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Mini-DVD Review: It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (Feb. 19); Solomon's Weekly Rant: Cavemen; Oprah and Cosby Show; Roger Clemens Coverage

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for mini-DVD reviews and Solomon's Weekly Rant! First up, are the mini-DVD reviews. Today week we take a look at Warner Home Video's It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown of course is the classic holiday special about Easter. This series always gave us classic holiday specials for just about every holiday. See my mini-DVD review of It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown:

It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown - Remastered Deluxe Edition (Warner, $19.98) brings us the classic 1974 Easter-themed episode on DVD once again, but this time digitally remastered...and it is really worth it! Plus in addition to Easter, we also get the Arbor Day special. Spring is certainly in the air.
If you have never seen this special, it is about Linus who tries to tell everyone that the Easter Beagle will take care of everything during Easter. Will he be right? You'll have to see yourself. We also get the classic 1976 special It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown. In that story we have baseball season starting and Arbor Day upon us. The gang goes eco-friendly and plant trees...but do they over do it?
Let's now move on to the packaging. We have a thin outer box that holds a very thin case, that is movie style. I never understood the reason for the thin box that holds a thin case...what's the point? Also, both the back and front of each is exactly the same, except the box is shinier. The cover is purple in color, and has Charlie Brown, Linus, and Snoopy with easter eggs. The title of the easter special is on the top, with a mention that this is a remastered deluxe edition! The bottom tells is we also get a bonus TV special...Arbor Day. To the back we go, we get a nice synopsis of the Easter special, along with a list of the special features. Easter eggs are flying all over as we see Lucy, Snoopy and the little yellow bird...Woodstock. When we open the case, we get black background all over, very plain, but of course the disc is inside. The disc is in purple and has Sally and Snoopy playing with yes, Easter eggs.
The menu screen has options of Features, Special Features, and Languages. We get a light blue background this time, not the purple we were used to already, with the theme song playing in the background. It is so catchy. Oh yes, before the main menu begins we get auto trailers for Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown and The Wiggles. Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown came out on DVD with a remastered version last month, but unfortunately we didn't get a copy for review. Anyway back to the menu, when we select something, we see an egg as a pointer. For Languages, we can have either English, Espanol, or Portugues. For subtitles we have those three again and also Chinese, Korean, and Thai...wow! The Features section has the two specials listed, we can also select Play All to play both back-to-back. Finally, Special Features lists the extra (more on that below) and Trailers.
The video and audio is tremendous. It has never looked better or sounded better ever. I am very impressed. Warner did a great job on this. Easter special runs 25:02 and has 5 chapter stops, which you an use via your DVD remote. The Arbor Day special runs 25:05 and has 4 chapter stops. Both specials look amazing...especially the Easter one. Kudos once again to Warner. Here is hoping they do more...I kind of wish I had gotten Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown.
As for special features, we get a nice featurette! It is titled "In Full Bloom: Peanuts at Easter" and runs 15:32. We find out lots of behind-the-scenes details and cool facts for the Easter special from members of the Schulz family and more. Interviewed are Lee Mendelson (Producer), Phil Cousineau (Author), Stephen Pastis (Cartoonist), Cathy Guisewhite (Cartoonist), Jean Schulz (Charles Schulz's wife), and Craig Schulz (Charles Schulz's son).
I highly do recommend this set for any Charlie Brown-Peanuts fan and classic animation in general. I have never seen a classic animated program look this good on DVD ever. Warner really needs to remaster every special for this wonderful franchise and put it on DVD. We got 3 specials on the Valentine's DVD and two more here on the Easter DVD. Let's hope Christmas, Thanksgiving is next, but I just wonder if Warner has the rights to all these now or does Paramount have some still? So I know it is still the middle of February, but it is never too early to think of the spring and Easter (but I am a fan of winter)...so I urge you to buy this DVD before little Woodstock beats you to it! And he can't even talk right!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, February 16, 2008
"Cavemen Didn't Get Enough Time; Oprah's Audience Get Cosby Show DVDs; Roger Clemens Story On All-Week"
By Solomon Davis

Why is the new sitcom Caveman not returning when the show wasn't really given a fair chance to grab viewers? The show only aired 4 times in October and twice in November and it's GONE? 7 unaired episodes remain. ABC knows that this wasn't a typical TV season with the strike going on and it is mind boggling that they still decide to not bring back the show this season. Lots of people need more than 6 episodes to determine whether or not they like a show and pulling a show after only 6 airings is a joke. The show was just starting to turn around and become interesting before it was pushed to the side for those classic Charlie Brown holiday specials. All I have to say is ABC gave this show the "red-headed step child" treatment and it's really a shame the show could be gone for good.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing at the end of Oprah this week when she had The Cosby Show kids reunion on earlier this week which falls into the "HUH?" category? The crowd was given both seasons 7 and 8 on DVD while everyone else in the country will have to wait until April 8 when it is officially out. She couldn't give the crowd anything else besides that? Now the rest of The Cosby Show fans have 7 more weeks until they we get those DVDs because we weren't apart of Oprah's audience. I mean this really sucks because season 6 on DVD was so unwatchable because of the Olivia focused episodes and knowing those people will be watching season 7 this month before me makes me want to puke. Oprah could have given away the single-disc "best of DVD" that is already out, not the DVD's that I can't see until April. This is what I get for even watching Oprah because if I hadn't, I would have not known about this unfair news.

I know it's real easy to just change the channel when you don't want to hear or watch a certain story on a particular network and that's exactly what I did this week. I made every effort to stay away from the Roger Clemens steroid story on ESPN but that still didn't work because it interrupted regular scheduled programming on ESPNews at 6:30pm. That's when the repeat of Pardon the Interruption comes on and because of this Roger Clemens mess all week I didn't get to see PTI on Wednesday night. I wish this story will just go away because even though it's a major sports story, ESPN acts like there are no other sports to discuss in the sports world and just made the 6pm SportsCenter, "ClemensCenter" all-week long and right now I don't know what hate I more, the story or ESPN.

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.

ION March 2008 Highlights; CW Announces Post-Strike Returns; CBS Renews 11 Shows for 2008-09 Season

We told you before that Baywatch is coming to ION Television in March 2008, but we didn't have the full month's highlights yet. Now we do. There will be no other changes, so Baywatch will start March 3 at 10pm, airing Mon-Thurs. If anyone is wondering, they will be going in production order, but will be starting with Season 3...which is the first season with Nicole Eggert and Pamela Anderson. They will skip the two-part season premiere it seems, as they will start with the episode "Rookie of the Year." No other changes will be made to the line-up, as of now, so we can expect back-to-back Wayans Bros, Alice, Mama's Family and Drew Carey Show from 6-10pm Mon-Thurs leading into Baywatch at 10pm. RHI will continue to air Fri-Sun from 7-11pm with movies and mini-series such as Merlin, Arabian Nights, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
We will keep you up to date if anything changes, but for now click HERE for the March highlights where you can also discuss the programming.

The CW is now the third network (joining CBS and NBC) to officially announce plans of what series will return this season with new episodes following the end of the writers' strike. Everybody Hates Chris and Aliens in America already completed production before the strike started and still has episodes left over. So, they will launch first. Chris has 12 new episodes left (for a total of 22 this season), while Aliens has 8 left (for a total of 18 this season). Both will return Sunday, March 2. CW will return their highest rated sitcom The Game on March 23 with an expected 9 new episodes. Production will be underway soon. It is not good news however for long-running sitcom Girlfriends. The CW has announced it will not return, which the show will now end after 8 long seasons. CW could plan a series finale or a special for its final airing. One Tree Hill still has about 5 pre-strike episodes left still, but 6 new ones will be produced and will start on April 14, which is a Monday, so it seems the show will move to Mondays at 9. The current batch of new episodes, aka: the pre-strike episodes, will air Tuesdays at 9 still. Smallville will return Thursday, April 17 with 5 new episodes. I believe a few episodes before the strike also remain to air...the show will air a total of 20 episodes this season. Rookie drama Gossip Girl will return with 5 new episodes starting Monday, April 21. The show had been in repeats since early January because it ran out of episodes. Another rookie drama, Reaper will return to air on Tuesday, April 22 with 5 new episodes. The show has aired 9 so far and a few pre-strike episodes still remain and will air in its upcoming Thursday at 9 slot before moving to Tuesdays at 9 with post-strike episodes. Finally, Supernatural will return with 4 new episodes starting Thursday, April 24. This coming Thursday (Feb. 21) Supernatural will be all-new for its last pre-strike episode before goina on hiatus until April 24.
We will bring you ABC and Fox's plans as soon as they are "officially" announced.

