SitcomsOnline Digest: TV Land Removes The Dukes of Hazzard; Melrose Place to Become Unauthorized Story; New Growing Pains and King of the Hill DVD Releases

Saturday, July 04, 2015

SitcomsOnline Digest: TV Land Removes The Dukes of Hazzard; Melrose Place to Become Unauthorized Story; New Growing Pains and King of the Hill DVD Releases

Happy Independence Day and welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! In true spirit of Independence Day, it seems that current topical controversy and "freedom of speech" issues, no matter which way you look at them, have managed to creep into the TV news during this surprisingly busy news week. Plus, we have less controversial news about new Growing Pains and King of the Hill DVDs. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

There has been some controversy regarding The Dukes of Hazzard in the past few weeks, and TV Land also removed the series this week (there is speculation that it is due to the use of the Confederate flag in the series, though it is important to note that TV Land is known for abrupt schedule changes for virtually any reason), but in the midst of all of this, the series has been topping the DVD sales on amazon.com, to the point where the first season will set you back about $100 and is only available from third party sellers. (New York Post)
The Unauthorized Stories franchise at Lifetime will never end. This week, yet another one was announced: Melrose Place. (Jezebel)
The Miss USA Pageant has been in limbo since NBC and Univision decided to not air it following lots and lots of controversial news regarding Donald Trump that we won't even get into here, but Reelz has jumped in to rescue it. (Variety)
Sesame Street has had an unusual amount of stability when it comes to the the actors who appear in the show, but this week, it was announced that Sonia Manzano, who has played Maria for the past 45 years has retiring and will not be back for next season.. (NPR)
The famous 30 Rock building in New York, which (of course) had an entire sitcom named after it, is now The Comcast Building. (Vanity Fair)
What would the Fourth of July be without marathons everywhere? We've got your entire list. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

We mentioned last week that Growing Pains would be moving forward on DVD soon, and this week, Warner Archive gave us a date. Growing Pains - The Complete Fifth Season will arrive on July 14.
Olive Films is remaining dedicated to getting King of the Hill finished up on DVD, and on August 25, fans will see King of the Hill - The Complete 11th Season arrive on DVD, leaving two more to go.

JULY 7 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00VX2200C/ref=nosim/happydaysonline5-20

Archie Bunker's Place - Season One (DVD, $9.98): It has been out-of-print from Sony for quite a while now, but now, the first season of the follow-up series to All in the Family is on DVD from Mill Creek.
Barney Miller - The Final Season (DVD, $24.97): The complete series has been out for quite some time, but now, for those who were collecting individual seasons, Shout! Factory has you taken care of.
Married... with Children - Season 11 (DVD, $9.98): The Bundys are wrapped up on DVD with this Mill Creek re-release. Also available, the complete series.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Pamela Adlon (Twitter), "that lady guy"

Claim to Fame: Pamela Adlon may not be a name that resonates with everybody immediately, but her name before her marriage (and subsequent divorce), Pamela Segall, might be more familiar. One of her first roles ever was on The Facts of Life playing Kelly, a mostly forgotten character who was actually a regular character (and received a billing in the opening credits) during the fifth season. After that, she did a lot of guest work on series, until she found one of her true callings in voice work in 1996 (usually voicing the characters of young boys), starting in Bobby's World. Her biggest role as a voice actor was as Bobby Hill on King of the Hill. These days, though, she isn't limiting her work to voice acting, as she is an executive producer and recurring character on the series Louie.

Pick of the Tweets: "Every day. Every day. Every day. #InternationalWomensDay (photo)" (March 9, 2015)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, April 9

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Stuffed Monkey and an Ex-Girlfriend" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When CeeCee loses her favorite toy, Mandy and Meemaw (Annie Potts) take it as an opportunity to make some money. Meanwhile, Connor contemplates revisiting an old relationship.

Ghosts - "Michael Jackson Goes to HR" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor lands himself in trouble when an inappropriate gift to a co‑worker forces him into an HR meeting only Jay can handle. Meanwhile, Pete unintentionally sparks drama with Alberta after casually mentioning a surprise visit to his ex.

Animal Control - "Scaredy Cats and Card Sharks" (Fox, 9:02PM ET/PT)
When Frank and Daisy lose $5,000 in union funds, they try to win the money back by gambling; Shred and Patel cover the late-night shift at the precinct.

Going Dutch - "The Heart Locker" (Fox, 9:32PM ET/PT)
After throwing out his back, the Colonel is ordered to bed rest; the base is sent to sweep for landmines at a local farm, where Major Shah suddenly finds himself in serious danger when he steps on one.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 6)

Thursday, April 9

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Catch Kerry on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Riz Ahmed (Bait) - Riz is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy talks about Scrubs and High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Dany Levy (Big Mistakes/Schitt's Creek) - Dan talks about Big Mistakes on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity dishes on Doc on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/The Louie Show), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/Help Me Help You) - Bryan, Frankie and Jane talk about Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
John C. Reilly (Moonbase 8) - NBC's Today has "Head or Tails" with John in the 9am hour.
Billy Magnussen (The Franchise/Made for Love) - NBC's Today catches up with Billy in the 9am hour.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Terry and Rebecca King-Crews revealing for the first time Rebecca's health battle, so check your local listings.
Kenya Barris (blackAF) - Kenya talks about Prime's Jerry West: The Logo on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette tells Drew about her current run in Broadway show The Rocky Horror Show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.