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
Sunday, August 25
Last Man Standing - "The Courtship of Vanessa's Mother" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Vanessa's mother comes to visit and hits it off with Ed; Mandy and Kyle tutor Boyd, but they may be the ones getting outsmarted.
Last Man Standing - "Dreams vs. Realty" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mandy nearly gives up on her dream of becoming a fashion designer when she is faced with rejection; Vanessa looks back at her own career path, which stirs up regrets; Mike steps in to help the women in his family realize their dreams.
The Simpsons - "Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Homer's work cuts children's health care benefits, Marge turns to buying healing crystals as a cheaper solution for Bart's ADD; Bart begins to succeed in school, prompting Marge to open her own crystals empire and sell to mothers at school.
What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage - "Neighbor" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Fred struggles to discuss the mysterious cliffhanger from "The Flare" and speak with his guests because of a new noisy neighbor on the stage next door; Eric Stonestreet and Randall Park stop by.
Family Guy - "Trans-Fat" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Peter is mistakenly identified as transgender, which leads to an unexpected event and him learning an important lesson.
What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage - "Elevator" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Fred gets stuck in an elevator and is unable to host the show, Taylor must face her biggest fear: hosting the show alone; Ike Barinholz, Jillian Bell and Taran Killam stop by.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 19)
Sunday, August 25
- Adam DeVine (Workaholics/Modern Family) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June/July/August)
06/04 - The Brady Bunch - 50th Anniversary The Brady-est Brady Bunch TV & Movie Collection
06/18 - Will & Grace (The Revival) - Season Two (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Man with a Plan - Season Two
07/09 - Broad City - Season 5
07/09 - Broad City - The Complete Series
07/09 - Life in Pieces - The Complete Fourth Season
07/09 - Speechless - The Complete Third Season
07/16 - Eight Is Enough - The Complete First Season
07/17 - The Practice (1976) - The Complete Series (WBShop.com)
07/23 - Brockmire - The Complete First Season
07/23 - What I Like About You - The Complete First Season
07/30 - The Good Place - The Complete Third Season
08/06 - Caroline in the City - The Third Season
08/06 - Caroline in the City - The Fourth Season
08/13 - I Love Lucy - Colorized Collection
08/13 - Leave it to Beaver - Seasons One and Two
08/20 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season Six
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