Meanwhile, CBS has renewed 11 series for next season in a move that will return 10 hours of the network's primetime schedule and eight of the top twenty scripted series on television. Cold Case, Criminal Minds, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Ghost Whisperer, NCIS, Numb3rs, Two and a Half Men, Without a Trace and the Freshman Comedy The Big Bang Theory join previously announced Survivor and The Amazing Race as series returning next season (2008-09).
The jury is still out on shows like How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement, Old Christine, Shark, The Unit, Moonlight, and Jericho for next season, but we could expect a few of these to indeed return.

NBC Announces Post-Strike Returning Series, Next Season Renewals; Fox Summer 2008 Plans

Yesterday we gave you CBS' return dates for new post-strike episodes with the number of new episodes expected. Now NBC has released their returning series, but they didn't release how many new episdodes we can expect like CBS did.
NBC will resume the broadcast of many of its scripted series in April with new original episodes following the settlement of the Writers Guild of America strike, including The Office, 30 Rock, My Name Is Earl, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, among other programs.
For the Thursday sitcoms, My Name Is Earl will return with a one-hour episode on Thursday, April 3; the Emmy Award-winning 30 Rock will begin on Thursday, April 10; likewise, the Emmy-winning The Office also resumes with new episodes on Thursday, April 10; and Scrubs will come back with original episodes beginning Thursday, April 10 as well.
Thursday drama ER also will come back on Thursday, April 10 with new episodes following the complete run of Lipstick Jungle, which concludes on March 20. Celebrity Apprentice will conclude on March 27.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will return with fresh episodes on Tuesday, April 15. Law & Order resumes with more original episodes on Wednesday, April 23. Meanwhile, Medium (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) continues in originals.
NBC has not announced what they will do with Las Vegas and Friday Night Lights yet. Journeyman and Bionic Woman seem like they won't return ever. While Chuck, Life, and Heroes were renewed for next season but will not return this season. I was surprised by the Life renewal.
We will keep you up to date of further developments for NBC. We still will have details on ABC, Fox, and The CW, when they announce their plans.

But in a strange move, Fox has already announced plans for its summer slate. So You Think You Can Dance will kick off the summer season on Thursday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 28 from 8-10pm on both nights. Then it will air Thursdays at 9 and Wednesdays 8-10pm. Then reality series When Women Rule the World(working title), will debut with a special two-hour premiere Monday, June 2 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT before the series will air in its regularly scheduled time period beginning Monday, June 9 at 9:00 ET/PT.
All-new episodes of Fox favorites The Moment of Truth, Hell's Kitchen, Cops and America's Most Wanted will continue through the summer. The Moment of Truth will continue with all-new episodes, but it will be airing Thursdays at 8:00PM ET/PT starting June 12. After premiering Tuesday, April 1 at 9:00 PM ET/PT Hell's Kitchen will continue to heat up, while counting down to the winner, with all-new episodes on Tuesdays at 9:00 PM ET/PT.
Fan favorite Bones continues airing encores on Mondays at 8:00 PM ET/PT all summer, and House moves to Tuesdays at 8:00 PM ET/PT with encores starting May 27. Second runs of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? will join encores of Sunday night's animated comedies starting June 1 at 7PM.

Writers' Strike Officially Over; CBS Announces Post-Strike Returning Series; Remembering Ron Leavitt

The writers' strike is officially over! The membership of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) voted overwhelmingly in favor of lifting the restraining order and ending their 100-day strike that began on Nov. 5. 3,775 writers turned out in Los Angeles and New York to cast ballots or fax in proxies, with 92.5% voting in favor of ending the work stoppage.
WGAW and WGAE members will next vote to ratify the tentative three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The membership ratification vote will be conducted by mail and also at membership meetings on February 25, 2008.

CBS has announced return dates for new episodes of nearly all of its returning scripted series! Between 4-9 episodes for each series will be produced immediately for air. The first returning series with new episodes will be the Monday sitcoms on March 17. We will see 9 new episodes each of How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men starting March 17. Old Christine will not be going back into production it seems, but it still has a handful of episodes left from before the strike. The other CBS Monday sitcom Rules of Engagement will be back with 6 new episodes starting April 14. What about Welcome to the Captain? Only 6 were ordered and they will all air by March 10. Slim chance it returns next season.
Moving on to the dramas, CSI: Miami will have the most for dramas and will return Monday, March 24 with 8 new episodes. Sunday drama Cold Case will air for 5 new weeks starting March 30. The other Sunday drama Shark is expected to produce 4 new episodes, but it is unclear when they will air, if at all this season. Wednesday dramas Criminal Minds and CSI: NY return April 2 with 7 new episodes. Thursday dramas CSI and Without a Trace will each have 6 new episodes each starting April 3. Moving on to Fridays, Ghost Whisperer and NUMB3RS will return April 4 for 6 new episodes and rookie Moonlight will return April 11 with the first of 4 new episodes. Finally, the Tuesday dramas will only see Navy NCIS return on April 8 with the first of 7 new episodes. The Unit will not return this season and Cane will also not. Only a slim chance Cane will return at all. CBS will continue to use Big Brother, Showtime's Dexter, and Jericho to fill the void of no The Unit, Shark, and Cane. Yet to premiere mid-season drama Swingtown is resuming production, but when it will air is still a question mark.

Hopefully ABC, NBC, Fox and The CW will release something similar soon. When they do, we will bring it to you for sure.

Finally we leave you today with some sad news. Ron Leavitt, a TV writer and producer who co-created the successful Fox sitcom Married With Children, has died. He died Sunday of lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He and Michael G. Moye co-created the hit sitcom. Michael also served as the show's executive producer and helped write nearly 150 episodes. He even appeared in some episodes as a one-liner, usually the character of Jack Dallas.
He was a major player in sitcoms behind the scenes. He wrote for series such as Busting Loose, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and The Bad News Bears. He wrote the pilot episode for the hit '80s sitcom Silver Spoons. He was also a producer of sitcoms such as Unhappily Ever After, Laverne & Shirley, The Jeffersons and It's Your Move. Ron also was the creator of two short-lived Married with Children spin-offs, Top of the Heap and Vinnie & Bobby, both of which starred a pre-Friends Matt LeBlanc. Ron was last seen on the short lived 2004 WB sitcom The Help as a writer and director.
Fans of sitcoms, especially Married with Children, will miss Ron, but his work will live on forever. Ron will be missed. He was 60.

ABC Picks Up 9 Series for Next Season; ION Picks Up M*A*S*H; ABC Family March Changes

The strike will most likely officially end today after the vote...no doubts. We will keep you up to date on it certainly. Today is day 100.
ABC Entertainment announced pickups for nine of its most popular shows, returning broadcast television's most successful fall series. ABC Entertainment ordered episodes of Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who? and Ugly Betty.
On average during Fall 2007 (10 complete weeks: 9/24-12/2/07), ABC was the No. 1 network among Adults 18-49 (3.9/10), delivering the top position in the key young adult sales demo on 7 of the first 10 weeks of the season and ranking No. 1 during the November Sweep for the third consecutive year. In addition, ABC claimed eight of the Top 20 highest-rated TV shows among young adults during the fall, including five of the Top 10 freshman series.
Now these 9 are not the only ones returning, these 9 are just the early pick-ups. Missing are Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor, America's Funniest Home Videos, Boston Legal, Women's Murder Club, among others. Most of those, if not all, could also be back next season. Cavemen, Carpoolers, Notes from the Underbelly, October Road, Big Shots are in danger...and possibly Cashmere Mafia. Jury is still out on Eli Stone, but it needs to pick up in the ratings more.

ION Media Networks, Inc. today announced it has entered into an agreement with Twentieth Television to air the television series, M*A*S*H, on ION Television starting this Fall. The agreement marks the latest addition of programming to the ION network's primetime lineup. This comedic drama melds humor, social, political commentary and often heart-wrenching plotlines to provide ION's broad audience with a perennial favorite that redefined the boundaries of television programming.
More details will come closer to the premiere, but it is not certain yet if local broadcast channels will lose rights to the show this fall when ION launches it, since ION is technically a broadcast channel. TV Land and Hallmark Channel air the show on cable and will continue to do so, as this deal is not exclusive.

Since Family Matters' contract is expiring at the end of this month on ABC Family (it will move to Nick at Nite in June), they will make changes to ther March line-up. Sister, Sister will move to both Family Matters hours (Mon-Sun 7-8am and Mon-Fri 1-2pm). Sabrina, the Teenage Witch will lose its weekdays 2-3pm slot and move to every morning 8-9am. Step by Step will return to afternoons and air weekdays 2-3pm, which will be in addition to its 9am slot. And finally, weekends from 10am-12pm will be a block of Grounded for Life, with sometimes early movies in there.
To view these changes and to discuss this, click HERE!

