SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! We're back on another cold and snowy (depending upon where you are) winter weekend with news about a possible Bill Cosby sitcom on NBC, updates on Girl Meets World, and even an update on a Kickstarter project to bring The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet to DVD. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

• It has been a long time since we've heard from Sam Nelson (grandson of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, by the way) about his project to restore The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in order to release it on DVD, so long that we were concerned that he may have abandoned his Kickstarter project. Yesterday, he posted an update (it is only available to those who have supported the project on Kickstarter, but you can read it all here) where he indicates that he is indeed working with the UCLA Film and Television Archive to restore the series to its original glory. He says that it may not be possible to bring all episodes back to their original form due to some issues over the years, but the goal is still to bring the series to DVD in the best way possible... we're very hopeful!
• For the few fans of the series who don't already own the complete series on either DVD or Blu-ray, RLJ Entertainment is bringing a smaller set of The Dick Van Dyke Show to DVD, with some of Mary Tyler Moore's best episodes, in The Dick Van Dyke Show - Classic Mary Tyler Moore Episodes. The set will contain 20 episodes at a $24.98 MSRP, to be released on April 1.

RECENT HOME MEDIA REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE

• Married with Children - Seasons One and Two (Mill Creek): The Bundys return to DVD in this three disc re-release from Mill Creek.
• Newhart - The Complete Second Season: Shout! Factory finally brings fans more of this great series to DVD, although there are a few video quality issues and some syndication edits in the set.

Who to Follow: Simon Helberg (Twitter), "i act. i play music. i was born two years before my siamese twin...so annoying. and i have an autographed first edition of the Bible."

Claim to Fame: Simon Helberg's earliest TV appearances were almost exclusively in guest starring roles (sometimes appearing a few times), in series such as Popular, Undeclared, MADtv, Arrested Development, Joey, and others. But none of those roles are ones that he is really known for. That role would be the current role that he plays, of Howard Wolowitz on the CBS series The Big Bang Theory.

Pick of the Tweets: "How do we know the Flinstone Kids are 10 million strong and growing? Who did that poll? Wasn't that the Nazi Party's theme song? I'm scared." (July 24, 2012)

Hay, HAY, Hay! Today we have a very special "Seven Questions" interview with Haywood Nelson! He of course is best known to sitcom fans as Dwayne Nelson on the very popular '70s sitcom What's Happening!! and the '80s follow-up series What's Happening Now!! Mr. Nelson had great comedic timing and gelled well with Ernest Thomas and the late Fred Berry very well on those series. We talked to him about What's Happening!! of course but we also delved deeper in his career and life and we got some insight of how he started his career, what he is doing now, and other very interesting tidbits! So let's get right to another installment of "Seven Questions!"

"Seven Questions with Haywood Nelson From What's Happening!!"

SitcomsOnline: Hi, Haywood! Thanks for taking the time to do "Seven Questions" with us. We appreciate it and are very grateful! I personally have been a huge fan of both What's Happening!! and What's Happening Now!! and loved watching it! You were great on both shows and you were definitely a fan favorite! Before we get into What's Happening!!, not many people know that one of your first regular roles was on the short-lived Sanford & Son spin-off series Grady, starring the late Whitman Mayo. How was it working on that series as a child and how did you get interested in acting?
Haywood Nelson: Working on the series Grady was very exciting. The opportunity to work along side Whitman Mayo was incredible. I was a complete fan and his comedic timing was impeccable. Coming fresh off of Sanford and Son Whitman's show was a spin-off. I found myself surrounded by comedic icons Redd Fox, Whitman Mayo, Lawanda Page, and a host of others including Joe Morton, Carol Cole, Nathaniel Taylor, Ray Allen, and Hal Williams. It was great.
My interest in acting began early, at age five in the advertising industry. I had a short stint on As The World Turns while most of my work came from the advertising industry. Many commercials were completed before moving into a feature film Mixed Company and on to Broadway in Thieves. I actually screen tested for quite some time with Bern'Nadette Stanis for the Norman Lear series Good Times. This was all prior to the Grady series.

