Showing posts with label Dennis the Menace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dennis the Menace. Show all posts
Saturday, April 12, 2025
SitcomsOnline Digest: FX Sets Premiere Date for Adults; Netflix Picks Up Monopoly Themed Reality Competition Series
Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's a bit of a light week, but we've got some highlights including a new FX comedy, a Monopoly competition series, and more. Let's get going!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- FX has set a premiere date for a new comedy called Adults. (Deadline)
- Netflix has picked up a Monopoly themed reality competition series. (Variety)
- It's more of a technical thing that most viewers wouldn't know or care about, but after distributing Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune for decades, CBS (which took over distribution rights after acquiring Paramount, which in turn had previously acquired King World) has lost distribution rights to both series to Sony (which took over production rights from Merv Griffin Enterprises years ago) following a lengthy court battle. (Variety)
- Jay North, best known for his role as the titular character in the classic sitcom Dennis the Menace, has died. (AP News)
- Bounce TV has renewed Mind Your Business. (SitcomsOnline)
WEEKLY PLANNER (APRIL 12 - APRIL 18)
- Tomorrow's binge on Catchy Comedy is Taxi.
- You can now stream both Columbo and CHiPs on Amazon Prime Video.
Monday, April 07, 2025
NBC Celebrates Joan Rivers with Special; Remembering Jay North of Dennis the Menace
NBC will celebrate comedy legend Joan Rivers with Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute on Tuesday, May 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The one-hour all-star comedy special will feature today's biggest comedians as they pay homage to Rivers' razor-sharp humor and impact on pop culture. To celebrate the decade since her passing, the comedy community will revisit Rivers' legendary cabinet of jokes and add their own personal spin to reflect today's social and cultural landscape, along with a dose of their original material.
Filmed at the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute will feature appearances, musical bits and standup comedy from today's biggest artists who have been touched by her legacy, including Rachel Brosnahan, Margaret Cho, Nikki Glaser, Tiffany Haddish, Chelsea Handler, Neil Patrick Harris, Bill Maher, Howie Mandel, Joel McHale, Tracy Morgan, Patton Oswalt, Aubrey Plaza, Sarah Silverman, Melissa Rivers, Jean Smart and Rita Wilson. On May 14, an extended and uncensored version of Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute will debut on Peacock and will feature additional comics, who will be announced later.
Actor Jay North, who starred as Dennis Mitchell in Dennis the Menace, has died. He died of colorectal cancer at his home in Lake Butler, Florida, on April 6, 2025. Mr. North was 73.
North starred as the good-natured but mischievous Dennis Mitchell in the 1959-1963 CBS sitcom Dennis the Menace, which was based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name. The show follows the Mitchell family – Henry, Alice, and their only child, Dennis, an energetic, trouble-prone, mischievous, but well-meaning boy, who often tangles first with his peace-and-quiet-loving neighbor, George Wilson, a retired salesman, and later with George's brother John, a writer. He called Mr. Wilson his "best friend" or "Good Ol' Mr. Wilson". The cast included Herbert Anderson, Gloria Henry, Joseph Kearns (1959-1962), Sylvia Field (1959-1962), Jeannie Russell, Billy Booth, Gale Gordon (1962-1963), and Sara Seegar (1962-1963). Recurring cast members included Gil Smith (1959-1960), Irene Tedrow, Willard Waterman, Mary Wickes (1959-1962), Kathleen Mulqueen, George Cisar (1960-1963), and Robert John Pittman (1961-1963).
He made crossover guest appearances as Dennis on such television shows as The Donna Reed Show and The Red Skelton Hour in 1960, and in the feature film Pepe (1960). In 1966, he reunited with Gale Gordon in an episode of The Lucy Show. He guest starred in two episodes of My Three Sons in 1966.
North starred as Terry Bowen in the short-lived 1967-1968 NBC adventure series Maya. The series is a follow-up to the 1966 film of the same name, with North and Sajid Khan reprising their roles. Set in the Indian jungle, the series centered on an American boy searching for his missing father, a big game hunter.
Some of his other television credits included Wanted: Dead or Alive, 77 Sunset Strip, Rescue 8, Sugarfoot, The Detectives, Wagon Train, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Jericho (1966).
As an adult, he turned to voice acting for animated television series, voicing the roles of Prince Turhan in the Arabian Knights segment of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, Terry Dexter in Here Comes the Grump, and a teenaged Bamm-Bamm Rubble on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show. He voiced himself in a 1999 episode of The Simpsons.
Some of his other film credits included The Miracle of the Hills (1959), The Big Operator (1959), Zebra in the Kitchen (1965), and The Teacher (1974). He appeared as himself in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003).
After leaving show business, he began working with fellow former child star Paul Petersen and the organization A Minor Consideration, using his experiences as a child performer to counsel other children working in the entertainment industry. He also worked as a correctional officer, working with troubled youth within Florida's juvenile justice system.
Mr. North was a talented child actor. He was funny and memorable as Dennis Mitchell. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment that he brought us during his career. He will be greatly missed.
Share your memories on our Dennis the Menace message board. View photos in our galleries.
Friday, December 13, 2024
Antenna TV's Christmas and New Year's Holiday Schedule; Apple TV+ and Peanuts Holiday Specials
Antenna TV is your destination for comfort and joy this holiday season. Enjoy curated episodes from the classic television shows you know and love in special marathons airing only on Antenna TV this Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Gather 'round the mistle 'Flo' and 'Becker' the halls with boughs of holly this Christmas Eve. Antenna TV unwraps its "Classic Christmas Collection" for you to cozy up with episodes from Dennis the Menace, Bewitched, Archie's Bunker Place, and others on December 24 starting at 5 am Eastern. Curl up and relax Christmas morning with the crackling sounds of comfort. Antenna TV is home of the original "Yule Log" December 25 beginning at 5 am Eastern. The Yule Log leads into "Christmas Through the Years" when Antenna TV takes you through nearly 50 years of television from The Burns and Allen Show to Three's Company to The Drew Carey Show with a whole day of Christmas episodes starting at 10 am Eastern.
As you prepare to ring in 2025, Antenna TV invites you to a throwback party direct from Cleveland! The best celebration around is "Drew Carey's New Year’s Eve Party" and the fun starts December 31 at 8 pm Eastern with The Drew Carey Show. Start the new year fresh and resolve to watch a marathon of premiere episodes from your favorite shows! Refresh your memory and revisit classic television moments with the "New Year's Day Fresh Start Marathon" on Antenna TV, January 1 starting at 5 am Eastern. View the full episodes airing in all of these events!
Join Apple TV+ in unwrapping a holiday season packed with Peanuts! Families can embrace the festive season with the beloved classic A Charlie Brown Christmas, a must-watch staple during the holidays, exclusively on Apple TV+. Subscribers can access the special all year round and non-subscribers can enjoy a free window to stream the cherished classic on Apple TV+ Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15. The iconic special is just one of Apple's many spirited Peanuts offerings, which also includes classic Peanuts holiday specials, I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales, and It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown; a holiday-themed episode of The Snoopy Show titled "Happiness Is the Gift of Giving"; and the special "Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne."
Additionally, Snoopy will take center stage with special "Today at Apple" screenings and activities in New York and Los Angeles this December. Visit the Apple Store's Fifth Avenue location in New York, NY on December 14 and Apple Store at The Grove in Los Angeles on December 21 at 2pm local time and create holiday cheer as kids ages 6-11 can share their favorite traditions and draw their own festive scene using Pages on iPad with Apple Pencil Pro. Don't miss this chance to celebrate the season with creativity and joy! Sign up here today. Ahead of the holidays, Apple is also releasing all-new Peanuts-themed screen savers for Peanuts fans to enjoy alongside the previously released Peanuts-themed Apple Watch faces. Whether it be the backyard, finding treasure on an island, or taking off to outer space, Snoopy embarks on a wide range of adventures on the biggest screen in the home with tvOS 18. Throughout the year, families and kids can discover ever-changing holiday moments for Snoopy, marking special occasions and iconic dates that celebrate the beloved beagle. Keep an eye out for Snoopy’s holiday debut this month!
Thursday, June 02, 2022
Antenna TV's Father's Day Feast Marathon; HBO Max Renews Our Flag Means Death
Antenna TV invites you to a Father's Day Feast, featuring a marathon of your favorite dads. Watch a smorgasbord of top classic sitcoms featuring your favorite fathers, including Darrin from Bewitched, George from The Jeffersons, Jim from Father Knows Best, Steven from Family Ties, and more. And you'll also see fathers of your favorite sitcom characters dropping by such as Chrissy's father on Three's Company, Mr. Kotter's dad on Welcome Back, Kotter, Henry's father from Too Close for Comfort and Jack Tripper's father on Three's Company. The all-day Father's Day Feast begins at 8 am ET on Sunday, June 19 on Antenna TV and will air through 8pm. Episode info is below:
8:00 AM Father Knows Best Father of the Year 02/06/55
8:30 AM Father Knows Best Proud Father 03/06/55
9:00 AM Bachelor Father The Social Worker 03/02/58
9:30 AM Bachelor Father Bentley, the Proud Father 03/15/59
10:00 AM Dennis the Menace Father's Day for Mr. Wilson 06/18/61
10:30 AM Hazel Natural Athlete 11/29/62
11:00 AM Hazel Vanishing Hero 11/28/63
11:30 AM McHale's Navy A Da Da for Christy 05/19/64
12:00 PM Bewitched A Very Special Delivery 09/23/65
12:30 PM Partridge Family Whatever Happened to the Old Songs? 10/09/70
1:00 PM That Girl That Girl's Daddy 11/20/70
1:30 PM Jeffersons Like Father, Like Son 04/05/75
2:00 PM One Day at a Time A Visit from Dad 12/07/76
2:30 PM Welcome Back Kotter Kotter and Son 01/20/77
3:00 PM Three's Company Chrissy Come Home 02/28/78
3:30 PM Benson Conflict of Interest 10/18/79
4:00 PM Too Close for Comfort Huey 02/24/81
4:30 PM Jeffersons Louise's Father 10/18/81
5:00 PM Family Ties I Never Killed for My Father 11/03/82
5:30 PM Silver Spoons Happy Birthday 10/10/83
6:00 PM Three's Company Like Father, Like Son 11/29/83
6:30 PM Silver Spoons World's Greatest Father 01/21/84
7:00 PM Family Ties Keaton and Son 10/18/84
7:30 PM Dear John Father Knows Best 11/30/89
HBO Max has renewed the comedy series Our Flag Means Death, from creator-showrunner David Jenkins, Emmy®-nominated executive producer and star Taika Waititi and Emmy®-nominated executive producer Garrett Basch, for a second season. Season one was (very) loosely based on the true adventures of 18th century would-be pirate Stede Bonnet, played by Rhys Darby (Wrecked). After trading in the seemingly charmed life of a gentleman for one of a swashbuckling buccaneer, Stede became captain of the pirate ship Revenge. Struggling to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew, Stede's fortunes changed after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard, played by Waititi. To their surprise, the wildly different Stede and Blackbeard found more than friendship on the high seas... they found love. Now they have to survive it. In addition to Darby and Waititi, season one starred an ensemble cast that included Nathan Foad, Samson Kayo, Vico Ortiz, Ewen Bremner, Joel Fry, Matt Maher, Kristian Nairn, Con O'Neill, Guz Khan, David Fane, Rory Kinnear, Samba Schutte, Nat Faxon, Fred Armisen and Leslie Jones.
Saturday, April 10, 2021
SitcomsOnline Digest: Nash Bridges Reprisal in the Works?; Season Finale Dates Set for Last Man Standing and MacGyver
Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we are hearing about some final episodes of long running series, a reprisal of Nash Bridges, and more. Let's get going!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- Don Johnson says that a Nash Bridges with the original cast is coming. (Deadline)
- Fox has set May 20 as the airdate for the finale of Last Man Standing. (TV Insider)
- MacGyver is coming to an end with the fifth season finale. (TVLine)
- Anne Beatts, who was a staff writer on Saturday Night Live in the first few seasons and later created Square Pegs, has died. (NBC News)
- Gloria Henry, known for playing the role of Alice Mitchell on Dennis the Menace, has died. (Hollywood Reporter)
- Jack Hanna, the celebrity zookeeper who has appeared on talk shows since Johnny Carson was the big one, is retiring from public life due to a medical diagnosis. (People)
- Summer schedules are out for ABC and Fox. (SitcomsOnline)
WEEKLY PLANNER (APRIL 10 - APRIL 16)
- Shameless comes to an end after 11 seasons on Showtime on Sunday.
- Decades has a Police Story binge this weekend.
- The final season of Younger debuts Thursday on Paramount+.
