a sea monster befriended in captivity by two young boys) and the substance abuse accusations continued to fly. Sid Krofft adds, "A lot of people ask us if we were on drugs when we made these shows...Sometimes I tell them we were high-high on life-because life is the greatest drug there is. But we never, ever, did anything like that. These shows didn’t just come from smoking a little pot" (Martindale 6).
Largely what the Kroffts did was approach Saturday morning programming from a new creative angle. "What made the Kroffts' shows so unique was Their mix of colorful stage props, mesmerizing stories, enchanting musical scores, and a variety of fascinating live-action characters. Their costume designs that placed characters in full-body suits has been one of their most-recognized accomplishments" (Morgan 74).
Everything from PBS's Barney to the McDonaldland characters to stadium mascots may well have been inspired by the weird and way-out creations of Sid and Marty Krofft. Marty explains, "There were people in walk-around suits before Pufnstuf, before we got on, but I don't think anybody had done a whole shoe like that ever before...We were the first ones who took a live-action show and made like a living cartoon of it. That's what we did first" (Martindale 39).

Works Cited
Martindale, David. Pufnstuf & Other Stuff. Los Angeles: Renaissance Books, 1998.
Morgan, Bill and Greg Davis. Krofft-mania: Recapturing the magic of Saturday morning TV. Toy Trader. Feb. 2997: 74-77.

Remington Steele Coming to AmericanLife TV in May; Two and a Half Men and CSI Writers Switcharoo

AmericanLife TV Network, the cable network devoted to the Baby Boomer generation, debuts American Classic, Remington Steele on Thursday, May 1, 2008 as part of their classic programming line-up. The show will air twice daily Monday thru Friday at 10:00a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (EDT).
Remington Steele is an award winning detective television series first broadcast from 1982 to 1987. The series is an action, romantic comedy show that stars the handsome, enigmatic Irishman and 'future James Bond' Pierce Brosnan as a roguish thief, Remington Steele ("Before he was Bond, he was Remington Steele") and the beautiful and talented Stephanie Zimbalist as private detective Laura Holt. The show quickly took off and continues to be an American favorite.
There will be no other changes to the AmericanLife TV line-up. AmericanLife TV will continue to feature some of America's favorite classics in May, including: Mission Impossible, St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, LA Law, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bob Newhart Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, Lou Grant, Combat!, Burke's Law, Lost in Space, Trapper John MD, The Color Honeymooners, Batman, The Green Hornet and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea to name a few.

An unprecedented CSI and Two and a Half Men "writers' crossover" is happening next week on CBS!
A CSI investigating a murder at Charlie Harper's house? Grissom and the team investigating the mysterious death of a diva sitcom star? It's all part of a first-ever "writers' crossover," in which CSI's writers will write an episode of Two and a Half Men and Two and a Half Men's writers will write an episode of CSI.
The Monday, May 5 episode of Two and a Half Men is written by CSI writers Sarah Goldfinger and Evan Dunsky from a story by CSI executive producers Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar. A CSI team investigates a mysterious death at Charlie's (Charlie Sheen) house. Robert Wagner and Jenny McCarthy guest star.
The Thursday, May 8 episode of CSI was written by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, executive producers/writers of Two and a Half Men. Grissom (William Petersen) and the CSI team investigate the death of a diva sitcom star (guest star Katey Sagal) who dies suddenly while her show is filming in Las Vegas. Suspects include the entire writing staff, her loser husband and the actress who serves as her stand-in (Rachael Harris).
Should be fun!

Meanwhile, CBS has decided it will air new episodes of Shark Tuesdays at 9pm starting April 29 after all. It was originally slated for that slot but then CBS decided to move it to 10pm and have reruns of The Unit at 9pm, which didn't make too sense. Now Shark will air at 9pm following original episodes of NCIS and 10pm will be crime repeats of CBS's strongest crime dramas. This will only be for three weeks anyway, as Shark only has 3 original episodes remaining.

A Different World Joins BET Line-Up On April 28; ION and A&E Acquire Criminal Minds for Fall 2009

BET will add another sitcom to its line-up this Monday (April 28)! The sitcom is the late '80s/early '90s sitcom A Different World. The popular spin-off of the Cosby Show will air weeknights at 11:00pm & 11:30pm with an encore later that night at 3:00am & 3:30am ET/PT. The 11pm-12am airings will replace an hour of Malcolm & Eddie, but not to fear that show will still air weekdays 10-11am and 4-5pm. The 3-4am encore will replace In Living Color, which will now be off the schedule. A Different World spun-off Denise Huxtable into Hillman College, but that only lasted one season and the show changed by season two and became more popular even.
A Different World comes from the same deal that Nick at Nite/The N had, so it is all Viacom related, as BET is also part of Viacom. The show will get a mini-marathon as well on Saturday, May 3 from 8:30pm-11pm. In addition to the weeknight airings, the show will also get a weekly three episode evening block on Sundays. The times vary, but the first Sunday (May 4) it will be 8p-9:30p. Future Sunday times are tentative, but here are the times as of now for May: 7p-8:30pm on May 11, 6:30p-8pm on May 18 and 8:30p-10:00pm on May 25.
There is one slight other change to the schedule as well. BET will remove the Sundays 12-1pm Sanford airings starting Sunday, May 4. Instead two episodes of The Parkers will air Sundays 12-1pm. Not to fear, Sanford will still air late Saturday nights (early Sunday mornings), usually 3-4am.

ION Television today announced it has entered into a content agreement with CBS Television Distribution for the broadcast syndication rights to the hit television drama series, Criminal Minds starring Mandy Patinkin and Joe Mantegna. ION Television will debut this popular show in prime time beginning in Fall 2009. The deal continues the network's positioning momentum as a general entertainment destination.
Criminal Minds joins recent additions, including Boston Legal & M*A*S*H coming to ION off-network this Fall, as well as The Steve Harvey Show, Family Feud and Quantum Leap, currently airing in ION Television's expanded entertainment schedule.
ION will have their annual upfront presentation a week from today (Thursday, May 1). We will bring you the latest from that next week...and we hope to get an interview with them regarding their future. Also, B&C is reporting in addition to Criminal Minds, ION will also acquire off-network reruns of Ghost Whisperer starring Jennifer Love Hewitt from CBS Television Distribution also starting in Fall 2009. We will bring you the official announcement on that when available! It'll probably be at upfront.
In addition to coming to ION in Fall 2009, Criminal Minds will also get a cable home! A&E Television has bought the cable rights to the series beginning in Fall 2009, where it will air five-days a week. However, before that, A&E has rights to air the series once a week starting with season one and through season three. The once a week play starts next month (May) on A&E. We will bring you the exact times and dates as soon as A&E announces that. A&E will have their upfront presentation next week as well, so we should know very soon.

