Friday, October 16, 2009

WPIX's Halloween Chiller Theatre and a November 13 Marathon of a Sitcom; Hallmark Cuts Lucy...Again

While WGN America airs a Munsters and Addams Family marathon for Halloween (Oct. 30 and 31), local New York station WPIX is going for some movie horror. WPIX is airing The Evil of Frankenstein on Halloween night (Saturday, October 31) at 8pm (as Chiller Theatre) and this year its hosted by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and will feature the original Chiller Theatre opens: "The Six-Fingered Hand" and the "Monster Montage"
(wpix.com/chillertheatre).
Chiller Theatre originally aired on WPIX from 1961-1978 and again from 1980-1982. After WPIX resurrected Chiller Theatre in 2008 (with a broadcast of Tarantula hosted by Zacherley) the station received hundreds of requests from viewers demanding the return of Chiller Theatre to the air. So this year, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark will host WPIX's Chiller Theatre presentation.
The 1964 campy chiller The Evil of Frankenstein -- from Hammer Film Productions, one of the most famous names in horror -- Peter Cushing stars as Baron Frankenstein who resurrects his monster only to have him come under the spell of Zoltan, a svengali-like carnival hypnotist who mesmerizes the creature into doing his evil bidding.

And that's not all the WPIX news we have! Let's see if you can guess it before I reveal it. On what opening theme did we have a narration that mentioned November 13? Did you figure it out? Still stumped? Read this: "On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. (Unger's unseen wife slams door. She reopens it and angrily hands Felix his saucepan) That request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right, but he also knew that someday, he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his childhood friend, Oscar Madison. Sometime earlier, Madison's wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?"
Yes, the classic '70s ABC sitcom The Odd Couple! In a cool marathon stunt, WPIX will air a late night marathon of The Odd Couple on that very day when Felix leaves his wife and moves in with Oscar...and that's how they became The Odd Couple. WPIX in New York will air the marathon from 11pm-4:30am on Friday, November 13 with classic episodes. Episodes airing are "Password," "You Saved My Life," "Sleepwalkers," "The Flying Felix," "The Odd Monks," "Felix Calypso Singer," "Let's Make a Deal," "The Subway Show," "The New Car," "A Grave for Felix," and "I Gotta Be Me." We'll have more on this if anything new arises, and let's hope WPIX can do some more marathons of shows!

It was just on Tuesday when we announced that we would be getting more I Love Lucy on Hallmark, but guess what...now that will be cut. Like I said, Hallmark's love and hate relationship continues with Lucy. They quietly removed the weekdays 9-10am hour of I Love Lucy yesterday and returned Golden Girls in the hour, so now that airs 9am-1pm...for now (keep reading). Starting Monday (Oct. 19) Touched by an Angel returns to weekdays at 12 noon, replacing an hour of The Golden Girls, as that is now 9am-12pm every weekday morning. Then once again I Love Lucy is given a short leash and is getting cut completely from its current 5pm-11pm hours. M*A*S*H returns and will air in its old 5pm-8pm hours, while Touched by an Angel returns at 8pm, and the primetime movie from 9-11pm. So I Love Lucy goes from 7 hours a day this week to ZERO hours a day next week! What is with the love-hate relationship? Ratings must be key to the changes, but it seems Hallmark makes moves and changes those moves within days. Are you getting tired of it? Sound off on our message board! Ah, the on going soap opera of Hallmark Channel schedule changes!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, July 30

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang Goes to a Dog Track" (FXX and FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank attempts to win big with an old business associate at a West Virginia dog track; Dennis and Dee lose more than their shirts to gambling addiction; Mac and Charlie learn about a simpler way of life.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 28)

Wednesday, July 30

  • Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Pamela Anderson (Stacked/Home Improvement) - Pamela appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Marc Maron (GLOW/Maron) - Marc is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about comedy special Marc Maron: Panicked on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb) and Alison Brie (Community/GLOW) - Dave and Alison on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. They also talk about Together on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory/Happy Family/Welcome to New York/Cybill) - Christine talks about The Gilded Age on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Sam Rockwell (F Is for Family) - Sam talks about The Bad Guys 2 on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • James Van Der Beek (Friends with Better Lives/Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - NBC's Today catches up with James in the 9am hour.
  • Liza Koshy (Liza on Demand) - Liza talks about The Naked Gun on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Manny Jacinto (The Good Place) - Manny talks about Freakier Friday on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie opens up about her healthy lifestyle journey and prioritizing mental health on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Joey Lawrence (Gimme a Break!/Blossom/Brotherly Love/Run of the House/Melissa & Joey), Matthew Lawrence (Gimme a Break!/Drexell's Class/Walter & Emily/Brotherly Love/Boy Meets World) and Andy Lawrence (Tom/Brotherly Love/Oliver Beene) - The Lawrence brothers talk about their Brotherly Love Podcast Live event in Las Vegas on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (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

07/29 - NBC Fall 2025 Premiere Dates; Fox Fall 2025 Premiere Dates
07/28 - Events Planned for The Golden Girls 40th Anniversary; Family Guy Holiday Specials Return to Hulu
07/27 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of July 28, 2025)
07/26 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Paramount/Skydance Merger Approved; CBS Orders New Comedy From Producers of Ghosts
07/25 - TV One Honors Malcolm-Jamal Warner; Comedy Central Season 3 of Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head; Remembering Kenneth Washington of Hogan's Heroes
07/24 - Only Murders in the Building Season 5 Premieres September 9; Apple TV+ Stick Renewed for Season 2
07/23 - Apple TV+ Ted Lasso Season 4 Details; NBC Orders Stumble to Series
07/22 - Remembering Malcolm-Jamal Warner of The Cosby Show and Malcolm & Eddie; Futurama Season 13 Drops September 15
07/21 - Hallmark Channel Acquires Gilmore Girls; Freida Pinto to Star in Netflix Series
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07/16 - Antenna TV's Still Dreaming of Jeannie 60th Anniversary Marathon; 77th Primetime Emmy Nominations
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07/12 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Scrubs Reboot Headed to ABC; New King of the Hill Trailer Released
07/11 - The Office Spinoff The Paper Premieres September 4; Upload Season 4 Returns August 25
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07/09 - New Girl Summer on Hulu; Vir Das Gets Brand New Netflix Special
07/08 - Tubi Comedy Series Demascus Premieres in August; LEGO Masters Jr. Lines Up Celebs for 4-Week Event
07/07 - Digman! Season Premiere Moved to July 23; Hulu's Reasonable Doubt Returns September 18
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07/04 - Happy 4th of July; Antenna TV's McHale's Navy Red, White and Navy Independence Day Marathon
07/03 - The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Season 3 Premieres August 6; South Park New Season Moves by Two Weeks
07/02 - FETV Acquires The Rookies; Hulu Renews The Bear for Season 5
07/01 - Bert Kreischer Gets Netflix Sitcom; NBC Gets Into Survival Mode This Summer
06/30 - The Comeback Makes Another...Comeback; First Look at Black Rabbit at Netflix
06/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 30, 2025)