SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

ABC has pulled freshman sitcom Man Up! after eight weeks. The sitcom was airing Tuesdays at 8:30pm since Oct. 18 but has struggled in the ratings. Effective immediately, reruns of Last Man Standing will air in its place for the next three weeks - Dec. 13, 20 and 27. Then starting Jan. 3, new mid-season sitcom Work It will premiere in the time period for 13 episodes. Only 11 of the 13 Man Up! episodes were originally scheduled, but with it ending three weeks earlier than planned, five episodes will be left in the can. No word on if and when ABC will burn them off, but it doesn't look like they will until the summer, if at all. Stay with us for further details.
In other ABC programming updates, the highest rated new drama of the season is ABC's Once Upon a Time and ABC will air a six episode marathon of the series on New Year's Day - Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. The episodes will air at 4pm ET (2pm PT), 5pm ET (3pm PT), and in primetime from 7-11pm ET/PT. There is an all-new episode this Sunday (Dec. 11) at 8pm and that will be its seventh episodes to date, so when the marathon airs on Jan. 1, one episode won't be included. We don't know what episodes are airing yet, but if you missed any episode or want to try the series out, here is your chance. Trust me it is a good show and you won't want to miss it!





Veteran and Emmy-winning character actor Harry Morgan, best known to television audiences as M*A*S*H's Col. Sherman T. Potter, has died. He died at his home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles on Wednesday morning (December 7). His daughter-in-law Beth Morgan said that he had recently been treated for pneumonia. Mr. Morgan was 96.

Morgan's career in film and TV spanned from 1942 to 1999. He appeared in mostly supporting roles in more than 100 films. In 1942, he made his screen debut (as Henry Morgan) in To the Shores of Tripoli. Other early films included The Ox-Bow Incident, Wing and a Prayer, Dragonwyck, The Big Clock, High Noon, Bend of the River, Thunder Bay, The Glenn Miller Story, The Far Country and Strategic Air Command. Some of his later film roles from the 1960s and 1970s included Inherit the Wind, How the West Was Won, John Goldfarb, Please Come Home, Frankie and Johnny, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Support Your Local Sheriff!, Support Your Local Gunfighter!, Snowball Express, The Shootist and The Wild Wild West Revisited. In 1987, he reprised his Bill Gannon character in a supporting role in Dragnet.

His television career began in the early 1950s with guest appearances on several series, including The Doctor and The Lone Wolf. His first regular televison role was as Pete Porter on December Bride, which aired on CBS from 1954-1959. He would later play the same character in the spinoff series Pete and Gladys from 1960-1962. Morgan would be a regular as various characters on The Richard Boone Show in 1963-64. In 1964-65, he co-starred with Dennis Weaver on the NBC series Kentucky Jones. His next well-known role was as Officer Bill Gannon on Dragnet from 1967-70. He would work again for his Dragnet co-star Jack Webb on The D.A. in 1971-72 and on the western Hec Remsey in 1972-74.

In 1974, he guest starred on M*A*S*H as spaced-out Major General Bartford Hamilton Steele in the episode "The General Flipped at Dawn." He received an Emmy nomination for his performance. When McLean Stevenson left the show at the end of the third season, Morgan was brought in to replace him as Colonel Sherman T. Potter. In 1980, he received an Emmy award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He also directed 8 episodes of the series. Morgan would reprise his role in the short-lived 1983-84 spinoff series, AfterMASH. In 1986, he co-starred with Hal Linden on Blacke's Magic on NBC. He later starred in the short-lived You Can't Take It with You in 1987. Some other sitcom guest appearances for him included The Partridge Family, The Love Boat, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, The Simpsons, Grace Under Fire and 3rd Rock From the Sun. His final sitcom role was a guest appearance on Love & Money in 1999.

