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Blog DVD Reviews: The Alvinnn!!! Edition, Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom, Alvin's Thanksgiving Celebration, and Classic Holiday Gift Set

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Reviews. This week we take a look at recent Paramount Home Entertainment's sets of Alvin & the Chipmunks. We will look at The Alvinnn!!! Edition, Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom, Alvin's Thanksgiving Celebration and a Classic Holiday Gift Set featuring the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials!
The Alvinnn!!! Edition set features episodes from the Alvin and the Chipmunks original series from 1983-87 for the very first time!
Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom set features episodes from the The Chipmunks Go to the Movies series, which was the continuation of Alvin and the Chipmunks from 1990 where the Chipmunks re-enact your favorite classic movies like Indiana Jones, Batmanand Robocop!
Alvin's Thanksgiving Celebration features the Thanksgiving special and a few episodes from The Chipmunks series from 1988-89. The Halloween and Christmas DVDs were released previously, but will be available again with the Thanksgiving set in a Classic Holiday Gift Set.
See my Blog DVD Reviews of The Alvinnn!!! Edition, Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom, Alvin's Thanksgiving Celebration and the Classic Holiday Gift Set featuring the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials:

Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Alvinnn!!! Edition (Paramount, $26.98) brings fourteen episodes from the original 1983-87 series! This is the very first time we get the actual original series on DVD, so fans will be very happy. It's Alvin in all of his mischievous glory! This 2-disc compilation includes Alvin's most hilarious, action-filled comedy adventures. It's time for side-splitting laughter with Alvin, whose antics take him from Hawaii to army boot camp, ski slopes and more! Even when he has the best of intentions, you'll understand when Dave cries, "ALVINNN!!!"
We have had many Chipmunk sets, some even re-released. Basically, we have had Chipmunks Go To The Movies sets (which featured episodes like "Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom," "Robomunk," "Star Wreck," "Batmunk," and "Funny...We Shrunk the Adults"). We have also had holiday themed sets such as Valentine's, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials releases. Paramount has also released the Chipmunk Adventure feature film from 1987.
This set has fourteen episodes from the original 1983-87 series. Actually the last episode ("Cadet's Regrets") on this set is from 1988 when it was retitled The Chipmunks. The original 1983-87 series had two 11 minute episodes or so in a half-hour. So we don't get the actual "full episodes," but one 11 minute episode from a full episode...and we get 13 of those mini-episodes. The episodes run 11-12 minutes (lowest is 10:42, highest is 12:00), some have actually the catchy opening theme. Some episodes have no opening theme, but have the closing credits. Two episodes on the second disc does have both the opening and closing themes. Weird. None of these episodes have the episode title card screen though, which is odd. The Chipmunk episode ("Cadet's Regret") though does, and it also has the opening and closing theme. That episode runs 22:30, as the episodes by then became one episode per half-hour. Each episode has 2 chapter stops on this set.
Packaging is simple and in the same line as the previous sets--a nice simple case with the discs inside with an insert for Chipmunks.com. This is the first set with two discs. Each disc is on both panels. Cover art has Simon & Theodore on the corners with a big yellow A in the middle with a big picture of Alvin. Disc art has the big yellow A and different shots of Alvin on both discs. All the artwork seems to be from the post-1987 version, and not the original series artwork for some reason. Oh well.
The menu screen has Play All and all the episodes listed on the main menu, with the big yellow A and a shot of Alvin and a red background. Autotrailers for Alvin, SpongeBob, and Go Diego Go! come before the main menu starts.
The video and audio are OK at best, some episodes look good, some don't. They are certainly not remastered or anything. They are watchable, though.
I highly do recommend any fan to pick up this set. We FINALLY get some episodes of the classic series from 1983-87. Those are the best and most memorable episodes. I just wish they start giving us season sets. It isn't that hard, is it? I want to see "The C Team" episode on DVD! Anyway, if you haven't gotten any of these Chipmunk sets yet, this is the one to get first. Classic Alvin!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
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Alvin & the Chipmunks Go To the Movies: Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom (Paramount, $16.99) brings three more episodes from the short-lived 13 episode series where the Chipmunks spoofed major Hollywood films.
We have had many Chipmunk sets, some even re-released. Basically, we have had Chipmunks Go To The Movies sets (which featured episodes like "Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom," "Robomunk," "Star Wreck," "Batmunk," and "Funny...We Shrunk the Adults"). We also got the Alvinnnn!!! Edition set featuring classic episodes from the 1983-87 series. Holiday themed sets have been released as well such as Valentine's, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials releases. Paramount has also released the Chipmunk Adventure feature film from 1987.
This set has three episodes from the 1990 series featuring spoofs on Indiana Jones, Batman, and RoboCop. Yes, the spoof on Batman was on another set and for some reason is on this one, too. Why? We still have some unreleased ones like Dick Tracy and Splash spoofs yet to be seen on DVD. The episode titles for this set are "Daytona Jones and the Pear of Wisdom," "Batmunk," and "Robomunk." As I said in previous reviews, why not just bring all 13 on two-discs or something? It doesn't make sense to me why just three episodes and one of them was already released on the last set. Episode runtimes are 23:03, 22:32, and 23:05. "Batmunk" has no chapter stops, while "Daytona Jones" has 4 and "Robomunk" has 5 chapter stops.
Packaging is simple and in the same line as the previous sets--a nice simple case with the disc inside with an insert for Chipmunks.com. Cover art has Alvin and the Chipmunks Go To The Movies logo with a reel strip and the mention of "Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom." Picture of Alvin as Daytona Jones is featured with Theodore & Simon tied up and captured. Disc art is the same as the cover art, but with just Alvin's shot from the cover.
The menu screen has a clapboard with shots of Alvin, Simon, & Theodore with the options of Play All and all the episodes listed on the main menu. The main menu is in a blue background. Autotrailers for Alvin, SpongeBob, and Go Diego Go! come before the main menu starts.
The video and audio are decent and very watchable and in line with the other Chipmunks Go to the Movies releases.
I highly do recommend any fan to pick up this set. New fans might also want to see this hilarious take on these popular films, but I am hoping we get all of them on one set soon, because having doubles of a few of these is crazy. I have said before the classic series needs to be released on DVD, and now we have seen 13 mini episodes released on the Alvinnn!!! Edition set, but we need season sets! Anyway, head on to the movies with the Chipmunks to see Daytona Jones, Batmunk, and Robomunk!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
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Alvin & the Chipmunks: Alvin's Thanksgiving Celebration and Alvin & the Chipmunks: Classic Holiday Gift Set (Thanksgiving: Paramount, $14.98; Classic Holiday Gift Set: Paramount, $35.98) brings the 1994 Thanksgiving special and three episodes from The Chipmunks years on DVD for the first time! Celebrate Thanksgiving, Chipmunk-style, with these fun-filled original episodes from The Chipmunks series from 1988-89 and the 1994 Thanksgiving special. On this DVD, the world-famous Chipmunks, Alvin, Simon and Theodore perform in a play, recall famous moments in American History, take care of a kitten and face the marriage of Dave!
We have had many Chipmunk sets, some even re-released. Basically, we have had Chipmunks Go To The Movies sets (which featured episodes like "Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom," "Robomunk," "Star Wreck," "Batmunk," and "Funny...We Shrunk the Adults"). We also got the Alvinnnn!!! Edition set featuring classic episodes from the 1983-87 series. Holiday themed sets have been released as well such as Valentine's, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials releases. Paramount has also released the Chipmunk Adventure feature film from 1987.
This set has "A Chipmunk Celebration" (1994), and episodes from 1988-89: "Food For Thought," "Cookie Chomper III," and Dave's Getting Married." The episodes run 21:35, 21:35, 21:41, and 23:23. The Thanksgiving special has 4 chapter stops. "Food for Thought," has no theme, but has 4 chapter stops, an episode title screen, and the closing theme. "Cookie Chomper II" has the Chipmunks theme, the episode title screen, 3 chapter stops but doesn't have the closing theme. "Dave's Getting Married" has everything...the opening theme, episode title screen, and closing theme with three chapter stops.
Packaging is simple and in the same line as the previous sets--a nice simple case with the disc inside with an insert for Chipmunks.com. Cover art has the Alvin and the Chipmunks logo with shots of Theodore, Alvin and Simon playing with fruit and vegetables and Dave coming inside with a tray of vegetables. Disc art is the same as the cover art, but with just Alvin's shot from the cover.
The menu screen has a Thanksgiving colors background with three screenshots of the family and Alvin in a turkey costume, with the options of Play All and all the episodes listed on the main menu.
The video and audio are decent and very watchable and in line with other holiday and The Chipmunks 88-89 series releases.
I highly do recommend any fan to pick up this set, especially if you have the Halloween and Christmas sets which came out a few years ago. We finally have the Thanksgiving one! All three will be released on a special Classic Holiday Gift Set, which I will talk about in the next paragraph. But if you have those other two special DVDs already, then buy this one! Spend some time with Alvin's family with your family!

