Saturday, July 31, 2010

Digital Digest: Dragnet 1968 - Season 2 DVD Review

Welcome to another edition of Digital Digest! Our normal Digital Digest blogger (skees53) as you know is off for the summer and is missed. As always, we have the latest news, upcoming releases for Tuesday, and our DVD review this week is of a Shout! Factory's Dragnet 1968 - Season 2. Stay out of trouble with the law and read today's Digital Digest!

DIGITAL NEWS

We have quite a bit of news this week for sitcoms. Shout! Factory will release The Facts of Life - The Complete Fifth Season on DVD on Nov. 2 at a $29.93 MSRP. View the packaging, but no info yet if there are bonus features. Shout! Factory will also release Mad About You - The Complete Fifth Season on DVD on Nov. 2 at a $39.97 MSRP. View the packaging, and as with Facts of Life, we are not sure if there will be bonus features. And sticking to Shout! Factory news, they will release The Larry Sanders Show - Season Two on DVD at long last on Nov. 2 with the previously announced The Larry Sanders Shows - The Complete Series for DVD. View the packaging art for the season two release. All of these are being licensed to Shout! from Sony Pictures.

Universal Home Video has officially announced 30 Rock - Season 4 on DVD for Sept. 21. View the press release for packaging, bonus features and more! And Lionsgate tweeted the other day from its Twitter account that Boy Meets World - Season 4 will be out within the next 6-8 months, and TVShowsonDVD.com says that is the first quarter of 2011! So stay tuned!

Warner Home Video has officially announced V - The Complete First Season coming out on Blu-ray and DVD coming now on Nov. 2. (instead of Oct. 16, as we said last week). Pre-order the DVD and Blu-ray.

For more information on titles that we won't cover with full or blog DVD reviews, you can head on over to the news section of TVShowsOnDVD.com for all of the latest details.


UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (August 3) will not have any sitcom releases. Universal Home Video is releasing Heroes - Season 4. Our blog review will come in the next few weeks. Time Life Media is releasing The Real Ghostbusters - Volume 3. And Universal Home Video is releasing Saturday Night Live - Best Of Will Ferrell: Volume 3. A few weeks ago we did a blog review for that, so check it out.


BLOG FEATURE REVIEW

This week's review is Dragnet 1968 - Season 2. In 1967, Dragnet returned to TV as Dragnet 1967 after NBC previewed the made-for-TV movie Dragnet 1966. This series ran for four years and produced 98 original episodes. Officer Bill Gannon was Friday's partner for the four year run. The show's title changed each year from Dragnet 1967 to Dragnet 1970 when the series ended. It's been five years since the last DVD and that was from Universal Home Video, now Shout! Factory has picked up the series so we will get the rest of the series on DVD most likely. View our full review of Dragnet 1967 - Season 1 DVD from 2005.

DVD Review: Dragnet 1968 - Season 2
by Seth Thrasher

Dragnet 1968 - Season 2 (Shout!, $44.98) is now on DVD , and let me be the first to tell you how excited I am that Shout! Factory is resuming the release of this classic series. Universal released the first season five years ago, but Shout! Factory is now continuing releases as part of their licensing deal with the aforementioned Universal. So what is the result for you? All 28 episodes of this classic police drama's second season can now be yours on DVD. While I've complained about the price point on many recent Shout! sets, the fact is that when you factor in discounts available at many leading retailers , the price for this set you're likely to actually pay is actually fairly reasonable.

Dragnet's 2nd season, on the air from September 1967 through March 1968, was known on-air that year as Dragnet 1968. The changing year at the end of the title was always one of the most immediately distinct things about the series. Another thing is how, even though the show is always intended to be a straightforward crime drama, a lot of humor can be found, particularly in the interplay between Friday (Jack Webb) and Gannon (Harry Morgan). While several episodes this season are carried on the strength of their dramatic appeal, at other times it's the show interjecting humor that really makes an episode work.

One prime example of the show's example to apply humor to a realistic crime scenario is the season's 11th episode with a purse snatching dog "The Big Dog." The season, for what it's worth, starts off with a bang, as teenager throws acid on the back of another student, then later the same teenager, now running away, crashes a party...with a grenade ("The Big Bang"). The quality and drama continue right into the season's 2nd episode, when Joe is forced to open fire on a robber. The robber is later found dead, with no evidence suggesting that the robber had fired at Joe aside from Joe's own recollection – landing Joe in a great deal of trouble. One of my absolute favorite episodes of the series is this season's fifth episode, "The Big Neighbor." Like many of the best episodes, it interjects humor and creates a great story. Bill invites Joe over for dinner and football, only to be constantly interrupted by Bill's neighbors with their petty complaints. Some of the best episodes of the series, in my opinion, involve Bill and Joe on off-duty hours still finding themselves surrounded by madness. Due to the often-serious plots, known actors –at least for this season – typically weren't used as guests; there are no appearances of then-unknown future stars either.

Runtimes:

Disc 1:
The Grenade: 25:07
The Shooting Board: 25:05

Disc 2:
The Badge Racket: 25:05
The Bank Jobs: 25:06
The Big Neighbor: 25:11
The Big Frustration: 25:03
The Senior Citizen: 25:05

Disc 3:
The Big High: 25:05
The Big Ad: 25:05
The Missing Realtor: 25:04
The Big Dog: 25:06
The Pyramid Swindle: 25:05

Disc 4:
The Phony Police Racket: 25:06
The Trial Board: 25:06
The Christmas Story: 24:38
The Big Shipment: 25:06
The Search: 25:07

Disc 5:
The Prophet: 25:04
The Big Amateur: 25:05
The Starlet: 25:08
The Big Clan: 25:04
The Little Victim: 25:05
The Squeeze: 25:01

Disc 6:
The Suicide Attempt: 25:05
The Big Departure: 25:04
The Investigation: 25:07
The Gambler: 25:08
The Big Problem: 25:09

Packaging is straightforward, and, I'm pleased to say it doesn't involve those cheap bulky white plastic cases. The usual sets of slimcases (three, in fact) are used, contained within an outer box. It's simple, it's manageable, and it doesn't break in shipment. That's all you can really ask for in package construction. The packaging is designed relatively similarly to the first, Universal-released, set – a revised, block-letter Dragnet 1968 logo appears at the top with Joe's badge. Joe and Bill appear below it, looking quite unamused. Joe is wielding a flashlight, but because of the angle he's holding it looks like there's a random white-yellow circle in the bottom-left corner. Discs are blue, and feature the large logo, and the disc number in one of the largest fonts I've ever seen used for a disc number.

Main menu is wonderful. The badge animates in, after which the logo and menu options appear, all the while the main theme is playing in the background. Choosing "episodes" results in another animated transition. Episode menu features a small square with clips playing of each episode, arranged in a grid. Episode is selected with a green-orange frame that stands out well against the red background. The *closing theme* plays in the background of the episode menu – you don't see music for episode menus very often, so I just wanted to commend Shout! there. The menus on discs 1 and 6 for bonus features are done in the same style as the episode menu.

Let's talk about the video quality. There's film. There's noise. Colors occasionally look slightly more faded than they would on a modern series. The show is over 40 years old and is from the earliest era of color broadcasting. The video is as good as it's going to look for a show from this era. Flaws are a combination of outright age and the stock that the show was recorded to--nothing much to be done in that regard. Audio is quite decent – but there's really only so much you can do with audio from 1968. It serves its purpose quite well, but won't blow you away as a marvel of audio engineering. Chapter stops occur at the end of each act.

There ARE bonus features – three in fact. The first is found on disc 1, and is the pilot for 1960's Dragnet, the pilot movie to the series Dragnet 1966. The pilot was filmed in 1966, obviously, but not broadcast until three years later. There IS a problem with the set: The "This is the city" opening prologue is missing – leading to the set going straight into the introduction of Friday. This mistake was caught after the discs had already gone to print. If you want a corrected copy with the opening prologue restored, contact info@shoutfactory.com for replacement details. The version on the disc runs 1 hour 35 minutes.

On the final disc, disc six, are two features – a feature on Jack Webb featuring several interviews (runs 26:07)...as well as a trailer for Dragnet 1969 (1 minute). This trailer is absolutely ancient (and the video does reflect that) and is a minute-long ad for Dragnet 1969 on NBC. If you want to see what the video would look like WITHOUT restoration, watch this.
The set also comes with a booklet detailing a few bits about production, and also devoting a large section to talking about Jack Webb. The booklet also contains an episode guide for the season and several color photos.

If you haven't already bought this set, buy it now. It's an absolutely GREAT series featuring a wonderful mix of great writing, great acting, actually believable plots...plus some great location shots of late-60s Los Angeles. The features included are quite good, and add extra value to the unusually reasonable price tag. I can't think of any reasons why not to own this one – it's great television, and really, what more can you ask for.

(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Dragnet on TV.com


LOOKING AHEAD

Come on back right here next week for more news and reviews. Next week we will have a blog DVD review of Adam 12- Season 5 from Shout! Factory. In the coming weeks we will have a blog DVD review of Heroes - Season 4 so stay tuned. And don't forget to read our full DVD reviews, as we will put up reviews for Gimme A Break! - The Complete Series, The Phil Silvers Show - Season 1 and The New Adventures of Old Christine - Season Three by tomorrow. Until next time gumshoes, keep it digital!