Strike Update; ME-TV Coming to Milwaukee, Chicago to Launch ME-Too; RTN Coming to Illinois

Well we all know the strike is just about over. Yesterday I mentioned that they had a press conference. So what happened in it? They announced a vote will be held on Tuesday. A yes vote means they are voting to end the strike immediately; a no vote means they are voting to continue the strike during the ratification process.
So the strike has unofficially ended, but it won't be official until after this vote. It is widely expected that the WGA members will indeed vote yes on the new deal and the writers would return to work Wednesday.
So today is technically still day 99 of the strike. And tomorrow is day 100, the last day technically of the strike. How cool is it that this will all end officially on day 100. We will have more on the vote and more details this week.

You all know about ME-TV in Chicago. The local Chicago station (WWME-23) that airs classic TV, well now the same people will bring ME-TV in Milwaukee! ME-TV will launch in Milwaukee March 1 with a lineup that will include programs such as I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Lost in Space.
ME-TV in Milwaukee will be on a new digital subchannel on Channel 58.3 (WDJT). In addition to being available over the air at 58.3, it will have a spot on the Time Warner and Charter digital lineups. For the record, Channel 58's less-than-full power sister channel, WMLW-TV - Channel 41 over the air and Channel 7 on Time Warner Cable - airs at 58.2.
Stay tuned right here on the News Blog for the launch schedule for this new ME-TV station in Milwaukee! We will be the first to post it, I'm sure.

Sticking with ME-TV, ME-TV in Chicago is still going strong. It just launched its new Chill with Me winter line-up and added shows such as Gilligan's Island and My Favorite Martian. Now, WWME (ME-TV Chicago) has announced it intends to add classic reruns to WFBT-Ch. 48 and rename it WMEU-TV beginning March 1. WWME-23 has called itself ME-TV. WFBT-48 will call itself ME-Too.
Besides being broadcast and carried by some area cable providers, the channels also will be available on digital sub-channels belonging to sister station WCIU-Ch. 26, WCIU-DT 26.2 and 26.3 respectively.
Between ME-TV and ME-Too, more than 100 different series will be aired! Having ME-Too will allow development of targeted blocks of programming for different demographics. It also will create a classic program stream when sports preempts regularly scheduled shows.
Among the shows we will see will be a Saturday night "pajama party" lineup will feature sitcoms Square Pegs, Silver Spoons, Facts of Life, The Monkees, The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. Also we can expect a Sunday "Noir at Night" block of Route 66, Naked City, 77 Sunset Strip and Boris Karloff's Thriller.
Let's hope ME-TV and ME-Too expand to more cities. It would be nice to have at least a ME-TV in most markets...Chicago and Milwaukee are very lucky! I hope we get one in New York!
As we said about ME-TV Milwaukee's launch schedule, stay tuned right here on the News Blog for the launch schedule for Chicago's ME-Too! We will be the first to post it, I'm sure.

Meanwhile, something similar to ME-TV is of course Retro Television Network. RTN is now well over in 50 different markets and growing each day! Retro Television Network announced that it will partner with GOCOM Media of Illinois to bring RTN programming to Champaign/Springfield/Decatur, IL. The network will launch early next year on one of the digital streams of WRSP/WBUI.

Writers' Strike 99.9% Over Now!

We don't have our usual ratings report because we do not have final averages through the first four nights and also final numbers for Wednesday and Thursday programs yet. So I decided to preempt our weekly ratings feature, but don't worry we hope to have it next week.

I'm sure many of you have read that the writers' strike is basically over now. It won't be official until probably tomorrow, but it is very likely that the WGA members will vote for this new deal and thus the strike will end. Many writers are expected to be back to work this coming week. The WGA released: The Writers Guild of America will hold a press conference today, Sunday, Feb. 10, 12 Noon, at WGAW headquarters to update the media on important developments related to contract negotiations between the WGA and the AMPTP companies.

We will have much more details on that conference and more this coming week on what we hear and what shows will return. Expect all the big hits (Grey's Anatomy, CSI, Desperate Housewives) obviously to return this season with like 4-7 episodes each. Some new shows could return (Back to You, Samantha Who, Big Bang Theory), but most of them will not until the fall. Some new shows could be gone for good anyway (Bionic Woman, Big Shots).
TV Guide has a rundown on most shows' fate for this season and beyond. View that HERE.

So hope you all join us this week as we get much more news and the official statement! It will be a pleasure not saying what the day of the strike it is. I got used to doing it, but will be happy not do it anymore! Welcome back to our favorite shows!

Mini-DVD Review: Jackie Gleason: Genius at Work; Solomon's Weekly Rant: Nick at Nite Changes; Weird ION; Barkley Needs To Go from TNT

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for mini-DVD reviews and Solomon's Weekly Rant! First up, are the mini-DVD reviews. Today we take a look at MPI Home Video's Jackie Gleason: Genius at Work. Jackie Gleason: Genius at Work gives viewers a look back at one of the pioneers of television, Jackie Gleason, and his popular television series, The Jackie Gleason Show. See skees53's mini-DVD review of Jackie Gleason: Genius at Work:

Jackie Gleason: Genius at Work (MPI, $19.98) gives viewers a look back at one of the pioneers of television, Jackie Gleason, and his popular television series, The Jackie Gleason Show. The documentary is a 55 minute special that was produced for public television in 2005.
Many classic TV fans tend to remember Jackie Gleason's character of Ralph Kramden and the television series, The Honeymooners, but this retrospective tells much more about Jackie Gleason's television work, and how his show was much more than just The Honeymooners. Of course, that is an important part of his work, but there is much more. This documentary isn't like most other documentaries though. Instead of getting a bunch of interviews with a few clips in between, we mostly get a bunch of clips with a few interviews in between... which allows us to actually see first hand the work of Gleason without it being totally covered with views from people that are merely fans of his work. Who actually remembers Rudy the Repairman? What about Joe the Bartender? Or Fenwick Babbitt? In this documentary, you actually get a chance to see sketches from these characters, and not just brief clips either, but instead full length sketches as they were intended to air. Jeff Garlin hosts the documentary with Marilyn Taylor Gleason (Jackie Gleason's widow) also providing her own views on her husband's show... a show that she herself performed on at times.
The DVD isn't totally without special features either. We get excerpts (too bad it isn't the full thing, we actually only get about 15 minutes total) from the episode of The Jackie Gleason Show celebrating his 25th anniversary in show business. Honestly, it was a little boring to watch (an actual episode of the series that wasn't celebrating the anniversary would have been more interesting to watch), but we get more insight on Jackie Gleason's varying characters in the excerpts that we have from this episode.
This is a great DVD that fans of Jackie Gleason are sure to appreciate, and even if you aren't that big of a fan of "the great one," it still allows you to see a side of Jackie Gleason that gets omitted in these days where we all think Jackie Gleason was nothing more than Ralph Kramden. I would have liked to have seen more from these other characters, but what we have here gives a great "sampler platter" for all those that are even slightly interested.
Also out on DVD soon, The Color Honeymooners - Volume 2. See our review.
-- Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, February 9, 2008
"Nick at Nite Changes; Weird ION; Barkley Needs To Go from TNT"
By Solomon Davis

What is with all these sudden changes on the channel called Nick at Nite?? It seems like the network is becoming unpredictable in a bad way with the way the program schedule suddenly switches up without warning. Earlier this week the programming manager changed the overnight schedule while he was driving home in his car and that's why the Tanner family was on my TV screen at 3am in the morning instead of Will Smith. No heads up or anything... just a new programming schedule so someone who may have wanted to record a show at 3am while they were sleeping would have recorded Full House instead. Not only that but the original plan by Nick at Nite to launch Family Matters in March has now been moved to June right at the start of the summer season. Maybe Nick at Nite's next sudden move can be to have a preschool theme marathon with The Cosby Show and Full House airing back to back all night hosted by Raven Symone and the Olsen twins so we can see episodes featuring Olivia and Michelle Tanner. It will be like Nick Jr. at night.

ION has decided to make a change on its schedule. They will replace a sitcom with a drama? Why can't the network have a separate day for dramas and keep the weekly primetime schedule the way it is with all sitcoms? No but ION decides to replace Who's the Boss with Baywatch at 10pm starting in March when they could have easily put another 80's sitcom in that slot or a sitcom from any other decade. Baywatch is more of a Saturday evening type of program... not something that you would watch during the week in primetime. This show will not last long in that slot and maybe then ION will not make a change like this in the future. Replacing Who's the Boss with Baywatch is like TV Land replacing Sanford and Son with Hawaii Five-0. I bet in the month of April ION's next acquisition will be Beverly Hills, 90210 and it will replace Alice in the 7pm hour.