Now I'll just comment a bit on the new release of the Classic Holiday Gift Set, which brings "A Chipmunk Christmas," "Alvin's Thanksgiving Celebration," and "Trick or Treason" on DVD all in one nice set. Everything is the same as the single releases, but the box that holds these cases. So, if you have not gotten any of these holiday specials, then buy this set, as you get them all in one box. The box is very neat. It has all three holidays in one picture on the cover art. Simon celebrating Christmas, Alvin in Thanksgiving turkey, and Theodore as pumpkin for Halloween. You see presents, pumpkins, vegetables, Christmas trees, snow, trees with no leaves, etc. Nicely done. The back of the box has details on all three sets. See our link below to buy this Classic Holiday Gift Set. Can't believe we are nearing the holiday season already.
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars) for both sets

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Also purchase the Classic Holiday Gift Set featuring the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas sets all in one box:
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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Alvin & the Chipmunks TV.com Page
Chipmunks.com

Fox Pulls Do Not Disturb for Next Week; Some BET Schedule Updates

Fox has pulled Do Not Disturb for next week. The sitcom about a hotel airing Wednesdays at 9:30pm on Fox has only aired three times to very low ratings. The show has not even gone past 5 million ever, and has gone down each airing: 4.65, 3.9, and 3.58 million. Fox will air a repeat of 'Til Death at 9:30pm this coming week (Oct. 1). 'Til Death has not done much better either in its three airings (6.06, 4.89, 3.72 million), but it will likely build at 9:30 at least following original episodes of itself.
Do Not Disturb is not "officially" canceled though. As of now, it is slated to air October 8 at 9:30pm with the actual pilot episode, which was not aired first. IF that airs, that might be the last airing in a while or ever because Oct. 15 is a Presidential Debate, Oct. 22 is a World Series game and on Oct. 29 another World Series game, if necessary. So did we see the last of this show or will we see it again on Oct. 8 for possibly the final time? We shall find out. Certainly not good news for this show in anyway. Stay tuned!
Other new shows in jeopardy right now are NBC's America's Toughest Jobs, Fox's Hole in the Wall and The CW's Privileged. Still too early to tell on other series after just one airing, like Gary Unmarried.

BET has made some more changes. Judge Karen and Judge Hatchett will move back to 10-11am after a short run from 11am-12pm. Smart Guy remains 9-10pm. 11am hour will now be another Judge Hatchett followed by an episode of Girlfriends. Steve Harvey and Smart Guy remain 4-5pm and 5-6pm weekdays. A Different World will air everyday next week in the 3am hour. On Saturdays, Smart Guy is extended from 11am-1pm, moving Steve Harvey to 1-2pm on Saturdays.

The debate is on tonight, as McCain said he will be there. So tune in tonight at 9pm ET on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox for the first debate between Obama and McCain. And don't forget the Sunday premieres of Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters on ABC, as I have seen them already...view my thoughts on the premieres.

Nick at Nite October 2008 Has Urkel Week and Halloween Week; Lifetime Acquires How I Met Your Mother for Fall 2010

This October on Nick at Nite will have various stunts such as an Urkel week hosted by Jaleel White and the 1st Annual Worldwide Fido Awards. At last an award show for real dogs! Forget the pedigree, purebreds and professional judges! The dogs on this show are chosen by you the viewer! The one-hour special event hosted by actor/comedian Fred Willard will showcase the six Fido finalists and best of WorldwideFido.com's user-generated videos, where one lucky dog will ultimately be crowned the 2008 Worldwide Fido winner. It will air Sunday, October 5 from 8-9PM.
On Columbus Day (Monday, October 13), Nick at Nite will bring out the stars on George Lopez with a marathon from 9pm-4am. Got a favorite guest star? Check out the special line-up of hand picked celebrities all of whom have graced the George Lopez stage to see if your favorites made the cut! Eva Longoria, Mario Lopez, Jerry Springer, Adam West, Barbara Eden, Jim Belushi, Sandra Bullock, Lou Diamond Phillips, Paris Hilton, Hilary Duff, Richard Lewis, Kimberly Williams, Laila Ali, Andy Garcia, who made the cut? Find out on October 13!
Get up close and personal with Steve Urkel himself (Jaleel White) as he reminisces with Nick and Nite on what it was like to play one of America's favorite nerds and his favorite episodes. Jaleel White hosts an hour a night from Oct. 20-26 featuring classic Steve Urkel-themed episodes of Family Matters. Classic episodes include his very first episode, Jaleel as Myrtle Urkel, the Urkel dance episode, Urkelbot, Urkel & Grandmama, and classic Stefan episodes.
Finally, it's a spooktacular week for Nick at Nite the week of October 27-31. Tune in all-week long to catch Halloween themed episodes of your Nick at Nite favorites (Fresh Prince, George Lopez, and Home Improvement) in the 9pm hour and also in regular timeslots for more Halloween fun. It will be capped off with a Halloween marathon on Halloween night from 10pm-1am featuring George Lopez, Home Improvement and Family Matters. Be ready for the scary Stevil!
View the full Nick at Nite October 2008 schedule and highlights.

