Monday, July 06, 2009

Lifetime Makes Late Afternoon Changes; Retroality.TV Posts July 2009 Features; Remembering Harve Presnell

Starting today (Monday, July 6), Lifetime will make some last-minute late afternoon changes. Weekdays at 4pm will now be another episode of Wife Swap, replacing an hour of Reba. And if that wasn't enough, Wife Swap will also air at 5pm replacing an hour of Still Standing. Still Standing will still air in its 8am hour on weekdays, so not to fret. If you're keeping track, Wife Swap now airs weekdays from 2pm-6pm, that's four straight episodes every weekday! And finally the 6pm hour will now be an hour of Reba, replacing Less than Perfect. Less than Perfect is now only weekdays in the 9am hour. Reba will air primarily weekdays from 6-9pm, with some preemptions such as How I Met Your Mother on Mondays in the 7pm hour. Less than Perfect fans, don't worry you'll get a better slot than just 9am come September. And as a reminder, Grey's Anatomy and Medium join the weekday schedule this September, so you can sure bet that Wife Swap four-hour blocks are just for the summer. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for the Lifetime September schedule and many other fall line-ups in our fall schedule barrage blog posts. Don't you love that time of year?

The great Chris Mann has posted his July cover story and blog updates on his wonderful retro website Retroality.TV. This month's highlights includes a tribute to the incomparable Farrah Fawcett by Jack Condon, the author of the definitive Charlie's Angels Casebook that served as the basis of NBC's 2004 Behind the Camera TV movie about the series. Jack even has a whole room of Angels posters, which you can see on Retroality.
Chris will also post a Michael Jackson tribute on his blog, as well as part two of Holly Hallstrom's tell-all audio interview about Bob Barker and The Price is Right. This candid and no-holds-barred audio series will play out across several weeks this summer, Chris says. She even talks about working next door to the Three's Company stage during the late '70s/early '80s! She has some cool stories about working at CBS Television City during Price from the same era. She also talks about the showcase skits and how they made Price somewhat of a sitcom within a game show. We like sitcoms! Finally, she discusses Bob Barker's recent reported feud with Betty White, and his controversial appearance on GSN's recent Game Show Awards.
And soon he'll post an interview with tennis great Monica Seles (who was on Dancing with the Stars last fall), along with contributor Roselyn Sacco's review of Seles' new book Getting a Grip.
And Chris says he is planning exclusive video later this month, as well as lots of other goodies. Groovy! So check out Retroality.TV! Bookmark it!

Harve Presnell, whose booming baritone graced such Broadway musicals as The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Annie, and in many TV roles has died. The actor died Tuesday (June 30, 2009) of pancreatic cancer at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.
He appeared in many TV series in his career. He was a regular on the series The Pretender, and guest starred in many series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Ryan's Hope, Nash Bridges, Grace Under Fire, Star Trek Voyager, George & Leo, Two Guys and a Girl, The Outer Limits, Payne, Dawson's Creek, Frasier, The Practice, Charmed, Monk, ER, and was Lois Lane's father on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He also appeared on all episodes of the short-lived sitcom Andy Barker, P.I. He appeared on the original pilot of Hope & Faith as Hope and Faith's father, but it never aired. His final role was a guest shot on Cold Case this past March.
Although he was best known for his roles in musical theater, Presnell also is remembered as William H. Macy's father-in-law in the Coen brothers' 1996 film
Fargo. Among his other movies were When the Boys Meet the Girls, The Glory Guys, Paint Your Wagon, Saving Private Ryan, Mr. Deeds, Patch Adams, Face/Off, and recently on Evan Almighty. He also won a Golden Globe in 1965 for Most Promising Male Newcomer, shared with George Segal and Topol.
He will be deeply missed. He is survived by his second wife, Veeva, six children and several grand children. Harve was 75.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, October 23

Happy's Place - "Office/Space" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bobbie surprises Isabella with her own office upstairs and reassures her that they'll still see each other plenty; Steve and Takoda try to convince Emmett to stop giving Bobbie so much space after their relationship has moved into the friend zone.