Oxygen Re-Branding in June; Circus Celebs Announced for NBC; 1,000 Movie Trailers Come to TVLand.com

Oxygen was recently bought by NBC Universal...now it will be re-branding and NBC Universal will make its mark on the network this June. Oxygen, the fastest growing cable network among adults (18-49) reveals a revamped brand, including a new logo and new tagline titled Live Out Loud, which will roll out across all platforms in June 2008. The network developed this approach by defining and targeting its distinct audience young trenders who consume heavily and influence others' spending pattern. The network has dubbed this audience "Generation O" -- trenders, spenders and recommenders.
The network is introducing a new logo and a new tagline geared toward "Generation O." The new logo re-imagines the O, with the word Oxygen breaking through the border. The re-brand will showcase the bright, energetic and off-kilter yellow "O" as a space where exciting, unconventional, entertaining things happen a window into the world of what viewers will see on the network.
The new tagline, Live Out Loud, will appear in conjunction with the logo on programming, digital assets, advertising campaigns and marketing materials. The line was developed for women who like to look good, feel good and have fun living life on their own terms; women who like to "live out loud." The tagline telescopes the sentiment of both the Oxygen network and the audience.
If Oxygen: Live Out Loud later changes any of its current programming when it re-brands in June, we will let you know for sure!

NBC's daring new series Celebrity Circus features six celebrities who will perform some of the most death-defying circus acts ever seen on television. Antonio Sabato Jr., Blu Cantrell, Christopher Knight (Brady Bunch), Janet Evans, Jason "Wee Man" Acuna and Rachel Hunter will attempt breathtaking stunts in a head-to-head competition in front of a live studio audience. Each week viewers at home will cast their votes for the best acts and determine which of the celebrities is going home. Hosted by former *NSYNC member and Emmy Red Carpet host Joey Fatone (Dancing with the Stars), Celebrity Circus brings the incredible world of the Big Top into America's living rooms in a special 90 minute premiere on Wednesday, June 11 at 9:30 P.M. ET. 9 episodes have been ordered and will air regularly Wednesdays 9-10pm on NBC this summer for 9 weeks.

Beginning immediately, visitors to TVLand.com will be greeted with a huge collection of movie trailers representing movies that TV Land viewers grew up with, fell in love with, laughed at, got scared by and more. From Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to Chariots of Fire and The Way We Were to Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, nearly 1,000 movie trailers are being offered, providing visitors with the chance to relive the excitement, romance, laughter or fear of their favorite films via the three minute snapshot that has become synonymous with the movie-going experience.
With movie trailers spanning from the 50s to the 90s -- with the bulk of the movies from the 60s, 70s and 80s -- TVLand.com visitors now have access to trailers from movies they fell in love with at the drive-in, the multiplex or at home. The collection is alphabetically searchable or by genre or decade and offers information on each film.

Some Late Night Nick at Nite Schedule Changes; Fox Picks-Up Sarah Connor for 2008-09 Season

Nick at Nite has announced it has edited their late night marathons for Wednesday nights and Saturday nights (that's early Thursday mornings and Sunday mornings). Currently it was Full House on both of those nights, 3-6am on Wednesday nights and Saturday nights, but now Nick at Nite is pulling that starting this week. Cosby Show will air 3-4am on Wednesday nights followed by Roseanne from 4-6am. On Saturday nights it will be Roseanne from 3-6am. So, now Full House will just be late Friday nights (early Saturday morning) from 5-6am. If you're confused on what air late nights on Nick at Nite, click HERE. Late nights are considered everything after the Home Improvement, George Lopez and Fresh Prince airings...which usually air two hours each before the late nights start. Roseanne is getting a lot of late night play now...every night but Friday nights.
Also, for the million of you who are wondering, Family Matters is coming to Nick at Nite this summer...we will let you know when it is official, as we don't want to give more tentative dates, as you all know it changes a lot. I didn't mention this, but it was being planned for May even...and now that was decided it wasn't for the best. My bet is June or July...but it will air for sure, I assure you.

Fox has picked up 13 episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles for the 2008-2009 season. Brian Austin Green will now also join the cast as a series regular. No idea yet if it will air in the fall or winter, but we will know for sure by next month when Fox has its annual upfront presentation.
The explosive, season-ending cliffhanger left Cameron (Summer Glau) rocked by a car bomb and Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) close to locating an important Skynet component. Viewers were left with unanswered questions regarding Derek's (Brian Austin Green) true intentions and John's (Thomas Dekker) fate as the savior of mankind. These questions and more will be answered in season two.

New Pay TV Channel from Viacom Coming Fall 2009; Lopez Stand-Up Special Encoring on Comedy Central

Viacom Inc., its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Lionsgate have formed a joint venture that creates a next-generation premium television channel and video-on-demand service that combines new and classic feature film output and original television series of five leading studios. The new premium channel will launch in the fall of 2009.
The new venture will have access to Paramount and Paramount Vantage titles released theatrically on or after January 1, 2008 and MGM, United Artists and Lionsgate titles released theatrically on or after January 1, 2009. The venture's programming slate will have exclusive access during the pay television window to such recent and highly anticipated films as Iron Man, Star Trek, Pink Panther 2, Cloverfield, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Shutter Island, GI Joe, Love Guru, and Valkyrie, along with many others currently in production including planned new installments of Robocop and Outer Limits.
In addition, the new venture will have access to motion picture titles spanning the vast libraries of the five studios, which libraries include Braveheart, Forrest Gump and the Mission: Impossible, The Godfather and Star Trek franchises from Paramount; the James Bond, Pink Panther and Rocky franchises from MGM; and Dirty Dancing, Reservoir Dogs, Crash, Monster's Ball, the Saw franchise, the Tyler Perry catalogue and The Blair Witch Project from Lionsgate. The new venture will also feature new original television series created by the five studios.
The pay TV channel is not expected to air any older television series from the archives...so this channel will likely be similar to HBO and Showtime.

