SitcomsOnline Digest: New Amazon.com Pilots; New Donna Reed Show DVD Rumors; April Mill Creek DVD Releases

Saturday, February 08, 2014

SitcomsOnline Digest: New Amazon.com Pilots; New Donna Reed Show DVD Rumors; April Mill Creek DVD Releases

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This weekend, we've got news about new pilots on amazon.com, expansion of the Adult Swim lineup on Cartoon Network, and some more (credible) rumors about The Donna Reed Show on DVD. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Pilot season has returned to amazon.com! Once again, the website has introduced ten new pilots for potential Prime series that fans can watch, and ultimately choose which ones will be produced as new series to be streamed exclusively through the website. Last year, this introduced both Alpha House and Betas. Among the current batch, there are three comedy pilots, so check them out and let them know what you think. (New York Times)
Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup is getting even bigger, and will soon include all of primetime hours as the start time for the lineup moves to 8 PM beginning March 31. The lineup launched in September 2001 with a start time of 11 PM and has slowly been adding time over the years. King of the Hill will kick off the lineup in the 8 PM hour, a role that it currently serves in the 9 PM hour. (Multichannel News)
Last week was a great week for showrunner Chuck Lorre. Lorre, who has four primetime sitcoms that he can call his own on CBS, managed to have all four of his sitcoms land in the Nielsen Top 20 last week among adults last week, a feat that hasn't been accomplished by any showrunner since the introduction of electronic ratings measurement in 1991. (Deadline)
Of course, not everybody is a fan of Chuck Lorre. Charlie Sheen, in particular, is not a fan of Lorre, nor is he a fan of Ashton Kutcher, who replaced him on Two and a Half Men. This week on Twitter, Sheen apologized to Kutcher for some of the things he has said about him on Twitter... but then followed up with another tweet that was a lot less pleasant. (Deadline)
Good Times turns 40 years old today, and you can celebrate the anniversary with the 12 hour marathon airing today on Antenna TV. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

We've posted plenty of very credible rumors about releases of The Donna Reed Show on DVD over the years (thanks to a poster on Home Theater Forum who has been regularly communicating with Mary Owen, Donna's daughter), and this week, it seems that this source has some new inside scoop regarding re-releases of the first three seasons. MPI is now working on plans to re-release the first three seasons, which were released by another studio and are now out-of-print, and fixing many of the technical problems that plagued those releases. Not all of the news is great, though. MPI has been trying to negotiate releasing the final three seasons of the series as well, and the rights for these seasons are held by Sony. Negotiations are still going on here and there really hasn't been any progress in getting this accomplished, but there seems to be some hope that something can be worked out in the future.
Mill Creek has a few more re-releases in the horizon. On April 1, they will release The Cosby Show - Seasons 3 and 4, I Dream of Jeannie - Seasons 1 and 2, Married with Children - Seasons 3 and 4, and Newsradio - Seasons 1 and 2. Each will come at a $14.98 MSRP, but as usual, expect to find nice discounts on all of them.
For those who didn't get the complete series release of Mama's Family (but would still like the series), Mama's Family - The Complete Fourth Season is on the way on June 24 from StarVista Entertainment. The four disc set will come at a $29.95 MSRP.
Shout! Factory is already preparing to bring fans another season of L.A. Law, announcing it even before the upcoming release of L.A. Law - Season One. On May 20, L.A. Law - Season Two arrives on DVD at a $29.93 MSRP.

FEBRUARY 11 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00GHH9HW2/ref=nosim/happydaysonline5-20

Newhart - The Complete Second Season (DVD, $29.93): Shout! Factory puts together the second season of this classic Bob Newhart sitcom (review).

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Dave Coulier (Twitter), "I yam what I yam."

Claim to Fame: After last week's big week for the Full House, we realized that there was one more adult star of the series that we had yet to feature here as a "Follow Me," so it is only natural to remember Uncle Joey this week. Coulier got his start as a stand-up comedian (something he often brought to his role on Full House) and doing cartoon voices, but of course, he is best known for playing the role of Joey on Full House.

Pick of the Tweets: "Thank you @jimmyfallon for the Mr. Woodchuck. You're the greatest guy I know - Ranger Joe http://www.whosay.com/l/npK7HKG" (January 30, 2014)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, January 22

The Goldbergs - "Game Night" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Geoff struggles to keep his living arrangement with Erica and Barry a secret from Beverly during game night, while Adam goes to his guidance teacher for a lesson in being cool so he can get closer to a new girl in chemistry class.

Schooled - "FeMellor" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Principal Glascott and Lainey struggle to agree on what is an appropriate dress code, while Coach Mellor struggles with his relationship with Julie as she does not enjoy sports like he does.

Modern Family - "Dead on a Rival" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Mitchell learns a valuable life lesson when Murray (Paul Dooley), a former resident of the house, shows up unexpectedly. Meanwhile, the Dunphy’s old neighbor-turned-tech-titan, Kenneth (Josh Gad), comes to visit with a big surprise for Phil. Then, Manny’s dad, Javier (Benjamin Bratt), shows up with a big opportunity for his son.

Single Parents - "Chunkies" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After Angie decides it’s finally time for Graham to meet his dad, Derek (Adam Brody), sickness overtakes the household. Derek is forced to either step in and help or head back out to his van. Meanwhile, when Sophie overhears some big news about Will and Tracy, she takes it upon herself to intervene; and the twins face their first professional failure.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)

Wednesday, January 22

John Mulaney (Mulaney) - Watch John on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Fortune Feimster (Bless the Harts/Life in Pieces/Champions) - Fortune visits The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. She will also be on Watch What Happens: Live at 9pm on Bravo.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on the BUILD Series at 12pm.
Charlie Hunnam (Undeclared) - Charlie is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse drops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Steve Buscemi (Miracle Workers) - Steve appears on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Patrick chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. He also talks about Star Trek: Picard on CBS This Morning sometime between 7-9am.
Ashley Tisdale (Carol's Second Act/Merry Happy Whatever/Clipped/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Ashley appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Finesse Mitchell (Outmatched/A.N.T. Farm) - Finesse is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana drops by The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jackée Harry (Tyler Perry's The Paynes/The First Family/Sister, Sister/227) - Jackée appears on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Boris Kodjoe (The Last Man on Earth/Second Time Around) - Boris gives the hosts a workout on E!'s Daily Pop at 12pm.
Erinn Hayes (Medical Police/Kevin Can Wait/Guys with Kids/Worst Week) - Erinn is a guest on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
BD Wong (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens/All-American Girl) and Lori Tann Chinn (Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens) - BD and Lori will be on the BUILD Series at 1pm.
Abby Elliott (Indebted/Odd Mom Out) and Jessy Hodges (Indebted) - Abby and Jessy are guests on the BUILD Series at 5pm.