Continuing the aggressive expansion of its comedy programming, Lifetime Television has acquired the exclusive basic cable rights to the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother from Twentieth Television, beginning in the fall of 2010.
How I Met Your Mother joins Lifetime comedy mainstays such as Reba, Still Standing, Will & Grace and Frasier. So far in 2008, Reba ranks #1 in cable comedies among W18+ and W25-54 in the Monday-Friday, 8-9PM (ET/PT) time period.
Both Lifetime and Twentieth Television declined comment on the financial terms of the deal, but sources said the sitcom fetched around $725,000 per episode in a highly competitive bidding situation that included at least six interested cable nets, including TBS, ABC Family and FX. The deal will be a four-year deal and could add on a year each time it gets renewed on CBS. The deal can reach as high as eight years. Lifetime's deal is the second biggest license fee ever by a cable network for a sitcom in the first cycle, beaten only by the near $800,000 an episode that FX did for Warner Bros. Domestic's Two and a Half Men. Lifetime can also reportedly air two episodes a week by early next year before it can be stripped for daily play in fall 2010.
Last week, Twentieth TV scored deals with the Fox-owned TV stations in N.Y. (WNYW), L.A. (KTTV) and Chicago (WFLD) for reruns of How I Met Your Mother for local station play starting in fall 2010. Stations in five other major markets, including CBS-owned outlets in Philadelphia (WPSG) and Dallas (KXTA) bought the series. WLVI Boston, KQCA Sacramento, and Seattle's KCPQ/KMYQ round out the additional five.
Starring Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Radnor, Jason Segal and Alyson Hannigan, How I Met Your Mother debuted on CBS in 2005 and currently airs Mondays at 8:30PM (ET/PT) on CBS in its fourth season.
In other Lifetime news, just a reminder that original sitcom Rita Rocks launches with five new episodes airing in a one week strip, beginning Monday, October 20, through Friday, October 24, at 8:30PM (ET/PT), following Reba repeats. Then starting Tuesday, October 28, Rita Rocks will air regularly Tuesdays at 8:30PM (ET/PT). Also, starting Monday, October 5, The Nanny will return to weekdays at 8-9am replacing a Desperate Housewives airing. The Nanny had been airing only weeknights at 2am and will still retain that slot. Both The Golden Girls and The Nanny will be expiring from Lifetime in early 2009, so Lifetime will have some slots to fill. We'll let you know what happens.

Tonight it is the season premieres of Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy on ABC. I have watched both premieres already and both are very good, especially the two-hour Grey's Anatomy premiere. On Ugly Betty, a month has passed and Betty has made her choice. When she returns, she finds out what happened to Mode and Daniel. Meanwhile, Betty's dad is now working at a local hamburger place...where Betty's high school bully Kimberly (Lindsay Lohan) is the manager. Very fun scenes with Betty and Kimberly. And Hilda's romance with Coach Diaz continues, despite his marriage. Without giving anything away, the premiere is funny and it's a fresh start with lots of changes. The move to New York in production has paid off!
As for Grey's Anatomy, the premiere is fantastic. It also has change. It seems many ABC shows this fall has changes, and it is for the good. A freak fall ice storm has hit Seattle and Seattle Grace Hospital has moved out of the top 5 in the rankings of best teaching skills. Chief Webber has to make changes and decisions to get the hospital back to its credibility. Making quite the entrance in this episode is the very talented Kevin McKidd, who plays General Hunt, a doctor in the military. He has excellent scenes with Cristina...and steamy ones. There are a few dream sequences, some shocking and some touching...not giving it away though. Also, I won't give it away, but the keyword for the episode is "icicle." It's a premiere you will want to watch for sure.
I have seen many of the premieres for ABC, so check my thoughts on them if you want to read it. More is on the way, so keep checking back.

TV Land November 2008 Highlights; Bush Speech Hits Primetime Tonight Affecting Network Primetime

Before we get to the November 2008 TV Land highlights, we have some news for fans for this week. For this week only, from Wed-Fri (Sept. 24-26), two more Night Court airings will air per day from 7-8am instead of the usual M*A*S*H, in addition to its weekdays at 8am airing. Why is this happening? Because M*A*S*H will takeover the 11pm-12am slot this week instead of Scrubs, in addition to its 12-1am airings. The Cosby Show marathon is going on this week in primetime, so there have been time shifting, and possibly Scrubs didn't do well at 11pm this week.
This November on TV Land it's time to vote and then have a feast on Thanksgiving! Its election season and TV Land is offering viewers the chance to voice off on a homefront issue of grave importance: Who should be the first family of TV Land -- The Taylors (Andy, Aunt Bea and Opie of The Andy Griffith Show), the Sanfords (Fred, Lamont and Aunt Esther of Sanford & Son) or the Clampetts (Jed, Granny, Elie-Mae and Jethro of The Beverly Hillbillies)? For two weeks, beginning Saturday, October 18 and leading up to election weekend, viewers will have the opportunity to go to tvland.com to vote on their favorite TV Land clan after viewing clips featuring the contending families at their best...and their worst. So whether they are having each other's backs or sticking a knife in it, TV Land's contenders always come together in the end to cut through the red tape and bring the laughter. On Sunday, November 2, after the viewers have voted on their favorites, the winning family will be featured in an 8 hour block from 8p-4a. Exciting!
Every Wednesday at 10pm, TV Land continues with TV Land Myths & Legends in November. The season premiere is October 8 and runs through November 19.
Don't miss the movies that made you believe a man can fly with a 3-night primetime limited commercial interruption event...of Superman! Superman and Superman II will be presented at 10pm on Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22. Then on Sunday, November 23 at 8pm, TV Land encores both movies in a special double-feature presentation (both of which will be enhanced with additional content giving viewers the scoop on behind the scenes drama along with fun facts and trivia about the Superman myth and the stars themselves.) Superman will save the day once more on Sunday, December 14 when the movie will encore on the eve of the 30th Anniversary of the film featuring limited commercial interruption and movie facts! It's certainly not a bird or plane!
Finally, TV Land's 2nd Annual Overstuffed Thanksgiving Weekend is serving up four fun-filled days of great television from Thursday, November 27 through Sunday, November 30 beginning at 10am each day. Viewers will delight in having four fun-filled days of classic and modern shows, TV Land originals and dynamic movies. With shows like The Andy Griffith Show, The Cosby Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Sanford & Son, I Love Lucy and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition together with movies like Superman and Police Academy, viewers will keep coming back for more like they do with turkey on Thanksgiving!
There will be no schedule changes to the regular line-up in November. Movie premieres for the month include Superman, Superman II, Dennis the Menace and Fatal Attraction with encore showings of City Slickers, Easy Money and Police Academy.
View the full TV Land November 2008 schedule and highlights.

