Saturday, November 16, 2013
SitcomsOnline Digest: Alpha House Makes Online Debut; More Seasons of In the Heat of the Night on DVD
Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we've got news about new (as in brand new to everybody) series on amazon.com, more on even more series in development, news of new In the Heat of the Night DVDs, and more. Let's get going!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- Netflix has had a lot of luck with some of their own original series lately, and now amazon.com has officially gotten in on the competition as well with their own original series, available exclusively to their Prime subscribers. Even though the pilot was presented in April, one of the first series that fans chose to air is the comedy series Alpha House, a political comedy starring John Goodman. Two new episodes debuted yesterday, and there will be new episodes added each Friday. (CNET)
- It looks like the proposed How I Met Your Mother is one step closer to becoming a reality. This week, CBS has announced it has ordered a pilot for How I Met Your Dad. (Deadline).
- Comcast is prepared to compete with amazon.com and iTunes by beginning to sell a few hundred movies and TV series to their Xfinity customers by the end of the year. Unlike more conventional cable on-demand services, customers will purchase access to these series to view on tablets, phones, and other devices outside of their home, and will maintain permanent access to these series, even if they cancel their cable subscription. (Deadline)
- NBC is desperately seeking new opportunities to bring in viewers, and now they've ordered a pilot for a Maya Rudolph variety show that could air after the Winter Olympics (if they are pleased with the results). Rudolph will serve as executive producer alongside well-known veteran producer Lorne Michaels. (LA Times)
- Here we go again with the reboots! This time, it is The CW and a proposed reboot of the syndicated '80s horror anthology series Tales From the Darkside. The project is still very early in the development stage, but if it becomes a reality, as Entertainment Weekly reports, we should likely expect "plenty of ridiculously hot young characters being menaced by supernatural forces." (Entertainment Weekly)
- Despite ratings that haven't been all that impressive, NBC has "saved" freshman comedy Sean Saves the World, at least for a five additional episodes. (SitcomsOnline)
HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
RECENT HOME MEDIA REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE
- It seems very rare that we hear about a big surprise release of a lesser known classic TV series from one of the major studios, but CBS did just that this week with their announcement of Joanie Loves Chachi - The Complete Series. Every single episode of the Happy Days spinoff will be available on DVD on February 4.
- Joanie Loves Chachi isn't the only Happy Days spinoff headed to DVD on February 4. On the same date, fans will also see more of a well-known Happy Days spinoff with Laverne & Shirley - The Seventh Season.
- TGG has been releasing a lot of episodes of the series In the Heat of the Night on DVD in various forms, and now after releasing the first season, a "best of" release from seasons 2-7, and the eighth season (in that order), they are now skipping around yet again to release In the Heat of the Night - Season 4 and In the Heat of the Night - Season 5. However, neither of these are complete seasons, as season four will be missing two episodes and season five will be missing three episodes (both due to clearance reasons, likely involving music). Still, the releases are better than nothing.
RECENT HOME MEDIA REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE
- The Carol Burnett Show - Christmas with Carol: Another collection of two episodes of The Carol Burnett Show that aired with Christmas sketches is certain to please diehard fans of the series.
- Flo - The Complete Series: Warner Archive's latest sitcom release gives fans of the spinoff of the classic sitcom Alice a fan to see Flo on her own.
- Heathcliff - Season One, Volume Two: Mill Creek's latest release of the '80s cartoon cat provides a great value for fans, old and new.
FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: Alfonso Ribeiro (Twitter),
"Actor, Director, Host, & Singer."
Claim to Fame: Alfonso Ribeiro's "breakout" role in which Americans were first introduced to him came in the form of dancing, a skill which eventually landed him in a famous Pepsi commercial with Michael Jackson, but his first exposure to sitcom fans came in 1984 when he was cast as Alfonso Spears in the NBC (and later syndicated) sitcom Silver Spoons. After that series ended, he didn't do a whole lot for three years, until 1990 when he gained what has become his most iconic acting role, playing Carlton Banks on the NBC series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Lately, he has become known as a game show host, hosting Catch 21 on GSN and Spell-Mageddon on ABC Family, and recently became a father (again) to Alfonso Jr.
Pick of the Tweets: "First shoot day on Let's Stay Together. And off to a good start. Gonna work with my Fresh Prince mom Daphne Maxwell-Reid. Good old days." (April 4, 2013)
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Monday, July 22
In The Cut - "The Honeymooners" (Bounce TV, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Jay, Smitty and Kenny try to win back their valuables after losing in a poker game; Kenny has to adjust to Angelique's newfound fame when she becomes an internet celebrity.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 22)
Monday, July 22
- David Spade (Rules of Engagement/8 Simple Rules/Just Shoot Me!) - Watch David on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC. He also talks about Lights Out with David Spade on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Jeff Foxworthy (The Jeff Foxworthy Show) - Jeff visits The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC. He also talks about Bring the Funny on NBC's Today in the 10am hour, on People Now at 4:30pm and on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
- Fred Savage (What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage/Friends from College/The Grinder/Working/The Wonder Years) - Fred stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Paul Scheer (Black Monday/Fresh Off the Boat/The League) - Paul appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Sanaa Lathan (Family Guy/The Cleveland Show/LateLine) - Sanaa is a guest on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
- Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/Welcome to New York) - Jim appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Louie Anderson (Baskets/The Louie Show/Life with Louie) - Louie talks about Baskets on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Yvette Nicole Brown (The Mayor/The Odd Couple/Community) - Yvette appears on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
- Bella Thorne (Shake It Up) - Bella will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Jodie Sweetin (Fuller House/Full House) - Jodie talks about the Never Thought I'd Say This podcast on Access Live, so check your local listings.
- Boris Kodjoe (The Last Man on Earth/Second Time Around) - Boris shares his workout regime on Access Live, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (May/June/July)
05/07 - Baskets - The Complete Season Three
05/13 - I'm Dying Up Here - Season 2
05/13 - My Three Sons - The Third Season - Volume One
05/13 - My Three Sons - The Third Season - Volume Two
05/14 - The Donna Reed Show - Seasons 1-5
05/14 - Petticoat Junction - Seasons 1-3
05/28 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Seventh and Eighth Seasons
(WBShop.com)
05/28 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Second Season (Blu-ray)
06/04 - The Brady Bunch - 50th Anniversary The Brady-est Brady Bunch TV & Movie Collection
06/18 - Will & Grace (The Revival) - Season Two (Blu-ray)
07/09 - Broad City - Season 5
07/09 - Broad City - The Complete Series
07/17 - The Practice (1976) - The Complete Series
07/30 - The Good Place - The Complete Third Season
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