SitcomsOnline Digest: Alpha House Makes Online Debut; More Seasons of In the Heat of the Night on DVD

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

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

http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-3848399-10811526?sid=&URL=http://www.wbshop.com/product/code/1000446138.do

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, June 18

Shifting Gears - "Restoration" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Matt, the widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop, is confronted with his most unexpected and challenging project yet when his estranged daughter, Riley, and her adolescent children come crashing back into his life.

Shifting Gears - "Accommodations" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Matt joins Riley at Carter’s high school open house, where he’s unsettled to learn about the “accommodations” made for his grandson’s anxiety. Meanwhile, Riley reconnects with Caitlin, a former classmate, and sets her up with Gabriel.

Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.

Shifting Gears - "Grief" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Riley discovers a closet filled with her late mother’s clothes, she insists Matt hasn’t processed her death and urges him to see a grief counselor. Meanwhile, Gabriel faces a crisis of confidence when he’s put in charge of the shop for a day.

Children Ruin Everything - "Emergencies" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
During a family emergency, with both James and Astrid busy at work, they need to rethink their childcare plan.

Children Ruin Everything - "Sex" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Astrid and James get some much-needed adult time when they convince Nisha to take the kids for the night; their night gets complicated however, when a small lie grows out of control.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "House of Probation" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Calvin and Laura are met with unexpected news, while Curtis and Glo join forces against Mrs. Wellington; Calvin and Miranda must navigate the complexities of co-parenting.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "It Takes a Village" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Vinny attempts to take matters into his own hands with the armed crimes around the neighborhood; the facility is in an uproar regarding their safety after the armed crimes around the neighborhood.

The Ms. Pat Show - "The Graduation Party" (BET, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Janelle has a big confession to make at her high school graduation party; Brandon's surprise decision sparks a huge fight with Ashley.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 16)

Wednesday, June 18

Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/Luis) - Watch Charlie on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) - Miley is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Annie Murphy (Kevin Can F**k Himself/Schitt's Creek) - Annie appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Allison Williams (Girls) - Allison drops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Cole Escola (Human Resources/Search Party/Mozart in the Jungle/Difficult People) - Cole appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Reid Scott (Veep/My Boys/It's All Relative) - Reid is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - E! News has an interview with Keke at 11pm on E!.
Retta (Parks and Recreation) - NBC's Today catches up with Retta in the 9am hour.
Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Cynthia Nixon (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Cynthia talks about The Gilded Age on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Fortune Feimster (FUBAR/Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune is sharing her hilarious take on the hottest headlines of the day and telling Drew about her latest Netflix standup special on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.