SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

It's time for another edition of the fall cable schedules barrage! Today we will take a look at Spike TV! Right before the fall schedule begins they will have a week-long marathon of the classic police drama Hawaii Five-0 from Aug. 30 to Sept. 3! We knew about this already from the TCA tour, but now the full details are in. In celebration of the new Hawaii Five-0 series premiering on CBS on Sept. 20, Spike TV will dig into the archives and air the original first season of the classic TV series Hawaii Five-0 starring Jack Lord! Hawaii Five-0 aired for 12 seasons from 1968-80 on CBS, now relive the first season all over again on Spike TV! The episodes will air from 9am-6pm each weekday the week of Aug. 30. Spike TV will air episodes 3-24, as they won't air the two-hour pilot movie ("Cocoon") and the season finale ("The Big Kahuna").
Let's hope it does well on Spike TV so they can air it on their daily schedule, as it has been years since Hawaii Five-0 aired nationally on cable. Maybe sister network TV Land could run it daily? If Five-0 goes anything beyond this week, we'll certainly let you know, so stay tuned!
As for the regular Spike TV fall schedule starting Sept. 7, it is pretty much the same as it is now with an hour of Married...with Children kicking it off in the 9am hour, followed by three airings of Walker Texas Ranger from 10am-1pm. Then CSI: NY airs at 1pm leading into a block of CSI from 2pm-7pm. Other notable programming includes Entourage on Fridays from 9pm-12am, CSI Mon-Wed at 1am, Star Trek: Voyager Mon-Wed at 2am, The Shield on Thursdays at 2am, and Unsolved Mysteries returns to the schedule airing Mon-Wed at 3am. So, yes, it will be on both Lifetime and Spike TV.
Weekends will have a mix of marathons or movies, with Married...with Children remaining Sundays 9am-11am. Spike TV will make more changes in October, as Entourage will be eligible to air five days a week! The comedy will air weekdays in the 6pm hour starting Oct. 4, replacing an hour of CSI. They will also air it during the 12am hour on Monday nights and expand the Friday airings to 6pm-12am (instead of 9pm-12am). Some minor changes to late night will also happen with Star Trek: Voyager moving up to 1am and Spike's Most Amazing Videos airs at 2am.
Book 'em Danno! View the FULL Spike TV Fall 2010 schedule and highlights and stay tuned tomorrow as we give an update to the WGN America fall schedule because they have acquired another new sitcom to air in the fall!

TBS has ordered an additional 90 episodes of the hit sitcom Are We There Yet? following this summer's highly successful 10-episode run. The series, which stars Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) and Essence Atkins (Half & Half), is produced by Revolution Studios and Cube Vision and distributed by Debmar-Mercury. Revolution's Joe Roth and Vince Totino and Cube Vision's Ice Cube and Matt Alvarez serve as executive producers, along with award-winning show-runner Ali LeRoi. In addition to executive producing, Ice Cube plays a recurring guest starring role.
In Are We There Yet?, Crews and Atkins play Nick and Suzanne, a newly married couple whose blended family faces the challenges of everyday life. Teala Dunn and Coy Stewart co-star as Lindsey and Kevin, Nick and Suzanne's 14 and 10-year-old children. Keesha Sharp is Suzanne's best friend, who has a taste for men and the finer things in life. Comedian Christian Finnegan plays Nick's best friend and owner of a sports memorabilia store. Ice Cube plays a recurring guest starring role as Suzanne's brother.
Are We There Yet? premiered Wednesday, June 2 as part of TBS's enormously popular Wednesday lineup of original sitcoms that has House of Payne and Meet the Browns. The series went on to rank among ad-supported cable's Top 10 new series for the quarter, averaging 2.8 million viewers and 1.5 million adults 18-49. Are We There Yet? also scored as the #1 show on all of television in delivery of African-American adults 18-34 and 18-49 for the second quarter.

As we mentioned a few times, Nick at Nite is getting the rights to My Wife & Kids this fall and will start airing it on Monday, Aug. 30! Michael Kyle is a husband, father of three and owner of Kyle trucking. Join Nick at Nite as he brings his hilarious family-man antics to Nick at Nite and shows everyone just how he cares for his wife and kids! The series will also remain in the daytime on ABC Family, as we mentioned, and in local broadcast syndication. Back to Nick at Nite, the Bumper to Bumper summer marathons end on Friday, Aug. 27. My Wife & Kids will air Sun-Thurs in the 8pm ET/PT hour and every night in the 2am ET/PT hour. However, the 2am hour will not start until Saturday, Sept. 4, because from 9pm-6am the week of Aug. 30 to Sept. 3, it is wall-to-wall George Lopez for five nights! After you get a taste of Nick at Nite's newest addition, stick around for all night marathons of George Lopez!
As for the rest of the regular schedule, the question was if The Nanny will still remain on Nick at Nite since it started airing on sister network TV Land in August. The answer is, yes, The Nanny will be on both networks...but they will not overlap. The Nanny will remain in its 11pm hour every night on Nick at Nite, with another hour in late night at 4am. The Nanny is slated to air on TV Land in September weeknights in the 8pm hour and 1am hour (and weekends from 1:30am-3:30am), so it is not against Nick at Nite. The rest of the Nick at Nite schedule still has Everybody Hates Chris at 9 and George Lopez at 10, but Malcolm in the Middle will now be at 12am. An encore of George Lopez remains in the 1am hour leading into My Wife & Kids at 2 (1am hour on weekends will be The Nanny, though). In the 3am hour, it's another hour of Everybody Hates Chris leading into the aforementioned hour of The Nanny at 4am. This means Family Matters will now be early mornings only from 5am-7am. every morning.
It's a pretty straight forward schedule and the flow is very good, I think, with mostly every slot scheduled for 7 days a week. As you know, The Cosby Show's contract with TV Land/Nick at Nite is expiring, so it will be off the line-up. As we mentioned, WGN America will also lose the series come September, but another network has picked it up and we will announce that soon! Glenn Martin, DDS will start its second season in September as well, airing Friday nights at 10:30pm! More info on that will come soon.
For now, view the Nick at Nite Fall 2010 schedule and highlights. And stay tuned tomorrow for another all-new cable fall schedule!

June 2010 was a record-breaking month for TVLand.com as it witnessed the best month ever in the site's history! Fueled by the premiere of TV Land's new original sitcom Hot in Cleveland on June 16, TVLand.com doubled its prior month's audience and saw a 62% increase versus last year. The site offered exclusive and hilarious multi-media content featuring the sitcom's stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White as well as behind-the-scenes set tours, video interviews, character bios, cast and episode photo galleries and much more.
Additionally, June 16 also marked the site's re-launch with a new look and feel. On that day, TVLand.com experienced its most-visited day ever for the site – more than twice its prior record for unique visitors. Video content from Hot in Cleveland resulted in TVLand.com streaming almost 8 million videos in June – double-digit increases versus May 2010 and last year's consumption level. TVLand.com generated 923K (source: comScore Media Metrix) unique visitors for the month of June 2010, which was up 108% versus May 2010 and 62% versus year-ago levels making it the best month ever for the site.
In other TV Land news, they will be airing five nights of The Nanny in late night to test the waters I guess. Saturday, August 21 and Sunday, August 22, 2010 from 3:30am-6am (in addition to the regular 1:30am-3:30am airings) and Monday, August 23; Tuesday, August 24 and Wednesday, August 25, 2010 from 2am-6am (in addition to the regular 1-2am airings). The Nanny regularly airs on TV Land weeknights 8-9pm & 1-2am and weekends from 1:30am-3:30am.

Summer is in session here in the dog days of summer and it's repeats galore mainly for sitcoms. We will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did for the rest of the summer, along with a coming week preview! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 10, week of Aug. 2-8)

• The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 3.98 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating at 8pm, on par from previous week. A 7:30pm repeat led into the 8pm repeat doing 2.84 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating.
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - 3.82 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating for a repeat at 8:30, up a tick from previous week.
• Family Guy (Fox) 2 episodes - Two repeats averaged 4.41 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating...down some from previous week. Maybe the NFL pre-season game ate it a bit?
• American Dad! (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm did just 2.08 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, on par really from previous week at 7:30pm but better than Sons of Tucson at 7. The regular 9:30pm airing is not airing currently.

Summer Week 11 (Aug. 9-15)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 5.0 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating for a repeat. Up from previous week again. Now we should start seeing repeats go up each week as the fall season is on the horizon.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 5.31 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating for a repeat airing. On par really from previous week once again.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 8.69 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating for a repeat, up from previous week.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 8.49 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating for a repeat. Up a lick from previous week in 18-49 and down just a tad in viewers.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• 18 to Life (The CW) 2 episodes - The Canadian import comedy did only 630,000 and 690,000 viewers down from previous week's 990,00 and 850,000 viewers...not good, as The CW is better off airing repeats at the same numbers. And the 18-49 rating was 0.3 for the two episodes, down a tick from the premiere.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• The Middle (ABC) 2 episodes - The 8pm repeat did 4.45 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week. Then the 8:30pm repeat did 4.1 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, on par really week-to-week.
• Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat at 9pm did 3.88 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, down some from previous week. I think the iPad episode has aired like 4 times already.
• Cougar Town (ABC) - A summer repeat did 2.54 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, like the lead-in, down from previous week.

