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
Thursday, September 16
Call Me Kat - "Eggs" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a visit to the gynecologist takes an unexpected turn, Kat must consider freezing her eggs if she ever wants to have children; Max and Carter help Phil with his online dating to prevent him from getting catfished.
Call Me Kat - "All Nighter" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Randi's cousin comes to town, Kat and Phil convince Randi to let them come out with her to prove they aren't old; Randi struggles to figure out why Daniel doesn't get jealous.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - "The Last Day" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The squad take stock of their eight years together and look toward their future.
What We Do in the Shadows - "The Casino" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
The vampires embark on a road trip from which they may never return.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 13)
Thursday, September 16
- Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Catch Melissa on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- The cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine) - The cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine are guests on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The Last O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric talks about The Neighborhood on CBS This Morning sometime between 7-9am and on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Mark Duplass (Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Mark will be on PEOPLE in 10 at 8am.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan is a guest on the PEOPLE in the '90s Podcast.
- Ron Howard (Arrested Development/Happy Days/The Andy Griffith Show) - Ron and Brian Grazer talk about Peacock's The Lost Symbol on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke is a guest on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Jennifer talks about The Morning Show on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Our Kind of People on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-September)
06/08 - The Critic - The Complete Series
06/08 - Fuller House - The Fifth and Final Season
06/08 - Fuller House - The Complete Series
06/08 - Our Cartoon President - Season 3
06/15 - The Office - Season 1 (Blu-ray) / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9
06/15 - Parks and Recreation - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/07 - No Activity - Season 2
07/13 - The Unicorn - Season 2
07/20 - Head of the Class - The Complete Third Season
07/27 - Family Ties - The Complete Series (2021 Release)
07/27 - Hot in Cleveland - The Complete Series (2021 Release)
07/27 - The Neighborhood - Season Three
08/20 - The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet - Deluxe Edition (100 Episodes) (Time Life)
08/20 - The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet - Standard Edition (50 Episodes) (Time Life)
08/24 - The Jim Gaffigan Show - Season 2
09/07 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Fourth Season (Blu-ray)
09/21 - I Dream of Jeannie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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