SitcomsOnline.com News Blog: January 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Antenna TV In Cleveland Soars In Ratings; Remembering All in the Family Director John Rich and Seinfeld's "Mr. Pitt"

Antenna TV continues to grow in the ratings as it is just a little over a year old now. Viewers are flocking in for some classic TV, especially in the Cleveland market last month. Antenna TV on Cleveland's WJW-DT2 equaled the delivery of cable networks such as Oxygen, Nat Geo and The Big 10 Network in Cleveland from 3pm-12a Monday-Friday in the December 2011 sweep. Antenna TV beat cable networks Starz, Military Channel, Weather Channel, Disney XD, Nicktoons, NBC Sports Network, NFL Network, BBC America, Oprah Winfrey Network and MTV2 in Cleveland in the sweep as well. Some of the great performing TV series on Cleveland's Antenna TV includes Leave It To Beaver, which airs weeknights from 6-7pm. The classic sitcom outperformed programs on WKYC, WBNX, WOIO and WUAB in December 2011! The sitcom averaged a 0.3/1 rating/share in both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, beating first-run programs like The Talk, Dr. Drew, Anderson, Family Feud and America Now. Also performing well for Antenna TV in Cleveland is the Friday primetime 8-9pm airing of Too Close for Comfort, ranking second of all Antenna TV series on weekdays on WJW-DT2 with a 0.2/1 rating/share in both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. The same goes true for the classic sitcom Dennis the Menace which airs weeknights from 5-6pm leading into Leave it to Beaver at 6pm.
On weekends, Adam-12 has done well outperforming programs on WKYC, WBNX, WOIO, WVPX, WEWS, WJW and WUAB! The series airs Saturday nights from 8-9pm and delivers a 0.2/1 rating/share in adults 18-49 and a 0.3/1 rating/share in adults 25-54! Talk about being "hot in Cleveland" as Antenna TV continues to grow. Stay with us for the Antenna TV spring schedule (and not just for Cleveland, but all Antenna TV stations!) that will begin in April and will have the addition of WKRP in Cincinnati, as we mentioned.

We have a couple of recent deaths to tell you about. John Rich, an award-winning television director for The Dick Van Dyke Show and All in the Family, has died. Rich died on January 29 at his Los Angeles home after a brief illness. Mr. Rich was 86.

His nearly 50-year career in Hollywood included directing and producing episodes of many different television series. Rich directed over 40 episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show and won his first Emmy in 1963. He directed over 80 episodes of All in the Family and won two Emmys and two Golden Globes for his work on the series. The memorable scene of Sammy Davis, Jr. kissing Archie Bunker in the episode Sammy's Visit was directed by him. His many other directing credits included episodes of I Married Joan, Where's Raymond?, Our Miss Brooks, Gilligan's Island, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Brady Bunch, That Girl, Good Times, Barney Miller, Newhart, Benson and Dear John. In the 1980s Rich and Henry Winkler formed a production company called Henry Winkler/John Rich Productions and together they produced MacGyver for Paramount Television from 1985-92.

You can view an extensive interview with him at the Archive of American Television. Rich is survived by his wife of 22 years, Patricia; his three children, Catherine, Anthony and Robert; his three stepchildren, Megan Lewis, Kimberly Beres and Dana Benton; and eight grandchildren. We thank him for bringing us many hours of quality television. He will be missed.

Ian Abercrombie, a veteran English actor who played Elaine Benes' boss Mr. Pitt during the sixth season on Seinfeld, has died. Abercrombie died at a Los Angeles hospital on January 26 from complications of kidney failure and recently had been diagnosed with lymphoma. Mr. Abercrombie was 77.

His American stage debut was a 1951 production of Stalag 17 with Jason Robards and Jules Munshin. Abercrombie made guest appearances on many television series such as Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Murphy Brown, NewsRadio, Star Trek: Voyager, State of Grace, Birds of Prey, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Happily Divorced and Wizards of Waverly Place. He voiced characters in The Batman, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rango. His film credits included Army of Darkness, Addams Family Values, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. We'll never forget his memorable and hilarious character on Seinfeld. He was just a very solid and dependable character actor. Mr. Abercrombie is survived by his wife, Gladys, and his brothers Douglas, Donald and Alex. He will be missed.

Ian Abercrombie (Mr. Pitt) on Seinfeld

Who can forget Mr. Pitt eating a Snickers bar with a knife and fork? What are your favorite Mr. Pitt moments? Discuss them on our Seinfeld message board.

Monday, January 30, 2012

TV Land Schedule Change Begins Today In Morning & Late Night; 18th Annual SAG Awards Winners

We didn't get a chance to bring this to you last week, but TV Land has made a schedule change that started today. One of the Murder, She Wrote airings has been moved to 8am effective today (Jan. 30). The Angela Lansbury drama will still remain at 1pm, as it was airing back-to-back at 12pm and 1pm. Murder replaces an hour of Leave it to Beaver, which shifts to the 9am hour replacing Dick Van Dyke. Not to worry, The Dick Van Dyke Show will now be in the 10am hour instead. Andy Griffith Show will go from 10am-12pm to now 11am-1pm. So nothing is getting replaced, just the times are changing from 8am-1pm. Everything else will remain the same in daytime, evenings and primetime. Late nights will have some changes, though. Roseanne was airing 2-3am, but now The Nanny will take the 2:30am slot and keep its 3am half-hour. Three's Company was airing 4-6am, but now will air earlier from 3:30-4:30am, while a second Roseanne will air at 4:30am. Three's Company will remain on weekend late nights from 4-6am, though. Home Improvement will get an encore airing now from 5-6am, as it also airs in primetime from 8-9pm. How about some more power? You got it, because Home Improvement will now air on Saturdays too from 7-9pm.
We'll come back in the coming days to highlight the March 2012 schedule, but it's pretty much the same as this. Just some movie airings and original comedy Happily Divorced returns March 7.

Modern Family Cast

The 18th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards (SAG) were last night and the winners were announced. Among the big winners were Modern Family, Boardwalk Empire, Betty White, and Alec Baldwin, as it seems it was the same as last year.

Here are the main TV winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Patrick J. Adams (Suits, USA Network)
Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire, HBO)
Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights, DirecTV)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, AMC)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Showtime)
WINNER: Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire, HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates (Harry's Law, NBC)
Glenn Close (Damages, FX)
Jessica Lange (American Horror Story, FX)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife, CBS)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer, TNT)
WINNER: Jessica Lange (American Horror Story, FX)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, NBC)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family, ABC)
Steve Carell (The Office, NBC)
Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men, CBS)
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family, ABC)
WINNER: Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, NBC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Julie Bowen (Modern Family, ABC)
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie, Showtime)
Tina Fey (30 Rock, NBC)
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family, ABC)
Betty White (Hot in Cleveland, TV Land)
WINNER: Betty White (Hot in Cleveland, TV Land)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Dexter (Showtime)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
The Good Wife (CBS)
WINNER: Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 Rock (NBC)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Glee (Fox)
Modern Family (ABC)
The Office (NBC)
WINNER: Modern Family (ABC)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Mary Tyler Moore

View the complete TV portion winners and to discuss the winners!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Week 19 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

2011-12 Week 19 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: #1. Fox 7.1 rating/10.9 share; #2. CBS 6.5/10.3; #3. ABC 3.7/5.8; #4. NBC 3.3/5.1; #5. The CW 0.8/1.2
Total Viewers: #1. Fox 12.1 million; #2. CBS 10.33 million; #3. ABC 5.62 million; #4. NBC 5.04 million; #5. The CW 1.14 million.
Adults 18-49: #1. Fox 4.0 rating/10.5 share; #2. CBS 2.5/6.6; #3. ABC 1.7/4.4; #4. NBC 1.5/4.0, #5. The CW 0.5/1.4

Week 19 (Jan. 23-29) Analysis: Week 19 had more repeats than new episodes, but Fox was headlined by American Idol of course, even with big drops from last season it was more than enough for the lead through the first four nights. The first four night network averages has Fox on top in all categories over CBS. ABC follows in third everywhere. And then NBC is back in fourth place, where it deserves to be. When the week is over with, it will likely remain like this but NBC will likely surpass repeat driven ABC due to the NFL Pro Bowl tonight. More on the prediction of week 19 below. As for last week, week 18, Fox won the week big in all key categories thanks to the primetime NFL NFC Championship Game on Sunday that did 57.63 million. CBS was a distant second everywhere, but ABC tied them for second in 18-49. ABC was third in HH/viewers, while NBC was fourth across the board with no NFL to help them at all.