SitcomsOnline: After Grady was over, the following TV season (1976-77) you were cast as Dwayne on ABC's new sitcom What's Happening!! How did you get the role and how did this change your life? I think females were going crazy over you, for sure! Despite the series only lasting three seasons, it was very popular and was huge in syndication after the network run was over in 1980. The show was as popular in syndication as some other series that lasted three seasons or less like Gilligan's Island, Batman and The Munsters. I certainly think What's Happening!! belongs on that list!
Haywood Nelson: When Grady was canceled Whitman Mayo came to my mother and I and said there was a show he wanted me to audition for. That it was very special and I was perfect for it. They required that we depart for New York ASAP. The audition was packed with hopefuls. The show was the TV series of the movie Cooley High which is an all-time favorite film of mine. That and The Big Chill were two at the top of my list. Auditioning was a breeze since I knew the film characters so well. It was only a matter of weeks and I was back on a stage in Los Angeles. The show was quickly being retitled. They asked for names that were hip. Everyone at the table was shouting out ideas. They wanted something popular and hip, I was from New York and a teenager. The answer was easy for me, "What's Happenin." They loved it and named the show What's Happening!!
My personal life for the most part remained the same. Unless in public. There, all anonymity was gone. That took some adjusting to. I also had a lot less time to play drums, draw, or ride motocross. All that are sacrifices temporarily acceptable to me with that type of career path. Also acting in What's Happening!! I saw as an opportunity to make a difference with break out influence. Hence the "Hay HAY Hay." While the girls went wild I was less interested in driving popularity with them as I was interested in seeing more black faces on television.

SitcomsOnline: It seemed the cast, particularly you, Ernest Thomas, Fred Berry, Shirley Hemphill and Danielle Spencer, had great chemistry on this show. It was definitely an appealing show for all ages, particularly younger audiences. Can you share some memorable moments you had with them during this era? Also, what did you love about the character of Dwayne Nelson (how cool that they named Dwayne's last name the same as yours!)? 
Haywood Nelson: The chemistry on the show was magical. We instantly became family. The best memories are the blooper worthy show stopping laughing fits. What I loved about the character Dwayne was his honesty. He felt his own sense of style and was committed to getting it out. Yet nothing took a backseat to his innocent common sense, unless he got excited where he was prone to cluelessness. Fun to play!

SitcomsOnline: The series was canceled after its third season despite still decent ratings and ratings even going up overall from the previous season. I know there was some behind-the-scenes issues that were going on this season and probably had more of a say ultimately in the cancelation. I don't want to point any fingers at anyone or anything, but how was it like during this time and did you think the show would be actually canceled? I'm sure fans, and the cast as well, were disappointed that there was no fourth season.
Haywood Nelson: I did not think the series would be cancelled. Behind-the-scenes chicanery aside, the show was very popular. I thought at most there would be some measure of conduct regulation imposed. I never thought it would be cancelled with the strong ratings and statistics it maintained.

SitcomsOnline: So after What's Happening!! was finished in 1979, you focused on technology and were quite successful. I know you told me before when we first met that you always were interested in technology. Can you talk about how this interest came about and how you got into that area after What's Happening!! finished its three-season run?
Haywood Nelson: I've always had an interest in technology. Starting with motorcycle, aerospace, and architecture. The architecture drove me into Electronics Engineering which led to Telecommunications, Satellite Broadcasting, and the first Dotcom. By the time the internet bubble burst I had been prominent in several tech start-ups. Over the course of many years struggling to get rebounded I've partnered with others whose journey mirrors my own and we've built two very strong efforts. One in traditional media and the other in 3D gaming and service entertainment commerce.

SitcomsOnline: Then six years after What's Happening!! finished its run, a new follow-up series in 1985 was born titled What's Happening Now!! Everyone came back basically, except Mabel King, and I thought the show was very funny! It was so great to see Raj, Dwayne and Rerun as young adults. How did this show come about and were you reluctant in doing it since you had moved on to the tech side? I think the ratings were so good in syndication, the series deserved coming back. And I really liked that they made Dwayne interested in computers...was that something you suggested since you yourself are interested?
Haywood Nelson: What's Happening Now!! was developed from an effort that Ernest Thomas put out. I was in engineering school when I was contacted. I was very hesitant to leave my junior year of school, yet was not comfortable with anyone else reprising my role. So I decided to make a go of it against my better judgment. It was the producer's idea to make Dwayne a computer technician. Mostly I believe because they didn't know what else to write for the character. So they emulated my life. Not the most creative thing to do but it made for easy moving through the season.

