Friday, September 17, 2021

Fri-Yay: NBC Reportedly Wants to Reboot The Office; Remembering Norm Macdonald of The Norm Show/Norm

It's time for another edition of Fri-Yay! That means we will take a look back on some sitcom happenings in recent days or weeks or other fun sitcomy stuff. It's a sitcom lover's paradise! Happy Fri-Yay!

The Office

by Vincent

A few weeks ago, reports came out that NBC wants to reboot The Office. Whether the reboot would feature the original cast or if it would be a refresh (like The Wonder Years or One Day at a Time) is obviously not clear. Still, it's hard for me to see a situation where this Office reboot is a good idea. Simply put, while The Office is a modern classic, the show is both too outdated and too modern to work as a reboot this time.

First off, simply not enough time has passed since The Office ended for it to warrant a reboot. The Office hasn't even been off the air for ten years - it ended 8 years ago, in 2013. It also still remains incredibly popular, so any Office reboot would simply have too many comparisons to the original series, and fans would inevitably be unhappy at any changes made. At the same time, The Office was also very much a show of its time, and many of the inappropriate boss reactions that made the show work so well might play differently in today's cultural environment. Let's enjoy the original Office and if its creators want to make new content, come up with new, original series instead.


Norm Macdonald

Canadian stand-up comedian, writer, and actor Norm Macdonald, who starred as Norm Henderson on The Norm Show (aka Norm), has died. He died on September 14 from acute leukemia at a hospital in Pasadena, California. He had been diagnosed nine years prior, though he disclosed his diagnosis to only a few close friends and family members. Mr. Macdonald was 61.

Macdonald's early television appearances included a 1990 episode of Star Search as a stand-up comedy competitor and a 1991 episode of the HBO stand-up series One Night Stand. He worked as a writer for The Dennis Miller Show in 1992. He worked as a story editor on four episodes and wrote two episodes of Roseanne in 1992 and 1993. In 1993, he guest starred on an episode of The Jackie Thomas Show.

Norm Macdonald - Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live

He was hired as a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live in 1993. He spent a total of five seasons on the show until 1998. He was the anchor of the Weekend Update segment starting in 1994 for three and a half seasons. Some of his impressions included Larry King, Burt Reynolds, David Letterman, Quentin Tarantino, Charles Kuralt and Bob Dole. He returned to host the October 23, 1999, show. He reappeared as Burt Reynolds on Celebrity Jeopardy! on the May 16, 2009, show.

Norm

Macdonald starred as Norm Henderson on the 1999-2001 ABC sitcom The Norm Show (later shortened to Norm). Norm Henderson is a former NHL hockey player who is banned for life from the league because of gambling and tax evasion. He avoided jail time by agreeing to five years of community service as a full-time social worker. The first season aired as The Norm Show before they shortened the title to Norm in season two to avoid a legal conflict with Michael Jantze's comic strip The Norm. Macdonald also worked as a producer for the series, which aired for 3 seasons and 54 episodes. The cast included Laurie Metcalf, Ian Gomez, Amy Wilson (season 1), Bruce Jarchow (season 1), Max Wright, Faith Ford (seasons 2-3), Artie Lange (seasons 2-3) and Nikki Cox (recurring).

A Minute with Stan Hooper

He next starred as Stan Hooper on the short-lived 2003 Fox sitcom A Minute with Stan Hooper. Stan Hooper is a famous newspaper columnist turned television commentator. He moves his family from their New York home to a small Wisconsin town, Waterford Falls, where he hopes to better get in touch with Middle America in an attempt to make his weekly minute-long television commentaries more appealing to a larger audience. Macdonald also worked as an executive producer for the series. They produced 13 episodes, although only 6 episodes were aired. The cast included Penelope Ann Miller, Brian Howe, Eric Lively, Reagan Dale Neis, Garret Dillahunt, Daniel Roebuck and Fred Willard.

Norm Macdonald on The Middle

Macdonald had a recurring role as Orville "Rusty" Heck, Mike's (Neil Flynn) irresponsible, dim-witted but well meaning brother, on ten episodes of the ABC sitcom The Middle from 2010 to 2018. Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included The Larry Sanders Show, The Drew Carey Show (2 episodes), NewsRadio, Oliver Beene, My Name Is Earl (2 episodes), Real Rob and Girlboss (3 episodes). He worked as a consultin producer on Roseanne in 2018.

He was also known for his voice work. He voiced the character of Lucky the Dog in Dr. Dolittle (1998), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006), Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief (2008) and Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts (2009). He provided the voice of Pigeon on Mike Tyson Mysteries from 2014 to 2020. He voiced Glumshanks on Skylanders Academy from 2016 to 2018. Macdonald was the voice of Lieutenant Yaphit, an amorphous, gelatinous, shapeshifting engineer on The Orville from 2017 to 2019. His other voice credits included Family Guy (2 episodes) and The Fairly OddParents (2 episodes).

He hosted Sports Show with Norm Macdonald on Comedy Central in 2011. He co-hosted the podcast Norm Macdonald Live with Adam Eget for three seasons from 2013 to 2017. They worked again on Netflix's Norm Macdonald Has a Show in 2018.