Thursday Sitcoms

• Community (NBC) - We don't have final ratings yet for Thursday, so we will use prelim numbers for these sitcoms. A repeat at 8pm did a prelim 3.03 million and a prelim 1.1 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. Keep in mind that NFL pre-season games are counted in these prelim ratings... so final numbers might say a different story.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - Getting ready for its new timeslot, a repeat at 8:30pm did a prelim 2.85 million and a prelim 1.1 18-49 rating, on par with previous week, but keep the NFL preseason games in mind from above.
• The Office (NBC) - A repeat at 9pm did the best of the block at a prelim 3.24 million and a prelim 1.4 18-49 rating, up from previous week but some of that is NFL games factored in. Wait for finals.
• Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did a prelim 2.81 million and a prelim 1.3 18-49 rating, also up week-to-week but NFL will take a chunk of these ratings out once the finals are in.

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Tonight you can encores of Fox's animated comedies from 7-10 tonight. ABC airs repeats of America's Funniest Home Videos and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Then it will be all-new episodes of ABC summer dramas, with the season finale of Scoundrels and an all-new The Gates from 9-11pm, with the latter getting really good lately. NBC will air a new Dateline followed by three-hours of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (3 hours, really?). CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7pm followed by Sunday edition of Big Brother 12 and then repeats from 9-11 including Undercover Boss at 9.

Coming Week Preview (Aug. 16-21):

For Monday, on ABC, it's an all-new night with The Bachelor Pad from 8-10pm with hosts Chris Harrison and Melissa Rycroft and Dating in the Dark at 10pm. NBC will have yet another America's Got Talent repeat from 8-10 leading into Dateline at 10. On Fox, Lie to Me is all-new on its time of 9pm right after a House repeat. CBS and The CW are in repeats with their regular line-ups, which includes sitcoms on CBS.

On Tuesday, ABC will have an all-new episode of Wipeout, leading into Shaq VS Tyson Gay and also Rachel Ray at 9pm, and special Tuesday repeat of Primetime: What Would You Do? at 10. NBC has a repeat of Minute to Win It at 8 and an all-new two-hour America's Got Talent from 9-11pm. Fox is in repeats with two Glee repeats. The CW has two more new episodes of Canadian comedy 18 to Life from 9-10. And once again CBS is in repeats with their regular Tuesday. Cable is good on Tuesdays too with the season premiere of the new multi-camera sitcom Melissa & Joey at 8 & 8:30 on ABC Family and the new spy drama Covert Affairs starring the sexy Piper Perabo on USA Network at 10pm.

On Wednesday, Fox has a two-hour MasterChef on its new night. NBC has a new showing of game show Minute to Win It at 8, then a new America's Got Talent at 9pm followed by a repeat of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. ABC has repeats of the comedies and Castle Wednesday at 10pm. CBS will have the Wednesday edition of Big Brother 12 followed by regular repeats. The CW has an all-new episode of reality series Plain Jane at 9pm. On cable, TV Land will have the season finale of Hot in Cleveland at 10pm. Watch out a storm is coming!

On Thursday, ABC will have a special Thursday repeat of Wipeout followed by an all-new episode of the really good series Rookie Blue (Grey's Academy?) at 9, and then at 10pm its the premiere of the four-part series from Nightline called Secrets of Your Mind - Why We Do What We Do. Fox will have an NFL pre-season game. CBS has the Thursday edition of Big Brother 12 at 8pm, followed by normal crime repeats. NBC is in repeats with with their comedies from 8-10 and then a repeat of Law & Order: SVU at 10 and The CW is also in repeats like usual.

On Friday, ABC has a repeat of Wife Swap at 8, followed by a repeat of ratings hit Primetime: What Would You Do? at 9pm, followed by a new 20/20 at 10. NBC has a two-hour Dateline from 9-11 followed a repeat of Who Do You Think You Are. CBS has a new Flashpoint now at 10pm following repeats of other dramas. Fox has more NFL pre-season action and The CW is in (shock) repeats.

On Saturday, its slow as usual. CBS has crime repeats from 8-10 and then 48 Hours Mystery at 10...but watch out for NFL local pre-season preemptions on all the networks. Fox will have its usual crime reality with Cops and AMW. ABC has a NASCAR race from 7-11pm. NBC has the two-hour finale of Persons Unknown from 8-10 (1 million maybe?) and then a repeat.

Welcome to another edition of Digital Digest! Our normal Digital Digest blogger (skees53) as you know is off for the summer and is missed. As always, we have the latest news, upcoming releases for Tuesday, and our DVD review this week is of a Universal Home Video's Heroes - Season 4. Are we your heroes for bringing you this review on today's Digital Digest?

DIGITAL NEWS

It was another slow week for sitcoms. CBS DVD announced Accidentally on Purpose - The DVD Edition coming out Oct. 19 at a $41.99 MSRP. View the nice packaging, and brief details on the bonus features. The series was canceled by CBS in May, so this means this is a complete series set for Jenna Elfman and company. Next, Betty White mania continues with one of her earlier TV series as Timeless Media Group is releasing Life with Elizabeth - The Best Of on DVD on Nov. 19 at only a $9.98 MSRP for 8 episodes. Then Timeless Media Group also announced Leading Ladies of Television's Golden Age with episodes of Betty White in Life with Elizabeth, Lucille Ball in The Lucy Show, Gracie Allen in The Burns and Allen Show, and Loretta Young in The Loretta Young Show with 3 episodes of each at only a $12.98 MSRP. View packaging and more information on both sets.

The other sitcom news we have is minor. The Andy Griffith Show - 50th Anniversary: The Best of Mayberry is now coming out on Oct. 19 rather than Sept. 28. Shout! Factory's Shout! Select program is releasing Father Knows Best - Season Five on Tuesday, and TVShowsonDVD.com has learned there will be episodes of Robert Young's later series Windows on Main Street as well! Universal Studios Home Video has announced Saturday Night Live - Presents A Very Gilly Christmas on DVD on Oct. 12 at a $19.98 MSRP. Pre-ordering and packaging is not available yet. The animated comedy The Boondocks - The Complete 3rd Season is coming out on Nov. 2, but Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has not officially announced it yet, so stay tuned! And Respond2 Entertainment on October 26 will release The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - 4 Decades of Tonight on a 15-disc DVD set for $119.99 MSRP.

Drama wise, CBS DVD will release CSI: NY - The Sixth Season on Oct. 26 at a $62.99 MSRP. Pre-order today.

For more information on titles that we won't cover with full or blog DVD reviews, you can head on over to the news section of TVShowsOnDVD.com for all of the latest details.


UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (August 17) will have only a few sitcom releases. ABC Studios is releasing Cougar Town - The Complete First Season, and you can read our review of this nice set here. ABC Studios is also releasing Ugly Betty - The Complete Fourth and Final Season and you can read our review of that also. And finally, Shout! Select will release on their website only Father Knows Best - Season 5. That's all for this week, but it will get verrrrrrry busy soon, so come on back!


BLOG FEATURE REVIEW

DVD Review: Heroes - Season 4
by Todd Fuller

Heroes - Season 4 (Universal, $59.98) Experience all the intrigue and suspense of Heroes - Season in this 5-disc set that includes all 18 gripping episodes from the fourth season's volume, Redemption.  As the heroes mourn fallen friends and face dangerous new foes, prepare for a wild ride - filled with shocking twists and turns - through an ominous funhouse that culminates in a Brave New World.  Then step right up and explore hours of exclusive, behind-the-curtain magic with the show's writers, stars and artists.

The packaging is very stylish and similar to the previous seasons. The holofoil outer slip cover has a photo of 11 of the characters with Hiro, Sylar, Claire and Peter in the foreground, with the rest of the cast and the carnival in the background.  An embossed Heroes title logo is at the top.  On the back of the outer slip cover, there is a short synopsis of the set and a listing of the special features.  The main digipak packaging slides out from the left of the outer slip cover.   Robert Knepper as Samuel Sullivan is on the cover.  Short episode summaries and the special features are listed for discs three-five on the back cover.  Opening the digipak, there are listings for discs one and two.  There are photos of the cast and various carnival drawings underneath the trays that hold the discs.  The discs have a dark red/brown background and the Heroes logo on them.  Each disc has 3-4 episodes.