Tuesday, April 06, 2021
HBO Max Announces Minx, Set in the 1970s; Remembering Gloria Henry of Dennis the Menace
HBO Max has ordered ten episodes of the half-hour comedy Minx from Ellen Rapoport, Feigco Entertainment and Lionsgate Television. Set in 1970s Los Angeles, the series centers around an earnest young feminist who joins forces with a low-rent publisher to create the first erotic magazine for women. Minx stars Ophelia Lovibond (W1A, Elementary) and Jake Johnson (New Girl, Stumptown), who was previously announced as a guest star. Other series regulars include Idara Victor (Shameless, Turn), Jessica Lowe (Wrecked, Tacoma PD, Blended), Lennon Parham (Bless this Mess," Playing House, Veep), Michael Angarano (Emmy®-nominated for This Is Us, I'm Dying Up Here, The Knick) and Oscar Montoya (Reno 911, Bless the Harts, host of Spanish Aquí Presents podcast). Showrunner Ellen Rapoport executive produces the series alongside Paul Feig and Dan Magnante for Feigco Entertainment. Rachel Lee Goldenberg directed and executive produced the pilot. Lionsgate Television is the studio. Feigco and Lionsgate Television previously partnered with HBO Max on Love Life, which was renewed for a second season. Lionsgate is also producing Santa Inc. and Julia for HBO Max.
Actress Gloria Henry, who starred as Alice Mitchell on Dennis the Menace, has died. She died on April 3, the day after her 98th birthday, at her home in Los Angeles, California.
Henry starred as Michele "Mike" Malone on the 1954-1955 syndicated crime drama The Files of Jeffrey Jones. Jeffrey Jones (Don Haggerty) was a New York City private investigator working his way through law school. Michele "Mike" Malone was an impulsive newspaper reporter who often had to be rescued by Jones while she was trying to help with his investigations.
She starred as Alice Mitchell on the 1959-1963 CBS sitcom Dennis the Menace. Alice Mitchell was the mother of Dennis (Jay North) and the wife of Henry Mitchell (Herbert Anderson). The series ran for four seasons and 146 episodes. The cast included Joseph Kearns (1959-1962), Sylvia Field (1959-1962), Jeannie Russell, Gil Smith (1959-1960), Irene Tedrow, Billy Booth, Gale Gordon (1962-1963), Sara Seegar (1962-1963), Willard Waterman, Mary Wickes (1959-1962), Kathleen Mulqueen (1961), George Cisar (1960-1963) and Robert John Pittman (1961-1963).
Some of her sitcom guest appearances included My Little Margie, The Abbott and Costello Show, Father Knows Best, The Life of Riley, Hazel, The Farmer's Daughter, The Brady Brides, Newhart, Silver Spoons, Easy Street, Mr. Belvedere and Doogie Howser, M.D.. Her final television credit was as Mary-Elizabeth Clinch on the 2012 Parks and Recreation episode "Campaign Shake-Up."
Her drama guest appearances included Fireside Theatre, The Ford Television Theatre, TV Reader's Digest, Navy Log, Perry Mason, The Walter Winchell File, Tales of Wells Fargo, Broken Arrow, Rescue 8, Alcoa Theatre, The Thin Man, Bare Essence, Simon & Simon, Our House, Dragnet (1989), Dallas and Sisters. Some of her film credits included Sport of the Kings (1947), Keeper of the Bees (1947), The Strawberry Roan (1948), Triple Threat (1948), Racing Luck (1948), Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949), Riders in the Sky (1949), Kill the Umpire (1950) and Rancho Notorious (1952). Her final film credit was as Mrs. Porter in Her Minor Thing (2005).
Ms. Henry was wonderful on Dennis the Menace. Alice Mitchell was an iconic and beloved TV mother. It's unfortunate Henry's career slowed down after Dennis the Menace and she became typecast in mother roles. She will be deeply missed.
Share your memories on our Dennis the Menace message board. View photos in our galleries.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Antenna TV's Classic Christmas Collection and Christmas Through the Years; TBS Orders a Fifth Season of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Antenna TV is your home for the holidays this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Snuggle up with your TV remote and a mug of hot cocoa as Antenna TV presents two full days of classic TV shows celebrating the holiday season. It all begins Tuesday, December 24, 2019 at 5am ET with a "Classic Christmas Collection" featuring Antenna TV's classic and favorite holiday episodes from shows including Three's Company, The Burns and Allen Show, Welcome Back, Kotter, Barney Miller, Dennis the Menace, Bewitched and more. Then, warm-up with the traditional Yule Log, complete with a crackling fireplace and Christmas music on Christmas Day, 5am to 9:30am ET. The festive cheer continues on Wednesday, December 25 from 10am to 3:30am with "Christmas Through the Years," holiday-themed episodes of Antenna TV's library of shows presented in chronological order from 1954 to 2002. See the full lineup below:
Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)
5am - Three's Company “Three's Christmas”
5:30am - The Burns and Allen Show “Company for Christmas”
6am - The Burns and Allen Show “Christmas in Jail”
6:30am - The Burns and Allen Show “The Old Mink Coat”
7am - The Joey Bishop Show “Very Warm for Christmas”
7:30am - The Joey Bishop Shop “The Baby’s First Christmas”
8am - McHale's Navy “The Day They Captured Santa Claus”
8:30am – Father Knows Best “The Christmas Story”
9am - Father Knows Best “The Angel’s Sweater”
9:30am - Dennis the Menace “Dennis & Christmas”
10am - Dennis the Menace “The Christmas Horse”
10:30am - Dennis the Menace “The Fifteen-Foot Christmas Tree”
11am - Hazel “Hazel's Christmas Shopping
11:30am - Hazel “Just 86 Shopping Minutes to Christmas”
12pm - The Partridge Family “Don’t Bring your Guns to Town, Santa”
12:30pm - Bewitched “A Vision of Sugar Plums”
1pm - Bewitched “Humbug Not to Be Spoken Here”
1:30pm - Bewitched “Santa Comes to Visit and Stays and Stays”
2pm - Bewitched “Sisters at Heart”
2:30pm - Welcome Back, Kotter “Sweathog Christmas Special”
3pm - Welcome Back, Kotter “A Winter's Coat Tail”
3:30pm - What's Happening!! “Christmas”
4pm - Benson “Mary and Her Lambs”
4:30pm - 227 “Mary's Christmas”
5pm - 227 “Night They Arrested Santa”
5:30pm - Gimme a Break! “A Kanisky Christmas”
6pm - Maude “Walter's Christmas Gift”
6:30pm - Maude “Maude's Christmas Surprise”
7pm - Archie Bunker's Place “Custody: Part 1”
7:30pm - Archie Bunker's Place “Custody: Part 2”
8pm - Alice “A Semi-Merry Christmas”
8:30pm - Alice “Mel's Christmas Carol”
9pm - Barney Miller “Christmas Story”
9:30pm - Barney Miller “Toys”
10pm - Johnny Carson
11pm - Three's Company “Three’s Christmas”
11:30pm - Coach “Christmas Brains”
12am - Coach “My True Love Gave To Me”
12:30am - Murphy Brown “Jingle Hell, Jingle Hell, Jingle All the Way”
1am - Becker “Dr. Angry Head”
1:30am - Wings “Customer’s Usually Right”
2am - Growing Pains “It's Not Easy Being Green”
2:30am - Family Ties “Miracle in Columbus”
3am - Bewitched “A Vision of Sugar Plums”
3:30am - Bewitched “Humbug Not to Be Spoken Here”
4am - Johnny Carson
Wednesday, December 25 (Christmas Day)
5am – 9:30am - The Yule Log
10am - Father Knows Best “The Christmas Story”
10:30am - The Burns and Allen Show “Company for Christmas”
11am - Father Knows Best “The Angel’s Sweater”
11:30am - The Burns and Allen Show “The Old Mink Coat”
12pm - Dennis the Menace “Dennis & Christmas”
12:30pm - Dennis the Menace “The Christmas Horse”
1pm - Hazel “Hazel's Christmas Shopping
1:30pm - McHale's Navy “The Day They Captured Santa Claus”
2pm - The Joey Bishop Shop “The Baby's First Christmas”
2:30pm - Hazel “Just 86 Shopping Minutes to Christmas”
3pm - Bewitched “Humbug Not to Be Spoken Here”
3:30pm - Bewitched “Santa Comes to Visit and Stays and Stays”
4pm - Bewitched “Sisters at Heart”
4:30pm - The Partridge Family “Don't Bring your Guns to Town, Santa”
5pm - Maude “The Office Party”
5:30pm - Maude “The Christmas Party”
6pm - Welcome Back, Kotter “Hark, the Sweat Kings”
6:30pm - Three's Company “Three’s Christmas”
7pm - Mork & Mindy “Mork's First Christmas”
7:30pm - Alice “Mel, the Magic”
8pm - Barney Miller “Homeless”
8:30pm - Archie Bunker's Place “Father Christmas”
9pm - Family Ties “A Keaton Christmas Carol”
9:30pm - Benson “Home for Christmas”
10pm - Johnny Carson
11pm - Gimme a Break! “Christmas in New York”
11:30pm - My Two Dads “tis' the Season”
12am - Dear John “Dancing in the Dark”
12:30am - 227 “Guess Who's Not Coming to Christmas”
1am - Head of the Class “Viki's Torn Genes”
1:30am - The Hogan Family “Ho, Ho, Hogans”
2am - Murphy Brown “I'm Dreaming of a Brown Christmas”
2:30am - Coach “Christmas of the Van Damned”
3am - Murphy Brown “Brown in Toyland”
3:30am - Wings “'Twas the Heist Before Christmas”
4am - Johnny Carson
TBS has renewed its Emmy Award®-winning Full Frontal with Samantha Bee for a fifth season. Recognized as one of New York's 35 Most Powerful People in Media by The Hollywood Reporter, Samantha Bee is still the "Queen Bee" reigning over Full Frontal, television's #1 ad supported late-night show among young adults. Premiering in 2016 as the only female-hosted late-night program, Full Frontal will continue to bring Bee's unique voice and worldview straight through 2020 election coverage. The show reaches nearly 4 million viewers per episode and currently boasts more than 300 million YouTube views. Full Frontal airs Wednesdays on TBS at 10:30 p.m. (ET/PT).
Additionally, TBS has renewed its first look deal with Bee's production company, Swimsuit Competition, that focuses on developing amusing original content that is definitely worth spending a weekend bingeing. Swimsuit Competition continues to seek great ideas from people who are flying under the radar, or whose work has been underestimated. The production company is so progressive it will even consider working with men. The company recently began production on The Untitled Amy Hoggart Project (wt), a spin-off series from Full Frontal correspondent Amy Hoggart.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Fri-Yay: Is It Time to Lower Our Expectations for Sitcom Ratings?; Antenna TV's Dennis the Menace Thanksgiving Weekend Marathon
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!
by Vincent
Well, we're nearly a month into the fall TV season, and it's certainly fair to say that it's been a disappointing one for sitcoms. Not one sitcom has really broken out to be a hit - CBS's slate of sitcoms hasn't quite lived up to the network's high ratings standards, NBC's Sunnyside has gotten critical acclaim but is struggling to beat even CW-level ratings (and now has been pulled from the schedule), and Fox and ABC's limited new comedies haven't exactly lit the world on fire either. Really, ABC's mixed-ish is probably the closest you could call a "hit sitcom" this season, and it's not doing amazingly well - plus, it's a spin-off of the already established hit black-ish.
Still, this isn't the first disappointing TV fall in the past few years, and it's following a trend where we're seeing less and less new sitcoms rising to "hit" status year after year. Yes, last fall we had The Conners, and it remains TV's highest-rated sitcom. But even that show, while still pulling in a strong audience, isn't rising up to the megahit levels of The Big Bang Theory or the earlier seasons of Modern Family. It's been so long since we've seen that kind of dominance from sitcom ratings, and it feels like it's been even longer since a fall sitcom that wasn't a spin-off of another series has broken out in a big way. So, is it time to start accepting that sitcoms are simply heading to a more niche place? Perhaps shows like The Neighborhood, Superstore or The Good Place, neither of which could be called "big hits" but pull in solid numbers and have a stable, consistent audience, are the closest we'll get to having a "hit" sitcom. It wouldn't be the worst thing - and with the way TV is going, catering to niches is likely the future. But it will be interesting to see if networks can conform to this new normal, or if they'll just keep hoping soon, things will turn around.
Gather the family together this Thanksgiving weekend for a whole lot of wholesome fun on Antenna TV with a marathon of everyone's favorite mischief-maker and sitcom series, Dennis the Menace. Antenna TV, Nexstar Media Group's multicast entertainment network, will broadcast all 146 episodes in the Dennis the Menace series beginning at 8pm ET on Wednesday, November 27 and continuing through Sunday, December 1. The show follows the lives of the Mitchell family played by Jay North, Herbert Anderson and Gloria Henry. Dennis the Menace regularly airs on Antenna TV weekdays 10am ET/7am PT and Saturdays and Sundays 7:30am ET/4:30am PT.
