SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

TV One May 2009 Says That's My Mama; Rickles To Be Honored at TV Land; Ape-Reel Fool's on Boomerang; Sitcom Hint

Originally there was supposed to be an Easter marathon on TV One for the classic but short lived '70s sitcom That's My Mama, but then they decided to pull it. I had thought they pulled it because they wanted a better night for it like Mother's Day, and I was right...we will indeed get the marathon on Mother's Day now!
Beginning at 1pm on Mother's Day (Sunday, May 10), the classic sitcom That's My Mama comes to the TV One airwaves with an all-day marathon. The classic sitcom which starred Theresa Merritt in the title role as Eloise "Mama" Curtis took place in Washington D.C. and centered around Clifton Curtis, Mama's son and young barber, he had inherited the family barbershop from his late father, Oscar Curtis. Mama wanted the best for her son and that meant a woman in his life, so she often tried finding him a mate even though he enjoyed bachelor life. The series also stars Clifton Davis and Jester Hairston (who both went on to star in another TV One favorite Amen), Ted Lange (who went on to star in The Love Boat), Lynn Moody (Roots), and Theodore Wilson (Sweet Daddy from TV One's Good Times). The marathon ends at 7pm...but after an original special at 7pm, we get more sitcom mom fun! Concluding the Mothers Day festivities, TV One airs a "Mothers Day Comedy Marathon" beginning at 8pm consisting of Mothers Day themed episodes of TV One sitcom favorites Living Single, Half & Half, and The Hughleys. It's good to see The Hughleys get some play, as the series has been off the regular schedule. The marathon runs until 1am, but encores until 6am. That's My Mama is not scheduled to join the regular line-up in May...hopefully it will at a later date. The Mama marathon is an hour shorter than the originally planned Easter marathon, though.
On Saturday, May 16 beginning at 12pm, TV One says Happy Birthday to a superstar as they offer their annual birthday tribute to Grammy Award winning entertainer Janet Jackson by airing an all-day marathon of "Good Times: The Janet Years," featuring episodes when a young Janet played the Evans neighbor, Penny who after being abused by a violent mother was eventually adopted by Willona. The marathon runs until 8pm, with select episodes encoring from 12am-6am.
TV One goes retro for Memorial Day weekend beginning on Saturday, May 23 with series, movies, and marathons that will take viewers on a trip back in time for a weekend full of laughs, romance, danger, and action. Movies will kick off on Saturday. Then on Sunday, May 24 beginning at 1pm to 7pm, TV One presents an action-packed marathon of the '80s crime drama series A Man Called Hawk starring Avery Brooks in the title role of the tough talking and street fighting Hawk. Keeping the retro theme going on Sunday, May 24 beginning at 8pm, TV One pays homage to actor/comedian John Witherspoon (who is the roastee at a TV One Celebrity Roast premiering the next night) with the airing of episodes of sitcoms Martin and Living Single as well as the Robert Townsend Tinseltown parody Hollywood Shuffle. On Memorial Day itself (Monday, May 25), beginning at 10am, closing out retro-weekend on TV One is a marathon of '70s sitcom Sanford & Son starring the late Redd Foxx as cantankerous junk dealer Fred Sanford and Demond Wilson as his son Lamont who run a junk business in a Los Angeles Watts neighborhood. The marathon runs until 9pm and select episodes encore from 1am-6am.
As for regular schedule changes, beginning on Monday, May 4 and continuing until further notice, the TV One weeknight overnight sitcom block has changed and will now air the following line-up: 3:00am Half & Half (replacing Living Single), 3:30am Martin (replacing Living Single), 4:00am Half & Half and 4:30am Martin (replacing Half & Half).

It's April Fool's Day, so what better way to celebrate this day then to give you news about Don Rickles! Multi-talented Don Rickles, the world's most beloved "outrageous comic," actor and author will be bestowed the Legend Award at The 2009 TV Land Awards. The Legend Award is presented to an entertainer or a television show that has stood the test of time and ranks among the most memorable and celebrated in television and movie history. The 2009 TV Land Awards, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris will tape on Sunday, April 19 at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City to air on TV Land during a special presentation of TV Land PRIME on Sunday, April 26 at 8pm ET/PT. Previous recipients of the Legend Award include The Carol Burnett Show, Cheers, Garry Marshall, The Andy Griffith Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
TV Land previously announced additional honorees for this year's show including Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Legacy of Laughter Award), Married with Children (Innovator Award), M*A*S*H (Impact Award), Home Improvement (Fan Favorite Award), Magnum P.I. (Hero Award), Two and a Half Men (Future Classic Award) and Knots Landing (30th Anniversary Award).
View more on the awards and Don Rickles.

Spend a primate-packed day with Boomerang as the commercial-free network celebrates "Ape-Reel Fool's Day" today! The big star of the day is everyone's favorite fun-loving (and well-dressed) gorilla, Magilla. Debuting in 1964, The Magilla Gorilla Show chronicles Magilla's antics in Mr. Peeble's Pet Shop. This classic cartoon will air in three-hour blocks on Wednesday, April 1, at 9 a.m. (ET) and 5 p.m. (ET), and again overnight at 2 a.m. (ET). So, yes this story didn't publish until 1pm ET, but you have time to catch these encores!
But not all the animated apes are as amiable as Magilla, as Mojo Jojo of The Powerpuff Girls will prove. This most evil of apish villains will wreak havoc at 7 a.m. (ET), 2 p.m. (ET) and 10 p.m. (ET). Other classic cartoons--The Flinstones, Scooby Doo, Pink Panther, Dexter's Laboratory and Top Cat also will join in the fun with monkey-themed episodes and simian guest stars. On The Flintstones, a mix-up at the Bedrock pharmacy has Fred taking strange pills that don't help his allergy but turn him into an ape. Tune in today at 3pm ET and other encores like 9pm!

And no foolin' we have some sitcom acquisition news for the next two days. Stay tuned tomorrow to find out what sitcom ION Television has acquired and on Friday to find out what sitcom Lifetime has acquired. Both networks will start airing these sitcoms this May! What can they be? You'll have to join us the next two days!