Newlyweds - "Pilot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Over six weeks and two continents, total opposites Jeanie and James go from blind date to wedded bliss.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 19)

Friday, October 23

  • Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) - Watch Dakota on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Doug Benson (You're the Worst) - Doug is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Natasha Leggero (Broke/Dice/Another Period/Free Agents) and Tommy Davidson (The Varnell Hill Show/The Proud Family/Malcolm & Eddie/Between Brothers) - Natasha and Tommy will be on a repeat of Funny You Should Ask at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Adam Brody (Nobody Wants This/Burning Love) - Adam talks about Nobody Wants This on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Téa Leoni (Newlyweds/The Naked Truth/Flying Blind) - Téa talks about Newlyweds on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Jenna Ortega (Stuck in the Middle/Richie Rich) - Jenna, Taika Waititi and Amy Adams and dish on their new movie Klara and the Sun on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Constance Wu (Fresh Off the Boat) - NBC's Today catches up with Constance in the 9am hour.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD) The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray) The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray) Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/16/26 - Difficult People - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
06/30/26 - Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Paper - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/20/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

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

10/23 - Prime Video Renews Carrie for Season 2; Remembering Richard Riehle of Grounded for Life
10/22 - Abbott Elementary Returns Big After 7 Day Viewing; BET Renews ComicView: Rooftop Series
10/21 - Charmed Joining Hulu This Huluween; Prime Video's Comedy Variety Series Hosted by Nick Kroll
10/20 - Hulu's Phony Premieres Today; Janelle James Netflix Comedy Special Drops November 10
10/19 - Lil Kev Season 2 Premieres December 9; It's a Wonderful Lifetime 2026 Schedule
10/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 19, 2026)
10/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Hulu Picks Up Reboot for The X-Files; Roseanne Self-Produces New Sitcom
10/16 - Christa B. Allen in Night of January 16th Play Through Sunday; Remembering Sitcom Writer and Producer Bernie Orenstein
10/15 - Guest Stars for Peacock's Comedy Dig; Apple TV Renews Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed for Season 2
10/14 - HBO Brings Back Girls for 5 Episodes; Hulu's The X-Files Picked Up to Series
10/13 - Full Cast for Three's Company Live Reading in New York City; High Potential to Air After Super Bowl on ABC
10/12 - Bob's Burgers Holiday Special on Hulu; The Rookie and The Rookie: North Wednesdays on ABC in January
10/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 12, 2026)
10/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Colin Jost and Danny Chun to Launch Free Streaming Comedy; Paramount/Warner Merger Completed
10/09 - Apple TV Comedy Stick Returns November 4; News from New York Comic Con 2026 Day One
10/08 - FETV Acquires I Dream of Jeannie and The Bionic Woman; Netflix Renews The Hunting Wives for Season 3, Before Season 2 Launch
10/07 - More Live Three's Company Readings; Lucy Hale is Scarlett Holmes for Roku in 2027
10/06 - NBC's Happy Place Season 3 Trailer; Apple TV's Imperfect Women Renewed for Season 2
10/05 - A Different World to Return for Season 2 on Netflix; Prime Video's Barbershop Comedy Series Premieres February 10
10/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 5, 2026)
10/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: A Different World Renewed for Second Season; A First Look at Ted: The Animated Series
10/02 - Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head Season 4 Launch; Anthony Anderson Returns to Soul Train Awards
10/01 - Ted: The Animated Series Premieres December 17 on Peacock; Trailer for Apple TV's Small Prophets
09/30 - AMC Orders Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen Sitcom; Netflix's The One About Matthew Perry Documentary Series
09/29 - Michael Che's Third Netflix Special; Remembering Dennis Haskins of Saved by the Bell
09/28 - Hulu's Family Guy Halloween Special; AMC Announces New York Comic Con Panels for 2026
09/27 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 28, 2026)
09/26 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Seth Meyers Developing The Game Room for NBC; Glee Reboot Script Written
09/25 - Apple TV's 2026 Holiday Lineup; First Look at SCTV: The Greatest Show You've Never Heard Of
09/24 - Netflix Announces Final Season for A Man on the Inside; Jamie Foxx Hulu Comedy Special Trailer
09/23 - Disney+ Orders New Darkwing Duck Series; Great American Christmas 2026 with 18 New Holiday Movies