The anamorphic widescreen menus are attractive and easy to navigate.   The main menu opens with some static images of the cast with the carnival in the background.  This leads to a montage of video clips from the series and more still images that loops after abound a minute.   Some great instrumental music by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman plays in the background.  There are options for Play All, Bonus, Chapter Index, Set Up and Previews (only on Disc 1) at the bottom of the screen inside the Sullivan Bros. Carnival logo.  The Chapter Index menu features still images from the episodes where you can play the episode by itself, with commentary or view the deleted/extended scenes.  A carnival background with a ferris wheel is used on the Setup menu.  You can turn on the English SDH, Español or Français subtitles here.  Various cast members are featured on the Bonus Materials menu, with more music played in the background.  The Deleted/Extended Scenes menu also features various cast members.  Chapter stops are available within the episodes, but there are no scene selection menus are offered.  When you first insert disc 1, there is a series of previews (6:33) for some other Universal TV Shows on DVD such as Battlestar Galctica, Columbo and House which you can play or skip.

Moving on to the video and audio, the quality is excellent. The episodes are presented in their original 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors are vibrant and clean. The picture is very sharp and detailed. Some of the night time scenes can look a little grainy, but that can be expected. Overall, the lighting is excellent and the outdoor scenes are beautifully shot. All of the episodes appear to be unedited, with running times of 41-43 minutes in length. The season premiere ran 86 minutes.  They have the "Previously On" Heroes openings as originally broadcast. The overall running time of the set is approximately 13 hours, 32 minutes. The audio is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track and sounds great. I didn't notice any major problems on the episodes I've watched so far. The dialogue is at a good volume and easy to understand. I love the music score by Wendy Melvoin & Lisa Coleman and other sound effects that are used in the episodes. Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish. The bonus features are not rated and not all are subtitled.  Here are the runtimes:

Disc 1:
Orientation (1:26:02)
Ink (43:13)
Acceptance (42:32)

Disc 2:
Hysterical Blindness (43:13)
Tabula Rasa (43:03)
Strange Attractions (43:13)
Once Upon a Time in Texas (43:09)

Disc 3:
Shadowboxing (42:35)
Brother's Keeper (42:02)
Thanksgiving (43:13)
The Fifth Stage (42:56)

Disc 4:
Upon This Rock (42:18)
Lit It Bleed (41:32)
Close to You (41:34)
Pass/Fail (42:28)

Disc 5:
The Art of Deception (42:59)
The Wall (43:16)
Brave New World (42:47)

Unfortunately, the special features aren't as plentiful or detailed as the previous seasons. The fact that the show was canceled in May is probably the main reason for the lack of them. The special features they do have are pretty good. There are deleted/extended scenes for 12 episodes that cover 28 scenes. Only 4 audio commentaries by the cast and crew are included - compared to 25 from season three. Other special features include interviews with Tim Kring, Adam Armus, Zachary Quinto and Milo Vetimiglia. There is a design gallery for Sullivan Brothers. A featurette on the online world of Heroes is pretty interesting. Genetics of a Scene are included like the previous seasons. These give a great behind-the-scenes look at how various scenes are produced. Here is the breakdown by disc:

Disc 1:
Deleted/Extended Scenes
Orientation - Deleted Scene (:21) - Dr. Tells Peter HRG Is Alive
Ink - Extended Scenes (8:06) - Samuel Tells Lydia He's Going to the City, Emma Talks to Her Dr., Matt Finds Dead Girl, Peter Discovers Tattoo
Acceptance - Deleted/Extended Scenes (9:31) - Governor Malden Wants Tracy Back, Tracy Brings HRG Home, Sandra and Tracy Meet, HRG Awakens, Tracy Finds HRG, Tracy Packs

Deconstructing Sylar (20:43) - This is a discussion with Creator/Executive Producer Tim Kring, Executive Producer Adam Armus and Zachary Quinto (Sylar).   They talk about the development of the character, how the character was originally shown onscreen, how the character changed over the seasons, the character's backstory, what Zachary Quinto brought to the character, how he was cast and how his life has changed from the experience.  Various clips from the episodes are shown.

Disc 2:
Deleted/Extended Scenes
Hysterical Blindess - Deleted Scene (:19) - Madeline's Late
Tabula Rasa - Deleted/Extended Scenes (7:11) - Peter Takes Hiro's Power, Hiro Struggles, Samuel Introduces Syler to the Family, Hiro Meets Up with Emma, Samuel Presents Sylar as Member of the Family
Once Upon a Time in Texas - Extended Scenes (3:58) - HRG and Lauren Have Breakfast, Claire Encourages HRG

Milo Speaks (5:29) - Milo Ventimiglia talks about his career as an actor and his role on Heroes.  He discusses how he grew up a fan of Star Wars, shooting his final scene with Adrian Pasdar, working with Cristine Rose, and his plans for the future.  Various clips from the episodes and behind-the-scenes footage are shown
Sullivan Brothers Design Gallery (2:31) - Various clips are shown from the episodes, with some of the sketches of the various logos and locations for the carnival.  Some instrumental music is played in the background.

Once Upon a Time in Texas Commentary with Executive Producer Tim Kring, Episode Director Nate Goodman and Director of Photography Charlie Lieberman

Disc 3:
Deleted/Extended Scenes
Shadowboxing - Deleted Scene (1:57) - Emma Saves Megan
Brothers's Keeper - Extended Scene (2:00) - Nathan's Worried
Thanksgiving -  Extended Scene (3:12) - Claire Wants to Drop Out

Heroes Revolution (10:45) - Tim Kring and Heroes New Media Creatives discuss the importance of a web series for a hit television show and how New Media entertainment is created.  This featurette includes interviews with Vivi Zigler (President, NBC Universal Digital Entertainmnet), Carri Wagner (Producer of New Media, Heroes), Howie Kaplan (Writer), Foz McDermott (Writer), Zach Craley (Writer), Jason Badower (Graphic Novel Artist) and James Martin (Writer).  They talk about the NBC.com, the graphic novels, the web series, the online survival game, interactive stories, flash games, Twitter and the Heroes Wiki page.

Shadowboxing Commentary with Executive Producers Adam Armus & Kay Foster and Series Star Greg Grunberg

The Fifth Stage Commentary with Executive Producer/Episode Writer Tim Kring and Series Star Adrian Pasdar

Disc 4:
Deleted/Extended Scenes
Let it Bleed - Extended Scene (:45) - Claire Looks for Peter
Close to You - Extended Scene (1:16) - Lydia Walks Through the Carnival
Pass/Fail - Deleted/Extended Scenes (6:49) - Samuel Convinces Vanessa to Stay, Samuel and Vanessa Reminisce, Sylar Revealed, Ando Watches

Disc 5:
Genetics of a Scene - The cast and crew of Heroes provide an in-depth look at the production process of creating specific scenes.
HRG Stuck in Car (6:05)
Samuel Draws, Doyle Drops In, Sylar Too (5:53)
Boys Bust Out, Suresh Sends Orderly Flying (5:48)
Wall Explodes (6:46)
Samuel Buries the Trailer/Last Day of Production (7:34)
Mayhem at the Carnival/Squib School (5:29)
Claire Climbs and Jumps (5:16)

Tim Kring Introduction for Brave New World (4:09) - This interview with Creator/Executive Producer Tim Kring is from May 21.   NBC had announced they were not picking up the series for a fifth season.  He thanks the fans, talks about the run of the show and the future of the characters.

Brave New World Commentary with Executive Producer Tim Kring and Series Star Robert Knepper

That's a wrap for Heroes.  All 4 seasons and 77 episodes are now available on DVD.  This was a pretty enjoyable show.  Season 1 was exciting and the best of the series.  Seasons 2-3 were not quite as strong, but I think the fourth season was the second best and they redeemed themselves.  They were just never able to catch the magic of the first season.   The show had a very good cast, innovative visual effects, impressive stunts and excellent music.    Ratings were never great after the first couple of seasons, but the show always seemed to have a big fan base online and through DVD/online sales.

Overall, this is a pretty decent set.  I like the carnival theme they used on the packaging and on the menus.  The special features aren't as impressive as the previous releases.  They really cut down on the number of audio commentaries included.  If they had a true series finale, I think this set would have gone out with more of a bang.   It remains to be seen if they will get a miniseries or TV movie in the future to wrap up some storylines.

-- Reviewed by Todd

(4/5 stars)
To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002N5N5MK/ref=nosim/happydaysonline5-20

Also available on Blu-ray

Related links:

SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Heroes Official Site
Heroes TV.com Page
Heroes Internet Movie Database Page
Heroes Wikipedia Page

LOOKING AHEAD

Come on back right here next week for more news and reviews. Next week we will have another good blog review for you. And don't forget to read our full DVD reviews, as many sitcoms will be coming fast very soon as we near September. So please stay with us! Be our hero and keep it digital!

