Tuesday, November 05, 2013
E! Acquires Saved by the Bell; Episodic Review: New Girl - "Coach" Airing Tonight on Fox
E! is heading to Bayside High to bring viewers the fan-favorite 90's classic Saved by the Bell starting next Monday (November 11) at 7:00am ET/PT with a five-hour marathon. Following the premiere, four new episodes of the show will air in a new two-hour morning block on E! every weekday from 7:00-9:00am ET/PT. E! will roll-out out the series in chronological order, starting with the second season, which features the unforgettable introduction to Zack Morris and his always entertaining crew - Kelly Kapowski, Lisa Turtle, Screech Powers, A.C. Slater, Jessie Spano, and of course, their principal Mr. Belding. E! viewers can re-live the magic or meet the gang for the first time to experience all the laughs, tears and triumphs of the 126 episodes that made this popular sitcom one of television's most iconic series.
Saved by the Bell follows the academic and social experiences of six students - charming heartthrob Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), bubbly cheerleader Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen), sassy fashionista Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies), lovable nerd Samuel "Screech" Powers (Dustin Diamond), sensitive jock A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez), and feminist intellectual Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley) - as they maneuver through life at Bayside High School in Palisades, California.
Perk up your mornings with Zack and the rest of the Bayside gang when Saved by the Bell debuts Monday, November 11 from 7:00am to 12:00pm ET/PT, and continues every weekday from 7:00am to 9:00am ET/PT on E! Saved by the Bell will also continue to air on Viacom-owned MTV2. As for E!, it looks like they are trying to bring back the fans of Saved by the Bell when it aired on TBS in the same block for many years.
On the next...New Girl:
By: Vincent
Fox's Tuesday adorkable sitcom starring Zooey Deschanel airs Tuesdays at 9:00pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (Nov. 5). In the episode airing tonight, "Coach," the gang's old alpha-male roommate Coach (Damon Wayans, Jr.) returns to the loft, fresh off a break-up with his girlfriend. Looking to rekindle the wild, drunken times he shared with Nick (Jake Johnson,) Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Winston (Lamorne Morris), Coach invites the guys to a strip club. Meanwhile, on their own night out, Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Cece (Hannah Simone) cross paths with an attractive, cultured man (Taye Diggs) who may be more than they bargained for.
There's a drawback to having a season as strong as New Girl had last year – the next season, you're expected to top it. That's a difficult – maybe even impossible – task. Inevitably, the backlash will set in and legions of people on the internet will loudly declare the show to be past its peak, crying out in nostalgia for what the show was four months ago. We saw this happen to plenty of beloved comedies in recent years, from 30 Rock to Parks & Recreation to Community, and we're seeing it happen again with New Girl. For a while, I was wondering if maybe the backlash had some truth to it. While I've enjoyed every episode of the show so far this year, the first five episodes didn't quite hit the lush heights of the second season. They were funny, entertaining and hit some great character beats, but they felt very much like the show trying to balance the major plot points it came into the season with (the newly formed Nick/Jess relationship, Schmidt's own personal Sophie's Choice) with the New Girl that we all came to love over the course of the first two seasons.
But that all changed with the previous episode, "Keaton." That episode felt like the show had finally figured itself out again and could return to the previous heights we've come to expect from the show. And I'm happy to say that pattern continues in tonight's "Coach," a hilarious and thoughtful installment that brings back Damon Waynes Jr.'s Coach character from the pilot and studies his character dynamics with the current loft crew. It's a lot of fun seeing Coach again, and the show skillfully uses him to pinpoint the rest of the guys' insecurities. I was less sure of the Jess/Nick relationship conflict, but I warmed up to it as the episode progressed – like New Girl's best relationship stories, it managed to avoid typical sitcom relationship clichés, and it makes absolutely brilliant use of guest star Taye Diggs, who is probably one of my favorite guest stars the show has ever had. Coach is apparently going to be sticking around for a while, so I'm hoping future stories let us dig into his relationship with Jess and especially Winston. There's some potentially interesting dynamics there, and I'm hopeful that the show will manage to explore them. After a few episodes where the shows' future looked to be in question a bit, it's really great to see that New Girl knows exactly where it's going again. A-
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, August 1
Happy's Place - "Ladies Night'" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Gabby's latest heartbreak, Bobbie and Isabella throw a Ladies' Night at the tavern to show Gabby she doesn't need a man to be happy, but things don't go as planned; Steve and Takoda tease Emmett about his sudden interest in dating apps.
Happy's Place - "Tapped Out" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Isabella starts trying to make changes to the tavern, Bobbie worries that this new partnership may not work out; Bobbie offers to take Isabella under her wing so she can learn about the tavern, but Happy's lawyer fumbles Bobbie's plan.
Electric Bloom - "How to (Not) Make a Music Video" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
While planning Electric Bloom's first music video, Jade and Posey overlook Tulip as a potential leader of the band, causing her alter ego 'Trixie' to emerge and wreak havoc.
Electric Bloom - "How We Danced the Night Away" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Posey, Jade, and Tulip's pact to not let a boy come between them is tested when it comes to finding dates for the school dance.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 28)
Friday, August 1
- Chris Distefano (Benders) - Chris guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - Watch Julie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Owen Wilson (Stick) - Owen takes "The Colbert Questionert" on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Mary Beth Barone (Overcompensating) - Mary appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Thomas is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Pamela Anderson (Stacked/Home Improvement) - Pamela talks about The Naked Gun on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Nicole Ari Parker (And Just Like That.../Second Time Around) - NBC's Today catches up with Nicole in the 10am hour.
- Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Sheryl and her husband, Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes, sit down for an EXCLUSIVE conversation about their choice to live in separate cities, which set off the internet on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke is sharing the secrets behind her shiny and bouncy hair and why she decided to create he own haircare line in her 50s on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Michael Jai White (Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse) - Michael is a guest on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and 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)
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