I can no longer stomach the speech of Charles Barkley on the TNT halftime show. Barkley has become a total bore when watching that show because he takes forever to get to the point when he is analyzing a game. He speaks very slow and sometimes stutters andeven the host Ernie Johnson gets impatient and wants Barkley to hurry up and get to the point he is trying to make. It's clear that Barkely just like to hear himself talk and he doesn't realize he is slowing the show down and putting the viewers to sleep. I just wish he would stop talking like he is home on the phone instead of on live TV because he is destroying the watchability of the halftime show. However, he is at least better than Emmitt Smith on ESPN. He doesn't know how to use words at all. Time to go back to speech class for him.

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.

Day 96: WGA's Strike; ION Adds More Drew; Bewitched Fan Fare 2008

Today is day 96 of the wriers' strike. And it could be the last official day of the strike, as this thing could end tomorrow, and on Monday I will not be saying day 99 most likely. We will have full details if this ends.
Meanwhile, The CW has announced that it will not bring back WWE Smackdown! after this season. So the weekly series will be looking for a new home next season.

ION Television will be getting ready for Baywatch on March 2, but before that they will make a schedule change. On Feb. 18 - for two weeks - ION will give us two more Drew Carey Show episodes per night! It will air 10 and 10:30 p.m. those two weeks, holding the slot for Baywatch. This means Who's the Boss? will be off the line-up starting the 18th. Next Thursday will be its last airing for now.
Drew will of course still air in its 9 and 9:30 p.m. slot those two weeks and beyond.
We will have full March highlights next week. So come back for that.

This year's Bewitched Fan Fare will be held at the Victory Theater Center in Burbank, California from June 25-28.
Some of the special events include tributes to Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery (who recently was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame) and producer William Asher, as well as a history of the Warner Brother's Ranch (where Bewitched's exterior scenes were filmed for its entire 8-year run), a "Cosmos Cotillion", presentation of the first annual Bewitched Fan Fare Appreciation Award, and appearances by some very special guests.
Seats are limited, and those interested in attending Bewitched Fan Fare 2008 can get more information at www.TheBewitchedCollector.com. Registration cost is $65 per person and provides admission to all Fan Fare events, except those which may require an additional outside admission fee. All airfare, lodging, meals, etc. are the sole responsibility of attendee, unless otherwise stated.
Bewitched Fan Fare is a worldwide organization with members from all over the Cosmos, providing an annual convention loaded with fun, games and magic to witches and mortals alike since 2000 (BC). The 2006 Bewitched in Salem (MA) Convention was the biggest yet, attracting worldwide media attention.
Bewitched Fan Fare 2008 is a Bewitched Collector Production, in association with Victory Theatre Center.
Contact Mark Simpson - 253.383.8331 or Email BewitchedFanFare@aol.com for more details.

Day 95: WGA's Strike; Family Ties Reunion on Today; Nick at Nite News; RTN Adds Maryland Affiliate

Well today is day 95 of the strike. Some shows are actually getting ready to go back into production, which a sure sign the strike will end soon for sure. The big hits like Grey's Anatomy, House, Desperate Housewives, CSI will all for sure return to the air, but some new shows like Dirty Sexy Money, Pushing Daisies, Moonlight could be held back until the fall for more promotional push. Traditional sitcoms like Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Back to You could be back on the air the earliest, as it doesn't take much time for them to get back to work...we could see them back on-air in mid-late March.
As far as single camera sitcoms go, The Office has scripts ready already, so it can get on the air as fast as the traditional sitcoms. Samantha Who has three episodes left, it is a question mark though if ABC will hold on to those until the fall or get back into production right away and get in more episodes for this season. With Dancing with the Stars returning, it makes sense to get Samantha back in production ASAP for this season.
We will certainly know much more when the strike officially ends, on what will return and what won't.

The cast of NBC's Family Ties all gathered for the first time in 18 years on Thursday on NBC's Today show to help promote a new memoir, titled "Sit, Ubu, Sit," by the creator of the iconic 1980's television sitcom, Gary David Goldberg. Joining Gary David Goldberg were Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Justine Batemen and Tina Yothers.
"Had it not been for this book, we would not have had this reunion. This is the first time in about 18 years that we have all been on the same piece of real estate at the same time," said Michael Gross.
You can read more about this reunion that took place this morning, and watch the entire video of it by clicking HERE!
And don't forget the third season is on DVD next week. See our review for details on it and how to order! Sha la la la!

Updating our story from yesterday on Nick at Nite's overnight changes, they will indeed make these changes for the rest of the month at least rather than just this week. So, we will see a pattern of Full House, Roseanne and Cosby Show in the overnights. So Fresh Prince will be just 11pm-12am, joining Home Improvement and George Lopez in primetime, while the other three shows are for late owls.
For the schedule of the overnights, click HERE!

Yet more RTN news! Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will launch an RTN affiliate in Salisbury, MD. The network will begin airing on WRDE in the 4th quarter of this year on the station's digital channel. The station is currently being acquired by XBC Broadcasting, LLC, pending FCC approval.

Day 94: WGA's Strike; New Sitcom Pick-Ups; Nick at Nite Overnight Changes

Today is the 94th day of the strike. No news to report, but there are some sitcom news to report.
MyNetworkTV has ordered 13 episodes of C To The B Productions and Qtopia Entertainment's new half-hour comedy, Under One Roof. Starring Flavor Flav, the series is scheduled to debut in the Spring of 2008.
Flav plays Calvster Hill, an ex-convict that moves in with his wealthy, conservative brother, Walter (Kelly Perine). Calvster subsequently turns the Hill family's life upside down, parading his old prison cronies through the house; teaching his nephew Walter Jr. to be a gangsta rapper; and butting heads with Walter's snooty wife, Ashley. The series is currently in production in Toronto, Canada and licensed by C To The B Productions and Qtopia Entertainment to MyNetworkTV.
Since the series is written by Canadian writers, this show will have no effect from the strike.
Meanwhile, NBC has announced a series pickup of the American adaptation of the Australian hit comedy series Kath & Kim, starring Molly Shannon (NBC's Saturday Night Live) and Selma Blair (Legally Blonde).
6 episodes have been picked-up, but not word when it could start airing. I would guess the fall. It is a series adapted from Australia's hit comedy of the same title, is a look into the minutiae of middle-class suburbia that digs deep into the daily lives of Kath, a cheerful, forty-something divorcee, and her self-absorbed daughter, Kim. It's the love and hate, push and pull, of the dysfunctional relationship only a mother and daughter could share.

It finally looks like the every night marathon of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on Nick at Nite in the late nights could be gone...at least for this week. Last night Full House aired from 2-6am, and it appears at least for this week, there will be no Fresh in the overnights. In addition to Full House on Tuesday night, we get Roseanne tonight from 2-5:30am, The Cosby Show on Thursday night from 2-6am, more Full House on Friday night from 3-6am, more Roseanne on Saturday night from 2-6am, and more The Cosby Show on Sunday night from 1:30am-6am.
I will let you know as soon as I do what will happen next week...but my guess is it will be the same as this week, with Fresh Prince on Monday nights from 2-6am. No schedule changes will be made from 9pm-2am.

Day 93: WGA's Strike; Perfect Strangers DVD; RTN Coming to Rio Grande Valley

We are now on day 93 of the strike. We are closer and closer each day for this thing to end. The WGA has set membership meetings for this Saturday in Los Angeles and New York to inform their members on the latest developments in negotiations with the producers and perhaps give the industry an idea of how close the strike is to being settled.
WGA chairman John Bowman said neither the negotiating committee nor the WGA boards will "take action on the contract until after the membership meetings." So it doesn't seem we'll get an announcement on the end of the strike this week...but maybe early next week? Pray!

The Perfect Strangers DVD is out today! Warner Home Video is finally releasing this series on DVD and we get the complete first and second seasons on DVD TODAY! Order it if you haven't already by clicking HERE! We just got the DVD today unfortunately for review, so I am working hard to get this review up for you all by the end of today. This is an extra special review, because so many have waited so long for this day, that I must let you all know about the DVD. But please order it...so we can be assured of all seasons on DVD in the near future.
Come on back for a link to our review...you'll find the link to it on the message boards, the main page of the website, the DVD reviews page, and right here on the blog on our DVD Pick of the Week! And my good friend Linda Kay, who runs PerfectStrangers.TV has put up her review already! Like everything she does, it is a great read. What a nice detailed review with lots of images. Check out her review on her website. I'm off now to finish this review up...check back!

UPDATE: Perfect Strangers - The Complete First and Second Seasons DVD Review

RTN keeps on growing guys! Yet another announcement today! Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will bring RTN programming to Harlingen/Weslaco/Brownsville/McAllen, TX (Rio Grande Valley). The new affiliate is scheduled to air later this year on a digital stream of the market-leading ABC affiliate, KRGV.