On Monday, it was a Fox victory as usual Monday leader CBS was in repeats. First, on ABC, The Bachelor started it off from 8-10pm with 8.3 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, up from previous week and a season high. Like I predicted, it will likely go higher and higher now until the finale. At 10pm, Castle was all-new and did a solid 10.05 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, down a tenth from its previous week but up in viewers. For CBS, How I Met Your Mother was a repeat doing 6.94 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is a solid repeat number. Then a repeat of the breakout hit 2 Broke Girls followed doing a better 7.76 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, with nice builds from the lead-in like usual. At 9pm, a repeat of Two and a Half Men did 9.78 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, which is great and the standout of the block for this night. A repeat of Mike & Molly followed and did 8.25 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, which is solid for a repeat. A repeat of Hawaii Five-0 was next doing 6.88 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, as it doesn't repeat nearly as well as the comedy lead-ins. Fox premiered House on its new time of 8pm with 8.76 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which is solid and up some from its usual ratings this season. Will it last though? New drama Alcatraz was next at 9pm and did 9.03 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, only off some from its two-hour premiere the previous week. That's solid and it needs to stay around here or it will be like Terra Nova and likely not return. NBC started it off with game show Who's Still Standing? and did 6.44 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which is OK. Fear Factor was preempted, as NBC aired a two-hour Rock Center with Brian Williams featuring the GOP debate and did 7.13 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, up from previous week and better than usual. The CW was all-new, at 8pm a new Gossip Girl did 1.11 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, which is not good but on par with previous week. At 9pm a new Hart of Dixie did 1.23 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating. Not good.

On Tuesday, the State of the Union aired so everything was atypical. CBS had a repeat of NCIS do 12.55 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which was off a tenth from previous week. Then they aired the State of the Union, preempting NCIS: Los Angeles and Unforgettable. A repeat of The Big Bang Theory started at about 10:40pm and was joined in progress. ABC started with a repeat of comedy Last Man Standing with Tim Allen leading the night off doing 5.42 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating. At 8:30pm a repeat followed, doing a similar 5.12 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating. Then Celebrity Wife Swap and Body of Proof were preempted for the State of the Union. The River premieres with a two-hour premiere next Tuesday (Feb. 7). Back to this night, a repeat of Modern Family was joined in progress after the speech at 10:40pm. Fox preempted Glee for a repeat of Sunday's special American Idol and did 9.64 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, which was a good move as it is higher than a new Glee episode. Ouch. Then the comedies New Girl and Raising Hope were preempted for the State of the Union. NBC was next with The Biggest Loser only from 8-9pm doing 6.42 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which is down some from the previous week when it was two-hours. Parenthood was preempted as NBC aired the State of the Union. The CW started it off with a new 90210 and did 1.24 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, not good but up a tenth from previous week. Then at 9pm, Ringer was preempted for a new episode of new reality series Remodeled and did only 890,000 viewers and a 0.4 18-49 rating, not good but up a tenth from the premiere the previous week.

Wednesday it was Fox with the win even though Idol is much lower than last season. First, CBS started the night off with a repeat of Criminal Minds doing 7.85 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which is solid. Then at 9pm, a new Criminal Minds did 13.81 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating, up solidly from previous week. And at 10pm a new CSI did 14.26 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, which is above normal for the final episode of Marg Helgenberger and by far a season high. ABC was in repeats for its Laugh On comedy block with The Middle doing 5.25 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, which is OK for a repeat and beat competing NBC which was new. Suburgatory followed at 8:30pm with 4.22 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, which also beat NBC's competing new comedy. The mega hit Modern Family was next at 9pm and it did 6.5 million and 2.5 18-49 rating for a repeat, which is solid. At 9:30pm, Happy Endings was a repeat and did 3.95 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating. At 10pm a repeat of the addicting Revenge did 3.13 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, which doesn't repeat well but the next two new episodes on Feb. 8 and 15 will be big. ABC Wednesday returns with new episodes on Feb. 8, as this week are also repeats. Fox aired American Idol in the 8pm hour doing 19.67 million and a 6.5 18-49 rating, down nearly a full point from previous week (as I predicted!) when it was two-hours. Fox then previewed new drama Touch starring Kiefer Sutherland and did solid 12.01 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating. Great, but this show won't air a second episode until late March on Mondays. Will viewers return and it won't have an Idol lead-in normally. NBC opened the night with a new episode of the terrible series Whitney doing 4.4 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, for another series low. Week three of Are You There, Chelsea followed with only 3.8 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, down again from previous week. Not good for both sitcoms. At 9pm, Harry's Law was preempted for a repeat of Law & Order: SVU doing 3.64 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which is up a tenth from a new Harry's Law the previous week. Ouch Kathy Bates. And at 10pm, Law & Order: SVU was a repeat at its normal time and did 4.05 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating. The CW had a new One Tree Hill at 8pm doing 1.46 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Then at 9pm a repeat of Remodeled did only 570,000 viewers and a 0.2 18-49 rating, off a tenth from previous week.

Thursday it was Fox over CBS. Starting with ABC, they opened the night with a repeat of Winter Wipeout doing 4.81 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, not bad and down just a few tenths from a new episode the previous week. At 9pm, a repeat of Grey's Anatomy aired doing 4.05 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating. At 10pm, Private Practice was next and did just 2.75 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating for a repeat. ABC Thursday is new this week, as February sweep starts! Can you believe that? CBS opened with a new The Big Bang Theory at 16.13 million and a 5.5 18-49 rating, great and better than the previous week even with Idol airing opposite it again. In fact, it beat that show in its first half-hour for the second straight week and did a Thursday high! Wow. Then week three of Rob was next doing 11.5 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, on par with previous week but its lead-in did go up some, so it had a better lead-in. Still decent. A repeat of Person of Interest did 10.54 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which is solid but older skewing. A repeat of The Mentalist followed and did 9.64 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, good for first place on broadcast. Fox aired American Idol at 8pm doing 17.14 million and a 5.5 18-49 rating, great but off some from previous week. Then a new episode of The Finder at 9pm did a better 8.44 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, up from previous week but this is "fool's gold" as ABC, CBS were repeats and NBC didn't air The Office. Look for back to around a 2.2 18-49 rating this Thursday. NBC was all-new with a new 30 Rock up first doing just 3.82 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, tying a series low and looks on par with Community maybe. Then Parks and Recreation was next doing only 3.49 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, for a series low. The Office was preempted at 9pm for another new 30 Rock and did just 3.98 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, as it is time for this show to finally end. It never had any good ratings. At 9:30pm Up All Night was a repeat and did just 2.97 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, but it tied a new Whitney on Wednesday at least. What a mess NBC is into. At 10pm, a new episode of new drama The Firm did only 3.8 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, which is up a tenth from previous week. Still Prime Suspect style. Total mismatch out of these comedies. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries and new drama The Secret Circle were preempted for the movie Covenant and did just 1.31 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating.

Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but ABC won Friday night again with CBS dramas in repeats. ABC was #1 at 8pm with Shark Tank besting usual timeslot leader Kitchen Nightmares on Fox again. At 9pm What Would You Do? was #1 for the night and and 20/20 won the hour at 10pm. NBC's Chuck had its two-hour series finale which was up some but no where near good numbers, while Grimm was preempted. Fox had Fringe do terrible at 9pm and it doesn't look like another season is coming.
Saturday numbers have Fox win the night with UFC on Fox doing very well beating a distant second place ABC's movie Blades of Glory. CBS was close behind, with 48 Hours the highest rated program for CBS and NBC was dead last with U.S. Figure Skating.

Tonight ABC's regular Sunday of AFV, Once Upon a Time, Desperate Housewives and Pan Am is half new. The latter two programs are preempted for a Hallmark movie, while Once Upon a Time is new and should be number one for the night among TV series. NBC has the NFL Pro Bowl which should do decent and be good enough for a win for the night. CBS has an all-new 60 Minutes at 7pm followed by a new Undercover Boss, The Good Wife and CSI: Miami. CBS will likely be fourth place though. Fox has new episodes of Animation Domination, but no NFL lead-ins to help them. They should be second or third place, depending how the ABC movie does.

As for the week (week 19), it should be Fox with the win and close to what we have right now through the first four nights final averages. CBS will be second, followed by ABC, then NBC fourth for the week. Though, NBC could surpass ABC if the Pro Bowl does very well. As for the coming week (week 20), lots of repeats until Thursday then it is the start of February sweeps on Feb. 2. Then game is on all month with new episodes everywhere. Down with Idol!

Week 19 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 18 -- Jan. 16-22)

The Simpsons (Fox) - preempted.
Napoleon Dynamite (Fox) - preempted.
The Cleveland Show (Fox) - preempted.
Bob's Burgers (Fox) - preempted.
Family Guy (Fox) - preempted.
American Dad! (Fox) - preempted.

Monday Sitcoms

How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat did 6.94 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is solid for a repeat these days.
2 Broke Girls (CBS) - A repeat did 7.76 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, which is good and like usual built on its lead-in.
Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.78 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating for a repeat is great and higher than lead-in 2 Broke Girls this time.
Mike & Molly (CBS) - A repeat did 8.25 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, solid but I still think it is the weak link of this block now. I think if it were moved elsewhere it wouldn't do as well, but it is a solid performer.

Tuesday Sitcoms

Last Man Standing (ABC) 2 airings - A repeat in its 8pm half-hour did 5.42 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, lower than usual but in some places it aired out of its normal slot due to the State of the Union. A second repeat at 8:30pm did a similar 5.12 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating.
Cougar Town (ABC) - Returns Feb. 14 at 8:30/7:30c! Tune in and spread the word. Penny Can!
Modern Family (ABC) - ABC aired a repeat after the State of the Union which was joined in progress at 10:40pm in the East and Central time zones doing 3.62 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating.
The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - Like ABC, a repeat of this aired after the State of the Union, and was JIP doing 5.25 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating.
New Girl (Fox) - preempted.
Raising Hope (Fox) - preempted.

Wednesday Sitcoms

The Middle (ABC) - A repeat did 5.25 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, beating a new Whitney on NBC. All you can say is, wow.
Suburgatory (ABC) - A repeat did 4.22 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating.
Whitney (NBC) - A new episode did just 4.4 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, which is another series low.
Are You There, Chelsea? (NBC) - Week three did only 3.8 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, down again from previous week and 'Are You There, TV Ratings?'
Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat did 6.5 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, just as good as the CBS Monday sitcom repeats.
Happy Endings (ABC) - A repeat did 3.97 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, as I hope more and more find this show. It is too good.

Thursday Sitcoms

The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A new episode did 16.13 million and a 5.5 18-49 rating, great and it beat Idol head-to-head again. Up some from previous week and a Thursday high. I guess syndication is bringing in new fans?
Rob (CBS) - Week three did 11.5 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, which is solid against Idol and on par with previous week, though its lead-in was higher this week.
30 Rock (NBC) 2 airings - A new episode at 8pm did just 3.82 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, for a series low. A second episode at a special time of 9pm proved it can't anchor an hour doing just 3.98 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating. Time for it to pack its bags finally. It never was a hit.
Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A new episode at 8:30pm did only 3.49 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, for a series low. Not a good night at all for NBC.
The Office (NBC) - preempted.
Up All Night (NBC) - A repeat did 2.97 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating. Yes, a repeat but all momentum this show gad earlier in the fall is completely gone.

Friday Sitcoms

None.

Saturday Sitcoms

Rules of Engagement (CBS) - A Saturday repeat did a prelim 2.6 million and a prelim 0.6 18-49 rating. Not too good even for a Saturday.
Mike & Molly (CBS) - A Saturday repeat did a prelim 3.01 million and a prelim 0.7 18-49 rating.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7-10pm, with new episodes airing from 7:30-10pm.

Summing it up. The Big Bang Theory, Rob, Two and a Half Men, 2 Broke Girls, Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Happy Endings, The Middle) or just plain old terrible (such as all NBC comedy airings like Are You There Chelsea, Parks & Recreation).

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Digital Digest: New Big Bang Blu-rays, Bazinga!; Father Dowling Mysteries - The First Season DVD Review

It is hard to tell if it is fall, winter, or spring with the crazy and changing weather that we are having all over the US, but one thing that we can tell for sure is that it is yet another Saturday. So, welcome to Digital Digest! This week, in addition to our regular features, we have a review of CBS Home Entertainment's release of Father Dowling Mysteries - The First Season. Let's get started.

DIGITAL NEWS

Lately, we've started to see more and more Blu-ray Disc releases of sitcoms, even including That '70s Show - Season One (Blu-ray), which we mentioned last week. Now, Warner Home Video is going back a little bit with The Big Bang Theory, and finally releasing season one and season two on the high-definition format. Of course, the most recent seasons of the series have been released on Blu-ray, but now fans will be able to own every season released to date on Blu-ray. According to TVShowsOnDVD.com, these DVDs should be expected in the first half of the year.

TVShowsOnDVD.com had even more news this week with information about Saved by the Bell. Apparently, there is a release of the complete series in the works. Not a whole lot is known about this release just yet. In fact, it is entirely possible that the release is just the previous releases wrapped together in one package. When we do know more, we'll be sure to update you on it.

Fans of the animated comedy American Dad! will be pleased to know that more episodes of that series will be coming to DVD soon, with American Dad! - Volume Seven. The release is scheduled to hit store shelves on April 17. Unfortunately, there isn't a Blu-ray release scheduled at this time, which actually would have been appropriate for this set since it is the first one that will include all high-definition episodes. Still, the DVDs for this set have been perfectly adequate, and fans shouldn't be disappointed.

UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (January 31) brings another slow day of DVDs with only two releases, both from Shout! Factory. First is Leave it to Beaver - 20 Timeless Episodes, which contains twenty of the "best" episodes of the classic series. Additionally, Shout! Factory has Hey Dude! - Season 2.

