SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Actor Tim Considine, who starred as Mike Douglas on My Three Sons, has died. He died at his home in Mar Vista, California on March 3. Mr. Considine was 81.

Considine's first television starring role was as Spin Evans on The Adventures of Spin and Marty in 1955. Spin and Marty was a series of television shorts that aired as part of The Mickey Mouse Club show on ABC from 1955 to 1957. The first series of 25 eleven-minute episodes, The Adventures of Spin and Marty, was filmed in 1955. The serialized Disney television adaptation of the novel starred David Stollery as the rich, orphaned Martin "Marty" Markham and Considine as the poorer Spin Evans, the most athletic and popular boy at the Triple R Ranch. The sequels The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty aired in 1956 and The New Adventures of Spin and Marty in 1957.

Considine and Tommy Kirk starred as Frank and Joe Hardy on The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure, which was aired on The Mickey Mouse Club on ABC in 1956 during the show's second season. A second serial, The Mystery of Ghost Farm, followed in 1957. Considine starred as Steven Abernathy on Walt Disney Presents: Annette, which was a serial that starred Annette Funicello that ran on The Mickey Mouse Club on ABC in 1958 during the show's third season.

He starred as Mike Douglas on the first five seasons of My Three Sons, which aired on ABC from 1960 to 1965 before moving to CBS for seasons six to twelve. My Three Sons chronicles the life of widower and aeronautical engineer Steven Douglas (Fred MacMurray) as he raises his three sons. Mike Douglas is the eldest son who later marries his fiancée Sally Ann Morrison (Meredith MacRae). Considine left the series when it moved to CBS because he wanted to direct but not co-star in the series. He wrote two episodes in 1963 and 1964 and directed one of the last black-and-white episodes in 1965. The cast included William Frawley (1960-1965), William Demarest (1965-1972), Don Grady (1960-1971), Stanley Livingston, Barry Livingston (1963-1972), Tina Cole (1967-1972), Beverly Garland (1969-1972), Dawn Lyn (1969-1972) and Ronnie Troup (1970-1972).

Considine starred as Young Gabe Marion in The Swamp Fox in 1959, which aired as part of Walt Disney Presents. Some of his other television guest appearances included I'm the Law, The Ford Television Theatre, Your Jeweler's Showcase, Chevron Theatre, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Great Gildersleeve, Treasury Men in Action, Zane Grey Theatre, Cheyenne, Johnny Ringo, The Untouchables, Bonanza, The Fugitive, Medical Center, Ironside, Gunsmoke, The Smith Family, Simon & Simon and Legend.

He starred as Dink with Red Skelton in The Clown (1953). He starred as Buzz Miller with Fred MacMurray in the Disney film The Shaggy Dog (1959). In 1970, he portrayed the shell-shocked soldier slapped by General George S. Patton, Jr. (George C. Scott) in Patton.

Survivors include his wife, Willette, whom he married in 1979; his son, Christopher; his brother, John; his sister, Erin; and his grandchildren, Ethan and Tyler. He was married to actress Charlotte Stewart (teacher Miss Beadle on Little House on the Prairie) from 1965 until their 1969 divorce.

Mr. Considine was a Disney legend. He was later an automobile historian, photographer, and writer who specialized in motor sports. We thank him for his work on My Three Sons and his many other television and film roles. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our My Three Sons message board. View photos in our galleries.

Actor and singer Johnny Brown, who starred as building superintendent Nathan Bookman on Good Times, has died. He died in Los Angeles on March 2. He collapsed shortly after leaving a doctor's appointment for his pacemaker and was pronounced dead when brought to the hospital. Mr. Brown was 84.

Brown was a regular performer on NBC's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1970 to 1972. He lent his impersonations of Ed Sullivan, Alfred Hitchcock, Ralph Kramden and the Kingfish from Amos 'n' Andy.

He starred as building superintendent Nathan Bookman on the CBS sitcom Good Times from 1975 to 1979. Brown was a recurring cast member during seasons two to four before he became a series regular and was included in the opening credits in the fifth season. He appeared in a total of 58 episodes. James, Willona and later J.J. refer to him as "Buffalo Butt" or, even more derisively, "Booger." The cast included Esther Rolle (1974-1977, 1978-1979), John Amos (1974-1976), Jimmie Walker, Ja'Net DuBois, Ralph Carter, BernNadette Stanis, Janet Jackson (1977-1979) and Ben Powers (1978-1979).

Brown was considered for the role of Lamont on Sanford and Son, but he was unavailable to do so because of his prior commitment to Laugh-In. Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Julia, Love, American Style (2 episodes), Maude, Lotsa Luck!, The Ghost Busters (1975), Chico and the Man, Gimme a Break!, Archie Bunker's Place, The Jeffersons, Punky Brewster, 227, Out All Night, Martin, Family Matters, On Our Own, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Sister, Sister (2 episodes), The Jamie Foxx Show, The Wayans Bros. (2 episodes - 1 as Bookman), Cousin Skeeter, The Parent 'Hood (2 episodes), Kenan & Kel (2 episodes), The Parkers, Baby Bob and Everybody Hates Chris.

His drama guest appearances included Night Gallery, The Rookies, Fantasy Island, Moonlighting and Touched by an Angel. He provided the voice of Splashdown on Rickety Rocket, which aired as a segment on The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show on ABC from 1979 to 1980. He appeared in the 1970 film The Out-of-Towners as a waiter on a railroad dining car.