Last week we told you about Centric doing a 24-hour marathon for The Jamie Foxx Show on Saturday, Aug. 7, and they have quietly added it to their regular schedule this past week. The sitcom airs weekdays in the 2pm and 6pm hours. We also announced last week that Smart Guy will get a marathon this weekend (Aug. 14-15), that is still happening, but only on Saturday now and the hours are expanded to 12pm-12am! On Sunday, Centric will air a marathon of The Jamie Foxx Show from 12pm-12am.
Also, starting Monday (Aug. 16), Centric will make some additional changes to the weekday line-up. Miami Vice and The A-Team's morning airings will move from 6-8am to 11am-1pm, switching spots with Soul Sessions and Soul Train. In the 1pm hour, The Steve Harvey Show will remain in the 1pm hour, leading into an hour of The Jamie Foxx Show at 2pm. At 3pm, the Centric Flick will continue to air, but now in the 5pm hour another hour of The Steve Harvey Show is added, replacing an airing of Soul Train. And the 6pm hour will remain The Jamie Foxx Show. Everything else remains the same, such as The A-Team at 9pm, 12am & 4am, American Gangster at 10pm, Miami Vice at 11pm, Soul Train at 1am, and the Centric Flick at 2am. The weekend of Aug. 21-22 will see marathons of Soul Train (Sat from 10am-10pm) and Fame (Sun from 9am-8pm).

And stay with us very soon for Centric's Fall 2010 schedule. Hopefully they add another sitcom or two? We shall see. We'll also have sister network BET's Fall 2010 schedule soon. Stay tuned and don't touch that dial!

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 (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of August 16-20, 2010, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, August 16, 2010

It was just this past Monday we gave you Lifetime's Fall 2010 schedule, but now they have added two more series to the schedule. These two series will actually start Monday, Aug. 30 instead of Sept. 13. The big news is that Lifetime is bringing back Unsolved Mysteries and will air it weekdays (except Thursdays) at 3pm and 4pm starting Aug. 30. The 2008 episodes with Dennis Farina are listed to air. The series last aired on Lifetime in 2007, but these 2008 episodes have never aired on Lifetime. The series moved to Spike TV in Fall 2008 in a 5-year deal and Spike TV it seems will still continue to air the series in late nights. Maybe now a shared deal it seems. We will have more on Spike TV's Fall schedule in the coming days, so stay tuned. And we will try to get more information on this Unsolved Mysteries situation on Lifetime, so stay with us. Also coming to Lifetime will be sister network A&E's original series Airline, which aired from 2004-05. The series had about 70 episodes and Lifetime will air it weekdays at 11am & 11:30am starting Aug. 30. Leading into Airline will be Wife Swap at 10am, replacing Desperate Housewives (which will be now just at noon). So for this week (Aug. 30) and week of Sept. 6, these are the only changes and everything else will remain the same as it is currently.
And it looks like these two series will be placed on the Fall 2010 schedule starting Sept. 13 as well! So some of the schedule we announced for the daytime will be altered. The 8am-5pm schedule for the Fall will be the same as it will be starting Aug. 30. This means Will & Grace from 8-10am is no longer happening and will remain just in the 8am hour leading into Frasier at 9am. Frasier's planned 10am hour will remain Wife Swap leading into an hour of Airline still, while Desperate Housewives' planned 11am hour is now 12pm. Grey's Anatomy was planned for 12pm & 1pm but will remain now 1pm & 2pm leading into Unsolved Mysteries at 3pm & 4pm. Reba was scheduled for 4-6pm, but now Reba will only get the 5pm hour. Everything else from 6pm on will remain the same as we announced on Monday.
View the UPDATED Lifetime Fall 2010 schedule and stay with us for more fall 2010 schedules as we still have plenty to come such as Nick at Nite, Hallmark, Spike TV, AmericanLife, FamilyNet, GMC, BET, Centric, and more!

TV Land announced it has picked up six episodes of the new original reality series Forever Young from Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg's Katalyst (Punk'd, True Beauty), and 3 Ball Productions headed by Executive Producers JD Roth and Todd A. Nelson (The Biggest Loser, Opportunity Knocks, MasterChef).
The producers have previously teamed on their long-running hit Beauty and the Geek, and they are known for creating series that challenge society's preconceptions about beauty, image and what people ultimately can achieve. Now, the six-episode reality competition Forever Young takes on ageism as it explores the generations' ideas and misconceptions about each other.
Part reality show, part social experiment, Forever Young bridges the generation gap as "Juniors" and "Seniors" work together to experience each other's point of view and find out just how much they do - or don't - have in common. When separated by five decades, six wars and 10 presidents, Forever Young explores how revealing and how funny it can be when youth and wisdom join forces, whether in appreciation of the past, understanding the present or preparing for the future.

TV Land has not yet announced when Forever Young will premiere, so stay with us for further information on when it premieres!

The cable network ReelzChannel TV is a cable and satellite network delivering daily original programming that is all about movies and entertainment, including the celebrities, fashion, music and stories behind the stories. They launched in September 2006 and is currently reaching more than 50 million homes nationwide. Anyway, they have acquired a few TV series and have begun airing them on the network. They have acquired the sitcom NewsRadio and are airing it seven days a week at 7:00pm & 7:30pm ET. The sitcom has been airing on the network since July 19. We are sorry for the delay in letting you know. They are airing two different cycles, one cycle at 7pm and another at 7:30pm. NewsRadio was last seen on and off on WGN America and also TV Guide Network had rights. It was also on Nick at Nite, TBS and A&E some years back.
ReelzChannel has also acquired the comedic legal series Ally McBeal! The Calista Flockhart series started on Reelz on August 2 and is airing five days a week on weekdays at 3pm and 4pm ET. Like with NewsRadio, there are two different cycles, one cycle at 3pm and another at 4pm. Ally McBeal has not been seen on cable since it left FX. It aired on FX from about 2001-2004, but it never garnered good ratings for them.
Reelz also airs Carson's Comedy Classics weekdays at 10am & 10:30am. That's highlights from the first 20 years of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The rest of the ReelzChannel schedule has original series and movies air every night at 8pm & 11pm (and on weekends at 2pm & 5pm).
ReelzChannel TV is carried via satellite on DIRECTV (Channel 238) and DISH Network (Channel 299). Local cable channel information is available on the website's home page through a zip code look-up.
This is ReelzChannel's new fall schedule with the addition of Ally McBeal and NewsRadio. They will be adding 3rd Rock from the Sun in October. 3rd Rock from the Sun was last seen on TV Land. Timeslots for the series has not been revealed yet. We'll let you know as soon as we know! And come on back here tomorrow for an all-new fall 2010 schedule!

CMT has ordered 12 episodes of its first scripted comedy, Working Class, a half-hour, family-oriented sitcom starring Melissa Peterman. Set to premiere on CMT in January 2011, Working Class follows the life of a single blue collar mom, who has recently moved her family to a rich suburban neighborhood to try and provide a better life for her kids, while proudly retaining her 'working class' roots.
Peterman has been a staple of CMT recently, hosting CMT's #1-rated series of 2009, The Singing Bee, and she recently starred in her first televised special Melissa Peterman: Am I The Only One for CMT. She has also starred in sitcoms such as Reba as well guest appearances on Surviving Suburbia, Rita Rocks, Just Shoot Me! and Living with Abandon. She has hosted CMT's Comedy Stage, as well as the annual Hollywood Bowl's The Sound of Music Sing-A-Long. Peterman was recently signed to Big Machine Records to release her first comedy album and is currently on tour with Reba, George Strait and Lee Ann Womack.
Working Class is written and executive produced by Jill Cargerman (Spin City/Gary Unmarried) and will be produced internally. Brad Johnson and Bob Kusbit will oversee the series for CMT.

