Tuesday, April 01, 2014
Antenna TV's Matchup Madness Marathon; Episodic Reviews: The Mindy Project - "French Me, You Idiot" and "Indian BBW" Airing Tonight on Fox
Today the winners of the Antenna TV Matchup Madness (a play on the NCAA Basketball March Madness) will air from 11am-5am. Fans voted for their favorite match-ups for their favorite Antenna TV shows and now we will see the winners. The sitcoms airing will be the same shows that air in their regularly scheduled time periods but we have different episodes from the normal rotation. Did you pick a perfect bracket? Tune in today for these shows: Hazel, McHale's Navy, The Patty Duke Show, Dennis the Menace, Mister Ed, Green Acres, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Good Times, Diff'rent Strokes, Sanford & Son, All in the Family, Maude, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Burns and Allen Show and The Jack Benny Program. And since I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched air for two-hours each, you'll get four episodes each! Among the winners are Sammy Davis Jr. on All in the Family, Muhammad Ali on Diff'rent Strokes, and the classic "Black Jesus" episode of Good Times. Dyno-mite! Antenna TV launched on January 1, 2011 and is available as a digital multicast channel on 84 affiliates across the U.S. reaching 70% of TV households, including WPIX-TV (11.2) New York, KTLA-TV (5.2) Los Angeles, and WGN-TV (9.2) Chicago. And don't forget, Three’s Company and Too Close for Comfort Join Antenna TV's schedule beginning next week - Monday, April 7!
On the next...The Mindy Project:
By: Skees
It has been over two months since we last saw a new episode of The Mindy Project, but tonight, the series returns from the extended hiatus with two new episodes: "French Me, You Idiot" (airing at 9:00PM ET/PT) and "Indian BBW" (airing at 9:30 PM ET/PT) When we last saw Mindy, she was on a mission to get Cliff (Glenn Howerton) back into her life, when plans are interrupted with a cliffhanger of a kiss between Mindy and Danny... a cliffhanger that could have a real impact on the series.
In the first episode, "French Me, You Idiot," Mindy is forced to deal with the aftermath of the kiss, which may possibly include leaving Cliff and beginning a relationship with Danny. Everything seems to be heading into that direction without a flaw until tragedy hits Cliff's life, with the death of his grandmother. The death complicates Mindy's plans to the point that she is forced to be there to comfort him, even forced to attend her funeral (along with Danny). Unfortunately, the funeral turns out to be somewhat of a disaster, so much of one that it requires assistance from the fire department.
It's hard to know at this point what the consequences of this episode will be at this point, but part of me enjoys seeing the fact that Mindy could perhaps be settling down with somebody, rather than continuing to play the somewhat tiring dating game. But I don't think we can end that story just yet. The episode itself wasn't particularly great, as it seemed to focus on this one story (with no major subplot) and while there were a few funny moments, it really seemed to drag on without much going on. C+
In "Indian BBW," Mindy begins to get a little more serious with Danny, and is determined to "take it slow," which of course, is not exactly a common trait of Mindy's. That is particularly obvious when Peter discovers a video sex tape (courtesy of her ex-boyfriend Tom, played by Bill Hader) on the internet where she wasn't taking it slow at all. Now Mindy is on a quest to get the video removed from the porn website that has posted it, but that proves to be a challenge as she appears in one of their few "Indian big beautiful women" videos, a type of video in high demand on their website. But getting the video off of the internet is the least of her worries when she has to consider the possibility that it could be seen by the wrong person.
I found this episode to not only be a rather enjoyable episode, but one of the stronger episodes of the series that I've seen in quite a while. The episode stayed focused on the one main plot, but the plot was full enough to fill the entire episode without being too thin. There were plenty of solid moments in the episode, and I think in a sense, some fans are sort of rooting for a relationship between Mindy and Danny. The plot of the episode was a little more absurd than usual, and at times it felt like an episode of 30 Rock, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm hopeful that we'll see more of these episodes that get into a plot that brings us a little more comedy that isn't centered solely on who Mindy is dating in a given episode. A
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, July 9
Shifting Gears - "Gummies" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Riley is horrified when she finds weed gummies in Carter’s pocket, prompting surprising advice from Matt. Meanwhile, Eve inadvertently lands Gabriel and Stitch in hot water after asking them to donate to a charity auction.
Shifting Gears - "Kiss" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jimmy returns with a new job and a proposition for Riley and the kids to move into his house, Riley is torn between her past and her future. Meanwhile, Matt's feud with Eve flares up once again after she damages his car.
Abbott Elementary - "Volunteers" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ava announces the school district is sending a group of volunteers to help out at Abbott; however, when they arrive, things don’t go as planned.
Abbott Elementary - "100th Day of School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
During Abbott’s 100th day of school celebrations, Barbara receives a surprise from her daughter. Melissa, Jacob and Mr. Johnson join forces to conduct a search party.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary" (FXX and FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Months after the Gang visited, Abbott's Principal Ava walks viewers through some of the unseen footage of the Gang's volunteerism and reveals their true intentions.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank Is in a Coma" (FXX and FX, 9:33PM ET/PT)
The five stages of grief set in for Dee as Frank lies on his deathbed; the Guys plot their new path forward by pitching their business ventures to Philadelphia's elite.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)
Wednesday, July 9
- Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Watch Salma on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean is a guest on a repeat of 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 a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Richie Moriarty (Ghosts), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Richie, Betsy and Punam are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/Final Space/The Game) - Tika sits down with the Tam Fam to talk about her new children's book I Got It From My Mama a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Isabela Merced (100 Things to Do Before High School/Growing Up Fisher) - Isabela chats about her film Superman on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Anna Camp (Perfect Harmony/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Mindy Project) and Justin Bartha (The New Normal/Teachers) - Anna and Justin discuss their film Nuked on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) - Simon talks about Peacock's Poker Face on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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