President Bush plans to talk to Americans directly about the financial crisis in a primetime tonight at 9PM ET. This means primetime programming will be delayed after 9PM tonight. The speech will last 15 minutes and will delay all programming on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in Eastern, Central and Mountain time zones. Pacific time programming will not be affected by this, as they will get the speech at 6PM PT, so no delays out west. Out in the east and central, for ABC, David Blaine: Dive of Death will run from 9:15-11:15PM ET (that's 8:15-10:15PM CT). For CBS, the season premiere of Criminal Minds will run 9:15-10:15PM ET and CSI: NY's season premiere will run from 10:15-11:15PM ET. NBC's America's Got Talent will run 9:17-10:00PM ET and be abbreviated (it will air fully out west)the season premiere of Lipstick Jungle will run normally at 10-11PM ET. And finally, Fox's struggling sitcoms will be on a delay, with 'Til Death from 9:15-9:45PM ET and Do Not Disturb from 9:45-10:15PM ET. Set those DVRs or be on alert tonight!

WGN Edits Schedule and Adds ALF, Legal; Schedule Updates for TV One, The N ; 90210 Gets Full Season; Nick at Nite's Fido Awards Gets Willard As Host

It's a very busy Tuesday here at SitcomsOnline!
WGN America has edited their fall schedule again. They will make a few changes to their weekend line-up this week (Sept. 27-28). On Saturday, September 27, at 6pm ET they will premiere Boston Legal leading into the White Sox game at 7pm ET. On Sunday, Sept. 28 from 11am-12pm ET will be two episodes of Funniest Pets & People for his week only. Now at 12 noon ET, WGN America will air Boston Legal every week. Following Legal, will be two episodes of Whacked Out Sports at a special time from 1-2pm leading into the regular season finale for the Chicago Cubs. Beverly Hillbillies Sunday airings will move to 1-2am ET, following the Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie hours.
So what will happen regularly? Originally starting Saturday, October 4, NewsRadio was slated to join the WGN America line-up airing Saturdays 6-7pm ET followed by two Becker episodes from 7-8pm ET on Saturdays. Now NewsRadio won't be airing at all. Becker will slide to that 6-7pm ET timeslot on Saturdays followed by Boston Legal airing Saturdays at 7pm ET. On Sundays, as mentioned earlier, Boston Legal will air at 12 noon ET. The Cosby Show will be replaced on Sundays from 6-7pm with ALF, as ALF joins the regular line-up! The '80s comedy will actually launch Wednesday, October 1 from 8-10pm ET with a four episode block, for that week only. However, ALF will air on Mondays from 9-10pm ET as well starting Monday, October 6! So, Sundays 6-7pm ET and Mondays 9-10pm ET starting Oct. 5 and 6 for ALF. Also, on Sundays, as mentioned earlier, Beverly Hillbillies will move from Sunday daytime to 1-2am ET Sunday night. What a sitcom block on WGN from 5pm-2am on Sundays (with a break for news at 10-11pm ET), with Coach, ALF, WKRP, Newhart, Honeymooners, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie & Beverly Hillbillies!
Finally, starting Monday, November 3, weekdays 1-2am ET has changed a bit. Reno 911 is now 5 days a week rather than just airing 5 times on Fri/Sat nights. Corner Gas will move to 1:30am ET, as Becker will leave late nights but will still air weekday afternoons at 4pm ET and Saturday evenings from 6-7pm ET. Reno/Corner will follow The Bob and Tom Show at midnight ET weekdays starting Nov. 3. And the Saturday night midnight ET airing of Reno 911 will be another episode of The Honeymooners instead starting November 8, since Reno 911 will be airing weekdays. So, The Honeymooners gains another slot (it already airs Sundays 9-10pm ET).
I suggest you view the FULL WGN America Fall schedule so you don't get confused. We're not done with WGN America, as in the coming days or weeks we will announce what is airing on Halloween for a marathon!

TV One has made a few schedule changes. Beginning on Monday, September 29, the TV One primetime schedule will make a few adjustments. In the 9:30pm weeknight timeslot, TV One will now air the sitcom For Your Love replacing All of Us which has moved now to 10pm. Also beginning that week, the Friday night 4am timeslot will now be an additional airing of the animated comedy series The PJs. However, from Monday, October 6 and continuing through Thursday, October 9, that late night 4am timeslot will also be The PJs preempting All of Us for this week only. Also, the previously announced "Living Single: Celebrity Edition" marathon on Saturday, October 11 beginning at 11am, will now include an encore airing of Living Single: The Reunion Show, which reunites the cast from the classic hit sitcom.
TV One has pulled the launch for short-lived sitcom South Central. The sitcom was slated for a launch marathon on Saturday, October 18, but now movies will air instead that day. It will definitely air at a later date. The TV One programming and marketing group decided that they had too many other things to promote this fall, and they wanted to be able to give it the attention they think it deserves. We will of course let you know when it is scheduled again. So, yes, it won't air regularly on Saturdays at 11am and Sundays at 6pm either. Instead we will get two back-to-back episodes of fellow short-lived sitcom Where I Live starting Sunday, Oct. 19 airing Sundays 6-7pm and Saturdays 11am-12pm. Where I Live was previously scheduled to air Saturdays 11:30am and Sundays 6:30pm following South Central.
Moving on to The N...we mentioned Saved by the Bell was pulled last week and now a week later, it's back! The show is now airing weekdays at 3:00pm & 3:30pm starting immediately. Also, from 4-5pm two episodes of H2O is replacing two episodes of Kenan & Kel, which goes off the schedule. And from 5-6pm two episodes of Unfabulous replaces to shots of All That, which also is off the line-up now. Degrassi is back on The N with a weekend marathon from Friday, October 3 to Sunday, October 5. The show will air all day on those three days from 6am-6am, except 12-2am when That '70s Show airs. Degrassi returns for an all-new season the week after on October 10 at 8pm with an one-hour season premiere as Mia's got a new friend, a new guy, and maybe even a job as a model -- if she's willing to do what it takes to beat the competition. The season premiere will be followed by the season premiere of South of Nowhere at 9pm. If that weekend marathon was not enough, the week of October 6 will see more Degrassi. Degrassi will air Monday, October through Thursday, October 9 from 6am-10am, 3-6pm, and 2-6am. And all day on Friday, October 10 leading up to the season premiere.

The CW's drama 90210, quickly becoming one of the most popular series among young women, has been picked up for a full season of episodes even before it aired an episode during the actual TV season which started Monday.
The two-hour debut of 90210 on Sept. 2 shattered ratings records for The CW Network, becoming the highest-rated series premiere in the network's history with women 18-34 (4.5/12), adults 18-34 (3.1/9) and adults 18-49 (2.6/7). The 90210 series opener on Sept. 2 led The CW to become Tuesday's #1 network in all key demographics. With a double airing of the 90210 premiere during the opening week (Tuesday and Thursday), 12.7 million viewers watched all or part of The CW's highly anticipated new series. Facing increased competition, the most recent telecast of 90210 scored week-to-week gains in target demos, including 6% in women 18-34 (3.3/10), 14% in adults 18-34 (2.4/7) and 3% in total viewers (3.3mil). In addition, the series debut of 90210 added over a third more viewers in target demographics with Live-Plus Seven Day DVR viewing included.
While it is off to a good start, I think The CW should have waited until at least after today to announce it has picked up the back nine. The first Tuesday of the season is tonight, so it would have been wise to see how it would do tonight in the actual season.