Today on the fall schedules barrage we take a look at TV One Fall 2010! TV One's fall schedule will kick in partially in September and partially in October, but they won't be adding any new sitcoms to the fall lineup. They are adding a new season of bio series Unsung on Mondays at 10pm starting September 13. Coming in October will be new reality show K-Ci and JoJo...Come Clean, in which the brothers from Jodeci go through alcohol abuse treatment and try to pull their lives and careers back together. We don't have the October schedule yet, so we can't tell you the premiere date and time. TV One will add new first-run court show Judge Karen's Court in October. The series premieres in national syndication on Sept. 20 (and I am guessing it will launch on TV One on Oct. 4).
Moving on to the actual daily schedule, there will be time shifting but nothing will be the leaving the line-up totally except for Cedric the Entertainer Presents, Eve and the short-lived comedy Where I Live. There will be a few series returning as well (The Hughleys, Half & Half, Lincoln Heights, and Between Brothers). The new fall schedule starts Monday, Sept. 20, with the morning line-up hours of Divorce Court, The Jeffersons and Amen remaining intact from 6am-9am. In the 9am hour, The Hughleys returns to the schedule replacing an hour of Good Times. Various originals encores remains from 10am-2pm. The afternoon sitcom block starts at 2pm, with an hour of The Jeffersons taking over for The PJ's. At 3pm, Sanford & Son will get a new timeslot replacing Where I Live. At 3:30pm, short-lived Between Brothers returns, replacing Cedric the Entertainer Presents. The 4pm hour will still have Divorce Court, but as we mentioned Judge Karen's Court will be coming in October, so we don't know yet what time that will air. In the 5pm hour, Half & Half returns replacing an hour of Sanford & Son. In the 6pm hour, an hour of the short-lived Good News replaces an hour of Good Times. Could this be temporary until Judge Karen's Court comes? Good News had been airing Sundays at 7:30am. Anyway at 7pm (and an encore at 2am), Lincoln Heights returns and will replace an episode each of Living Single & Eve. In primetime, Martin remains at 8pm & 11pm, but the 8:30 & 11:30pm airings will now be Good Times. At 9pm & 12am, A Different World moves into the half-hour replacing Tracy Morgan Show, with Living Single at 9:30pm & 12:30am replacing All of Us. At 10pm & 1am, All of Us moves into to its new time replacing A Different World, with Tracy Morgan Show moving to 10:30pm & 1:30am replacing A Different World.
Moving on to weekends, the Saturday morning sitcom block from 6am-12pm will have some time shifting and Martin & The PJ's added to the block and Sanford & Son and The Jeffersons off the block. Like Family remains in the 6am hour, with All Of Us now in the 7am hour instead of The Jeffersons. In the 8am hour, we now have The PJs instead All of Us. In the 9am hour, Martin joins the Saturday block replacing Good Times, as Good Times moves into the 10am hour replacing That's My Mama, which shifts to the 11am hour replacing Sanford & Son. The rest of the day of course will be movies, marathons or originals. The same goes true for Sundays.
Marathons wise, we have a season two marathon of Lincoln Heights on Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 6) from 10am-8pm. On Sunday, Sept. 12, there will be a 24-hour marathon of original biography series Unsung starting at 12 noon lasting to noon on Monday, as the season premiere is Monday, Sept. 13 at 10. On Saturday, Sept. 25 from 1pm-8pm, it is the best of Aunt Esther on Sanford & Son with Esther themed episodes. The marathon repeats from 11pm-6am. And on Sunday, Sept. 26 from 4pm-8pm it is a marathon of the short-lived comedy South Central with the first eight episodes airing an select episodes encoring from 3am-5:30am.

View the full TV One Fall 2010 schedule and stay tuned in the coming weeks for October, which we will label part two of the TV One Fall schedule. So stay with us for that and of course stay tuned tomorrow for another all-new edition of the cable fall schedules barrage!

Luken Communications has announced that it will launch the latest competitor in the market for kids and baby boomers. The new network's name, which is being kept top secret for now, will feature a mix of animated and live action shows from the Classic Media Library and other Libraries including: Richie Rich, Casper, The Lone Ranger, Mr. Magoo, Secrets of Isis, Zorro, Shazam!, and Lassie. According to Neal Ardman, "This may be the single most exciting network launch I have ever been lucky enough to be a part of. This network will appeal to not only kids but their parents as well. We are thrilled to be able to mix the animated and live action shows together and some great shorts like Dick Tracy and Fraidy Cat.
Although Luken isn't saying when just yet, the network has already begun signing deals to join line-ups later this year. Of course Luken Communications operates RTV (Retro Television Network), TUFF TV and maintains a full uplink facility to serve other client networks in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We will have more on this "new network" and hopefully RTV as well. So stay with us!

It's time to announce another Fall 2010 cable schedule! Today we are bringing you Lifetime Fall 2010! The fall schedule starts on Monday, Sept. 13, 2010 with the additions of The New Adventures of Old Christine and How I Met Your Mother. The latter has been airing twice a week (currently Fridays 11pm-12am) for awhile now, but now it is time for 5 days a week. Both of these shows are also coming to WGN America, as we reported. In addition, you can catch both shows on a local station in your market, so you'll be seeing a lot of these two sitcoms come this fall. Anyway on Lifetime, The New Adventures of Old Christine will air weeknights from 6-8pm ET and Sunday mornings from 10am-11am. The New Adventures of Old Christine will also air Monday nights at 8pm. Why? Because Lifetime cannot air How I Met Your Mother at that time since CBS airs originals there. How I Met Your Mother will air weeknights 8-9pm and 11pm-12:30am, along with weekend late nights from 1-2am. The 11pm-12am airings will go head to head vs. WGN America. Project Runway encores air from 3pm-9pm on Thursdays leading into an all-new episode from 9pm-10:30pm followed by the original half-hour series On The Road with Austin & Santino at 10:30pm. Encores of that will air on Thursdays from 11pm-12:30am, so no Old Christine and How I Met Your Mother at all on Thursdays.
What about the rest of the daily schedule? Will & Grace will now be just weekday mornings, airing from 8-10am leading into an hour of Frasier now from 10am-11am. Desperate Housewives goes from three airings to just one airing now at 11am. Grey's Anatomy gets one airing cut and moves earlier to 12-2pm and the same goes true for Wife Swap airing 2-4pm. Reba's two-hour block moves from 7-9pm to 4-6pm leading into the new sitcoms. We discussed 6pm-12:30am already, so we move on to late night now. Frasier airs back-to-back from 12:30-1:30am leading into Medium at 1:30am, which gets an hour cut.
Movies air almost all day on weekends and in primetime from 9-11pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Kirstie Alley's Big Life airs Tuesdays from 9-11pm and the aforementioned Project Runway/On The Road with Austin & Santino airs on Thursdays. Encores of that duo also air on Saturday nights from 11pm-1am. Both series will have their season finales on Thursday, October 28 from 9p-11p.
View the FULL Lifetime Fall 2010 schedule and stay tuned tomorrow for another all-new fall 2010 schedule right here on SitcomsOnline News!

As we mentioned on Saturday, upcoming new cable network The Hub, will be adding two family sitcoms to its launch lineup! They are The Wonder Years and Doogie Howser, M.D. The network will launch on Sundaym October 10 (10-10-10) and will cater to children and their families. Among the library titles that will join Doogie Howser, M.D. and The Wonder Years are Transformers - Generation 1, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Fraggle Rock, Strawberry Shortcake, among other lesser known animated programs. TVTango found out on Saturday at the TCA Summer 2010 press tour, that they are working on acquiring another sitcom but they are not ready to announce yet. I wonder what that could be? Hopefully it is something not on cable TV like how they got Doogie Howser and Wonder Years. Maybe Step by Step, Family Ties or Growing Pains? I doubt we get anything older than that. Chances for Mr. Belvedere and Small Wonder are slim, I'd say. Maybe something fun for the family like Perfect Strangers? My bets are on Growing Pains or Step By Step, though.
The Hub will have original series as well. They will have many in fact. I have never seen so many original series for a new network. The originals are Dan Vs., Clue, Family Game Night, G.I. Joe Renegades, My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, Pictureka!, Pound Puppies, R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour, The Adventures of Chuck and Friends and Transformers Prime. All of those are animated except for game shows Clue, Family Game Night, Pictureka!, and drama R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour. Talent wise, we have Meredith Baxter & Michael Gross of Family Ties reuniting on the animated Dan Vs.; Lee Majors & Clancy Brown in G.I. Joe Renegades; Betty White, Eric McCormack, Michael Rapaport, Rene Auberjonois & Yvette Nicole Brown in Pound Puppies; and Markie Post & Gina Torres in Transformers Prime.
The network's planned programming blocks: Pre-school (ages 2-5; 9am-1pm); Kids Afternoon/Kids Prime (ages 6-12; 1pm-6pm); Kids and Family Prime Access (6pm- 7pm); and Kids and Family Prime (7pm-11pm). We do not have the launch line-up yet, but as soon as we get it, we will do a story and tell you. So stay tuned!
The Hub will be replacing the current Discovery Kids Network, so if you have that network, you'll have The Hub come Oct. 10!

Before we get into our normal look at the sitcom ratings for the week, we want to recap the second day of the TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour for cable. We covered day one (Friday) yesterday, so we promised we would cover Saturday's today. Up first yesterday was Fuse, which previewed what they had coming in the fall. Then it was Starz! They had panels for three dramas: Camelot starring Joseph Fiennes (premieres in Spring 2011), Torchwood (season premiere next summer), and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (prequel, launches in January). Then it was BBC America's turn and they also had panels for dramas for Luther starring Idris Elba (premieres in October) and Outcasts starring Eric Mabius (premieres in December). Then it was off to lunch with National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD.
Then HBO was up. Among the panels were for new drama Boardwalk Empire from Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, which premieres Sept. 19 and new comedy special Tracy Morgan: Black and Blue, which will air in November. The future of current HBO series were revealed. Entourage's eighth season will be its last and the series creator creator Doug Ellin is working on how to end the show while also wanting to do a big screen movie. Curb Your Enthusiasm season eight is currently in production in New York for an air date sometime in 2011.
Then finally it was the wrap party sponsored by BBC America, where the press joins executives and talent for cocktails, British beer and BBQ dinner.
And that's a wrap for the TCA summer tour this year. Stay tuned in January for the winter press tour!


