Friday, November 14, 2008

Early Show Celebrates 5 Decades; This TV Comes to Houston in December; Beaver's Tony Dow An Artist?

All this week CBS's Early Show has been looking at the past 5 decades in every way, including of course television. We didn't get word until about Wednesday, so it was too late to promote it...but we will recap it here today. On Monday, Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith took a walk down memory lane and had a chat with the former child stars of the 1950's, who made TV's golden age shimmer. Tony Dow (Wally Cleaver) of Leave it to Beaver, Jon Provost (Timmy) of Lassie, Paul Petersen (Jeff Stone) of The Donna Reed Show, Keith Thibodeaux (Little Ricky Ricardo) of I Love Lucy all joined The Early Show to reminisce of the good old days of TV. View the 50s segment.
On Tuesday, Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith sat down with four leading ladies of the 1960's, Barbara Eden (Jeannie) of I Dream of Jeannie, Dawn Wells (Mary Ann) of Gilligan's Island, Barbara Feldon (Agent 99) of Get Smart and Kathy Garver (Cissy) of Family Affair to chat about how their characters changed their lives. You can view this 60s segment.
On Wednesday, The Early Show celebrated the 1970's. There were no actual reunions or stars on, though, but they talked about the 70s and dressed in 70s clothing. Gloria Gaynor did perform her hits, though. View the 70s segment.
On Thursday it was time to celebrate the 1980's. Actress Joan Collins, who played Alexis Carrington, John Forsythe's vindictive ex-wife on Dynasty, helped to set the bar when it came to malicious scheming, cat-fighting and starting fashion trends. Today, Collins continues to challenge herself with writing books and columns, as well as roles on television and the big screen. The legendary 75-year-old actress sat down with Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith to chat about her iconic status during the '80s and dish on her secret to looking youthful. You can view that here.
Finally, today it was the '90s turn. Talk show host Maury Povich talked with Harry Smith and Julie Chen about Maury and other 90s talk shows. Tabloid talk shows in the '90s were loud and controversial and oftentimes over the top, but as crazy and uncensored as it may have been, it helped to define the decade. View this video.

We of course mentioned a few weeks ago that new digital station This TV has launched in a few markets on Halloween, now This TV will launch in Houston on December 1 as one of KPRC's (Channel 2) digital stations. This TV will replace the NBC WeatherPlus signal that currently airs on KPRC's digital signal 2.2 and at channel 320 on Comcast cable.
This TV is from MGM and Weigel Broadcasting and airs TV series such as Patty Duke Show, Mister Ed and The Outer Limits. The network mainly airs MGM movies, such as The Misfits, They Call Me Mister Tibbs, Diggstown, The Terminator, The Three Amigos and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini.

The actor most notably recognized as 'Wally' on the classic television sitcom, Leave it to Beaver is set to showcase his artistic talents in Paris, France. Tony Dow will display an abstract sculpture in Paris' historical Louvre museum this December. The showcase will run from December 11 to December 14.
Since the end of his run on Leave it to Beaver Dow has worked on several television shows as a director and producer, as well as acting here and there.
Dow, 63, now lives in Los Angeles and has expressed excitement about his upcoming debut stating, "Having something shown at the Louvre is about as good as you can get... I'm a little humbled by the whole thing but grateful nonetheless." Dow also stated, "Of course, I'm really proud of Leave It to Beaver and my directing career in television...but this is interesting because I don't think they know anything about that at the Louvre."


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, December 7

The Simpsons - "Guess Who's Coming to Skinner" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Principal Skinner discovers that one of his students is a runaway who has been living in the school library, he has to take the snarky, difficult kid into his home and is forced into a role he never expected or wanted -- being a parent.

Universal Basic Guys - "Good Marks" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark goes back to high school to prove he is smart; Hank tries to pass Advanced Woodshop.

Krapopolis - "Nike (The Goddness)" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Tyrannis and his siblings enter a contest; Shlub and Deliria go to a play.

Bob's Burgers - "Les Lizárdables" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Gene and Courtney become embroiled in a complex custody battle over an injured lizard.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 1)

Sunday, December 7

  • Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Catch Kenan on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series (DVD)
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two (DVD)
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season (DVD)
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 (DVD)
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

12/06 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair; Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. Discovery
12/05 - FETV Acquires The Carol Burnett Show Uncut; Hey A.J.! Coming to Disney Jr.
12/04 - COZI TV Acquires The Jeff Foxworthy Show; Hulu Renews Chad Powers for Season 2
12/03 - MeTV January 2026 Schedule; Netflix's My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Season 6 Guests
12/02 - MeTV Acquires Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart & Hawaii Five-O; Apple TV's The First Snow of Fraggle Rock Trailer
12/01 - MeTV to Announce Four New Shows; Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Draws 25 Million Viewers on NBC
11/30 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 1, 2025)
11/29 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at Scrubs Reboot; Mad Men Coming to HBO Max
11/28 - Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Encores Tonight (11/28); Hulu's Smash Hit Renewed for Quick 4th Season
11/27 - 2025 Thanksgiving TV Marathons
11/26 - ABC's Scrubs First Teaser During Dancing with the Stars Finale; Eva Green Joins Wednesday Season 3
11/25 - COZI TV Acquires Malcolm & Eddie and The Steve Harvey Show; 53rd International Emmy® Awards Winners
11/24 - Antenna TV's All-You-Can Eat Wings for Thanksgiving Marathon; Rewind TV's Serving Up the Seavers with a Thanksgiving Day Growing Pains Marathon
11/23 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 24, 2025)
11/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Disney+ Offers New Simpsons Streaming Channel; Final Eight Unaired Episodes of Joey on YouTube
11/21 - HBO Renews Comedies The Chair Company and I Love LA; Kelly and Mark to Host International Emmy® Awards
11/20 - The CW Midseason 2026 Schedule; Sarah Sherman HBO Max Special
11/19 - Tubi's Comedy Mo' Waffles Premieres December 19; 78th Emmy® Awards Set for September 14, 2026
11/18 - CBS Midseason 2026 Schedule; SNL Closes Out 2025 with 3 Episodes in December
11/17 - NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center Lineup; Prime Video Gets Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson for Sports Talk Show
11/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 17, 2025)
11/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Orders Pilot From Brooklyn Nine-Nine Team; FX Cancels English Teacher
11/14 - Disney's Hulu's Family Guy's Hallmark Channel's Lifetime's Familiar Holiday Movie; Mad Men Coming to HBO Max in 4K
11/13 - Antenna TV Re-Acquires One Day at a Time and Sanford and Son; Season 2 of the Wild Series It's Florida, Man
11/12 - Fox Midseason 2026 Schedule; Hulu's Tell Me Lies Season 3 Premiere Date
11/11 - Cast Announced for Netflix's A Different World Sequel; Hulu's Sebastian Maniscalco Special Trailer
11/10 - ABC's New Game Show The Greatest Average American; Prime Video Christmas Movie
11/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 10, 2025)
11/08 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox and Sony Developing Reimagined Bewitched; Samsung TV Plus Launching AFV Channel
11/07 - TBS and TNT Holiday Schedule; Hulu's Back 'Four' More Reasonable Doubt; Remembering Diane Ladd of Alice
11/06 - Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas 2025 Schedule; Single Drunk Female Star Gets Hulu Film