BLOG FEATURE REVIEW

Blog DVD Review: Father Dowling Mysteries - The First Season (CBS DVD, $29.99)

by Todd

Catholic priest Father Frank Dowling (Tom Bosley) continually stumbles over murders, abductions and other high crimes in his hometown of Chicago. Assisted by street-smart Sister Stephanie "Steve" Oskowski (Tracy Nelson), wherever the holy duo go, someone usually turns up dead. While the local police are quick to find a likely suspect, the snooping priest just as quickly finds a good reason to take a closer look. Now, for the first time on DVD, you can enjoy this 2-Disc collection of the first season of Father Dowling Mysteries which includes the Original TV Pilot Movie! Father Phil (James Stephens) is going to have to take 10 o'clock Mass, because Father Dowling has got a murder to solve!

Father Dowling Mysteries began with a two-hour TV pilot movie called "Fatal Confession," which originally aired on NBC on November 1, 1987. The show was picked up for the fall 1988-89 season, but it did not begin airing until January 20, 1989 because of a writer's strike. After the first season was broadcast on Friday nights on NBC, it moved to ABC on Thursday nights for the last two seasons. A total of 43 episodes were broadcast plus the pilot movie. Here are the episodes included on this release:

Disc 1:

"Fatal Confession" (Original TV Pilot Movie) (11/30/87) (1:36:00) - The pilot episode finds Father Dowling and Sister Steve investigating the apparent suicde of a former parishoner. In between saying Mass, hearing confessions and managing the softball team, Father Dowling somehow finds time to conduct his own investigation.
Notable Guest Stars: Susan Blakely, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Scolari, Sada Thompson, Stella Stevens

1-2. "The Missing Body Mystery" (01/20/89) (1:33:44) - Father Dowling lands on the wrong side of the FBI after a dying man falls dead at his feet. Father Dowling puts the church in a bad light when he insists on tracking down the killer.
Notable Guest Star: Robert Walden

3. "What Do You Call a Call Girl Mystery" (01/27/89) (47:47) - Father Dowling comes to the aid of a man whose fiancée was murdered just as she was about to confess being a prostitute. A search leads to three powerful clients, none of whom want to be invovled in a scandal.
Notable Guest Stars: David L. Lander, James Noble

Disc 2:

4. "The Man Who Came to Dinner Mystery" (02/10/89) (47:32) - Father Dowling Mysteries becomes a family affair when guest star Harriet Nelson appears alongside granddaughter Tracy Nelson.
Notable Guest Stars: Harriet Nelson, John Slattery

5. "The Mafia Priest Mystery, Part 1" (02/17/89) (47:47) - Father Dowling finds himself caught in a bizarre mystery when he attempts to prove a fellow priest innocent of murder. He and street-smart schemer Sister Steve get more than they bargained for when they discover the young priest's family is indeed connected to organized crime!
Notable Guest Star: Andreas Katsulas

6. "The Mafia Priest Mystery, Part 2" (02/24/89) (47:51) - Undeterred by appearances, FAther Dowling sets out to prove a young priest innocent of murder after he discovers the priest has been framed by a member of his own family. Nothing is ever easy, of course, and when th real assassin is himself killed. Dowling must rely on a family member who is too afraid to tell the truth.
Notable Guest Star: Andreas Katsulas

7. "The Face in the Mirror Mystery" (03/03/89) (47:50) - When the good Father's evil half-brother shows up unexpectedly, Dowling suspects right away that the evil one is up to no good. After thrwarting his brother's attempted diamond heist, Dowling finds himself in hot water when he discovers that the police can't tell the two brothers apart.
Notable Guest Star: Diane Ladd

8. "The Pretty Baby Mystery" (03/10/89) (46:24) - Father Dowling and Sister Steve find themselves in the most unlikely role of parents when an abandoned baby is discovered at the rectory. When they attempt to reunite mother and child they learn that the mother is being chased by violent kidnappers.

The TV Pilot Movie and premiere episode are presented in their original two-hour format. All of the other episodes have runtimes of 46-47 minutes. There's a disclaimer on the back cover that reads: "Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions. Music has been changed for this home entertainment version." This is a standard disclaimer on most CBS DVD releases, so it doesn't necessarily mean any episodes are actually edited. I don't know how much music the show originally used, but hopefully any music substitutions are very minor. The set has a total running time of approximately 7 hours, 54 minutes.

The packaging for this 2-disc set is clear plastic Viva-case. On the cover, we have a photo of Tom Bosley and Tracy Nelson, along with the show title at the top and a church glass background. On the back, there are more episode snapshots of Bosley and Nelson, along with a description of the series and the DVD specs. Tom Bosley is featured on the spine of the case. Inside, you'll find the episode titles, original airdates and short summaries listed by disc. The discs just have gray artwork with the series logo on them. Disc 1 contains three episodes (two of which are two-hour episodes). Disc 2 contains five one-hour episodes.

Moving on to the menus, they are simply designed and easy to navigate. The main menu features Tom Bosley on Disc 1 and Tracy Nelson on Disc 2. A partially shattered glass church background is used. The episode titles are listed vertically in yellow text. The episode you highlight is blue than turns red upon your selection. When you select an episode, it takes you to another sub-menu that features a different photo of Bosley and Nelson on each disc. The subtitles menu features a different photo of Bosley and Nelson on each disc. You can turn on the English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on this menu. Chapters are placed throughout each episode at all of the appropriate places.

The video and audio quality is very good. I don't have any original episodes on tape to compare, but it looks like the episodes were probably remastered a bit for this release. These episodes were shot over 20 years ago, so they do show some age. They are presented in their original full frame ratio and in their original broadcast order. Father Dowling Mysteries was shot on film. There were many outdoor scenes and different locations used. According to the IMDB, Father Dowling's church is in Denver, CO and the first season was shot there as well before moving to Los Angeles for the final two seasons. I thought the episodes may look a little brighter, but this may have just been the way they were originally shot. The show has kind of a dark and gritty look to it. The audio is a Dolby Digital English Stereo track. I didn't hear any problems with the audio. This show had a very nice melodic theme and score in the episodes. English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing are available on all of the episodes.

Only episode promos are included as a special feature. These are 35-40 second previews that tell you what's happening "next on Father Dowling". The video quality of these promos isn't as good as the episodes, but they are fun to see and they give you a good idea of what each episode is about. They are avaiable for all of the episodes except for "The Mafia Priest Mystery, Part 2." It would have been nice to have some vintage or new interviews with the cast and crew. Sadly, Tom Bosley died in October 2010. This is a show that I know so little about. It would be interesting to hear about the show's production history. The show also featured a number of guest stars. They could have highlighted some of them in a featurette.

Everyone's favorite mystery-solving priest is now on DVD! Despite being a big fan of Happy Days and Tom Bosley, this is a series that I've only seen a handful of episodes over the years. It's always been a series that I've wanted to see in its entirety, but I just never got around to watching it. Only three seasons were made, but the show has popped up in syndication over the years and seems to have a devoted fan base. I've liked what I've seen in the episodes in the past and look forward to catching up with it on DVD.

There was a lot to like about this series. Tom Bosley and Tracy Nelson may have seemed like an unlikely pairing, but they had good chemistry and worked well together. The show also had some great writing, directing and production values. I also loved the show's opening theme credits and music. I'll never forget seeing Tom Bosley wearing his beloved Chicago Cubs jacket. With a relatively small main cast, the show brought in quite a few guest stars on a weekly basis. The TV Pilot Movie and first season included notable guest stars like Susan Blakely, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Scolari, Sada Thompson, Stella Stevens, Robert Walden, David L. Lander, James Noble, Harriet Nelson, John Slattery, Andreas Katsulas and Diane Ladd. Before CSI and all of the violent crime shows of today, there were more family friendly mystery shows like Father Dowling Mysteries, Murder, She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder and Matlock. It was a different era back then. It's easy to understand why these types of shows remain popular today. Everybody likes a good mystery. If the first season sells well, hopefully we'll see the remaining two seasons released soon.