Summer is in session here in the dog days of summer and it's repeats galore mainly for sitcoms. We will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did for the rest of the summer, along with a coming week preview! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 9, week of July 26-August 1)

• Sons of Tucson (Fox) - A new episode at 7pm did only 1.68 million and only a 0.6 18-49 rating which is on par from previous week...but low as hell.
• The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 3.95 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating at 8pm, on par from previous week.
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - 3.71 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating for a repeat at 8:30, down a tick from previous week.
• Family Guy (Fox) 2 episodes - Two repeats did 4.56 million and 4.77 million and a 2.2 and 2.2 18-49 rating...both down from previous week but still impressive 18-49 for summer repeats. Previous week 9:30 had a 2.6.
• American Dad! (Fox) - A repeat at 7:30pm did just 2.03 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, on par really from previous week. The regular 9:30pm airing is not airing currently.

Summer Week 10 (Aug. 2-8)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 4.82 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating for a repeat. On par really from previous week again.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 5.3 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating for a repeat airing. Built from the lead-in again and also on par really from previous week once again.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 8.21 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating for a repeat, on par with previous week.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 8.52 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating for a repeat. Built from the lead-in in both measures and up a lick from previous week in 18-49.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• 18 to Life (The CW) 2 episodes - The Canadian import comedy premiered to not so good numbers but it is better than drama repeats. 990,00 and 850,000 viewers watched the two airings and the 18-49 rating was 0.4 and 0.3. Can it sustain these or go down to normal CW repeat airings for dramas? We shall see.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• The Middle (ABC) 2 episodes - We do NOT have Wednesday and Thursday final numbers yet, so we will use prelim numbers. The 8pm repeat did a prelim 4.26 million and a prelim 1.0 18-49 rating. Then the 8:30pm repeat did a prelim 4.14 million and a prelim 1.1 18-49 rating.
• Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat at 9pm did a prelim 4.2 million and a prelim 1.4 18-49 rating.
• Cougar Town (ABC) - A summer repeat did a prelim 3.09 million and a prelim 1.1 18-49 rating.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• Community (NBC) - We don't have final ratings yet for Thursday, so we will use prelim numbers for these sitcoms. A repeat at 8pm did a prelim 2.7 million and a prelim 1.1 18-49 rating.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - Getting ready for its new timeslot, a repeat at 8:30pm did a prelim 241 million and a prelim 1.0 18-49 rating.
• The Office (NBC) - A repeat at 9pm did the best of the block but only at a prelim 2.85 million and a prelim 1.2 18-49 rating.
• Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did a prelim 2.41 million and a prelim 1.0 18-49 rating.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Tonight you can encores of Fox's animated comedies from 7-10 tonight. ABC airs repeats of America's Funniest Home Videos and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Then it will be all-new episodes of ABC summer dramas Scoundrels and The Gates from 9-11pm, with the latter getting really good lately. NBC will preempt their normal Sunday airings for an NFL pre-season game (wow, already?). CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7pm followed by Sunday edition of Big Brother 12 and then repeats from 9-11 including Undercover Boss at 9.

Coming Week Preview (Aug. 9-14):

For Monday, on ABC, it's an all-new night with the premiere of The Bachelor Pad from 8-10pm with hosts Chris Harrison and Melissa Rycroft and the season premiere of Dating in the Dark at 10pm. NBC will have yet another America's Got Talent repeat at 8pm, leading into the two-hour finale of Last Comic Standing from 9-11. On Fox, they will preempt Lie to Me for the 2010 Teen Choice Awards. CBS and The CW are in repeats with their regular line-ups, which includes sitcoms on CBS.

On Tuesday, ABC will have an all-new episode of Wipeout, leading into Shaq VS Sugar Shane Mosely and Penn & Teller at 9pm, and special Tuesday repeat of Primetime: What Would You Do? at 10. NBC has a repeat of Minute to Win It replacing the just pulled Breakthrough with Tony Robbins at 8 and an all-new two-hour America's Got Talent from 9-11pm. Fox has the season finale of Hell's Kitchen at 8 leading into an all-new episode of MasterChef at 9. The CW has two more new episodes of Canadian comedy 18 to Life from 9-10. And once again CBS is in repeats. Cable is good on Tuesdays too with the summer finale of the addicting Pretty Little Liars at 8 on ABC Family and the new spy drama Covert Affairs starring the sexy Piper Perabo on USA Network at 10pm.

On Wednesday, Fox has part one of the two-night, two-hour season finale of under-performing So You Think You Can Dance from 8-10. NBC has a new showing of game show Minute to Win It at 8, then a new America's Got Talent at 9pm followed by a repeat of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. ABC has repeats of the comedies and Castle Wednesday at 10pm. CBS will have the Wednesday edition of Big Brother 12 followed by regular repeats. The CW has an all-new episode of reality series Plain Jane at 9pm. On cable, TV Land will have a new episode of Hot in Cleveland at 10pm.

On Thursday, ABC will have a special Thursday repeat of Wipeout followed by an all-new episode of Rookie Blue at 9, and then at 10pm its docudrama Boston Med. Fox will have the second half of the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance from 8-10. CBS has the Thursday edition of Big Brother 12 at 8pm, followed by normal crime repeats. NBC is in repeats with with their comedies from 8-10 and then a repeat of Law & Order: SVU at 10 and The CW is also in repeats like usual.

On Friday, ABC has new Wife Swap at 8, followed by a repeat of ratings hit Primetime: What Would You Do? at 9pm, followed by a new 20/20 at 10. NBC has a two-hour Dateline from 9-11. CBS has a new Flashpoint now at 10pm following repeats of other dramas. Fox has the movie A Night at the Museum and The CW is in repeats.

On Saturday, its slow as usual. CBS has crime repeats at 8 and then two airings of 48 Hours Mystery from 9-11pm. Fox will have its usual crime reality with Cops and AMW. ABC has the movie Meet the Fockers & Rookie Blue repeat from 8-11pm. NBC has Gymnastics Visa Championship from 8-10 then a repeat.

Before we get into our weekly digital digest, we want to give you an update from the last two days of the TCA Summer 2010 press tour. Cable networks were up yesterday and today, to close out the tour. We will give you the notable news here. On Friday, the cable portion kicked off with breakfast with The Hub - the new network for kids and their families, launching October 10, 2010 (10-10-10), to 60 million U.S. households, replacing the current Discovery Kids network. The Hub announced acquisitions of popular series with appeal to the network's target audience of children and their families. Among the titles that will join the lineup: comedies Doogie Howser, M.D. and The Wonder Years, and iconic animated series classics Transformers - Generation 1 and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. The Hub will plan their schedule in blocks: Pre-school (ages 2-5; 9am -- 1pm); Kids Afternoon/Kids Prime (ages 6-12; 1pm -6pm); Kids and Family Prime Access (6pm -- 7pm); and Kids and Family Prime (7pm -- 11pm). We will have more on The Hub on Monday, so stay with us!
After The Hub, it was more Discovery Networks with Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Planet Green, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery and TLC. During mid-day, Rainbow Media Networks were up at the panel. WE tv, AMC and IFC. Among the highlights were The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, a new comedy series launching on IFC on Oct. 1 starring David Cross (Arrested Development). The comedy follows the awkward misadventures of an American office temp and convenient liar named Todd Margaret (David Cross). Margaret bluffs his way into a senior sales position heading up the London office for the new energy drink Thunder Muscle. Cross' out-of-control farce reaches epic proportions when his character's gaffes and misfortunes wreak havoc on the city of London. His antics are often fueled by Dave, played by Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners), his mysteriously devious and sometimes useless assistant. Complicating matters is Todd's misplaced attempts to win the affection of Alice, played by Sharon Horgan (Pulling), his uninterested UK love interest. Also at IFC, reruns of short-lived Undeclared launches on Friday, November 5.
After lunch, it was on to Ovation Network and then MTV Networks. For MTVN, on hand were TV Land, Nickelodeon, and MTV. TV Land presented Harry Loves Lisa -- a six-episode docu-soap featuring pop culture sensation Lisa Rinna and her heartthrob husband Harry Hamlin launching Oct. 6. Executive produced by Jason Carbone under his Good Clean Fun banner, it centers on the relationship between Rinna and Hamlin as they navigate together through the highs and lows as a devoted family living a hectic Hollywood lifestyle. Audiences will watch as the two balance their differences in the midst of insane professional lives as working actors and entrepreneurs who are parenting two pre-teen daughters. One of Hollywood's most enduring‪ couples, the Hamlins' contradictory personalities make for amazing chemistry both on-screen and off. TV Land also presented a panel for She's Got the Look, which launches its new season on Aug. 25. Nickelodeon presented about a new movie, Fred: The Movie. Fred (aka "Fred Figglehorn"), one of the most popular internet characters of all time, will land on Nickelodeon in his first-ever feature film. Similar to real-life teenager Lucas Cruikshank's fast-talking, hyperactive YouTube videos that have received upwards of 500 million views, the film will center on Fred's latest adventure in trying to win over his unrequited love, Judy. The movie airs next month. MTV presented on new original drama Teen Wolf coming in 2011. Filled with suspense, horror and the struggle to discover one's true identity, MTV puts a modern spin on one of the most popular classic films of the eighties, MGM's Teen Wolf. They will also debut another drama in 2011 called Skins. Created by Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain, a father and son team at Stormdog Films, the ground-breaking series Skins features an ensemble cast as it navigates complex relationships, the politics of friendship and difficulties of daily life in its formative years.
In the late afternoon A&E Networks were up -- History & A&E. Among the notables were Teach: Tony Danza on A&E airing Fridays at 10 starting Oct. 1. The seven-episode one-hour series chronicles the experience of the veteran film, television and stage star as he steps into the toughest role yet, as a first-year teacher at Philadelphia's largest urban high school. Long before his iconic acting career, which includes roles in ABC sitcoms Taxi and Who's The Boss, Tony Danza received a degree in History Education. During the 2009-2010 school year, he took on his most challenging and rewarding role yet as he stepped into the classroom as a full-time teacher at Philadelphia's Northeast High School. Teach: Tony Danza follows the first year-teacher as he instructs a 10th-grade English class with 26 students in back-to-back 45-minute periods.
Closing out day one was cocktails and dinner with talent and executives from E!, The Style Network and G4 (all from the Comcast Entertainment Group).
Stay tuned tomorrow for a brief recap of today's (Saturday) TCA sessions! And now back to your regularly scheduled blog programming...