Survivors include his wife of 61 years, June; his daughter, actress Sharon Catherine Brown; and his son, John Jr.

Mr. Brown was a talented actor and singer. He was very funny and memorable as Bookman. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment he brought us on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Good Times and his many other television roles. He will be sorely missed.

Share your memories on our Good Times message board. View photos in our galleries.

Actor Mitchell Ryan, who starred as Edward Montgomery on Dharma & Greg, has died. He died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles on March 4. Mr. Ryan was 88.

Ryan starred as Burke Devlin on the ABC gothic soap opera Dark Shadows from 1966 to 1967. He starred as Capt. Chase Reddick on the 1973-1974 NBC police drama Chase. He portrayed Cooper Hawkins on the CBS western The Chisholms in 1980. He starred as Don Walling on the 1976-1977 drama Executive Suite. From 1978 to 1979, he starred as Dr. Blake Simmons on the short-lived 1978-1979 ABC medical drama Having Babies. He starred as Brennan Flannery on the short-lived 1983 ABC adventure series High Performance. In 1992, he played Porter Tremont on the CBS drama 2000 Malibu Road.

He starred as Edward Montgomery on the 1997-2002 ABC sitcom Dharma & Greg. Edward Montgomery is Greg Montgomery's (Thomas Gibson) eccentric father. He is married to Kitty Montgomery (Susan Sullivan), Greg's extravagant mother. The series also starred Jenna Elfman, Alan Rachins, Mimi Kennedy, Joel Murray and Shae D'lyn (1997-2001).

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Who's the Boss?, The Golden Girls, The Single Guy (2 episodes), Champs, Wings (3 episodes) and The Drew Carey Show.

He played the key villain General Peter McAllister in the 1987 film Lethal Weapon, which starred Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.

Mr. Ryan was a talented and versatile actor. He had over 130 television and film credits. We thank him for his work on Dharma & Greg and his many other roles. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our Dharma & Greg message board. View photos in our galleries.

Ovation TV has acquired two series for its lineup. The late '90s ABC comedy Dharma & Greg will premiere on Ovation tomorrow night (Tuesday, August 18) at 12 midnight with the first four episodes airing from 12-2am. Four episodes will air weekly. The four episodes will encore at various times during the week as well, such as Saturday afternoons from 12-2pm. Dharma & Greg has been seen in the past on TV Guide Network, WGN America, WE tv and FX. The sitcom starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who got married on their first date despite being complete opposites. Also joining Ovation TV will be the dramedy Boston Legal, which will premiere in primetime on the network on Monday, August 24 from 8-11pm airing ever Monday night. Three episodes will air a week and encore at various times during the week. The series is David E. Kelley's spin-off from The Practice, set at a high-priced Boston law firm, plays smartly on the chemistry between James Spader (as wry and wily lawyer Alan Shore) and William Shatner. Boston Legal has been seen in the past on Logo, TV Land and ION Television.

ABC Family announced that returning hit comedy Young & Hungry will swap time slots with freshman comedy Kevin From Work when Young & Hungry premieres on Wednesday (August 19) at 8:00PM ET/PT. Kevin From Work will move to 8:30PM ET/PT. Reality series Job or No Job rounds out the Wednesday lineup, with the series airing at 9:00 PM ET/PT. The summer season of Young & Hungry will premiere on Wednesday (August 19) at 8:00PM ET/PT. The midseason finale left off with Gabi (Emily Osment) leaving Josh (Jonathan Sadowski) behind to start a dream job in Switzerland, just as they were finally poised to take their relationship to the next level. When the show returns, Gabi and Josh must decide what their next step is, both professionally and personally. Young & Hungry established a series high in Adults 18-49 (973,000/0.8 rating) and set a season (and near series) high in Adults 18-34 (685,000/1.0 rating), according to Live+7 ratings during its May midseason finale. For the season, it ranked as cable's No. 1 original series in its Wednesday-at-8 timeslot among Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and across key female demos (W18-34/W18-49/F12-34). Launch to date, Young & Hungry is ABC Family's No. 1 comedy of all time in Women 18-34, Viewers 12-34 and Females 12-34.

Kevin From Work will air at 8:30PM ET/PT. In the next episode, "Who's Your Friend From Work," Audrey sets her friend up with Kevin but then finds herself strangely jealous of all the fun they're having. Patti hires Brian to be her personal trainer, but he worries she wants something more. Meanwhile, Roxie needs to get a job but decides to be an actress instead. The comedy stars Noah Reid as Kevin, Paige Spara as Audrey, Matt Murray as Brian, Jordan Hinson as Roxie, Punam Patel as Patti, with recurring guest star Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) as Julia. Kevin From Work will air in its regularly scheduled time slot Wednesdays at 8:30 PM ET/PT after airing at 8:00PM last week for its two-episode premiere.

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we've got news of a sort of surprising (though not completely) cancellation of a series that CBS brought back for a second season, news of Dharma & Greg finally returning to DVD, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

• Fox dropped an unanticipated MOD release on DVD this week with their release of Dharma & Greg - The Complete Season Two.
• The Carol Burnett Show has been released on DVD, and there have been many great releases of the series... but all throughout, one thing that has been missing is episodes from the first five seasons of the series. Now, it appears that some of those episodes are going to be released.

NOVEMBER 18 HOME MEDIA RELEASES 

• King of the Hill - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD, $34.95): After a very long hiatus, the animated Fox series finally returns to DVD with this release of the seventh season from Olive Films.
• King of the Hill - The Complete Eighth Season (DVD, $34.95): One release of this series in one day isn't enough when it has been abandoned for so long on DVD, so Olive Films also has the eighth season for fans.