Friday, July 30, 2010

TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour: NBC; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 2, 2010)

NBC is up today at the TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour. They started it off with breakfast with USA Network's new hit series Covert Affairs! On hand were stars Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham, Anne Dudek, Peter Gallagher, Kari Matchett and Sendhil Ramamurthy along with executive producers David Bartis, Matt Corman, Doug Liman, Chris Ord, and James Parriott. After breakfast, the panels started with NBC's new series The Event up first. On hand were stars Jason Ritter, Laura Innes, Ċ½eljko Ivanek, Sarah Roemer, and Blair Underwood, along with showrunner Evan Katz, director Jeffrey Reiner, executive producer Steve Stark, and creator Nick Wauters. Then there was a panel for NBC's new spy drama Undercovers (I bet it is not good as Covert Affairs and for sure not Alias), with stars Mekia Cox, Boris Kodjoe, Carter MacIntyre, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Gerald McRaney, and Ben Schwartz along with executive producer Josh Reims.
The executive session was next with Jeff Gaspin (Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment) and Angela Bromstad (President of NBC Primetime Entertainment and Universal Media Studios). We will be back with updates from this shortly. NBC announced updates to its new fall schedule including an early premiere for Parenthood, which will follow the last Tuesday airing of America's Got Talent on Tuesday, September 14 at 10 p.m. ET. Likewise, NBC will preview its new Friday drama series Outlaw -- starring Jimmy Smits -- right after the season finale of America's Got Talent on Wednesday, September 15 at 10 p.m. ET. After its preview, Outlaw will now premiere in its regular day and time of Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, September 17. In addition, The Apprentice will now premiere a week earlier on Thursday, September 16 and now two-hours from 9-11 p.m. ET. Elsewhere, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will debut this season now with a two-hour edition as well on Wednesday, September 22 from 9-11 p.m. ET, so the premiere of new companion drama Law & Order: Los Angeles will be moved back by one week to Wednesday, September 29 at 10 p.m. ET.
Rob Lowe (Brothers & Sisters, The West Wing) will become a new series regular on NBC's Parks and Recreation, reprising his former guest-starring role as energetic state auditor Chris Traeger when the comedy series returns in mid-season 2010-11. Elsewhere on NBC comedies, the cast of NBC's 30 Rock will perform a special live episode from famed studio 8H on Thursday, October 14 at 8:30 p.m. ET. In the series' first live episode, two versions will be telecast -- one live for the East Coast and one for the West Coast. The first show will be telecast at 8:30-9 p.m. (ET) for the East and the cast will perform the same episode for a new broadcast at 11:30 p.m.- 12 a.m. (ET) for the West. COME ON BACK FOR FURTHER UPDATES!
After a writing break, it was on to more panels with NBC's new Law & Order spin-off (just what we need), Law & Order: Los Angeles. Star Skeet Ulrich, along with executive producers Rene Balcer, Blake Masters, and Dick Wolf were present. The next panel was for USA Network's upcoming series Facing Kate with stars Sarah Shahi, Michael Trucco, Baron Vaughn, Virginia Williams, along with creator Michael Sardo and executive producer Steve Stark. Lunch was next with Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC.
After lunch, there was a panel for NBC's upcoming new comedy Outsourced with stars Diedrich Bader, Pippa Black, Parvesh Cheena, Sacha Dhawan, Rebecca Hazlewood, Rizwan Manji, Anisha Nagarajan, and Ben Rappaport along with executive producer Robert Borden and director Ken Kwapis. A short break was next with The Biggest Loser's Ali Vincent, Season 5 Winner. Then there was a panel for NBC's upcoming Friday drama Outlaws with stars Jesse Bradford, Carly Pope, David Ramsey, Jimmy Smits, and Ellen Woglom, along with executive producers John Eisendrath & David Kissinger. Then there was another short break, this time with Top Chef: Just Desserts, which premieres on Bravo on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 10pm.
A panel for the upcoming NBC crime drama Chase was next with stars Kelli Giddish, Cole Hauser, Jesse Metcalfe, Amaury Nolasco, and Rose Rollins, along with executive producers Jennifer Johnson & Jonathan Littman. Two Syfy series had panels next: Hunting Hollywood and Destination Truth. Syfy was followed by a short panel for NBC's upcoming reality series School Pride, followed by a panel for The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards/Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The day concludes with the all-star party. Come on back for any breaking updates. And stay tuned Sunday for ABC's portion of the TCA Summer 2010 press tour!

It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of August 2-6, 2010, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, August 2, 2010
  • Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) - Catch "Sheldon" himself on TBS late night talk show Lopez Tonight at 11pm.
  • Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) - Catch Amy on a REPEAT of The Ellen DeGeneres Show so check your listings.
  • Fran Drescher (The Nanny) - This is also a REPEAT, but catch Fran on The Ellen DeGeneres Show again and check your listings to see when it is on.
  • Christine Lakin (Step by Step) - Christine is the sidekick on Craig Kilborn's new talk show The Kilborn File airing on a few Fox stations today and every weekday. Guests are not announced in advance.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
  • Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/The Golden Girls/Mary Tyler Moore Show) - Catch the legendary Betty White on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development/Larry Sanders Show/The Ropers) - The wonderful Jeffrey Tambor is on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35am on CBS.
  • Wendie Malick (Hot in Cleveland/Big Day/Just Shoot Me!) - It's one Wendie to another Wendy, as Wendie Malick appears on The Wendy Williams Show on BET at 12am or check your local station.
  • Molly Shannon (Kath & Kim) - Catch Molly on The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS, but you need to check listings for time.
  • George Lopez (George Lopez) - Catch George on a REPEAT of The Ellen DeGeneres Show so check your listings.
  • Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Doogie Howser) - Catch Doogie, I mean Neil, on the CBS Early Show sometime between 7-9am.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

  • Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/Knights of Prosperity/Hot Properties) - The bombshell is on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - Catch Eric on a REPEAT of The Rachel Ray Show so check your local station.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
  • Garry Shandling (Larry Sanders Show/It's Garry Shandling's Show) - Catch Gary on The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS, check your listings for time.
Friday, August 6, 2010
  • Jennie Garth (What I Like About You) - Catch the stunning Jennie Garth on TODAY Show on NBC.

Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

FX Fall 2010 Schedule; Hallmark Pulls Partridge; TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour: The CW

The hit comedy Two and a Half Men is coming to FX, premiering with a twelve-hour marathon on Labor Day - Monday, September 6, 2010. Spend the holiday laughing along with the Charlie, Alan, and Jake from noon to midnight with the series' funniest episodes. We told you about the deal four years ago, and now it is time for Men to join the FX line-up.
FX never really has a set schedule, as most of their shows/movies air in different time slots each day. So we will give you a general schedule, but be aware that times may vary on some days. Because Two and a Half Men is joining the schedule, FX will be removing Spin City from the weekday schedule. That's funny -- a Sheen show is sort of replacing a semi Sheen show -- as Charlie Sheen did star in the later seasons of Spin City. It will move to weekend mornings at 7am, replacing The Practice, which is now off the schedule totally. The Practice has been airing on and off on FX since September 2001--wow! Spin City will be used as a filler at times on weekdays, though, such as on Friday, Sept. 17 at 1:30am (early Saturday morning). Anyway, back to the weekday schedule, Malcolm in the Middle will remain in the weekday 7am hour, followed by movies at 8am and 10am. From 12-2pm on some days it will be a movie, on other days it will be an hour each of Bernie Mac/Malcolm in the Middle. From 2pm-4pm generally it will be an hour each of Bernie Mac/Malcolm in the Middle. Generally at 4pm there will be a movie leading into two-hours of Two and a Half Men from 6-8pm. Two and a Half Men will air two hours each weekday and two more hours on Saturday for a total of 12 hours a week--that's 24 episodes. However, some weeknights when it doesn't air in between 6-8pm, it could air in other timeslot, with at times an hour being aired in late night and the other hour in the early evening. On Saturdays Men will air from 9pm-11pm consistently. Movies will air in primetime from 8-10pm, followed by original series at 10 (more on that below). Now we know Spin City is off of weekdays and will air on weekends, but one more sitcom is missing -- That '70s Show. It seems it will be leaving the line-up TOTALLY after the week of Sept. 6. I am not 100% sure, but it seems its contract will expire since it joined the network on Sept. 12, 2005. Its last scheduled airing on FX is on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 from 11am-12pm, because after that it is no way else on the schedule. This is not a big deal since ABC Family and TeenNick air the series.
Original series wise, Sons of Anarchy has its third season premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 10pm, while new series Terriers has its series premiere the following night on Wednesday, Sept. 8 at 10pm. Original comedies It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League have their season premieres on Thursday, Sept. 16 at 10pm & 10:30pm respectively. Sunny is entering its sixth season, while League enters its second season. FX will also premiere several movies this fall in their network premieres in Cloverfield, Jumper, Promo Night and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
View the FULL FX Fall 2010 schedule and highlights. To recap, Two and a Half Men joins the schedule, That '70s Show and The Practice are gone, and Spin City is now just on weekends. Come on back next time for an all-new edition of the fall cable schedules barrage!

The Hallmark Channel has made a few last minute changes for weekends that will start this coming weekend (July 30-31). Effective this weekend, The Partridge Family will be pulled from the schedule and will no longer air on weekend mornings from 6am-9am, instead we get more I Love Lucy. And that's not all! I Love Lucy will also air on weekend late nights from 1am-4am, replacing Cheers. There are no changes to weekdays, so Cheers remains late nights on weeknights from 1am-4am.
Let's hope The Partridge Family returns to the line-up very soon. As for Hallmark Channel Fall 2010, we will have the line-up soon. We would have posted it this week, but it is not final and they expect to make more changes, so we are holding off until they do. Hallmark is asking everyone to be patient with them and to be calm as they figure out where all the pieces fit, which includes their enduring sitcoms. As you all know, Martha Stewart programming will be airing from 10am-6pm on weekdays, including Hallmark being the exclusive home for The Martha Stewart Show. Hallmark says their enduring sitcoms will still have a place on the schedule, so stay tuned!