Saturday, June 04, 2016
SitcomsOnline Digest: Jenji Kohan Bringing Another Series to Netflix; Heathcliff and Dennis the Menace Complete Series Releases in the Works
Welcome
to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're hearing about a new series from Jenji Kohan, remembering legendary boxer Muhammad Ali from the perspective of a classic TV appearance from nearly four decades ago, and more. Let's get going!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- Jenji Kohan, who is best known as the creator of Weeds and Orange is the New Black, will be bringing another series to Netflix, and this time it is a comedy about women's wrestling in the 80s. (Yahoo! TV)
- Muhammad Ali died yesterday, and to most, he'll be remembered as "the greatest of all time," but for those who enjoy sitcoms of the 80s, he is remembered from a classic 1979 episode of Diff'rent Strokes in which he was a guest star. (Zap2it)
- Norman Lear is never shy when it comes to controversy, and this week, he has compared one of the 2016 presidential candidates to one of his most iconic characters of the 70s. (Politico)
- The "reboot" of the miniseries Roots debuted this week, and with it simultaneously airing on multiple cable networks, it should be no surprise that viewers were tuning in. (Deadline)
- Michael Dann is not a household name, but he was responsible for a lot of the success of CBS throughout the 60s (and long enough into the early 70s that he was able to bring The Mary Tyler Moore Show and All in the Family to the network before leaving), and he died this week at age 94. (Variety)
- TV Land has picked up a new series called Nobodies. (SitcomsOnline)
HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
- It has been a while since we've seen any releases of the animated Dennis the Menace and Heathcliff from Mill Creek, but given Mill Creek's tendency to complete any series that they start, we knew the rest of the series would eventually have to come. Now, we know that Heathcliff - The Complete Series and Dennis the Menace - The Complete Series will both arrive on DVD on August 2 and a $29.98 MSRP. However, it doesn't appear that a third volume will be released at this time for those who have already purchased the first two volumes of each series.
TUESDAY (JUNE 7) HOME MEDIA RELEASES
- Quantum Leap - Seasons 1 and 2 (DVD, $19.98): Mill Creek begins the first of their re-releases of this classic series on DVD with this release of the first two seasons, at a deep discount.
FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: Emmanuel Lewis (Twitter)
Claim to Fame: This weekend, Antenna TV started their Saturday Summer-thons, and they've started with the series Webster. Of course, the star of that series is Emmanuel Lewis. The series debuted in 1983 on ABC, and ran for six seasons (it ultimately ended as a first run syndication series, which was very popular for sitcoms in the 80s).
Pick of the Tweets: "Jimmy Fallon #TonightShow #mmhof #FallonTonight #Memphis Emmanuel Lewis #TheReal_ELewis #sammoore #backstage (pic)" (October 19, 2015)
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Antenna TV's Dennis the Menace Thanksgiving Day Marathon, Plus More Classics; MeTV Pays Tribute to Marcia Strassman Tonight
This Thanksgiving, Antenna TV will air a 27-hour Dennis the Menace marathon beginning at Midnight ET. Antenna TV, which airs in 92 markets across the U.S. reaching 72% of TV households, will air 54 back-to-back episodes of Dennis the Menace. BUT wait, before that on Thanksgiving eve, Wednesday, Nov. 26 from 5p ET to Midnight, Antenna TV will run a cornucopia of Thanksgiving themed episodes of your favorite shows, including Bachelor Father, Father Knows Best, Mister Ed, Hazel, Bewitched, Too Close for Comfort, All in the Family, Good Times, Diff'rent Strokes, Barney Miller, Married...with Children, The Nanny and WKRP in Cincinnati's renowned "Turkey's Away" episode, followed by the aforementioned 27-hour Dennis the Menace marathon on Thanksgiving Day. So for 34 straight hours on Antenna TV beginning at 5pm on Nov. 26, we get two great stunts! Tune in!
The MeTV Network will pay tribute to the late Marcia Strassman tonight. As a tribute to the late actress Marcia Strassman, Thursday's episodes of Welcome Back, Kotter on MeTV Network have been changed to ones centered around her character, Julie Kotter. At 10:00pm ET/PT the episode "I'm Having Their Baby" will air then at 10:30pm ET/PT the episode "Horshack and the Madame X" will air. On the first episode, while Gabe is out of town at a teacher's convention, the Sweathogs try to cheer Julie up from her prenatal depression. And on the second episode, Horshack falls in love with Julie when she consoles him after he's rejected.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Antenna TV In Cleveland Soars In Ratings; Remembering All in the Family Director John Rich and Seinfeld's "Mr. Pitt"
Antenna TV continues to grow in the ratings as it is just a little over a year old now. Viewers are flocking in for some classic TV, especially in the Cleveland market last month. Antenna TV on Cleveland's WJW-DT2 equaled the delivery of cable networks such as Oxygen, Nat Geo and The Big 10 Network in Cleveland from 3pm-12a Monday-Friday in the December 2011 sweep. Antenna TV beat cable networks Starz, Military Channel, Weather Channel, Disney XD, Nicktoons, NBC Sports Network, NFL Network, BBC America, Oprah Winfrey Network and MTV2 in Cleveland in the sweep as well. Some of the great performing TV series on Cleveland's Antenna TV includes Leave It To Beaver, which airs weeknights from 6-7pm. The classic sitcom outperformed programs on WKYC, WBNX, WOIO and WUAB in December 2011! The sitcom averaged a 0.3/1 rating/share in both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, beating first-run programs like The Talk, Dr. Drew, Anderson, Family Feud and America Now. Also performing well for Antenna TV in Cleveland is the Friday primetime 8-9pm airing of Too Close for Comfort, ranking second of all Antenna TV series on weekdays on WJW-DT2 with a 0.2/1 rating/share in both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. The same goes true for the classic sitcom Dennis the Menace which airs weeknights from 5-6pm leading into Leave it to Beaver at 6pm.
On weekends, Adam-12 has done well outperforming programs on WKYC, WBNX, WOIO, WVPX, WEWS, WJW and WUAB! The series airs Saturday nights from 8-9pm and delivers a 0.2/1 rating/share in adults 18-49 and a 0.3/1 rating/share in adults 25-54! Talk about being "hot in Cleveland" as Antenna TV continues to grow. Stay with us for the Antenna TV spring schedule (and not just for Cleveland, but all Antenna TV stations!) that will begin in April and will have the addition of WKRP in Cincinnati, as we mentioned.
We have a couple of recent deaths to tell you about. John Rich, an award-winning television director for The Dick Van Dyke Show and All in the Family, has died. Rich died on January 29 at his Los Angeles home after a brief illness. Mr. Rich was 86.
His nearly 50-year career in Hollywood included directing and producing episodes of many different television series. Rich directed over 40 episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show and won his first Emmy in 1963. He directed over 80 episodes of All in the Family and won two Emmys and two Golden Globes for his work on the series. The memorable scene of Sammy Davis, Jr. kissing Archie Bunker in the episode Sammy's Visit was directed by him. His many other directing credits included episodes of I Married Joan, Where's Raymond?, Our Miss Brooks, Gilligan's Island, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Brady Bunch, That Girl, Good Times, Barney Miller, Newhart, Benson and Dear John. In the 1980s Rich and Henry Winkler formed a production company called Henry Winkler/John Rich Productions and together they produced MacGyver for Paramount Television from 1985-92.
You can view an extensive interview with him at the Archive of American Television. Rich is survived by his wife of 22 years, Patricia; his three children, Catherine, Anthony and Robert; his three stepchildren, Megan Lewis, Kimberly Beres and Dana Benton; and eight grandchildren. We thank him for bringing us many hours of quality television. He will be missed.
Ian Abercrombie, a veteran English actor who played Elaine Benes' boss Mr. Pitt during the sixth season on Seinfeld, has died. Abercrombie died at a Los Angeles hospital on January 26 from complications of kidney failure and recently had been diagnosed with lymphoma. Mr. Abercrombie was 77.
His American stage debut was a 1951 production of Stalag 17 with Jason Robards and Jules Munshin. Abercrombie made guest appearances on many television series such as Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Murphy Brown, NewsRadio, Star Trek: Voyager, State of Grace, Birds of Prey, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Happily Divorced and Wizards of Waverly Place. He voiced characters in The Batman, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rango. His film credits included Army of Darkness, Addams Family Values, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. We'll never forget his memorable and hilarious character on Seinfeld. He was just a very solid and dependable character actor. Mr. Abercrombie is survived by his wife, Gladys, and his brothers Douglas, Donald and Alex. He will be missed.
Who can forget Mr. Pitt eating a Snickers bar with a knife and fork? What are your favorite Mr. Pitt moments? Discuss them on our Seinfeld message board.
On weekends, Adam-12 has done well outperforming programs on WKYC, WBNX, WOIO, WVPX, WEWS, WJW and WUAB! The series airs Saturday nights from 8-9pm and delivers a 0.2/1 rating/share in adults 18-49 and a 0.3/1 rating/share in adults 25-54! Talk about being "hot in Cleveland" as Antenna TV continues to grow. Stay with us for the Antenna TV spring schedule (and not just for Cleveland, but all Antenna TV stations!) that will begin in April and will have the addition of WKRP in Cincinnati, as we mentioned.
We have a couple of recent deaths to tell you about. John Rich, an award-winning television director for The Dick Van Dyke Show and All in the Family, has died. Rich died on January 29 at his Los Angeles home after a brief illness. Mr. Rich was 86.
His nearly 50-year career in Hollywood included directing and producing episodes of many different television series. Rich directed over 40 episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show and won his first Emmy in 1963. He directed over 80 episodes of All in the Family and won two Emmys and two Golden Globes for his work on the series. The memorable scene of Sammy Davis, Jr. kissing Archie Bunker in the episode Sammy's Visit was directed by him. His many other directing credits included episodes of I Married Joan, Where's Raymond?, Our Miss Brooks, Gilligan's Island, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Brady Bunch, That Girl, Good Times, Barney Miller, Newhart, Benson and Dear John. In the 1980s Rich and Henry Winkler formed a production company called Henry Winkler/John Rich Productions and together they produced MacGyver for Paramount Television from 1985-92.
You can view an extensive interview with him at the Archive of American Television. Rich is survived by his wife of 22 years, Patricia; his three children, Catherine, Anthony and Robert; his three stepchildren, Megan Lewis, Kimberly Beres and Dana Benton; and eight grandchildren. We thank him for bringing us many hours of quality television. He will be missed.
Ian Abercrombie, a veteran English actor who played Elaine Benes' boss Mr. Pitt during the sixth season on Seinfeld, has died. Abercrombie died at a Los Angeles hospital on January 26 from complications of kidney failure and recently had been diagnosed with lymphoma. Mr. Abercrombie was 77.
His American stage debut was a 1951 production of Stalag 17 with Jason Robards and Jules Munshin. Abercrombie made guest appearances on many television series such as Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Murphy Brown, NewsRadio, Star Trek: Voyager, State of Grace, Birds of Prey, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Happily Divorced and Wizards of Waverly Place. He voiced characters in The Batman, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rango. His film credits included Army of Darkness, Addams Family Values, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. We'll never forget his memorable and hilarious character on Seinfeld. He was just a very solid and dependable character actor. Mr. Abercrombie is survived by his wife, Gladys, and his brothers Douglas, Donald and Alex. He will be missed.
Who can forget Mr. Pitt eating a Snickers bar with a knife and fork? What are your favorite Mr. Pitt moments? Discuss them on our Seinfeld message board.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Antenna TV Acquires Soap, Mad About You, Burns & Allen and More; WE tv Also Acquires Roseanne, Will & Grace In Addition to Frasier
George Burns, Billy Crystal, Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt join the stars of Antenna TV when their legendary programs are added to Tribune Broadcasting’s digital network lineup at the end of May! New program changes announced for Antenna TV include Reiser and Hunt's classic sitcom Mad About You Mon-Thurs at 11pm ET. Soap, starring Crystal in an ensemble cast, airs as a two-hour block Sundays from 10pm-12am ET. In addition Burns and Allen with legends George Burns and Gracie Allen starts the daily comedy block at 3 p.m. ET weekdays. The new schedule is effective Monday, May 30, 2011.
Other vintage shows joining the Antenna TV schedule include The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Iron Horse and Circus Boy, as those were previously scheduled to start in January but were delayed...now they WILL air! The network lineup will also continue to feature a combination of movies and other classic shows such as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Married with Children, Maude, Good Times, Three's Company, The Three Stooges and Benny Hill.
