SitcomsOnline Digest: Tyler Ritter To Follow In Footsteps of His Father?; Batman to Arrive on DVD

Saturday, January 18, 2014

SitcomsOnline Digest: Tyler Ritter To Follow In Footsteps of His Father?; Batman to Arrive on DVD

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's a holiday weekend for many of us, but not here, where we've got all of your highlights from around the web and in the home media world (and Tuesday is a huge day for releases, or more specifically re-releases). Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

It was over 30 years ago that John Ritter came to sitcom fame in Three's Company, and now it is possible that his son may be heading in that same direction. The proposed CBS pilot The McCarthys has had a difficult time coming together as a series (and it still may not), but this week, Tyler Ritter (son of John Ritter) was cast in the lead role in the potential sitcom. We'll be keeping an eye on this series... we hope to see it actually make it to air. (Deadline)
The Fox sitcom New Girl is under attack by a lawsuit, over the claim that the idea for the pilot was stolen from another proposed 2006 sitcom called Square One. (Hollywood Reporter)
Two classic sitcom stars died in the past week, including Dave Madden (The Partridge Family) and Russell Johnson (Gilligan's Island). (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

We never quite imagined this would happen, but this week, one of the biggest announcements for a DVD release ever was made... and since it is something that we weren't expecting, it makes sense that it would come from an unsuspecting source. On Wednesday, Conan O'Brien went to Twitter to tell his fans that the classic Adam West Batman series would in fact be coming to DVD! Warner Home Video is behind this (it has been stated in the past that there was an issue between Warner, who has for quite some time owned the rights to just about everything else Batman, and Fox, who actually produced the show), but another question this leads us to ask is if this will just be DVD or if we could potentially see a Blu-ray release too... we don't know that answer yet, but DC Comics confirmed this with some interesting wording using "Home Media" and a "Blu-ray" tag in their post... but we'll have to wait and see!
Fans of Little House on the Prairie have long been disappointed with the DVD releases of that series (particularly due to the edited episodes), but now, Lionsgate is putting together new remastered of the series, and they'll be uncut this time. And, to add to that, they'll be on DVD and Blu-ray. Little House on the Prairie - Season One (DVD/Blu-ray) will be released on March 25.

RECENT HOME MEDIA REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE

Hazel - The Complete Fifth and Final Season: Shout! Factory completes the run of this classic series with this release of the final season of the series. While it wasn't the greatest season of the series, and the video quality does leave a bit to be desired, it is still a must own for fans of classic TV series.

JANUARY 21 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-3848399-10811526?sid=&URL=http://www.wbshop.com/product/code/1000462637.do

Bewitched - Season 1, Bewitched - Season 2, and Bewitched - Seasons 1 and 2 (DVD, $9.98 for single season, $14.98 for combined seasons): The first (of many) value-priced re-releases of Sony series from Mill Creek. These are essentially the same product released by Sony, but with fewer discs, new packaging, and new menus.
The Cosby Show - Season 1, The Cosby Show - Season 2, and The Cosby Show - Seasons 1 and 2 (DVD, $9.98 for single season, $14.98 for combined seasons): A Mill Creek re-release of a non-Sony series, but for fans who were stuck with the previous release of edited episodes for the first season, the first season is unedited this time.
Good Times - Season 1, Good Times - Season 2, and Good Times - Seasons 1 and 2 (DVD, $9.98 for single season, $14.98 for combined seasons): Another (of many) value-priced re-releases of Sony series from Mill Creek. These are essentially the same product released by Sony, but with fewer discs, new packaging, and new menus.
Highway to Heaven - Season 3 (DVD, $9.98): Another re-release from Mill Creek (but this season is the last re-release, as future seasons will be new to DVD for the first time once Mill Creek releases them)
The Jimmy Stewart Show - The Complete Series (DVD, $29.95): A completely brand new to DVD release (the only non re-release of the week!) of a classic series from Warner Archive of Jimmy Stewart's rare sitcom experience.
Just Shoot Me - Season 1, Just Shoot Me - Season 2, and Just Shoot Me - Seasons 1 and 2 (DVD, $9.98 for single season, $14.98 for combined seasons): Yet another (of many) value-priced re-releases of Sony series from Mill Creek. These are essentially the same product released by Sony, but with fewer discs, new packaging, and new menus.
Married with Children - Season 1, Married with Children - Season 2, and Married with Children - Seasons 1 and 2 (DVD, $9.98 for single season, $14.98 for combined seasons): Not to sound like a broken record, but yet another (of many) value-priced re-releases of Sony series from Mill Creek. These are essentially the same product released by Sony, but with fewer discs, new packaging, and new menus.
Wings - Seasons 3 and 4 (DVD, $14.98): Another value-priced re-release from Mill Creek, but not something that was originally released by Sony.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Garret Dillahunt (Twitter, Instagram)

Claim to Fame: Starting out on stage (including on Broadway), Dillahunt landed his first TV role in One Life to Live in 1993. Following that, he made several appearances in TV series over the next several years, with his most significant roles on the (mostly forgotten) Showtime series Leap Years and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. To sitcom fans, though, he is best known in his role on the sitcom Raising Hope.

Pick of the Tweets: "My @MarthaPlimpton is nominated for a #CriticsChoiceAward. Who's surprised? Not me." (May 22, 2013)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, July 21

Last Man Standing - "The Passion of Paul" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Rev. Paul calls on Mike to teach Sunday school, Mike calls on Kyle to take his place; Eve fears Mandy and Kristin are taking advantage of Jen at home.

Last Man Standing - "Yass Queen" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
In an effort to help get her clothing line off the ground and into stores, Mike invites Mandy to sit in on a business meeting with an aggressive sales rep; Ed hires Kyle to transcribe his life story.

The Simpsons - "From Russia Without Love" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
On a mission to play hardcore pranks, Bart, Nelson and Milhouse get Moe a mail-order bride.

Bob's Burgers - "What About Blob?" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Gene convinces Tina and Louise to help him save a misunderstood plankton blob from being destroyed by a yacht club.

Family Guy - "Pawtucket Pete" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The brewery's new bosses decide to change the company's mascot; in an attempt to be crowned the new face of Pawtucket Ale, Peter and Brian go head-to-head.

What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage - "Preempted" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
A crazy car chase on the news stops "The Flare" from airing, and Fred doesn't have anything to discuss until a call from a fan changes everything; Joel McHale stops by the show.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 15)

Friday, July 19

The Jonas Brothers (Jonas) - The Jonas Brothers are guests on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Louie Anderson (Baskets/The Louie Show/Life with Louie) - Louie appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Allison Williams (Girls) - Allison is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place), Enrico Colantoni (Just Shoot Me!/Hope and Gloria), Ryan Hansen (Bad Judge/Bad Teacher/Party Down) and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Barry/The Good Place/Downward Dog)- Kristen, Enrico, Ryan and Kirby talk about Veronica Mars on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Ricky Gervais (After Life/The Office) - Ricky chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Sutton Foster (Younger) - Sutton stops by The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Louie Anderson (Baskets/The Louie Show/Life with Louie) - Louie visits Couch Surfing at 8am.
Marcia Gay Harden (Trophy Wife) - Marcia talks about Netflix's Point Blank on Access Live, so check your local listings.
JD McCrary (Tyler Perry's The Paynes) - JD talks about The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Francesca Reale (Haters Back Off) - Francesca talks about Stranger Things on the BUILD Series at 2pm.