You can view an interview with him from April 14, 2004 at the Archive of American Television. Mr. Morgan is survived by his wife, Barbara Bushman, whom he married on December 17, 1986; three sons from his first marriage to Eileen Detchon - Charles, Paul and Christopher (a fourth son, Daniel, died in 1989); eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. It's pretty amazing that he was seen in prime time for a span of an estimated 35 straight years. He lived a long and productive life and will be deeply missed. Please share your memories of Mr. Morgan here.

Beginning today, in celebration of Morgan's life and his portrayal of one of the most iconic characters in TV history, the MeTV Network will air M*A*S*H episodes featuring the best of Harry Morgan. The tribute begins with his first appearance which began it all for him on M*A*S*H, not as Colonel Potter, but as the crazy General Steele. For the next eight days, MeTV will air the best episodes with him in M*A*S*H's regular Sun-Fri at 7pm & 7:30pm ET time slots. The best of stunt will end on Friday, December 16, 2011. Here are the list of episodes airing: "The General Flipped at Dawn," "Change of Command," "Dear Mildred," "Mail Call, Again," "The Price of Tomato Juice," "The Interview," "Hawkeye Get Your Gun," "Potter's Retirement," "Lil," "The Price," "Old Soldiers," "April Fools," "The Red/White Blues," "'Twas The Day After Christmas," "Pressure Points," and "Friends and Enemies."

Late on Friday ABC announced most of its midseason 2012 schedule. We already knew that The Bachelor is returning on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012 to kick-off the midseason line-up, but now we know much more. On Tuesday, Jan. 3, ABC will premiere new multi-camera sitcom Work It at 8:30pm following Tim Allen's Last Man Standing at 8pm. Work It will be replacing Man Up!, which will not be moving forward after its 13 episode order. It is unclear if all 13 will end up airing, but as of now 8 are scheduled to air with the eighth one scheduled for Dec. 6. Should ABC decide to burn the rest of them off in December, eleven episodes should air so two would still remain to be aired. We'll keep an eye on this of course and let you know. Back to midseason, also on Tuesday, Jan. 3, ABC will air a celebrity version of Wife Swap titled Celebrity Wife Swap on Tuesdays at 9pm in January. Six episodes were ordered, but as of now only 4 will air, as one week in late January will be the State of the Union. Come Tuesday, Feb. 7, ABC will premiere the much anticipated new drama The River at 9pm for seven weeks (eight episodes, so one week will be two-hours). Promos for the drama have started and have been airing all weekend, so watch that here. The drama will be keeping the timeslot warm for Dancing with the Stars: The Results when it returns Tuesday, March 27 (more info on this below).

ABC will have a winter edition of Wipeout ready to go starting Thursday, Jan. 5 at 8pm (in addition to the Deck the Balls holiday episode airing on Dec. 8). About eight episodes have been ordered, but it will be scheduled for ten weeks, so a repeat or preemption will be in there. Starting Thursday, March 15, the timeslot will be given to new drama Missing starring Ashely Judd. The new drama has an episode order for 10 episodes, so it will air for the rest of the season. Moving on to Fridays, ABC will air an all-new season of the hit reality series Shark Tank on Friday nights at 8pm starting Friday, Feb. 3, as 13 episodes were ordered (ten with Mark Cuban as a shark). We assume Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will be trimmed down to an hour and will air at 9pm, but we're still confirming that. ABC also has new episodes of the popular series Primetime: What Would You Do? they can air sometime this midseason. On to Sundays, ABC has ordered an extra episode of Pan Am, so 14 episodes will air this season and it remains in contention for a second season, though we won't know its fate until upfront. The freshman drama will air through February (finale likely on Feb. 19), with new drama GCB starring Leslie Bibb and Kristin Chenoweth starting Sunday, March 4 at 10pm. ABC has ordered 10 episodes of this drama and will air it through May 6 likely, with the Desperate Housewives series finale event likely happening on May 13. Promos for this new drama has been airing randomly this fall, watch it here.