A blues-singing beagle, a bull dog who can skateboard and flush the toilet on command and a Jack Russell terrier who can jump rope and walk up steps backward are among the semifinalists as the final round of voting begins for the top six pups who will compete for the champion title on the First Annual Worldwide Fido Awards, airing in primetime, Sunday, Oct. 5, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nick at Nite.
The one-hour special event hosted by actor/comedian Fred Willard (Best in Show) will showcase the six Fido finalists and best of WorldwideFido.com's user-generated videos, where one lucky dog will ultimately be crowned the 2008 Worldwide Fido winner. Fans can vote now on http://www.worldwidefido.com to determine the finalist in each of the six categories, including "Cutest Dog," "Best Dressed," "Best Voice," "Most Outrageous," "Best Trick" and "Dog/Owner Look-Alike." Popular dog trainer-to-the-stars Tamar Geller will serve as one of the judges, while one very special dog will be presented the "Hero" Award, to honor invaluable services provided to humans. The show will also feature pooch performances throughout the evening.

60th Primetime Emmy Awards Winners; ION Adds More Warner Bros. Movies; New TV Season Begins Tonight

Here are the winners for the main categories at last night's Emmys.

COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
WINNER: 30 Rock

DRAMA SERIES
Lost (ABC)
House (Fox)
Damages (FX)
Boston Legal (ABC)
Mad Men (AMC)
Dexter (Showtime)
WINNER: Mad Men

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)
Tony Shalhoub, Monk (USA Network)
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Steve Carell, The Office (NBC)
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
WINNER: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)

LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Old Christine (CBS)
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds (Showtime)
Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
WINNER: Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Hugh Laurie, House (Fox)
James Spader, Boston Legal (ABC)
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Gabriel Bryne, In Treatment (HBO)
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
WINNER: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, Damages (FX)
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace (TNT)
WINNER: Glenn Close, Damages (FX)

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Kevin Dillion, Entourage (HBO)
John Cryer, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Rainn Wilson, The Office (NBC)
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Jeremy Piven, Entourage (HBO)
WINNER: Jeremy Piven, Entourage.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Amy Poehler, SNL (NBC)
Jean Smart, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
WINNER: Jean Smart, Samantha Who? (ABC)

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages (FX)
William Shatner, Boston Legal (ABC)
John Slattery, Mad Men (AMC)
Ted Danson, Damages (FX)
Michael Emerson, Lost (ABC)
WINNER: Zeljko Ivanek, Damages (FX)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal (ABC)
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Diane Wiest, In Treatment (HBO)
WINNER: Diane Wiest, In Treatment (HBO)

See complete list of winners.

COMMENTS: The night belonged to the mini-series John Adams, comedy 30 Rock and drama Mad Men. Too much cable stuff was winning. Surprise of the night was Bryan Cranston winning for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for AMC's Breaking Bad. Besides the 30 Rock wins (Comedy, Lead Actor, and Lead Actress) and the win for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Jean Smart of ABC's Samantha Who?, the night was all cable...AMC, FX, HBO. I liked the tributes to the memorable TV shows and moments...as the Emmys turned 60. As for the hosts, they should have just done 1 or 2...Tom Bergeron was clearly the best. 30 Rock doesn't launch its third season until October 30, so no carry over likely, however the show's second season is coming to DVD on October 7. I think it is the new Arrested Development...critically acclaimed show that no one watches.
Combining the winners for the creative portion on Sept. 13, HBO had the most wins with 26, thanks to mini-seroes John Adams, which became the most-honored program ever. ABC led the broadcast networks with 12 wins. CBS, NBC and PBS tied for third overall with 10 overall wins. AMC had 8 wins overall.


ION Television, the "Positively Entertaining" general entertainment network reaching over 94 million homes, has inked a multi-year film acquisition deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. Extending from fall 2008 through summer 2010, this multi-year deal brings 27 critically acclaimed and Academy Award-winning films to the network's film slate.
The network already had a deal with Warner Bros., now 27 more movies come and the deal gets extended through summer 2010. ION Television kicks off the first of its new Warner Bros. films on Wednesday, September 24th at 8:00 p.m. ET with the comedy favorite Grumpier Old Men (starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Sophia Loren). ION will air the movies regularly on Thursdays from 9-11PM (sometimes 8-11PM) starting October 2. Through summer 2010, blockbusters featuring some of the biggest names in Hollywood will grace ION Television in a series of cinematic favorites spanning multiple genres.
Dramatic thrillers and crime sagas include classics like The Fugitive (starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones), GoodFellas (starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino) and Heat (starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer and Jon Voight), as well as more recent favorites such as Deep Blue Sea (starring Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J and Samuel L. Jackson) and Training Day (starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke).
Also in the mix are two movies from the famed Batman series, Batman Forever (starring Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman and Chris O’Donnell) and Batman Returns (starring Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken), plus Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon 1, 2 and 4.
Modern comedy classics include The Mask (starring Jim Carrey), Analyze This (starring Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal and Lisa Kudrow) and National Lampoon's European Vacation (starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo), among many others.
Rounding out the cinematic variety of ION Television's "Positively Entertaining" new movie lineup are dramas like City of Angels (starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan) and romantic comedies such as You've Got Mail (starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan). So that's 16 of the 27 new Warner Bros. movies, if you were counting. What about the rest? Above the Law, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Major League 2, Malice, Matchstick Men, Memphis Belle, Murder in the First, The Negotiator, The Specialist, Tango & Cash and Young Guns II! There you have it! Lots of good movies for Thursday nights.

The new season starts tonight! Expect Monday hits Dancing with the Stars, CSI: Miami, Two and a Half Men, and Heroes to be the night's highest rated shows. Other new notables tonight is the launch of the CBS sitcom Worst Week rounding out the CBS Monday sitcoms (8-10PM) and the Monday debut of ABC's Boston Legal.
My bets of the night: Dancing with the Stars (ABC 8-10:00PM) and The Big Bang Theory (CBS 8:00-8:30PM). Two fun-filled shows!