(4/5 stars)

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CLICK OF THE WEEK

LeaveItToBeaver.org (www.leaveittobeaver.org) - The past few weeks, we've been giving you "broader" pop-culture Click of the Week items, but this week, we're switching gears to a TV series that has had a huge impact on pop-culture, and is also related to one of Tuesday's DVD releases. LeaveItToBeaver.org should not have surprising content based upon the name. In fact, it is just what it sounds like: a Leave it to Beaver website. We bring up this website, though, because it is full of great content. Among the content, you'll find frequently asked questions, video clips relating to the show, audio clips, interviews, some of Beaver's "writings," articles, collectibles, and much more. The only thing truly missing from the site, though, is a thorough episode guide. It was a bit surprising to see all of the great content on the site, but no detailed episode guide. It doesn't appear that the website has been updated much recently, though there isn't a whole lot of new stuff to put up Still, there is plenty of content here for you to check out.

That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Remembering Robert Hegyes from Welcome Back, Kotter; Sitcom Stars On Talk Shows (Week of January 30, 2012)

We have some sad news to report. Actor Robert Hegyes, best known as high school student Juan Epstein on Welcome Back, Kotter, has died. Hegyes suffered from chest pains at his Metuchen, New Jersey home Thursday morning (January 26) and later died from an apparent heart attack at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey. He had health problems in recent years, including a hip replacement and a heart attack. Mr. Hegyes was 60.

His career began with stage work in New York both on and off Broadway. In 1975, he landed the role of Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein on Welcome Back, Kotter. The show ran for 95 episodes over 4 seasons on ABC from 1975-79. He would later play undercover detective Manny Esposito on Cagney & Lacey. His other television guest appearances included The Streets of San Francisco, The Love Boat, Chico and the Man, CHiPs, Mr. Rhodes, NewsRadio, Diagnosis Murder and The Drew Carey Show. In his later years, he taught acting and screenplay writing classes at his alma mater, Rowan University. In 2011, he reunited with most of the cast members (except for Ron Palillo who was unable to attend due to recent surgery) of Welcome, Back Kotter for the show's 35th anniversary at the TV Land Awards.

Hegyes is survived by three siblings, Mark, Stephanie and Elizabeth, two children, Cassie and Mack, and two stepchildren, Sophia and Alex. Unfortunately, there are no stations currently airing Welcome Back, Kotter. Only a single volume and the complete first season have been released on DVD. This is a show that would be great for original and new generations of fans to see more episodes available. We thank him for playing such a memorable character and bringing us many laughs. He will be deeply missed.

Our friends at Just My Show interviewed him in 2007. What are your favorite Juan Epstein moments? Discuss them on our Welcome Back, Kotter message board.

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, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of January 30 - February 3, 2012, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Rob Schneider (Rob/Men Behaving Badly) - Watch Rob on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Maya Rudolph (Up All Night) - Maya stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Wanda Sykes (The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda is a guest on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
John Krasinksi (The Office) - John visits The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings. Big Miracle opens in theaters February 3.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

John Stamos (Full House/Jake in Progress) - John chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) - Kunal and Simon visit The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT. Simon will also be on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Jenny McCarthy (Jenny) - Jenny is a guest on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
Sherri Shepherd (Less Than Perfect) - Sherri appears on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

John Krasinksi (The Office) - Watch John on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Catch Woody on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
Lisa Kudrow (Friends - Lisa chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
John Stamos (Full House/Jake in Progress) - John continues to make the rounds on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Joyce DeWitt (Three's Company) and Suzanne Somers (Three's Company/Step by Step/She's the Sheriff) - Watch the duo reunite after over 30 years on Suzanne's web series Breaking Through! http://www.cafemom.com/SuzanneSomers

Friday, February 3, 2012

Debra Messing (Will & Grace) - Watch Debra on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Woody chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
John Krasinski (The Office) - John wraps up his appearances this week on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly) - Melissa appears on ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am.

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, January 26, 2012

ABC Family Alters Daytime Line-Up, Gilmore Girls Back In Evening; MeTV Network Dramas Strong In Jacksonville, FL

ABC Family will be making some changes to its daytime line-up beginning next week (Monday, Jan. 30). The highlight of the change is the removal of Still Standing and the addition of Gilmore Girls back into early evening. America's Funniest Home Videos returns to ABC Family as a regular series, as it usually gets preempted at 6pm. AFV will replace back-to-back episodes of Still Standing at noon ET. Then in the 1pm hour, 8 Simple Rules moves to an earlier hour replacing an hour of Grounded for Life. That sitcom remains in the 2pm hour as it replaced My Wife & Kids earlier in the month as the Damon Wayans comedy is no longer airing on ABC Family. At 3pm, the That '70s Show two-hour block will shift up an hour, so the 3pm hour is replacing 8 Simple Rules. At 4pm, That '70s Show will remain, but now the 5pm hour will be the return of Gilmore Girls in the time period. And Gilmore Girls will remain in its 11am slot as well! Double the Lorelai and Rory fun! There are no other changes, but if you missed it, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air now airs most weeknights now at 12:00am & 12:30am as of Dec. 26, replacing Whose Line Is It Anyway, which is off the schedule. The Will Smith comedy was only airing on late nights on weekends prior to it joining the weeknight line-up on Dec. 26.
That's all for now, stay with us for further updates if Still Standing returns or not. We're not sure if My Wife & Kids' contract expired or not (as it hasn't aired in 2012), but we'll try to find out.

MeTV Network affiliate WAWS, Jacksonville (DMA Rank 50) is enjoying impressive local ratings after becoming an affiliate of the MeTV Network. The Newport owned WAWS 30.2 is beating its competitors in several time periods throughout the day. On many days their 7A-1A shares tie or beat WJXX (ABC) and WCWJ (CW), according to Jim Zerwekh, Vice President and General Manager of WAWS. On January 18, MeTV on MyTVJAX ranked third in several time periods behind WAWS (FOX) and WTEV (CBS). Programming such as Daniel Boone, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Bonanza and The Big Valley beat the following shows on WTLV (NBC), WJXX (ABC), WCWJ (CW), WJXT (Ind.): Anderson, Live with Kelly, Judge Mathis, The Nate Berkus Show, Excused, The Chew, Revolution, General Hospital, Dr. Drew, and The Big Bang Theory (syndication).