The new schedule of sitcoms will now start weekdays at 3pm ET and run through 3am ET instead of 1pm-1am ET, starting Monday, May 30, 2011. Burns & Allen will kick the block off and join the line-up replacing Hazel in the hour. In the 4pm hour will now be Father Knows Best, which was at 1pm, replacing The Partridge Family. Airing in the 5pm hour will now be Dennis the Menace, which was at 2pm, replacing Three's Company. Jack Tripper and company will be moving an hour later to Mon-Thurs 6-7pm and will share the slot with its spin-offs still when the time comes in the rotation. Too Close for Comfort will air on Fridays in the hour, as Maude is replaced in the hour. Good Times will remain in the 7pm hour every weekday, but Maude will move to the Mon-Thurs 8pm hour replacing Sanford & Son. Friday nights will still feature The Three Stooges from 8pm-11pm followed by Benny Hill from 11pm-2am. All in the Family and Married...with Children remain in the 9pm and 10pm hours. As we mentioned earlier, Mad About You joins in the line-up and will air Mon-Thurs in the 11pm hour, replacing The Nanny, which is totally off the schedule for now. The encore of Three's Company remains in the 12am hour but then the sitcom line-up goes deeper into the night with Sanford & Son in its new 1am hour followed by the new hour for Hazel at 2am. Movies air from 3am-3pm.
Onto Saturdays, starting June 4, the morning line-up remains intact with Totally Tuned In and the E/I programs from 7am-1pm. Gidget, The Flying Nun, The Monkees and The Partridge Family all move back an hour going from 2pm-5pm to 1pm-4pm, because Too Close for Comfort will move from 1pm to the 5pm hour. At 6pm will now be Sanford & Son, instead of Maude, while 7pm on Saturdays will also be Good Times now like on weekdays, instead of the Saturday All in the Family. Primetime will still feature an encore of Benny Hill from 8pm-11pm and an encore of The Three Stooges from 11pm-2am. Like Good Times at 7pm, Hazel gets to keep its weekday 2am slot here as well instead of The Monkees. Movies remain from 3am-7am.
And finally onto Sundays starting June 5, it's a black and white block starting at 7am through 12pm! The Three Stooges will be replaced from 7am-10am with an episode each of Burns & Allen, Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace and Hazel until 9am. Then from 9am-12pm, we have two episodes of Circus Boy at 9am, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin at 10am, and the western Iron Horse at 11am, as all three join the schedule at last! Hazel is replaced in the 12 noon hour by Here Come the Brides, which moves up an hour from 1pm. The 1pm-8pm line-up will be the same as Saturdays: Gidget, The Flying Nun, The Monkees, The Partridge Family, Too Close for Comfort andGood Times. The 8pm-10pm line-up will be the same as Mon-Thurs as we get the classic '70s sitcoms Maude and All in the Family. From 10pm-12am it is the nighttime soap...Soap, replacing the Sunday airings of Married...with Children and The Nanny. At 12am, Too Close for Comfort remains but the sitcoms go into the night on Sundays as well with an hour of Burns & Allen at 1am and Hazel seven days a week at 2am. Late movies follow.
Discuss the new Antenna TV schedule that will begin on May 31! So, to recap...we get Soap, Burns & Allen, Mad About You, Circus Boy, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin and Iron Horse added to the schedule and only lose one show totally as a result: The Nanny.
Yesterday we told you about Frasier joining WE tv...now it is official, BUT more sitcoms have been acquired, too! WE tv (www.wetv.com) officially announced that it has acquired the non-exclusive cable rights to the complete libraries of three popular sitcoms: Frasier from CBS Television Distribution, Roseanne from Carsey-Werner Television Distribution and Will & Grace from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. The shows will roll out on WE tv over the next two years. Frasier will premiere this Friday, April 8 at 8 pm, et/pt, with back-to-back episodes airing every Friday night from 8 pm to 1 am during a special "Frasier Fridays" line-up, as we mentioned. WE tv will debut Roseanne in 2012 followed in 2013 by Will & Grace.
We will have more on the latter two closer to the premiere...still a long way to go, but enjoy Frasier.
Other vintage shows joining the Antenna TV schedule include The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Iron Horse and Circus Boy, as those were previously scheduled to start in January but were delayed...now they WILL air! The network lineup will also continue to feature a combination of movies and other classic shows such as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Married with Children, Maude, Good Times, Three's Company, The Three Stooges and Benny Hill.
The new schedule of sitcoms will now start weekdays at 3pm ET and run through 3am ET instead of 1pm-1am ET, starting Monday, May 30, 2011. Burns & Allen will kick the block off and join the line-up replacing Hazel in the hour. In the 4pm hour will now be Father Knows Best, which was at 1pm, replacing The Partridge Family. Airing in the 5pm hour will now be Dennis the Menace, which was at 2pm, replacing Three's Company. Jack Tripper and company will be moving an hour later to Mon-Thurs 6-7pm and will share the slot with its spin-offs still when the time comes in the rotation. Too Close for Comfort will air on Fridays in the hour, as Maude is replaced in the hour. Good Times will remain in the 7pm hour every weekday, but Maude will move to the Mon-Thurs 8pm hour replacing Sanford & Son. Friday nights will still feature The Three Stooges from 8pm-11pm followed by Benny Hill from 11pm-2am. All in the Family and Married...with Children remain in the 9pm and 10pm hours. As we mentioned earlier, Mad About You joins in the line-up and will air Mon-Thurs in the 11pm hour, replacing The Nanny, which is totally off the schedule for now. The encore of Three's Company remains in the 12am hour but then the sitcom line-up goes deeper into the night with Sanford & Son in its new 1am hour followed by the new hour for Hazel at 2am. Movies air from 3am-3pm.
Onto Saturdays, starting June 4, the morning line-up remains intact with Totally Tuned In and the E/I programs from 7am-1pm. Gidget, The Flying Nun, The Monkees and The Partridge Family all move back an hour going from 2pm-5pm to 1pm-4pm, because Too Close for Comfort will move from 1pm to the 5pm hour. At 6pm will now be Sanford & Son, instead of Maude, while 7pm on Saturdays will also be Good Times now like on weekdays, instead of the Saturday All in the Family. Primetime will still feature an encore of Benny Hill from 8pm-11pm and an encore of The Three Stooges from 11pm-2am. Like Good Times at 7pm, Hazel gets to keep its weekday 2am slot here as well instead of The Monkees. Movies remain from 3am-7am.
And finally onto Sundays starting June 5, it's a black and white block starting at 7am through 12pm! The Three Stooges will be replaced from 7am-10am with an episode each of Burns & Allen, Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace and Hazel until 9am. Then from 9am-12pm, we have two episodes of Circus Boy at 9am, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin at 10am, and the western Iron Horse at 11am, as all three join the schedule at last! Hazel is replaced in the 12 noon hour by Here Come the Brides, which moves up an hour from 1pm. The 1pm-8pm line-up will be the same as Saturdays: Gidget, The Flying Nun, The Monkees, The Partridge Family, Too Close for Comfort andGood Times. The 8pm-10pm line-up will be the same as Mon-Thurs as we get the classic '70s sitcoms Maude and All in the Family. From 10pm-12am it is the nighttime soap...Soap, replacing the Sunday airings of Married...with Children and The Nanny. At 12am, Too Close for Comfort remains but the sitcoms go into the night on Sundays as well with an hour of Burns & Allen at 1am and Hazel seven days a week at 2am. Late movies follow.
Discuss the new Antenna TV schedule that will begin on May 31! So, to recap...we get Soap, Burns & Allen, Mad About You, Circus Boy, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin and Iron Horse added to the schedule and only lose one show totally as a result: The Nanny.
Yesterday we told you about Frasier joining WE tv...now it is official, BUT more sitcoms have been acquired, too! WE tv (www.wetv.com) officially announced that it has acquired the non-exclusive cable rights to the complete libraries of three popular sitcoms: Frasier from CBS Television Distribution, Roseanne from Carsey-Werner Television Distribution and Will & Grace from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. The shows will roll out on WE tv over the next two years. Frasier will premiere this Friday, April 8 at 8 pm, et/pt, with back-to-back episodes airing every Friday night from 8 pm to 1 am during a special "Frasier Fridays" line-up, as we mentioned. WE tv will debut Roseanne in 2012 followed in 2013 by Will & Grace.
We will have more on the latter two closer to the premiere...still a long way to go, but enjoy Frasier.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Antenna TV Launch Schedule Changes; Centric Adds Sister Sister and The Unit
We are only 5 days away from the Antenna TV launch on Jan. 1! The launch weekend will remain the same but Antenna TV has made some schedule changes to its regular line-up for early weekday afternoons and Sunday mornings. Why? Sony Pictures Television could not get all of the tapes of the rare series to Antenna TV in time for launch. Also, some episodes are not acceptable copies and they are waiting for them to get remastered. The rest are rare Sony shows that are still on film and they don't have most of the episodes ready yet. As soon as they are ready, they will be placed on the schedule at a later date. Shows affected are: Burns & Allen, The Farmer's Daughter, Showcase '39, All-Star Theatre, Circus Boy, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok and Iron Horse. Thus, since most of the episodes for these are not ready, they will not be on the launch schedule but as I said, they will be placed on the line-up as soon they get a good amount of episodes on tape.
Starting next week, Jan. 3, weekdays from 1pm-4pm has changed from the original plan as well as Sundays from 7am-1pm. Weekdays in the 1:00pm hour will now be Father Knows Best not originally scheduled Burns & Allen. At 2:00pm, Dennis the Menace is now scheduled instead of Hazel. At 2:30pm another Dennis the Menace will air instead of The Farmer's Daughter. At 3:00pm Hazel is on instead of Father Knows Best. And at 3:30pm we get another Hazel instead of Dennis the Menace. To recap the weekday 1pm-4pm changes, Farmer's Daughter and Burns & Allen are no longer scheduled and we get more Father Knows Best, Hazel and Dennis the Menace. The rest of the weekday schedule that was originally planned will remain intact.
As mentioned, Sundays 7am-1pm will also change starting Jan. 9. Another block of The Three Stooges will air from 7am-10am replacing an hour each of Showcase 39, All-Star Theatre, and Circus Boy. From 10am-1pm we get an hour each of Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace and Hazel as they will now also air on Sundays now! This means The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok and Iron Horse are not premiering. We will let you know when those three, and also the two sitcoms on weekdays, will premiere as soon we get the information! Fans of Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace and Hazel are certainly happy though, as they are now getting much more airtime! Stay with us as usual for further information!
Keep on discussing Antenna TV on our message board!
Centric will make some schedule changes beginning next week. After having a special Christmas Day marathon, Sister Sister will now join the regular schedule on Jan. 3. Sister Sister has been airing on and off on sister network BET. It also currently airs on the cable network GMC every Saturday morning/afternoon. The sitcom starring Tia & Tamera Mowry, will air weekdays at 12:00pm & 12:30pm. Leading into Sister Sister will be the Centric premiere of the 2003 reality series Starting Over at 11am.
There are other schedule changes as well, such as The Unit joining the schedule airing weekdays in the early hour of 5am, following The A-Team at 4am. Miami Vice remains at 6am, along with another The A-Team at 7am. Among the other changes include another hour of In Living Color being added, weekdays in the 5pm hour and another hour of The A-Team weekdays at 11pm.
To recap, weekdays looks like this: Miami Vice at 6am, The A-Team at 7am, Centric Hits from 8am-10am, Soul Train at 10am, Starting Over at 11am, back-to-back episodes of Sister Sister, The Steve Harvey Show, and The Cosby Show from 12pm-3pm. Then from 3pm-5pm, we still have the Flick Centric movie, followed by back-to-back episodes of In Living Color at 5pm. At 6pm, it is an encore of The Steve Harvey Project, followed by back-to-back episodes of The Jamie Foxx Show and The Cosby Show from 7-9pm leading into an original episode of The Steve Harvey Project at 9pm. The 10pm hour remains In Living Color, with The A-Team now at 11pm, and more The Jamie Foxx Show in the 12am hour. The Cosby Show remains in the 1am hour, but now the Flick Centric movie starts at 2am leading into The A-Team and The Unit from 4-6am.
Weekends will have mostly marathons or stunts with some regular airings such as Sister Sister, The Cosby Show, In Living Color, and The Jamie Foxx Show airing in early evening, primetime and/or late night.
We apologize for the delay today in posting today's blog, as we were buried in the blizzard (or snow-icane, whatever you want to call it). 31.8 inches reported in my area!