Welcome to another edition of Digital Digest! Our normal Digital Digest blogger (skees53) as you know is off for the summer and is missed. As always, we have the latest news, upcoming releases for Tuesday, and our DVD review this week is of a Shout! Factory's Adam-12 - Season Five. One Adam-12, one Adam-12, we have speculation that there will be a DVD review of this series on today's Digital Digest!

DIGITAL NEWS

It was a slow week for sitcoms. The only thing of note really was ABC/Disney announcing The Golden Girls - 25th Anniversary Complete Collection on DVD coming out Nov. 9 at a $149.99 MSRP. View the nice purse packaging, but no info yet if there are any special bonus features. Thank you for being a friend! If you like a Britcom, Warner Home Video of Canada is releasing Coupling - The Complete Series on DVD on Sept. 7 at a CDN $99.90 MSRP. View the news story, and as with Golden Girls, we are not sure if there will be bonus features.

Drama wise, Shout! Factory will release thirtysomething - The Complete Final Season on Nov. 9 at a $59.97 MSRP. Pre-order today.

For more information on titles that we won't cover with full or blog DVD reviews, you can head on over to the news section of TVShowsOnDVD.com for all of the latest details.


UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (August 10) will not have any sitcom releases. Shout! Factory is releasing Adam 12- Season 5, as we mentioned. Our blog review is below. That's really it for this week, what a slow week. Dog days of summer, indeed!


BLOG FEATURE REVIEW

This week's review is Adam-12 - Season Five. The classic police series Adam-12 is the series that was a hit for NBC in the '70s about the Los Angeles Police Department, specifically two patrol officers, Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord). The series was created by Jack Webb (who also created and even starred in the series Dragnet), and even though it was a made-for-TV drama series, each and every story in the series was based on a true story from the case files of the Los Angeles Police Department. We have turned this series into a blog review. View our previous full reviews -- Adam-12 - Season 4 DVD -- Adam-12 - Season 3 DVD -- Adam-12 - Season 2 DVD -- Adam-12 - Season 1 DVD (Universal)

DVD Review: Adam-12 - Season Five
by Seth Thrasher

Adam-12 - Season Five (Shout!, $34.93) is out on DVD on Tuesday (August 10), and right off the bat let me just say: that's the most unusual suggested retail price I've ever seen. I've been doing this for six years now, and I've never seen one end in a three before.
Officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord) return for another siren-blasting season of Jack Webb's police drama classic Adam-12. Real badges, real cars, and real cases – season five finds the partnering police pair in a slew of sticky situations when they face killers, burglars, racketeers, and inebriated traffic directors. A spin-off of NBC's hit Dragnet, season five of Adam-12 features special guests from another Jack Webb series, Emergency! keeping alive the tradition of characters crossing over between the shows.

It's been several years since I've had the privilege of getting to watch this show. That said, I've recently spent a lot of time with the show Adam-12 spun-off from, the aforementioned Dragnet, so I've gotten myself in the mood for police series. Many of you reading this review are going to be more familiar with the show than I am, so I'm not going to spent a lot of time waxing poetic about episodes that I'm not actually that familiar with. Let me just say that in my short time with this DVD set I've come to have a new appreciation for this show. Normally when you see season five and remember a show only ran seven years, you assume that a show is in its "winding down" phase, but episodes like "The Chaser," "Hot Spell," and "Suspended" really prove that not all shows wind down in the home stretch. For the purposes of special guests, I'm going to exclude cast members of Emergency! That said, watching this season will turn up 77 Sunset Strip cast member Edd Byrnes, Micky Dolenz from The Monkees, Rose Marie from The Dick Van Dyke Show, Donna Douglas from The Beverly Hillbillies, Pat Buttram from Green Acres, and finally Joe E. Tata from Beverly Hills, 90210.

Runtimes:

Disc 1
Dirt Duel: 24:33
The Late Baby 24:30
Airdrop: 24:30
Lost and Found: 24:28
Training Wheels: 24:33
Badge Heavy: 24:29

Disc 2
Harry Nobody: 24:29
The Surprise: 24:29
Vendetta: 24:29
The Chaser: 24:26
Hot Spell: 24:31
Gifts and Long Letters: 24:29

Disc 3
O'Brien's Stand: 24:29
Clear with a Civilian (Part 1): 24:27
Clear with a Civilian (Part 2): 24:29
Citizen's Arrest: 484: 24:33
The Beast: 24:31
Killing Ground: 24:30

Disc 4
Night Watch: 24:31
Suspended: 24:28
A Fool and His Money: 24:29
Anatomy of a 415: 24:30
Keeping Tabs: 24:29
Easy Rap: 24:32

Packaging is straightforward and simple: Two slim cases, each holding two discs, with the two slim cases in their usual outer box. Front cover features Malloy and Reed posting – with Malloy talking into a radio. The duo split the two slim case covers. Discs are designed to match the black and white grid layout of the inner artwork.

The menus are well-done, animating in with a combination of show shots and CGI visuals. The main menu is a CGI version of an early '70s police radio. Main theme plays in the background. Episode selection is the left panel of the radio. There are six episodes per disc.

Video quality is very typical for shows of the era. They've cleaned up the video to look as good as it can, but shows from the early '70s are going to have the occasional bits of grain and noise and color fade, and that's just the way it is. You can only restore video to a certain point. The video looks quite good for its era. Audio is serviceable – it won't win any awards for breakthrough in audio transmission, but it does its job well enough. There's really nothing else to say – audio is audio. As long as they don't replace the audio with the sound of ducks quacking, the audio is going to be fine. Chapter stops occur between acts. No bonus features are on this set.

Without bonus features, there's nothing to push this set over-the-top, as it were, but what's presented is still quite good. I got to re-discover a classic show that wasn't quite on my radar prior to the review. I'm now at a point where I'm eagerly awaiting the final two seasons to be released, and I'm also at a point where I'm now likely to consider going back and re-watching older seasons. Obviously, it goes without saying I recommend this set. Bonus features would be nice, but just having another season released is quite good too.

(4/5 stars)

To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Adam-12 on TV.com


LOOKING AHEAD

Come on back right here next week for more news and reviews. In the coming weeks we will have the long awaited blog DVD review of Heroes - Season 4 so stay tuned. And don't forget to read our full DVD reviews, as many sitcoms will be coming fast very soon. Stay with us! Until next time keep it digital, over and out!

Centric will have some sitcom marathons the next few weekends. Tomorrow (Saturday, Aug. 7), Centric will present a 24-hour marathon of The Jamie Foxx Show starting at 6am. This is the first time the network is airing the sitcom, but they are borrowing it from sister network BET. BET doesn't air the series on the regular schedule anymore, so it would be nice if Centric would air it regularly soon. As of now, it is just a one-time marathon for the sitcom.
Another sitcom not airing on the regular schedule on BET is Smart Guy. Centric will have a weekend stack next weekend of that sitcom. Episodes will air 12pm-6pm on Saturday, Aug. 14 with an encore the next day (Aug. 15) from 9am-3pm. Hopefully this show is added to the regular schedule as well. As of now, The Steve Harvey Show is the only sitcom on the regular schedule for Centric, airing weekdays in the 1pm hour. Other classic TV series airing are Miami Vice (weekdays at 6am & 11pm) and The A-Team (weekdays 7am, 9pm, 12am & 4am).
Stay with us soon for fall schedules for both BET and Centric. Will they add any new acquisitions to their schedules? You'll have to come on back. And come on back on Monday for another brand new installment of the fall schedules barrage when we announce the Lifetime Fall 2010 schedule! Stay with us!