Finally, as mentioned earlier, Dancing with the Stars will return for season 14 this March. The performance show premiere will be Monday, March 19 from 8-10pm, after The Bachelor concludes its run. As always in the spring, the first results show won't be until eight days later, with the results show premiering on Tuesday, March 27 at 9pm. ABC hasn't announced yet what will air at 10pm on Tuesdays in the spring, but in a vote of confidence, sophomore drama Body of Proof has been given three more episodes, bringing its episode total to 20 for the season. The drama should finish its run though by mid-March, but then an unscheduled series should be airing. Premiere dates for the unscheduled Cougar Town, Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23, Scandal, Primetime: What Would You Do? and Secret Millionaire will be announced at a later date, so stay tuned. So where will these be scheduled is the question. Read my thoughts on where these series will likely be ending up. Cougar Town's third season will now be 15 episodes though rather than 22, because of so many series ABC has ordered. ABC also has the four-hour miniseries event Titanic ready to air in the spring in conjunction to the 100th anniversary of the ship's crash. And finally, ABC has a sitcom pilot they are taping next month that could be a player for them this spring. It's a new multicamera sitcom starring Kirstie Alley titled The Manzanis. Should it be picked-up, it could be paired with Tim Allen's Last Man Standing when Work It finishes up its 13 episode run.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Read more about the ABC midseason 2012 schedule that was announced and stay with us for further information as soon as we get it!




Yahoo! TV has an exclusive first look at the full premiere episode of the upcoming TV Land original sitcom The Exes before it airs! TV Land is poised to launch this new comedy starring veteran actors Donald Faison (Scrubs), Kristen Johnston (3rd Rock from the Sun) and Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) about starting over after a divorce.
The Exes centers on Stuart (David Alan Basche), a newly divorced man whose divorce attorney, Holly (Johnston), helps him move in with two other divorced guys, Phil (Faison) and Haskell (Knight). Holly's assistant, Eden (Kelly Stables), keeps an eye on Holly's work schedule -- and personal life. Oh, and did we mention Holly is also the landlord of the guys' building and lives right across the hall? Let the old-school sitcom hi-jinks ensue!
See the premiere in its entirety before it premieres ob TV Land on Wednesday, November 30 (at 10:30pm following the third season premiere of Hot in Cleveland) only on Yahoo! TV.



As we broke on Digital Digest, in a landmark deal, all-new episodes of the Emmy Award-winning comedy series Arrested Development will be coming exclusively to Netflix for its U.S. members to watch instantly, beginning in the first half of 2013. For the first time in their histories, Twentieth Century Fox Television and Imagine Television will produce original first-run entertainment content for the world's leading internet subscription service, bringing back the acclaimed series to production on all-new episodes five years after its cancellation on Fox. One of Time Magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME," the tale of the formerly wealthy, deeply eccentric Bluth clan aired for three seasons, 2003-2006, on Fox and was honored with the Emmy award for Outstanding Comedy Series after its first season on the air.
The Emmy-winning comedy had its final broadcast on February 10, 2006 and concerned Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) and his eccentric family comprised of his son George Michael (Michael Cera), his father George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), his mother Lucille (Jessica Walter), his brothers George Oscar Bluth II (Will Arnett), Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) and sister Lindsay Funke (Portia de Rossi), and Lindsay's husband Tobias (David Cross) and their daughter Maeby (Alia Shawkat). Henry Winkler and Scott Baio also appeared on the series. We will have more on this as we get near 2013, but the Bluths are coming back!

Man Up! - Tuesdays 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 8:30PM ET/PT

Will Keen's grandfather fought in WWII. Will's father fought in Vietnam. Will plays Call of Duty on his PlayStation 3 and uses non-dairy hazelnut creamer. So what happened to all the real men? They're still here -- they just smell like pomegranate body wash now.

