Monday, January 15, 2024

Apple TV+ Winter Slate with Peanuts and Fraggle Rock Specials; Remembering Joyce Randolph of The Honeymooners

Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin - Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock - Sago Mini Friends

Apple TV+ unveiled an exciting winter programming slate for kids and families, featuring brand new Peanuts content as well as returning fan-favorite and critically acclaimed series. Launching February 16, the new Peanuts special, Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin, uncovers the origin story of one of Peanuts' most beloved characters and how he ultimately makes friends with Charlie Brown and the gang. Acclaimed series also returning this winter includes the second season of the award-winning series, Sago Mini Friends, debuting January 26, and season two of the iconic and Emmy Award-winning series from The Jim Henson Company, Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, debuting March 29, as Tony and Grammy Award winner, and Emmy Award nominee Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) returns for season two alongside Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!), Emmy Award winner Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) and Emmy Award winner Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek) in guest star roles.


Joyce Randolph

Actress Joyce Randolph, who was best known for playing Trixie Norton on The Honeymooners, has died. She died in her sleep of natural causes at home in Manhattan's Upper West Side on January 13. Ms. Randolph was 99.

The Honeymooners

Randolph originally portrayed Trixie Norton on The Jackie Gleason Show in 1952 on CBS. She played the character in skits from 1952 to 1957. She starred as Trixie Norton in the 1955-1956 CBS sitcom The Honeymooners. The series follows the lives of New York City bus driver Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason), his wife Alice (Audrey Meadows), Ralph's best friend Ed Norton (Art Carney) and Ed's wife Trixie as they get involved with various schemes in their day-to-day living. Randolph did not appear in every episode and had a less developed character, though she is shown to be somewhat bossy toward her husband.

Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph in Hi Honey, I'm Home

In 1991, Randolph and Meadows reprised their roles in the episode "Fur Flies" of the ABC sitcom Hi Honey, I'm Home. Some of her other television guest appearances included Rocky King, Detective (1950), Buck Rogers, Famous Jury Trials, The Clock, The Plainclothesman (5 episodes) and The Doctors and the Nurses. On Broadway, she appeared in Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath (1950).

She was interviewed for The Interviews: An Oral History of Television on October 27, 1999.

Ms. Randolph did a wonderful job playing Trixie Norton. She was the last surviving cast member of The Honeymooners. We thank her for the laughs and entertainment that she brought us. She will be deeply missed.

Peter Crombie

Actor Peter Crombie, who had a recurring role as Crazy Joe Davola in Seinfeld, has died. He died after a brief illness on January 10 in Palm Springs, California. Mr. Crombie was 71.

Peter Crombie and Michael Richards in Seinfeld

Crombie appeared as Crazy Joe Davola in five episodes in the fourth season (1992-1993) of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. Crazy Joe Davola is a writer who suffers from mental problems. He stalks Jerry and dates Elaine. Depressed that Elaine rejected him, he dressed up as the clown from the opera Pagliacci and beats up several street toughs who antagonize him. The name was used with the consent of Fox TV executive, Joe "Lennard" Davola.

Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included Perfect Strangers, The John Larroquette Show, Get Smart (1995) and Grace Under Fire.

He appeared as Norman Minter in five episodes of the 1996 Fox drama L.A. Firefighters. Some of his other television guest appearances included Leg Work, Spenser: For Hire, Law & Order, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Diagnosis: Murder, L.A. Law, Picket Fences, Profiler, NYPD Blue and Walker, Texas Ranger.

Some of his film credits included Born on the Fourth of July (1989), The Doors (1991), Natural Born Killers (1994), Se7en (1995) and My Dog Skip (2000).

Mr. Crombie did a great job portraying one of the more memorable Seinfeld side characters. We thank him for his work on television and in films. He will be greatly missed.

Christian Oliver

We also remember German actor Christian Oliver. He starred as Brian Keller in Saved by the Bell: The Class. Oliver and his two daughters, Madita and Annik, were killed on January 4 after the four-seater private plane they were on crashed off the coast of Bequia, a Caribbean island in the Grenadines. Everyone on board, including the American pilot, Robert Sachs, was killed on impact. Mr. Oliver was 51.

Saved by the Bell: The New Class

Oliver starred as Brian Keller in the second season (1994) of the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell: The New Class. It aired as a part of the network's TNBC Saturday morning line-up. Brian Keller is is a new transfer student from Switzerland. He is interested in Rachel Meyers (Sarah Lancaster), and he is also a schemer.

He appeared in a 2005 episode of The Comeback. Some of his television guest appearances included Sliders, V.I.P., Crossing Lines, Timeless and Hunters (5 episodes).

Some of his film credits included The Good German (2006), Speed Racer (2008) and Valkyrie (2008).

Mr. Oliver was known to German audiences for his role as Jan Richter in the action series Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei from 2002 until 2004. We thank him for his work on television and in films. He will be missed.

Cindy Morgan

Actress Cindy Morgan was best known for playing Lacey Underall in Caddyshack and Lora/Yori in Tron. She was found dead of natural causes at her home in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, on December 30, 2023. Ms. Morgan was 69.

Cindy Morgan in The Love Boat

Morgan's sitcom guest appearances included The Love Boat, Tough Cookies, Beverly Hills Buntz, She's the Sheriff, Harry and the Hendersons and The Larry Sanders Show.

Bring 'Em Back Alive

She starred as Gloria Marlowe in the 1982-1983 CBS adventure series Bring 'Em Back Alive, which also starred Bruce Boxleitner. She had a recurring role as Gabrielle Short in 15 episodes in seasons six and seven of the CBS prime time soap opera Falcon Crest from 1987 to 1988.

Some of her other television guest appearances included Vega$, CHiPs (3 episodes), Hawaiian Heat, Masquerade, The Fall Guy, Crazy Like a Fox, Amazing Stories, The Highwayman, Matlock (3 episodes), Mancuso, FBI (1990), Hunter (2 episodes) and Under Suspicion.

Ms. Morgan was a talented and lovely actress in the 1980s. We thank her for work on television and in films. She will be sorely missed.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, April 18

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 14)

Friday, April 18

  • David Alan Grier (St. Denis Medical/Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Cool Kids/The Carmichael Show/Bad Teacher/Life with Bonnie/DAG) - Watch David on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Bernadette Peters (High Desert/Mozart in the Jungle/All's Fair) - Bernadette is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Chet Hanks (Running Point) - Chet appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Woody takes "The Colbert Questionert" on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike 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.
  • Luke Kirby (Étoile) - Luke talks about Étoile on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew and Ross Mathews to hit the headlines on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Annaleigh Ashford (B Positive) - Annaleigh is telling Drew about the thrilling new series Happy Face based on a real life serial killer on The Drew Barrymroe Show, so check your local listings.
  • Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) and Delroy Lindo (UNPrisoned) - Michael, Delroy and others tell Sherri about their highly anticipated new film Sinners on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel talks about Bravo's Love Hotel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

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


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