Day 92: WGA's Strike; ION Touts Its Ratings for RHI and Drew Carey; 5 More RTN Affiliates

Today is day 92 of the strike. Rumors are swirling that this will be resolved very soon. An announcement could come as soon as this week! I bet nothing will come officially until Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest (as right now the main stories are the high-rated Super Bowl and Super Tuesday primaries). If the strike does end this week, production on many shows could be back up and running by the end of the month or early March for sure and we could start getting new episodes of our favorite scripted shows by the end of March or early April! Good news indeed!
Don't forget to tune in to the new CBS sitcom Welcome to the Captain premiereing tonight at 8:30pm, and then an hour later at 9:30pm it is the season premiere of Old Christine!

The RHI mini-series Journey to the Center of the Earth starring Ricky Schroder (NYPD Blue, Silver Spoons), Victoria Pratt (Day Break) and the legendary Peter Fonda, garnered significant ratings success with its Sunday, January 27 debut on ION Television. According to Nielsen Media Research data, the two-hour original television movie, a dynamic new adaptation of the classic tale by Jules Verne executive produced by Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr., was seen in more than 1.1 million households and attracted over 1.6 million total viewers. The mini-series is the fifth original production from RHI Entertainment to air on ION, also generated the highest delivery among key demographics of RHI content on ION since its start. The Sunday night RHI Movie Weekend block has shown continued growth versus the fourth quarter, boosting households by 112 percent and more than doubling in every demographic category. RHI programming airs on ION Fri-Sun from 7-11pm.
Meanwhile, ION Television saw a ratings boost on Monday, January 28, as The Drew Carey Show delivered a 0.6 HH rating, doubling its four-week average of 0.3 HH since its launch on New Year's Day. In its 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. timeslot, the Emmy-nominated series captured 622,000 households (close to 1 million total viewers), and delivered a 73 percent increase in adults 25-54 and a 141 percent increase in women 25-54 in comparison to its average performance since its launch. After somewhat a slow start, hopefully it can keep this up as ION will add Baywatch right after it starting March 3.

Retro Television Network has announced that it will partner with White Knight Broadcasting to bring RTN programming to Shreveport, Louisiana (KSHV-DT) and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (KZUP-CA). The network will launch late this year in both markets. Also, under the terms of the agreement, RTN programming will also air an additional four to seven hours a day on Shreveport's My Network affiliate, KSHV.
In addition, they will launch an RTN affiliate in Wichita/Hutchinson, Kansas. The network will begin airing in the second quarter of this year on KGPT, a Great Plains Television Network station.
Finally, they will launch RTN affiliates in two South Dakota markets, Sioux Falls and Rapid City. In Sioux Falls, the network will begin airing in March on KAUN, a station owned by J.F. Broadcasting that currently airs ION Television. In Rapid City, RTN programming will launch this summer on a digital stream of KOTA, the local ABC affiliate that is owned by Duhamel Broadcasting.

Week 19 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

Week 19 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: Fox 9.9/15.0, CBS 5.7/8.8, ABC 5.4/8.4, NBC 5.3/8.4, The CW 1.4/2.1, MyNetworkTV 0.9/1.4
Total Viewers: Fox 17.25 million, ABC 8.49 million, CBS 8.44 million, NBC 8.24 million, The CW 2.1 million, MyNetworkTV 1.41 million
Adults 18-49: Fox 6.6/16.6, ABC 3.0/7.8, NBC 2.9/7.4, CBS 2.1/5.5, The CW 0.9/2.2, MyNetworkTV 0.6/1.4

Analysis: Week 19 so far has again seen Idol score big for Fox, although it was down once again from previous week...the Super Bowl will air tonight on Fox and crush everything once again. Fox is obviously on top by big this week in all categories and will even be higher after tonight. CBS, ABC and NBC are battling for a distant second in HH, viewers, and 18-49. Fox will for sure win the week thanks to Idol and the Super Bowl, no doubt. Last week, week 18, Fox was number one all categories. CBS was second in HH and viewers, while NBC was second in 18-49. NBC was third in HH and viewers, while ABC was third in 18-49. CBS was fourth in 18-49 and ABC fourth in HH and viewers.
On Monday, all of the big 4 aired Bush's State of the Union address from 9-10 followed by a half-hour analysis, so lots of preemptions. ABC had the highest rated hour of the night with an abbreviated 60 minute Dance War doing a solid 9.45 million, down slightly from previous week. NBC aired American Gladiators and it did 8.6 million, down from previous week by over a million. CBS was in repeat mode for its sitcom as Mother did 7.33 million and Men at a special time did 9.6 million. Fox aired an encore of Sarah Connor Chronicles which did 5.99 million. The CW had a Gossip Girl special from 8-9:30 doing 1.72 million and a repeat of Aliens in America at 1.58 million. The battle of the 10:30 sitcom repeats after the State of the Union went to CBS, see below.
On Tuesday, Fox was on top thanks to Idol's 28.22 million, down from previous week. An all-new episode of House followed with 22.56 million, obviously a season high. CBS was a distant second with a repeat of NCIS at 11.77 million, very solid on par from previous week...followed by a repeat of The Unit at 6.93 million, down from previous week and a new 48 Hours Mystery at 7.86 million, up from previous week. NBC aired a two-hour Biggest Loser at 8.33 million, down from previous week and a Law & Order: SVU repeat followed with 9.29 million. ABC had two repeats of Just for Laughs start the night off with 5.03 million, slightly up from previous week, another repeat followed with 4.71 million, up from previous week's repeat...a new According to Jim followed with 5.7 million, down from previous week and a new Carpoolers only managed 3.84 million, down from previous week. ABC closed the night off with a repeat of Boston Legal at a 5.24 million. The CW aired a repeat of Reaper at just 1.55 million and all-new One Tree Hill did 2.79 million...down from previous week.
On Wednesday, it was all Fox again. American Idol did 25.57 million, once again down from previous week. The second showing of Moment of Truth followed with 17.64 million, way down from the premiere, but still great. NBC started the night off with a repeat of Deal or No Deal at 9.68 million, down about 4 million from previous week as it was a repeat, the NBC airing of USA Network's Law & Order: Criminal Intent did 8.89 million, up a bit from previous week, followed by the original Law & Order at 11.1 million, up from previous week. ABC's Wife Swap did 5.78, followed by the two-hour encore of last season's Lost finale at an impressive 8.47 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating. CBS started off slow with two repeats of Old Christine at 4.89 and 4.75 million, but up from the now removed Power of 10. Repeats of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY did 8.74 and 7.3 million...seems below normal. . The CW had a new showing of Crowned and a repeat of One Tree Hill at 1.42 and 910,000...Crowned is not doing good, down again from previous week.
On Thursday, Lost is back and ABC won the night. Sure ABC's big gun of Grey's Anatomy is now off-air because of the strike, but ABC has put Lost on Thursdays and the premiere dominated. A clip show even won the 8pm hour with an impressive 13.16 million, followed by the season premiere at a dominant 16.14 million and a 6.7 18-49 rating, and the series premiere of Eli Stone did well with 11.14 million. Fox was second thanks to Idol's promotion for sure, as Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? and Don't Forget the Lyrics! did 10.56 and 10.97 million, the latter did unusually high it seems CBS started the night off with a repeat of CSI: NY at a solid 8.67 million, followed by a repeat of CSI at 11.69, down from previous week, and a repeat of Without a Trace closed the night off with 10.18 million, also down from previous week. NBC started the night with the repeats of My Name is Earl and The Office at 5.27 and 4.45 million, a two-hour Celebrity Apprentice followed with 7.82 million, down from previous week and it got slaughtered at 9pm by ABC.
Like usual, no Friday finals yet, but CBS, NBC and Fox had something to smile about. NBC's 1 vs. 100 had the highest rating at 8pm, followed closely by a repeat of CBS' Ghost Whisperer. At 9pm a House repeat won the hour for Fox,. The 10pm hour was very close as ABC, CBS and NBC did decent enough for a Friday. On Saturday, it was a dead night like usual. Cops had the highest 18-49 rating in the low 2's.
Tonight will be all Fox with the Super Bowl (I know...any idiot can tell you that). Will this Super Bowl beat the 1982 record of a 49.1 rating? Or the highest total viewers of 94.08 million which was in 1996? We shall find out soon! Who will be second tonight is the story. Usually movies do the best, and ABC has one from 9-11pm with Meet the Fockers.
As for the week, Fox will win in HH, viewers and 18-49. The battle for second is up in the air. I predict CBS second, ABC third and NBC fourth.
This coming week...has CBS premiering a new sitcom (see yesterday's blog for a review) and returning Old Christine tomorrow night. Will the Super Bowl help any of Fox's shows go up a bit? We shall see. Lost and Eli Stone are a must watch this Thursday...let's see how much it will hold in the ratings from previous week. And finally, the strike could end this week, so it could be a very happy week!