Who to Follow: Damon Wayans (Twitter), "Comic, Actor and Clown 4 Life. Follow my Funny it leads to laffz!"

Claim to Fame: Most people know who Damon Wayans is, but forget that he got his start on TV in the 1985-1986 season of the NBC series Saturday Night Live. He was one of the feature performers on that season, but ended up getting fired for going off-script. He was far from done with sketch comedy, though, as he had his own sketch comedy series later on with In Living Color, a series to which he brought several members of his own family. He left that series after the third season following some disputes with Fox. His next move was to play the father in a family sitcom, which he did on ABC's My Wife and Kids. That series lasted for five seasons. He doesn't do quite as much acting these days, but somebody who does continue in his acting tradition is his son Damon Wayans Jr., who has already started an acting career for himself.

Pick of the Tweets: "Cool! Making the syndication rounds! RT @NIBORL: Now on oxygen @DamonkWayans" (October 3, 2014)

Jenna Elfman is staying at NBC. She has been cast in the upcoming NBC comedy Growing Up Fisher (formerly titled as The Family Guide). Elfman will play the role of Joyce Fisher (replacing the previously cast Parker Posey), the wife of Mel Fisher (J.K. Simmons) - the proud family patriarch who does not let his blindness affect him as a father, husband and breadwinner. Elfman recently appeared on NBC's 1600 Penn this past season as the First Lady and is best known for her role on Dharma and Greg, for which she garnered a Golden Globe Award, three Emmy Award nominations. Elfman also starred on two short-lived CBS sitcoms: Courting Alex and Accidentally on Purpose. Growing Up Fisher is from Universal Television and Aggregate Films. It is executive produced by DJ Nash, Jim Garavente and Jason Bateman, who also serves as narrator. The series will premiere in midseason 2014 for NBC.

On Monday, July 29th, ABC Family launches "Summer Crush," the network's fifth annual 10-day long summer programming event filled with all-day marathons, movies and all-new episodes of its original series Switched At Birth, The Fosters, Pretty Little Liars, Twisted, The Vineyard, Melissa & Joey, Baby Daddy and upcoming series Spell-Mageddon. Plus, the network television premieres of films Prom and So Undercover and the ABC Family premiere of 17 Again. Among the storylines we will see are a new crush fo Mel on Melissa & Joey: When his apartment needs to undergo emergency renovations, Mel invites her new boyfriend Noah (guest star Justin Hartley) to temporarily move in with her, accelerating their relationship. While on Baby Daddy, Ben is doing whatever his girlfriend says: Ben dog-sits for his girlfriend, and the dog is stolen on his watch. Both of those episodes will air on the final day of the ABC Family event on Aug. 7.

TV Guide Network has added another sitcom and also two dramas! As of yesterday, they quietly added Caroline in the City to the schedule. The sitcom has not been on cable since it aired on Lifetime and Lifetime Real Women on and off from about 2003-06. The Lea Thompson 1995-99 sitcom is airing on TV Guide Network weekdays from 4-5pm and encores 7-8pm. Also joining the TV Guide Network are family dramas Early Edition and The Guardian, with Early Edition airing weekdays at 11am with an encore at 1am and The Guardian weekdays at 12 noon with an encore at 12am. So with these three new additions, will everything else remain on the schedule? No, two series will be removed from the line-up. TV Guide will not be airing Veronica's Closet and Cybill anymore, but everything else remains on the schedule and with some new timings: Designing Women (weekdays from 10-11am and 5-6pm), Ugly Betty (weekdays at 1pm and 2pm), Samantha Who? (weekdays at 3pm), Ned and Stacey (weekdays at 3:30pm), Dharma & Greg (weekdays from 6-7pm), Curb Your Enthusiasm (weekdays at 4am), and Weeds (weekdays at 5am). Movies air in primetime from 8pm-12am.
Stay with us for any further updates and if Cybill and Veronica's Closet pop up again on TV Guide we will definitely let you know! For now enjoy the new additions of Caroline in the City, Early Edition, and The Guardian!

Bounce TV, the nation's first-ever over-the-air broadcast television network for African-Americans, will launch its first-ever original series Family Time - a half hour situation comedy created by Bentley Kyle Evans (The Jamie Foxx Show, Martin, Love That Girl) and produced by Evans and partner Trenten Gumbs - this summer. Family Time will be seen on Bounce TV Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. with the series premiere set for Monday, June 18, 2012. Family Time centers around the life and times of The Stallworths, a working class African American family who scratches off a lottery ticket and jumps to middle class overnight. They're an authentic picture of an African American family working to live the dream. This family-next-door consists of two loving parents: Anthony (Omar Gooding, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper) and Lisa (Angell Conwell, Dave's World) Stallworth and their children Ebony (Jayla Calhoun) and Devin (Bentley Kyle Evans, Jr.) The Stallworths move to a middle class community in sunny southern California and both Anthony and Lisa bring baggage and other family members into their relationship that makes for great comedy - and occasional drama.
Now Bounce TV currently does not air any sitcoms on the schedule, so it will be interesting if they acquire any reruns of older comedies to air alongside this original sitcom. Currently Bounce TV only airs movies, Soul Train and Judge Hatchett daily and Fat Albert on Tuesday nights. We will have much more to come on this show and the potential of sitcoms joining Bounce TV! Hoping for some What's Happening!!, Diff'rent Strokes, Benson and Gimme a Break! Anyway, watch a preview of Family Time.