Starting next week, Jan. 3, weekdays from 1pm-4pm has changed from the original plan as well as Sundays from 7am-1pm. Weekdays in the 1:00pm hour will now be Father Knows Best not originally scheduled Burns & Allen. At 2:00pm, Dennis the Menace is now scheduled instead of Hazel. At 2:30pm another Dennis the Menace will air instead of The Farmer's Daughter. At 3:00pm Hazel is on instead of Father Knows Best. And at 3:30pm we get another Hazel instead of Dennis the Menace. To recap the weekday 1pm-4pm changes, Farmer's Daughter and Burns & Allen are no longer scheduled and we get more Father Knows Best, Hazel and Dennis the Menace. The rest of the weekday schedule that was originally planned will remain intact.
As mentioned, Sundays 7am-1pm will also change starting Jan. 9. Another block of The Three Stooges will air from 7am-10am replacing an hour each of Showcase 39, All-Star Theatre, and Circus Boy. From 10am-1pm we get an hour each of Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace and Hazel as they will now also air on Sundays now! This means The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok and Iron Horse are not premiering. We will let you know when those three, and also the two sitcoms on weekdays, will premiere as soon we get the information! Fans of Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace and Hazel are certainly happy though, as they are now getting much more airtime! Stay with us as usual for further information!
Keep on discussing Antenna TV on our message board!
Centric will make some schedule changes beginning next week. After having a special Christmas Day marathon, Sister Sister will now join the regular schedule on Jan. 3. Sister Sister has been airing on and off on sister network BET. It also currently airs on the cable network GMC every Saturday morning/afternoon. The sitcom starring Tia & Tamera Mowry, will air weekdays at 12:00pm & 12:30pm. Leading into Sister Sister will be the Centric premiere of the 2003 reality series Starting Over at 11am.
There are other schedule changes as well, such as The Unit joining the schedule airing weekdays in the early hour of 5am, following The A-Team at 4am. Miami Vice remains at 6am, along with another The A-Team at 7am. Among the other changes include another hour of In Living Color being added, weekdays in the 5pm hour and another hour of The A-Team weekdays at 11pm.
To recap, weekdays looks like this: Miami Vice at 6am, The A-Team at 7am, Centric Hits from 8am-10am, Soul Train at 10am, Starting Over at 11am, back-to-back episodes of Sister Sister, The Steve Harvey Show, and The Cosby Show from 12pm-3pm. Then from 3pm-5pm, we still have the Flick Centric movie, followed by back-to-back episodes of In Living Color at 5pm. At 6pm, it is an encore of The Steve Harvey Project, followed by back-to-back episodes of The Jamie Foxx Show and The Cosby Show from 7-9pm leading into an original episode of The Steve Harvey Project at 9pm. The 10pm hour remains In Living Color, with The A-Team now at 11pm, and more The Jamie Foxx Show in the 12am hour. The Cosby Show remains in the 1am hour, but now the Flick Centric movie starts at 2am leading into The A-Team and The Unit from 4-6am.
Weekends will have mostly marathons or stunts with some regular airings such as Sister Sister, The Cosby Show, In Living Color, and The Jamie Foxx Show airing in early evening, primetime and/or late night.
We apologize for the delay today in posting today's blog, as we were buried in the blizzard (or snow-icane, whatever you want to call it). 31.8 inches reported in my area!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Our Exclusive Interview with Antenna TV's Sean Compton; KTLA Preview of Antenna TV; 2011 SAG Nominations
We have a very exciting interview for you today. We have an interview with Antenna TV's Sean Compton (President of Programming at Tribune) about their upcoming launch. We get answers to various questions that you will all want to know about, including updates on affiliates, cable providers and of course the shows itself! As always with all of our interviews, it is in Seven Questions form. So let's first tell you a little bit each about Sean Compton and Antenna TV (as if you didn't already know).
We had the pleasure to once again interview Sean Compton, President of Programming for Tribune Broadcasting. Compton previously worked for Clear Channel radio for 16 years and was their VP Programming for 10 years before leaving in April 2008 to run Tribune programming as SVP, which includes the massive change for WGN America and now the creation of Antenna TV. Compton was promoted to President of Programming in May 2010. Compton also oversees programming for Tribune's local television stations and for WGN America. Compton is 36 years old and has worked in radio since he was in high school, and he also says his childhood hero was actually legendary NBC programmer Brandon Tartikoff. Compton is originally from Connersville, Indiana, which is between Indianapolis and Cincinnati, and he grew up watching those TV markets. See our previous interview with Sean back in 2008 regarding WGN America, when he brought back classic TV.
Antenna TV is a new digital network from Tribune Broadcasting that will debut on New Year's Day on multicast stations nationwide. 50 million homes will be reached in the first wave of clearances. Antenna TV starts broadcasting at midnight EST, on January 1, 2011 with more than 24 hours of The Three Stooges. The program lineup on Sunday, January 2, 2011 is built around a Benny Hill marathon. The network's regular programming schedule, featuring a combination of movies and classic television shows, include TV sitcoms All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Nanny, Married...with Children, Maude, Good Times, Three's Company, The Partridge Family, Dennis the Menace, Too Close for Comfort, Father Knows Best and Burns & Allen begins on Monday, January 3, 2011. Legendary announcer Gary Owens is the voice of the channel.
"Seven Questions with Antenna TV's Sean Compton"
SitcomsOnline: First off, I have to say I am personally very excited for Antenna TV's Jan. 1 launch. Most of the series that Antenna TV will be airing are some of my favorites, including Three's Company. I have to ask, how did this idea come about and how was it made into a reality?
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: We looked around the television landscape and through the cable and broadcast universe all groups are trying to appeal to younger demos. This includes our own group with WGN America and its younger appeal with recent additions. TV Land used to own the space but has jumped deep into original programming and with the recent successes they will go deeper in original programming. We see it as a huge opportunity, This TV, the MGM movie channel, is free to over the air viewers 24 hours a day. The only over the air, all movie channel. Antenna TV will be a great over the air destination for some movies but primarily classic sitcoms. Three's Company is a big win for us, as it hasn't had much exposure on cable in many years yet still has a huge fan base. The Three Stooges appeals to every demo. Benny Hill is a riot and Married... with Children is a great late night show.
SitcomsOnline: This world of digital television is really fascinating. It has really opened up the doors for older series to air again. Still, many people out there don't have televisions without cable or satellite. Antenna TV is a free digital station, but many of the viewers will still rely on cable to watch it. We know Comcast Cable has picked it up in Chicago on channel 353, but what about the rest of the markets? Is Comcast the main cable provider for Antenna TV or will more providers also carry it?
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: Most of the markets will have a cable home for Antenna TV. If you live in a large city you should go out and buy an HD antenna anyway. I've got DirecTV and Comcast in my home and I also have rabbit ears so I can watch the dot 2 and dot 3 choices out there as well. It's starting to get interesting as broadcasters are getting their dot 2's and 3's cranked up and its going to get competitive.
SitcomsOnline: As of launch on Jan. 1, Antenna TV will be in 50 million homes (thanks to mainly the Tribune stations) including the top 5 markets, which is great. Are you close to sealing deals with stations in other top markets like San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit and other markets like Louisville? We also hear that some markets already cleared will be getting sneak peek launches, like in Los Angeles. What will that be like?
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: The sneak peak is just some classic shows that will air on KTLA in Los Angeles to promote Antenna TV. There are a lot of OTA's (over the air) homes in Los Angeles and we want to tap into the KTLA audience and let them know it is coming. Regarding the other markets, we have signed a group deal with Local TV LLC. They own WJW in Cleveland, KDVR in Denver, WNEP in Wilkes Barre and many other markets. They are excited and sign on in early first quarter. There are other groups talking to us now and we have a number of offers for markets that we are working through now. There are a lot of affiliate interest for us out there, partially because we are committed to great programming. Zero paid programming, 24/7 movies and sitcoms. (View an Antenna TV promo!)
SitcomsOnline: The classic TV shows acquired by Antenna TV are either from Sony Pictures Television or DLT Entertainment. Does Antenna TV have an overall library deal with these studios or were these series specifically bought? If it is a library deal, can we expect schedule changes frequently with new additions? (Hoping for some Diff'rent Strokes, What's Happening Now!!, The Facts of Life, and other Sony greats.)
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: We did do an overall library deal. Jeff Wolf at Sony worked hard for several weeks putting this together with us. John Fitzgerald did the same for us at D.L. Taffner. You will see other shows weave in and out of the line-up over the next several years. Possibly we'll tap into other distributors for product as well.
SitcomsOnline: You previously mentioned to us that stunts and marathons will be done during the holidays. 2011 kicks-off with a marathon weekend of The Three Stooges and Benny Hill, but what else can we expect for other holidays later this year? I personally am hoping for a short-lived sitcom stunt one of these days, as Sony Pictures Television has plenty of short-lived, but good, series from the '70s and '80s. Among them are The Jeffersons spin-off Checking In, the Sanford & Son spin-offs Grady and Sanford Arms, the Who's the Boss? spin-off Living Dolls, and other short-lived fare such as One in a Million starring Shirley Hemphill, The Dumplings from Nicholl-Ross-West, Norman Lear's Hot L Baltimore, also Filthy Rich starring pre-Designing Women stars Dixier Carter & Delta Burke, and 704 Hauser, where a new family moves into the Bunker house from All in the Family.
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: We haven't thought it all through yet. Our big priority has been getting launched and affiliates set. As you know, I am a big fan of event programming. WGN America's Munster Mash on Halloween had monster, pun intended, ratings this past year. It is the third Halloween that we've aired it. We've done a 70's week, an 80's week, Valentine's Specials, etc. I imagine you'll see much of the same on Antenna TV especially around the holidays.
SitcomsOnline: Before we go further, I have to mention that Antenna TV will be airing two short-lived spin-offs on its schedule. The Three's Company spin-offs -- The Ropers and Three's a Crowd -- will be aired within Three's Company's hour timeslot (5pm-6pm and encores 12am-1am). That is very cool and to my knowledge, it never has been done. Back to questions, Antenna TV will also air movies, mainly during mornings and early afternoons. Will these films also be from specific studios and what are some of the films we can expect?
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: The films will come from the Columbia/Sony libraries. It's a very deep film library and prevents overlap from anything on This TV, which is fueled by the MGM library. I love Three's a Crowd and The Ropers (Three's Company spin-offs) being a part of the line-up. (Once the Ropers leave the Three's Company episodes, you'll see The Ropers scheduled in one of the half-hours, and later on Three's a Crowd in one of the half-hours after the final Three's Company episode airs.) They were solid spin-offs that at the time were short-lived and have had little exposure. Another show that I'm thrilled to have is Too Close for Comfort.
SitcomsOnline: Finally, it is really great Tribune is creating a network like this for the digital era. You have done a great job in preserving classic TV sitcoms first on Tribune's WGN America (where we previously interviewed you) and now with Tribune's Antenna TV. Will Antenna TV depend on Nielsen ratings like broadcast networks and cable networks? Or is the landscape different in digital substation world? Fans have also asked if these programs will be unedited or at least close to being unedited if there are less ads on digital substations?
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: Thank you for the kind words. We air the shows the way that the distributors supply us. We will do no editing on our end. We also will not be squeezing the end credits nor will we have an Antenna TV bug/logo on the screen during programming. Stations locally may decide to put theirs up, but nationally we will not display one. As far as ratings go, yes we will look at ratings but in the digital world it's driven a bit differently. The product we bought was done specifically to find opportunities. The Cosby Show, Cheers, Roseanne are on television in syndication and cable everyday, so we went after shows that haven't had the mass exposure in recent years. We won't live and die with this network by ratings in the first 2-3 years.
Our thanks to Sean Compton and Antenna TV. We wish them the best of luck on their launch on January 1! For more information on Antenna TV, continue to stay with us for info and don't forget to view their website http://www.antennatv.tv/. So, stay tuned right here on the blog for continued news and programming updates for this network.
Before we get to the rest of today's blog, we want to give you information on KTLA's preview of Antenna TV in Los Angeles that Sean talked about in our interview. In anticipation of this new programming, KTLA will broadcast a sneak peek of Antenna TV on its main channel, KTLA 5. Antenna TV is coming to KTLA's digital channel 5.2 in Los Angeles on January, 1 2011.
The first sneak peek will be this Saturday (Dec. 18) and will air from 2pm-5pm PT with an hour each of sitcoms Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. A few hours later in primetime on Saturday from 8-10pm PT, KTLA will air four episodes of Sanford & Son. Then on Sunday (Dec. 19), KTLA will give two episodes each of Gidget, Circus Boy, and The Monkees all starting at 9am PT. In late on Sunday, KTLA will air two hours of The Three Stooges from 11pm-1am with six classic episodes. And finally on Sunday, Dec. 26 KTLA will give LA fans a preview of Antenna TV's Sunday morning western block with The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin at 1pm, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok at 2pm, and The Iron Horse at 3pm.