Hola, comedy fans! George Lopez stars in the basic cable premiere of stand-up special, America's Mexican, premiering Sunday, May 4 at 9:00 p.m. (The encore presentation of America's Mexican airs Sunday, May 4 at 10:30 p.m.) He may have his hands full as the mayor of Reno in this season of Reno! 911, but George Lopez will always find time for stand-up comedy! In his second televised comedy special, Lopez performs with all-new material before a live audience at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix. Creating new slang for critics of immigration and effeminate dog walkers, while tackling topics such as race, family and modern beauty, America's Mexican proves Lopez is about as American as apple pie. Tune in and get ready to laugh!
The stand-up special originally aired on HBO in February 2007 to critical acclaim and good ratings. If you discovered repeats of his sitcom on Nick at Nite and like what you saw...then you'll want to tune-in to his stand-up comedy special!

Week 30 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

Week 30 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: Fox 7.3/11.5, CBS 6.5/10.5, ABC 6.0/9.6, NBC 5.7/9.2, The CW 1.6/2.5, MyNetworkTV 0.7/1.0
Total Viewers: Fox 12.26 million, CBS 10.12 million, NBC 9.04 million, ABC 8.93 million, The CW 2.34 million, MyNetworkTV 980,000 thousand
Adults 18-49: Fox 4.4/11.7, NBC 3.2/8.6, CBS 3.0/8.1, ABC 2.4/6.4, The CW 1.0/2.8, MyNetworkTV 0.4/1.0

Analysis: Week 30 so far has Fox on top, but it is down a big number from week to week. Through the first four days of week 30, we have Fox on top in all categories, with CBS in second in HH/viewers, and third in 18-49. ABC is third in HH and a close fourth in viewers and fourth as of now in 18-49...NBC is 4th in HH, 3rd in viewers and actually 2nd in 18-49. Last week, week 29, CBS edged Fox for number one in HH but Fox had a slight edge in total viewers. Fox had a big lead in 18-49, with CBS in second. ABC was 3rd in all categories, with NBC fourth in everything.
On Monday, ABC was on top with Dancing with the Stars doing 17.2 million for 92 minutes, down from the week before by over 2 million...strange. The hit sitcom Samantha Who did 9.47 million, but it also was down week to week by a million. The Bachelor: London Calling followed with 6.6 million, down just a bit though from the previous week. CBS started with sitcoms and leading it off was The Big Bang Theory at 7.63 million, seems lower than usual, a new How I Met Your Mother followed and built on that and did 8.08 million, #1 sitcom Two and a Half Men followed with 13.94 million and a 5.3 18-49 rating. Closing the block was the return of Rules of Engagement at 10.4 million, not bad. A repeat of CSI: Miami, I know already...did 10.63 million. NBC was led by a special two-hour Deal or No Deal at doing 9.72 million, slightly down week-to-week, but that was just an hour. Medium closed the night off with 9.76 million, it was down week-to-week. Fox returned Bones with new episodes to start off the night and it did a solid 8.73 million and following at 9pm was a new New Amsterdam doing 6.58 million, down from previous week even though it had a new airing as its lead-in. The CW had a repeat of Gossip Girl doing 1.32 million and the return of One Tree Hill on a new night at 2.8 million.
On Tuesday, Fox was on top thanks to Idol at 23.65 million at 8pm, but down over a million from previous week once again. At 9pm Fox aired a new Hell's Kitchen and it did solid with 10.56 million...but it is going down a bit each week. NBC was surprisingly next, as it aired the two-hour Biggest Loser season finale at a solid 11.39 million, a season high and also a nice 4.4 18-49 rating, and the return of Law & Order: SVU drew 13.27 million and a solid 4.7 18-49 rating. ABC was next with two episodes of According to Jim (new and repeat) at 8pm doing 3.7 and 3.62 million...down over a million week to week when Just for Laughs was airing in that slot. Then at 9pm, Dancing with the Stars: The Results did a solid 15.42 million, down a million and a half from previous week as Priscilla Presley got the boot. ABC closed the night at 10pm with a new episode of Boston Legal at 8.84 million, down a bit from previous week. CBS was next with a new episode of NCIS at 15.13 million, up from previous week, followed by the Tuesday edition of the disappointing Big Brother 9 at just 6.2 million, on par with the previous week. At 10pm 48 Hours Mystery did just 5.16 million...but up from previous week when CBS aired that one episode wonder reality show. The CW aired a new Beauty & The Geek at just 1.56 million, down from previous week and a repeat of Reaper did 1.59 million, down a bit from previous week.
On Wednesday, it was Fox on top again. American Idol Results seemed to do lower that usual from 9-10pm at 23.34 million...great but not for this show. From 8-9pm the return of Fox sitcoms 'Til Death and Back to You did lower than expected at 5.89 and 7.11 million. CBS continues to struggle with Big Brother 9 at just 6.09 million, up a bit from previous week, but Criminal Minds and CSI: NY were new and did solid at 12.98 and 13.43 million...very good, as NY went up from previous week, but not Minds. ABC was next with the Democratic Presidential Debate between Obama and Clinton did a solid 10.69 million from 8-10pm, as Wife Swap and Supernanny were preempted this week. Closing the night was a new MEN IN TREES did 5.7 million. NBC was next with Deal or No Deal starting the night off with 9.74 million...down just a bit from previous week, followed by a repeat of Law & Order: Criminal Intent at 4.31 million, down from previous week, and the original Law & Order was a repeat as well and it did 6.17 million, up a tad from previous week's repeat. The CW had an all-new Top Model at 3.85 million and a new Pussycat Dolls on did just 1.85 million, down week to week. MyNetworkTV launched a sitcom actually called Under One Roof starring Flavor Flav and it didn't do too well at 1.21 million, down from what aired there the previous week.
On Thursday, CBS was number one for the night despite repeats from 9-11pm. Survivor: Micronesia started the night off with 12.01 million, up from previous week...a repeat of CSI followed with 10.48 million and a repeat of Without a Trace closed the night off with 9.24 million...not bad at all for repeats. Fox was next with Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? doing 9.24 million and a new Don't Forget the Lyrics! followed at 9.29 million...nice solid block. NBC was next, with an all-new My Name is Earl doing 6.87 million, down from previous week again...30 Rock did 6.5 million, up from the return the previous week. The Office did a solid 9.86 million and a 5.0 18-49 rating...up a bit from previous week on both counts. A new Scrubs did 7.19 million, also up from previous week and a new ER did just 7.82 million, slightly up week to week. ABC was well behind as its top guns won't return until this week. ABC started the night off with two repeat episodes of Lost averaging 4.12 million and the season finale of the great Eli Stone closed the night with 6.23 million, up from previous week. Everyone should watch this show...what an inspirational show!
Like usual, no Friday finals yet. NBC was on top on Friday as CBS was in repeat mode with Ghost Whisperer, Moonlight, and NUMB3RS ... CBS think it can fool viewers? Repeats already on many of its shows this after just coming back form the strike hiatus. NBC was lead by a two-hour Dateline. Saturday ratings were not available to us.
Tonight will be all ABC thanks to Desperate Housewives! Oprah's Big Give finale is tonight as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will return next week..and at 10pm Brothers & Sisters returns with a great new episode. I have seen tonight's Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters already, and they are great...Housewives' episode is better than last week's return and B&S has a good return with lots of funny moments when the family is all together. Tune in! CBS will be second with Big Brother the weak spot, but 60 Minutes & a special Hallmark movie Sweet Nothings in My Ear will make it interesting. NBC has a new Dateline, which will do OK or average but repeats of USA Network's Monk and Psych will do terrible again from 8-10pm...especially the latter. Fox will have repeats of its animated comedies once again...too many repeats it seems.
As for the week, I believe it will be either CBS or Fox in HH & viewers with Fox in 18-49. HH/viewers will be very close and is too close to call. ABC could be third in all spots, but I think it can be #2 in 18-49 with a great night tonight. NBC will be 4th in HH/viewers but could be 3rd in 18-49.
This coming week sees more shows return from strike hiatus such as Grey's Anatomy, Lost and Ugly Betty. I have seen the latter's return already and it is very good. Gabrielle Union is wonderful in it! Thursday will be big for ABC.