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of January 21-27)

• Aliens in America (The CW) - A repeat did 880,000 viewers...nearly doubling the viewers from previous week when it was against the NFC Championship game on Fox.
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - A new episode did a below average 7.45 million and a 3.65 18-49 rating. A repeat followed and did better actually 7.57 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating.
  
• Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat built on its lead-in and did 7.72 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, not bad for a repeat.
• American Dad (Fox) - A new episode did just 6.16 million.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 7.33 million for a repeat...up a bit from previous week's repeat of 7.13 million.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.6 million tuned in for a repeat...down from previous week by 2 million, but it aired at 8:30 on this night.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - A special 10:30pm repeat did 5.16 million, the best of the 10:30 sitcom repeats on this night.
• Samantha Who (ABC) - A special 10:30pm repeat did 3.8 million, the second best of the 10:30 sitcom repeats on this night.
• The Office (NBC) - A special 10:30pm repeat did 3.65 million, the third best of the 10:30 sitcom repeats on this night.
• CW Monday Comedies: Aliens in America. All preempted but a repeat of Aliens at a special time of 9:30pm did 1.58 million.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) - A new episode did 5.7 million, down from previous week's season high of 6.28 million.
  
• Carpoolers (ABC) - Just 3.84 million, down from previous week's 4.92 million.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - Two repeats at a special night and time did 4.89 and 4.75 million.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - A repeat did OK with 5.27 million.
  
• The Office (NBC) - A repeat did just 4.45 million.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) is a repeat of Aliens in America on The CW at 7:30, and Fox's animated comedies are preempted as Fox airs the Super Bowl.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men repeat was impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as According to Jim, How I Met Your Mother repeat) or just plain old terrible (The Office repeat, Carpoolers).

CBS Mid-Season Pilot Review: Welcome to The Captain - Premieres February 4; Solomon's Weekly Rant

Today instead of our regular Saturday Mini-DVD Review we have a pilot review for a new sitcom premiering Monday on CBS! We still have Solomon's Weekly Rant right below the review, so not to fret!



Welcome to The Captain - Mondays at 8:30PM ET/PT on CBS
Premieres February 4 at 8:30PM ET/PT

Welcome to The Captain is a comedy about a wildly eclectic group of people whose lives are intertwined through the place they all call home, a fabled Hollywood apartment building, El Capitan, which they've dubbed "The Captain." Josh (FRAN KRANZ, The TV Set), is a Hollywood whiz kid whose filmmaking career has hit a wall. Just when Josh is about to move back to New York, his accountant-to-the-stars best friend, Marty (CHRIS KLEIN, American Pie), convinces him to move into his legendary apartment building. Among the eccentric tenants are Uncle Saul (Emmy Award nominee JEFFREY TAMBOR, Arrested Development), a former Three's Company writer who is the building's self-proclaimed expert on anything and everything; Charlene (Golden Globe Award winner RAQUEL WELCH, The Three Musketeers), the femme fatale who welcomes Josh in her own seductive style; Jesus (comedian AL MADRIGAL), a gossipy doorman who knows all the residents' most tantalizing secrets, and Astrid (VALERIE AZLYNN, Two and a Half Men) a flighty, aspiring young actress. Josh is most taken with the earthy, beautiful Hope, (JOANNA GARCIA, Reba), an aspiring acupuncturist who enlists him as a practice patient. The folklore of this fabled apartment building always continues to grow and, as each dweller quickly learns, the walls never stop talking.
The single-camera comedy, shot in Los Angeles, premieres Monday, Feb. 4 (8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS. The series was created by John Hamburg and is executive produced by Hamburg, Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen for CBS Paramount Network Television.

Cast Details:

Fran Kranz as Josh Flum, Chris Klein as Marty Tanner, Jeffrey Tambor as Uncle Saul Fish, Joanne Garcia as Hope, Raquel Welch as Charlene Van Ness, Valerie Azlynn as Astrid, and Al Madrigal as Jesus.

Fran Kranz (Josh) is best known for his performance in the feature film The TV Set. A graduate of Yale University, Kranz has played a series of memorable roles in feature films. He also has extensive theatre credits. He is new to the television industry and impressively is the lead in this new sitcom.

Chris Klein (Marty) began his acting career in the critically acclaimed film Election. His performance garnered him a Chicago Film Critics nomination for Most Promising Newcomer and the film received a nomination for Best Picture at the Independent Spirit Awards. He went on to star as Chris 'Oz' Ostreicher in the raucous comedy American Pie and reprised his role in American Pie 2 the following year. Klein has featured roles in upcoming films and has done a lot of movies previously. This is Klein's first regular role in a television series.

Jeffrey Tambor (Saul) is a television veteran and has starred on television in the hit series The Larry Sanders Show and the critically-acclaimed and Emmy Award-winning Arrested Development, for which he received two Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy. Also, he had three guest roles on the sitcom Three's Company (for which his character on this show was a writer for), and he also had a co-starring role on the spin-off The Ropers. He also recently starred in the short-lived sitcom 20 Good Years opposite John Lithgow. Tambor just wrapped production on two films Hellboy 2 and Superhero, which will be released this year. His other feature film credits include How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Dolittle, There's Something About Mary, and many others.

Raquel Welch (Charlene) has millions of movie fans who first glimpsed her statuesque beauty in the science fiction classic One Million Years B.C., after which she secured a place for herself as the reigning sex symbol of the '60s and '70s. She has starred in over 45 films and won a Golden Globe for best actress in The Three Musketeers. She also acted on the stage with a remarkable performance in the hit Broadway musical Woman of the Year, which led her to a starring role in Victor/Victoria.

Joanna Garcia (Hope) was born and raised in Tampa, Fla. and first began performing at the age of 10 when she auditioned for a local theater production and earned the lead role. From there she was discovered by Nickelodeon, who cast her in the television series Are You Afraid of the Dark? Garcia attended the University of Florida, but after her freshman year she moved to Los Angeles and landed a role in the 1999 John Ritter CBS television movie Holy Joe on her first day in town. She went on to co-star the hit series Reba, playing Reba's daughter, Cheyenne Montgomery. Her other television credits include Party of Five, Freaks and Geeks and Boston Public. Her feature film credits include American Pie 2 (with co-star Chris Klein) and Not Another Teen Movie.

Valerie Azlynn (Asterid) was born and raised in New London, Conn. She moved to New York to pursue a career as an actress and built a resume performing in the theatre and singing with a reputable Opera Company in Manhattan. Her previous television credits include a recurring role in the CBS drama CSI: NY, as well as the CBS comedies Two And A Half Men and How I Met Your Mother. Her feature film credits include Poseidon, Bewitched and Constantine, and will be seen in the upcoming films Tropic Thunder and Hancock.

Al Madrigal (Jesus) has been called "dynamic" by the New York Times, and his flair for storytelling has established him as one of the nation's premiere stand-up comedians. He won the "Jury Award for Best Stand-up Comedian" at the 2004 HBO Comedy Festival. Madrigal can regularly be seen on television in his own half-hour Comedy Central Presents special, as well as his frequent guest spots on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Madrigal continues to headline comedy clubs and theatres around the country.

Pilot Plot:

We have received the first two episodes of this sitcom, "Pilot" and "Weekend at Saul's."

In the premiere episode, "Pilot" (airing Feb. 4 at 8:30), Josh Flug, a one-time Hollywood hot shot, is persuaded by his friend, Marty, to move into the El Capitan apartment building, dubbed "The Captain" by its residents. With its eccentric group of tenants, he realizes this is the fresh start he needs.
Directed by: John Hamburg
Written by: Executive Producer John Hamburg

Episode 2: "Weekend at Saul's" (airing Feb. 11 at 8:30) - When Josh invites Hope to stay at his apartment for the weekend, Uncle Saul convinces him that it is a bad move, and persuades him to stay at his weekend retreat in order to make her jealous.
Directed by: Mark Mylod
Written by: Executive Producers Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen
Guest Stars: Michael Weston as Brad and Christine Woods as Claire

Analysis:

This sitcom is actually pretty interesting. It is basically about a one-time Hollywood writer named Josh moving into The Captain hotel that is filled with ex-Hollywood stars. He was persuaded by his friend Marty, who seems very crazy, to move in to the hotel. Marty himself lives in the hotel as well. We also have Saul Fish, who likes to be called "Uncle Saul," living here. He was once a writer for four seasons on Three's Company, which he likes to call "T. Co." There are a lot of Three's Company references (such as #1 in the Nielsen's, Suzie Somers and Mrs. Roper). Then we have the front-desk attendant/doorman Jesus (not pronounced Hesus), who eavesdrops a lot and gossips about everyone. He and Saul are a good comedy team. Then we have the sexy older woman Charlene, was on either Knots Landing or Falcon Crest, no one can remember which. She seduces Josh but it is Uncle Saul who has a crush on her. Then we have Josh's love interest, Hope, an aspiring acupuncturist who enlists him as a practice patient...and Josh falls in love, but he later finds out she has a boyfriend in New York. Then finally we have Astrid, a flighty, aspiring young actress, who Marty tried to set-up Josh with, but she is too dumb for Josh.