These are some of the highlights of MeTV Jacksonville's success; all times are Eastern:
· Daniel Boone at 9 a.m. had a 1.7 HH rating, which beat Live with Kelly on WJXX
· Perry Mason at 10 a.m. had a 1.1 HH rating, which beat Anderson on WJXX
· Gunsmoke at 1 p.m. had a 1.9 HH rating, which beat The Chew on WJXX and Excused on WJXT
· Bonanza at 2 p.m. had a 2.1 HH rating, which beat The Revolution on WJXX, The Big Bang Theory (syndication) on WJXT and Judge Mathis on WCWJ
· The Big Valley at 3 p.m. had a 2.5 HH rating, which beat The Nate Berkus Show on WJXT, General Hospital on WJXX and Dr. Drew on WCWJ

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

NATPE 2012: Day 3 - Fall 2012 Syndication; Nick at Nite Orders Telenovela Adaptation

It's the final day at NATPE 2012 and as promised we will give you a list of the shows being offered for fall 2012 syndication. So, without further adieu, here is what is being offered (some might not be bought, so beware) for Fall 2012:

OFF-NETWORK REPEATS

Daily Half-Hour Sitcoms
Are We There Yet? (Debmar-Mercury)
Rules of Engagement (Sony Pictures Television)

Weekly Hour Dramas
Burn Notice (20th Television)
Castle (Disney/ABC)
Fringe (Warner Bros.)
Leverage (Trifecta Entertainment)
Private Practice (Disney-ABC)

FIRST-RUN SERIES

Talk Shows
Katie (Disney/ABC)
Trisha Goddard Show (NBC Universal)
Steve Harvey (NBC Universal)
Ricki Lake (20th Television)
Jeff Probst (CBS Television)
Bethenny (Warner Bros.) - six-week summer test run on Fox owned stations

Court Shows
Justice for All with Cristina Perez (Entertainment Studios)

Game Shows/Reality
Baggage (Sony Pictures Television)

News Magazine
America Now (Raycom)
Dish Nation (Twentieth Television)
The Electric Playground (PPI Releasing)
RightThisMinute (Raycom)

First-Run Weekly Airings
Bloopers (Trifecta) (NYC: WPIX)
The First Family (sitcom, Entertainment Studios)
Mr. Box Office (sitcom, Entertainment Studios)
Best Little Auction House (Telco)
Bob Vila (Telco Productions)
Children's Med Dallas (Target Vision)
Real Green (Telco Productions)
Unsealed: The Alien Files (Bellum Entertainment/Tribune)
Unsealed: The Conspiracy Files (Bellum Entertainment/Tribune)
What America Thinks with Scott Rasmussen (Telco)

Remember this is what is being offered. Some of these entries have not gotten clearances, but if and when they do, we'll let you know. Discuss this update on our message board and we will keep that thread updated all-year until the fall. So keep checking that and stay with us!

Nickelodeon, in partnership with Televisa, has ordered 80 episodes of a groundbreaking, original one-hour U.S. adaptation of the popular Mexican telenovela, Reach for a Star (Alcanzar una Estrella) for Nick at Nite. The first telenovela ever adapted for the U.S. audience, Reach for a Star is a single-camera, daily series following a teenage girl whose life changes completely when she becomes a star and wins the love of her teen idol. Reach for a Star will be produced in association with Sony Pictures Television and is set to premiere later this year on Nickelodeon's nighttime block for families--Nick at Nite. Production begins in March in Los Angeles, CA.
Reach for a Star follows Nickelodeon's success with its live-action serialized series, House of Anubis and Degrassi. Nickelodeon has also experienced tremendous success with the format in Europe and Latin America. The Reach for a Star series is an adaptation of the hit Mexican telenovela, Alcanzar una Estrella, first broadcast on Canal de las Estrellas and Univision in 1990. The success of the series led to a film and sequel telenovela starring Latin American pop sensations, Ricky Martin and Sasha Sokol. Reach for a Star is about a smart, shy and independent high school senior, Loren, who has ambitions of being a songwriter and secretly sends her song lyrics to her celebrity crush, rock superstar Eddie Wild. Loren's wildest dreams come true when she not only wins a songwriting competition sponsored by Eddie, but strikes up a friendship with her idol. Eddie sees beyond Loren's potential as a songwriter and gives her a first break as a singer, and when the truth about his less-than-faithful girlfriend Chloe is revealed, Eddie and Loren's friendship blossoms. The series will be co-executive produced by six-time Emmy Award-winner Jill Farren Phelps (General Hospital, One Life to Live) and Hisham Abed (The Hills and The City). Josh Griffith (Young and the Restless, As the World Turns) will serve as head writer.
The original series is likely going to be paired with Nick at Nite staple George Lopez, which airs every night at 9:00pm & 9:30pm. Stay with us for a premiere date for Reach for a Star and timeslot details. Remember Nick at Nite also has a pilot order for a sitcom starring Scott Baio, should that go to series. So Nick at Nite is ramping it up in originals now!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

NATPE 2012: Day 2 Has MeTV Acquiring Classic Media Series Like He-Man; Lifetime TV Pulls Reba From Schedule

MeTV Network, Memorable Entertainment Television announced from NATPE an agreement with Broadcast Partners LLC and its Classic Media Library. MeTV will be adding a weekend morning animation block featuring multi-generational favorites such as Gumby, Mr. Magoo, He-Man and She-Ra. The programming will be added to the MeTV schedule beginning in the second quarter of 2012. Me-TV affiliates will have the option of carrying additional programming including the live action classics: Timmy and Lassie Hour; and The Lone Ranger; as well as the animated series: The Archies; Ghostbusters; Casper and Friends; and Bravestarr.
Neal Sabin, President of Content and Networks for Weigel Broadcasting Company, says He-Man is celebrating its 30th anniversary this summer. MeTV is now seen in more than 73% of the country.

Elsewhere at NATPE, in only four months, Katie Couric's highly anticipated nationally syndicated talk show, Katie, has already been cleared in 93% of the country. Katie will premiere on leading stations across the country in September 2012. Disney-ABC Domestic Television has secured outstanding station clearances and key early fringe time periods for the LIVE one-hour daily daytime talk show. Sales to date include 95 of the top 100 markets. In addition to the ABC Owned station group, Katie has also been sold to leading stations from broadcast groups including Allbritton Communications, Belo Corporation, Cox Media Group, Gannett Broadcasting, Granite, Griffin, Hearst Television, LIN Broadcasting, McGraw-Hill, Media General, Meredith, Raycom, Scripps Howard Broadcasting, Sinclair and Young Broadcasting, among others.
We'll have more from NATPE tomorrow with our annual look on what is being offered in first-run syndication and new off-network series.

Lifetime TV has made a last minute schedule change that will start next week (Monday, Jan. 30). It is a minor schedule change, but they will remove Reba from its weekday mornings at 8:00am & 8:30am timeslots. Instead, they will add another hour of Will & Grace, which already airs from 9am-11am. No word on when Reba will return, but it has been pulled before but it returned quickly after. No other schedule changes are being made at Lifetime TV, so expect Old Christine from 11am-1pm, Desperate Housewives at 1pm, Grey's Anatomy at 2pm & 3pm and an hour of How I Met Your Mother at 4pm to continue in daytime. From 5pm-4am will be a mix of original series encores and actual original series in primetime, like Dance Mom, America's Most Wanted and Project Runway. Lifetime also airs Wife Swap on some nights.
In other Lifetime news, in its world premiere Saturday night, the Lifetime Original Movie Drew Peterson: Untouchable, starring Golden Globe(R) and Emmy(R) Award nominee Rob Lowe (Parks & Recreation, Brothers & Sisters) and Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory, 8 Simple Rules), generated record viewership, averaging 5.8 million Total Viewers, making it cable's most watched original movie in the demo in two years since Lifetime's The Pregnancy Pact on January 23, 2010. Additionally, the 5.8 million Total Viewers represent a 241% jump versus Lifetime's original movie premiere average in 2011. Based on a true story about police officer Drew Peterson's (Lowe) fall from grace after the mysterious disappearance of his fourth wife (Cuoco), the movie posted Lifetime's best numbers for an original movie premiere among the key demos since the January 3, 2011, debut of The Craigslist Killer, including 2.5 million Adults 25-54 viewers (+233% vs. the network's original movie premiere average in 2011), 2.2 million Adults 18-49 viewers (+210%), 1.8 million Women 25-54 viewers (+215%) and 1.5 million Women 18-49 viewers (+178%), according to Nielsen Research. Drew Peterson: Untouchable also generated a 4.25 Household rating (+223%).
It was a really good movie and Rob Lowe did a great job with perhaps an Emmy nomination coming? Anyway, we'll have more on Lifetime should anything change, so stay with us!