Up today at the TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour are Showtime and The CW. We won't cover Showtime, but they have panels for The Big C, The Real L Word, Dexter and Episodes. Then The CW will take over after lunch starting at 2pm with an executive session with Dawn Ostroff, President of Entertainment at The CW. They will have only three panels after that with Nikita, Hellcats, and Gossip Girls. We will have more on The CW after the executive session is done at 2pm PT, so come on back TODAY! View live coverage from our buddy Mike of TVTango.com - and you can also submit a question to one of the panels and they might ask it for you!
And stay tuned tomorrow for coverage of NBC's sessions.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

WGN America Fall 2010 Schedule; TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour: CBS

Sorry for the late post today, but it has been very busy today due to the TCA and to top it off, we are bringing you WGN America's Fall 2010 schedule! WGN America is adding plenty of new sitcoms and dramas to its line-up beginning in September. Joining the weekday schedule, as previously announced, are contemporary comedies Curb Your Enthusiasm, How I Met Your Mother, Old Christine, & Entourage. But today we have the timeslots for them! Curb Your Enthusiasm launches with a mini-marathon on Sunday, Sept. 12 from 8-10pm ET and 11pm-2am ET. The series will then settle into its Mon-Sat 9pm ET timeslot and encores at 2:30am ET on weeknights. The series will also air Saturday nights at 12:30am ET, in addition to 9pm. The other series won't get a pre-marathon but are heavily featured on the primetime schedule. Entourage will be paired with Curb, with it airing Mon-Sat at 9:30pm ET and weeknight encores at 2am ET. It will also air on Saturday nights at 12am ET, in addition to its 9:30pm ET slot.
Old Christine will air weeknights at 8:00pm & 8:30pm ET, except on Thursdays for WWE Superstars. As a result, that preemption will air in the Friday 7pm ET hour leading into the regularly scheduled airings. Old Christine will also air on Sunday nights in the 7pm ET hour. And How I Met Your Mother will air Tues-Sat at 11:00pm & 11:30pm ET and it will also air Sunday nights from 8-10pm ET.
Classic series wise, joining the weekday schedule will be Walker, Texas Ranger airing weekdays at 2pm and 3pm ET, as The Beverly Hillbillies moves into the 9am ET hour and I Dream of Jeannie heads to 4pm ET. Bewitched and Cheers also move up an hour to 5pm and 6pm ET, as Becker's contract has expired and will not be renewed. Also expiring is The Cosby Show. So, yes, this means with TV Land/Nick at Nite also not renewing, The Cosby Show will be out of a cable home for now come this fall. Wonder if any network will pick it up? 7th Heaven will be leaving the daily schedule come this September, as will Outta Sight Retro Night on Sundays, as the contracts to Newhart and Barney Miller are expiring. Retro night had a great run but ratings had softened in recent months. WGN America will instead use Scrubs at 5pm ET and new addition of Just Shoot Me! at 6pm ET to lead into the new contemporary sitcom block on Sunday nights.
As for weekends, WGN America will be losing Boston Legal, however The Unit and Monk are being added to join Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Bones. The Unit will be used with those two on Saturday afternoons, while Monk will air on Sunday nights from 11pm-2am ET. WGN America will also air classic series on weekend mornings with dramas (In the Heat of the Night, Matlock and Walker Texas Ranger) on Saturdays and an hour of Bewitched on Sundays. Saturday nights will have the new contemporary comedies, like every other night.
Also of note, on and off sitcom Coach will get a marathon airing on Outta Sight Retro Night on Sunday, Aug. 29 from 5pm-10pm ET and 11pm-4am ET to kick-off college football weekend! There are no plans to put it on the regular schedule again, though. This is the last night for Outta Sight Retro Night, with the last regular line-up airing a week prior (Aug. 22). There is also an Addams Family sighting on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 5:30pm ET after baseball. It is just filler, but hopefully it gets to air. Movies will follow.
To recap, Walker Texas Ranger, Curb Your Enthusiasm, How I Met Your Mother, Old Christine, Entourage, Just Shoot Me!, Monk, The Unit all join the schedule while Newhart, Barney Miller, Reno 911, Chappelle's Show, 7th Heaven, Cosby Show, Becker, Boston Legal, Bob & Tom Show, Singstation, Toni On!, Smash Cuts, Hollywood & Dine, Cultivating Life all leave the line-up.
View the FULL WGN America Fall 2010 schedule and highlights. And stay tuned tomorrow for another Fall 2010 schedule as our annual cable fall schedules barrage continues!

Today is the first day of the TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour and CBS is up first. We are not at the press tour, but our friend Mike of TVTango.com is there and is providing live blogging updates for everyone! You even get to submit a question and he will try to ask for you. Sounds cool right?
Anyway, CBS started the morning off right by having a selection of favorite breakfast items with showgirls and slot machines for added fun in honor of the new Wednesday drama The Defenders. Then the sessions started with Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment taking quesitons. Among the highlights from this session were: Nina commented on the resignation of ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson: My first thought was "Dammit, Steve got out of doing a press tour." CBS has given a name to the new CBS Daytime talk show set to replace soap As the World Turns this October. The talk show will be called The Talk. As a result of the talk show, Julie Chen (one of the co-hosts on this new talk show) will continue in a consulting capacity on The Early Show. Nina on pulling The Bridge from Saturday nights: The show wasn't delivering the numbers we needed. Generally, our Summer strategies work. We'll look at doing Canadian shows in future. I haven't decided yet. As for Two and a Half Men and Charlie Sheen: We have no indication that there will be any delay on the delivery of episodes as planned. Nina's comments on the move of Big Bang Theory to Thursdays: It was difficult, but not in the sense that you don't have complete faith and belief in the show...the time felt right. The show is enjoying an extraordinary amount of support and love. This was a great opportunity to move it into a strategic place. We don't expect it to do the numbers it did on Mondays quite yet. CBS is planning to air episodes of the original 1970's Hawaii Five-0 on one of their sister cable networks, Spike TV in September. More info on that will come soon.
Then The Big Bang Theory was up next at the panel. On hand were stars Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, and executive producers Prod Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady. After that the new sitcom Mike & Molly was up next and on hand were stars Billy Gardell, Melissa McCarthy, Reno Wilson, Katy Mixon, Nyambi Nyambi, Swoosie Kurtz and executive producer Chuck Lorre and creator Mark Roberts. The next panel before was the upcoming new CBS Daytime talk show (tentatively titled The Talk) with co-hosts Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini and Marissa Jaret Winokur. And the final panel before lunch was Hawaii Five-0 with stars Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Alex Kurtzman, and executive producer Peter Lenkov.
After a lunch break with boxed lunches, the new drama The Defenders was up at the panel. On hand were stars Jim Belushi, Jerry O'Connell, Jurnee Smollett, Tanya Fischer, executive producer Carol Mendelsohn, co-creator Kevin Kennedy, co-creator Niels Mueller, executive producer Harry Gantz, executive producer Joe Gantz and show runner Greg Walker. Then next at the panel was new Friday drama Blue Bloods. On hand were stars Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, and executive producers Mitchell Burgess & Robin Green. And finally the last panel was the new sitcom S#*! My Dad Says with the star William Shatner and executive producers David Kohan & Max Mutchnick and co-executive producer Justin Halpern.
Then when everything is over today, CBS asks to join them under the summer sky with stars, producers and executives from CBS, Showtime, The CW and CBS Television Distribution at "The Tent," 9900 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, directly across from the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where you can eat, drink and party outside in a fun festive setting.

Stay tuned tomorrow for The CW's turn at the TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

TBS Fall 2010 Schedule Has American Dad; My Wife and Kids Premieres Aug. 30 on Nick at Nite

We continue our look at the fall 2010 schedules for cable networks today with a look at TBS's Fall 2010 schedule. We also have coverage of the first day of the TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour, as NBC is up today. So let's get to it! TBS will add one new series to its fall schedule as the animated comedy American Dad! joins the line-up starting Monday, Sept. 20, 2010! But before we get into the fall schedule, TBS is making a minor change next week. Starting Monday, Aug. 2, a third airing of Home Improvement will be added at 11am, replacing Just Shoot Me! So this means Home Improvement will air from 11am-12:30pm. Just Shoot Me! will move to Saturday mornings starting at 8am (sometimes it is just a half-hour and other times it airs until 10am) effective Aug. 7.
Now that we got that out of the way, we can move on to the TBS Fall 2010 schedule! The schedule starts on Monday, Sept. 20 with weekdays from 6am-9am remaining the same as it is now, which means Married...with Children from 6-7am and Saved by the Bell from 7-9am. Then the 9am hour will see changes as Yes, Dear moves to the hour replacing Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Not to worry because Fresh Prince will move to 10am-11:30am, as it replaces House of Payne and Home Improvement from 10:30am-11:30am. At 11:30am & 12pm TBS will air an hour of House of Payne, replacing two more airings of Home Improvement. TBS is pulling Home Improvement from the weekday schedule, but more on this later. At 12:30pm, TBS adds weekday airings of Wednesday hit, Meet the Browns replacing According to Jim, which slides to 1pm replacing Yes, Dear. TBS will air Everybody Loves Raymond from 1:30-3pm, as it replaces Yes, Dear at 1:30pm. According to Jim airs at 3pm replacing House of Payne, while The Office moves to 3:30pm replacing According to Jim. The 4pm hour will see Friends take over replacing Raymond in the 4pm half-hour. Another Everybody Loves Raymond airs at 5pm, followed by The King of Queens replacing Friends/The Office. At 6pm, we have another The King of Queens followed by Seinfeld, replacing King of Queens at 6:30. At 7pm Seinfeld remain, but American Dad! joins the line-up at 7:30pm replacing Seinfeld.
In primetime (8-11pm), the schedule remains the same, but American Dad! will air Fridays 8-9pm replacing Family Guy. And on Saturdays, the morning sitcom block remains unchanged, but the late afternoon/early evening block starting at 3:30pm has changed a bit. According to Jim still starts it off at 3:30pm, followed by only one airing of Raymond now at 4pm, King of Queens moves to 4:30 & 5pm, and Seinfeld airs 5:30 & 6pm. A block of American Dad! has been added airing from 6:30-8pm. Late nights/early mornings will have Married..with Children at 5am and Home Improvement at 5:30am, its only airing on the schedule now.
No further changes are expected in October, so this is officially the TBS Fall 2010 schedule. Highlights for the month include a Labor Day at The Office marathon on Monday, Sept. 6 from 10am-8pm and a catch-up marathon of My Boys on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 10pm-1:30am leading into the one-hour season finale on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 10pm.
View the full TBS Fall 2010 schedule and highlights, and feel free to discuss the schedule. Stay tuned for another fall schedule tomorrow as our annual cable fall schedule barrage continues! Stay with us!