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of April 7-13)

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - All-new episode did 1.29 million, which is not good but sure beats the series low of 960,000 viewers the previous week.
  
• Aliens in America (The CW) - A repeat did just 1.15 million, beating the previous week's 830,000 viewers.
  
• The Game (The CW) - A new episode did 1.55 million, improving week to week...but it was doing much better on Mondays.
  
• Girlfriends (The CW) - A repeat did 1.19 million, slightly off from previous week.
  
• The Simpsons (Fox) - A new episode did 6.93 million as the slump since 2008 started continues.
  
• King of the Hill (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat at 7pm did just 2.41 million, down from previous week again. A new episode at 8:30 did 6.07 million...improving from week to week, but previous week the lead-in was a repeat so this week it was of course going to do a bit better.
  
• Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat did just 6.41 million...it seems like this show is always in repeats now.
• American Dad (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat at 7:30pm did just 3.12 million and a repeat at 9:30pm in its normal time did just 5.39 million.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 7.63 million tuned in for a new episode...seems below normal and just a 2.9 18-49 rating for a series low.
  
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 8.08 million, decent, but down from what it had been doing lately by a lot.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 13.94 million for a new episode and a 5.3 18-49 rating. How does this show do it?
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 10.4 million for the return...solid.
  
• Samantha Who (ABC) - A new episode did 9.47 million...down from previous week, but still decent.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - The return only did 3.7 million for a new episode and 3.62 million for a repeat. Fed to Idol again.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• 'Til Death (Fox) - Just 5.89 million for the return.
  
• Back to You (Fox) - 7.11 million is disappointing for pre-Idol tune-in...I expected a bigger tune in as Idol follows.
  
• Under One Roof (MyNetworkTV) - 1.21 million for MNT is not that bad, but it was down from the numbers in that slot the previous week making it a disappointing debut.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 6.87 million for its third episode back...down again from the previous episode.
  
• 30 Rock (NBC) - 6.5 million ... did better than the previous week...but now NBC will switch it to 9:30 this coming week. Will it work for the best?
  
• The Office (NBC) - 9.86 million, up from previous week but its strength was the 5.0 18-49 rating.
  
• Scrubs (NBC) - 7.19 million for a new episode, up from previous week but now NBC will move it to 8:30pm...wonder if it will help?
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None
  

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) is a mix of new and repeats of sitcoms on The CW from 8-10, and Fox's animated comedies are repeats from 7-10.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, Samantha Who?, How I Met Your Mother & The Office were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (Scrubs, 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory) or just plain old terrible (According to Jim, Under One Roof).

Mini-DVD Review: Perry Mason 50th Anniversary Edition; Solomon's Final Rant: Good Times Not a Spin-Off of Maude

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the mini-DVD review and Solomon's Weekly Rant! First up, is the mini-DVD review. Today we take a look at CBS DVD's Perry Mason - 50th Anniversary Edition. Perry Mason of course is the very popular law series. The series stars the great Raymond Burr. See skees53's mini-DVD review of Perry Mason - 50th Anniversary Edition:

Perry Mason - 50th Anniversary Edition (CBS DVD, $49.98) brings you some of the best episodes of one of the most popular courtroom dramas on television along with plenty of special features on a four-disc set. The series premiered in 1957 on CBS and ran through 1966, making it one of the most successful series of its time. The "meat of the set" so to speak would be the episodes, and on this set, we have the twelve "best" episodes of the series (as chosen by the producers of the DVDs), beginning with the 1960 episode "The Case of The Wary Wildcater," where a woman accuses an oil entrepreneur of killer her sister, and then she is in turn accused of killing him when he is murdered. A clump of fake hair could solve the mystery in "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee," where Robert Redford guest stars. Before he was Batman, Adam West guest stars in "The Case of the Barefaced Witness."
A man may have gone crazy in "The Case of the Counterfeit Crank," but is he crazy enough to commit murder? Leonard Nimoy guest stars in "The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe." Can Perry prove that a woman that has already been convicted is actually innocent? Find out in "The Case of the Deadly Verdict."
Did you know that Perry Mason was in color? Well it was... but only for one episode... in "The Case of the Twice Told Twist." In "The Case of the Dead Ringer," Raymond Burr plays the bad guy AND Perry Mason in the same episode. The set ends with the final episode, "The Case of the Final Fadeout," where Dick Clark guest stars.
The set comes in a very nice package with two double slimcases, with four discs. As has been the case on previous Perry Mason releases, the video and audio are preserved nearly to perfection, with virtually no flaws to be found... even the one color episode looks amazing! Closed-captioning is also available.
While there aren't any episode commentaries, there ARE video introductions from Barbara Hale on each and every episode... and much, much more. In fact, Disc 4 is nothing BUT special features. It begins with the 1985 movie Perry Mason Returns, which was the first (in a long line of MANY) Perry Mason TV movies of the week. Did you ever want to see what the cast was like when trying out for their roles? Find out in the Talent Tests. In fact, you even get to see actors from the show try out for parts they didn't even get. In "The Case of Erle Stanley Gardner," we get to find out about the history behind the creator of the series.
There are two interviews of Raymond Burr by Charlie Rose from the 1980s, as well a much older "Person to Person" interview. There are brand new interviews on the set from Barbara Hale, Arthur Marks, and Anne Nelson. You can see the entire cast play n the game show "Stump the Stars" on one of the special features. William Talman, while dying of lung cancer, gives a special anti-smoking message (that was taped just before he died) on another feature. And finally, there are some syndication promos and a photo gallery. Oh, and did I mention that except for the last two, all of these special features have an introduction by Barbara Hale?
I think that the verdict is very clear on this set... you'll want it. Normally I'm not a big fan of "best of" sets, but normally such sets don't include this many (and such great) special features. Now CBS DVD needs to get moving on more season sets... and perhaps give us some special features like these on one of those! This is better than those!
-- Reviewed by skees53
(5/5 stars)

