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, March 12

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Big Birthday and Tequila Shots" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mandy struggles to celebrate Georgie’s 21st birthday after hitting a rough patch in her career.

Ghosts - "St. Hetty’s Day 2: The Help" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
A St. Patrick’s Day staffing emergency gives Hetty the chance to step into an unlikely role at the restaurant as she regains her once-a-year ability to be seen and heard by the living. Meanwhile, Kyle returns to watch over the ghosts and finds himself caught in an amusing supernatural dynamic.

Animal Control - "Squirrels and Fat Cats" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank uncovers Emily and Shred's secret romance during a break-in at city supply; Victoria and Patel confront his daughter's school bully.

Going Dutch - "Tinker, Tailor, Colonel, Spy" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Rick takes a sabbatical from the CIA and returns to the base, hoping to rekindle his strained relationship with Capt. Maggie; paranoia runs high when a mole is suspected to be operating inside the base.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 9)

Thursday, March 12

Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Catch Will on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Robert stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jennifer Tilly (Out of Practice) - Andy Cohen interviews Jennifer on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan talks about Broadway's Death of a Salesman with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Ariana joins Tamron to talk about her fashion evolution and her role in the all-star cast of the new series Scarpetta on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Lauren Graham (The Z-Suite/M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Lauren talks about Reminders of Him on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - NBC's Today catches up with Valerie in the 10am hour.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil and Lily Rosenthal join Drew for a taste test of weird foods and talk about their children's book Just Try It! Someplace New! (A Phil & Lil Book) on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.