Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Episodic Review: The Neighbors - "Sing Like a Larry Bird" Airing Tonight on ABC; CBS Season Finale Dates

On the next...The Neighbors:
By: Pavan

ABC's Wednesday night comedy starring Jami Gertz and Lenny Venito airs Wednesday nights at 8:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (March 13). It's a musical episode with Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken writing the songs! In the episode airing tonight, "Sing Like a Larry Bird," increasingly comfortable exploring the world outside of their gated community, the Bird-Kersees ignore the Weavers' concerns and decide to go to into the city to see a Broadway show. Inspired by the experience, Larry Bird (Simon Templeman) decides to put on a musical of his own, which goes well until Dick Butkus (Ian Patrick) literally missteps. Instead of going to Marty (Lenny Venito) and Debbie (Jami Gertz) for help (as they have done many times before), the Bird-Kersees risk exposing their true identities when they call 9-1-1.

Who needs Les Miserables, when we have the Bird-Kersees! This episode has it all--comedy, drama, romance, and musical numbers. And not every part of the episode is a musical scene, so it has a good mix of music and actual dialogue. I've got to say though that the musical numbers the Bird-Kersee family (aka the aliens) did were outstanding. They were Broadway style and quite frankly, hilarious as hell. I think the Bird-Kersees can definitely smack the cast of Glee! This is one of the top episodes of the series so far and every member of the cast had a lot do in this episode. The Weaver family (aka the humans) didn't sing, but that's OK because that wouldn't have made sense since the Bird-Kersees were the ones curious about Broadway. This episode is not just a musical as I mentioned, but we have so many pop culture references that I couldn't even keep a full list. Cats, Hugh Jackman, Glee, Annie, Jay-Z, The Voice, 3rd Rock from the Sun, ET, and Magic Mike are just some of the very cool references made on tonight's episode. The Voice scene was hilarious as Larry, Jackie and Dick were choosing who they wanted to be part of their musical. And the two big musical numbers in this episode just crushed it and made the episode even better. The actual storylines of the episode were hilarious, too, from Larry & Jackie wanting to see a Broadway show without Marty & Debbie knowing to the Weaver kids rebelling and doing whatever they please. And Reggie Jackson brings the romance with comedy and music, as he ponders between his girlfriend Giselle or Amber Weaver. This one is definitely worth watching not just once but at least twice. It's Les Miserables without all the boring stuff and lots of comedy...and that's how it should be! A-

The Neighbors is a good show! It had a very bad wrap for some reason before it even premiered. I think people forgot about shows like 3rd Rock from the Sun, as that show was very good and was critically praised and it had a similar premise. This series has gotten way better since the early episodes, especially the pilot, so you should definitely catch-up if you haven't seen it since the pilot or episode two. I had a feeling this show would last because it is very mainstream and fits the ABC family comedy brand very well. It's unique and fun every week. I think many people are realizing that now and now no one says this is a bad show. Ratings have been definitely better than anyone ever expected, while not great but it is consistent. I think it will be back for a second season and perhaps it will be a contender for a Friday slot, where I think it could deliver the same ratings as it is now on Wednesdays. After tonight, there are only two episodes left before the season finale. It's truly a shame that tonight's episode is surrounded by repeats on ABC Comedy Wednesday. But maybe that's a good thing because this is the must see show of the night with this musical episode. It has the center of attention tonight and it delivers big time! It's not only going to smack the cast of Glee, but all of its critics from the summer who didn't give this show a chance at all.

View behind the scenes from tonight's episode featuring the work of Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken:



CBS has announced season finale air dates that will include two-hour finales for Survivor: Caramoan - Fans Vs. Favorites, The Amazing Race, Criminal Minds and Elementary. The first finale will be on Sunday, April 28 at 9:00pm for The Good Wife. The other Sunday series will wrap on Sunday, May 5 with a two-hour finale for The Amazing Race from 8:00-10:00PM, followed by the season finale of The Mentalist at 10. CBS will dedicate Sunday, May 12 for the Survivor: Caramoan - Fans Vs. Favorites season finale from 8-10pm followed bu the live Reunion Show at 10. CBS has not announced what it will air on May 19 for the last Sunday of the TV season. Moving on to Thursday, May 9, the season finale of Two and a Half Men will air at 8:30 leading into the season finale of Person of Interest at 9. The other Thursday series will wrap a week later on May 16 with The Big Bang Theory at 8 (and probably a repeat at 8:30) leading into the two-hour season finale for freshman drama Elementary from 9-11pm. The Friday dramas will wrap-up on Friday, May 10 with Vegas at 9 and Blue Bloods at 10. The season finale of Undercover Boss will air a week later on Friday, May 17 at 8. CBS has not announced what will air 9-11pm on the last Friday of the season.