SitcomsOnline: Basically after What's Happening Now!! was over in 1988 you went back into the technology side and are continuing doing great stuff in this area on shows like Dr. Oz Show. Do you keep in touch with the cast these days like Ernest Thomas and Danielle Spencer? It's truly a shame that we lost Fred Berry (next year will be ten years already), Shirley Hemphill and Mabel King all within a few years (1999-2003) of each other. Did you keep in touch with them and can you describe some recent moments you had with them? And finally, would you ever consider doing a sitcom again and do you have some favorite sitcoms that are airing today?
Haywood Nelson: When What's Happening Now!! completed its syndication run I jumped fast into film production camera assisting. That led to screenwriting, and Film Distribution International. Today it's the same, I am a lighting tech, stagehand in general For Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and The Dr. Oz Show. Additionally I am a founding partner in two companies. One as an Executive Producer/Writer for television show creation, and the other as a Creative Executive for a start-up gaming company with a mobile consumer services application.
I'd describe my relationship with the cast of What's Happening!! as a family. I miss Mabel, Shirley, and Fred regularly, and speak with Ernest and Danielle frequently. The three of us were at an autograph signing not so long ago and the fun never stops with us. It was antics and jokes as always. It's nice too to be enterprising together at these signings.
My experience on What's Happening!! was such a good experience that I would most certainly consider doing another show in the future. Perhaps appear on one of the shows we are executive producing at our company. Unfortunately my schedule doesn't allow for much television viewing beyond my research for a project.

We definitely appreciate Mr. Nelson for taking the time to give us an interview! He is a very nice man and we hope nothing but success for his future projects! Follow him on Twitter! That'll do it for this installment of "Seven Questions," stay tuned next time for another brand new interview!

It's time to get "cozi" just in time for the holidays as COZI TV is set to have a soft launch on Thursday, December 20 through Monday, December 31, before it officially launches on January 1 with a regular schedule! COZI TV, as we reported, is replacing digital subchannel Nonstop on the NBC Owned Television Stations. So if you're in NBC's ten owned markets and have Nonstop, you'll have COZI TV! The network will be airing some Universal-owned series, Charlie's Angels from Sony Pictures and a lot of public domain series. The soft launch will include six days of Christmas episodes from Dec. 20-25 and will start at 6am on Thursday, Dec. 20 with five Christmas episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet from 6am-8:30am. The holiday fun continues on Dec. 20 with The Lone Ranger at 8:30am, back-to-back Lassie & The Beverly Hillbillies, then The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Ruggles, another The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Christmas episode, and Liberace Christmas at 12:30pm. At 1pm & 2pm, we have two holiday episodes of Highway to Heaven, then catch Betty White in Date with the Angels, followed by another The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Christmas episode. The 4pm hour will have the animated special A Snow White Christmas, followed by Casper's Haunted Christmas from 5-6:30pm. At 6:30pm, catch the COZI TV Preview Show where we will see wacky slow-mo stunts to memorable catchphrases, their all-star panel of hilarious commentators count down the top ten funniest moments from iconic shows. The 7pm hour will feature holiday episodes of Sherlock Holmes and Petticoat Junction.

In primetime on Dec. 20, encores of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet air in the 8pm hour followed by another Christmas episode at 9pm. At 9:30pm, Racket Squad will air its Christmas episode. Another holiday episode of The Lone Ranger followed at 10pm, followed by Roy Rogers Show and Four Star Playhouse. At 11:30pm, the COZI TV Preview Show will get an encore airing. In late night on this night we will have Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Lone Ranger movie, Sherlock Holmes, Petticoat Junction, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and another airing of COZI TV Preview Show at 4:30am. We won't detail the rest of the holiday episodes until Dec. 25, but you'll see shows like The Red Skelton Show, Meet Corliss Archer, He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special, and many movies. From Dec. 26-31, you'll get a preview of what is to come on COZI TV with various episodes of series such as The Lucy Show, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Lassie, Roy Rogers Show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Red Skelton Show and more. New Year's Eve will see the premieres of The Virginian, Alias Smith & Jones and Marcus Welby in the morning and as part of their New Year's Eve marathon of classics, with Banacek, McMillan & Wife and McCloud in primetime.

