SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Just in time for the holidays, Hulu announced that it has licensed the subscription streaming rights to even more hits for the whole family from The Disney/ABC Television Group, including ABC's hit drama series, Designated Survivor. In addition to becoming the exclusive U.S. SVOD home to Designated Survivor, the complete libraries of fan favorites such as Revenge, Cougar Town, Shadowhunters, Marvel's Agent Carter, Blossom, The Catch, Bunheads, Perception and more will be added to Hulu. These series join a growing list of popular series from The Disney/ABC Television Group family now streaming on Hulu, including ABC's original "TGIF" lineup, The Golden Girls, Ellen, black-ish, and more.

SHOWTIME is picking up its hit comedy series SMILF for a second season. Created, starring and executive produced by Frankie Shaw, SMILF is a raw, honest look at the life of a 20-something single mom based on her Sundance Film Festival Jury Award-winning short film of the same name. The series also stars multiple Emmy(R) winner Rosie O'Donnell in her first series regular TV role. SMILF will go back into production next year. The season one finale will air on New Year's Eve, December 31 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, with a special preview available online and On Demand on Friday, December 29.

SMILF takes a comedic look at the life of Bridgette Bird (Shaw), a young woman from South Boston whose desires for relationships, sex and a career collide with the realities of working-class single motherhood. Shaw brings her singular, unapologetic point of view to the semi-autobiographical comedy series, whose title is meant to be ironic and to reclaim the demeaning nature of the label. The cast also includes Miguel Gomez, Samara Weaving and Alexandra and Anna Reimer. Season one guest stars include Emmy and Golden Globe(R) nominee Connie Britton, Mark Webber and Raven Goodwin.

TV Land is going for its overstuffed Thanksgiving weekend marathon once again this year. We'll even see shows that are currently on hiatus from the line-up. On Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 27), tune in for I Love Lucy from 9am-12pm, as the series makes an appearance for the holiday. The Andy Griffith Show will follow from 12pm-3pm. Then from 3pm-6pm, it's time for some family game time with Family Feud. Then during dinner time, join in with America's #1 family, the Cosbys with a block of The Cosby Show from 6pm-9pm. The regular schedule will air from 9pm-6am. The fun continues the next day on Friday (Nov. 28) with more three-hour blocks with Family Feud airing from 9am-12pm. Then it's time to strike rich with The Beverly Hillbillies from 12pm-3pm. And it can't be a three-hour tour without Gilligan's Island, which makes an appearance for the holiday, airing from 3pm-6pm. And finally, Friday marathons conclude with latest addition Hogan's Heroes from 6pm-9pm. It's going to be a classic Thanksgiving to remember with lots of laughs and games with your favorite TV families and friends!

Christa B. Allen drove off into the night on Revenge and onto the set of ABC Family's original hit comedy series Baby Daddy, which will return for its fourth season in early 2015. Since Charlotte left Revenge and is headed to rehab and a better life, Christa will recur in Season Four of Baby Daddy as Robyn, a funny, smart, athletic, corporate lawyer who works at Riley's (Chelsea Kane) law firm. When Riley begrudgingly sets Robyn up with best friend Danny (Derek Theler), they immediately hit it off. Christa's episodes will air in early 2015. Baby Daddy of course stars Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Derek Theler, Tahj Mowry, with Melissa Peterman and Chelsea Kane. The series is created and executive produced by Dan Berendsen (The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Hannah Montana: The Movie). Baby Daddy is a multi-camera comedy that shoots in front of a live studio audience in Los Angeles.

Yesterday was ABC's turn at the TCA summer 2014 press tour. The biggest announcement were the fall 2014 premiere dates. But first, we had panels for ABC Family's Chasing Life, followed by ABC's upcoming new series like How to Get Away with Murder, Selfie, black-ish, Forever, Manhattan Love Story and Cristela. Onto the fall 2014 premiere dates, new drama Forever will be kicking off premiere week with two new episodes, with a special sneak preview on Monday, September 22 at 10 after Dancing with the Stars, and a second, all-new episode on Tuesday, September 23 at 10, for its regular time period premiere. Dancing with the Stars will premiere a week before the official start of the TV season, on Monday, Sept. 15 from 8-10pm. In addition, there will be two special nights of Dancing with the Stars Results Show this season, airing on Tuesday, September 16 and Tuesday, September 23, from 8:00-9:00pm. Elsewhere, on Tuesday, September 23 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres its season at a new time of 9pm. ABC Comedy Wednesday returns on Wednesday, September 24 with The Middle at 8, The Goldbergs on its new night & time at 8:30, TV's most honored comedy Modern Family at 9, and the series premiere of black-ish starring Anthony Anderson at 9:30. And of course the night ends with the third season launch of Nashville at 10.