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After launching June 2, 2007, Solomon's Weekly Rant is coming to an end after today's column. No, the rant is not canceled, but Solomon wants to go out on top. We enjoyed the rant each Saturday for the last 10 months and he is welcome to come back to do special features for us on the blog whenever we have some time. He of course will still remain an active members on our message boards, so you can still speak to him there. He will leave us today with his final rant that will feature some great thoughts and insight on why Good Times was not a spin-off of Maude. He has constantly said this on our message boards but this will be the first time he has actually written up something officially on this. You'll want to read this...because dare I say it, he could be right!

Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, April 19, 2008
"Why Good Times is NOT a Spin-Off of Maude"
By Solomon Davis

I have said this many times but now I'm actually writing it up for the whole world to see. Good Times is not a spin-off of Maude, damnit. You may think I'm crazy but I have some hard facts to prove this. First, isn't it obvious that the name of Florida's husband is different on both shows? On Maude his name is Henry and on Good Times it changed to James. So if Good Times was a spin-off why wouldn't they have kept the same name for the husband? And it was also obvious that the wife's name was supposed to be changed on Good Times since her husband had a different name on the show. So someone screwed up the naming the characters for Good Times and that's one reason that it can't be a spinoff... all about the names.

Fine you may think the producers might have messed up on the first argument I mentioned. But secondly, the location of Good Times along with the situation of the family lets you know it's not a spinoff. On Maude, the husband had a stable job as a fireman in upstate New York and on Good Times he was working at a car wash and living in the projects section of Chicago. On the last episode ("Florida's Goodbye") they appeared on Maude, they said Henry got a job promotion...so from a fireman to working at a car wash is a promotion? And the last time I checked Chicago is no where near upstate New York which means that Good Times is its own show and not a spinoff. Plus how could a family have moved from upstate New York and then be living in the projects in Chicago? Not a spinoff of Maude, that's why.

Third, the executive producer of Good Times, Allan Manings, stated in a 1974 issue of Ebony Magazine that it's not really a spin-off because Florida Evans was one character on Maude and that character was changed & re-developed for the NEW SHOW called Good Times. If anyone would know, it would be the executive producer of the show that knows whether it was a spinoff or not. The early scripts from Good Times are not connected at all to the final scripts of Maude. Once again, no spinoff.

And my last point, which will really show that Good Times was not a spinoff, is the airdate for the debut of Good Times in 1974. In some markets, CBS aired Good Times on February 1, 1974 and the last episode with the characters on Maude was aired on February 5, 1974. Did they move to Chicago and go back to upstate New York in a week? So if Good Times was supposed to be connected to the last episode of Maude then why would some CBS affiliates air the debut episode of Good Times before the last episode of Maude? And I know some CBS stations aired the launch of Good Times on February 8, 1974 but for the ones that didn't, made it obvious for the last time, that Good Times was never ever a spinoff of the show Maude. The characters were BASED on Maude but not the same exact ones! I hope everyone hears that lound and clear! I don't want to hear that on TV anymore that Good Times was a spin-off of Maude! You hear that E! True Hollywood Story, Entertainment Tonight, Biography, TV Land, and most of all Norman Lear? I hope you all see this!


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.

NBC Switches 30 Rock and Scrubs Slots; Female TV Stars Give Stess Secrets

Starting next Thursday (April 24) NBC will switch the timeslots for 30 Rock and Scrubs for the last three episodes of the season for both. 30 Rock was airing at 8:30pm on Thursdays but now will be moving to 9:30pm, where Scrubs was airing, while Scrubs will move to 8:30pm. Is this move because of Grey's Anatomy returning with new episodes on ABC? I don't think so. I think NBC is probably trying to bring more of an audience to critically acclaimed 30 Rock following The Office, which does well in the 18-49 rating demo.

A number of female celebrities are participating in Johnson's newest online campaign in the feature "Celebrity Stress Secrets." Johnson's, the skin care expert, has announced the launch of a new online campaign and microsite to promote its award-winning Melt Away Stress line of skin care products. "Celebrity Stress Secrets" features nearly 20 videos of unscripted stress tips and interviews from experts and celebs including Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty), Dr. Michelle Callahan, psychologist and life coach, and Susan Cernek, Glam Media’s Lifestyle Editor.
Additionally, the site will also include quotes from a range of celebrities including Alison Sweeney (The Biggest Loser), Stacey Dash (Clueless), Roselyn Sanchez (Without a Trace), Constance Marie (George Lopez), Nia Long (Big Shots) and Bonnie Somerville (Cashmere Mafia) on how they deal with stress. Further, the site is hosting the Express Your Stress competition, where women submit their stories on dealing with stress in hopes of winning a Girlfriend's Getaway to Jamaica.
Visit their website for more information! Check out their YouTube page for videos, such as Ana Ortiz's Advice For Young Women and De-stress Techniques.
And don't forget Ana Ortiz and the rest of the hilarious Ugly Betty cast return with all-new episodes starting next Thursday (April 24) at 8/7 central on ABC!