Meet Will (Mather Zickel). His evolved, sensitive nature is why his awesome wife Theresa (Teri Polo) married him. But Will and his friends find themselves wondering -- in a world of body spray and manscaping -- what does it really mean to be a guy anymore? Will is more interested in finding the perfect gift for his son Nathan's (Jake Johnson) 13th birthday than in doing his job selling insurance, sensitive soul Craig (Christopher Moynihan) still pines for his college ex Lisa, and Kenny (Dan Fogler) clamps down on his anger and asks himself "What would Tobey Maguire do?" when his ex Brenda (Amanda Detmer) starts seeing a guy who is everything he's not (Henry Simmons). And though it may not come naturally, each new day brings these lovable beta males another opportunity to Man Up and be like their forefathers.

In the vein of The Hangover, Man Up! is the virile new comedy from writer/producer/actor Christopher Moynihan (100 Questions), executive producer Victor Fresco (Better Off Ted), and director Beth McCarthy-Miller (SNL, 30 Rock), that follows the struggles of three modern male archetypes as they search for their identities and try to prove that "real men" really can use hazelnut creamer.

Cast Details:

• Mather Zickel as Will Keen
• Dan Fogler as Kenny Hayden
• Christopher Moynihan as Craig Griffith
• Teri Polo as Theresa Hayden Keen
• Amanda Detmer as Brenda Hayden
• Henry Simmons as Grant Sweet
• Jake Johnson as Nathan Keen
• Charlotte Labadie as Lucy Keen

Mather Zickel (Will Keen) has appeared in a wide variety of film and television roles, including as Kieran in Rachel Getting Married and as District Attorney Mike Powers in Reno 911! on Comedy Central. He also appears in the Adult Swim series Delocated. A New York native, Zickel's first major role was his memorable portrayal of Bill Murray in the ABC telefilm, Gilda Radner: It’s Always Something.

Making an exceptional transition from theater to film, Tony Award-winning actor Dan Fogler (Kenny Hayden) was most recently seen on screen in Take Me Home Tonight, opposite Topher Grace and Anna Faris, and in Disney's Mars Needs Moms, opposite Seth Green. In 2009 Fogler starred in Taking Woodstock, as well as Love Happens, opposite Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston. He made his directorial film debut with Hysterical Psycho at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, and has since created a comic book series entitled Moon Lake based on the feature that debuted this past October.

Fogler's other film credits include Balls of Fury, Kung Fu Panda, Horton Hears a Who, The Marconi Brothers and Good Luck Chuck. He won a Tony Award in 2005 for his performance as William Barfee in the Broadway production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and was also honored with the Outer Critics Circle, The Lortel, Drama Desk for Best Ensemble and Theatre World Awards for his portrayal. Fogler returned to the New York stage in the fall of 2006 in Dan O’Brien’s The Voyage of the Carcass. He had previously appeared in off-Broadway and regional productions, including The Voyage of the Carcass, Bobby Gould in Hell, Joe Fearless, Crepuscule, Bridges and Harmonies, White Devil and Dilettantes & Debutantes.

Creator, executive producer and co-star Christopher Moynihan (Craig Griffith) is at the forefront of a generation of actors with thriving careers as writers as well. After co-starring in the series Coupling, Moynihan wrote and starred in his first television pilot, Foster Hall. Following that experience, he sold several other television pitches until he created and starred in the midseason comedy 100 Questions, which ran in Summer 2010. Additional television credits include Fighting Fitzgeralds, House, Boston Legal and Psych. Moynihan can also be seen in the last two Christopher Guest installments, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration.

Teri Polo (Teresa Hayden Keen) is best known for her role as Robert De Niro's daughter, Pam Byrnes, in the Meet the Parents theatricals. She recently starred in Little Fockers, the third installment of the movie franchise, and has completed production on the feature Beyond, opposite Jon Voight, to be released in 2012. Currently she is shooting the Lifetime movie Jayne's Story, which will air in early 2012.