On Thursday, September 25, it's an all Shonda Rhimes Night (Thank God It's Thursday!) with the new timeslot launch of Grey's Anatomy at 8, Scandal anchoring the night at 9 and the series premiere of the Viola Davis drama How to Get Away With Murder at 10. On Friday, September 26, the new season of Shark Tank launches with a two-hour premiere from 8-10 into 20/20 at 10. ABC's powerful Sunday drama line-up starts on Sunday, September 28 with the season premieres of Once Upon a Time, Resurrection and Revenge from 8-11pm. Post premiere week premieres include Castle on Monday, September 29 at 10. Two new comedies launch on Tuesday, September 30 at 8:00 & 8:30pm: Selfie and Manhattan Love Story. Then on Friday, October 3 at 8:00pm we have the one-hour season premiere of Last Man Standing starring Tim Allen from 8-9pm into the regular timeslot premiere of Shark Tank at 9. On Sunday, October 5, an all-new season of America's Funniest Home Videos begins at 7pm (likely a Once Upon a Time special is airing in week one on Sept. 28). And finally, the third Friday of the season on Friday, October 10 sees the launch of new sitcom Cristela at 8:30pm.

The women of TV Land's Hot in Cleveland are officially animated! Melanie Moretti (Valerie Bertinelli), Joy Scroggs (Jane Leeves), Victoria Chase (Wendie Malick) and Elka Ostrovsky (Betty White) have come to life in cartoon form with the help of animation studio Titmouse, Inc. – and they're bringing along Steven Tyler. Tyler will guest star in the episode as himself, serving as a guide through their magical, animated adventure. "The Animated Episode," the first-ever for TV Land, is set to air Wednesday, July 30 at 10pm ET/PT. The episode starts with the women at Elka's apartment, which before now has been a mystery to them...and they soon find out why. From there, they will meet up with Steven Tyler (and some other special friends) and go on a psychedelic romp through pop culture hits, including scenes with homages to Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, The Walking Dead and Frankenstein. Plus, they'll also see what life in Cleveland would have been like if LeBron James had never left (check out the sneak peek).

Welcome back, welcome back! Beginning Monday, April 14, 2014, Welcome Back, Kotter will be added to the MeTV Network lineup. Welcome Back, Kotter, the 1970s American television series which stars Gabe Kaplan and features a young John Travolta will replace F Troop and will air Monday-Thursday at 9:30pm ET. F Troop will take a brief hiatus, but will return to the MeTV schedule soon. As for Welcome Back, Kotter, the sitcom has not aired on television regularly since it was on AmericanLife TV (now known as YooToo TV) some years back and also on ION Television in 2006-07. WGN America aired the sitcom as part of a '70s week back in 2008. So get ready to watch all four classic seasons with all of your favorite Sweathog kids! Barbarino, Horshack, Boom Boom, Juan and of course Mr. Kotter himself. Tune in starting April 14 on MeTV. Stay with us for continued updates.

ABC has announced the majority of its season finale dates for the 2013-14 Season. First up, on Friday, April 11 at 8:30pm, the season finale of The Neighbors will air with mini-Full House reunion, as DJ Tanner and Steve reunite. Then on Thursday, April 17 the juicy Scandal season finale will air at 10pm. ABC's Friday comedy anchor Last Man Standing will have its season finale of April 25 at 8pm. On Sunday, May 4 the thrilling finale of the new hit Resurrection will air at 9pm. The following Sunday (May 11) will have the spellbinding two-hour season finale of Once Upon a Time leading into the Revenge finale at 10. The next night will have the sixth season finale of Castle at 10pm with Castle and Beckett on the case. ABC's Tuesday line-up will have their finales on Tuesday, May 13 with Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at 8, The Goldbergs at 9 and the hilarious Trophy Wife at 9:30. On Wednesday, May 14 the season finale of Suburgatory will air at 8:30pm and then later that night its the sophomore finale of Nashville at 10. On Thursday, May 15 at 9, the tenth finale of Grey's Anatomy will air.

Moving on to Friday, May 16, Shark Tank will have its season finale, while America's Funniest Home Videos ends its season on Sunday, May 18 at 7 leading into the Billboard Music Awards. On Monday, May 19, ABC will have the performance finale of Dancing with the Stars leading into The Bachelorette premiere. Then on the next night, Tuesday, May 20 it is the two-hour finale of Dancing with the Stars from 9-11pm as a champion is crowned. And finally on the last day of the TV season, Wednesday, May 21, The Middle will have a one-hour season finale leading into the season finales of Modern Family and Mixology from 9-10pm. ABC has not announced anything for Mind Games or Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, but the latter will end its run on April 3. Stay with us for continued updates.