Summer Week 17 Sitcom Ratings; New Season Preview

Summer is now over after tonight! The 2008-09 TV season gets officially underway tomorrow and next Sunday we will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers, analysis and how the sitcoms did! But first, here is week 17 for the summer for sitcoms:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of September 8-14)

• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - Fox only aired comedies from 7-8pm and two repeats did 2.68 and 4.07 million...which was up against Football on CBS for the most of the country.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - preempted.
• Family Guy (Fox) - preempted
• American Dad! (Fox) - preempted

Summer Week 17 (September 15-21)

Monday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 5.94 million for a repeat...should have done a bit better, but the more important thing is how will it do tomorrow for its season premiere? Anything less than 8-8.5 million would be disappointing.
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 5.4 million for a repeat airing...not good, down week to week and did not build from the lead-in. It should be a different story tomorrow, as I'm predicting 9-9.5 million.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.97 million for a repeat, up from previous week...tomorrow's season premiere should do above 12 million, but it will battle Dancing with the Stars on ABC, which should do 20 million+.
• Old Christine (CBS) - 7.42 million for a repeat but remember the series will move to Wednesdays at 8 this week. New sitcom Worst Week will air in this slot, and I expect at least 10 million for the premiere.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None, Tuesdays used to be a sitcom night...now nothing.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) 2 episodes - Two repeats didn't muster much...just 4.38 and 4.59 million. This week it will be new and I really am not expecting much...look for 7 million or less. Gary Unmarried will follow and will likely build a bit for its premiere at least, but after this week, maybe not.
• 'Til Death (Fox) - Just 4.89 million for week two of the new season, down from the season premiere's 6.06 million...it'll go down more this week and it is time for Brad Garrett and company to end.
• Do Not Disturb (Fox) - Just 3.9 million for the second episode...down already from the series premiere's 4.65 million. This was my pick for the first cancelation of the season, and so far doesn't look good for Jerry O'Connell and gang.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - A repeat at a special time of 8:30pm following a special America's Got Talent Results did 5.05 million, down a bit from previous week. Look for more erosion for Earl this year. It's no longer a must see comedy as the show will only do 7 million or less for its premiere.
• The Office (NBC) 1 Hour - One-hour repeat did just 4.48 million. Look for the one-hour premiere this week to do close to 9 million and a good 18-49 number (NBC hopes for a 5 rating). It's no Grey's Anatomy but a solid hit that contends for #1 sitcom in 18-49, while Two and a Half Men and Samantha Who do better in viewers.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.
  

Tonight you can catch encores of Fox's animated comedies from 7-10 tonight but everyone will be watching the Emmys on ABC from 8-11 (and ESPN's coverage of the last game at Yankee Stadium). Jimmy Kimmel's hilarious Emmy special will air at 7pm on ABC.

New Season Preview (Season Starts Tomorrow, Sept. 22):

The new season starts Monday and here is a preview what is airing on premiere week! On ABC, it's the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars from 8-10pm and the last season premiere of Boston Legal on a new night at 10pm. CBS will launch its comedy block with season premieres of The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men & the series premiere of Worst Week from 8-10pm, and the season premiere of drama CSI: Miami at 10pm. NBC will have a Heroes night with a countdown special at 8pm followed by the two-hour season premiere of 9-11pm. Fox and The CW already launched their Monday series a few weeks ago with Fox's dramas Sarah Connor Chronicles & Prison Break off to very slow starts and good starts for The CW's Gossip Girl & One Tree Hill.
On Tuesday, ABC will launch new game-reality show Opportunity Knocks at 8pm followed by a special Dancing with the Stars from 9-11pm where the couples do a second dance for the first time in premiere week, while one person goes home at the beginning of the show. CBS will launch a new season of the reliable NCIS followed by the series premiere The Mentalist, and the season premiere of Without a Trace, on yet another night. NBC launched The Biggest Loser last week to OK numbers will have another two-hour episode from 8-10pm followed by the season premiere of old faithful Law & Order: SVU. Again, Fox and The CW launched their Tuesday shows already with Fox airing House & Fringe and The CW airing 90210 & Privileged. Expect all four of those to be down a bit this week.
On Wednesday, the three night Dancing with the Stars premiere concludes with the Results Show on a special night and time of 8-9pm followed by the highly addicitive David Blaine Special from 9-11pm, this time he goes for the Dive of Death. On CBS, sitcom Old Christine moves to a new night and time of 8pm followed by the series premiere of Gary Unmarried...then the big guns of Criminal Minds & CSI: NY will have their season premieres. NBC will premiere Knight Rider, which hopefully got better after that awful TV movie, followed by one of the last episodes of the summer show America's Got Talent leading into the season premiere of Lipstick Jungle at 10pm. Fox and The CW will continue their line-ups, Fox with Bones and sitcoms 'Til Death & Do Not Disturb. The CW has Top Model and an encore of 90210.
On Thursday, ABC will have the season premiere of Ugly Betty at 8pm and the two-hour season premiere of Grey's Anatomy from 9-11pm. The clear winner of the night in ratings. CBS will have a two-hour premiere of Survivor: Gabon from 8-10pm, the first time ever the show will launch with a two-hour episode, followed by an encore of CSI's finale from last year at 10pm. CSI launches its new season on Oct. 9. NBC will have a two-episode premiere of My Name is Earl, followed by the one-hour The Office season premiere at 9pm, and ER at 10pm will have its season premiere. Fox will have two episodes this week of Kitchen Nightmares from 8-10pm. And The CW will have week two of Smallville and Supernatural.
On Friday, the first Presidential Debate takes over primetime from 9-11pm ET as Obama and McCain debate for the first of three times. At 8pm, ABC will air a special 20/20, CBS will encore the premiere of The Mentalist, NBC will have dud America's Toughest Jobs, and Fox will air a new Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? The CW will have its last airing of WWE Smackdown, as it moves to MyNetworkTV.
On Saturdays its slow as usual with ABC probably doing the best with College Football. Fox is new with Cops and AMW.
And next Sunday, its more premieres, as ABC will have the two-hour season premiere of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition from 7-9pm, followed by the anticipated season premiere of Desperate Housewives at 9pm and the family drama Brothers & Sisters at 10pm. CBS has an all-new night with 60 Minutes, Amazing Race 13, Cold Case and The Unit on its new night and time. NBC will turn it over once again to Sunday Night NFL. Fox will have the premieres of their animated series The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy and American Dad! from 8-10pm following NFL coverage. The CW still has repeats until the MRC block launches.

Blog DVD Reviews: Brothers and Sisters: The Complete 2nd Season (Sept. 23) and Cashmere Mafia: The Complete Series

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Review. This week we take a look at ABC Studios/Buena Vista Home Entertainment's Brothers and Sisters: The Complete 2nd Season and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's Cashmere Mafia: The Complete Series. Brothers and Sisters is of course the current ABC Sunday family drama starring Calista Flockhart and Sally Field. The show follows the Walker family, with the ups and downs of running a family business. This show is so great and even funny. Cashmere Mafia only lasted 7 episodes this past season and aired during the writers' strike and is about four women in NYC who are big in the business world. See my Blog DVD Reviews of Brothers and Sisters: The Complete 2nd Season and Cashmere Mafia: The Complete Series:

Brothers and Sisters: The Complete 2nd Season (ABC Studios, $59.99) brings all 16 episodes of the writers' strike shortened second season of the hit family drama on DVD! Take a fascinating look at a complex American family much like your own as you witness the loves, the losses and the personal triumphs of the Walker clan. Their differences make them human and their bond makes them family. The series airs Sundays at 10PM on ABC and stars Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Sally Field as Nora Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker Whedon, Ron Rifkin as Uncle Saul Holden, Balthazar Getty as Tommy Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Dave Annabale as Justin Walker, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper, with Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, and Patrica Wettig as Holly Harper. Recurring are Kerris Dorsey as Paige Whedon, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, John Pyper-Ferguson as Joe Whedon, Eric Winter as Jason McCalister, Denis O'Hare as Travis, Emily Rose as Lena, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty, Ken Olin as David, Chevy Chase as Stan, Danny Glover as Isaac, and Steven Weber as Graham. With special guest star Tom Skeritt as William Walker.
This second season is very good. It might not be as good as the first year but it is still very well done despite being cut short due to the writers' strike. Some storylines like Justin-Rebecca and Tommy-Lena made some fans upset, but honestly I didn't have a problem with it. Lena was just temporary. Some classic episodes include the season premiere "Home Front," as it picks up the story of the Walkers at the end of the summer, and Nora's video-mail to Justin in Iraq fills everyone in on the family doings, while Kitty is under pressure as the Senator's fiancee and not just as a staffer anymore. In "American Family," Kevin, Nora and Kitty go to pick up Justin who has just returned home from the war. McCallister finds that he’s getting closer to Walkers. Meanwhile, the truth is revealed between Sarah and Rebecca and Tommy is not able to get the hang of being a father. In "Domestic Issues," Sarah becomes embroiled in a difficult battle with Joe for custody of their children. Kitty's Halloween announcement has consequences for the entire Walker family. In "36 Hours," The Walkers unite as Justin's addiction hits an all-time low. Kitty and Robert build new plans for their future. In "Holy Matrimony," Robert and Kitty get married but not before a political scandal and a severe case of cold feet threatens the wedding. Meanwhile Isaac distracts Nora from her romance with Stan, Holly gets a surprise visit from an old friend and some secrets are revealed. In the first episode after the strike, "Separation Anxiety," Isaac has an important question for Nora. Rebecca begins to question whether William Walker is really her father, so she decides to have DNA tests done. Robert and Kitty visit a fertility clinic. In "Moral Hazard," After an international business deal goes bad, Holly becomes the saving grace for Ojai Foods. Meanwhile Justin delivers heartbreaking news about a family member, and Saul makes a shocking confession about himself. Also Scotty and Kevin share a life-changing moment together. And in the season finale, "Prior Commitments," Kevin and Scotty make a commitment to be life partners, while Saul finally comes to grips with his identity in a public way as the family discovers that William kept yet another painful secret from them and Rebecca and Justin begin a new beginning. Those episodes really stand out, but they are all very good I think, while it may not be as good as season one in quality, but it is still good TV. The episodes run usually in the 43 minute range (with a few at 42 or under 42 a bit)...unedited of course. There are about 7-9 chapter stops per episode. The video is digitally mastered and is in widescreen and looks very good! The audio is great and sounds very good, as it is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This is from the 2007-08 season, so it has to be good.
Packaging has a nice light brown/beige outer box with a nice cast photo of the main cast near the front door of the Walker house on the front cover...the back cover has information on the series & set and has three screen shots. There is also a section detailing the special features in a blue box with technical specifications also. Inside the box is a digipak case. The front of the digipak has another cast photo, this time they are all at the family business, "Ojai Foods." The back of the digipak has headshots from episodes of Kitty, Robert, Nora and Sarah. Opening the case once, we get a pocket on the left that holds inserts and four more head shots from episodes on the right (Rebecca, Justin, Saul, Holly). The pocket holds three items, one is so nicely done. We get a nice envelope that holds Collectible Walker Family Recipe Cards, labeled "Nora's Favorite Family Recipes." It is very creative and has nice graphics and the items are actually featured this past season on the show! The back of the envelope has a disc by disc breakdown of episodes. Time to cook some Paella and some Pasta! We also get two other inserts for other ABC Studios products and Blu-ray. Opening the case once more, we get discs one and two in the middle, with three more head shots from episodes of Kevin, Tommy, and Julia. Opening it one final time, now we see discs three and four, and discs five and six. The discs overlap, like most ABC Studio DVDs. Each disc is in beige like the color scheme of the set and has artwork from items of the show. Disc one has episodes 1-4 with artwork of Justin's bedroom as you see his crutches. Disc two has episodes 5-8 and has artwork of some fruit in Ojai Food Co crate. Disc three has episodes 9-12 and has artwork of a flower bouquet from Kitty's wedding. Disc four has episodes 13-16 and has artwork of the vineyard with some grapes and wine bottle from Walker Landing Winery. Disc five holds the bonus features with artwork of Kevin's law office, I believe. After you remove the discs, you get nice promotional photos on the panels itself.
The menu screen starts by showing us the view of the Walker house then clips start playing as the audio gives us nice background music from the show then we see the family album with the snapshot sound. It is really neat once again. On disc one only, before the main menu we have auto trailers for DVDs of Private Practice, Samantha Who, Grey's Anatomy and Dirty Sexy Money. The options on the main menu are Play All, Episode Selection, Bonus Features, Set Up, and Sneak Peeks. Sneak Peeks is just on disc five and has sneak peeks of Wall E, Miramax Films, Narnia, and ABC promos for Dirty Sexy Money and Brothers & Sisters itself. Set Up section has the option of subtitles in English, French or Spanish and how to register your DVD. Bonus Features are on each disc but disc three. Disc 5 has all the actual extras, while the other discs have audio commentary. The Episodes option gives us the episode number and title to choose along with a screenshot...all in a family album form.
Moving on to the bonus features. Disc one has audio commentary on the episode "Homefront" by director Ken Olin, and actors Patricia Wettig (Holly) and Matthew Rhys (Kevin). Disc two has audio commentary on the episode "36 Hours" by actors Dave Annable (Justin), Sarah Jane Morris (Julia), and Emily VanCamp (Rebecca). Disc four has audio commentary on the season finale "Prior Commitments" by executive producer Monica Owusu-Breen and actors Matthew Rhys (Kevin) & Luke Macfarlane (Scotty).
That's just the commentaries! There is more on disc five! We get 7 Deleted Scenes that run: 1:31, 1:53, 0:23, 0:45, 1:36, 0:50, and 0:36. We have a very interesting and long featurette titled "Guestbook" that runs 14:03. We get details on all the great guests and recurring guests for this past season such as Ken Olin, Danny Glover, Chevy Chase, Garry Marshall, Steven Weber, Dennis O'Hare, Emily Rose, Bill Smitrovich, and Luke Macfarlane...they are all interviewed plus the producers and regula cast comment on them! Then we have a short 6:18 featurette titled "TV Dinners: Food from Season 2." Get a taste how food is made for scenes for the show! Food stylist Jessie Sieben discusses how she prepares the food. Producers and the cast discuss the food as well. We have another featurette titled "Open House: Designing the Brothers & Sisters Set," that runs 10:10. Get a low-down how the the set is designed from Denny Dugally (production designer) and set decorator Bryan John Venegas. We finally have 4:21 worth of Bloopers & Outtakes. Very fun to watch always and longer than last year.
I highly recommend this series and set. It is such a well written and acted show. I look forward to it every Sunday on ABC and can't wait until the third season starts on Sept. 28. I have seen the season premiere already in advance and it is very good mixed with great drama and hilarious comedy. The Walkers all get together in a nice beach house at the Laguana, and things come out. You'll want to watch! But before that buy this set and re-live or catch up on season two in time for the third season premiere. I know...they should have released this on Sept. 2 with Desperate Housewives, so fans can catch-up if they missed any episodes. And have Eli Stone come out the 23rd instead. Don't take a "Walker Roadtrip" to buy this DVD because you can just click below to order!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4.5/5 stars)