View the COZI TV "soft launch" schedule (Dec. 20-31). We will detail the COZI TV actual launch schedule very soon. A hint: Charlie's Angels will air in primetime on Tuesdays, rotating with series like Bionic Woman and Six Million Dollar Man. Stay with us for that! Get cozi!

We hinted on our message board earlier this week that a new over the air digital subchannel focusing on classic TV will be launching January 1, and now some info has been reported. The new network will be named Cozi TV and will be from NBCUniversal. It will be replacing digital subchannel Nonstop on the NBC Owned Television Stations. So if you're in the NBC owned markets and have Nonstop, you'll have Cozi TV come January 1. Among the series they will have at launch will include comedies like Burns & Allen, The Lucy Show, Ozzie & Harriet, Red Skelton, Groucho Marx; action dramas like Charlie's Angels, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Magnum P.I., and classic family and western series like Lassie, The Roy Rogers Show, The Lone Ranger, The Virginian, The Adventures of Kit Carson and Alias Smith and Jones, Marcus Welby, M.D., and Highway to Heaven. A few movies will be featured in the afternoons. Currently, Highway to Heaven has been airing weekdays at 12 noon on Nonstop on all NBC Owned Television Stations, so it will likely remain at 12 noon when Cozi takes over the space on Jan. 1. Nonstop was first launched in New York in March 2009 and then expanded to the other NBC Owned Television Stations in 2010 and 2011. Of the ten markets that NBC owns, nine of them have a Nonstop station, with only the Hartford market not included. Thus, chances of Cozi TV in Hartford are not certain as the other nine markets NBC owns (NY, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC, Dallas, Miami, and San Diego).

Cozi TV will join the crowded digital subchannel world that includes fellow classic TV stations like Antenna TV, MeTV, THIStv, Bounce TV and RTV. Stay tuned for the official announcement and full details, like an actual schedule, as soon as it is announced. Much more to come, so get "cozi" and comfortable!

This Halloween The Hub TV Network gets into the 'spirit' with a full lineup of spooky and fun Halloween-themed movies, TV series and specials. The centerpiece of the network's October 31 programming slate is a special two-hour marathon of the award-winning R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series (4-6pm ET). The marathon showcases four of the scariest episodes from all three seasons of the Hub Original Series, starring popular young Hollywood actors including Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) and Dakota Goyo (Real Steel). The tricks and treats continue with spine-tingling Halloween-themed episodes of favorite live-action and animated Hub series including The Adventures of Chuck & Friends, Transformers Rescue Bots, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Pound Puppies, and Goosebumps. When darkness sets in, the network's primetime programming schedule will feature super spooky episodes of ALF, Mork & Mindy, The Facts of Life, and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys in primetime.

Fans of the sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch will be treated to a special four-episode Halloween-themed marathon of 'spook-tacular' proportions on Tuesday, October 30 (10am-noon ET) following everyone's favorite witch Sabrina Spellman (Melissa Joan Hart) as a teenager with magical powers living with her two aunts and their magical talking cat Salem. The fun continues on Halloween Day (Wednesday, Oct. 31) from 11am-12pm, as Sabrina creates the event of the year when she rents real monsters from the Other Realm to spice up her Halloween party. And Sabrina takes her friends on the Halloween Mystery Train, but discovers too late that they've boarded the Other Realm Express! In primetime on Halloween night, The Hub presents two back-to-back episodes of ALF, from 8-9pm, which follow the adventures of Gordon Shumway, a furry, wisecracking alien from the planet Melmac who crash lands into the garage of the Tanner family. ALF tries to convince Willie and Kate to let him go trick-or-treating on Halloween, but the Tanners are concerned their neighbors might discover ALF's "natural" costume is not really a disguise at all! And while spying on the neighbors having an argument next door, ALF sees Mr. Ochmonek approach his wife with an ice pick and suspects he’s trying to kill her. Next at 9pm on The Facts of Life, Halloween hysteria sets in when a customer mysteriously disappears and the girls fear that Edna may have ground him into her famous homemade bratwurst. At 9:30pm, Mork and Mindy are in for a spirited Halloween when familiar ghosts from Mindy's past create hilarious havoc in the house.