The ABC Television Network announced midseason premiere dates today for new series The Assets, Killer Women, Mind Games and Mixology. In addition, the network has scheduled premiere dates for the new season of The Bachelor with Juan Pablo Galavis, critically acclaimed comedy Suburgatory, and the cooking competition series The Taste, now expanded to two hours. Previously announced new drama series Resurrection will now premiere at 9:00pm on Sunday, March 9, thus Revenge will move into the 10:00pm time slot starting on that date. The midseason schedule launches on Thursday, Jan. 2 with the return of The Taste expanded to two hours and on a new night. Previously announced reality series The Quest will now premiere at a later date. Then at 10pm on Thursdays, new series The Assets, an eight-part limited series based on the real life events of CIA counter-intelligence officer Sandy Grimes (Jodie Whittaker) will air. Grey's Anatomy and Scandal will return on Thursday, Feb. 27 from 9-11pm to air repeat-free for the remainder of the season. Both series have their "fall" finales on Dec. 12. As for Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, no return date has been planned but five episodes will remain to be aired after its Dec. 12 "fall" finale.

Moving on, no surprise that The Bachelor will launch its new season on the first Monday of the new year, on Monday, Jan. 6 from 8-10pm. On the following night, new Tricia Helfer drama Killer Women will premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 10pm for eight episodes before another new drama premieres on Tuesday, March 11 in the time period: Mind Games starring Christian Slater. Wednesday comedies will have some new entries, with the return of Suburgatory on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 8:30pm, replacing the canceled Back in the Game, which would have aired its 13 episodes by then. At 9:30pm, current occupant Super Fun Night has a 17 episode order and by Feb. 26 a new comedy will get a chance. That comedy will be Mixology from Ryan Seacrest. And finally, as mentioned earlier Resurrection will now premiere at 9:00pm on Sunday, March 9 into Revenge at its new time. Once Upon a Time will also return on this date. It is unclear still what will air in January and February on Sunday nights, but there could be some airings of the current ABC Sunday drama line-up (Once, Revenge, Betrayal) in January before taking a short break. One other note, Nashville will return for its midseason premiere on Wednesday, February 26 at 10. It is still uncertain if that series will be on a hiatus in January and February. If so, no idea yet what will air in that slot. Stay with us for continued updates.

NBC has entered a deal to co-produce 12 episodes of the half-hour singlecam comedy Working the Engels from producers Halfire-CORE Entertainment in partnership with Shaw Media. Working the Engels marks the first time a U.S. and Canadian broadcaster have collaborated to produce a half-hour network comedy. The series, created and written by Katie Ford and Jane Ford, centers on a family who must band together to keep their heads above water when their father and breadwinner passes away, leaving them a mountain of debt. The Engels must all go to work running Dad's storefront law firm, with one minor problem - daughter Jenna is the only one who is qualified to practice law.

SCTV legend and two-time Emmy Award winner Andrea Martin will play Ceil, the overly confident family matriarch. Working the Engels also stars Kacey Rohl (Hannibal), Azura Skye (American Horror Story) and Benjamin Arthur (Less Than Kind). No word as of yet when NBC plans on airing the comedy series, but as soon as we know, we'll let you know!

Welcome to Digital Digest! We're quickly approaching the fall TV season, but before we get there, we've still got a busy few of hits from last season coming to DVD, and today, we review one of those with our review of Revenge - The Complete Second Season. Let's get going!

DIGITAL NEWS

Complete series sets are becoming the "in" thing now (in fact, we counted eighteen significant ones coming between now and the end of the year, and that isn't even counting ones that have yet to be announced), and Lionsgate isn't going to be left out. In fact, they have three on the way, all on November 5. First up are releases of Saved by the Bell and Boy Meets World. Also, they'll have a Blu-ray release of Weeds. All of these releases will include new special features that were not on the previous releases. It appears that none of these are available to pre-order just yet.

On the other hand, there are a few other releases that ARE available to pre-order that haven't exactly been announced, and also seem to lack firm release dates! In the past week, pre-order listings went up for The Mod Squad and Diagnosis Murder on amazon.com. Neither of these are the complete series releases that are still in the works, but rather half season releases. Among the releases for The Mod Squad are The Mod Squad - Season 3, Volume 1; The Mod Squad - Season 3, Volume 2; The Mod Squad - Season 4, Volume 1; and The Mod Squad - Season 4, Volume 2. For Diagnosis Murder, we have Diagnosis Murder - The Fourth Season, Part 1; Diagnosis Murder - The Fourth Season, Part 2; Diagnosis Murder - The Fifth Season, Part 1; Diagnosis Murder - The Fifth Season, Part 2. Dates are given for these releases on the listings, some of which have already passed even... but none of these are actually out yet. These releases are coming from VEI, which has a tendency to not exactly give firm release dates, but in any event, we would expect these before the end of the year.


UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (August 20) has one sitcom release, with Warner Home Video's release of Mike & Molly - The Complete Third Season. For those interested in dramas, ABC has Revenge - The Complete Second Season and NBC has Parenthood - Season Four. We have a review of Revenge today in Digital Digest.