Macdonald co-wrote and starred as Mitch Weaver in the 1998 film Dirty Work. Some of his other film credits included Billy Madison (1995), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Man on the Moon (1999) and Screwed (2000). He made cameos in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), The Animal (2001), Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005), Funny People (2009), Grown Ups (2010), Jack & Jill (2011) and The Ridiculous Six (2015).

Mr. Macdonald was a true comedy genius. He was a master with his quick wit and deadpan delivery. His late night talk show appearances were always funny. He was very good on The Norm Show/Norm. The underrated sitcom should be re-released on DVD. We thank him for the many laughs and entertainment he brought us during his career. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our The Norm Show/Norm message board. View photos in our galleries.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, August 28

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "The 6:10 to Lubbock" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie and Mandy get fed up staying with her parents and reconsider their living situation after a fight with Mandy’s mom, Audrey. Young Sheldon stars Zoe Perry (Mary) and Annie Potts (Meemaw) guest star.

Ghosts - "His Girl Shiki" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Pete makes good on his promise to find someone for Sasappis by bringing in a wisecracking 1940s screenwriter who also has the ability to roam.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 25)

Thursday, August 28

  • Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Chris appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Rose Byrne (Platonic/Physical) - Rose is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Danielle Brooks (Close Enough) - Danielle appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Bobby Moynihan (Mr. Mayor/Me, Myself & I), Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) and Mary Eliabeth Ellis (Santa Clarita Diet/The Grinder/Perfect Couples/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Bobby, Thomas and Mary are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Laurence Fishburne (black-ish) - Laurence chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (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)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

08/28 - NBC's Password Renewed for Season 3 for 2026; Pluto TV Streaming CBS Shows Ahead of Fall Season
08/27 - Hulu's Deli Boys Renewed for Season 2 with Fred Armisen; HBO's I Love LA Premieres November 2
08/26 - English Teacher Returns on FX for Season 2; Jesse Williams Prime Video Series Trailer
08/25 - Doc Season 2 Trailer for Fox; Remembering David Ketchum and Jerry Adler
08/24 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 25, 2025)
08/23 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Home Improvement Cast Members to Reunite on Shifting Gears; The Paper to Have Binge Drop
08/22 - Hulu's Futurama Season 13 Trailer; A Man on the Inside Returns November 20 on Netflix
08/21 - George Lopez Coming to COZI TV; The Morning Show Season 4 Trailer
08/20 - Welcome Back, Kotter 50th Anniversary Marathon on Rewind TV; Apple TV+ Palm Royale Season 2 Premieres November 12
08/19 - Antenna TV's Archie Bunker's Place Labor Day Marathon; Larry the Cable Guy Prime Video Special
08/18 - Nobody Wants This Season 2 Premieres October 23; HGTV and Retta Continue Partnership
08/17 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 18, 2025)
08/16 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Paramount Plans Retool of Cable Networks; King of the Hill Revival Scores Big Ratings
08/15 - Catchy Comedy Acquires Hot in Cleveland; Netflix's Animated Comedy Strip Law Premieres in 2026
08/14 - Dan Levy's Netflix Comedy Series Cast; Betty la Fea: La Historia ContinĂșa Season 2 Premieres Friday
08/13 - Remembering Danielle Spencer of What's Happening!!; Trailer for Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building
08/12 - Netflix's Comedy Kiss or Die Premieres September 9; Lori Harvey Joins Reasonable Doubt
08/11 - Roku Originals Books a Return Trip with Season 2 Renewal of Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross; Netflix's Fixed Trailer
08/10 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 11, 2025)
08/09 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Trailer Released for The Paper; ABC Gives Pilot Order to Do You Want Kids?
08/08 - Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Season 2 Premieres September 12; The Paper Trailer for Peacock
08/07 - Special Forces: World's Toughest Test Season 4 Celebs; Sweetpea Season 2 Stars
08/06 - Molly Shannon Joins Will Ferrell Golf Comedy Series; Netflix's Season 2 of My Life with the Walter Boys
08/05 - Disney+ Musical Comedy Electric Bloom Premieres; NBC Renews American Ninja Warrior for Season 18
08/04 - Remembering Loni Anderson of WKRP in Cincinnati; And Just Like That... to End After 3 Seasons
08/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 4, 2025)
08/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Family Guy Specials Coming to Hulu; Jimmy Kimmel Rooting for Emmy for Stephen Colbert
08/01 - Long Story Short Gets Season 2 Ahead of Premiere; Netflix's Wayward Premieres September 25
07/31 - Solar Opposites Final Season on Hulu; Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical
07/30 - FETV Acquires The Jeffersons, Uncut; BET+ Comedy Churchy Returns August 21, BET Greenlights Sketch Comedy Series
07/29 - NBC Fall 2025 Premiere Dates; Fox Fall 2025 Premiere Dates
07/28 - Events Planned for The Golden Girls 40th Anniversary; Family Guy Holiday Specials Return to Hulu