Polo was seen the Hallmark movie Taste of Romance, which was released this past May, and has been recurring on Law & Order: Los Angeles. Other recent credits include the feature film The Hole, directed by Joe Dante, and the miniseries The Storm, both released in 2010. Earlier credits include Beyond Borders, co-starring Angelina Jolie, the suspense thriller The Unsaid, opposite Andy Garcia, and Domestic Disturbance, opposite John Travolta and Vince Vaughn. She also co-starred opposite De Niro and Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents, for which she won a People’s Choice Award, and in its sequel, Meet the Fockers.

Polo made her primetime debut in the dramatic series TV 101. Television audiences may remember her as Michelle Capra in Northern Exposure. She also starred in the comedy series I'm with Her, as well as David E. Kelley's The Wedding Bells. Other TV credits include Hallmark's Love Is a Four-Letter Word, the original film Second String, opposite Jon Voight, and the television movie Straight from the Heart. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role opposite Jimmy Smits on The West Wing.

On television, Amanda Detmer (Brenda Hayden) starred as Deena Greco in the critically well-received series What About Brian, and had a recurring role as Morgan Gellman on Private Practice. She is currently recurring as Jeanette on the USA Network's Necessary Roughness. Recent television guest starring roles have included Vampire Diaries, Medium, Psych and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Her first major role was starring as a cop opposite Craig T. Nelson and Richard Krenna in the 1999 NBC miniseries, To Serve and Protect, the story of three generations of Dallas police officers. Detmer's film credits include You, Me & Dupree, Big Fat Liar, Saving Silverman, Final Destination, The Majestic and Drop Dead Gorgeous. She also appeared in the independent features AmericanEast, American Crude and Jam. Additional television credits include the Lifetime telefilm Proof of Lies, CSI Miami, Miss Match, and the telefilms Picking Up, Dropping Off and Stolen Innocence.

Nurturing an impressive body of work that encompasses film and television, Henry Simmons' (Grant Sweet) career continues to evolve with exciting and challenging projects. Simmons soon will be seen starring in the independent feature From the Rough, opposite Taraji Henson. He starred opposite Robin Williams in the independent film World's Greatest Dad, directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, and also appeared in Lifetime's Golden Globe-nominated Georgia O'Keeffe, opposite Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen. Other recent television work includes the CBS drama Shark, created by Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer.

Simmons quickly garnered attention when he joined the cast of ABC's long running and critically-acclaimed series, NYPD Blue. His character, Detective Baldwin Jones, was only supposed to be in a few episodes, but executive producer Steven Bochco was impressed with Simmons' skills and made him a series regular. Other television credits include starring roles in the miniseries Spartacus, the television film Lackawanna Blues and guest starring roles in the series Pepper Dennis, New York Undercover, Swift Justice and The Cosby Mysteries. Segueing effortlessly between the big and small screens, Simmons starred in the film South of Pico, which took home the grand jury prize for Best Picture at the 2007 American Black Film Festival. Simmons also won the festival’s Actor Award for his performance in the film. Additional feature credits include Madea's Family Reunion, Something New, Taxi, Are We There Yet?, The Insurgents and Above the Rim.

Jake Johnson (Nathan Keen) began his acting career at the age of 7. His mother saw that he had a natural ability for acting and took him to a manager, who thought he had an incredible gift. His new manager took him to an agent, who was thrilled to jump on board and complete his team. Johnson soon began to land jobs. His television credits include ICarly, Little Monk, ER, Cold Case, Bones, Saving Grace, Without a Trace, Funny or Die, Jimmy Kimmel Live and Gary Unmarried. Film credits include Holiday Heist, The Attic Door, Ball Don't Lie, Let's Play and Goal, as well as Disney's Spooky Buddies, which was one of his favorite films to make. Johnson has also performed in more than 40 National commercials. He is recognized on the street for one of his most recent commercials, the tear jerker spot for Kay Jewelers.