View more information on KTLA's preview of Antenna TV.
Awards season is heating up with Golden Globes and the WGA Awards, now we have another. The 17th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards (SAG) nominees have been announced. Leading the pack were Modern Family, Glee, 30 Rock and Mad Men. Among the broadcast networks, NBC led with 6 nominations followed by ABC and Fox with 4 each. HBO led overall with 9 nominations. TV Land had its first ever nomination, with Hot in Cleveland getting a nomination along with star Betty White. The awards will air Sunday, Jan. 30, on TNT and TBS at 8 PM ET/PT.
Here are the main TV nominees:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire, HBO)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, AMC)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Showtime)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men, HBO)
Hugh Laurie (House, Fox)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Glenn Close (Damages, FX)
Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU, NBC)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife, CBS)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, AMC)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer, TNT)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, NBC)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family, ABC)
Steve Carrell (The Office, NBC)
Chris Colfer (Glee, Fox)
Ed O'Neill (Modern Family, ABC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie, Showtime)
Tina Fey (30 Rock, NBC)
Jane Lynch (Glee, Fox)
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family, ABC)
Betty White (Hot in Cleveland, TV Land)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
The Closer (TNT)
Dexter (Showtime)
The Good Wife (CBS)
Mad Men (AMC)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 Rock (NBC)
Glee (Fox)
Hot in Cleveland (TV Land)
Modern Family (ABC)
The Office (NBC)
View the complete TV portion nominees and to discuss the nominees!
Stay tuned either tomorrow or early next week for an interview with Me-TV Network! And of course tomorrow will bring news and our weekly look at the coming week's talk shows with sitcom stars as guests. Come on back!
We had the pleasure to once again interview Sean Compton, President of Programming for Tribune Broadcasting. Compton previously worked for Clear Channel radio for 16 years and was their VP Programming for 10 years before leaving in April 2008 to run Tribune programming as SVP, which includes the massive change for WGN America and now the creation of Antenna TV. Compton was promoted to President of Programming in May 2010. Compton also oversees programming for Tribune's local television stations and for WGN America. Compton is 36 years old and has worked in radio since he was in high school, and he also says his childhood hero was actually legendary NBC programmer Brandon Tartikoff. Compton is originally from Connersville, Indiana, which is between Indianapolis and Cincinnati, and he grew up watching those TV markets. See our previous interview with Sean back in 2008 regarding WGN America, when he brought back classic TV.
Antenna TV is a new digital network from Tribune Broadcasting that will debut on New Year's Day on multicast stations nationwide. 50 million homes will be reached in the first wave of clearances. Antenna TV starts broadcasting at midnight EST, on January 1, 2011 with more than 24 hours of The Three Stooges. The program lineup on Sunday, January 2, 2011 is built around a Benny Hill marathon. The network's regular programming schedule, featuring a combination of movies and classic television shows, include TV sitcoms All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Nanny, Married...with Children, Maude, Good Times, Three's Company, The Partridge Family, Dennis the Menace, Too Close for Comfort, Father Knows Best and Burns & Allen begins on Monday, January 3, 2011. Legendary announcer Gary Owens is the voice of the channel.
"Seven Questions with Antenna TV's Sean Compton"
SitcomsOnline: First off, I have to say I am personally very excited for Antenna TV's Jan. 1 launch. Most of the series that Antenna TV will be airing are some of my favorites, including Three's Company. I have to ask, how did this idea come about and how was it made into a reality?
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: We looked around the television landscape and through the cable and broadcast universe all groups are trying to appeal to younger demos. This includes our own group with WGN America and its younger appeal with recent additions. TV Land used to own the space but has jumped deep into original programming and with the recent successes they will go deeper in original programming. We see it as a huge opportunity, This TV, the MGM movie channel, is free to over the air viewers 24 hours a day. The only over the air, all movie channel. Antenna TV will be a great over the air destination for some movies but primarily classic sitcoms. Three's Company is a big win for us, as it hasn't had much exposure on cable in many years yet still has a huge fan base. The Three Stooges appeals to every demo. Benny Hill is a riot and Married... with Children is a great late night show.
SitcomsOnline: This world of digital television is really fascinating. It has really opened up the doors for older series to air again. Still, many people out there don't have televisions without cable or satellite. Antenna TV is a free digital station, but many of the viewers will still rely on cable to watch it. We know Comcast Cable has picked it up in Chicago on channel 353, but what about the rest of the markets? Is Comcast the main cable provider for Antenna TV or will more providers also carry it?
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: Most of the markets will have a cable home for Antenna TV. If you live in a large city you should go out and buy an HD antenna anyway. I've got DirecTV and Comcast in my home and I also have rabbit ears so I can watch the dot 2 and dot 3 choices out there as well. It's starting to get interesting as broadcasters are getting their dot 2's and 3's cranked up and its going to get competitive.
SitcomsOnline: As of launch on Jan. 1, Antenna TV will be in 50 million homes (thanks to mainly the Tribune stations) including the top 5 markets, which is great. Are you close to sealing deals with stations in other top markets like San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit and other markets like Louisville? We also hear that some markets already cleared will be getting sneak peek launches, like in Los Angeles. What will that be like?
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: The sneak peak is just some classic shows that will air on KTLA in Los Angeles to promote Antenna TV. There are a lot of OTA's (over the air) homes in Los Angeles and we want to tap into the KTLA audience and let them know it is coming. Regarding the other markets, we have signed a group deal with Local TV LLC. They own WJW in Cleveland, KDVR in Denver, WNEP in Wilkes Barre and many other markets. They are excited and sign on in early first quarter. There are other groups talking to us now and we have a number of offers for markets that we are working through now. There are a lot of affiliate interest for us out there, partially because we are committed to great programming. Zero paid programming, 24/7 movies and sitcoms. (View an Antenna TV promo!)
SitcomsOnline: The classic TV shows acquired by Antenna TV are either from Sony Pictures Television or DLT Entertainment. Does Antenna TV have an overall library deal with these studios or were these series specifically bought? If it is a library deal, can we expect schedule changes frequently with new additions? (Hoping for some Diff'rent Strokes, What's Happening Now!!, The Facts of Life, and other Sony greats.)
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: We did do an overall library deal. Jeff Wolf at Sony worked hard for several weeks putting this together with us. John Fitzgerald did the same for us at D.L. Taffner. You will see other shows weave in and out of the line-up over the next several years. Possibly we'll tap into other distributors for product as well.
SitcomsOnline: You previously mentioned to us that stunts and marathons will be done during the holidays. 2011 kicks-off with a marathon weekend of The Three Stooges and Benny Hill, but what else can we expect for other holidays later this year? I personally am hoping for a short-lived sitcom stunt one of these days, as Sony Pictures Television has plenty of short-lived, but good, series from the '70s and '80s. Among them are The Jeffersons spin-off Checking In, the Sanford & Son spin-offs Grady and Sanford Arms, the Who's the Boss? spin-off Living Dolls, and other short-lived fare such as One in a Million starring Shirley Hemphill, The Dumplings from Nicholl-Ross-West, Norman Lear's Hot L Baltimore, also Filthy Rich starring pre-Designing Women stars Dixier Carter & Delta Burke, and 704 Hauser, where a new family moves into the Bunker house from All in the Family.
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: We haven't thought it all through yet. Our big priority has been getting launched and affiliates set. As you know, I am a big fan of event programming. WGN America's Munster Mash on Halloween had monster, pun intended, ratings this past year. It is the third Halloween that we've aired it. We've done a 70's week, an 80's week, Valentine's Specials, etc. I imagine you'll see much of the same on Antenna TV especially around the holidays.
SitcomsOnline: Before we go further, I have to mention that Antenna TV will be airing two short-lived spin-offs on its schedule. The Three's Company spin-offs -- The Ropers and Three's a Crowd -- will be aired within Three's Company's hour timeslot (5pm-6pm and encores 12am-1am). That is very cool and to my knowledge, it never has been done. Back to questions, Antenna TV will also air movies, mainly during mornings and early afternoons. Will these films also be from specific studios and what are some of the films we can expect?
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: The films will come from the Columbia/Sony libraries. It's a very deep film library and prevents overlap from anything on This TV, which is fueled by the MGM library. I love Three's a Crowd and The Ropers (Three's Company spin-offs) being a part of the line-up. (Once the Ropers leave the Three's Company episodes, you'll see The Ropers scheduled in one of the half-hours, and later on Three's a Crowd in one of the half-hours after the final Three's Company episode airs.) They were solid spin-offs that at the time were short-lived and have had little exposure. Another show that I'm thrilled to have is Too Close for Comfort.
SitcomsOnline: Finally, it is really great Tribune is creating a network like this for the digital era. You have done a great job in preserving classic TV sitcoms first on Tribune's WGN America (where we previously interviewed you) and now with Tribune's Antenna TV. Will Antenna TV depend on Nielsen ratings like broadcast networks and cable networks? Or is the landscape different in digital substation world? Fans have also asked if these programs will be unedited or at least close to being unedited if there are less ads on digital substations?
Antenna TV's Sean Compton: Thank you for the kind words. We air the shows the way that the distributors supply us. We will do no editing on our end. We also will not be squeezing the end credits nor will we have an Antenna TV bug/logo on the screen during programming. Stations locally may decide to put theirs up, but nationally we will not display one. As far as ratings go, yes we will look at ratings but in the digital world it's driven a bit differently. The product we bought was done specifically to find opportunities. The Cosby Show, Cheers, Roseanne are on television in syndication and cable everyday, so we went after shows that haven't had the mass exposure in recent years. We won't live and die with this network by ratings in the first 2-3 years.
Our thanks to Sean Compton and Antenna TV. We wish them the best of luck on their launch on January 1! For more information on Antenna TV, continue to stay with us for info and don't forget to view their website http://www.antennatv.tv/. So, stay tuned right here on the blog for continued news and programming updates for this network.
Before we get to the rest of today's blog, we want to give you information on KTLA's preview of Antenna TV in Los Angeles that Sean talked about in our interview. In anticipation of this new programming, KTLA will broadcast a sneak peek of Antenna TV on its main channel, KTLA 5. Antenna TV is coming to KTLA's digital channel 5.2 in Los Angeles on January, 1 2011.
The first sneak peek will be this Saturday (Dec. 18) and will air from 2pm-5pm PT with an hour each of sitcoms Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. A few hours later in primetime on Saturday from 8-10pm PT, KTLA will air four episodes of Sanford & Son. Then on Sunday (Dec. 19), KTLA will give two episodes each of Gidget, Circus Boy, and The Monkees all starting at 9am PT. In late on Sunday, KTLA will air two hours of The Three Stooges from 11pm-1am with six classic episodes. And finally on Sunday, Dec. 26 KTLA will give LA fans a preview of Antenna TV's Sunday morning western block with The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin at 1pm, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok at 2pm, and The Iron Horse at 3pm.
View more information on KTLA's preview of Antenna TV.
Awards season is heating up with Golden Globes and the WGA Awards, now we have another. The 17th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards (SAG) nominees have been announced. Leading the pack were Modern Family, Glee, 30 Rock and Mad Men. Among the broadcast networks, NBC led with 6 nominations followed by ABC and Fox with 4 each. HBO led overall with 9 nominations. TV Land had its first ever nomination, with Hot in Cleveland getting a nomination along with star Betty White. The awards will air Sunday, Jan. 30, on TNT and TBS at 8 PM ET/PT.
Here are the main TV nominees:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire, HBO)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, AMC)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Showtime)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men, HBO)
Hugh Laurie (House, Fox)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Glenn Close (Damages, FX)
Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU, NBC)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife, CBS)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, AMC)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer, TNT)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, NBC)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family, ABC)
Steve Carrell (The Office, NBC)
Chris Colfer (Glee, Fox)
Ed O'Neill (Modern Family, ABC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie, Showtime)
Tina Fey (30 Rock, NBC)
Jane Lynch (Glee, Fox)
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family, ABC)
Betty White (Hot in Cleveland, TV Land)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
The Closer (TNT)
Dexter (Showtime)
The Good Wife (CBS)
Mad Men (AMC)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 Rock (NBC)
Glee (Fox)
Hot in Cleveland (TV Land)
Modern Family (ABC)
The Office (NBC)
View the complete TV portion nominees and to discuss the nominees!
Stay tuned either tomorrow or early next week for an interview with Me-TV Network! And of course tomorrow will bring news and our weekly look at the coming week's talk shows with sitcom stars as guests. Come on back!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Antenna TV Launch Schedule Starting January 2011; Chiller Acquires Buffy
We mentioned back in early September that Tribune is launching Antenna TV in January 2011, but now we have the FULL launch schedule! Before we get to the schedule, I'll remind you once again what Antenna TV is. Tribune Broadcasting's Antenna TV is a classic television and general entertainment movie network to air as a digital multicast on Tribune's broadcast stations. Tribune markets include New York's WPIX, Los Angeles' KTLA and Chicago's local WGN. The Chicago affiliate for Antenna TV will be WGN-DT 9.2. Antenna TV will also be offered for national distribution to non-Tribune stations, such as in Cleveland, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, and Milwaukee. View the full list of affiliates thus far on the Antenna TV website.