Wings Joins USA Network Again; Celebrity Family Feud Debuts July 1 on NBC

Wings is flying back to USA Network this June! The sitcom aired on USA Network from about 1995 to 2002, if I'm not mistaken. Then it moved to Nick at Nite in March 2003 and didn't do too well in primetime...then it eventually moved to sister station TV Land, which is where it is airing right now weekdays at 7:30am ET until the end of May. The other day we gave you TV Land's June schedule and Wings was not a part of it, because it will be moving to USA Network. So, starting June 2, Wings returns to USA Network! It will be paired with Becker in the 6am hour, with Becker remaining at 6am and Wings airing at 6:30am. That may not sound much but it is better than nothing since TV Land is losing the show at this end of this month. So get ready to watch it an hour earlier on another channel! Maybe Wings will fly to a better timeslot soon after, as the show did pretty well for them in the late 90s.

One hundred people surveyed, top ten answers on the board and celebrity 'families' behind the buzzers. Al Roker will host all the action when Celebrity Family Feud joins NBC's summer primetime line-up premiering Tuesday, July 1 from 8-9 p.m. ET/PT. It will be a star-studded version of the beloved and enduring game show, featuring four celebrity families matching wits each week to raise money for their respective charities. In some cases, competing families will each consist of one celebrity and their real-life relatives, while other episodes will feature nostalgic or current television clans. All celebrities will be announced at a later date...and when it is announced we shall let you know!

BET Schedule Change for Weekends; RTN Officially Announces Website; Under One Roof Premieres Tonight on MyNetworkTV

BET has made a slight schedule change for Saturday mornings starting Saturday, April 26. Thea was preempted last week (April 12) at the last minute for a Spring Bling special and this week (April 19) it was already slated to be preempted for the Malcolm & Eddie marathon from 9am-7pm...and now BET will remove Thea for now from the schedule. Back-to-back episodes of the Nickelodeon sitcom Romeo! will air on BET Saturday mornings from 9-10am starting Saturday, April 26 replacing Thea. Also, returning to BET on Saturday mornings is the Nickelodeon sitcom Just Jordan right after Romeo! on Saturdays from 10-11am, replacing Malcolm & Eddie on Saturdays only. Both former Nickelodeon shows are also currently re-airing on sister Viacom station The N as well.
All is not lost for Thea however. Thea's Mother's Day marathon is still slated for Sunday, May 11 from 12 noon to 5pm ET/PT. We will have episode info shortly. Let's hope Thea returns to the line-up shortly as well, so we can see all 22 episodes...I believe about 11 have aired so far.

We already told you about this, but RTN officially announced their website today. Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it has launched a new network website, www.RTNville.com. The website features extensive content about the network, including detailed show descriptions (for shows like Cheers, Happy Days) and a complete list of RTN affiliates. A large picture of Robin Leach on the welcome page (Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous) is also featured!
"We are thrilled to have a website that showcases RTN programming," said RTN's Neal Ardman. "I believe that RTNville.com is the perfect next step for our network."

Premiering tonight on MyNetwork TV is original sitcom Under One Roof starring Flavor Flav. We gave you the details back in February on what this show is about. The sitcom will air Wednesdays at 8:00pm ET/PT on MyNetwork TV. Tune in tonight as this is the first sitcom in the history of MyNetwork TV! Airing at 8:30pm ET/PT following Under One Roof episodes will be repeats of the classic Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color! The show currently airs in repeats on cable on BET during late nights but it returns to broadcast television in primetime with repeats on MyNetwork TV. MyNetwork TV is calling it The Best of In Living Color...so you'll have to tune in to see which episode airs. Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier, Jim Carrey, and Jennifer Lopez are among the stars of the show.
Also airing tonight of note are the returns of Fox sitcoms Back to You and 'Til Death from 8-9pm. ABC has probably the last debate between Obama and Clinton tonight from 8-10pm ET/PT...should be interesting. And TV Land premiere's new original series The Big 4-0 tonight at 10pm ET/PT.

New TV Special: TV's All-Time Funniest Airing on ABC; Two-Hour Season Finales for Grey's and Lost

Sitcom fans take note of a great new two-hour special airing May 9 on ABC! Conjure up a list of your favorite comedy characters from the greatest sitcoms in history... Who would be your favorites? TV fans across the country were asked to choose their funniest characters in the following eight categories:
1. Funniest Comedy Fathers, 2. Funniest Mothers, 3. Funniest Kids, 4. Funniest Relatives, 5. Funniest Neighbors, 6. Funniest Friends, 7. Funniest Boss and 8. Funniest Co-Workers.
Collected by Nielsen Media Research, the results will be revealed in the two-hour TV's All-Time Funniest, a Paley Center for Media special, airing Friday, May 9 from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ET/PT on ABC!
Who is America's funniest father? Is it Cliff Huxtable or Homer Simpson? Is the funniest mother Lucy Ricardo or Marion Cunningham? Watch to see if your funniest character is also America's funniest.
Interviews with TV icons such as Rainn Wilson (The Office), Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), David Hyde Pierce (Frasier), Marion Ross (Happy Days), Mary Tyler Moore (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show), Valerie Harper (The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and Rue McClanahan (The Golden Girls) will be highlighted. These comedic stars will offer revealing insight into their funniest sitcom moments, accompanied by hilarious clips.
This is a special you will not want to miss! It will have lots of sitcoms being showcased and for sure one of your all-time favorites will be featured in one of the categories at least! To discuss this special, click HERE!

Meanwhile, ABC announced special two-hour season finales of Grey's Anatomy” and Lost. The Grey's Anatomy season finale airs Thursday, May 22 from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT, and the Lost season finale airs a week later, Thursday, May 29 from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT on ABC. This marks an additional hour for each show this strike shortened season, for a total of 17 hours for Grey's Anatomy and 14 hours for Lost. (*Note: So Lost will be preempted on May 22 due to the Grey's Anatomy season finale.)
Remember Grey's Anatomy” returns with original episodes on Thursday, April 24 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT, and Lost returns with originals that night as well, when it moves to its new 10:00 p.m. ET/PT time slot.
ABC also announced Lost encores will air on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT opposite the American Idol finale, preempting Wife Swap and Supernanny. These episodes will be encore presentations of both the Thursday, May 1 and May 8 episodes combined. The May 15 Lost encore will air at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Thursday, May 29 leading into the two-hour season finale from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT.