Whitney - Thursdays 9:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 9:30PM ET/PT

Whitney is a hilarious look at modern-day love, which centers around Whitney (Whitney Cummings, Chelsea Lately) and Alex (Chris D'Elia, Glory Daze), a happily unmarried couple. Together for three years, the duo is in no rush to get hitched, which seems to get a mixed response from their friends.

Whitney's close circle of opinionated girlfriends include Lily (Zoe Lister-Jones) who is sweet, upbeat, and ready to get married, and Roxanne (Rhea Seehorn, The Starter Wife) a divorcee who is not afraid to speak her mind, but has not given up on love completely. When they get together, they often discuss their varying relationships and how to deal with everyday life and seemingly have fun at the same time.

Completing their close-knit group is Neal (Maulik Pancholy, 30 Rock) a real contemporary renaissance man—sensitive, cool, and knows a little bit about everything – and happens to be dating Lily. On the other end of the spectrum is Whitney and Alex's next-door neighbor Mark (Dan O'Brien, How I Met Your Mother), a police officer and total bachelor who claims to be the ultimate player but likes to talk a good game.

At the end of the day, Whitney and Alex realize that while their relationship might not be perfect on paper, they really do love each other – and that works for them.


Cast Details:

• Whitney Cummings as Whitney Cummings
• Chris D'Elia as Alex Miller
• Maulik Pancholy as Neal
• Rhea Seehorn as Roxanne
• Zoe Lister-Jones as Lilly
• Daniel G. O'Brien as Mark
• Jane Kaczmarek as Patti Morris, Whitney's mother (recurring guest star)


Whitney Cummings (Whitney) is the title star and executive producer of Whitney. A Los Angeles-based comedian, actor, writer and producer, Cummings also co-created and co-wrote, along with Michael Patrick King, the comedy Two Broke Girls, starring Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs. Last year, Cummings' hour-long Comedy Central stand-up special, Money Shot, was nominated for an American Comedy Award. As a comedian, Cummings appears regularly on E!'s Chelsea Lately and Comedy Central's Comedy Central Roasts. She got her start starring on MTV's Punk'd.

Comedian Chris D'Elia, (Alex Miller) East Coast-born and West Coast-raised, found himself in Los Angeles, performing every night of the week and quickly becoming a regular at all the Hollywood clubs. His silly, physical humor is what sets him apart from other comedians. D'Elia was recently a series regular in the TBS hour-long series Glory Daze, where he played a college frat-boy burnout. He also has been featured on Lopez Tonight and Showtime's Live Nude Comedy. In addition, D'Elia can be seen in the 2011 half-hour comedy showcase, Comedy Central Presents.

Zoe Lister-Jones (Lily) is a Brooklyn-born actor, writer and producer. Her film Breaking Upwards, which she co-wrote, produced and starred in with director Daryl Wein, was released theatrically by IFC in 2010. For television, Lister-Jones reprised her role as Kim on the live-action Adult Swim series Delocated for Seasons 1 and 2 and guest starred on HBO's Bored to Death and The Good Wife. On Broadway, Lister-Jones received excellent reviews for The Little Dog Laughed.

Maulik Pancholy (Neal) has established himself as one of Hollywood's most distinctive, versatile and impressive performers. Pancholy is best known for his recurring role on the critically acclaimed, Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning NBC comedy "30 Rock." Pancholy stars as Jonathan, the loyal assistant to Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin). In 2009, Pancholy shared the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. He also shared the SAG Award nomination with the cast for this same category in 2008 and in 2011.

Daniel G. O'Brien (Mark) has worked extensively in theater in New York City with The Atlantic Theater Company, MCC, The Present Company, The Flea Theater and The Vineyard Theater, among others. In the UK, O'Brien has performed at the Camden People's Theater in London and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, garnering a Scotsman Fringe First Award for his work. With his wife and playwright-in-residence, Julie Shavers, he has directed and produced four plays, most recently Silver Bullet Trailer, which was developed with the Royal Court Theater and Present Company and performed at The Ohio Theater in New York.

Rhea Seehorn (Roxanne) grew up in Virginia and graduated from college with a degree in drama and visual arts. Theatrically trained, she further developed her craft in Washington D.C., performing on many stages including Arena Stage and the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company, where she is a member of the acting company. Seehorn then moved to Manhattan, performing with Playwrights Horizons. She made her Broadway debut as an understudy in Neil Simon's 45 Seconds from Broadway. Shortly thereafter, she was cast as a series regular on I'm with Her opposite Teri Polo, David Sutcliffe and Danny Comden. Since relocating to Los Angeles, she has had series regular and recurring roles in The Starter Wife, Head Cases, Trust Me, The Dollhouse, Burn Notice and a supporting role in the Disney feature Shaggy Dog opposite Tim Allen.


Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" - When Whitney and Alex, a happily unmarried couple, attend one of their friends' weddings, Whitney realizes that she and Alex are dangerously close to relationship boredom after three years together. Determined not to let that happen, Whitney consults her close circle of opinionated girlfriends Lily and Roxanne. Snapping into action she tries to seduce Alex in a sexy costume, but someone winds up in the emergency room.

