Saturday, October 19, 2013

Digital Digest: More of The FBI from Warner Archive; Diagnosis Murder and The Mod Squad Complete Series Releases


Welcome to Digital Digest! As we mentioned last week, we're working on revamping this weekly feature into something new, and we hope to have that very soon! In the meantime, we're back with our abridged version of Digital Digest with all of your news, a preview of Tuesday's releases, and our Follow Me feature. Let's get going!


DIGITAL NEWS

Warner Archive seems to be one of our few sources of "good news" on the classic TV front lately, typically delivering the news on the date that the product ships... and this week, the "good news" from them came in the form of a new release of the series The FBI. On Tuesday, Warner Archive released The FBI - The Complete Sixth Season as an online exclusive. As has become a typical practice for the studio, of course, the MOD product has been released in a "limited" pressed DVD edition, so these are not DVD-R copies of this release. We hope to have a review of this release soon as part of our regular reviews.

Canadian studio VEI has been bringing us some great complete series releases in the past few years of abandoned series, and for the past year, they've been talking about releases of Diagnosis Murder and The Mod Squad. Of course, VEI has also never really been able to give much in terms of a firm release date on anything (likely due to being a smaller studio that has to deal with a lot of outside production), but this week, they finally announced that both of these releases will be ready to ship next week! On Tuesday, fans will see Diagnosis Murder - The Complete Series and The Mod Squad - The Complete Series. Both releases are also available to order on amazon.com, however the releases purchased on there are not expected to ship for another month, and come at a much higher price.

Speaking of earlier releases, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is coming to DVD in December, as we all know. But Shout! Factory is letting fans get those DVDs a month earlier if they order them directly from the Shout! Factory website. Expected to ship on or before November 5, you can get in on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman - The Complete Series a month before everybody else does.

UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW



Tuesday (October 22) is a light release date, with a trio of "best of" releases from MPI. The releases include The Doris Day Show - Best of Collection, Family Affair - Best of Collection, and The Mothers-in-Law - Best of Collection. Also, as we previously mentioned, VEI will begin shipping Diagnosis Murder - The Complete Series and The Mod Squad - The Complete Series on Tuesday.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Patricia Heaton (Twitter), "Actress, Wife and Mother to four incredible boys..."
Claim to Fame: Patricia Heaton started out as a stage actress and slowly evolved into television when she picked up a role on thirtysomething, where she appeared for six episodes. She followed up with roles in three very short-lived sitcoms, with stars including Linda Lavin and Delta Burke, but her big break came in 1996 when she was cast as Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond. After that, she went on to the (mostly panned) Fox sitcom Back to You in 2007, but her fortunes increased once again when she was cast in the starring role on the ABC series The Middle, a role that she has comfortable held since 2009. While she is no stranger to controversy on Twitter
Pick of the Tweets: "I love that you can watch TV while you iron (yesterday it was Jane Eyre) and not feel like a couch potato." (July 16, 2013)

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


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, December 8

Norman Lear: A Life on Television

CBS announced the new entertainment special Norman Lear: A Life on Television, to air tonight - Friday, Dec. 8 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs). Presented by Entertainment Tonight, this one-hour special features new interviews with stars of the long-running comedies Lear created, including Jimmie Walker from Good Times and Mackenzie Phillips from One Day at a Time, in addition to never-before-seen interviews from the ET vault. Also included with this new footage and interviews is an in-depth sit-down interview with Lear that ET host Kevin Frazier conducted when Lear celebrated his 100th birthday, in which he reflected on his lengthy, groundbreaking career.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 4)

Friday, December 8

  • Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murders in the Building/High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • John Caponera (The Good Life) - John is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog aka Robert Smigel chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals) and Molly Gordon (Ramy) - Noah and Molly talk about Theater Camp on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Eric Stonestreet (The Santa Clauses/Modern Family) - Eric talks about The Santa Clauses on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan sits down with Sherri to talk about his new book, When I Was Your Age, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)

Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

12/08 - CBS Norman Lear Tribute Special Tonight; Peacock Renews Twisted Metal
12/07 - Harlem Renewed for Season 3; Netflix Orders Drama Ransom Canyon
12/06 - Remembering TV Legend Norman Lear; Critics Choice Awards Nominees
12/05 - Who's the Boss? Now on Hulu; The CW Announces New Series Wild Cards
12/04 - The Upshaws Renewed for Season Prior to Season 5 Launch; Fox Holiday Movie with Justin Long
12/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 4, 2023)
12/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Bob ♥ Abishola Coming to an End; Only Murders in the Building Gets Limited Run on ABC
12/01 - Abbott Elementary Post-Oscars Airing, Only Murders on ABC; Remembering Frances Sternhagen, Marty Krofft and Others We Recently Lost
11/30 - Bob ♥ Abishola Ending After This Season; NBC Renews Rookie Dramas
11/29 - Antenna TV January 2024 Schedule; Max December Comedy Specials
11/28 - Prime Video's Hazbin Hotel; Lacey Chabert Gets Hallmark Unscripted Series
11/27 - Sundance Now Gets Original Comedy; Hallmark Original Returns for Season 2 in January
11/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 27, 2023)
11/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Kelsey Grammer Ready to Do 100 Episodes of Frasier; TBS Cancels Miracle Workers
11/24 - Fox Winter 2024 Schedule; An Evening From the Heart John Ritter Foundation NYC 2023 Event
11/23 - 2023 Thanksgiving TV Marathons
11/22 - Kerry Washington's UnPrisoned Gets Season 2; Classic Comedy Shorts Celebrate 40th Anniversary
11/21 - NBC Winter 2024 Schedule; Netflix Renews Rob Lowe Comedy
11/20 - BUZZR Celebrates Bob Barker's 100th Birthday; Ted Prequel Series on Peacock Gets Premiere Date
11/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 20, 2023)
11/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Young Sheldon Coming to an End After Seven Seasons; The CW International Sitcom Approach Not Going So Well
11/17 - ABC Winter 2024 Schedule; CBS Celebrates 98th Birthday of Dick Van Dyke
11/16 - Whoa Mama! Urkel Is Back for the Holidays!; Hulu Gets Such Brave Girls Comedy
11/15 - COZI TV's A Very COZI Christmas Schedule; Young Sheldon to End This Season on CBS
11/14 - CBS Winter 2024 Schedule; The CW Pulls 2 Comedies
11/13 - Antenna TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule; Rewind TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule
11/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 13, 2023)
11/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: SAG-AFTRA Strike Finally Ends; New Digital TV Broadcast Networks Coming
11/10 - AXS TV's The Partridge Family Thanksgiving Marathon; AspireTV Holiday Programming
11/09 - Bookie Premieres November 30 on Max; Ted Lasso Star Holiday Special on Apple TV+
11/08 - FX Renews The Bear for Season 3; Hulu's Australian Original Series Premieres November 29