Apparently NBC has switched dates for the TCA summer press tour, so they are up now on Friday. Originally set visits were on Friday, but now they are today. Sorry about that and stay tuned tomorrow for CBS.
We will bring you a news story instead today due to the mix-up. Nick at Nite has announced a Monday, Aug. 30 premiere date for its new acquisition My Wife & Kids. We previously announced the news at Nick at Nite's upfront in March, but now we have a launch date. Promos started airing last night announcing the premiere date. The Damon Wayans sitco will air in the weekday 8pm hour, but what about the rest of the schedule? You'll have to stay tuned to our fall schedules barrage for that! So keep coming back everyday!

Monday, July 26, 2010

TV Land Fall 2010 Schedule Part 1 - Good Times, Jeffersons Return; Spike TV Returns Married with Children on Weekdays

Welcome to the 2010 edition of our annual look at the fall schedules for cable! We are launching this schedule barrage with part one of TV Land's Fall 2010 schedule. Why part one? Because there is more to come in October and today we will cover the September 2010 portion.
First up there are three series that will have contracts expiring but two of those series are not airing currently. Hiatus series 3rd Rock from the Sun and Little House on the Prairie have expiring contracts along with The Cosby Show. It is a bit surprising that Cosby Show will not be renewed. Since three series are expiring, TV Land has three new deals coming this fall! Two of the new deals start in September with the return of The Jeffersons and Good Times! Both series will join the weekday morning line-up in the 10am hour starting Wednesday, Sept. 22 replacing an hour of Sanford & Son, which slides into 9:30am after All in the Family at 9a. The Jeffersons has not aired since August 2009, while Good Times' contract expired a few months ago in June and now has a new deal. Both of these series will be shared with cable network TV One once again. So what will replace The Cosby Show on the schedule? Starting Monday, Sept. 20, the 7pm hour will have another hour of Roseanne, while the 2am hour will have Home Improvement move up an hour, with Three's Company moving up to the 3am hour and M*A*S*H now airing from 4-6am. Everything else will remain the same generally, with The Nanny taking the 7am weekend hour starting Sept. 18.
Highlights for the month has original series She's Got the Look continue airing Wednesdays at 10pm all month long, with the season finale airing on Sept. 29. On Monday, Sept. 6, TV Land presents a Bewitched and The Nanny Labor Day Marathon! This Labor Day join two lovely ladies for some fun on the last unofficial day of summer! Spend the day with Samantha Stevens in Bewitched from 8am-2pm and Nanny Fine in The Nanny from 2pm-10pm. This is the only sighting for Bewitched in September, but more on that a bit later. Finally on Saturday, Sept. 25 and Sunday, Sept. 26 it's The Andy Griffith Show 50th Anniversary Celebration Kick-Off marathon! The kick-off airs 12:00pm-9:00pm on Saturday and 12:00pm-8:00pm on Sunday (ET/PT). As The Andy Griffith Show gets ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary on October 3, TV Land will do an early kick-off celebration for Andy and the gang on the weekend of Sept. 25-26. TV Land will celebrate the 50th anniversary in style in October, so stay tuned for information on that but for now enjoy the kick-off celebration on Sept. 25-26!
Movies for the month are premieres of Crocodile Dundee, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Black Sheep, and When Harry Met Sally! Encores for the month are Three Men and a Baby, The Client, Top Gun, and Turner & Hooch. TV Land movies air Mondays nights at 10pm with blocks on Monday mornings and Saturday afternoons.
This is just part one of the TV Land Fall 2010 schedule. There will be more changes in October as another classic sitcom returns, while Bewitched is expected back from hiatus as well. Bewitched goes on a little hiatus starting Aug. 9, but not to worry TV Land still rights to the show for all of 2011 still, so it will be back. As for that sitcom returning in October, like The Jeffersons and Good Times, it is a new deal but a past sitcom that aired on the network. We will reveal that in a few weeks in part two of the TV Land Fall 2010 schedule. Hint: The Program Exchange will be syndicating it. Also in October, the new original series Harry Loves Lisa starring Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rina starts on Wednesday, Oct. 6.
View the full TV Land September 2010 schedule and highlights. Stay with us in the coming weeks for TV Land Fall 2010 Part 2 as October 2010 will be revealed. For now, stay with us for the rest of the summer for updates on other fall schedules for cable. Coming up will be TBS, WGN America, and much more! And if that is not all, the TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour starts tomorrow and will run through Aug. 7, so even more of a reason to stay with us everyday! Dog days of summer are over here on the blog now!

Spike TV has brought back Married...with Children back to weekdays effective TODAY (July 26). We got late word on Friday that they are removing The Unit from the schedule and replacing it with Al Bundy and family. The sitcom will air back-to-back in the weekday 9am hour and will continue to also air in its Sundays 9-11am block where it has been airing for a few weeks now.
It seems The Unit did not do too well on Spike TV. The series has been airing on the network since April, but it started off at 6pm before being moved to 9am. It's not too big of a deal, since The Unit airs on other networks. There are no other changes to the Spike TV line-up, so expect a lot of CSI NY, CSI, and Walker, Texas Ranger. Will there be changes come the fall? If there are, we will bring them to you in our Fall schedule barrage...so stay tuned!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Summer Week 8 Sitcom Ratings; Coming Week Preview

Summer is in session here in the dog days of summer and it's repeats galore mainly for sitcoms. We will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did for the rest of the summer, along with a coming week preview! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 7, week of July 12-18)
  • Sons of Tucson (Fox) - A new episode at 7pm did only 1.53 million and only a 0.6 18-49 rating which is down some from previous.
  • The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 3.58 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating at 8pm. But that was down a bit from previous week.
  • The Cleveland Show (Fox) - 3.74 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating for a repeat at 8:30, up some from previous week and built from the lead-in.
  • Family Guy (Fox) 2 episodes - Two repeats did 4.2 million and 4.47 million and a 2.0 and 2.1 18-49 rating...up from previous week and impressive 18-49 for summer repeats.
  • American Dad! (Fox) - A repeat at 7:30pm did just 1.93 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, on par really from previous week. The regular 9:30pm airing is not airing currently.

Summer Week 8 (July 19-25)

Monday Sitcoms
  • How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 4.46 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating for a repeat. On par really from previous week.
  • Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 4.99 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating for a repeat airing. Built from the lead-in again and also on par really from previous week.
  • Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 7.67 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating for a repeat, down a bit from previous week again. Charlie Sheen might not be out of jail in time for tapings of the new season we hear.
  • The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 7.81 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating for a repeat. Built from the lead-in in both measures again and up a lick some from previous week in 18-49.
Tuesday Sitcoms
  • None.
Wednesday Sitcoms
  • The Middle (ABC) 2 episodes - The 8pm repeat did 3.94 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating. Then the 8:30pm repeat did 4.11 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, up from previous week a bit.
  • Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat at 9pm did 4.57 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating. Up from previous week and that 1.7 18-49 rating was the best it has done this summer since the first two weeks.
  • Cougar Town (ABC) - A summer repeat did only 2.92 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating. On par really from previous week again. At least it is consistent. I think new viewers are finding this show and we should see the show back to pre-Idol numbers in the fall (around 3.0-3.4 18-49).
Thursday Sitcoms
  • Community (NBC) - Nielsen didn't release final ratings yet for Thursday, so we will use prelim numbers for these sitcoms. A repeat at 8pm did a prelim 3.03 million and a prelim 0.9 18-49 rating...not too good, but up from previous week's prelim ratings.
  • 30 Rock (NBC) - Getting ready for its new timeslot, a repeat at 8:30pm did a prelim 2.92 million and a prelim 0.9 18-49 rating, not good also but up from previous week's prelim ratings.
  • The Office (NBC) - A repeat at 9pm did the best of the block but only at a prelim 3.47 million and a prelim 1.5 18-49 rating...the best it has done in awhile if the finals hold up.
  • Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did a prelim 2.74 million and a prelim 1.1 18-49 rating, like the other NBC sitcoms, up from previous week's prelim numbers.

Friday Sitcoms

  • None.

Saturday Sitcoms
  • None.

Tonight you can catch an all-new Sons of Tucson at 7pm on Fox followed by encores of Fox's animated comedies from 7:30-10 tonight. ABC airs repeats of America's Funniest Home Videos and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Then it will be all-new episodes of ABC summer dramas Scoundrels and The Gates from 9-11pm, with the latter getting really good lately. NBC will have Dateline at 7pm followed by the NBC premiere of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and then just what we need, two-hour encores of America's Got Talent from 9-11. CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7pm followed by Sunday premiere of Big Brother 12 and then repeats from 9-11 including Undercover Boss at 9. All of this is just like last week.

Coming Week Preview (July 26-31):

For Monday, on ABC, it's an all-new night with the special The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All from 8-10pm as the season finale is next week and A Special Edition of 20/20: The Stories Behind the Rose at 10pm. NBC will have yet another America's Got Talent repeat at 8pm, then a new Last Comic Standing at 9pm, and a new Dateline at 10pm. On Fox, they have a new episode of Lie to Me at 8pm followed by an all-new The Good Guys at 9pm, which will be pulled after next week. CBS and The CW are in repeats with their regular line-ups, which includes sitcoms on CBS.

