SitcomsOnline Digest: SNL Looking to 40th Anniversary; New Mill Creek DVD Releases

Saturday, April 19, 2014

SitcomsOnline Digest: SNL Looking to 40th Anniversary; New Mill Creek DVD Releases

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! Today, we have news about SNL's 40th anniversary, the potential 2014-2015 pilots, and many new releases from Mill Creek. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Saturday Night Live is about to turn 40 (well, technically that is still another year and a half from now), but NBC is already planning a three hour 40th anniversary special for February 15, 2015. With planning and a date set this early, it should be a huge deal. (Variety)
Pilot season is about to turn into pickup season in just a few short weeks, and Deadline has a run down of what each network is looking at as they try to decide which series could lead the network into the next decade... or through mid-October 2014. (Deadline)
TV Land has given a cast-contingent pilot order to a comedy about a con man pretending to be a gay pastor, which seems to be one of the most unusual pilot ideas in a while. (Deadline)
Fox's Animation Domination High-Def lineup is officially dead, although the programs airing in it aren't necessarily dead... yet. The lineup will cease to exist at the end of June, but the programming will continue to air on other platforms. (Entertainment Weekly)
Sitcom writer Doris Kanter died this week at the age of 95. Wife of the late Hal Kanter, Doris' writing credits include Chico and the Man and Night Court, and she also designed the opening credits for her husband's sitcom, Julia. (Deadline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Mill Creek is showing absolutely no sign of slowing down on their Sony releases, which have seen at least a few released every month since January, and June is no exception. On June 24, the studio will release Bewitched - Seasons 3 and 4, The Larry Sanders Show - Seasons 1 and 2, and The Partridge Family - Seasons 1 and 2.
eOne Entertainment will release The Abbott & Costello Show - The Complete Second Season on May 20, but for those interested in the series it may make more sense to pick up their release of The Abbott & Costello Show - The Complete Series, which is currently a dollar cheaper.

RECENT REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE.COM

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/starskyandhutchseason1millcreekdvdreview.html

Starsky & Hutch - Season 1 (Mill Creek): One of TV's favorite detective duos returns to DVD for this re-release on DVD that comes at a lower price (but without the special features of the original release).

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Twitter), "Actor, Musician, Poet, Writer, Director. At War with my Nice Guy complex right now so until further notice, beware..."

Claim to Fame: Once again, we're going on with our Cosby Show theme again this week with Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Theo. Like many other cast members of the series, he found great success after the series ended and didn't just fade away. Early appearances on TV included guest roles on Matt Houston and Fame, but it wasn't long until he was cast on The Cosby Show. After that, though, he didn't stop. In fact, he was immediately cast in the lead role of the series Here and Now (which didn't last long). In 1996, he did find some success with Malcolm and Eddie, which ran for four seasons. Most recently, he has had a recurring role on the NBC series Community.

Pick of the Tweets: "Tidbit: @BillCosby has never made us eat nor have I ever seen him eat Jell-o or a pudding pop. Ever. Now hoagies are a different story!" (January 19, 2013)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, December 22

Bob's Burgers - "The Nightmare 2 Days Before Christmas" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the power goes out two days before Christmas, The Belchers must spend the holiday at Mr. Fischoeder's family's old hunting lodge.

Krapopolis - "Krapocalypse" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tyrannis is stuck in a time loop trying to save the city.

The Simpsons - "The Man Who Flew Too Much" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The new and improved Pin Pals travel to Capital City for their first ever state bowling championship.

Universal Basic Guys - "The Devil You Know" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark insists on teaching his son Darren how to throw a handmade boomerang that was gifted to Darren by his father; the two soon find themselves on a trek deep into the Jersey woods; David is the recipient of a sex doll that he swears he didn't order.

The Great North - "The Lies Aquatic Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
While Beef is away, the Tobin fishing boat goes missing; the Tobin siblings wildly speculate on what could have happened.

Krapopolis - "National Lampoon's The Odyssey!" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The family takes a vacation to Storgos for Shlub's mother's birthday.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Full-Frontal Dottie" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Excited by her physical therapy progress, Dottie insists she is ready to return to MaxDot, much to Bob, Douglas and Christina's dismay.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 16)

Friday, December 20

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters/HouseBroken/Catastrophe) - Sharon is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Colton Dunn (Superstore) and Diona Reasonover (Clipped) - Colton and Diona are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - NBC's Today catches up with Zachary in the 9am hour.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy talks about Mufasa: The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. He can also be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry talks about The Six Triple Eight on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
James Marsden (30 Rock) and Ben Schwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - James and Ben talk about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about Max's Fast Friends on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit has the best of Henry and Kit Hoover, so check your local listings.
Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - The Talk celebrates 15 seasons with a special finale episode; friend of the show Howie Mandel makes his 21st appearance on the show when he stops by one last time with a surprise for the hosts on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.