Monday, January 23, 2012

NATPE 2012: Day 1 Has WKRP in Cincinnati Coming to Antenna TV; Retired at 35 Bumped Off of March 7 on TV Land

Baby, if you've ever wondered that if WKRP in Cincinnati would be back on TV, now no need to wonder if that will happen! Why? Because digital simulcast network Antenna TV has announced at the annual National Association of Television Program Executive (NATPE) conference that the hit '70s sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati is coming in April 2012! The sitcom is about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. Among the stars on the series are Gary Sandy, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson, Jan Smithers and Tim Reid. The series last aired regularly on television on Tribune's WGN America in 2008-09, but that was on cable and Antenna TV is a digital broadcast network. Prior to WGN America airing, it was on AmericanLife TV in 2007. When WGN America aired it, all of the music seemed to be intact and I think that will be the case on Tribune's Antenna TV as well.
Antenna TV will air all 90 episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati starting in April and will air it on Sunday nights during a two-hour block following NewsRadio to create a three-hour dysfunctional radio block in primetime! WKRP in Cincinnati will be replacing Married...with Children, which will be resting for a bit. Following WKRP in Cincinnati will still be the addicting '70s sitcom Soap, so WKRP in Cincinnati and Soap air back-to-back as well. Loni Anderson and Diana Canova back-to-back! We'll have exact timings coming soon, but expect this order starting in primetime.
We will have more on Antenna TV's new spring schedule that will start in April in the coming weeks, But we're not expecting any series to be removed from the schedule except Married...with Children, which is just resting anyway. Will more shows come to Antenna TV in the spring and will we see some timeslot changes for some shows? (I'm hoping the underrated Too Close for Comfort finally goes to weekdays) We will let you know as soon as we can announce that. But for now let's remember, "I'm at WKRP in Cincinnati..."

Keep it right here for news from NATPE, which is from Jan. 23-25. And stay with is in the coming days and we will give you a list of the shows being offered for fall 2012 syndication, like we do every year, including the off-network sitcoms.

TV Land announced that the second season of the network's hit original sitcom, Happily Divorced (which began production on January 17, 2012 at CBS Radford Studios) will now premiere at 10:30pm on March 7, rather than 10:00pm. The twelve new episodes of Happily Divorced will premiere on Wednesday, March 7 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, so this means the second season of Retired at 35 will not premiere until later in the year. There is no word on when because TV Land also has the Hot in Cleveland spin-off series Have Faith premieres June 6. Encores of Hot in Cleveland will air at 10:00pm leading into Happily Divorced starting March 7, as Cleveland's mid-season finale is on Feb. 15 before it returns June 6 at 10pm with its second half.
Retired at 35 follows a successful businessman (Jonathan McClain) who decides to chuck the New York City rat race... and retires to Florida, three decades ahead of time and moves into his parents' (played by George Segal and Jessica Walter) Florida condo in a brand new world of sunshine and fun, from slow-moving softball games to really early dinners. And of course, Happily Divorced is based on Fran Drescher's real life as Los Angeles florist Fran (Drescher) as she deals with dating after finding out her realtor husband of 18 years (John Michael Higgins) is gay. The show focuses on how she juggles her new relationships and her ex-husband post-divorce while still living under the same roof.
Stay with us for more information and also stay with us soon for some schedule changes at TV Land.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Week 18 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

2011-12 Week 18 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: #1. Fox 7.4 rating/11.1 share; #2. CBS 7.2/11.2; #3. ABC 4.9/7.6; #4. NBC 4.3/6.3; #5. The CW 0.9/1.3
Total Viewers: #1. Fox 12.76 million; #2. CBS 11.66 million; #3. ABC 7.6 million; #4. NBC 6.7 million; #5. The CW 1.3 million.
Adults 18-49: #1. Fox 4.4 rating/11.0 share; #2. CBS 2.9/7.5; #3. ABC 2.5/6.3; #4. NBC 1.9/4.8, #5. The CW 0.6/1.5

Week 18 (Jan. 16-22) Analysis: Week 18 had the return of American Idol on Fox and even though both airings were down about 25% each, it was still enough for a first place finish so far. The first four night network averages has Fox on top in all categories over CBS. ABC follows in third everywhere. And then NBC is back in fourth place, where it deserves to be. When the week is over with, Fox will win the week as they have also most of the NFL NFC Championship Game in primetime tonight. I'm not sure if Idol itself would have carried Fox to number one, but it probably would have. It's just that the NFC game will make them do it for sure. CBS should be in a comfortable second place, even with no NFL for them in primetime this week. ABC and NBC will likely remain as is in third and fourth place. More on the prediction of week 18 below. As for last week, week 17, CBS won the week in all key categories thanks to the primetime NFL Divisional Playoff Game on Saturday. Fox was in second everywhere as the overrun on Sunday night for the NFL Divisional Playoff game certainly boosted them big time. ABC was third in all categories, while NBC was fourth across the board with no NFL to help them at all. Even the Golden Globes couldn't get them out of 4th.

On Monday, it was a CBS victory with new episodes. First, on ABC, The Bachelor started it off from 8-10pm with 7.43 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, up some from previous week's series low. I think it will likely go higher and higher now. At 10pm, Castle was all-new and did a solid 9.41 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth from its previous week. For CBS, How I Met Your Mother was new doing 10.08 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating, which is great and up from its last outing a few weeks back. Then a new episode of the breakout hit 2 Broke Girls followed doing a better 11.4 million and a 4.6 18-49 rating, with nice builds from the lead-in like usual. At 9pm, a new Two and a Half Men did 13.02 million and a 4.6 18-49 rating, which is great but down from normal and couldn't build from the lead-in like it always does. A new Mike & Molly followed and did 11.09 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, its usual showing. A new Hawaii Five-0 was next doing 10.73 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating. Fox premiered new drama Alcatraz with a two-hour premiere, as House will return tomorrow, and did 10.05 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating. That's solid and similar to the Terra Nova launch, but can this series do better than that show in subsequent weeks? NBC preempted its 8-10pm block of Who's Still Standing? and Fear Factor for an old staple, Betty White! And guess what? She delivered. The special Betty White's 90th Birthday Celebration did 13.86 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, skewing a bit old but it improved the timeslot in 18-49. A preview episode of upcoming hidden camera series Betty White's Off Their Rockers got sampled with 12.26 million and as 2.6 18-49 rating. Perhaps the 90th birthday should have been two-hours and the hidden camera series preview in the 10pm hour? Why? Because at 10pm, NBC aired a new episode of Rock Center with Brian Williams and it did just 5.57 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, up from previous week's series low but still so low. The CW was half all-new, at 8pm a new Gossip Girl did 1.29 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, which is not good. At 9pm a repeat of Hart of Dixie did 790,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating.

