SitcomsOnline Digest: Dallas, Jennifer Falls Get the Axe; Rush Hour and Big Pilots; Season 5 DVDs of The Middle to Warner Archive

Saturday, October 04, 2014

SitcomsOnline Digest: Dallas, Jennifer Falls Get the Axe; Rush Hour and Big Pilots; Season 5 DVDs of The Middle to Warner Archive

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we've got some news about some cable original series being canceled, new pilots at the major network based upon movies from decades ago, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

After three seasons (which could be considered successful by the standards of a revival series), TNT's Dallas has been canceled. (Hollywood Reporter)
Meanwhile, over at TV Land, it looks like Jennifer Falls has met the same fate as Dallas. (Entertainment Weekly)
Deadline has a nice interview with Norman Lear in advance of his upcoming memoir, Even This I Get to Experience. (Deadline)
CBS has given a pilot production commitment to an action drama series based upon the 1998 movie Rush Hour, with Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Spin City, and Cougar Town) and Blake McCormick (Cougar Town and King of The Hill) filling the executive producer roles of the potential series. (CBS)
If a Rush Hour series seems a bit odd in 2014, this idea seems even stranger: Fox is looking at a comedy based upon the Tom Hanks movie Big. (NY Daily News)
Halloween is still a month away, but Antenna TV is already planning their 28 hour marathon of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

ABC's The Middle has been popular on TV, but not so much on DVD, which is likely why Warner has moved the DVD releases to Warner Archive beginning with Tuesday's The Middle - The Complete Fifth Season. It's not all bad news, though, because initial quantities of the release will be on pressed DVDs (i.e. not DVD-R), which means that they will be of the same quality as DVDs purchased at general retailers.
MPI is moving ahead with The Donna Reed Show in their December 2 release of The Donna Reed Show - Season 2. This season was previously released by another studio, but contained some edited episodes; MPI promises better results this time. There is still no word on when or if we'll see the final three seasons on DVD.
It looks as if Mork & Mindy will be completed on DVD on December 9, as CBS plans to release Mork & Mindy - The Complete Series and Mork & Mindy - The Fourth Season on that date.

OCTOBER 7 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

https://www.jdoqocy.com/click-3821628-10768631?url=http://www.wbshop.com/product/code/1000532061.do

The Dick Van Dyke Show - Classic Christmas Episodes (DVD, $9.98): RLJ Entertainment puts together a single disc release containing two classic episodes of the series.
Flying Nun - The Complete First and Second Seasons (DVD, $14.98): Mill Creek is back with another re-release of this classic Sony series.
The Middle - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD, $29.95): The hit ABC series returns to DVD, but this time at Warner Archive; however, initial quantities will be on traditional DVD media as opposed to DVD-R.
The Office - The Complete Series (DVD, $199.98): Fans of the NBC series can now return to work at Dunder Mifflin with this release of the long-running sitcom.
The Wonder Years - Season One (DVD, $19.95): All six episodes of the debut season of the classic sitcom arrive on DVD, in perhaps was once the most-wanted series on DVD of all time; The Wonder Years - The Complete Series is also shipping now from StarVista, and we'll have a review of this excellent set within the next few days.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Tyler Ritter (Twitter), "Actor, husband, McCarthy, and finally catching on to the world of twitter--one bio draft at a time."

Claim to Fame: Lately, we've been spotlighting the Twitter feeds of the stars of some of the newest TV series for this fall. This week, we talk about one of the stars of a series that will debut a bit later this fall, Tyler Ritter of The McCarthys (which debuts on October 30 on CBS). Ritter has had appearances on series such as Grey's Anatomy and Modern Family, but this series marks his debut as a regular on any series. Oh, and if the name Ritter doesn't familiar, it should: he's the son of the late John Ritter and even looks like his father.

Pick of the Tweets: "So yes--this is Tyler Ritter's handle, not Mr. T's. We get mistaken for each other all the time which I'm cool with. He's probably not.." (July 20, 2014)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, November 24

Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Hosted by Emmy Award-winning actor Ray Romano and series creator Phil Rosenthal and featuring cast members Brad Garrett, Patricia Heaton, Monica Horan, Madylin Sweeten and Sullivan Sweeten, this new entertainment special celebrates the legacy of the hit comedy with one of television's most beloved families.

DMV - "There Is No I in DMV" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Barb takes the team on a field trip to the rival North Hollywood branch to learn the secrets of their success. She begins to doubt herself after meeting their charismatic manager, Beau (Randall Park). Meanwhile, Gregg and Vic get in Colette’s head that Noa prefers risk-takers.

St. Denis Medical - "A Strong Cup of Coffee" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Alex is eager to impress her old charge nurse, Pam, who comes back to St. Denis; Serena and Matt try to solve a patient's mystery illness.

The Paper - "Buddy and the Dude" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ned tags along on Mare's consumer sting story after Esmeralda tells him a bunch of things that get in his head; Oscar has to stick his neck out in a budget meeting; Detrick and Nicole play two truths and a lie until it blows up.

TV We Love - "Cheers" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
A look back at the Boston bar "where everybody knows your name," with cast and creators of "Cheers" sharing the spark that made it one of TV's greatest comedies.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 24)

Monday, November 24

Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Watch Jim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. Tamron Hall has A DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Jim, a superstar who has taken everyday life and turned it into something unforgettable, so check your local listings. He joins the Tam Fam to talk about his brand-new special Live from the Old Forester: The Bourbon Set, which was filmed live on Louisvilles Whiskey Row, as well as parenting his five kids and more.
Daniel Radcliffe (Miracle Workers) - Daniel appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Merrily We Roll Along on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Taran Killam (Stumble/Single Parents) - Taran is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda sits down with ABC News’ Will Ganss on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ke Huy Quan (Head of the Class/Together We Stand) - Ke stops by to talk Disney's Zootopia 2 on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Laurie drops by the studio to talk Little Bear Ridge Road on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - NBC's Today catches up with Hank in the 9am hour.
Lunell (Crutch/Lopez) - Luenell tells Sherri about her role on Tracy Morgan's new Paramount+ show Crutch on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Jake Lacy (High Fidelity/The Office/Better with You) - Jake talks about Peacock's All Her Fault on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.