That's all the characters in a nutshell. It really is an interesting show and after two episodes, I'll continue to watch this show. The pilot has us all meeting the characters while episode two is more about Josh's pursuit of Hope. I really like all the pop culture references here...we get Three's Company, Falcon Crest, Knots Landing, Alice, Weekend at Bernie's, and more. It is so funny that Tambor's character Saul was a writer on Three's Company because Tambor guest starred on three episodes of that show and also starred in the spin-off, The Ropers. Very clever. Let's hope Joyce DeWitt or Suzanne Somers can guest star in the future. Saul and Jesus are clearly the funniest on the show. Marty is also not too shabby. Saul also says he had a thing going with Linda Lavin of Alice...funny stuff.
One of the funniest lines is in the pilot with Saul saying Charlene has a tush like a buttery chardonnay.

Conclusion:

This is certainly a watchable sitcom. With the strike, we don't have as many options as we would have before scripted wise, so it might get a decent sampling. What will hurt is that it will follow repeats of How I Met Your Mother. Another thing working against this show is that it is in a single-camera sitcom. CBS is not known for these at all. In fact, all of their sitcoms are traditional style. NBC or ABC is more known for these. Little is expected of this sitcom, so it could surprise. With the strike still going, there is a chance this could be picked-up in the fall for more than 6 episodes, since a pilot season could be washed away.

I liked the show. It is charming and has a romantic feel to it. Will Hope & Josh get together? With the help of Saul and Jesus, it could happen. Or will Marty ruin it by staying in Josh's apartment even more? Marty has his own apartment, but one of his girlfriends is now living there. He is certainly girl crazy, but more crazy in general, too. It is smartly written, which is not CBS's style. I'm not sure if it is funnier than The Big Bang Theory, which is probably CBS's smartest sitcom as of now, but this one is the smartest after two episodes. Maybe I am thinking that because it is single-camera. Fans of shows in a hotel, like Hotel, Faulty Towers, Over the Top, and so many others (wow this has been done a lot, hasn't it?), will like this show. Let's hope it gets laugh-out-loud funny!

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

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

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 02/02/08

Discuss the show after you watch it on Monday on our message board.

Related Links:

CBS.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Welcome to The Captain Photo Gallery


Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, February 2, 2008
"Annoying Auditions on American Idol; Lifetime Original Gone Without Notice; Miami Heat Still on National TV?"
By Solomon Davis

Every season around this time American Idol fans have to watch all the auditions that are not funny anymore just so we can get to the real part of the show. When will the American Idol producers realize that 75% of these people who are auditioning only want to be seen on TV and have no intention of becoming the next American Idol? Seems like everyone these days wants to follow in the footsteps of that god awful William Hung from three years back and purposely try to make a fool of themselves so they can be discovered. It's time to cut these auditions down since most of these clowns only come on the show to act a fool not show they have singing talent which is what the show is supposed to be about.

The last time I checked there was a new show on Lifetime called Matched in Manhattan and now it's gone? It was airing right after the god awful show How to Look Good Naked and it just vanished off the schedule completely. Lifetime couldn't give the show at least a month? Why just yank the show off so quickly when most people were probably getting into the show? And to make things worse How to Look Good Naked is on for a FULL HOUR now while Matched in Manhattan is no longer on the schedule. How to Look Good Naked is nothing but a sneaky rip-off of TLC's What Not to Wear. I'm done with Lifetime original programming since this is the second time they did this to me.

I know the Miami Heat has Dwayne Wade and the team was expected to be a contender this season but they are not and it's no reason for their games to be on ESPN, ABC, or TNT. The Heat record is 8-38 and the NBA expects NBA fans to still be excited to watch a horrible team like that on their day off? The NFL doesn't have a problem canceling games if a certain team has a horrible record so why can't the NBA do the same? The last time I checked I thought networks were interested in HIGH RATINGS and not still airing the games of a losing team on national TV because they have a NBA All-Star.

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.

Posted by Todd -- SitcomsOnline.com at 2:00 PM

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Labels: CBS, Pilot Reviews, Solomon's Weekly Rant, Welcome to The Captain

Day 89: WGA's Strike; NATPE Notes, Fall 2008 Syndication Preview; Classic TV Trading Cards

Well it is now day 89 of the strike. No announcements yet of the happenings at the informal meetings. New scripted programming can still be found on the networks these days even though most shows have gone dark in airings. Returning series such as Lost, Medium, Brothers & Sisters, Boston Legal, Men in Trees, According to Jim, Girlfriends, Everybody Hates Chris, October Road, and The New Adventures of Old Christine have some episodes still left to air. While new series are still coming like last night's premiere of Eli Stone, the upcoming premiere of Lipstick Jungle, Cashmere Mafia, Sarah Connor Chronicles,, and the new sitcom Welcome to the Captain. We will have a full review of Welcome to the Captain here tomorrow, so come on back. The sitcom premieres CBS Monday at 8:30pm.
So don't stop watching TV because the strike is going on. There are still a lot of scripted shows still on the air with new episodes. But yes we would like the strike to end so we can get most of our favorites back on the air.
Meanwhile, Fox has picked-up 13 more episodes of the reality show The Moment of Truth. Now the show will have 25 episodes for this season.

NATPE's annual syndication conference ended yesterday. No real notes are in as of yet, as this has been a quieter than usual NATPE. It certainly started strong with tons of updates the first day or two, but it ends with a whimper. But as promised, we will preview for you all the new entries for syndication in Fall 2008! Here is a tentative list:

Fall 2008 Syndication
Off-Network Daily Sitcoms
Tyler Perry's House of Payne (Debmar-Mercury)

Off-Network Weekend Dramas
Boston Legal (20th Century Fox)
CSI: NY (CBS Television Distribution)
Desperate Housewives (Disney/ABC Studios)
Lost (Disney/ABC Studios)
Monk (NBC Universal)

Off-Network Weekend Reality
American Chopper (Debmar-Mercury)
Cribs (Litton Entertainment)
Gladiators 2000 (MGM)
Pimp My Ride (Litton Entertainment)
Storm Stories (Litton Entertainment)

First-Run Daily Talk Shows
The Bonnie Hunt Show (Warner Bros.)
The Doctors (CBS Television Distribution)
The Donald Trump Show * (20th Century Fox)
Godfrey Live * (Radar Entertainment)
Teen Talk with India Oxenberg * (Radar Entertainment)
Untitled Steve Harvey Project * (20th Century Fox)

First-Run Daily Court Shows
Family Court with Judge Penny (Program Partners)
Judge Karen (Sony Pictures Television)
Star Witness * (Radar Entertainment)

First-Run Daily Game Shows
Deal or No Deal (NBC Universal)
Trivial Pursuit: America Plays (Debmar-Mercury)

First-Run Weekend Shows
Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule (Disney/ABC Studios)

* - Not a firm go yet, and no buys as of yet.

We will update you with clearances and if the projects with not a firm go yet are cleared. So keep checking back!

Sports legends aren't all you'll find in your packs of trading cards this year as Donruss taps into the world of Hollywood and pop culture to create a one-of-a-kind card set that captures the flavor of Americas rich and storied show biz history. Over 100 personalities are featured in Donruss Americana with more than 50 signing autographs and contributing memorabilia to the unique product.
Decorated actor Larry Hagman, who played notorious oil baron J.R. Ewing in Dallas as well as Anthony Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie appear in Donruss Americana as both personas, including a dual-autograph card with Jeannie co-star Barbara Eden.
Gilligan's Island stars Russell Johnson (The Professor) and Dawn Wells (Mary Ann) are also featured in Americana with a dual-autograph card, individual common cards, and authentic personally worn shirt piece card (Dawn Wells only). Bob Denver (Gilligan) hasn't been forgotten as he is part of the Hollywood Legends basic subset and rare material swatch subset.
More recent TV pop stars such as Married with Children's Ed O'Neill (Al Bundy) and Katey Sagal (Peggy Bundy) tag up in the Co-Stars Signature Series as well as the Co-Star Material Series sets. Both stars are individually represented in the common card set along with David Faustino (Bud).
Each 5-card pack sells for $40 and guarantees collectors either one autograph or memorabilia card in each pack. For more information visit your local hobby shop or www.Donruss.com.

