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
Thursday, March 28
The Conners - "Keep On Truckin' Six Feet Apart" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Conners are dealing with the pandemic and life's financial troubles.
The Conners - "Halloween and the Election vs the Pandemic" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Halloween has been canceled, so the family works to create an unforgettable experience.
Son of a Critch - "Airing Out" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The Critches are doing their annual airing-out-the-house ritual; some family secrets are uncovered.
Son of a Critch - "Cabaret" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Mark finally gets the chance to take the stage as a stand-up comedian.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 25)
Thursday, March 28
- Joey King (Bent) - Joey talks about We Were the Lucky Ones on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
- Giancarlo Esposito (Bakersfield P.D.) - Giancarlo discusses his starring role in the AMC crime-thriller series Parish on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Niecy Nash-Betts (Reno 911!/Getting On/The Soul Man/Do Not Disturb) - Niecy stops by to talk about her upcoming starring turn in Ryan Murphy's horror drama Grotesquerie on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) - Lisa talks about Abbott Elementary on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Lorraine Toussaint (Where I Live) - Lorraine is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)
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
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
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