BLOG FEATURE REVIEW



Blog DVD Review: Revenge - The Complete Second Season (ABC Studios, $45.99)
by Pavan

It's her next move! Emily Thorne's enemies may be the same, but her mission now takes on a suspenseful twist. In the second season of ABC's smash hit series, new faces from the past will complicate the already tangled web of deceit and divert Emily from her path to vengeance. Relive every biting and brilliant episode of ABC's Revenge: The Complete Second Season, complete with all 22 action-filled episodes and never-before-seen bonus features that will lure fans even deeper into the drama. This season, Emily will stop at nothing to uncover the secrets of her father's murder, but the web of deceit is larger than she ever imagined. Now, with her mother (guest star Jennifer Jason Leigh) in the picture, even more will be revealed. Watch the sparks fly as Daniel and Ashley begin a torrid romance, while stunning events change the face of Amanda and Jack's relationship, and new faces mean more trouble for Emily and Victoria, while a mysterious man from Emily's past adds to her complications. Feel the power of television's most seductive series, when this season arrives on DVD!

The second season stars Emily VanCamp as Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke, Madeleine Stowe as Victoria Grayson, Josh Bowman as Daniel Grayson, Henry Czerny as Conrad Grayson, Gabriel Mann as Nolan Ross, Ashley Madekwe as Ashley Davenport, Nick Wechsler as Jack Porter, Connor Paolo as Declan Porter, Barry Sloane as Aiden Mathis and Christa B. Allen as Charlotte Grayson. However, there are many recurring stars such as James Tupper as David H. Clarke, Margarita Levieva as Amanda Clarke/Emily Thorne, Roger Bart as Leo "Mason" Treadwell, Dilshad Vadsaria as Padma Lahari, J.R. Bourne as Kenny Ryan, Michael Trucco as Nate Ryan, Wendy Crewson as Helen Crowley, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Kara Wallace Clarke, Emily Alyn Lind as young Amanda Clarke, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Satoshi Takeda. Special guests include Collins Pennie as Eli James, Adrienne Barbeau as Marion Harper, Jessica Tuck as Allison Stoddard, Todd Grinnell as Dr. Thomas, E.J. Bonilla as Marco Romero, Juju Chang, and James Morrison as Gordon Murphy.

Season 2 might have had a sophomore slump in between but it started and ended with a bang. If you gave up on it because of the slump, shame on you. But now you can catch-up and see the dramatic season finale, which will hook you back in for sure. The series moved from Wednesdays at 10pm to a new night and time of Sundays at 9pm. The move started off very well and the show was doing better than season one, but then airing against major events in the winter hurt the series for its second half of the season. Once again, now is the time to catch-up before it returns on Sept. 29! Emily VanCamp is great and easy on the eyes while Madeline Stowe should have been nominated for an Emmy. Every episode has to be seen in order, but I will try to pick the most memorable episodes. WARNING: Don't read the descriptions if you have yet to finish this season! In the season premiere "Destiny," in the wake of last summer's events in the Hamptons and with the ante even higher, what will Emily's next move be...will she be able to manage her heart and keep her emotions from getting in the way of her resolve to avenge her father? In "Confidence," the Graysons are back in the spotlight and at the center of a media storm once again, while Emily's past continues to haunt her. In "Illusion," the ties that bind Victoria and Conrad are tested as they reaffirm their loyalties and commitment to each other, while the all-too-knowing Mason Treadwell digs deeper as Emily and Amanda struggle to keep their pasts a secret.

Skipping to "Union," emotions run deep when Jack and Amanda's wedding reminds Emily of what could have been, while hings for Daniel get complicated at Grayson Global, and Conrad begins a new chapter. In the very next episode "Sacrifice," even with threats on their family closing in, the Graysons are in rare form as they put on a bold showing at their annual Labor Day bash, while Jack and Amanda sail off on their honeymoon but the seas prove to be deadly, and this time Emily can't control the outcome. In "Masquerade," Hamptonites celebrate Halloween with a glamorous masquerade ball hosted by the Graysons, which is a perfect setting for Emily to drag out Victoria's skeletons, while Jack steps up his revenge plan and finds an unexpected ally, and Aiden makes a bold move with a gruesome conclusion. In "Engagement," Emily plots her next move in her new role as Daniel's fiancee, while Aiden struggles with the re-engagement, while Jack learns more than he bargained for, and desperate times call for desperate measures as Conrad's gubernatorial numbers slip after Victoria's big reveal on Nightline. In part one of the season finale, "Truth," a series of dangerous events has been set in motion and it all comes to a head in one catastrophic moment that will change everyone's lives forever. And in the conclusion, which is probably the best episode of the season, the devastation leads to a heartbreaking death that will send shockwaves down the shoreline and force Emily to take a hard look at the truth and the path of revenge she has embarked on.