Up until now the only famous person to hail from Bay City, Michigan, has been Madonna. Now Charlotte Labadie (Lucy Keen) hopes she will be the second! Labadie spent her first five years there, moving to Los Angeles right after kindergarten. It was her older sister, Elle, who had dreams of a showbiz career, but Charlotte quickly got the acting bug and begged her mom to let her go out on auditions. Her first audition was for a Disney commercial. More commercials and print jobs followed, and then Labadie began pursuing movies and TV roles. She did several short films, one of which went to the Cannes Film Festival, as well as a stint on the ABC series Cougar Town. She can also be seen in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the only child in the Michael Bay-directed film.

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" - Will is more interested in finding the perfect gift for his son Nathan's (Jake Johnson) 13th birthday than in doing his job selling insurance. His best friend, sensitive soul Craig (Christopher Moynihan), still pines for his college ex, Lisa. Will's brother-in-law, Kenny (Dan Fogler), clamps down on his anger and asks himself, "What would Tobey Maguire do?," when his ex-wife, Brenda (Amanda Detmer), starts seeing a guy who is everything he's not and much better looking (Henry Simmons). After Craig crashes Lisa's wedding to try to win her back, they are all faced with an opportunity to "man up" and be like their forefathers.

Written by Christopher Moynihan
Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller
Guest stars: Jim Devoti as the groom, Chryssie Whitehead as Lisa, Amber Montana as Samantha and F. William Parker as the preacher

Analysis:

Man Up! is from writer/executive producer/actor Christopher Moynihan, executive producer Victor Fresco (Better Off Ted), and Ron West and Kelly Kulchak of Tagline Television (Psych). It is produced by ABC Studios. Man Up! is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound. This is a single-camera comedy. There is no added laugh track. The show is set in Gahanna, Ohio.

The pilot opens with Will, Kenny and Craig playing the online Call of Duty video game. Will asks them what he should buy for his son's 13th birthday. In a flashback scene, Craig talks to his college ex, Lisa. Kenny is told by Will that his ex Brenda will be at the birthday party. Will opens a package that has a violent video game that Theresa bought for his birthday. Kenny tells Theresa that Brenda can't come to the party. Kenny confronts Brenda and doesn't want her to be there. Will asks him what "What would Tobey Maguire do?" and Kenny fumes when he learns Brenda is bringing a date to the party. Will talks to Kenny and Craig at his office. Brenda introduces Grant, a former underwear model, to everybody at the party. Kenny and Greg play basketball. Nate comes in and tells Will and Theresa that Greg bought him a shaving kit. On their way to the mall, the trio of guys stop at a church where Lisa is getting married. Craig brings in a guitar and sings "Brown Eyed Girl" and they crash the wedding. A funny scene then happens when they get back to the house. Will later surprises Nate with his birthday gift. The pilot closes like it opened with a scene of the guys talking and playing a video game.

This is a pretty enjoyable pilot. It's well directed. There are some similarities in the style to The Hangover. There are many different scenes at various locations. There's a lot of quick editing and scenes don't drag on at all. Only one flashback type sequence is used in the pilot. I would expect to see more in future episodes. The trio of guys seem to have good chemistry and are very believable as a group of friends. Dan Folger was really the only guy I was familiar with his from his film work, but the other two seem to also have some good comedic timing. The recurring joke of "What would Tobey Maguire do?" and the catchphrase unfluffin' believable are funny. It's great to see Teri Polo on another ABC comedy. I loved her on the short-lived I'm with Her. The supporting cast does a nice job. The two child actors seem very natural. Hopefully they will get more screen time in future episodes. Henry Simmons steals every scene he is in. The ladies will like him for his voice and physique. The show makes some nice use of score and music to enhance some scenes.