On Tuesday, ABC will have an a two-hour repeat of Wipeout, the hilarious Blind Date episode from earlier this summer, and special Tuesday repeat of Primetime: What Would You Do? at 10. NBC has a the premiere of Breakthrough with Tony Robbins at 8 that should do just as bad Jillian and an all-new two-hour America's Got Talent from 9-11pm. Fox has a new Hell's Kitchen at 8 leading into the series premiere of MasterChef at 9. And once again CBS and The CW are in repeats. Cable is good on Tuesdays too with a new Pretty Little Liars continuing with new episodes at 8 on ABC Family and the new spy drama Covert Affairs starring the sexy Piper Perabo on USA Network at 10pm.

On Wednesday, Fox has a two-hour So You Think You Can Dance, which is struggling this summer. NBC has a new showing of game show Minute to Win It at 8, then a new America's Got Talent at 9pm followed by a repeat of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. ABC has repeats of the comedies and Castle Wednesday at 10pm, as tonight's episodes were voted by fans. CBS will have the Wednesday edition of Big Brother 12 followed by regular repeats, same goes true for The CW. TV Land will have a new episode of Hot in Cleveland at 10pm.

On Thursday, ABC will have a special Thursday repeat of Wipeout followed by episode six of the surprisingly good Rookie Blue and then at 10pm its docudrama Boston Med. Fox will have a new So You Think You Can Dance at 9pm, but one-hour only. CBS has the Thursday edition of Big Brother 12 at 8pm, followed by normal crime repeats. NBC is in repeats with with their comedies from 8-10 and then a repeat of Law & Order: SVU at 10 and The CW is also in repeats like usual.

On Friday, ABC has new Wife Swap at 8, followed by a repeat of ratings hit Primetime: What Would You Do? at 9pm, followed by a new 20/20 at 10. NBC has a new Friday Night Lights at 8 then a two-hour Dateline. CBS has a new Flashpoint now at 10pm following repeats. Fox and The CW are in repeats. A normal Friday for summer.

On Saturday, its slow as usual. CBS has crime repeats from 8-10 and then a 48 Hours Mystery at 10pm. Fox will have its usual crime reality with Cops and AMW. ABC has the movie Flightplan & Rookie Blue repeat from 8-11pm. NBC has a new episode of Persons Unknown at 8 then crime repeats.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Digital Digest: Simon & Simon - Season Five DVD Review

Welcome to another edition of Digital Digest! Our normal Digital Digest blogger (skees53) as you know is off for the summer and is missed. As always, we have the latest news, upcoming releases for Tuesday, and our DVD review this week is of a Shout! Select title (Shout! Factory's website exclusive) Simon & Simon - Season Five. Stay indoors and beat the heat with the aid of today's Digital Digest!

DIGITAL NEWS

We have quite a bit of news this week. We got word this week that Warner Home Video is releasing The New Adventures of Old Christine - The Complete Third Season next Tuesday! Yes, that is late notice but they are releasing it only on their website at WBShop.com. When looking at a request list for reviews earlier this week, we saw it was listed and wondered how it could be out next week when it was never announced. Now we know why, as a few days later the press release came out. Look for our review soon, as soon as we get the set. Shout! Factory has announced that Father Knows Best - Season Five will be released on DVD on Aug. 17 via the Shout! Select program. This is the first time the series is being exclusive to Shout! Select. Read more on the set and see the packaging. Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially announced Community - The Complete First Season release coming out on Sept. 21. Don't forget to pre-order!

Warner Home Video has moved the release date for V - The Complete First Season coming out on Blu-ray and DVD. The sets will now come out on October 16 instead of Aug. 24. The reason is because the second season debuts on ABC likely in November out early January. Pre-order the DVD and Blu-ray. Mill Creek Entertainment is planning to release The Commish - The Complete Series in early 2011. Only the first two seasons were released back in 2004 and 2005 from Anchor Bay and season one was released again back in March from Mill Creek. It will be good to finally have every season and episode on DVD soon. The series ran for five seasons, though that final season only had 4 episodes.

And finally Time Life will release The Six Million Dollar Man - The Complete Series in November! All 100 episodes will be released on 15 discs. This is he first time the series is being released on DVD and we are getting them all at once! How cool! Read the press release for complete details!

For more information on titles that we won't cover with full or blog DVD reviews, you can head on over to the news section of TVShowsOnDVD.com for all of the latest details.


UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (July 27) will only see a few sitcom releases. MPI Home Video is releasing The Mothers-in-Law - The Complete Series. Read our review to see what to expect! CBS Home Entertainment is releasing Sabrina, the Teenage Witch - The Final Season. Look for our review of this one by the end of the weekend. We apologize for the delay. CBS is also releasing Sgt Bilko - The Phil Silvers Show - Season 1. Review of that will come next week. Also of note, Hunter - The Complete Series is out. A few weeks ago we did a blog review for that, so check it out.


BLOG FEATURE REVIEW

This week's review is Simon & Simon - Season Five. From San Diego to San Francisco, detective brothers Rick (Gerald McRaney, Jericho) and A.J. Simon (Jameson Parker, JAG) have their hands full as they are hired to unravel a mystery of stolen diamonds, investigate a killer chimpanzee, explore the world of witchcraft and go undercover as convicts to find the only escapee ever to make it out of Alcatraz in Season Five of the popular prime-time drama.

DVD Review: Simon & Simon - Season Five
by Seth Thrasher

Simon & Simon - Season Five (Shout! Select, $49.99) is now on DVD as part of the online-exclusive Shout! Select series of DVD releases – and at $50 is sure to be a tremendous waste of your money. If I'm talking about an outrageous price first thing clearly I mean serious business. I first caught the show while it was airing in reruns on Sleuth several years ago - back when that channel was still airing quality dramas from the Universal library - and was quite impressed. It really WAS an enjoyable show.

For the price that Shout is asking for THIS set, however, you can, as of the time of this review, for example purchase a used copy of the COMPLETE SERIES of Miami Vice on Amazon. While the SRP is comparable to other titles, because this is a Shout Select exclusive title, it can only be purchased from Shout themselves, meaning you're forced to pay full retail, something that in my opinion you'd have to be brazenly stupid to do -- especially since you can stream the whole series at your leisure for the cost of a monthly Netflix subscription.

I do really enjoy the show though, and since I'm supposed to tell you more about the DVD than to just complain about the price for 800 words, let me go ahead and say that what IS presented on the DVD set is approximately two dozen hours of one of the better dramas to come out of the 80. The 80s seemed to be an era in which networks were most willing to green light quality and interesting series, and Simon & Simon is no exception, fully proving its merits amongst the other series of its era (many of those quality series, coincidentally, happen to be owned by Universal, the owners of the Simon & Simon franchise).

In this season, detective brothers Rick and AJ Simon (Gerald McRaney & Jameson Parker) have their hands full as they are hired to unravel a mystery of stolen diamonds, investigate a killer chimpanzee, explore the world of witchcraft, and go undercover as convicts to find the only escapee to make it out of Alcatraz. The season features guest appearances by Gregory Sierra (Barney Miller), Gary Owens (Laugh In), Norman Fell (Three's Company), Gordon Jump (WKRP in Cincinnati), Bebe Neuwirth (Cheers), Alice Ghostley (too many to mention), Tina Louise (Gilligan's Island), and more.

Runtimes:
Love and/or Marriage: 48:11
Burden of the Beast: 48:11
The Third Eye: 48:14
Enchilada Express: 48:10

The Skull of Nostradamus: 48:11
Have You Hugged Your Private Detective Today: 48:10
Reunion at Alcatraz: 48:11
Down Home Country Blues: 48:10

Quant is Out: 48:11
Walk a Mile in my Hat: 48:11
Facets: 48:08
Sunrise at Camp Apollo: 48:12

The Blue Chip Stomp: 48:11
Something for Sarah: 48:10
Mobile Home of the Brave: 48:11
Family Forecast: 48:11

A Significant Obsession: 48:11
For the People: 48:10
Full Moon Blues: 48:11
Eye of the Beholder: 48:12
D-I-V-O-R-C-E: 48:10

Act Five: 47:41
The Last Harangue: 48:11
The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree: 47:43

Packaging is that cheap plastic case I'm always complaining about around here. Since even Shout, a usually-quality studio, has even resorted to it, it's time to just accept it as the default standard and move on. I don't like it, but hey, who cares. Main package art, disc art, and menu design are all very, VERY...brown. It pervades every aspect of the design for this set. Package art is all brown except for the skyline. Discs are all brown except for the logo.

What about the main menu? It is identical to the package art for the most part. No episode sub-menus, just Play All and the episode titles that take you straight into the program. Current season's version of the main theme plays in the background. Play All functionality IS available from the main menu.

Video and Audio Quality are patently average. There appears to be a decent amount of both grain and noise and other artifacts in the video, as well as noticeable compression blocking. One thing is clear: The video hasn't been mastered, likely in an attempt to keep production costs for this run of discs low. Audio is perfectly average, and really isn't anything to write about positively or negatively. Chapter stops occur on a scene-by-scene basis, leading to a large quantity of chapter stops per episode.

But wait, there's more! In exchange for plunking down one hard earn piece of green paper with Ulysses Grant on it, you DO get something you just can't find on Netflix...the 1995 Simon & Simon TV movie "In Trouble Again." For the purposes of set construction, it's treated just like a regular episode and it runs 1:29:01.

So, should you buy this set? That depends. If you have a valid and current subscription to Netflix, then I absolutely can NOT recommend this set at the present time. Now, who's to say the show will always be available there. If the price on this set ever comes down, or Simon & Simon disappears from Netflix's instant streaming? Maybe then. $50 is patently unreasonable, and given the choice I'd much rather use $50 to fund a trip to, say, a major Central Florida theme part (a real Mickey Mouse organization...). There are much better things to spend $50 than this set, and unless you're a downright superfan of this show with money to blow, I can't recommend the set. The video quality issues on everything but the reunion movie certainly don't help, but this set is just too expensive, period.