Episodes are usually around 43 minutes and unedited, as they should be. There are a few that are shorter but that's how they were originally. Runtimes are below:

Disc 1
1. "Destiny" - 43:05
2. "Resurrection" - 42:50
3. "Confidence" - 42:57
4. "Intuition" - 43:03
5. "Forgiveness" - 43:00

Disc 2
6. "Illusion" - 43:07
7. "Penance" - 43:02
8. "Lineage" - 43:01
9. "Revelations" - 43:04
10. "Power" - 43:04

Disc 3
11. "Sabotage" - 43:00
12. "Collusion" - 43:01
13. "Union" - 42:59
14. "Sacrifice" - 42:58

Disc 4
15. "Retribution" - 43:02
16. "Illumination" - 42:24
17. "Victory" - 42:16
18. "Masquerade" - 42:55

Disc 5
19. "Identity" - 42:40
20. "Engagement" - 43:00
21. "Truth, Part One" - 40:36
22. "Truth, Part Two" - 42:59

The DVD comes in a case held by an outer thin box, similar to the first season set and other ABC Studios sets. The thin outer box is in a maroon red color with some black coloring and has a very cool shot Emily in her "thorn" black dress overlooking the ocean in grey and we have headshots of Jack, Charlotte, Conrad, Victoria, Daniel, Ashley, and Nolan. The series logo is on the top and the complete second season mention is above it. The back of the thin outer box has info on the set and series, with a nice quote from TVLine.com. We have four very cool episodic photos along with a nice shot of Emily in a nice dress with Nolan and Daniel surrounding her. There is also a box showcasing the bonus features as well. When we remove the outer box, we get to the case. The case has the same artwork as the thin box, both cover and back, so everything is the exact same. Inside the case we have a nice cast photo on the panels itself. There is also a disc-by-disc breakdown below the cast photo on the panels listing episode titles per disc. We have an insert placed on the left side, with ads for the upcoming book Schooled in Revenge, The Infinity Infinity Collection from Helzberg Diamonds, the Double Infinity perfume available only at Kohl's and an ad for Scandal. As for the discs themselves, disc one is on a little plastic holder that you can flip like a page in a book. Disc two is on the back of that little plastic holder. Discs three and four are the same way in a second little plastic holder, while disc five is on the right panel itself. All five discs are in the grey ocean style background with the series logo and a character. Disc one holds episodes 1-5 with an image of Emily, disc two holds episodes 6-10 with a shot of Victoria & Conrad, disc three holds episodes 11-14 with a shot of Daniel & Ashley, disc four holds episodes 15-18 with a shot of Nolan & Jack and disc five holds episodes 19-22 with a shot of Declan & Charlotte. Each disc has bonus features, but more on that soon!

The menu design is very Hamptons-y once again! We start off with the double infinity logo then we see a wide shot of Emily's house on the Hampton's beach, just like season one. We also have background music from the show playing and background sounds from the beach once again--very cool. Before the main menu, we have auto trailers. On disc one we have trailers for ABC TV DVDs coming this summer, Castle Season 5 and Once Upon a Time Season 2. Back to the main menu, the options are: Play All, Episode Selection, Bonus Features (or Deleted Scenes), Set Up and Sneak Peeks. Sneak Peeks is only on disc five and has an ABC Image promo and Mary Poppins. Set Up gives us the option for subtitles in English, French, Thai, Chinese, Espanol, and Portuguese. You can also register your DVD here. Bonus Features lists what is available on that particular disc (and sometimes the disc only has deleted scenes, so the label is Deleted Scenes), while Episode Selection gives us an episode number and title. There is different artwork on each submenu along with different background music from the series. All this is sort of similar to the first season DVD and other ABC Studio DVDs.

Video and audio quality are both outstanding, similar to other recent ABC TV DVDs and the first season DVD of this series. We have Digital Dolby 5.1 surround sound and it is perfect. For the video, we are in widescreen (1.78:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions. It is excellent quality but that is expected for newer/current series. As I keep saying, if anything goes wrong with audio/video for current series, then there is a major problem. Each episode has 7 chapter stops, so it is easy to jump through an episode if you are looking for something in particular. Jump your way through to see all of Emily's nice outfits! We also hear the closing theme once again, as on ABC there are next week's promos playing over the credits. Unless you watch on ABC.com, you never hear it. In general, nothing out of the ordinary here but it is all perfectly done.

There are special features on this set as well and they are once again addicting, too! We have bonus features on every disc, so I always like that. Each disc has deleted scenes from the episodes on the particular disc. I like that layout as we don't have to go to one disc to see them all. Disc one has nine deleted scenes (episode 202: 0:30; episode 203: 1:50, 0:55, and 2:18; episode 204: 0:44 and episode 205: 1:44, 2:23, 1:00 and 1:05). Moving on to disc two, we have three more deleted scenes (episode 207: 1:04 and 0:40; and episode 210: 1:07). Disc two also has audio commentary on the episode "Illusions" (#206) from executive producers Sunil Nayar & Melissa Loy along with writer/co-executive producer Michael Foley. On the first season DVD we only had one audio commentary, but we have more on this set! Disc three has deleted scenes as well with nine more deleted scenes (episode 211: 0:23; episode 212 0:47; episode 213: 0:40, 1:22 and 0:20; and episode 214: 1:33, 1:00, 1:17, and 0:15). This disc also has audio commentary from the episode "Sacrifice" (#214) from executive producer/writer Mark B. Perry, writer/executive story editor Joe Fazzio, and stars Nick Wechsler & Margarita Levieva. This was so fun and interesting to listen to on such a great episode! Disc four has five more deleted scenes (episode 215: 1:16; episode 216: 2:04; episode 217: 0:35 and 0:44; and episode 218: 1:21). And finally we have ten more deleted scenes on disc five (episode 219: 0:40; episode 220: 1:41, 1:28, 1:09, and 2:14; episode 221: 0:47; and episode 222: 0:23, 1:25, 0:49 and 0:41). If you're counting at home, we have a total of 36 deleted scenes! WOW! That's down from the 38 we had on season one, but still it's a VERY good amount!