Day 88: WGA's Strike; Even More NATPE Notes; Day Break Joins TV One March; Family Matters Coming to Nick at Nite in...

It is day 88 of the strike. Nothing new at all to report. Tomorrow is my birthday...the best present I could get is certainly announcement that the strike is ending. It could happen. If not tomorrow then certainly in the next week or two.
ABC will launch the new season of Lost tonight! I have seen tonight's premiere and the second episode slated to air next week already...and I must say it is VERY good. I loved it and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I am not allowed to reveal any major story lines, but I will tell you someone we thought died in the season finale is alive and someone else who died will appear in the episode in some form. We will also get a nice flash forward in tonight's episode and an interesting flashback in next week's show. Are these people who are going to rescue them good or bad? You'll get bit more of a sense after these two episodes! Tune in!

Today is the last day of NATPE, but we will have a full wrap-up tomorrow if we missed anything. And we will try to give you a list of everything coming in Fall 2008 in syndication. Anyway, here are some latest NATPE updates:

- FremantleMedia North America is looking to revive the classic game show Match Game. They are in discussions with cable networks and is expected to lock up a deal soon. The company also is looking for an executive producer, with casting to follow. It was hinted at a "Coffee With" Q&A session at NATPE.
- GSN has bought a game show set to launch soon. The series is called Bingo America, an original, 40-episode series, beginning Monday, March 31 at 7PM/6C. Developed by executive producer Andrew Glassman, the fast-paced, "free-to-play-along-and-win" new series blends all the classic elements of trivia-based game shows with traditional bingo game-play. Bingo America and host Patrick Duffy (Dallas, Step by Step) will be awarding cash and prizes to both on-air contestants and at-home viewers in every episode.
More notes coming, if any. Check back with us.

This March on TV One we will get our normal sitcom stunts and also a launch of a new acquisition...the short lived action-packed drama Day Break starring Taye Diggs.
On Saturday, March 8 from 12 Noon to 8pm, spend a day with TV One's legendary male comedians - Martin (Lawrence), Cedric (the entertainer), and Eddie (Murphy) in an all-day marathon of comedies Martin, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, and The PJs that will keep the funny coming from all different angles.
Then, Saturday, March 8, and Sunday, March 9, in primetime, TV One offers a Taye Diggs Weekend with a two-day TV One premiere of the blockbuster film How Stella Got Her Groove Back starring a then-unknown Taye Diggs in his first big role alongside Angela Bassett and Whoopi Goldberg.
Then, on Sunday, March 9, at 10pm, Taye Diggs Weekend continues with the TV One premiere of the recent ABC network action drama series Day Break. In the series, Diggs plays a detective framed for the murder of an assistant district attorney. 'Groundhog Day'-style, Diggs' character relives the same day over again each episode as he tries to investigate the murder, discover who framed him, and clear his name. TV One plans to air all 13 episodes of Day Break, which includes 7 episodes never seen before on American television, as ABC never aired those (they only aired them on abc.com). TV One premieres the season with two back-to-back action-packed episodes and will air subsequent episodes on Sundays at 10pm and 1am, with rebroadcasts Thursdays at 10pm and Fridays at 12pm. I suggest you all watch this series, as it is very good and actually has a conclusion after 13 episodes.
And we will have more on this in the coming weeks, but joining the TV One line-up in April will be the sitcom The Hughleys! It will get an all-day April Fool's Day marathon from 10am-6am, before joining the network line-up weekdays at 6:30pm and 11:30pm...more details on April soon!

As I mentioned a few times this week, Family Matters is coming to Nick at Nite. The official announcement should be coming soon, but Nick at Nite has access to the show beginning in March, but it won't premiere then (see below). ABC Family Channel, which currently airs the show weekdays (7-8am and 1-2pm) will lose rights after the Feb. 29 airing. So it will be leaving ABC Family.
However, the show will not be premiering on Nick at Nite in March after all. Family Matters is currently set to launch in June 2008. I think the reason they are holding it back by three months is to give it much more promotion because it will probably do very big for the network. It's going to be the Summer of Urkel this summer on Nick at Nite for sure! It really didn't make sense to launch it in March as planned because there is not much time to promote it. We will certainly have full details in the coming months on Family Matters' launch on Nick at Nite this June! Get ready for Urkel joining Tim the Toolman, George, and Will on Nick at Nite! "Did I do that?"

Day 87: WGA's Strike; More NATPE Notes; 2 More RTN Stations Added; TV Land Scores Big in January 2008

Today is day 87 of the strike. Various reports are saying the strike could end very soon because the informal negotiations are going well. Let's hope this is true and we get an official announcement soon. If the strike were to end in the next week or two, we could see many of our favorite scripted shows return for a month or two of new episodes this spring! But there are reports shows like Pushing Daisies and Law & Order: SVU would not be able to come back with new episodes until the fall. We'll keep you posted for sure.
In other news, NBC has renewed Celebrity Apprentice for another season. The second season of The Celebrity Apprentice will premiere in January of 2009. The first season wraps up Thursday, March 27 from 9-11pm.

As we did yesterday, we have some more NATPE notes for you.
- Program Partners and 44 Blue Productions have cleared Family Court With Judge Penny, a new syndicated courtroom show, in more than 70% of U.S. markets for this Fall. Clearances include WNYW/WWOR in New York, KTTV/KCOP in Los Angeles, WCIU/WWME in Chicago, WUPA in Atlanta, WBFF/WNUV in Baltimore and KTVT/KTXA in Dallas.
- It looks like The Montel Williams Show is ending after this season. However, CBS TV Distribution will offer 260 episodes of the best of Montel to stations for fall 2008. The show has aired for 17 seasons. Fox stations in the top two markets declined to renew the series for next season.
- NBC Universal's The Steve Wilkos Show was renewed for season two, with clearances in more than 85% of the country including top-market stations WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles, WGN Chicago and WPHL Philadelphia. Top Sinclair stations picking up the show for season two include WTTA Tampa, Fla.; WNUV Baltimore; WTTE Columbus, Ohio; and WLFL Raleigh, N.C., and Fox-owned stations extending their deal include WFTC Minneapolis and KUTP Phoenix.
- Litton Entertainment announced that Storm Stories, an unscripted series based on raw footage of extreme weather, has cleared 70% of U.S. stations. It will launch this fall. It comes from The Weather Channel and features customizable format options with features such as live local news and weather updates from station meteorologists. Major-market stations that have signed on include WABC in New York, KCAL/KCBS in Los Angeles, WGN in Chicago, KYW in Philadelphia, WJBK in Detroit, WSB in Atlanta, WTSP in Tampa, Fla., WJW in Cleveland, KPHO in Phoenix, KUSA in Denver, WESH in Orlando, Fla., KXTV in Sacramento, Calif., KSDK in St. Louis, WPXI in Pittsburgh and WJZ in Baltimore.
Litton has done big so far in NATPE, already selling Baywatch reruns to ION and has Cribs, and Pimp My Ride up for sale for this fall.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Media General to bring RTN programming to Mobile, AL/Pensacola, FL and Columbus, GA. The new affiliates will launch in the second quarter of this year on a digital stream of WKRG, the CBS affiliate in Mobile/Pensacola, and WRBL, the CBS affiliate in Columbus.

TV Land scored its most-watched month ever across several key categories for January 2008, according to Nielsen Media Research (12/31/07-1/27/08). The successful launch of new acquisition Just Shoot Me!, the network's regularly scheduled "Friday Night Movies" which included a telecast of The Jerk and "The Beverly Hillbillies New Year's Eve Marathon" led the network to score double-digit gains in rating and delivery among its target A25-54, core A40-54 audience and total viewers in total day.
In total day, TV Land posted a 0.4 rating (382,000 viewers) among A25-54, up +33% in rating and +33% in delivery over a year ago. The network attracted an average of 782,000 total viewers, up +18% over January 2007. Among its core audience, A40-54, the network scored a 0.5 rating (279,000 viewers), representing a rise of +25% in rating and +29% in delivery over last year. In prime time, TV Land posted a 0.4 rating (460,000 viewers), up+3% in delivery over last year, and among A40-54, the network averaged a 0.6 rating (336,000 viewers). Additionally, TV Land attracted an average of over 1 million total viewers.
For more on the best month ever in the ratings for TV Land, click HERE!

Come on back tomorrow for TV One March and details on Family Matters coming to Nick at Nite. Family Matters will launch on... (sorry you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that!)