Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Cougar Town Returns Tonight, Our Trip To Paley Center Event Recap; Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Marathon On Hallmark


Cougar Town Cast at the Paley Center

We were fortunate to attend the Cougar Town Viewing Party event at the Paley Center for Media in New York City on Saturday night with the entire cast (together for the first time at a viewing party event) and showrunners Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel. Producer Randall Winston was also on hand. But first, there was a red-carpet event with the entire cast coming one-by-one. We were lucky enough to see and take pictures of Josh Hopkins (Grayson), Dan Byrd (Travis), Bob Clendenin (Tom), Ian Gomez (Andy) and producer Kevin Biegel during the red-carpet festivity. After that, it was off to the concourse theater to get ready to screen two episodes from the upcoming season and to listen to the cast and producers in a panel style discussion. TVLine.com's Michael Ausiello introduced us to the event and creator Bill Lawrence at 7pm sharp. Bill then talked a bit about these viewing parties that have been happening since the end of December and also he gave some info on the episodes we were about to see. The episodes being screened on this night were the season premiere "Ain't Love Strange" and the fifth episode of the season "A One Story Town." The episodes were HILARIOUS and the crowd went wild many many times. One item of note, I already had seen both of these episodes in a press screener but I will tell you this, it was even funnier the second time around!

Some hints on these episodes, the season premiere, which premieres tonight at 8:30/7:30c on ABC, is perfect for Valentine's Day, as it is funny, warm, sweet, heartfelt and silly, which is just about everything Cougar Town sets out to do! And if you think that episode is top notch, wait until you see the fifth episode of the season in mid-March (scheduled for March 13) as Scrubs star Sarah Chalke guest stars as Bobby's new girlfriend and also Scrubs' Sam Lloyd is back. Everything just works in this episode and this comedic ensemble worked perfectly on this episode. And Scrubs fans get a very nice towards the end of the episode. It's a must see! I won't give anything away, but let's just say it's not just Scrubs in Florida with a lot of wine.



After the screening, Ausiello introduced us to the cast and producers one-by-one as they took their seats at the panel (left to right): Kevin Biegel, Bob Clendenin, Ian Gomez, Christa Miller, Brian Van Holt, Dan Byrd, Busy Philipps, Josh Hopkins, Courteney Cox, and Bill Lawrence! We learned a lot in this panel and we also laughed a lot. They are all very funny! Some info we learned, the series was going to change its name last season to The Sunshine State, but ABC had a similar-titled show at that time called Mr. Sunshine. Now the series is not changing the title. Why? The name wouldn't change on DVRs and that it would prevent the show from recording for people who have series recordings set. So it's not going to change, it's a great show with a bad title. Among the highlights from the panel include: Courteney Cox talking about directing two episodes this season, her daughter Coco's cameo and David Arquette guest starring; Laurie getting a new boyfriend that she fins on Twitter; Bob Clendenin will be upgraded to a series regular in season four; more baby Stan (who now talks); movie parody episodes of Groundhog Day and Braveheart; Barb (Carolyn Hennesy) is coming back and she is now married to Barry Bostwick's character; and so much more that I don't want to spoil, but it was great night and it's going to be a great season!

After the panel concluded, one lucky fan won a huge Cougar Town poster signed by the entire cast! And some fans stuck around and took pictures with Bill Lawrence inside and everyone got free Cougar Town 2012 Tour t-shirts! And finally, many fans waited outside for the cast to come out and most of them were very generous and stayed outside in the cold to take pictures and sign autographs with the fans! I think the most generous were Josh Hopkins, Ian Gomez, Bill Lawrence, Kevin Biegel, Dan Byrd, and Bob Clendenin. Kudos to them especially! But now the night has finally come, after nine long months, Cougar Town is back with new episodes starting TONIGHT at 8:30/7:30c on ABC! Tune in because it's the perfect episode to air on Valentine's Day and you'll see why by the end of the episode. Make it a date with Cougar Town (and no there are no cougars, both animal or ladies in their 40's on the prowl) on V Day!




Shifting gears, it's Valentine's Day so we have to talk about some love stuff. Well how about I Love Lucy? The Hallmark Channel will play all 13 special episodes of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. The series will be aired in edited thirty-minute installments under the syndication title We Love Lucy. These were intended to run directly after the sixth season of I Love Lucy in syndication. Hallmark Channel hasn't aired these before, so this will be a treat to watch all 13 hours (26 half-hours) in one shot, if you haven't seen it at all or haven't seen it on TV in years.
The marathon begins on Oscar Sunday (Feb. 26) at 6am and will run through 7pm. It will encore again from 7pm on Sunday to 6am the next day (Feb. 27). Moving on to other marathons on Hallmark, on Saturday, March 3 beginning at 11:59pm (12 midnight), Hallmark will start a M*A*S*H marathon that will run through 6pm the next day on Sunday, March 4. It looks like this series airs marathons every few months. On Saturday, March 24, it's a Little House on the Prairie 90-minute episodes stunt starting at 10am through 12 midnight. And finally on Saturday, March 31, spend the day with The Waltons as Hallmark airs a marathon from 10am-6pm followed by the two-hour special A Walton Easter from 6-8pm then A Decade of The Waltons from 8-10pm, as Easter Sunday nears. And we of course mentioned last week that the Mary Tyler Moore Show will have a marathon on Sunday, April 1. More to come on that! But for now enjoy these marathons and as of now, Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour will not be added into the I Love Lucy regular schedule, so make a note of the Feb. 26 marathon if you want to see these 13 episodes!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, July 14

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Pomp and Circumstance" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tina and Gemma plan a joint graduation party for Malcolm and Grover, on part one of the hour-long seventh season finale.

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Venice" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Butlers and Johnsons help Malcolm start a new chapter in a new city that, while just across town, is worlds away from the neighborhood, on part two of the hour-long seventh season finale.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 14)

Monday, July 14

  • Chris Distefano (Benders) - Chris guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) - Watch Hannah on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Shane Gillis (Tires) - Shane appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear) - Liza is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) - Jack appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Paul Feig (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch/The Louie Show/The Jackie Thomas Show/Dirty Dancing) and Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Paul is a guest and Anna makes a special appearance on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Amy Sedaris (No Activity/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/Strangers with Candy) and Dan Levy (Schitt's Creek) - Amy and Dan are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
  • Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - Julie chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Jason Priestley (Call Me Fitz/Sister Kate), Vanessa Morgan (The Latest Buzz) and Giacomo Gianniotti (Backpackers/Selfie) - Jason, Vanessa and Giacomo talk about the dramedy Wild Cards on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Malin Akerman (Dollface/Sin City Saints/Trophy Wife/Childrens Hospital) - Malin talks about The Hunting Wives on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) - Meg talks about Disney's Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Rosemarie DeWitt (United States of Tara) - Rosemarie and Eric Bana talk about Netflix's Untamed on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

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

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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