On Tuesday, with CBS in repeats, it was Fox with the win in young adults. CBS had a repeat of NCIS do 13.23 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, its usual repeat style ratings. Then a repeat of NCIS: Los Angeles did 9.4 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, a below normal repeat performance. And at 10pm, a repeat of Unforgettable did 7.45 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating. This show has done OK, but I think CBS can do better. ABC started with new comedy Last Man Standing with Tim Allen leading the night off doing a solid 8.59 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating for a new showing, which was up from previous week's low when the New Hampshire primary results were before it for a few minutes (some market preemptions also). At 8:30pm a repeat followed, as Work It has been canned, doing 6.52 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating. Then at 9pm, ABC aired a new Celebrity Wife Swap and did 5.84 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, on par with previous week again and solid. This is reality filler until the new drama The River launches on Feb. 7. Body of Proof was next at 10pm and was also new doing 7.94 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which was on par with previous week but up a million in total viewers. Fox aired a new Glee and did only 7.5 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, solid but this show is no longer a top hit. How quickly the downfall happened. Then the comedies took the 9pm hour with a new showing of New Girl doing 6.97 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, solid and its usual build out of the lead-in. Then at 9:30pm a new Raising Hope did 5.03 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which could be better. NBC was next with The Biggest Loser from 8-10pm doing 6.66 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth only from the previous week. At 10pm, NBC aired a new Parenthood and did just 4.97 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week but below normal again. The CW started it off with a new 90210 and did 1.25 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, not good. Then at 9pm, Ringer was preempted for the premiere of new reality series Remodeled and did only 670,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating. Not good at all!

Wednesday it was Fox with the win even though Idol returned with 25% lower numbers than last season's premiere. First, CBS started the night off with a repeat of NCIS doing 9.0 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating. Then fat 9pm, a new Criminal Minds did 13.0 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, below normal. And at 10pm a new CSI did 12.02 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, perhaps a bit above normal thanks to the penultimate episode of Marg Helgenberger. ABC was all-new for its Laugh On comedy block with The Middle doing 8.08 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, which is solid but down week-to-week thanks to Idol. It just isn't that bad of a drop, which is good news. Suburgatory followed at 8:30pm with 7.05 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, down from previous week and the drop isn't that bad either. The mega hit Modern Family was next at 9pm and it did 11.89 million and 5.1 18-49 rating for a new episode, on par with from previous week even with the Idol premiere airing. At 9:30pm, Happy Endings was new and did 6.05 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, solid and down just a tenth from previous week. At 10pm a new episode of the addicting Revenge did 7.67 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. ABC Wednesday returns with new episodes on Feb. 8, as the next two weeks are repeats. As mentioned, Fox aired the two-hour season premiere of American Idol doing 21.93 million and a 7.4 18-49 rating, down nearly 25% from last season. It will likely drop a point or so this Wednesday, so while still a big hit, other shows are competing decently now. NBC opened the night with a new episode of the terrible series Whitney doing 4.15 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, for a series low. Week two of Are You There, Chelsea followed with only 4.21 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, down from its premiere. Not good for both sitcoms. At 9pm, Harry's Law was all-new doing 6.41 million and only a 1.1 18-49 rating, down a tenth week-to-week. And at 10pm, Law & Order: SVU was new too and did 6.42 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, down some from previous week. The CW had a new One Tree Hill at 8pm doing 1.53 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, down some from previous week, but better 18-49 rating than the Mon and Tues series at 8pm, yet this show is ending this season. Then at 9pm a repeat of Remodeled did only 560,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating.

Thursday it was Fox just barely over CBS. Starting with ABC, they opened the night with a new Winter Wipeout doing 5.85 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, but down from previous week as it got affected by Idol. At 9pm, a new Grey's Anatomy aired doing 9.42 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, down some from the previous week but still won its time period. At 10pm, Private Practice was next and did a solid 6.0 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which was down some from previous week and could be better. CBS opened with a new The Big Bang Theory at 15.83 million and a 5.3 18-49 rating, great and the same as previous week even with Idol airing. In fact, it beat that show in its first half-hour! Wow. Then week two of Rob was next doing 11.41 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, down from the premiere obviously. Still decent, but will it stay in this range? If it does, CBS will bring this show back for sure. A new Person of Interest benefited from the stronger lead-in and did 14.4 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. A new The Mentalist followed and did 14.22 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, up from previous week. Fox aired the Thursday premiere of American Idol at 8pm doing 18.02 million and a 5.7 18-49 rating, great but also down big from last season's premiere. Can it stay in this area or will it drop this week? Then a new episode of The Finder at 9pm totally squandered the lead-in and did just 6.58 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, but up from its premiere. Still not good. NBC was all-new with a new 30 Rock up first doing just 4.05 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, for a series low and look on par with Community maybe. Then Parks and Recreation was next doing 4.25 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. The Office was next at 9pm doing 6.02 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. At 9:30pm Up All Night was new and did just 3.98 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week and no better than Whitney. Face it, NBC doesn't have any scripted hits. At 10pm, a new episode of new drama The Firm did only 3.42 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, which is down some from previous week and maybe lower than. Prime Suspect style. Total mismatch out of these comedies. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries was all-new and did 2.71 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week. Why so low? At 9pm, new drama The Secret Circle was new and did 1.63 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, also down a tenth from previous week.

Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but ABC won Friday night with CBS dramas in repeats. ABC was #1 at 8pm with the season premiere of Shark Tank which had its highest total viewers ever and won the hour with a prelim 1.7 18-49 rating and besting usual timeslot leader Kitchen Nightmares on Fox. The return of What Would You Do? was solid and 20/20 won the night at 10pm. NBC's Chuck was new but of course low at 8pm, while Grimm won 9pm, edging ABC. Fox had Fringe do terrible at 9pm and it doesn't look like another season is coming.
Saturday numbers have ABC and NBC tied on a low rated night, but Betty White encores saved NBC again from last place as it tied ABC's movie Over the Hedge. Fox and CBS were close behind, with Cops the highest rated program of the night.

Tonight ABC's regular Sunday of AFV, Once Upon a Time, Desperate Housewives and Pan Am is all-new again! Look for some below normal ratings opposite the NFC Championship Game, but Once Upon a Time should still do solid. NBC has no NFL anymore on Sundays (except the Super Bowl) until next fall, so they will be dead last tonight with Dateline & two Prime Suspect burn-off episodes. CBS has an all-new 60 Minutes at 7pm followed by a new Undercover Boss, but then repeats of The Good Wife and CSI: Miami. CBS will likely be third place behind Fox and ABC. Fox has the NFC Championship Game that will easily win the night of course. Giants or 49ers? NBC is hoping for the Giants to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl, I'm sure.

As for the week (week 18), it should be Fox with the win easily thanks to NFC Championship Game and Idol. CBS will be second, followed by ABC, then NBC fourth for the week. As for the coming week (week 19), Fox returns House to Mondays at 8pm, but that show is almost dead anyway. The state of the Union is on Tuesday and lots of repeats the rest of the week as we wait for February sweeps to start on Feb. 2. Fox will have a preview episode of the new drama Touch on Wednesday at 9pm, as that will air regularly starting in March on Monday nights. Seems weird to air it right now, though. Pick of the week: Shark Tank on ABC Friday. So addicting!

Week 18 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 17 -- Jan. 9-15)

The Simpsons (Fox) - A new episode did 11.48 million and a 5.4 18-49 rating as it aired directly after the NFL Divisional Playoff Game in the east and central zones. So of course it is inflated as the previous week only did a 2.3 18-49 rating.
Napoleon Dynamite (Fox) 2 airings - The series premiere was sampled thanks to the NFL jump starting the night for Fox. The premiere at 8:30pm did 8.74 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating. A second episode at 9:30pm did 6.88 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating. Both good, but it won't be this much when it airs again, which is next week as it is preempted tonight for the NFL NFC Championship Game.
The Cleveland Show (Fox) - preempted.
Bob's Burgers (Fox) - preempted.
Family Guy (Fox) - A new showing did 8.31 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating, its best ratings in a long time and it can thank the NFL for that. Previous week was a 3.1 18-49 rating, so expect something similar to that next week.
American Dad! (Fox) - preempted.