The Monday sitcom block will half wrap-up on Monday, May 13. The season finale of How I Met Your Mother will air at 8 and 2 Broke Girls at 9, while the other two sitcoms wrap up on the last Monday of the season on May 20 with Rules of Engagement at 8:30 and Mike & Molly at 9:30pm. Hawaii Five-0 will wrap up its season also on May 20 at 10pm. The CBS Tuesday drama line-up will all end their seasons a week early on Tuesday, May 14 with NCIS at 8, NCIS: Los Angeles at 9 and new drama Golden Boy at 10. And finally the Wednesday dramas will end on two separate weeks, with CSI on Wednesday, May 15 at 10 and a two-hour season finale for Criminal Minds from 9-11pm on May 22. No word on what will air at 8pm on both May 15 and 22, since Survivor wraps up its Wednesday airings on May 8. Stay with us for continued updates.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Saturday, March 25

Act Your Age - "The Cupid Shuffle" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Angela, Bernadette and Keisha get set up by a celebrity matchmaker; Jacob commits to telling Olivia his true feelings.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 20)

Friday, March 24

  • Kieran Culkin (Go Fish) - Watch Kieran on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Method Man (Method & Red) - Method Man appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Skylar Astin (Ground Floor) - Skylar is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Woody appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Michael Urie (Shrinking/Partners) - Michael appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Toni Collette (United States of Tara) - Toni will be on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
  • Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario is joining Drew in the kitchen to make a sweet potato pie and dish on behind-the-scenes details from Sex and the City on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local lisitngs.
  • Kym Whitley (Act Your Age/Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) - Kym joins Sherri on the couch to talk about their NAACP Image Award-winning podcast Two Funny Mamas and her sitcom Act Your Age on Bounce TV on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Chyler Leigh (That '80s Show) - Chyler talks about Hallmark's The Way Home on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)

Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Ghosts - Season One Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Ten Growing Pains - The Complete Series

11/08 - Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/08 - Young Rock - Season Two (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/15 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Seven / The Complete Season Eight
11/22 - That '70s Show - The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
11/29 - Ghosts - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/06 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - 70th Anniversary Ultimate Christmas Collection
12/13 - And Just Like That... - The Complete First Season
12/13 - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

03/24 - Rewind TV Celebrates Mork & Mindy's 45th Anniversary on Earth Day; Disney's 6th Season of Raven's Home on April 9
03/23 - Antenna TV's Earth Day My Favorite Martian Marathon; Neil Patrick Harris Returns on How I Met Your Father
03/22 - Game Show Network Orders Tom Cavanagh Hosted Game Show; A Black Lady Sketch Show Returns for Season 4
03/21 - All That Stars to Reunite for Good Burger 2; Jim Belushi Returns For Another Season of Growing Belushi
03/20 - 2023 90s Con Recap in Hartford; Bel-Air Gets Season 3 on Peacock
03/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 20, 2023)
03/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: New Sitcoms for Terry Crews and Wendi McLendon-Covey; Zachary Levi Holding Out Hope for Chuck Movie
03/17 - AXS TV Acquires The Monkees for Retro Night Block; HBO Max's The Other Two Returns in May
03/16 - Monk Returns with One Final Case on Peacock; John Mulaney Gets 3rd Netflix Comedy Special
03/15 - Apple TV+ Orders Comedy with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey; CBS 2023 Season Finale Dates
03/14 - Disney+ Comedy American Born Chinese Premieres May 24; Tim Robinson Comedy to Return May 30 on Netflix
03/13 - New Girl Coming to Hulu and Peacock; Apple TV+ Renews Shrinking for Season 2
03/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 13, 2023)
03/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Beavis and Butt-Head Gets Second Season Renewal; Roles Cast in Bedrock Series
03/10 - Act Your Age Opens as Biggest Launch in Bounce History; Starz Comedy Blindspotting Returns April 14
03/09 - Mary Tyler Moore Film Premieres This May on HBO; Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head Returns for Season 2
03/08 - HBO's Barry Returns April 16; Schmigadoon! Trailer for Season 2
03/07 - American Dad! Season 18 Premieres March 27; Hulu's Tiny Beautiful Things Launches April 7
03/06 - Antenna TV Spring 2023 Schedule; Rewind TV Spring 2023 Schedule
03/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 6, 2023)
03/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Rachael Ray to End After 17 Seasons; Fox Renews Krapopolis for Third Season
03/03 - The Thundermans Return; TMZ's New Game Show
03/02 - Fox Renews Krapopolis for Season 3; Disney Channel's New Comedy Saturdays
03/01 - HBO Max Chuck Lorre Comedy Sets Production; New Shonda Rhimes White House Series
02/28 - Apple TV+ Releases Trailer for Ted Lasso S3; More on Chris Rock's Netflix Special
02/27 - Modern Family Star Heads to Season 2 of The Santa Clauses; 29th Annual SAG Awards Winners
02/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 27, 2023)
02/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Goldbergs to End After 10 Seasons; Decades to Rebrand as Catchy Comedy
02/24 - BUZZR's African American Greats Marathon; Hulu and Onyx Collective Comedy Completes Cast