Written by Whitney Cummings
Directed by Andy Ackerman


Analysis:

Whitney is a multi-camera sitcom, one of the few to debut in recent years. Television seems to be moving more toward single-camera comedy, and while many of them are funny, it's nice to see an old-fashioned multi-camera one. The show is co-produced and created by star Whitney Cummings, who gained fame as a regular on Punk'd and a frequent panelist on Chelsea Lately. As the host of that show, Chelsea Handler, often chose comedians that shared her type of comedy, a lot of parallels can be drawn between her and Whitney Cummings. Cummings' brash comedy tends to focus on relationships, sex, and the differences between men and women.

Romance, relationships, and sex are the main topics of the show, with women in all sorts of different relationships depicted. Whitney and her boyfriend Alex are not married, and happy to be in that situation. Whitney's friend Lily is desperate to get married, and her other friend Roxanne is recently divorced but not giving up yet. Her mother, Patti, has been divorced three times and has completely given up on men. The plot of the pilot episode is believable, though the wedding scene seemed to do nothing for the plot except introduce all of the characters. Cummings humor is quite brash at times, and while some may find that a turn-off, I honestly found it quite funny. She knows how to do sex jokes without them being distasteful. Whitney and Alex are the main subjects of the show as they deal with the crazy relationships around them.

In the pilot, after attending a friend's wedding (and making a fool of herself by eating wedding cupcakes before the bride and groom "cut" the cupcake-cake), she decides her relationship with Alex is growing stale. So after enlisting advice from her friends, she ends up at a sex shop, and buys a nurse outfit to surprise Alex on their third anniversary. Things go horribly wrong, and Alex ends up hitting his head on the kitchen counter, giving himself a concussion... making Whitney realize how much she really does love him. I liked the plot and thought it had definite funny moments, but the cast somehow feels a bit too large. I realize that they're trying to show relationships from all angles, but I found myself having a hard time keeping up with who's who. The mother character played by the always-hilarious Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle) was only in one scene, and I felt like she should have been used more in the pilot. I understand her role was originally played by Beverly D'Angelo, and all her scenes were reshot.


Conclusion:

Whitney Cummings is a funny comedian, and her take on relationships and sex is quite funny. There aren't a lot of shows on the air right now that have women in such brash, leading roles. Whitney is placed in the middle of NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup, but I'm not sure that is exactly the right place for it. While it is a very funny show, I'm not sure it's "Must-See TV," and I'm not sure how well it will fit in with the other shows that are (and three single-camera series). Hopefully, being scheduled after The Office will help in the ratings. For now, the show will be reaired the following night at 8:30PM for a few weeks, so maybe that will bring in some extra eyes as well.

I still feel like the cast is too large and it's hard to keep up with the characters. Ladies' man Mark isn't a very likeable character, but perhaps that's what they are going for, and I feel like Jane Kaczmarek should be given more of a starring role in the show. Nonetheless, I hope the show does well, and I hope people like the over-the-top strong comedy of Whitney Cummings.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by Greg Brobeck on 09/21/11

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, September 21 on our message board.

Related Links:

NBC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Whitney Photo Gallery


Preview:

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More sitcoms are coming to the TV Guide Network this Fall! We can call this TV Guide Fall 2011 schedule part two! We already told you that Ned & Stacey, Veronica's Closet and Samantha Who? have joined the network, but now three more sitcoms are being added -- and these are more long-running series! Effective Monday, October 3, 2011, Designing Women, Cybill and Dharma & Greg will join the weekday line-up. Designing Women will air weekdays at 1:00pm & 1:30pm, followed by Cybill at 2:00pm & 2:30pm. Ugly Betty will move again, this time to 3pm & 4pm, leading into an hour of Dharma & Greg at 5pm. The 6-8pm line-up of shorter-lived sitcoms we mentioned already, will remain on the schedule. However, the 11am-1pm encores will no longer be airing, as TV Guide Network has acquired the cable rights to new first-run syndicated talk show Last Shot with Judge Gunn and will be airing weekdays in the 12 noon hour. The encores of Samantha Who, Ned & Stacey and Veronica's Closet (in this order) will now air 12am-2am.
Like the shorter-lived sitcoms, these comedies also star women such as Delta Burke, Annie Potts, Cybill Shepherd, and Jenna Elfman. Designing Women will get a two-hour block on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 3-5pm to kick things off, with the first four episodes airing, so tune in for that! Georgia on my mind!
Discuss these new additions to the TV Guide Network Fall 2011 schedule.

It's day two of our annual fall schedules for cable and up today will be WGN America! Earlier this summer we hinted at the acquisitions for WGN America like 'Til Death and Mad About You and the ones we already knew for a while: 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Futurama. Now it is time to tell you WHEN they will air!
Premiering first on WGN America this fall will be 'Til Death starting Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. The Brad Garrett comedy will air weeknights at 3:00am & 3:30am, replacing Paid Programming. It will also air on Saturday nights at 3:00am & 3:30am. The sitcom will also be entering broadcast syndication, so check your listings. WGN America will also add an hour of Dharma & Greg at 4:00am & 4:30am starting Sept. 12 replacing Star Trek: The Next Generation, which leaves syndication. And we mentioned in the past, Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm will be leaving syndication after just one season due to low ratings, and WGN America will replace them with two-hours of AFV from 1am-3am, for the week of Sept. 12 only.