Moving on to the schedule, the digital station will launch on January 1, 2011 rather than the previously announced Jan. 3 -- so two days earlier! On January 1, 2011 there will be a New Year's Day marathon of first episodes! We'll have a schedule for that soon. The regular weekday schedule will have movies start the day off starting at 5am. Then sitcoms will take over from 1pm-1am. A black and white sitcom block from the '50s & '60s will start things off (originally these sitcoms were slated for overnight) with two episodes of Burns & Allen in the 1pm hour. At 2pm it will be Hazel, followed by The Farmer's Daughter. In the 3pm hour, it will be two more all-time classics, Father Knows Best and Dennis the Menace. Oh Mr. Wilson, indeed! Then we head into the '70s until 10pm, with an hour each of hit comedies. At 4pm, c'mon and get happy because it's an hour of The Partridge Family. At 5pm, back-to-back slapstick episodes of Three's Company will air, but Mon-Thurs only. The two spin-offs, The Ropers and Three's a Crowd, will be included in the rotation! How so? When the Ropers move to their new house after episode 52 ("An Anniversary Surprise"), you'll see episodes of The Ropers in the second half-hour until it finishes its 28 episode run and then we get back to Three's Company in this half-hour (the first half-hour will remain Three's Company, of course). Then later when Three's Company finishes its 172 episode run, all 22 episodes of Three's a Crowd will air, likely in the first half-hour, while the second half-hour will start with Three's Company from the beginning. It's a nice and unique way of scheduling these spin-offs and all fans will be pleased for sure!
Anyway, back to the weekday line-up, Fridays in this 5pm hour will be two episodes of the Ted Knight sitcom Too Close for Comfort. Then Mon-Sat in the 6pm hour its two episodes of Bea Arthur's Maude. In the weekday 7pm hour, we get back-to-back dyno-mite episodes of Good Times. The primetime line-up from 8pm-12am will air Sun-Thurs, with an hour each of Sanford & Son, All in the Family, Married...with Children and The Nanny. At 12am, Mon-Thurs will see more of Three's Company with the two spin-offs mixed in like they will be at 5pm. Too Close for Comfort will air in the 12am hour on Sunday nights. From 1am-5am more movies will air on Sun-Thurs.
Fridays and Saturdays will see a block of Three Stooges and Benny Hill in primetime. On Fridays, Three Stooges will air from 8pm-11pm and on Saturdays it will air from 11pm-2am. Meanwhile, the British comedy Benny Hill will air from 11pm-2am on Fridays and 8pm-11pm on Saturdays. The Monkees will air on both Fridays and Saturday nights in the 2am hour following this block and then a movie at 3am.
On weekend mornings and afternoons, we also have some variations. A movie starts both days off at 5am, followed by children's programming on Saturdays from 7am-1pm such as Totally Tooned In and classic Columbia westerns on Sundays such as Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. Sitcoms follow at 1pm, with Too Close for Comfort on Saturdays and Here Come the Brides on Sundays in the hour. Then both days will be the same from 2pm-6pm with an hour each of Gidget, The Flying Nun, The Monkees and The Partridge Family. As we mentioned earlier, Maude airs at 6pm, like it does Mon-Fri, but on Sundays we get Good Times in the 6pm hour. At 7pm, we get Archie Bunker and family in All in the Family on Saturdays and Too Close for Comfort on Sundays. The rest of the weekend line-up we mentioned earlier.
All of these shows are from Sony Pictures Television or DLT Entertainment. They will be adding in series frequently from these libraries, so stay tuned. We will certainly have more information on this network as we get closer to the launch. We will let you know what the first day will feature on Jan. 1 with classic first episodes, when we get the highlights. For now, you might want to take a look at a video preview of this network and browse their website for affiliate information.
View and discuss Antenna TV's launch schedule. Keep it right here as always for news and information on this network. We will be the first to announce anything, I'm sure!
Moving on to other news, fueled by skyrocketing ratings, significantly younger audience and a major expansion of programming featuring its first original movie (The Passenger) and first original special (Chiller 13: The Decade's Scariest Movie Moments) Chiller today announced a creative redesign effective October 27 in time for Halloween! Chiller is introducing a new logo and on-air look, embracing its tagline, Scary Good.
Joss Whedon's iconic Emmy Award-winning Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and aired on The WB/UPN from 1997-2003, will join the Chiller schedule Sunday, November 7, beginning with a 24-hour marathon at 6AM (ET/PT). On Monday, November 8, the series will assume its regular time slot weekdays at 6PM and 7PM (along with 7am & 8am) (ET/PT). There will be a Thanksgiving Day marathon as well starting at 6am. And the series will remain on Viacom's LOGO as well.
Starting this December, Chiller's programming will be boosted by its first ever original special, Chiller 13: The Decade's Scariest Movie Moments, a countdown special featuring pop culture mavens and horror movie experts looking back on the top scary movie moments of the past 10 years. Chiller's very first original movie The Passenger, based on the novella by best-selling author Jack Ketchum, is slated to premiere in Spring 2011.
Various other series air on weekdays at different times like Monsters, Millenium, Dark Shadows, Twilight Zone, Night Visions, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Freddy's Nightmares, Forever Knight, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Friday the 13th and more. Saturday in primetime has Fear Factor, while Sundays has Masters of Horror.
Moving on to the schedule, the digital station will launch on January 1, 2011 rather than the previously announced Jan. 3 -- so two days earlier! On January 1, 2011 there will be a New Year's Day marathon of first episodes! We'll have a schedule for that soon. The regular weekday schedule will have movies start the day off starting at 5am. Then sitcoms will take over from 1pm-1am. A black and white sitcom block from the '50s & '60s will start things off (originally these sitcoms were slated for overnight) with two episodes of Burns & Allen in the 1pm hour. At 2pm it will be Hazel, followed by The Farmer's Daughter. In the 3pm hour, it will be two more all-time classics, Father Knows Best and Dennis the Menace. Oh Mr. Wilson, indeed! Then we head into the '70s until 10pm, with an hour each of hit comedies. At 4pm, c'mon and get happy because it's an hour of The Partridge Family. At 5pm, back-to-back slapstick episodes of Three's Company will air, but Mon-Thurs only. The two spin-offs, The Ropers and Three's a Crowd, will be included in the rotation! How so? When the Ropers move to their new house after episode 52 ("An Anniversary Surprise"), you'll see episodes of The Ropers in the second half-hour until it finishes its 28 episode run and then we get back to Three's Company in this half-hour (the first half-hour will remain Three's Company, of course). Then later when Three's Company finishes its 172 episode run, all 22 episodes of Three's a Crowd will air, likely in the first half-hour, while the second half-hour will start with Three's Company from the beginning. It's a nice and unique way of scheduling these spin-offs and all fans will be pleased for sure!
Anyway, back to the weekday line-up, Fridays in this 5pm hour will be two episodes of the Ted Knight sitcom Too Close for Comfort. Then Mon-Sat in the 6pm hour its two episodes of Bea Arthur's Maude. In the weekday 7pm hour, we get back-to-back dyno-mite episodes of Good Times. The primetime line-up from 8pm-12am will air Sun-Thurs, with an hour each of Sanford & Son, All in the Family, Married...with Children and The Nanny. At 12am, Mon-Thurs will see more of Three's Company with the two spin-offs mixed in like they will be at 5pm. Too Close for Comfort will air in the 12am hour on Sunday nights. From 1am-5am more movies will air on Sun-Thurs.
Fridays and Saturdays will see a block of Three Stooges and Benny Hill in primetime. On Fridays, Three Stooges will air from 8pm-11pm and on Saturdays it will air from 11pm-2am. Meanwhile, the British comedy Benny Hill will air from 11pm-2am on Fridays and 8pm-11pm on Saturdays. The Monkees will air on both Fridays and Saturday nights in the 2am hour following this block and then a movie at 3am.
On weekend mornings and afternoons, we also have some variations. A movie starts both days off at 5am, followed by children's programming on Saturdays from 7am-1pm such as Totally Tooned In and classic Columbia westerns on Sundays such as Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. Sitcoms follow at 1pm, with Too Close for Comfort on Saturdays and Here Come the Brides on Sundays in the hour. Then both days will be the same from 2pm-6pm with an hour each of Gidget, The Flying Nun, The Monkees and The Partridge Family. As we mentioned earlier, Maude airs at 6pm, like it does Mon-Fri, but on Sundays we get Good Times in the 6pm hour. At 7pm, we get Archie Bunker and family in All in the Family on Saturdays and Too Close for Comfort on Sundays. The rest of the weekend line-up we mentioned earlier.
All of these shows are from Sony Pictures Television or DLT Entertainment. They will be adding in series frequently from these libraries, so stay tuned. We will certainly have more information on this network as we get closer to the launch. We will let you know what the first day will feature on Jan. 1 with classic first episodes, when we get the highlights. For now, you might want to take a look at a video preview of this network and browse their website for affiliate information.
View and discuss Antenna TV's launch schedule. Keep it right here as always for news and information on this network. We will be the first to announce anything, I'm sure!
Moving on to other news, fueled by skyrocketing ratings, significantly younger audience and a major expansion of programming featuring its first original movie (The Passenger) and first original special (Chiller 13: The Decade's Scariest Movie Moments) Chiller today announced a creative redesign effective October 27 in time for Halloween! Chiller is introducing a new logo and on-air look, embracing its tagline, Scary Good.
Joss Whedon's iconic Emmy Award-winning Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and aired on The WB/UPN from 1997-2003, will join the Chiller schedule Sunday, November 7, beginning with a 24-hour marathon at 6AM (ET/PT). On Monday, November 8, the series will assume its regular time slot weekdays at 6PM and 7PM (along with 7am & 8am) (ET/PT). There will be a Thanksgiving Day marathon as well starting at 6am. And the series will remain on Viacom's LOGO as well.
Starting this December, Chiller's programming will be boosted by its first ever original special, Chiller 13: The Decade's Scariest Movie Moments, a countdown special featuring pop culture mavens and horror movie experts looking back on the top scary movie moments of the past 10 years. Chiller's very first original movie The Passenger, based on the novella by best-selling author Jack Ketchum, is slated to premiere in Spring 2011.
Various other series air on weekdays at different times like Monsters, Millenium, Dark Shadows, Twilight Zone, Night Visions, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Freddy's Nightmares, Forever Knight, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Friday the 13th and more. Saturday in primetime has Fear Factor, while Sundays has Masters of Horror.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
New Digital Station Antenna TV Coming in January 2011; CMT Fall 2010, Hallmark Channel Update
I think we have the news of the year folks! A new digital broadcast station is coming soon from Tribune Broadcasting and will feature classic TV shows and movies! Tribune Broadcasting has announced the launch of Antenna TV, a classic television and general entertainment movie network to air as a digital multicast on Tribune's broadcast stations beginning January 3, 2011. Tribune markets include New York's WPIX, Los Angeles' KTLA and Chicago's local WGN. The Chicago affiliate for Antenna TV will be WGN-DT 9.2. Antenna TV will also be offered for national distribution to non-Tribune stations. Stay with us in the coming months for an official list of stations.
Antenna TV will offer a combination of movies and classic television shows including: Three's Company, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Good Times, Too Close for Comfort, Benny Hill, Maude, The Partridge Family, The Nanny, and Married...with Children. And even more cool stuff like Three's Company's short-lived spin-offs The Ropers and Three's a Crowd will air within Three's Company itself! That sounds very cool and unique! More to come on this in the coming months. Black & white classic television series will air in the overnight and includes classics like Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace, The Donna Reed Show, and on weekends The Three Stooges. As you may have noticed, the series are mostly from Sony Pictures Television and a few from Don Taffner's DLT Entertainment. More shows will be announced soon, so stay tuned.
A schedule isn't ready for release yet but there will be movies in the daytime and sitcoms starting at 5pm and going through the overnight hours. NO paid programming will be on this digital multicast at all, as it is 24/7 entertainment! There will be a lot of themed events, including holiday marathons. This is going to be a delight for sitcom and classic TV fans! Many of these series have not aired on local syndication in years, so this will be fun to watch in a new way on digital television! This station comes from the same people who run the cable network WGN America and the digital station THIS TV, so you bet Antenna TV will be good. Stay with us for further updates and we will be the first to let you know the launch schedule when ready! And special thanks as always to Sean Compton, president of programming for Tribune Broadcasting, for his help and information!