Moving on to more from disc five, that is where the bulk of the special features are. We have one final audio commentary on the season finale episode "Truth, Part Two" (#222). Commenting are creator/executive producer and writer of the episode Mike Kelley and series star Emily VanCamp. These two did the commentary on the pilot episode and were great to listen to then and they are on this pivotal episode as well. We covered the deleted scenes above, so we will cover the rest of the special features. First up, we have "Schooled in Revenge" (3:12). This is a sneak peek at the pages of the upcoming book, where a new class of revenge seekers are schooled by Takeda! The next featurette is "The Sound of Revenge" (14:51), where fans will get an intimate feel for composer iZLER's entire process, from inspiration to culmination, of creating the score for Revenge with a special look at how the epochal episode "Sacrifice" was scored. We see Emily VanCamp, Joe Fazzio, Stefan Schwartz (director), Mike Kelley, Joshua Winget and Philip Klein all on the way! It's like a documentary! Next we have "Haute Hamptons: Dression Miss Davenport" (8:21). The first season DVD showcased Emily VanCamp and Madeleine Stowe, now on season two it is all about Ashley Madekwe. Step into Ashley Davenport's shoes as costume designer Jill Ohanneson shows off the character's trendy chic style with a few key pieces from her wardrobe. And finally we have "Bloopers" (2:52). Join in on laughs with these unseen moments from the sophomore season. It's almost exactly the same length as the first season's blooper reel!

This is another nicely done set for one of most addicting series on television. All the episodes are great (of course every episode isn't perfect, what show has that anyway?) and I think season three will be even better because the second season ended with a bang! As for the DVD, it is well done and similar to the first season DVD. We don't get as many special features as the first season, but we did get more audio commentary this time. We have great audio/video, menus, packaging and special features. We essentially have everything...featurettes (though this wasn't as great this time), deleted scenes, audio commentary and bloopers! 36 deleted scenes is amazing and almost on par with the first season. ABC Studios knows how to make good DVDs, especially for their current series. This show is just good fun and has an attractive cast for both men and women, so everyone has a reason to watch. If you gave up or stopped due to the little slump or even the sporadic scheduling, you can now catch-up in time for the third season premiere. The third season will have better scheduling, too. With the first half airing from September to December and then the series returns after the Oscars for its second half from March-May. Watch it LIVE! Stowe should have been nominated for an Emmy I think and Emily VanCamp is so good and will get even better. I really recommend you order this DVD, if you watched every episode or not. Catch up, start up or recap yourself before the third season premiere on ABC beginning Sept. 29! Order the second season DVD fellow revengers, because Nolan Ross' one-liners are worth it alone!

(4.5/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Revenge on TV.com


FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Josh Saviano (Twitter), "Yesterday, I was a child actor. Today I am a father, husband and corporate attorney. Tomorrow...???"
Claim to Fame: Josh Saviano was best known for playing Paul Pfieffer in the ABC series The Wonder Years. That was essentially the highlight of his acting career, and once that series ended, he was never seen on TV ever again (which didn't help stop rumors that people still believe today about him being Marilyn Manson).
Why You Should Follow Him: First, we should clarify: he is not Marilyn Manson. After The Wonder Years ended, he went on to Yale, then went on to law school, and now he is a corporate attorney in New York City. Ultimately, that is one of those child actor success stories, and with him being a corporate attorney, I highly doubt that we'll see him even want to return to acting anytime soon. Nonetheless, he doesn't necessarily want to leave those days behind him, and still loves talking about his days playing Kevin Arnold's geeky friend on the classic series. He even interacts with a lot of his former "friends" on that show on Twitter. We like seeing success stories about former child stars, and this is one of those.
Pick of the Tweets: "How about Paul is the lawyer who watches everything collapse when Kevin insists on a pre-nup?" (March 20, 2013), in response to a fan suggesting a reunion of The Wonder Years in which Kevin and Winnie get married.

That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!

Welcome to Digital Digest! This week, we have double reviews, with our reviews of Revenge - The Complete First Season and Once Upon a Time - The Complete First Season (Blu-ray). Also, we're going to say farewell to our Click of the Week feature this week (don't worry, we've already got a replacement ready to go next week!) by looking back at some of the best websites we've featured as Click of the Week since it began last year. Let's get going!