The actual fall schedule will begin a week later on Monday, Sept. 19, 2011. First up, classic TV fans will see Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie move into the 8am hour with an episode each replacing an hour of The Beverly Hillbillies, which will be leaving the schedule. The morning and afternoon dramas will remain intact with back-to-back Matlock and In The Heat of the Night from 9am-1pm, followed by a News break, then two airings of Walker, Texas Ranger at 2pm & 3pm. The 4pm hour will now be an hour of the 80s/90s comedy Cheers, replacing Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, which moved to mornings. The 5pm hour will see back-to-back episodes of new acquisition Mad About You, replacing Cheers. The 6pm hour will now have Old Christine, as it replaces Dharma & Greg, which will be moving to 4am. AFV will remain at 7pm.

In primetime, new addition 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother will fill the block from 8-10pm. 30 Rock will air for two-hours on Mondays and How I Met Your Mother will be two-hours on Thursday, due to network conflicts from NBC and CBS. After a break at 10pm for the news, the new late night line-up begins with lots of comedy. Scrubs will continue to kick-it off at 11pm, but its 11:30pm airing will now be a 30 Rock airing. The duo will air on Saturday nights as well from 11pm-12am. At midnight, WGN America will premiere It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia airing Mon-Sat from 12-1am replacing South Park, but that comedy will air later in the night. Sunny will also air Saturday nights from 1-2am, creating a 12-2am block on Saturday nights. Who needs SNL? Next, Sunny will lead into another new acquisition, the animated comedy Futurama which will air Mon-Fri from 1-2am replacing Entourage/Curb Your Enthusiasm. Bender and company will also air Saturday nights from 2-3am. South Park will move to weeknights at 2am & 2:30am replacing another hour of Entourage/Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Weekends are pretty much the same with In the Heat of the Night, Walker Texas Ranger and Law & Order: Criminal Intent pretty much covering daytime on Saturdays, but Bones will be leaving the line-up so an airing each of The Unit and America's Funniest Home Videos will air in primetime. Saturday late nights will be comedies, as we mentioned above, from 11pm-4am, followed by a movie at 4am. Sundays will have Matlock and In the Heat of the Night start it off at 9am followed by movies. Scrubs will remain in the 5pm hour, followed by Old Christine at 6pm. At 7pm, an episode of 30 Rock will air replacing How I Met Your Mother, which will still air its Sunday block but now from 7:30pm-10pm. The news follows at 10pm, with three airings of Monk remaining from 11pm-2am, followed by a movie and AFV at 5am.
View the FULL WGN America Fall 2011 schedule. Stay tuned tomorrow for another cable fall 2011 schedule and also updates from the TCA Summer 2011 press tour, which starts today.


It's a weekend long tribute to America's favorite redhead on MeTV Network! MeTV Network presents "Lucy's 100th Birthday Celebration," featuring 100 of the most popular episodes of I Love Lucy, We Love Lucy and The Lucy Show. The party starts on Friday, August 5 at 12AM ET/11PM CT, and the festivities end on Monday, August 8 at 8AM ET/7 AM CT (The selection of Lucille Ball series and episodes may vary by market, so check your local MeTV Network listings).
This tribute carries on the MeTV Network tradition of paying homage to the lives and careers of classic TV stars. Click here to watch the promo. Currently, MeTV Network is on-air and under contract in more than 50% of the country. Stations to recently launch MeTV include: WFMZ-TV in Philadelphia/Allentown, WESH-TV in Orlando, WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, KCCI-TV in Des Moines and WKOW-TV in Madison, WI.

Outsourced - Thursdays 9:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 9:30PM ET/PT

Outsourced is NBC's latest "clash of the cultures" sitcom to explore how one person functions when being suddenly immersed in an unfamiliar environment. Todd Dempsey (Ben Rappaport) returns from his vacation to his office at Mid America Novelties to find that the call center his workplace has been "right-sized" in order to save the company every penny possible. Everybody has been fired, and their jobs have been replaced by employees in Mumbai, India. Well, not exactly everybody has been fired. Todd still has a job with Mid America Novelties, but now he is the lone American manager of the call center in India. But that is just the beginning of the story. Upon Todd's arrival into India, he discovers that his job is going to be much more difficult than anticipated when he finds that his employees are not exactly top-notch.

Cast Details:

* Ben Rappaport as Todd Dempsey
* Rizwan Manji as Rajiiv Gidwani
* Sacha Dhawan as Manmeet
* Rebecca Hazlewood as Asha
* Parvesh Cheena as Gupta
* Anisha Nagarajan as Madhuri
* Diedrich Bader as Charlie Davies
* Pippa Black as Tonya

Ben Rappaport (Todd) makes his television debut in his starring role in the series. A recent graduate of the Julliard School, he received the Drama Division's highest honor, the Michel and Suria Saint-Denis Prize. His credits include several Julliard performances and work with Roundabout, Ars Nova, Naked Angels, Irish Rep., The Actors Studio, and New Dramatists.

Rizwan Manji (Rajiiv) has many credits from guest starring roles in several series, including Glee, FlashForward, 24, Better Off Ted, Medium, How I Met Your Mother, and Without a Trace, among several other series. His movie credits include Charlie Wilson's War and Transformers.

Manchester-born Sacha Dhawan (Manmeet) has many credits to his name in the United Kingdom, but is new to American audiences. He is an accomplished tap-dancer who has previously appeared in British series such as Out of Sight and The Last Train.

Parvesh Cheene (Gupta) made his acting debut as Samir in the movie Barbershop and sequel Barbershop 2. He has many television credits in guest starring roles, including ER, The OC, Brothers & Sisters, and 'Til Death.

Diedrich Bader (Charlie) has many credits from films including EuroTrip, Napoleon Dynamite, Ice Age, Office Space, and more. Additionally, he has done many cartoon voices (including Batman) and also played Oswald Lee Harvey on the long-running series The Drew Carey Show.

