Thursday, April 25, 2013

Friends Coming to TV Land in June With 5-Night Marathon Event; Episodic Review: Community - "Basic Human Anatomy" Airing Tonight on NBC



Friends is coming to TV Land in June! The hit 1994-2004 sitcom starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer is about group of friends in Manhattan. The series currently airs on sister network Nick at Nite every night from 11pm-1am, and it will continue to air on that network as well. Both Viacom networks will share the series with TBS, which has the morning/afternoon rights. TV Land will launch Friends with a five-night marathon event on Friday, June 14 through Tuesday, June 18, 2013 from 7pm-6am ET/PT each night. The hit comedy will also air Wednesday, June 19 from 9-10pm leading into the return of Hot in Cleveland at 10pm, as it airs it live episode! The Exes and The Soul Man season premieres will follow from 10:30-11:30pm. Friends will settle into its regular schedule beginning on Monday, June 24, airing all night every Monday from 7pm-6am, along with a late night Tuesday night airing from 4:30-6am and Wednesdays in primetime from 9-10pm leading into Hot in Cleveland every Wednesday night this summer. The sitcom performs well in the ratings on sister network Nick at Nite and it will now try to do the same for two or three nights a week on TV Land. No other schedule changes will be really made for TV Land in June besides the addition of Friends. In other stunts, TV Land will present a 24-hour Hot in Cleveland marathon to get ready for the second half of season four, with the marathon event starting at 12 midnight on Friday, June 7 through midnight on Saturday, June 8. 24-hours of Betty! Anyway, stay with us for continued updates on Friends on TV Land because we'll always be there for you!

Watch a video preview of Friends coming to TV Land:






On the next...Community:
By: Vincent

NBC's Thursday night comedy that stars Joel McHale airs Thursdays at 8|7c and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (April 25). In the episode airing tonight, "Basic Human Anatomy," when Annie (Alison Brie) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) learn that Leonard (Richard Erdman) is actually holding the spot as the class valedictorian, they join forces to bring him down. Meanwhile, Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) reminisce about one of their favorite body switching films and when they inadvertently re-enact a critical scene, things start becoming a little funky at Greendale.

Watching Community has been kind of hard this season. Not because it's been bad - it's felt slightly off at times, but remains a very enjoyable show - but because, after the firing of creator Dan Harmon, it's hard to objectively look at an episode and not wonder how Dan Harmon would've done it. No matter how talented the cast and remaining writers are, Harmon had such a distinct vision for the show that there was no way the show could've matched what it was under his control. That's why Community tends to be most enjoyable these days when it's not trying any big concepts and is just letting you hang out with the characters - you don't have to worry if the concept could've been better under Harmon, you just get the spend some time with a bunch of characters that are still among the best on television.



Having said all of that, tonight's Community - which, notably, was written by Jim Rash, who plays Dean Pelton - is one of the better ones of its current season, and it's one that many would consider a "concept" episode, paying tribute to the movie Freaky Friday. (Though, considering this is a show that turned its entire cast into Muppets two weeks ago, it's not all that big of a concept for Community standards). And yet, it isn't the concept that makes it such a strong episode - it's the small, intimate character moments make is such a stand-out. One of the things that Community has moved away from a bit without Harmon is its darker, emotional side - the side that wasn't afraid to take its characters out to a bar and put all of their serious flaws on display, or to give one of its characters a mental breakdown in its Christmas episode. This episode doesn't go quite that deep, but the emotion here feels more real than it's been in most of this season. Additionally, this episode just feels more comfortable than most of the season has - it doesn't feel like it's trying far too hard to re-create the Harmon years, which makes everything flow a bit more naturally. There's still some issues here and there - the Dean plot felt a bit over-the-top (a little ironic, considering he wrote the episode), the dialogue still feels a little stilted, and the show still isn't quite as funny as it was in years past. But other than that, this episode was really enjoyable to watch - and most importantly, it didn't make me stop and wonder if Dan Harmon could've done it better. B+


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, May 22

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Diet Crap" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tensions rise when Georgie intrudes on Mandy’s new sales gig. Meanwhile, Audrey’s conflicted when Jim makes it a point not to coddle Connor.

Ghosts - "Sad Farnsby" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Sam accidentally creates a rift between Sam and Jay’s neighbors, the Farnsbys, Henry Farnsby moves into Woodstone B&B. Also, Isaac and Nigel battle over a belated wedding present.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 19)

Thursday, May 22

  • Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) - Catch Miley on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Chloe Fineman (Big Mouth/Search Party) - Chloe appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. Featured host Vlad Duthiers sits down with Ronny on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Elizabeth Banks (30 Rock/Scrubs) and Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Elizabeth and Amanda are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
  • Cynthia Nixon (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Cynthia talks about ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Hugh Jackman (Human Resources) - Hugh chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Bill Bellamy (Mr. Box Office/Men, Women & Dogs/Cousin Skeeter) - Bill brings the laughs to the third annual cookout on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Finola Hughes (Blossom) - Finola dishes on General Hospital on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Jason Schwartzman (Blunt Talk/Mozart in the Jungle/Bored to Death) - Jason talks about Mountainhead on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling is telling Drew all about playing a secret service agent in the thrilling new show Paradise on a repaet of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Midori Francis (The Sex Lives of College Girls) - Midori is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.


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)
07/08 - 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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05/02 - USA and SYFY Announce Summer Premieres; CBC in Canada Renews 5 Series, Including Wild Cards
05/01 - ABC Summer 2025 Schedule; Audible Scripted Comedy Podcasts for Summer
04/30 - The Carol Burnett Show Mother of All Marathons; Netflix Renews North of North
04/29 - Lifetime Adds New Ripped from the Headlines Movie; BET+ Orders Season 2 of Series
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