ION Television May 2008 Highlights; CBS Summer 2008 Schedule

ION Television has announced its May 2008 schedule and highlights. As of now, there will be no changes to the regular schedule, which means the schedule that started Monday, April 7, will remain in effect unless there is a last minute change. So, Wayans Bros., Steve Harvey, Family Feud, Mama's Family, Quantum Leap and Drew Carey will remain from 5-11pm. Total Theatre Thursday movies for the month of May are: The Cowboys, Superman, Superman II, Risky Business and Bladerunner. RHI on ION movies for Fri-Sun in May include The Odyssey, Neil Simon's London Suite, Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys, and the three-part Larry McMurtry's Streets of Laredo.
Click HERE for the full ION May 2008 highlights and to discuss this month.
ION will have its upfront in about two weeks, on May 1...so hopefully more items will be announced then and we still plan to interview them shortly after that upfront.

CBS today unveiled its 2008 summer schedule comprising nearly 90 hours of original programming, including three new reality series (Greatest American Dog, Million Dollar Password (hosted by Regis Philbin) and Jingles (from Mark Burnett)), two new dramas (Swingtown and Flashpoint), summer stalwart Big Brother, two live mixed martial arts events (CBS Elite XC Saturday Night Fights), The American Theatre Wing's 62nd Annual Tony Awards and AFI's 10 Top 10 special.
The summer lineup will also see rebroadcasts of Without a Trace, NUMB3RS and Cold Case moving to new time periods.

Here is the summer line-up:

Thursday, Effective May 29
8:00-9:00 PM TBA
9:00-10:00 PM CSI (repeats)

Saturday, May 31
9:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT CBS Elite XC Saturday Night Fights

Sunday, Effective June 1
7:00-8:00 PM 60 Minutes
8:00-9:00 PM Million Dollar Password (Series Premiere...6 episodes ordered)
9:00-10:00 PM Cold Case (repeats)
10:00-11:00 PM TBA

Tuesday, Effective June 3
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS (repeats)
9:00-10:00 PM Shark (repeats)
10:00-11:00 PM Without a Trace (New Time Period, repeats)

Thursday, Effective June 5
8:00-9:00 PM TBA
9:00-10:00 PM CSI (repeats)
10:00-11:00 PM Swingtown (Series Premiere...13 episodes ordered)

Sunday, June 15
8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT The American Theatre Wing's 62nd Annual Tony Awards

Tuesday, June 17
8:00-11:00 PM AFI's 10 Top 10

Thursday, Effective July 10
8:00-9:00 PM Greatest American Dog (Series Premiere...TBD episodes ordered)
9:00-10:00 PM CSI (repeats)
10:00-11:00 PM Swingtown

Friday, Effective July 11
8:00-9:00 PM Ghost Whisperer (repeats)
9:00-10:00 PM NUMB3RS (New Time Period, repeats)
10:00-11:00 PM Flashpoint (Series Premiere...13 episodes ordered)

Sunday, Effective July 13
7:00-8:00 PM 60 Minutes
8:00-9:00 PM Big Brother (Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM Cold Case (repeats)
10:00-11:00 PM TBA

Tuesday, Effective July 15
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS (repeats)
9:00-10:00 PM Big Brother (Premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM Without a Trace (repeats)

Wednesday, Effective July 16
8:00-9:00 PM Big Brother (Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM Criminal Minds (repeats)
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: NY (repeats)

Saturday, July 26
9:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT CBS Elite XC Saturday Night Fights

Sunday, Effective July 27
7:00-8:00 PM 60 Minutes
8:00-9:00 PM Big Brother
9:00-10:00 PM Jingles (Series Premiere...8 episodes ordered)
10:00-11:00 PM Cold Case (New Time Period, repeats)

For complete details on the new summer series, click HERE.

Today's blog brought to you by the new hit sitcom Samantha Who? Watch it tonight at 9:30pm ET/PT on ABC!

Week 29 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

Week 29 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: Fox 8.7/13.5, CBS 7.7/12.3, ABC 6.1/9.6, NBC 5.1/8.0, The CW 1.2/1.9, MyNetworkTV 0.8/1.3
Total Viewers: Fox 14.72 million, CBS 12.11 million, ABC 9.06 million, NBC 7.91 million, The CW 1.73 million, MyNetworkTV 1.2 million
Adults 18-49: Fox 5.5/14.3, CBS 3.7/9.8, NBC 2.8/7.4, ABC 2.5/6.7, The CW 0.7/1.9, MyNetworkTV 0.4/1.2