Moving back to our look at the fall 2010 cable schedules, today we will give you details on CMT. We normally only cover CMT when they air a television series or sitcom. After three years, The Dukes of Hazzard is returning to CMT! The series returns in style with a 3-day marathon starting Friday, Sept. 10! The marathon airs that Friday from 8pm-3am and that Saturday & Sunday both from 2pm-3am. The series will then join the regular schedule on Monday, Sept. 13 and air weeknights at 7pm & 11pm. In other series updates, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will air air 2-4pm and 1-3am weeknights with primetime airings on Tuesday nights. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? airs weeknights at 6:30pm and 12-1am. Trading Spouses usually airs once a week sometime in the daytime. That's about it for CMT, as the rest of the schedule is filled with music, originals and movies.
And finally, we have an update for you to the Hallmark Channel Fall 2010 schedule we relayed the other day. Weeknights at 8pm starting Tuesday, Sept. 7 will now be Little House on the Prairie, rather than Touched by an Angel. This means Touched is off the schedule for now. Little House will now be exclusive to Hallmark as it won't share the series with TV Land anymore, since TV Land's contract expired yesterday. Now Hallmark can air the series anytime and not just 6am-6pm. As a result, Hallmark will air a marathon of Little House on the Prairie on Saturday, Sept. 4 from 6am-4am. The Cheers marathon originally slated for this day is no longer scheduled, but Who's the Boss? and I Love Lucy remain on Sept. 5-6.
View the updated Hallmark Channel Fall 2010 schedule. And stay with us for further updates, as usual.
Antenna TV will offer a combination of movies and classic television shows including: Three's Company, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Good Times, Too Close for Comfort, Benny Hill, Maude, The Partridge Family, The Nanny, and Married...with Children. And even more cool stuff like Three's Company's short-lived spin-offs The Ropers and Three's a Crowd will air within Three's Company itself! That sounds very cool and unique! More to come on this in the coming months. Black & white classic television series will air in the overnight and includes classics like Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace, The Donna Reed Show, and on weekends The Three Stooges. As you may have noticed, the series are mostly from Sony Pictures Television and a few from Don Taffner's DLT Entertainment. More shows will be announced soon, so stay tuned.
A schedule isn't ready for release yet but there will be movies in the daytime and sitcoms starting at 5pm and going through the overnight hours. NO paid programming will be on this digital multicast at all, as it is 24/7 entertainment! There will be a lot of themed events, including holiday marathons. This is going to be a delight for sitcom and classic TV fans! Many of these series have not aired on local syndication in years, so this will be fun to watch in a new way on digital television! This station comes from the same people who run the cable network WGN America and the digital station THIS TV, so you bet Antenna TV will be good. Stay with us for further updates and we will be the first to let you know the launch schedule when ready! And special thanks as always to Sean Compton, president of programming for Tribune Broadcasting, for his help and information!
Moving back to our look at the fall 2010 cable schedules, today we will give you details on CMT. We normally only cover CMT when they air a television series or sitcom. After three years, The Dukes of Hazzard is returning to CMT! The series returns in style with a 3-day marathon starting Friday, Sept. 10! The marathon airs that Friday from 8pm-3am and that Saturday & Sunday both from 2pm-3am. The series will then join the regular schedule on Monday, Sept. 13 and air weeknights at 7pm & 11pm. In other series updates, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will air air 2-4pm and 1-3am weeknights with primetime airings on Tuesday nights. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? airs weeknights at 6:30pm and 12-1am. Trading Spouses usually airs once a week sometime in the daytime. That's about it for CMT, as the rest of the schedule is filled with music, originals and movies.
And finally, we have an update for you to the Hallmark Channel Fall 2010 schedule we relayed the other day. Weeknights at 8pm starting Tuesday, Sept. 7 will now be Little House on the Prairie, rather than Touched by an Angel. This means Touched is off the schedule for now. Little House will now be exclusive to Hallmark as it won't share the series with TV Land anymore, since TV Land's contract expired yesterday. Now Hallmark can air the series anytime and not just 6am-6pm. As a result, Hallmark will air a marathon of Little House on the Prairie on Saturday, Sept. 4 from 6am-4am. The Cheers marathon originally slated for this day is no longer scheduled, but Who's the Boss? and I Love Lucy remain on Sept. 5-6.
View the updated Hallmark Channel Fall 2010 schedule. And stay with us for further updates, as usual.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Mini-DVD Review: Dennis the Menace: Trouble, Trouble Everywhere! (March 25)
Dennis the Menace: Trouble, Trouble Everywhere (Fox, $14.98) brings us seven classic mini episodes from the '80s animated series. The series is based on the comic strip and is not to be confused with the '50s sitcom starring Jay North. Although I like both. On this set, entire nations can't run and hide from Dennis. The Mitchells (Henry, Alice, and Dennis) love taking vacations (usually with their neighbors the Wilsons, George & Martha) and we get seven of them on this set. Wherever they head, young Dennis seems to wind up in the center of numerous catastrophes...whether he's chasing crooks in Venice, kangaroos in Sydney, outrunning Mayans in South America, bulls in Spain, or even proving that erupting volcanoes in Hawaii wreak less havoc than he does...Dennis is always drawn to finding trouble wherever he is! The Queen of England would agree!
Let's now move on to the packaging. It is a very nice colorful design. We get a snap case that holds the single disc inside. The cover art features Dennis on an airplane with the world in the background. The show logo is above him along with the Trouble, Trouble Everywhere mention. The back of the case features a nice shot of Dennis surfing in Hawaii with a volcano erupting. Two screenshots also are found (Dennis, Mr. Wilson, Margaret; and Dennis and Petey). We also have a nice synopsis of the set and technical information. When we open the case, we see a nice episode listing insert on the left side, with the seven episodes on this set listed in the black of the red guards at Buckingham Palace. Dennis' frog, Willy, is also on the guard as Dennis is below the guard. On the back of that insert there is a mention that Inspector Gadget: Big Little Problems is coming to DVD June 17, but it was just announced that is delayed now. We also have another insert, this time a booklet of other DVDs from Fox and DiC. On the right side we see the disc. It is similar to the cover art, with Dennis and the world and Dennis on a skateboard now, but this time we see the torch on the Statue of Liberty falling off along with the time on Big Ben falling off. Dennnnnnis! No artwork are on the inside background of the case, just a red background.
The menu screen is very nice. But before that we get auto trailers of other DVDs such as Care Bears, Garfield Gets Real, and Bob the Builder. The design of the main menu is nice. We get the logo of the show with Dennis and Ruff smiling, in a post-card style design. Two other postcards seem to be behind that, as I can see a stamp of Henry and a stamp of Mr. Wilson. No theme in the background, though. The options for the main menu are Play All, Episode Selection, and Language Selection. For the latter, we can have English or Spanish stereo audio or subtitles in English or Spanish. In episode selection, we get a list of episodes with a screenshot in a post-card form. The post-card thing is very nice since this is a vacation/traveling themed set.
The video and audio is good. The sound is very good since it is in stereo. The video seems to be just OK. Nothing bad and nothing great, but very watchable. The best episode it seems in video quality is the New York one. Each episode runs 11:47, except one runs 7:01 ("Dennis Plasters Pamplona"). The show was a half-hour show, but had three mini episodes (approx. 5, 10, 5 minutes not counting the opening/closing credits) in each half-hour...so that is what I meant by seven mini episodes on this set. Since Fox/DiC chose seven vacation episodes from the entire run, these episodes are not in their full 22-23 minute episode format, but we do get the opening/closing themes on each episode. I wish Fox/DiC would release every episode in its full half-hour format and in order. Maybe if this set does well, they will. For you closing logo fans, we get two closing logos after the closing credits on this set. The blue DiC logo with DiC in yellow and flashing in and the DFS Program Exchange logo with the scary sound. Why a Program Exchange logo? Since that was for syndication. Are these prints from The Program Exchange?
Unfortunately, we get no special features at all. Here's hoping if they release the series in order, we get some in those.
I highly do recommend this set for any Dennis the Menace fan, fan of the comic strip, the sitcom, or '80s animation in general. I have always had a soft spot for this series. I grew up watching it in the '80s and early 90s and even watched reruns on cable on Fox Family and Cartoon Network over the last decade. I just hope we get all 78 half-hours on DVD, and not just seven mini-episodes. If you want this to happen, you'll have to buy this DVD. It is pretty cheap on Amazon, you can find a link to that below. This series has never hit DVD, so this is a major release, I just wish it was in order instead of a best-of set. It is a start, though! This set is right in time for the traveling season as families are planning where they want to go this summer. Maybe the Mitchells will persuade you to where to go? So, head on back to your childhood and buy this set because I'm sure we all had a Dennis in us as a child! Dennnnnnis!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
My Dennis the Menace Episode Guide
Dennis the Menace TV.com Page
Stay tuned tomorrow for our regular mini-DVD review on our regular day...Saturday. We take a look at BCI's The Price is Right. Also tomorrow of course is Solomon's Weekly Rant.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Day 32: WGA's Strike; Classic TV Sitcom Holiday Episodes in Toledo!
Mondays - 8pm American Gladiators, 9pm Deal or No Deal, 10pm Medium
Tuesdays - 8-10pm The Biggest Loser, 10pm Law & Order: SVU
Wednesdays - 8pm Deal or No Deal, 9pm Law & Order: Criminal Intent, 10pm Law & Order
Thursdays - 8pm Comedy Repeats, 9pm Celebrity Apprentice, 10pm ER (Lipstick Jungle takes over in Feb)
Fridays - 8pm 1 vs. 100, 9pm Friday Night Lights, 10pm Las Vegas
Saturdays - Repeats
Sundays - Mix of Specials
So, Medium is returning to its old Monday at 10pm slot. Deal or no Deal returns to Mondays, but it moves to 9pm. Mondays at 8pm starting Feb. 18 will be the reality series The Baby Borrowers, as American Gladiators' six-week run will conclude by then. Sunday specials include The 65th Annual Golden Globes Awards" broadcasting live on Sunday, January 13 from 8-11 p.m. ET, The Guinness Book of World Records - Live! featuring a live death-defying stunt on Sunday, January 27 from 9-11 p.m. ET and Top 100 Most Outrageous Moments on Sunday, February 10 from 9-11 p.m. ET. Don't be surprised to see Dateline pop-up Sundays at 7 or even two-hour Deal or No Deal episodes from 7-9pm Sundays. If that is the case, we have Deal on three nights (Sun, Mon, Wed).
Meanwhile Fox has picked-up more episodes of Don't Forget the Lyrics! Fox has ordered 13 additional episodes of the musical game show. The series, hosted by Wayne Brady, cranks up the volume with all-new episodes Thursdays at 9:00 PM ET/PT and encore episodes airing Fridays at 8:00 PM ET/PT on Fox.
Attention Toledo, Ohio! Classic TV fans will be VERY happy this holiday season as WTVG (ABC13) will give you fans a treat this holiday season with classic holiday episodes of sitcom favorites! Starting this Saturday, fans can tune in from 1-3PM on Saturday afternoons on ABC13 for Christmas episodes of classic sitcoms. Dec. 8 we will see holiday showings of Bewitched, Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best and The Flying Nun. On Dec. 15 we will see more holiday classics with Bewitched, Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best and this time The Monkees. And the final holiday airings will be on Dec. 29 and we will see yet more Bewitched, Dennis the Menace, The Partridge Family and another Bewitched. You lucky people in Toledo you! Hopefully they do more of this and let's hope other stations across the nation learn from this and follow!
In Toledo? Or love the fact they are airing classic sitcom holiday episodes? Discuss this with us HERE!
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, August 24
The Neighorhood - "Welcome to Murder at Sea" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Gemma throws Dave an unforgettable murder mystery birthday party. Meanwhile, Malcolm uses the celebration to introduce Mercedes to his family.
The Neighorhood - "Welcome to the Two-Ring Circus" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
A change of plans sends Mercedes and Tina on a memorable night out that prompts several couples to take a closer look at what they truly want from their relationships. Meanwhile, Dave’s visit to Gemma’s school sparks an honest conversation about her feelings toward her job.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang Gets Tested" (FX and FXX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Dennis and Dee are diagnosed with ADHD, and even more shocking: Mac isn't. They go back to school for a do-over now that they understand their brains better. Written by Charlie Day and directed by Richie Keen.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 24)
Monday, August 24
- Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Watch Glen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Colman Domingo (The Four Seasons) - Colman appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Brett Goldstein (Shrinking/Ted Lasso) - Brett is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Adam talks about Whisper Man on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Ariana talks about Scarpetta on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee talks about Ella McKay on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/16/26 - Difficult People - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
06/30/26 - Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Paper - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/29/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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