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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, November 12
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 10)
Wednesday, November 12
- Carol Burnett (Palm Royale/Mad About You/Mama's Family/Stanley) - Watch Carol on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Ben appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Matthew Broderick (Better Things) - Matthew is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb) - Dave appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Steve Byrne (Sullivan & Son) - Steve is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Andy Cohen interviews Tiffany on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
- Rob Riggle (Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy/Golan the Insatiable/Gary Unmarried) - Rob talks about Grit, Spit, and Never Quit: A Marine's Guide to Comedy and Life with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana and Cynthia Erivo talk about Wicked: For Good on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Jake Lacy (High Fidelity/The Office/Better with You) - NBC's Today catches up with Jake in the 9am hour.
- Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Abby Elliott (The Bear/Indebted/Odd Mom Out) - Abby talks about the thrilling new series All Her Fault on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Melissa Joan Hart (Baby Daddy/Sabrina the Teenage Witch/Clarissa Explains It All) - Melissa is a guest on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Sharon Lawrence (Me, Myself & I/Ladies Man/Fired Up) and Maureen McCormick (The Brady Bunch/The Brady Brides/Teen Angel) - Sharon and Maureen talk about their play Pen Pals on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10am.
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)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season
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