Conclusion:

Man Up! has a funny and entertaining pilot. It has some promise and room to develop. There's a little bit of Modern Family in the show, but it's more of a buddy type comedy. The cast is likable and seem to have some good chemistry already in the pilot. It will be interesting to see what kinds of outrageous situations these characters will get themselves involved in. Dan Fogler's Kenny Hayden character is the funniest of the trio and could be one of the break-out characters of the season. His delivery of lines, facial expressions and mannerisms are hilarious. He just has one of those recognizable faces that will make you laugh. I thought that he was very funny in movies like Balls of Fury, Fanboys and Good Luck Chuck. He's one of those supporting actors who is capable of stealing scenes in his films. He reminds me of Danny McBride. It's nice to Fogler him in a lead TV role. Teri Polo is also a welcome member of the cast. She doesn't really have many lines in the pilot, so hopefully we'll see more of her in future episodes.

Tuesdays at 8:00-9:00pm will be a manly hour of comedies of ABC with Last Man Standing and Man Up!. I wasn't sure how a single-camera sitcom would work after a traditional multi-camera sitcom, but I think these two will form a nice pair. They both have a similar men theme and have the same types of jokes. While the show is more geared towards men, women should also be able to relate to some situations. It will be interesting to see how many of Last Man Standing's 13+ million viewers will return this week. Man Up! should receive some nice sampling because there are really no other comedies on at the same time. Men will be boys in this new outrageous buddy comedy.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

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

-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller on 10/17/11

Discuss the show after you watch it on Tuesday, October 18 on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Man Up! Photo Gallery

Preview:

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ABC has halted production on the new version of Charlie's Angels, which airs Thursdays at 8/7 central. The series has aired four episodes so far and hasn't had any ratings magic. Despite the action and young cast (and the stunning Minka Kelly), the series didn't produce strong 18-49 ratings (it did do well in men over 55 though). The series has four episodes left to air that are completed and ABC plans on airing them. So yes, the series is canceled, but you can still watch the remaining four episodes on ABC, with the first confirmed to air this Thursday (Oct. 20) at 8/7 central with guest star John Terry (Lost). Next week (Oct. 27), ABC already had scheduled the Halloween classic It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (one Charlie to another!), so the remaining three episodes are "scheduled" to air Nov. 3, 10 and 17, but it depends on if ABC has something up their sleeves for sweeps or not. If they do, these three episodes will not air until likely December, if at all.
So here is the ABC new series update: Revenge and Suburgatory are having full seasons, Pan Am is 50-50 for a full season (my guess is that it gets more episodes), and Last Man Standing just premiered last week to great ratings, so it will likely get the full season pick-up depending on how it does tomorrow. Still to premiere this fall on ABC is new comedy Man Up!, premieres tomorrow and new drama Once Upon a Time from the writers of Lost, premiering Sunday. And Charlie's Angels has been canceled, with the remaining four episodes scheduled to air.
As for the other networks, CBS has picked-up a full season of 2 Broke Girls. Still waiting their fate are Unforgettable, Person of Interest and A Gifted Man. My guess is Person of Interest will be picked-up while the other two will have to wait a bit. CBS has canceled new comedy How To Be A Gentleman, but are burning the remaining episodes off on Saturdays. For NBC, they picked-up comedies Up All Night and (not sure why) Whitney to full seasons. The fate for Prime Suspect hasn't been revealed, but the ratings have been very poor. NBC has already canceled and pulled Free Agents and The Playboy Club. On Fox, new comedy New Girl was picked-up for a full season, while The X Factor (finale on Dec. 22) and Terra Nova (season finale Dec. 19) have their runs set already, so no full season pick-ups are needed. Fox still has Sunday animated comedy Allen Gregory and new Wednesday comedy I Hate My Teenage Daughter to come later this fall. And finally The CW picked-up all three of its new dramas for the full season: Ringer, Hart of Dixie and Secret Circle, but they canceled reality entry H8R. Stay with us for further updates on the fate of the series who still need to know where they are headed after the initial 13 episodes.