Today at the TCA Summer 2012 Press Tour, ABC will finish up their portion with its second day. Before we get into that, we have the ABC Fall 2012 premiere dates that were announced. But wait, there is one schedule change. New sitcom The Neighbors will premiere on Wednesday, September 26 at 9:30pm following Modern Family, but then it will be moving to its regular time period at 8:30pm starting the following week on Wednesday, October 3. This means The Neighbors and Suburgatory will be switching timeslots. More on Suburgatory in a bit, but onto the premiere dates, ABC will kick off the new season on Friday, Sept. 14 with the season premieres of Shark Tank, What Would You Do? and 20/20. This line-up will run seven weeks in a row before Friday night staple Shark Tank moves to 9pm starting Friday, Nov. 2 to anchor the night. The season premiere of the Tim Allen sitcom Last Man Standing, on its new night, and the series premiere of the new Reba McEntire sitcom Malibu Country will launch in the 8pm hour on that same night. What Would You Do? will return later in the 2012-13 season for more all-new episodes following the initial seven weeks. On Mondays, Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars will premiere on Monday, Sept. 24, the official start of the 2012-13 TV season, from 8-10pm leading into the season premiere of the veteran series Castle. The next night, Tuesday, Sept. 25 will have a special two-hour Dancing with the Stars: The Results leading into the season premiere of Private Practice at 10. The new comedy hour of Happy Endings and Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23 will have their season premieres about a month later on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 9pm. It is expected that on weeks two and three (Oct. 2 and 9), ABC will air Dancing with the Stars: The Results at 9pm after probably a recap/special at 8pm. There will be a Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday, Oct. 16, so ABC will air that live at 9pm ET/6pm PT. No word yet on how ABC will handle that night, but a Dancing recap will likely air at 8pm and Dancing with the Stars: The Results is likely going to air on a special night this week on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 8pm, but we are speculating.

Onto Wednesdays, The Middle will have a special one-hour season premiere from 8-9pm on Wednesday, Sept. 26. Modern Family will have its season premiere on the same night at 9pm leading into the series premiere of The Neighbors at a special time of 9:30pm. As we mentioned, the new family comedy would then move to 8:30pm the following week on Oct. 3 following The Middle. And on Wednesday, Oct. 3, the first Presidential Debate will air live at 9pm ET/6pm PT from Denver, so ABC will be forced to preempt Modern Family after only a week. However, on Wednesday, Oct. 10, ABC will air two all-new back-to-back episodes of Modern Family to fill that void from 9-10pm. And those two new episodes will give them a great launching pad for their new drama Nashville, which will premiere on that night, Oct. 10, at 10pm. ABC has not announced yet what will air on premiere Wednesday (Sept. 26) at 10pm, but word is ABC will be working on a Revenge special in its old timeslot to promote the move to Sundays at 9pm, which would be just a few days later. And finally for Wednesdays, we mentioned Suburgatory will be moving to a new timeslot of 9:30pm and it will premiere on Wednesday, Oct. 17 following Modern Family. On that night due to a debate the previous night (Oct. 16), as we mentioned, ABC could preempt The Middle and The Neighbors to air Dancing Results, perhaps that is why The Middle will have a one-hour premiere on Sept. 26.

Thursdays are not as tough to schedule as ABC will premiere all three of their Thursday dramas on Thursday, Sept. 27 starting with the series premiere of Last Resort, followed by the season premieres of two Shonda Rhimes series: Grey's Anatomy and Scandal. Like on Tuesday, and Wednesdays, there will be a Presidential Debate on Thursday, Oct. 11, that will preempt Grey's Anatomy and Scandal after two weeks, but Last Resort will likely still air on the night at 8pm. There is one final Presidential Debate on a Monday on Oct. 22, but we're not sure what ABC will do yet, most likely they will just air an hour of Dancing with the Stars performance instead of two-hours and Castle would be preempted. And finally on to Sundays, ABC will premiere their new drama block on Sept. 30 with the return of Once Upon a Time, new night and time for Revenge and the series premiere of new drama 666 Park Avenue. At 7pm on the night there will likely be a recap special or a repeat of last season's Once Upon a Time season finale leading into the new season premiere. Veteran series America's Funniest Home Videos would have its season premiere the following week on Sunday, Oct. 7. I think like last season, the ABC fall premiere dates are well mapped out and not jumbled into one week giving ample promo time for every series and scheduling around these four debates (not to mention Election Tuesday coming up on Nov. 6, which would likely have Dancing Results air on a Wednesday possibly for a second time). Take a look at the ABC Fall 2012 Premiere Dates in a list form.