(3/5 stars)

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Simon & Simon on TV.com


LOOKING AHEAD

Come on back right here next week for more news and reviews. We will have a DVD review of Heroes - Season 4 up next week, if all goes well. And don't forget to read our full DVD reviews, as we will put up reviews for Gimme A Break! - The Complete Series and My Boys - The Complete Second and Third Seasons hopefully this week, as we still have not gotten those. But we do have Sabrina, the Teenage Witch - The Final Season and that review will go up in the next day. Until next time my fellow sleuths, keep it digital!

Friday, July 23, 2010

CBS Fall 2010 Premiere Dates, New Mid-season Drama; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 26, 2010)

Before we start don't forget to come back on Monday for the start of our announcements of Fall 2010 cable schedules in our annual fall schedule barrage! First up will be TV Land Sept. 2010 and we will have other networks all next week like Hallmark Channel and WGN America!

At last CBS has announced its Fall 2010 premiere date and they have announced that most of its new and returning series will premiere during the week of Sept. 20, the official start of the 2010-2011 season. The exceptions are Survivor: Nicaragua, which launches a week earlier (Sept. 15), and The Good Wife and CSI: Miami, which both debut a week later (Sept. 28 and Oct. 3, respectively).
CBS will get an early start on the season with the premiere of Survivor: Nicaragua, the 21st edition of the hit reality series, which launches in its new night of on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 8:00 PM, ET/PT. The season premiere will be a lead-in to the season finale of summer staple Big Brother 12 from 9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT.
CBS's new season roll-out officially begins on Monday, Sept. 20 during premiere week with the season six debut of sitcom How I Met Your Mother at 8:00 PM, ET/PT), followed by the fifth season premiere of sitcom Rules of Engagement at 8:30 PM, ET/PT, the eighth season premiere of sitcom Two and a Half Men at 9:00 PM, ET/PT, the series premiere of new sitcom Mike & Molly at 9:30 PM, ET/PT and the series debut of drama Hawaii Five-0 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT.
NCIS returns for its eighth season on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, followed by the two-hour second season premiere of NCIS: Los Angeles from 9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT. The Good Wife returns for its sophomore season a week later on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT, while NCIS: Los Angeles will settle into the 9:00 PM hour.
On Wednesday, Sept. 22, Criminal Minds is still at 9:00 PM, ET/PT returning for its sixth season, but now will be followed by the new series The Defenders at 10:00 PM, ET/PT.
On Thursday, Sept. 23, CBS opens its new one-hour comedy block with the fourth season premiere of sitcom The Big Bang Theory on its new night and time at 8:00 PM, ET/PT, the #1 scripted program in adults 18-49 will lead into the irreverent new sitcom, $#*! My Dad Says at 8:30 PM, ET/PT. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation returns for its 11th season at 9:00 PM, ET/PT, followed by the third season premiere of The Menatlist at 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT.
The new Friday lineup premieres Sept. 24 with Medium's second season on CBS at a new time of 8:00 PM, ET/PT, followed by a new two-hour block of New York-based crime dramas featuring the seventh season premiere of CSI: NY on its new night and time of 9:00 PM, ET/PT and the series debut of the new police drama Blue Bloods at 10:00 PM, ET/PT.
48 Hours Mystery returns on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT, following Crime repeats. Premiering on Sunday, Sept. 26 is the 43rd season of 60 Minutes at approx. 7:30 PM, ET/PT, time is approximate because it will be following late-running football, followed by a 90-minute premiere of The Amazing Race from approx. 8:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT and the second season of Undercover Boss at a special time of approx. 10:00 PM, ET/PT. A week later on Sunday, Oct. 3, CSI: Miami makes its ninth season premiere on its night at 10:00 PM, ET/PT, as Undercover Boss settles into its 9:00 PM ET/PT time period.

CBS has ordered a new mid-season series for early 2011. The comedic drama Chaos, starring Freddy Rodriguez, Eric Close, James Murray, Tim Blake Nelson and Carmen Ejogo, has been ordered by CBS for mid-season.
Chaos focuses on a group of rogue CIA spies in the Office of Disruptive Services (ODS), who combat threats to national security amidst bureaucratic gridlock, rampant incompetence and political infighting.
The late order is the second late order for a CBS mid-season series joining comedy Mad Love.


It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of July 26-30, 2010, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, July 26, 2010
  • Steve Carell (The Office) - Catch Steve on both CBS Early Show sometime between 7-9am and Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35am on CBS.
  • Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Catch Wilmer on TBS' Lopez Tonight at 11pm.
  • Christine Lakin (Step by Step) - Christine is the sidekick on Craig Kilborn's new talk show The Kilborn File airing on a few Fox stations today and every weekday. Guests are not anonunced in advance.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
  • Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords) - Catch Kristen on Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?/Jesse/Married...with Children) - The sexy and recently pregnant Christina Applgate is on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:06am on ABC.
  • Steve Carell (The Office) - Catch Steve on Lopez Tonight at 11pm on TBS.
  • Cybill Shepherd (Cybill) - Catch Cybill on ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am and LIVE! with Regis & Kelly so check your listings for time and station. And then she heads to The Joy Behar Show at 9pm on HLN.
  • Lisa Kudrow (Friends) - Catch Lisa on a REPEAT of The Oprah Show check your local listings.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

  • Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - The busy Wilmer visits LIVE! with Regis & Kelly but check your listings for time and channel.
  • Cybill Shepherd (Cybill) - Catch Cybill on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or your local station.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
  • Jason Schwartzman (Bored to Death) - Catch Jason on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) - Watch Mary-Louise on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS at 12:35am.
  • Lucy Punch (The Class) - Catch Lucy on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:35am.
  • Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - Catch Eric on this REPEAT of The Ellen DeGeneres Show so check your listings.
Friday, July 30, 2010
  • Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Doogie Howser) - Catch Neil on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35am on CBS.
  • Thomas Haden Church (Wings) - Watch Thomas on this REPEAT of The Bonnie Hunt Show so check your local listings.

Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

CBS Orders New Talk Show, Pulls The Bridge, ABC's Shark Tank Delayed Again; Logo Picks-Up Off-Net Nip/Tuck Starting October 2010

CBS has ordered a new daytime talk show for October 2010 featuring a panel of well-known news and entertainment personalities who will examine topical events and contemporary issues through the eyes of mothers. The daily, one-hour series will be co-hosted by Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini and Marissa Jaret Winokur.
The co-hosts - moms with children ranging in age from infant to adult - will swap stories, challenge each other on issues and engage the studio audience and viewers at home about events in the headlines and their own homes through the lens of motherhood. Show segments will include guest interviews with entertainers and newsmakers, live remotes from the field and personal home footage shot by the co-hosts themselves.
The show was developed by Gilbert, who also serves as executive producer. The new talk show will replace CBS daytime soap opera As the World Turns, which will end its long run in September.
In other CBS updates, they have pulled the Canadian drama series The Bridge from the schedule after a very low 0.3 18-49 rating this past Saturday. Crime repeats will take over, with Cold Case airing the next few weeks. As a result of this change, CBS will remove Cold Case repeats on Sundays at 10pm with repeats of The Good Wife airing instead for the next three Sundays. Then CBS will start CSI: Miami on Sunday, Aug. 15 as it settles into its new night this fall. Also, CSI: NY will settle into its new Friday at 9pm fall slot starting Aug. 13.

As we first reported, ABC has delayed the return of Shark Tank for a second time. The series was going to return next Thursday (July 29) but now ABC has pulled that because Wipeout is doing so well on Thursdays into summer drama Rookie Blue. However, Wipeout will not be all-new episodes on Thursdays now, so repeats will air on Thursdays for the rest of the summer. Wipeout's last Thursday all-new episode is tonight, but not to fret Wipeout will be all-new on its normal night and time of Tuesdays at 8pm for the rest of the summer still! Originally Shark Tank was set to return on July 15 but ABC added two more all-new Wipeout Thursday airings. So what will happen to Shark Tank? As of this writing, it has not been re-scheduled yet. ABC only has one episode left to air, though. Wife Swap has its season finale on Friday, Aug. 13, so perhaps Shark Tank can air Fridays at 8pm starting Aug. 20 for the last few weeks of summer (with the new episode plus a few repeats)? Sounds possible, so stay with us for info!

Logo announced that it has acquired the off-cable syndication rights to the groundbreaking dramatic series Nip/Tuck in a 4-year licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. This deal marks the premiere for the series in syndication. The agreement includes all 100 episodes spanning the complete seven seasons of the Golden Globe(R) Award-winning and multiple Emmy(R) Award-nominated drama.
Set to premiere this October (2010), Nip/Tuck will run in three-episode stacks on one night during primetime, with a new stack of episodes each week. The series will be presented sequentially. The series aired on FX from 2003-2010, with the series ending this past March. Logo has set a tentative premiere date of Friday, October 8, 2010 for the series.
Nip/Tuck stars Dylan Walsh, Julian McMahon, John Hensley, Roma Maffia, Kelly Carlson and Joely Richardson. Notable guest stars in the series include Alec Baldwin, Bradley Cooper, Portia de Rossi, Rosie O'Donnell, Jennifer Coolidge, Brooke Shields, Oliver Platt and Joan Rivers, among many others.
The series joins other off-network series on the network such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, RENO 911, The L Word, and Queer as Folk. And speaking of Buffy, there will be a Labor Day marathon on Labor Day (Sept. 6) from 10:30am-5:30pm.