Retro Television (RTV) has changed their line-up effective yesterday. We knew about the changes late last week, but we wanted to give you the FULL details, so we are bringing you that today! Their deal with Universal Pictures ended on Sunday. This means series like Leave it to Beaver, Kate & Allie, The A-Team, Knight Rider and others are no longer airing on the digital station. Now they have acquired mostly have stuff from The Peter Rodgers Organization and a few series from Sony Pictures Television. Among the new series from The Peter Rodgers Organization are a short-lived '70s drama titled Movin' On and British drama The Saint. They join other Peter Rodgers series such I Spy, The Bill Cosby Show, Daniel Boone, The Rifleman, Peter Gunn, Robin Hood and others that have been on RTV.
Completely new to RTV are series from Sony Pictures Television. The series that have joined the line-up are Naked City, Route 66, Starsky & Hutch and Police Story. Also joining the schedule are Canadian dramas that currently air in broadcast syndication: DaVinci's Inquest, Cold Squad and Cold Case Files.
RTV is using a national schedule now for ALL of the affiliates, unless an affiliate preempts something on its own. For example, all RTV affiliates will have Starsky & Hutch weeknights at 8pm followed by Police Story at 9pm nationwide. Joining the line-up next week (Monday, July 4) will be Highway to Heaven and it will air weeknights at 6pm. RTV couldn't get the rights to that in time for this week, so they are airing an extra hour of Daniel Boone this week, in addition to its regular 7pm airing.
We will keep you up to date of any other changes and information, but for now view the FULL RTV schedule.

ABC has announced premiere dates for Fall 2011. They join The CW and Fox in announcing Fall 2011 premiere dates. ABC will start the new season of 20/20 on Friday, Sept. 16 at 10pm, but the real stuff gets going starting Monday, Sept. 19 with the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars at 8pm followed by the season four premiere of Castle at 10pm. On Tuesday, September 20, ABC will air the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars: The Results at 9pm and the second season premiere of Body of Proof at 10pm. Tuesday at 8pm is missing, but more on that in a bit. On to Wednesday, Sept. 21, ABC will have one-hour season premieres of The Middle and Modern Family from 8-10pm leading into new primetime soap Revenge at 10pm. The following Wednesday will have the series premiere of Suburgatory at 8:30pm and the season premiere of Happy Endings at 9:30pm starting Sept. 28. On Thursday, Sept. 22, ABC will launch the new Charlie's Angels at 8pm leading into the two-hour season premiere of Grey's Anatomy from 9-11pm. This means Private Practice will launch its new season the following week on Sept. 29 at 10pm.
Fridays will have encore programming from 8-10pm for the first four weeks of the season, so we will come back to that in a bit for what will normally air here. Saturdays will have College Football all fall. On Sunday, Sept. 25, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will have a two-hour season premiere from 7-9pm as it gets ready for a Friday move. The eighth season premiere of Desperate Housewives follows at 9pm leading into new series Pan Am at 10pm. America's Funniest Home Videos will premiere the following week on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 7pm. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will air three one-hour episodes on Sundays at 8pm on Oct. 2, 9 and 16 before it moves to Fridays, starting Friday, Oct. 21. The Friday airings will now be two-hours in the fall from 8-10pm. As a result, ABC will now premiere the third season of Shark Tank (slated for Fridays at 9pm in the fall) in January in the timeslot and will still produce 13 episodes. New Sunday drama Once Upon a Time from the producers of Lost will start Sunday, Oct. 23 at 8pm for ample promotion.
Back to Tuesdays, ABC has not yet announced what will air Tuesdays at 8pm for the first three weeks of the season. The Tim Allen comedy Last Man Standing will premiere on Tuesday, Oct. 11 with back-to-back episodes from 8-9pm. New single-camera comedy Man Up! will premiere the following week on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 8:30pm following Last Man Standing at its normal time.
There are some question marks still to be filled (like Tuesdays at 8 for the first three weeks of the season), so please keep an eye out on our new day-by-day schedule for ABC! Stay with us.