Saturday, August 20, 2016
SitcomsOnline Digest: Remembering Jack Riley and Fyvush Finkel; New Family Matters DVDs
Welcome
to SitcomsOnline Digest! It has been yet another busy week with deaths of classic TV stars, news of the upcoming death of a relatively new cable network, and also a bit of good news with some new series for Antenna TV. Let's get going!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- Jack Riley, known for his roles on The Bob Newhart Show and many other sitcoms, as well as the the voice of Stu Pickles on Rugrats, died this week at age 80. (People)
- Fyvush Finkel, who spent most of his career as a Yiddish theater actor but transitioned into TV thanks to David E. Kelley casting him in roles on Picket Fences and Boston Public, died this week at age 93. (New York Times)
- The cable network Pivot will be pivoting toward going off the air sometime in the next year. (USA Today)
- Antenna TV has a lot of new (to them, anyway) sitcoms coming along the way over the next year or two. (SitcomsOnline)
- Comedy Central abruptly and somewhat unexpectedly canceled The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore this week, and it seems that it was in large part due to the inability to translate the series into clips that could go viral on YouTube. (Vox)
- John McLaughlin, the host of the PBS series The McLaughlin Group, unexpectedly missed an episode for the first time in the 34 year history of the program earlier this week, and then died earlier this week. Now, the series that pioneered the modern "noisy" political talk show will end this weekend, with a special tribute to the host. (Deadline)
- The Wonder Years - The Complete Series is coming to retailers soon, but we have a chance for you to win a copy of it. (SitcomsOnline)
HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
- Warner Archive is moving ahead with Family Matters, bringing Family Matters - The Complete Eighth Season (the last one to air on ABC before the series moved to CBS for the ninth) to DVD on September 20.
TUESDAY (AUGUST 23) HOME MEDIA RELEASES
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season Three (DVD, $39.98): The third season of the Andy Samberg sitcom on Fox arrives in this release.
- Superstore - Season One (DVD, $29.98): The first season of the NBC comedy arrives in this release.
- The Wonder Years - The Complete Series (DVD, $119.95): In case you skipped the deluxe version that came packaged in the metal locker and was only available directly from Time Life, this complete series now arrives at retailers.
FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: Jason Hervey (Twitter), "Executive Producer/Actor/Co-Founder of Bischoff Hervey Entertainment Television (BHE TV) AKA brother from hell on the Emmy Award Winning series The Wonder Years"
Claim to Fame: We're (sort of) continuing a theme of actors who played memorable characters in 80s sitcoms, but were never part of the regular cast this week with Jason Hervey, even though Hervey did go on to an actual regular role in the late 80s on The Wonder Years. Jason Hervey's career began with a few guest roles here and there, most notably in the final season of Diff'rent Strokes, where he played Charlie in nine final season episodes. Of course, his best known role came from The Wonder Years, where he was much more than just a minor supporting character. Today, he does much more work on the production side of television, and much like his friend Scott Baio, seems to have some very strong pro-Donald Trump political opinions... just so you know before viewing his Twitter page.
Pick of the Tweets: ".@thirsty_lawyer Me and my brother (aka the REAL Wayne Arnold) at our cousin David's wedding! #JenBern #Congrats" (February 27, 2016)
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Friday, January 24
American Housewife - "Wildflower Girls" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Katie grows concerned when Anna-Kat is invited to join Westport’s elite scout troop, The Wildflower Girls. Meanwhile, Taylor learns her Carnegie Mellon interview is scheduled with famous alumnus and Broadway star Brecken Phillips (Ian Gomez); and, Oliver befriends the school recluse, Trevor (Tenzing Norgay-Trainor).
Fresh Off the Boat - "The Magic Motor Inn" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
In a selfish move to avoid Jessica’s wrath once SAT scores arrive, Eddie convinces Evan that coaching from former classmate and spelling bee champ Simryn is exactly what he needs to finally win the state spelling bee. However, when it backfires and Evan begins to spiral, Eddie gets some much-needed wisdom from Simryn’s dad. On the other side of town, Jessica and Louis convince Emery to get a job only to be shocked by what he chooses.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)
Friday, January 24
- Penn Badgley (Do Over) - Watch Penn on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) - Larry appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ali Wong (American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) - Ali is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Tim Robbins (The Brink) - Tim chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Susie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Bless This Mess/Broad City) - Susie chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jennifer Anison (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Jennifer guest hosts The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) - Selena is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Ashley Williams (The Jim Gaffigan Show/Good Morning, Miami) - Ashley talks about Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer on People Now at 12pm.
- The Cast of Indebted - Abby Elliot, Jessy Hodges and Adam Pally are guests on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
- Retta (Parks and Recreation) and Reno Wilson (Mike & Molly) - Retta and Reno talk about Good Girls on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
- Jeff Garlin (The Goldbergs/Curb Your Enthusiasm) - Jeff appears on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
- Vivica A. Fox (Mr. Box Office/Getting Personal/Out All Night) - Vivica is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (November/December/January)
11/05 - The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang - The Complete Animated Series
11/05 - Laverne & Shirley in the Army (Animated Series) - The DVD Edition
11/05 - Letterkenny - Seasons 1 & 2
11/05 - Step by Step - The Complete Fifth Season (WBShop.com)
11/12 - The Big Bang Theory - The Twelfth and Final Season (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Series (Blu-ray Limited Edition)
11/18 - The Guest Book - Season Two
11/19 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Mill Creek) (Blu-ray)
11/19 - The Kominsky Method - The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)
12/03 - The Simpsons - The Nineteenth Season
12/03 - The Simpsons - Seasons 1-20: Limited Collector's Set
12/06 - 9JKL - The Complete Series
12/10 - Family Guy - Season Seventeen
12/17 - Atlanta - Season 2 - Robbin' Season
12/17 - Fuller House - The Complete Fourth Season
12/17 - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (2019 Release)
12/17 - The Other Two - Season 1
01/02 - My Three Sons - The Fifth Season - Volume One
01/02 - My Three Sons - The Fifth Season - Volume Two
01/14 - Veep - The Final (Seventh) Season ((Blu-ray)
01/14 - Veep - The Complete Series (DVD)
01/21 - Hangin' with Mr. Cooper - The Complete Third Season (WBShop.com)
01/21 - The Mindy Project - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/28 - Ballers - The Complete Fifth and Final Season
01/28 - Ballers - The Complete Series
01/28 - The Mindy Project - The Complete Series (DVD)
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