Analysis: Week 29 so far has Fox and CBS dominating...but Fox had American Idol on three nights this week, but it was way down from usual. Through the first four days of week 29, we have Fox on top by a wider margin than this time last week, with CBS in second in HH/viewers, and 18-49. ABC is third in HH/viewers but fourth as of now in 18-49...NBC is the opposite, 4th in HH/viewers and a slim lead in 18-49 for 3rd. Last week, week 28, CBS beat Fox for number one in HH and viewers, but Fox had a slight edge in 18-49, with CBS in a very close second..as CBS was boosted by the return of scripted TV. ABC was 3rd in all categories, with NBC fourth in everything.
On Monday, both ABC and CBS were on top with Dancing with the Stars doing 19.68 million for 92 minutes, down a bit from the 96-minute episode the week before. The return of sitcom Samantha Who did 10.42 million, but it seems down from what it did in the slot in the fall...I think it will rise this week because the NCAA Basketball Championship game must have affected it. The Bachelor: London Calling followed with 6.83 million, down from the previous week. CBS was higher than usual thanks to the NCAA Basketball Championship Game doing 19.5 million, slightly off from last year but slightly up in 18-49 this year at a 7.3 rating. The Big Bang Theory repeat started the night off with 7.13 million...not too bad, and a repeat of Two and a Half Men at a special time of 8:30pm followed with 8.79 million. It did much higher in that slot a year ago before the game. NBC was led by Deal or No Deal at 9pm doing 10.22 million, slightly up week-to-week, but NBC started the night off at 8pm slow with My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad at 4.38 million, on par really from previous week actually. Medium closed the night off with 10.86 million, it also was up week-to-week. Fox aired a repeat of House to start off the night and it did 7.26 million, down a bit from previous week, following at 9pm was a new New Amsterdam doing 7.44 million, up from previous week and built on the lead-in...interesting. The CW had a repeat of Gossip Girl doing 1.18 million and a repeat of One Tree Hill at 1.22 million...the show will move to this slot with new episodes very soon.
On Tuesday, Fox was on top thanks to Idol at 24.67 million at 8pm, but down over a million from previous week. At 9pm Fox aired a new Hell's Kitchen and it did solid with 11.21 million...down a bit from the season premiere the previous week. ABC was next with two new episodes of Just for Laughs at 8pm doing 5.16 and 5.41 million...down a bit from previous week, as these were the final episodes of the season. Then at 9pm, Dancing with the Stars: The Results did a solid 17.02 million, down slightly from previous week as funnyman Adam Carolla got the boot. ABC closed the night at 10pm with the return of Boston Legal at 9.59 million. NBC aired a two-hour Biggest Loser at 9.0 million, up from previous week and it did very well, and a repeat of Law & Order: SVU drew 8.65 million, back up three million viewers, after being down three million last week. CBS was next with the return of NCIS at 14.07 million, very solid as usual, followed by the Tuesday edition of the disappointing Big Brother 9 at just 6.18 million, on par with the previous week. The first episode of Secret Talents of the Stars did just 4.58 million...and the next day they canceled it...talk about fast. The CW aired a new Beauty & The Geek at just 1.91 million, but up from previous week and a repeat of Reaper did 1.71 million, down a bit from previous week.
On Wednesday, it was all Fox again. American Idol was sort of not on, but the special telethon Idol Gives Back 2 aired and it was way down from last year at just 17.75 million...great but not for this show. CBS continues to struggle with Big Brother 9 at just 5.84 million, down a bit from previous week, but Criminal Minds and CSI: NY were new and did solid at 13.33 and 12.38 million...very good, as Minds went up from previous week, but not NY. NBC was next with Deal or No Deal starting the night off with 9.76 million...up a bit from previous week, followed by a repeat of Law & Order: Criminal Intent at 4.94 million, down from previous week, and the original Law & Order was a repeat as well and it did 6.13 million, down from previous week's repeat. ABC's Wife Swap was a repeat and did 4.43 million, down from previous week, a new Supernanny followed with 5.77 million, slightly off from previous week and finally the special Primetime: The Last Lecture did a solid 8.12 million. The CW had an all-new Top Model at a just 2.38 million, way below normal, a new Pussycat Dolls on a new night did just 1.92 million.
On Thursday, CBS was number one for the night. Survivor: Micronesia started the night off with 11.59 million, down from previous week...but CSI followed with a nice 20.09 million, slightly off from previous week and Without a Trace closed the night off with 14.49 million, also off from a bit from previous week. Fox was next with the results of American Idol on a special night and time doing 20.13 million, but that was way below normal...a new Don't Forget the Lyrics! followed at 10.9 million. NBC was next, with an all-new My Name is Earl doing 7.09 million, down from previous week...30 Rock returned with its low numbers at just 5.77 million. The Office returned with solid numbers at 9.33 million and a 4.9 18-49 rating. A new Scrubs did 6.58 million, so-so, and ER returned with just 7.52 million. ABC was well behind as its top guns won't return until April 24. ABC started the night off with two repeat episodes of Desperate Housewives averaging 5.22 million and Eli Stone closed the night with 5.88 million, up from previous week. It will also air this Sunday (TONIGHT!) at 10 following the return of Desperate Housewives with new episodes!
Like usual, no Friday finals yet. CBS was on top on Friday with Ghost Whisperer, a special primetime Price is Right, and NUMB3RS all led its hours. NBC's Miss USA bombed and Amne$ia did even lower at 8pm and ABC's Duel didn't do so well again. Saturday ratings were not available to us.
Tonight will be all ABC thanks to the return of Desperate Housewives! Oprah's Big Give second to last episode of the season will move to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's for the next two weeks..and a new Eli Stone could get series highs tonight. CBS will be a distant second with Big Brother & Dexter the weak spots, but 60 Minutes & a new Cold Case will make it interesting. NBC has a new Dateline, which will do OK or average but repeats of USA Network's Monk and Psych will do terrible from 8-10pm...especially the latter. Fox will have a mix of new and repeats with The Simpsons and King of the Hill all-new.
As for the week, I believe CBS will win in HH & viewers with Fox in 18-49...though HH/viewers will be very close. Fox will be 2nd in HH/viewers and ABC be third in all spots, leaving NBC in 4th. Unless ABC does even better than expected tonight, then it could be 2nd in 18-49.
This coming week sees more shows return from strike hiatus such as Desperate Housewives and Back to You.

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of March 31-April 6)

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - All-new episode did just 960,000 viewers a series low once again. Under 1 million is just pathetic for a new episode....well even for The CW under 2 million is bad.
  
• Aliens in America (The CW) - A repeat did just 830,000 viewers...totally terrible.
  
• The Game (The CW) - A new episode did 1.26 million, down from previous week...but it built on at least from its lead-ins. This show is being wasted here.
  
• Girlfriends (The CW) - A repeat did 1.2 million, down from previous week.
  
• The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 5.58 million...this show is on a slump since 2008 started it seems.
  
• King of the Hill (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat at 7pm did just 3.09 million, down from previous week. A new episode at 8:30 did just 5.28 million...losing a bit from the lead-in and that was a repeat. I don't understand why this keeps getting renewed honestly.
  
• Family Guy (Fox) - A one-hour repeat did just 6.19 million, down over a million from previous week's repeat and that was only a half-hour.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 7.13 million tuned in for a repeat.
  
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - Off-air...returns tomorrow.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 8.79 million for a repeat...not bad.
• Samantha Who (ABC) - A new episode did 10.42 million...good but it is below normal.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• None
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 7.09 million for its second episode back...down from the previous episode.
  
• 30 Rock (NBC) - 5.77 million for its return...same old and same old.
  
• The Office (NBC) - Its return did a solid 9.33 million, but its strength was the 4.9 18-49 rating.
  
• Scrubs (NBC) - 6.58 million for the first of its final NBC episodes.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None
  

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) is a mix of new and repeats of sitcoms on The CW from 8-10, and Fox's animated comedies are also a mix of new and repeats from 7-10.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men repeat, Samantha Who? & The Office were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (My Name is Earl, The Big Bang Theory repeat) or just plain old terrible (The CW Sunday (4/6), 30 Rock).