Antenna TV may have launched on Jan. 1 on over-the-air digital stations, but cable carriage is picking-up now. Since yesterday, Antenna TV and WGN America from Tribune Broadcasting Company was made available to Time Warner Cable East Region/NYC market digital customers on Channels 166 and 162, respectively. Time Warner Cable East Region/NYC market includes four New York City boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn), Mt. Vernon, Hudson Valley (Orange, Sullivan, Ulster Counties and parts of Dutchess, Greene and Delaware Counties) and Bergen and Hudson Counties in New Jersey. This covers about 1.3 million homes.
Also, Comcast in the New York City/NJ/Philadelphia area will ALL add Antenna TV in about two weeks on Tuesday, Jan. 25! Most of those systems will carry the network on channel 252. Antenna TV is of course available over-the-air in these two markets (New York and Philadelphia) on channels 11.4 in NYC and 17.2 in Philadelphia, as you all know. One other note in this region is that all Cablevision systems in Connecticut will add Antenna TV on channel 114 on Wednesday, Jan. 26. No word yet on when Cablevision in NY/NJ will add the network.
What about other regions? Well Chicago, Houston, Seattle, Denver, Cleveland, Sacramento, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, Harrisburg, Greensboro, Memphis, New Orleans, Scranton, Springfield MO, Huntsville, Chattanooga, and Marquette MI markets have all already added Antenna TV to a cable system or two. Cities coming to cable soon will be Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington D.C., Miami, Portland, Indianapolis, Hartford/New Haven, Grand Rapids, Norfolk, Fresno and Odessa-Midland. But of course those markets all have Antenna TV available over-the-air!
The following markets will add Antenna TV over-the-air soon: St. Louis (March), Kansas City (March), Oklahoma City (May), Richmond (TBD), Des Moines (late January), and Davenport/Rock Island (TBD). Cable coverage for these areas are TBD, but Oklahoma City has reached an agreement with Cox to start carrying the network during the May launch on channel 247, while Des Moines has reached an agreement with Mediacom on channel 114 (but the start date is TBD).
Stay with us for further information and as always, keep checking the affiliates section on AntennaTV.TV! There will be a channel locator there very soon (via zip code search) for easier information.

David Nelson, who starred on his parents' popular sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, has died. He was battling complications of colon cancer and died Tuesday (January 11) at his home in Los Angeles. Nelson was the last remaining member of the Nelsons TV family, which included actor/bandleader Ozzie, his singer wife, Harriet Hilliard and his teen idol brother Rick. The show originated on radio in 1952 as Here Come the Nelsons, then ran for 320 episodes on television on ABC from 1952 to 1966 as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet with some of the story lines taken from the stars' own lives. David Nelson also directed and produced numerous episodes of the show throughout its run. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was shot in the Nelson family home in the Hollywood foothills, which remains a popular attraction for visitors on Hollywood celebrity bus tours.
His other television credits included Hondo, The Love Boat, The D.A., and TV movies High School USA and A Family For Joe. Directing credits included Goodnight Beantown, Adam-12, O.K. Crackerby!, and Ozzie's Girls.
It is just too bad no major network airs Ozzie & Harriet and most episodes are not on DVD either. The Nelsons were a quintessential family. I loved the short tribute the feature film North did back in 1994 of the Nelson family with John Ritter, Faith Ford, Scarlett Johansson and Jesse Zeigler as the Nelson's (well that tribute also was a homage to other '50s sitcoms as well such as Leave it to Beaver, Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best). Long live the Nelsons! He will deeply missed. Mr. Nelson was 74.