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 (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of August 9-13, 2010, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, August 9, 2010

• Lindsay Sloane (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch/The Wonder Years) - Catch Lindsay on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35am on CBS.
• Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/The Hogan Family/Silver Spoons) - Catch Jason on ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am promoting is new movie then on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:35am on NBC.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

• Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/Knights of Prosperity/Hot Properties) - Catch Sofia on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:06am on ABC.
• David Duchovny (Californication) - Watch David on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35am on CBS.
• Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/The Hogan Family/Silver Spoons) - Jason continues to promote his new movie as he appears on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central at 11pm.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

• Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/The Golden Girls/The Mary Tyler Moore Show) - The legendary star is on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35am on CBS.
• Mary Louise-Parker (Weeds) - Catch Mary on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly so check your local station.
• Courteney Cox (Cougar Town/Friends) - Catch Courteney on a REPEAT of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

• Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Catch Aubrey on Lopez Tonight on TBS at 11pm.
• Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/The Hogan Family/Silver Spoons) - Jason continues his rounds on talk shows, this time on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly, so check your listings.
• Sara Rue (Less Than Perfect) - Catch Sarah on The Joy Behar Show on HLN at 9pm.
• Michael J. Fox (Spin City/Family Ties) - Watch Michael again on this REPEAT of The Rachel Ray Show! Check listings.
• Chris Kattan (The Middle) - Catch Chris on this REPEAT of The Bonnie Hunt Show, so check your listings.

Friday, August 13, 2010

• Sara Rue (Less Than Perfect) - Catch Sarah on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly on this Friday, so check your listings.
• Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement/Less Than Perfect/Seinfeld) - Catch Patrick on this REPEAT of The Bonnie Hunt Show, so check your local listings!

Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!

Welcome to another installment of the fall schedules barrage. Today we take a look at ABC Family 2010! There is word that ABC Family will be re-branding and will be called ABCF soon, so we will have more on that when official. As for the fall schedule, the schedule starts after Labor Day. On Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 6), The Secret Life of the American Teenager Catch-Up marathon will air from 11am-8pm leading into the summer finale at 8pm. The season will resume most likely in January. Secret Life's mid-season finale will lead into the ABCF's newest acquisition, Friday Night Lights (as we previously announced) at 9pm. Reruns of the drama will then move to and air weekdays at 6pm starting the very next day (Tuesday, Sept. 7) when the fall schedule starts.
The weekday morning schedule will remain intact from 7am-12pm, which has Boy Meets World, Sabrina, What I Like About You and Gilmore Girls. However, afternoons will see a makeover. Weekdays in the 12 noon hour will have a new sitcom acquisition! ABCF has acquired the sitcom Still Standing and will air it in the weekdays at 12pm hour replacing Full House. Yes, Still Standing has not been on cable for a year after its contract expired on Lifetime before the start of fall 2009. My Wife & Kids remains in the 1pm hour, but Full House is now airing in the 2pm hour replacing the second hour of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which remains in the 8am hour. From 3-5pm will now be four airings of That '70s Show, as it moves from 6-8pm. The new 3-5pm slot will replace the second hour of Full House and also Grounded for Life, which is now off the schedule once again. No idea if and when it returns (if it didn't expire). At 5pm, Gilmore Girls remains leading into the newly acquired Friday Night Lights at 6pm, as mentioned earlier. AFV will air in the 7pm hour on Tues-Fri, with movies on Monday.
Primetime will remain the same, with movies replacing the Monday night schedule after Secret Life ends its summer season. Original sitcom Melissa & Joey will continue to air on Tuesday nights at 8pm through Oct. 12. The sitcom premieres Aug. 17 after the summer finale of Pretty Little Liars on Aug. 10. Pretty Little Liars will likely also return in January for the second half of its season. The same is likely for Make It Or Break It's second half. ABCF has not yet renewed Huge, but Greek will be back for a fourth season sometime this fall, but it has not been scheduled yet.

Weekends will be filled with movies. Various sitcoms will be used as fillers from time to time to start the mornings off like That '70s Show, My Wife & Kids, and Boy Meets World. Missing from the weekend late night schedule is Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, so it looks like it is now gone. Movie premieres are Gone in 60 Seconds, Kangaroo Jack, The Return of Jafar, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Johnson Family Vacation, Honey, White Oleander, Liar Liar, and Nim's Island.
View the FULL ABC Family Fall 2010 schedule and highlights. And stay with us for more fall 2010 schedules for the rest of the summer!

Earlier this week, GMC removed Cosby (1996-2000 series) from its line-up. Cosby was airing weekdays in the 11pm hour and was replaced by another hour of Amen. Hopefully the Cos returns soon, as Amen already airs in the 1am hour. Other changes that happened were Sister, Sister returning to weekdays, airing from 8am-10am. This is in addition to its Saturday stack airings (8am-3pm). Dramas still fill the rest of the weekday line-up with Highway to Heaven at 10am, Early Edition at 11am, more Highway to Heaven at 1pm, Doc at 2pm, Sue Thomas F.B.eye at 3pm, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman from 4pm-8pm, and primetime has Sue Thomas, Early Edition and Doc from 8-11pm.
Will there be changes come the fall? Stay with us on our fall schedule barrage and you might find out!

Today we continue our fall schedule barrage with a lesser known network, but they are adding two classic series! The network is Universal HD and we last covered them a few months ago when we announced they have acquired The Unit. We also mentioned that they air short-lived series on Friday nights, and come this October, they will be changing up the line-up again. Universal HD's Fall 2010 schedule begins Friday, October 1 with the additions of classic Sony Pictures series Charlie's Angels and T.J. Hooker. They both will air weekdays and also in stack blocks. Charlie's Angels will air weekdays at 6am and 3am with a stack on Mondays from 9am-7pm. Meanwhile, T.J. Hooker will air weekdays at 7pm and 2am with a stack on Tuesdays from 9am-7pm.
As for the short-lived series, joining the line-up on Fridays starting Oct. 1 will be medical drama 3 lbs at 9pm, followed by sitcoms Out of Practice at 10 and Andy Richter Controls the Universe at 10:30. These will be replacing the current batch of Cuts, Love Inc., Sex Love & Secrets and Love Monkey. Leaving the schedule completely will be Six Feet Under, Nash Bridges and That's Life, while Becker will only air Fridays now from 11:30am-2pm & 4:30pm-7pm with Hogan's Heroes from 9:30am-11:30am & 2pm-4:30pm.
Marathon wise, there will be a Six Feet Under 48-hour marathon during Labor Day weekend (Sept. 5-6), a Charlie Angel's 24-hour marathon on Columbus Day (Oct. 11), and a 24-hour marathon of short-lived drama Haunted starring Matthew Fox on Halloween (Oct. 31)
View the FULL Universal HD Fall 2010 schedule that starts Oct. 1!

Today we also pay tribute to legendary producer Bernie West. He was an Emmy-winning screenwriter and producer who worked on the classic sitcoms All in the Family, The Jeffersons and Three's Company. He was part of the famous trio of producers known as "NRW" (Nicholl-Ross-West). Mr. West died on Thursday, July 29 at his Beverly Hills home of complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Mr. West won his Emmy in 1973 for writing, with Mickey Ross, the "Bunkers and the Swingers" episode on All in the Family. He received two other nominations as a producer for his work on All in the Family and Three's Company. In 1971, he and Ross submitted a script for All in the Family to Norman Lear and began what Bernie referred to as his first steady job. They worked on the CBS sitcom from 1971-74, where they were writers, script consultants, story editors and eventually, with Don Nicholl, producers. West and Ross created the character of Maude, played by Bea Arthur, on a 1972 episode of All in the Family that spun into another long-running CBS series. And he and his partners worked on the 1974 pilot script of NBC's Chico and the Man.
Nicholl, Ross and West (NRW) later wrote and produced for The Jeffersons, which ran for 10 years (1975-1985), and then Three's Company for eight seasons (1977-1984). Other series included The Dumplings (1976) and two spin-offs of Three's Company: The Ropers (1979-80) and Three's a Crowd (1984-85). Don Nicholl passed away in 1980, while Mickey Ross passed away last May (2009), so now all three members of NRW are no longer with us.
Before Mr. West was producing, he was acting. Among his early acting credits were appearances on The Garry Moore Show, Dixon of Dock Green, The Arthur Murray Show, The Jack Paar Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Phil Silvers Show, Car 54, Where Are You? and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. He also was on an episode each of All in the Family and What's Happening Now!! years later.

Mr. West will be deeply missed and his mark on classic sitcoms was certainly made with NRW. Pay tribute to Mr. West by watching his three classic sitcoms All in the Family and Three's Company on TV Land and The Jeffersons on TV One. Mr. West was 92.