And speaking of Fall 2010, on Monday we are starting our annual Fall schedules barrage! We will start it off with TV Land September 2010, though that is not considered their fall line-up, TV Land will re-add two sitcoms that are coming back in new deals, while one sitcom will expire. So we will bring that to you on Monday and hopefully some info on the Fall schedule (which likely starts in October). Tweet us your guesses of what you think the two sitcoms are!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

TV One August 2010 Schedule; ABC and Verizon's Viewer's Choice 'Rule the Air' Wednesday on July 28

TV One August 2010 has some marathons and more episodes from original series Life After. There are no schedule changes, but we have plenty of marathons! On Sunday, August 15 beginning at 12 noon, the good times keep rolling as TV One presents the "Good Times: To Be Continued" marathon that features multi-part episodes of the popular sitcom in which viewers can catch storyline conclusions without the wait in this fun filled afternoon with the Evans family and friends.
On Saturday, August 21 beginning at 5pm, the summer is winding down as TV One presents the "A Different World: Back to School" marathon featuring episodes of the popular TV One HBCU sitcom focusing on storylines revolving around Hillman College, exams, and campus activities. Viewers can join Whitley, Dwayne, Jaleesa, Ron, Freddie, and Kim for an afternoon of HBCU fun.
On Sunday, August 22 beginning at 12pm, TV One presents a marathon of short-lived sitcom Good News with the "Good News: Summer Sunday" sitcom marathon.
And on Saturday, September 4 beginning at 12pm Noon, TV One presents "The Martin & The Restless" marathon featuring multi-part episodes of the popular TV One sitcom Martin. Join Martin Payne along with his lady Gina and their friends Tommy, Cole, and Pam as they end up in hilarious situations that cannot be concluded in just one episode but just keep going and going until their hilarious conclusions play out all in one fun-filled day of TV One comedy.
Original series Life After premieres that are sitcom related for August: On Monday, August 2 at 9pm, TV One premieres the story of actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner (The Cosby Show, Malcolm & Eddie). On Monday, August 16 at 9pm, TV One premieres the story of actress Shar Jackson (Moesha). On Monday, August 23 at 9pm, TV One premieres the story of actor Mark Curry (Hangin' With Mr. Cooper).
And if you missed any episode, TV One gives not one, but TWO catch-up marathons! On Sunday, August 15 beginning at 8pm, TV One presents a Life After marathon to give viewers a chance to catch-up on missed episodes or to see their favorite moments again of TV One original bio-series. From Fresh Prince alum actress Janet Hubert to Cosby kid Malcolm-Jamal Warner, viewers will get a first hand look that Life After doesn't mean Life Over. And again on Sunday, August 29 beginning at 12pm, TV One presents another Life After marathon to give viewers a chance to catch-up on missed episodes or to see their favorite moments again of TV One original bio-series.




ABC and Verizon are giving you the chance to "Rule the Air" and pick episodes of your ABC Wednesday shows! Your choices will air next Wednesday (July 28, 2010) but voting ends this Friday (July 23) at 5pm ET/2pm PT. You get to choose an episode each of comedies The Middle, Modern Family, Cougar Town and drama Castle. For The Middle you have an option to pick "The Cheerleader," "Signals," or "Average Rules." The latter episode has guest star Betty White. For Modern Family you have an option to pick "Truth Be Told," "Starry Night," or "Benched." For Cougar Town you have an option to pick "Pilot," "Turn This Car Around," or "Finding Out." And for Castle you have an option to pick "A Rose for Everafter," "A Deadly Game," or "Sucker Punch." The first option has guest star Alyssa Milano.
You can vote online for each show once per day. Verizon Wireless customers have unlimited votes on their mobile phones, though. You can text to the number 22288 and choose a show VTMIDDLE, VTMODERN, VTCOUGAR or VTCASTLE. Then you choose one of the episodes (for The Middle - MD1, MD2, MD3; Modern Family - MF1, MF2, MF3; Cougar Town - CT1, CT2, CT3; Castle - CS1, CS2, CS3).
Vote on abc.com and view clips from these episodes so you know a little bit about the episode you want to choose!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

No Joke Baywatch on Comedy Central in Early August; More Guest Stars Lined-Up for Hot in Cleveland

In honor of The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff, Comedy Central is warming up the hot seat with some of the best slow-motion running to ever appear on television: Baywatch. The world's most popular show will air on Comedy Central for a limited time only, so make the most of it by watching each night! Tune in for shark attacks and high-cut bathing suits on the busiest, most accident-prone beach in California. Episodes air in late late night (superlatefuntime) starting at 2:30am from Monday, August 2, 2010 through Thursday, August 12, 2010. That's eight nights of Baywatch nights! An episode each will air on the Mon-Wed airings at 2:30am and the two Thursday airings air from 2:30am-5am. Baywatch was last seen in the U.S. on ION Television briefly in 2008. Prior to that the show was on TNN/Spike TV for 5 years from 2001-2006, with sister network TV Land airing it a few times as well. And of course its first venture on cable was on USA Network for many years.
And don't forget after these airings are finished, The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff world premiere is Sunday, August 15 at 10pm! See The Hoff get roasted! We're told Comedy Central has no plans on airing Baywatch after these airings, so watch while you can! Say, "I'll Be Ready!"

TV Land announced today that legendary comedic actor Tim Conway will appear in an upcoming episode of the critically-acclaimed hit TV Land sitcom, Hot in Cleveland. Also confirmed as guest stars in upcoming episodes are Dave Foley, Canadian comic actor, writer, director, producer and co-star of The Kids in the Hall and NewsRadio, Gary Anthony Williams from Boston Legal and 16-year-old Mark Indelicato, who played Betty's fashion-obsessed nephew on ABC's Ugly Betty.
Tim Conway, beloved for his hilarious characters on The Carol Burnett Show, goes toe-to-toe with Max (Carl Reiner) to win the heart of Elka (Betty White) in an episode entitled "It's Not That Complicated," scheduled to premiere on Wednesday, July 28, 2010.
In "The Play's the Thing" airing Wednesday, August 4, Mark Indelicato plays Zack, a drama nerd and fan of Victoria Chase (Wendie Malick) who invites his hero to give some notes on his school's production of "Romeo & Juliet." Gary Anthony Williams plays Coach Taylor who trains and treats the drama team like a football team, much to Zack's dismay. Hilarity ensues when Ms. Chase ends up giving more than just a few notes.
Dave Foley joins the Hot in Cleveland cast for an episode as Dr. Robert Moore, the head of a local medical foundation who comes to see Victoria (Malick) when she fakes a deadly disease to gain sympathy and votes for her Emmy® nomination. "Good Luck Faking the Goiter" airs Wednesday, August 11 and also guest stars pop sensation Joe Jonas, lead singer of Jonas Brothers.
Hot in Cleveland, which airs at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Wednesdays, stars sitcom favorites Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and 16-time Emmy®-nominee Betty White. The show, which has garnered great critical acclaim and record-breaking ratings, was picked up on July 7 for a second season of 20 episodes. The second season will begin production in October 2010 and is expected to premiere in January 2011 on TV Land!

Monday, July 19, 2010

TV Land Pulls Bewitched In August; ION TV Correction; TBS Remembers George Steinbrenner with Seinfeld

Last week we gave you TV Land's August 2010 schedule with the addition of The Nanny, but now they have made a schedule change. Not to fret, The Nanny is still coming and its time are the sames as we announced last week, but one classic will be off the line-up...for now. Starting Monday, Aug. 9, Bewitched will be off the line-up as The Andy Griffith Show block goes from 2-5pm to 3-6pm, replacing Bewitched in the 5-6pm slot. An extra Bonanza episode will air at 2pm replacing Andy, so Bonanza will air from 12pm-3pm.
The rest of the schedule is the same as we announced last week, which includes The Nanny in the 8-9pm slot and from 1-2am. As for Bewitched, we are not 100% sure why the show was pulled, but if it were a ratings thing why wait until Aug. 9 and not now? We are told Bewitched will be back on the schedule sometime this fall, so it is just temporary. Stay with us for that fall schedule (which is likely to start in October and not September).
View the full and updated TV Land August 2010 schedule.

Last week we also gave you ION Television's August 2010 schedule and told you Family Feud will be leaving the line-up starting July 26. ION has changed their minds a bit and that won't happen on July 26, but it will happen starting Aug. 16. The other changes that are set to happen on July 26 will happen, which will have Ghost Whisperer from 4-6pm and Without a Trace from 6-9pm. Family Feud will remain in the 3pm hour until Aug. 16, then Ghost Whisperer takes over that slot.
View the full and updated ION Television Aug. 2010 schedule.

TBS will celebrate the life of the late New York Yankees baseball team owner George Steinbrenner with a full week of classic Seinfeld episodes all this week featuring Larry David as the legendary New York Yankees owner. The 10-episode collection will air starting tonight, Monday, July 19 through Friday, July 23, at 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The special week will kick off with "The Opposite," the fifth-season finale in which George Costanza (Jason Alexander) lands a job with the Yankees. The tribute will close out with "The Muffin Tops" episode, in which George loses his job when Steinbrenner trades him for new chicken concessions at Yankee Stadium.
View the full episodes airing on this special week.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Summer Week 7 Sitcom Ratings; Coming Week Preview

Summer is in session and it's repeats galore mainly for sitcoms. We will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did all summer long, along with a coming week preview! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 6, week of July 5-11)
  • Sons of Tucson (Fox) - A new episode at 7pm did only 1.61 million and only a 0.7 18-49 rating but it was up from previous week's series lows on July 4.
  • The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 3.71 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating. Substantially up from previous week on 4th of July.
  • The Cleveland Show (Fox) - 3.42 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating for a repeat, up a lot from previous week on 4th of July.
  • Family Guy (Fox) - A one-hour repeat did 3.87 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating...way up from previous week.
  • American Dad! (Fox) - A repeat at 7:30pm did just 1.91 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, but up from previous week. The regular 9:30pm airing was preempted.

