SitcomsOnline Digest: Sean Saves the World Production Shut Down; New Happy Days DVDs at Last

Saturday, February 01, 2014

SitcomsOnline Digest: Sean Saves the World Production Shut Down; New Happy Days DVDs at Last

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's the weekend of the "big game," but we've got some big stuff here this weekend as well, as we've got one of our busiest news weeks in a while. So let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

The title of the series is Sean Saves the World, but it looks like time has run out for anybody to save the series, as production of the Sean Hayes sitcom was shut down early (Hollywood Reporter)
Full House has been about the biggest thing in the world over this past week, as the guys of the series prepare to reunite in the name of Greek yogurt during the Super Bowl. We could bring you a lot of links about all of this week's Full House happenings, but perhaps the best came from the guys singing Jimmy Fallon to sleep on Late Night this week, as well as a Reddit Ask Me Anything. Whatever happened to predictability, anyway? (Entertainment Weekly)
It seems that the saying "Friends are forever" has a real meaning for the actual cast members of Friends, because now David Schwimmer (who Ross on the Friends) is prepared to make his return to the sitcom world as the male lead in a potential ABC sitcom. (Deadline)
We still have a long time until the Emmy Awards air on NBC, but don't expect to see Emmy Sunday in September this year. NBC has decided to instead bring us Emmy Monday, bizarrely scheduling the awards on Monday night in August to work around their Sunday night NFL programming. (Deadline)
Desperate Housewives has been off the air for over a year now, but regardless, the entire Nicollette Sheridan lawsuit against the producers over the circumstances of her termination from the series is still going strong, and gained new steam this week. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Antenna TV has an option if you'd prefer Sally field to a football field this Sunday, as they present a 16 hour marathon of The Flying Nun on Sunday. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

It has been more than five years since we last saw a release of Happy Days on DVD, but it looks like that is about to change on May 20, as CBS prepares to release Happy Days - The Fifth Season. The set comes at a $39.98 MSRP.
Happy Days isn't the only series that is headed to DVD in May. According to TVShowsOnDVD.com, one of the spinoffs, Laverne & Shirley, will be finishing up with the final season on DVD on May 6. It isn't available to pre-order just yet.
It seems that several studios have used the TV Guide name to sell DVDs, but now Mill Creek will use it for one of the most ambitious DVD projects ever from any studio, as they prepare to put together their new TV Guide Spotlight Series. The series puts together collections of 20 episode sets (at least for sitcoms) of multiple series that they have (or will) released on DVD, such as The Jeffersons, Good Times, Bewitched, Maude, Newsradio, That '70s Show, and much more. Of particular interest to us are Groundbreaking Sitcoms of the '70s, Great Comedies of the '90s, and Leading Ladies of Classic Comedy. They will all be released on March 18 and come at a $9.98 MSRP.
We don't cover a whole lot of cartoons here, but another release from Mill Creek caught our attention this week, since it is an '80s cartoon that had featured a character who'd also appeared in a classic '50s sitcom (and above all else, his own comic strip)... they'll be releasing the animated series Dennis the Menace on DVD! They will begin with Dennis the Menace - Volume 1, which will contain the first 33 episodes of the animated series. It comes March 18, and at a $12.98 MSRP.
If tax day has you a bit angry this year, you can get some Anger Management courtesy of Lionsgate, as they release Anger Management - Volume 3 on DVD and Blu-ray on that day (April 15, by the way).

RECENT HOME MEDIA REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/joanieloveschachithecompleteseriesdvdreview.html

Joanie Loves Chachi - The Complete Series: The short-lived Happy Days spinoff starring Scott Baio and Erin Moran arrives on DVD, although as expected, there are a few musical edits.
Laverne & Shirley - The Seventh Season: The most successful of the Happy Days spinoffs arrives on DVD for another season, also with a few musical edits.

FEBRUARY 4 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

The Ellen Show - The Complete Series (DVD, $9.98): Mill Creek puts together a re-release of Ellen DeGeneres CBS sitcom, which lasted for one season.
Family Matters - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD, $29.98): Urkel and the gang return for another season of this fan-favorite sitcom staple that aired on ABC's TGIF lineup.
Joanie Loves Chachi - The Complete Series (DVD, $29.98): The complete series of the Happy Days spinoff finally arrives on DVD.
Laverne & Shirley - The Seventh Season (DVD, $39.98): The classic Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams sitcom returns to DVD for another season.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: John Stamos (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), "ex teen idol, theater geek and wannabe rock and roll drummer."

Claim to Fame: It's been a big week for the Full House guys (who knew?), and it only seems appropriate to feature the catalyst behind all of this recent hype: the one and only John Stamos. His TV career began in 1984 with a role on General Hospital, followed by two sitcoms that were, by all measures, complete flops, but his third sitcom was big. He wasn't quite 24 when he was cast in the role of Jesse Cochran (changed to Katsopolis in season two) in the series Full House in 1987. Since then, he hasn't had much in terms of regular roles in series, but you still see him everywhere, and that is something that seems to be in the cards for years to come.

Pick of the Tweets: "Behind the scenes look at @bobsaget and I for our "Some like it HOT" peep mag shoot w/ the great Robert Tractenberg pic.twitter.com/CZ8QNQYldp" (December 29, 2013)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, December 7

Ghosts (UK) - "The Grey Lady" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
After a photographer accidentally captures a photo of Fanny and posts it on social media, Alison and Mike try to capitalize on the attention by offering admission to the haunted Button House.

Ghosts (UK) - "About Last Night" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After a night of partying, Alison tries to figure out why the ghosts are acting so strangely as she and Mike scramble to clean up the house for a wedding planner to view.

Son of a Critch - "The Perfect Storm" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mark learns new things about his parents after a historic storm knocks out power to the Critch house; when his father's back goes out, Mike Jr. has to broadcast all night alone.

Children Ruin Everything - "Weekends" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT)
With long days at the office, Astrid cannot shake the feeling that she is missing out on key moments with their kids; Astrid convinces James that what the family needs is an adventure together.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 4)

Thursday, December 7

Halle Bailey (grown-ish) - Catch Halle on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Olivia Rodrigo (Bizaardvark) - Olivia is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Daniel Radcliffe (Miracle Workers) - Daniel appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Sara Bareilles (Girls5eva) - Sara is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Gael García Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle) - Gael appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Michelle Pfeiffer (Delta House) - Michelle appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Allison Williams (Girls) - Allison and writer/director Allison Flom talk about joining forces in their new podcast, Erased: The Murder of Elma Sand, on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings. She can also be heard on the Morning Mashup on SiriusXM.
Tony Shalhoub (We Are Men/Stark Raving Mad/Wings) - NBC's Today catches up with Tony in the 9am hour.
Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - Kelsey talks about the reboot of Frasier on Paramount+ and opens up about the loss of his friend, Kirstie Alley, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Dennis Quaid (Merry Happy Whatever) - Dennis talks about Paramount+'s Lawmen: Bass Reeves on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier) - Jack talks about Paramount+'s Frasier on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
John Brotherton (Fuller House) - John and Erin Cahill are guests (tentative) on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.