Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Lifetime Announces Halloween Programming; Remembering TV Composer Neal Hefti

Wow...two days in a row of Lifetime news! There is no shortage of blood-chillers this Halloween. That mysterious creaking emanating from the shadows. Hockey-masked killers and otherworldly marauders. The Dow. Lifetime Networks is getting in the "spirit" of the season too, rolling out a slate of tricks and treats on Lifetime Television and Lifetime Movie Network.
Lifetime hits the ground running Halloween week beginning Monday, October 27 every day at 11 AM (ET/PT), with five new episodes of Lisa Williams: Voices From the Other Side, featuring the renowned clairvoyant's eerie encounters beyond the grave. Each day's show will feature a lead-in of a quite different brand of terror with themed episodes of Wife Swap at 10 AM (ET/PT). Halloween-themed episodes of the sitcoms Frasier, Reba, Still Standing and Will & Grace will also pepper the week-long schedule.
Over on sister channel Lifetime Movie Network, it's a full weekend of supernatural movies (Saturday, October 25-Sunday, October 26) ranging from the classic scares of The Rage: Carrie 2 and The Unquiet to contemporary paranormal stories like The Watch, You Belong to Me and Nightmare at End of the Hall.

Neal Hefti, a TV composer who composed the memorable themes for the movie The Odd Couple and the campy hit TV series Batman, has passed away. Hefti died Saturday (October 11) at his home in Toluca Lake, said his son, Paul. He did not know the cause of death, but said his father had been in good health.
While known primarily as a film composer, his two TV themes are his most famous work. Among his credits as a film composer are Sex and the Single Girl, Harlow (one of his most famous tunes, "Girl Talk," came out of the score), How to Murder Your Wife, Boeing Boeing, Duel at Diablo, Barefoot in the Park, A New Leaf, Last of the Red Hot Lovers and The Odd Couple, whose theme he reprised for the 1970s ABC TV series. Hefti also gained wide notice for composing the energetic title theme for Batman, the over-the-top 1966-68 ABC superhero series that became an overnight sensation. Hefti's Batman theme became a Top 40 hit and won a 1966 Grammy Award for best instrumental theme.
Hefti retired in 1976. He will be deeply missed but his themes will live on forever. Mr. Hefti was 85.

We'll return with more news, if any...stay tuned!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, December 2

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Daddy Issues" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Tina’s newly single father visits. Meanwhile, Dave and Gemma try to curb their spending so they can afford to send Grover to a private high school.

Poppa's House - "Family Photo" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Poppa wants a new family photo that doesn’t include his ex-wife, but Junior and Nina don’t want to leave Catherine out.

What We Do in the Shadows - "Come Out and Play" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
The vampires get blamed for a murder at a meeting of all the New York vampires and must find a way back to the safety of Staten Island.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 2)

Monday, December 2

  • Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Watch Jamie Lee on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Stephanie Hsu (Laid) - Stephanie appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
  • Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Ken talks about Accused on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - The Drew Barrymore Show has Holiiday Décor Dupes with Valerie and Danny Seo, so check your local listings.
  • Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - Zachary is telling Drew about starring as a gifted neurologist in the new medical drama Brilliant Minds on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Janelle James (Abbott Elementary) - Janelle talks about the new season of Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • John David Washington (Ballers) - John talks about The Piano Lesson on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Jim chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita debuts her limited-edition tribute Barbie on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Lacey Chabert (Still the King/Baby Daddy/Family Guy) - Lacey and Kristoffer Polaha talk about Hallmark's The Christmas Quest on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel discusses his film Sweethearts and podcast Bad Dates on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

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