Summer Week 7 (July 12-18)

Monday Sitcoms
  • How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 4.49 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating for a repeat. Down a bit really from previous week.
  • Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 5.03 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating for a repeat airing. Built from the lead-in again but down a bit from previous week.
  • Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 7.77 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating for a repeat, down from previous week in viewers but yet up a tick in 18-49.
  • The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 7.83 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating for a repeat. Built from the lead-in but down some from previous week.
Tuesday Sitcoms
  • None.
Wednesday Sitcoms
  • The Middle (ABC) - The 8pm airing was preempted due to a repeat of Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown airing. But the 8:30pm repeat still aired and did 3.29 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating. Down from previous week, as the special didn't do so well.
  • Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat at 9pm did 4.05 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating. Down some from previous week.
  • Cougar Town (ABC) - A summer repeat did only 2.81 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating. On par really from previous week again. At least it is consistent.
Thursday Sitcoms
  • Community (NBC) - We don't have final ratings yet for Thursday, so we will use prelim numbers. A repeat at 8pm did a prelim 2.41 million and a prelim 0.8 18-49 rating...not good.
  • 30 Rock (NBC) - Getting ready for its new timeslot, a repeat at 8:30pm did a prelim 2.39 million and a prelim 0.8 18-49 rating. I don't think this show will do anything at 8:30in the fall.
  • The Office (NBC) - A repeat at 9pm did the best of the block but only at a prelim 2.97 million and a prelim 1.2 18-49 rating.
  • Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did a prelim 2.49 million and a prelim 1.0 18-49 rating.

Friday Sitcoms

  • None.

Saturday Sitcoms
  • None.

Tonight you can catch an all-new Sons of Tucson at 7pm on Fox followed by encores of Fox's animated comedies from 7:30-10 tonight. ABC airs repeats of America's Funniest Home Videos and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Then it will be all-new episodes of ABC summer dramas Scoundrels and The Gates from 9-11pm. NBC will have Dateline at 7pm followed by the NBC premiere of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and then just what we need, two-hour encores of America's Got Talent from 9-11. CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7pm followed by Sunday premiere of Big Brother 12 and then crime repeats from 9-11. All of this is just like last week.

Coming Week Preview (July 19-24):

For Monday, on ABC, it's an all-new night with new episodes of The Bachelorette from 8-10pm and the season finale of True Beauty at 10pm. NBC will have yet another America's Got Talent repeat at 8pm, then a new Last Comic Standing at 9pm, and a new Dateline at 10pm. On Fox, they have a new episode of Lie to Me at 8pm followed by an all-new The Good Guys at 9pm. CBS and The CW are in repeats with their regular line-ups, which includes sitcoms on CBS.

On Tuesday, ABC will have an all-new episode of summer sensation Wipeout, then the season finale of the high stakes game show Downfall and the addicting Primetime: Family Secrets at 10. NBC has a new Losing it with Jillian and an all-new two-hour America's Got Talent from 9-11pm. Fox has a two-hour Hell's Kitchen from 8-10. And once again CBS and The CW are in repeats. Cable is good on Tuesdays too with a new Pretty Little Liars continuing with the cliffhanger from last week at 8 on ABC Family and the second episode of new spy drama Covert Affairs starring the sexy Piper Perabo on USA Network at 10pm.

On Wednesday, Fox has a two-hour So You Think You Can Dance. NBC has a new showing of game show Minute to Win It at 8, then a new America's Got Talent at 9pm followed by a repeat of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. ABC has repeats of the comedies and Castle Wednesday at 10pm, its new summer home. CBS will have the Wednesday edition of Big Brother 12 followed by regular repeats, same goes true for The CW. TV Land will have the sixth episode of Hot in Cleveland at 10pm, as we are now in the second half of the first season.

On Thursday, ABC will have a special all-new Thursday Wipeout followed by episode five of the surprisingly good Rookie Blue and then at 10pm its docudrama Boston Med. Fox will have a new So You Think You Can Dance at 9pm, but one-hour only. CBS has the Thursday edition of Big Brother 12 at 8pm, followed by normal crime repeats. NBC is in repeats with with their comedies from 8-10 and then a repeat of Law & Order: SVU at 10 and The CW is also in repeats.

On Friday, ABC has new Wife Swap at 8, followed by a repeat of ratings hit Primetime: What Would You Do? at 9pm, followed by a new 20/20 at 10. NBC has a new Friday Night Lights at 8 then a two-hour Dateline. CBS has a new Flashpoint now at 10pm following repeats. Fox and The CW are in repeats.

On Saturday, its slow as usual. CBS has a new episode of new series The Bridge at 8pm and then later a 48 Hours Mystery at 10pm. Fox will have its usual crime reality with Cops and AMW. ABC has the network television premiere of the movie The Game Plan & Castle a repeat from 8-11pm. NBC has a new episode of Persons Unknown at 8 then crime repeats.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, December 8

Universal Basic Guys - "Sheet Shock" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
After feeling slighted by a Navy recruiter, Mark sets out to join an elite unit of the Marines, only to be thwarted by his inability to properly make a bed; David teams up with a veteran, who reveals stories that are stranger than fiction.

The Simpsons - "Convenience Airways" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Simpsons are trapped on a flight with the most unruly passengers in America.

Bob's Burgers - "They Slug Horses, Don't They?" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Tina and Louise get into an argument.

Krapopolis - "Shlub$" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Shlub is sick -- well, one part of Shlub is sick -- so the family uses Hippocampus' new invention to extract and replace the ailing part, but might just need to operate on themselves in order to save him.

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Name Drop" (CBS, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Marty and Courtney’s baby name gets spread around because nobody can keep a secret. Meanwhile, Dave is assigned the ever-complicated task of assembling the diaper changing table.

The Conners - "Smoking Penguins and Santa on Santa Action" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dan is disappointed when everyone but Becky forgets about his birthday; Darlene faces another issue; Dan excludes Jackie from the family Christmas Santa photo for mistreating Louise.

The Conners - "Yard Sale, Phone Fail, and a College Betrayal" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Louise starts to move into the Conners' home; Dan decides to sell the furniture set he bought for Roseanne when they were first married; Dan soon finds parting with the furniture harder than he thought it would be.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 2)

Friday, December 6

  • Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Watch Ralph on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Ben is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Hilary Swank (Camp Wilder) - NBC's Today catches up with Hilary in the 10am hour.
  • The Cast of Sex Lives of College Girls - The Sex Lives of College Girls creator Mindy Kaling is joining Drew on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Then, the case of the show, Pauline Chalamet, Alyah Chanelle Scott, Amrit Kaur, Mia Rodgers and Gracie Lawrence are all chatting about the latest season of the hit show.
  • Ryan Destiny (grown-ish) and Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Ryan and Brian talk about their new film The Fire Inside on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Steve Howey (Reba) - Steve talks about NBC's Happy Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Krysten discusses her film Sonic 3 on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Melissa Joan Hart (Baby Daddy/Sabrina the Teenage Witch/Clarissa Explains It All) - Melissa is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.


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)

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

12/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Scrubs Reboot in the Works; Family Guy Returning to Adult Swim
12/06 - Apple TV+ New Comedy Government Cheese; Prime Video Sets Half-Hour Police Drama
12/05 - Marlon Wayans to Guest Star on Poppa's House on CBS; Mo Returning to Netflix
12/04 - STARZ Comedy Thriller Sweetpea Renewed for Season 2; Bel-Air to End After Next Season
12/03 - Pluto TV Holiday Schedule; SNL December Hosts and Musical Performers
12/02 - Scripps Networks (Laff, Bounce, ION) Holiday Schedule; First Look at Watson on CBS
12/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 2, 2024)
11/30 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Desperate Housewives Creator Has Prequel Idea; Finale Date Set for The Talk
11/29 - Abbott Elementary Aces the Test on Multi-Platform; Dancing with the Stars' Resurgence
11/28 - 2024 Thanksgiving TV Marathons
11/27 - Henry Danger The Movie Premieres in January; Dexter: Original Sin Trailer
11/26 - The Way Home Returns for Season 3; Matthew Broderick and Son to Guest Star on Elsbeth
11/25 - Peacock's Laid Premieres December 19; Jon Hamm Drama Gets Season 2 Before Series Premiere
11/24 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 25, 2024)
11/23 - SitcomsOnline Digest: HBO Renews It's Florida, Man; Simpsons Voice Actor Announces Retirement
11/22 - NBC's Happy's Place Gets Full Season; HBO Renews It's Florida, Man for Another Zany Season
11/21 - The CW Midseason 2025 Schedule; Voice of Milhouse Leaving The Simpsons
11/20 - NBC Midseason 2025 Schedule; Apple TV+ Announces The Studio
11/19 - Antenna TV's Thanksgiving on the Eastside: The Jeffersons Marathon; Fox Midseason 2025 Schedule
11/18 - Conan O'Brien to Host Oscars for First Time; Celebs for Season 3 of Special Forces: World's Toughest Test
11/17 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 18, 2024)
11/16 - SitcomsOnline Digest: HBO Orders Kaley Cuoco Comedy from Hacks Creators; Reboot of Friday Night Lights in the Works
11/15 - Bookie Season 2 Premieres December 12 on Max; Apple TV+ Mythic Quest Is Back in January
11/14 - CBS Midseason 2025 Schedule; Reasonable Doubt Renewed for Season 3 on Hulu
11/13 - Harlem Season 3 Drops in January; James Acaster HBO Comedy Special
11/12 - ABC Midseason 2025 Schedule; Jim Gaffigan Gets First Hulu Comedy Special
11/11 - We Got Time Today, A New Tubi Talk Show; Bill Maher Gets 13th HBO Special
11/10 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 11, 2024)
11/09 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Two New Sitcoms in the Works at CBS; The CW Adds Bob ♥ Abishola to Lineup
11/08 - CBS Orders Full Season for Poppa's House; The CW Acquires Bob ♥ Abishola Reruns; Remembering Alan Rachins of Dharma & Greg
11/07 - A Very Merry MeTV 2024 Schedule; Stranger Things Final Season in 2025