Pilot Plot:

#1 "Pilot" (Airs September 23, 2010) - Directed by Ken Kwapis
In the pilot, Todd Dempsey returns from his vacation at Mid America Novelties to find that the call-center that he has been hired to manage in Kansas City is gone, outsourced to Mumbai, India. Upon arriving in India, he meets his assistant manager, Rajiiv (Rizwan Manji), who already has his eyes on Todd's job, in anticipating that Todd won't last long in India. Once Todd arrives in the office, he finds that his new employees are less-than-stellar, including Madhuri (Anisha Nagarajan), the call-center employee with no self-confidence, Asha (Rebecca Hazlewood), who seems to be the most in-touch with American culture (but still struggles), Gupta (Parvesh Cheena), the obnoxious co-worker, and Manmeet (Sacha Dhawan), who is deeply intrigued by Todd's explanation of American lifestyle. He also meets Charlie Davies (Diedrich Bader), who works for All American Hunter and knows what the future holds for Todd, and Tanya (Pippa Black), a young Australian woman who quickly attracts Todd's attention.

Everything appears to be a disaster at first, but as the episode progresses, the call-center employees are slowly becoming interested in the products they are selling and in American culture, even if their understanding of American culture is fatally flawed. Will they make the adjustment before Todd loses his sanity?

Analysis:

The pilot was decent, but leaves some holes that need to be filled. In particular, it felt as if too much of the attention focused on Todd's adjustment to his new job. While it makes sense that the character should be the central character of the series, the other characters often seemed to just be an afterthought and seemed to have two-dimensional personalities. The series is going to need to have some complicated plots focusing on multiple characters and bring some depth into their distinct personalities. In particular, I'm hoping to see some power struggles between Todd and Rajiiv, similar to the power struggles between Michael and Dwight on The Office.

Some of the funniest moments in the pilot came from the cultural misunderstandings of the employees in India, but the problem with this is that the call-center employees are not the "fish out of water" in the series, and instead, that role belongs to Todd. He seems to adapt to the culture a little too easily in the pilot, and the series could certainly benefit if his character was more naive about the culture in India. Still, it is important for the series to continue to include the difficulties that the employees have adapating to American culture, as they are working with American customers. There were certainly many funny elements in the pilot, but there weren't enough (if any at all) laughs regarding Todd's character.

The series has a pretty decent cast, with each cast member fitting into the profile of the character he or she is playing. One of the things that I feared before seeing the pilot is that the series would stereotype all of the Indian characters as being the same, but they actually successfully managed to create a dynamic cast with each having a distinctive personality, even if the pilot episode did not present an adequate opportunity to present those personalities. Even though the cast is made up almost entirely of unknown actors, all of them seem to be prepared to take upon their roles and have great potential for the series.

Conclusion:

All in all, this isn't a bad show, although the pilot could have been better. The series probably wouldn't have a chance on another network, but it may benefit from being paired with The Office on NBC's Thursday night lineup. Still, NBC has the series Parks and Recreation returning later in the season, and something will have to be bumped to make room for it--and this series seems to be a prime candidate for that.

The success or failure of the series will depend upon whether or not people tune in, and the somewhat weak pilot may affect that significantly. Still, the pilot isn't a total disaster, and I'm hoping that the creative staff was really intending to JUST introduce us to the cast instead of creating a complex plot involving the characters (as there really wasn't any complex plot at all). The concept for the series is one that I hope to see work out for the best, and I think that with some improvements, it may attract some fans. It won't be a huge hit for NBC, for sure, but it has potential to be a stable part of the lineup.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3.5/5
Funniness: 3/5
Overall: 3/5

-- Reviewed by skees53 on 09/23/10

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, September 23 on our message board.

Related Links:

NBC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Outsourced Photo Gallery

Preview:

So, that's a wrap for the new sitcom pilot reviews. Better With You and Raising Hope were the pilots we liked best, while Outsourced was the lowest rated for us. Stay tuned later this season for more pilot reviews which includes Matthew Perry's Mr. Sunshine for ABC.


Moving on to news, WGN America will make some schedule changes to its primetime/late night line-up beginning on Monday (Sept. 27). It looks like Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm didn't do well in primetime in the ratings and they will be moved to late nights only. Starting Monday, they will now air in the 1am ET hour leading into the already scheduled late night airings at 2am ET. Replacing them in primetime will be two episodes of How I Met Your Mother in the 9pm ET hour, as that series will no longer airing in the 11pm ET hour, with Scrubs returning to that hour now. Replacing Scrubs at midnight ET will be South Park, which moves up an hour (from 1am ET). One note, How I Met You Mother won't air in the 9pm hour on Mondays, because of CBS network obligations, so Old Christine will air in the 9pm ET hour then, in addition to its regular weekdays 8pm ET hour. Old Christine will not air now in the 7pm hour on Fridays, so Dharma & Greg is all five days now in the 7pm ET hour. The 9pm move is better news for Mother, as it was airing at 11pm where Lifetime also airs it. Now you don't have to choose what network you want to watch it at 11pm.
There are some schedule changes to weekends, too. Saturdays will also see changes in primetime and late night. Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm will be replaced on Saturdays at 9pm ET also, this time by America's Funniest Home Videos. After the news at 10pm ET, How I Met Your Mother remains in the 11pm hour on Saturdays, so it will air Tues-Fri at 9pm and Saturdays at 11pm. But the Saturday late night line-up has changed, with South Park moved up to 12am ET instead of Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Instead Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm will now air in the 1am ET hour and another hour at 2am ET. So, Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm airs Mon-Sat in the 1am and 2am ET hours now. Another hour of South Park bookends Saturdays at 3am ET.
On Sundays, Just Shoot Me! will now air on the schedule after all, airing in the Sundays at 6pm ET hour after Scrubs. Dharma & Greg is no longer planned in this hour now on Sundays. Be on the look out for Just Shoot Me! airing as a filler as well (such as when there is no WGN News at 10pm ET).
View the FULL and updated WGN America Fall 2010 schedule. And stay tuned for any special stunts and marathon that WGN America always plans for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.

