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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, February 18
Abbott Elementary - "Team Building" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The teachers prepare for the upcoming school year with new faces and big changes on the horizon.
Abbott Elementary - "Cheating" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Melissa tries to outsmart her students; Tariq causes chaos in Janine’s class, and a new guidance counselor joins the school.
Abbott Elementary - "Ballgame" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Abbott crew heads to the ballpark for Teachers’ Appreciation Night at the Philadelphia Phillies game.
Abbott Elementary - "Game Night" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Gregory steps in to host game night at his apartment. Mr. Johnson, Ava, Barbara and Melissa head to the DMV to renew their licenses.
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Life Is Long" (BET, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Calvin must come to terms with his breakup from Laura. Calvin encourages Malik to remain committed to their workouts.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Figuring It Out" (BET, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Anastasia is conflicted about continuing her walks with Reginald due to his memory loss; Detective Elliot warns Jeremy about a new DA on the case who plans to throw the book at the young robbers.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 16)
Wednesday, February 18
- Tyler Perry (House of Payne/Love Thy Neighbor) - Watch Tyler on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Kyle MacLachlan (Carol's Second Act/Sex and the City) - Kyle appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Delroy Lindo (UNPrisoned) - Delroy talks about Sinners on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am. He also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Arielle Kebbel (Ballers) - Arielle talks about Marshals on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am. She also talks about her new film I Can Only Imagine 2 on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Wendell Pierce (The Odd Couple/The Michael J. Fox Show/The Weber/The Brian Benben Show/The Gregory Hines Show) - Wendell talks about Elsbeth on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Tracy Letts (Mr. Throwback/Divorce) - Tracy talks about Bug on
- Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered/Married/Second Generation Wayans) - Regina tells Drew all about her action-packed film One Battle After Another on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Teri Hatcher (The Odd Couple/Sunday Dinner/Karen's Song/The Love Boat) - Teri is whipping up a delicious meal in the kitchen with her Desperately Devoted Podcast Co-Hosts onscreen daughter Andrea Bowen and real-life daughter Emerson Tenney on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
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