Onto the actual ABC primetime series panels and executive session, up first after breakfast will be the cast and crew of upcoming new drama Nashville. Then it is time for the all-important executive session with Paul Lee, President, ABC Entertainment Group. That session will lead into the Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars panel, where the cast will be revealed! Check back below for the cast at approx. 1:30pm ET. Following that there will be a panel with the cast and crew of new comedy The Neighbors. Then it is off to lunch to refresh and get ready for six panels in a row. First after lunch will be upcoming supernatural drama 666 Park Avenue. Then we have a panel for the new sitcom Malibu Country, with Reba on hand. ABC will also have two panels for two new comedies launching later in the season: How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life) and Family Tools, as both are expected to launch in January. Then we have a panel for the 64th Primetime Emmy® Awards, which will air on Sept. 23 on ABC hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. And the final panel, probably saving the best for last, will be for the new drama Last Resort. What a pilot that is! After all that it is time for all-star cocktail party as we join talent, executives and showrunners from ABC and ABC Family for drinks and nosh at the Beverly Hills Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars marks the first time prior contestants will return for another chance at winning the coveted mirror ball trophy for a very special All-Star season. From former champions to fan favorites, including a celebrity voted in by fans, the stars will return and will be paired with some of the world’s most decorated professional ballroom dancers for the most unforgettable season yet. Week to week these Dancing with the Stars alumni will once again compete to impress the judges and the viewers at home in order to be crowned the mirror ball champions.

In a show first, fans will determine who the final All-Star cast member will be. The three celebrities vying to fill the 13th spot on the cast are Sabrina Bryan, Carson Kressley and Kyle Massey. Fans can vote for their favorite Viewers' Choice: All-Star at www.ABC.com/DancingwiththeStars, presented by Diet Pepsi, starting today, Friday, July 27 at 10:30 a.m., PT through Friday, August 24 at 12:00 p.m., PT, to determine which of the three celebrities will be named the final All-Star contestant. Once voting has closed, the final cast member will be announced live on Good Morning America, on Monday, August 27.

The All-Star cast and their professional partners will take to the stage for the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars, Monday, Sept. 24 from 8:00-10:00pm, followed by the premiere of Dancing with the Stars the Results Show on Tuesday, September 25 from 8:00-10:00pm on ABC.

As announced today, the 12 out of 13 All-Star celebrities returning to the dance floor this season are:

Kirstie Alley (Season 12 finalist), Pamela Anderson (Season 10 favorite), Helio Castroneves (Season 5 champion), Joey Fatone (Season 4 finalist), Shawn Johnson (Season 8 champion), Drew Lachey (Season 2 champion), Gilles Marini (Season 8 finalist), Kelly Monaco (Season 1 champion), Apolo Anton Ohno (Season 4 champion), Bristol Palin (Season 11 finalist), Melissa Rycroft )Season 8 finalist) and Emmitt Smith (Season 3 champion).

As announced, the three celebrity alumnus competing to be the "Viewer's Choice: All-Star" are: Sabrina Bryan (Season 5 favorite), Carson Kressley (Season 13 favorite) and Kyle Massey (Season 11 finalist). The three contestants competing to be the "Viewers' Choice: All-Star" will kick-off their campaign with their first television interview live in-studio on Good Morning America, Monday, July 30.

Professional dancer partner pairings will be announced live on ABC's Good Morning America, on Monday, August 13.

Stay tuned Sunday for TCA Summer 2012 Press Tour: CBS!



It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of July 30-August 3, 2012, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, July 30, 2012

• Joel McHale (Community) - Watch Joel on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Kristen Johnston (The Exes/3rd Rock From the Sun) - Kristen appears on a repeat of Anderson, so check your local listings.
• Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) - Rico is a guest on a repeat of The Nate Berkus Show, so check your local listings.
• Jerry O'Connell (Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Jerry visits Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

• Jimmie Walker (Good Times) - Catch Jimmie on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Woody chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys) - D.L. is a guest on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. He will also be on ABC's Good Afternoon America on Tuesday and Thursday at 2pm.
• Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs) - Donald visits The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Kim Coles (Living Single) - Kim drops by The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse appears on a repeat of Anderson, so check your local listings.
• Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke is a guest on a repeat of The Nate Berkus Show, so check your local listings.
• Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation/The Office) - Tune in to see Rashida on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• John Stamos (Full House) - John stops by ABC's Good Afternoon America at 2pm.
• Kristin Davis (Sex and the City) - Kristin appears on ABC's Good Afternoon America at 2pm.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

• Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) - Watch Jon on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Cybill Shepherd (Cybill) - Cybill chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Patrick Duffy (Step by Step) - Patrick stops by The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Melissa Peterman (Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Whoopi Goldberg (Whoopi/Bagdad Cafe) - Whoopi appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation/The Office) - Catch Rashida on Good Morning America between 7-9am on ABC.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

• Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation/The Office) - Catch Rashida on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) - Margaret stops by The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Caroline Rhea (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) - Caroline visits LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.

Friday, August 3, 2012

• Marissa Jaret Winokur (Retired at 35) - Watch Marissa on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Kevin Nealon (Weeds/Hiller and Diller/Champs) - Kevin appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• David Alan Grier (Life with Bonnie/DAG) - David is a guest on ABC's Good Afternoon America at 2pm.

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