SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

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.



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.