Today we will take a look at TeenNick's Fall 2010 schedule. The schedule starts on Tuesday, Sept. 7, as on Labor Day (Sept. 6) TeenNick presents a full-day marathon of Degrassi. As for the schedule, it is pretty similar to the schedule now but with a few time tweak and minor returns. Growing Pains returns to the schedule airing on Sunday nights (early Monday mornings) in the 5am hour! Other notable airings are Full House everyday from 6am-9am, One on One from 11am-1pm & 3am-4:30am, What I Like About You from 1pm-3pm & 1am-3am, That '70s Show from 11pm-1am, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch from 4:30am-6am. Sabrina seems to be leaving the schedule starting Sept. 23, so One on One will air from 3-6am.
As for highlights, there are two Degrassi stunts: Labor Day and Oct. 1-3 with full day marathons. That '70s Show gets a 24-hour marathon starting at 6pm on Friday, Sept. 10.
View the FULL TeenNick Fall 2010 schedule. If there are any additions in October, we will let you know...so come on back. And as always come on back tomorrow for another fall cable schedule!

We have given you two updates already on WGN America (update 1 / update 2), but now we have another update. This isn't anything major, but it is noteworthy. Starting Monday, Sept. 13, WGN America will add a second airing of Matlock to weekday mornings, adding 9am ET and it will also still air at 10am ET. The Beverly Hillbillies was set to air at 9am ET, but now that will be moved to the 8am ET hour where paid programming was originally planned. The other changes are to weekends, with an extra In the Heat of the Night being added to Saturday mornings starting Sept. 25 at 10am ET, replacing Matlock. And Heat will still air in the 9am ET hour. For Sundays, starting Sept. 26, WGN America will now have Dharma & Greg air in the 6pm ET hour rather than Just Shoot Me!, and as a result, Just Shoot Me! is not on the schedule anymore. We will let you know if it will be rescheduled again, but as of now, it will not. Drive in Theatre Movie will now air Sundays at 10am-12pm.
View the FULL and updated WGN America Fall 2010 schedule.

A couple of weeks back we gave you details on WGN America's Fall 2010 schedule, now they have edited the schedule just a bit because they have acquired a new sitcom! WGN America has acquired the '90s sitcom Dharma & Greg and will start it on Monday, Sept. 13, 2010! The series last aired on FX and WE tv. WGN America will air Dharma & Greg Mon-Thurs at 7pm & 7:30pm ET (4-5pm PT) and also Sunday mornings at 10am & 10:30am ET. On Fridays, as we already mentioned Old Christine will air in the 7pm ET hour, so no Dharma there. The 7-8pm ET Dharma & Greg airings on Mon-Thurs will replace the previously scheduled America's Funniest Home Videos, which will slide to weekdays at 6pm ET. And then Cheers will slide back into the 5pm ET hour, where it is currently airing. What about Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie? They will each get a half-hour reduced because of these changes, with I Dream of Jeannie now at 4pm ET and Bewitched remaining at 4:30pm ET. That's too bad, but at least they are still on the schedule. Those Sunday morning Dharma & Greg airings will replace the planned Bewitched airings. The only other schedule change is long time staple Singstation! will remain on the schedule now, airing Saturday mornings in the 6am ET half-hour.
View the FULL and update WGN America Fall 2010 schedule. And stay tuned tomorrow for an all-new fall cable network schedule!

As we mentioned on our TV Land Fall 2010 Part 1 highlights, TV Land is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Andy Griffith Show this fall! Now we have some more details! TV Land is counting down the days leading up to the golden anniversary of the highly acclaimed series starring Andy Griffith and Ron Howard - The Andy Griffith Show - with "50 Days of Andy," Monday through Friday from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM ET/PT. Each day during this block, TV Land will share fun show facts and showcase special episodes selected by celebrities and Andy Griffith super fans. From now through September 22nd viewers can log on to tvland.com/andy to vote for their all-time favorite episodes, from when we first meet Andy and Opie to the hilarious episode when Andy and Barney eat all of Aunt Bee’s homemade pickles. Fans can log onto TVLand.com/andy now to see which episodes are in the running.
The final results of the voting will air on Saturday, September 25 from 8:00AM-9:00PM ET/PT and Sunday, September 26 from 8:00AM-8:30 PM ET/PT during a 50th Anniversary top 50 countdown. TVLand.com/andy also includes nostalgic photo galleries, bios, trivia, and games for Andy Griffith fans of all ages.
The tribute does not stop there as TV Land will also celebrate on Sunday, October 3, the actual anniversary of the series debut, with a special marathon of landmark episodes beginning at 4:00 PM ET/PT. We will have more details on the October portion of the anniversary on an upcoming blog post highlighting TV Land October 2010, as we will call that TV Land Fall 2010 Part 2. So stay with us!