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

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Official Website
Brothers and Sisters TV.com Page



Cashmere Mafia: The Complete Series (Sony, $29.95) brings all 7 episodes of the series that aired during the writers' strike on DVD! Set in glamorous New York City, four women stay close as they strive for success in the business world. They are known as the "Cashmere Mafia," because they rely on each other for support in both their careers and personal relationships. Executive producer Darren Star was the creator of Sex and the City and he brought to ABC a similar style series. The series aired Wednesdays at 10PM on ABC during the writers' strike and starred Lucy Liu as Mia Mason, Miranda Otto as Juliet Draper, Frances O'Connor as Zoe Burden and Bonnie Somerville as Caitlin Dowd. Recurring are Peter Hermann as Davis Draper, Julian Ovenden as Eric Burden, Tom Everett Scott as Jack Cutting, Lourdes Benedicto as Alicia Lawson, Noelle Beck as Cilla Grey, Jack Yang as Jason Chun, Daniel Gerroll as Clive Hughes, Kevin Kilner as Clayton, and Addison Timlin as Emily Draper. Guest stars include Krista Allen.
The show only lasted 7 episodes and was probably wasted during the strike. Had not for the strike, who knows, this could have done better in the ratings and could have become a hit. The 7 episodes are all good really. The episodes run usually run around 42...unedited of course. Runtimes are as follows: 42:53, 42:32, 42:00, 41:39, 39:51, 41:04, and 40:57. There are about 7 chapter stops per episode. The video is digitally mastered and is in widescreen and looks very good! The audio is great and sounds very good, as it is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This is from the 2007-08 season, so you expect the best.
Packaging has a nice white/red outer box with a nice cast photo of the four ladies in a New York City background on the front cover...the back cover has information on the series & set and has five small screen shots along with the four ladies sitting in a fancy dinner table. The table also details the special features. Inside the box we get two slim cases and a Sony booklet for other Sony TV DVDs. The front of both slim cases have a different cast photo on each. The back of both slim cases have three head shots and episode descriptions with the episode number, title, and synopsis. Inside the cases we get nice photos in the background. The discs are on the right side of both slim cases. Disc one holds episodes 1-4 and has artwork of Juliet and Mia. Disc two holds episodes 5-7 and the extras and has artwork of Caitlin and Zoe.
The menu screen starts by showing us four or five different shots of each of the four ladies then we get to the main menu with a shot of all four ladies with the theme music playing in the background. Options are: Play All Episodes, Episode Selection, Subtitles, and Special Features. Special Features are on disc two only. Subtitles are in Thai, Chinese and Korean. Episode Selection gives us a list of episodes with episode number and title. Each submenu has different background music from the series.
Moving on to the special features. We have four very short featurettes and the generic Sony Previews. Each featurette is for one of the four ladies. First one is "Revenge Sex: You Get as Good as You Give," running 2:00 and is Juliet themed and Mirando Otto discusses. Next one is "Move In Or Move Out," running 2:34 and is Mia themed and Lucy Liu discusses. Then we have "Kiss My Glass Ceiling," running 2:12 and is Zoe themed and Frances O'Connor discusses. Finally, we have "Pick a Team, Any Team," running 2:06 and is Caitlin themed and Bonnie Somerville discusses. There are also Sony previews for movies like Made of Honor starring Patrick Dempsey.
I think you should buy this set if you're a fan or if you've never seen the show. It's only 7 episodes, so why not? You can watch it like a long movie. Lucy Liu has already moved on to Dirty Sexy Money (season premiere on Oct. 1 on ABC), so watch her in that. Hopefully the other three ladies can move on to other shows as well. So join the fun and drama of the "Cashmere Mafia" by buying this set!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Cashmere Mafia TV.com Page

CBS Fall Pilot Review: Gary Unmarried - Premieres September 24; Our 2008 Emmy Awards Picks

CBS.com Official Site

Gary Unmarried Fan Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Gary Unmarried Photo Gallery

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Here are our Emmy Awards picks for The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, which will air Sunday (Sept. 21) at 8/7 central on ABC. It will be a night to remember memorable TV moments as the Emmys turn the big 6-0!

COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
OUR PICK: 30 Rock. I'm pissed no Pushing Daisies.

DRAMA SERIES
Lost (ABC)
House (Fox)
Damages (FX)
Boston Legal (ABC)
Mad Men (AMC)
Dexter (Showtime)
OUR PICK: Lost. It so deserves it (sorry Mad Men).

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Tony Shalhoub, Monk (USA Network)
Steve Carell, The Office (NBC)
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies (ABC)

OUR PICK: Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies. Really anyone can win here but Sheen...one of the toughest calls.

LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Old Christine (CBS)
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds (Showtime)
Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
OUR PICK: Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? I've got a hunch. It could be Fey or Ferrera though.

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Hugh Laurie, House (FOX)
James Spader, Boston Legal (ABC)
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Gabriel Bryne, In Treatment (HBO)
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
OUR PICK: James Spader, Boston Legal. He wins it every year, but maybe Hamm can win it.

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, Damages (FX)
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace (TNT)
OUR PICK: Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters. Going for the two-peat, but can Sedgwick win it?

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Kevin Dillion, Entourage (HBO)
John Cryer, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Rainn Wilson, The Office (NBC)
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Jeremy Piven, Entourage (HBO)
OUR PICK: Jeremy Piven, Entourage.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Amy Poehler, SNL (NBC)
Jean Smart, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
OUR PICK: Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies. Olive is hysterical!

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages (FX)
William Shatner, Boston Legal (ABC)
John Slattery, Mad Men (AMC)
Ted Danson, Damages (FX)
Michael Emerson, Lost (ABC)
OUR PICK: Ted Danson, Damages. Wouldn't be surprised if Shatner won it.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal (ABC)
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Diane Wiest, In Treatment (HBO
OUR PICK: Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy. She was fantastic this year and so deserves it.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 4:55 PM

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Labels: CBS, Emmys, Gary Unmarried, Pilot Reviews

ION Television and WE tv October 2008 Schedules; Mel Brooks Interview on TVTimeMachine.com

This October on ION Television they will expand Boston Legal to air more than once a week! Currently the show is airing Mondays at 8:00PM but beginning Monday, September 29, the show will air Mon-Thurs at 8:00PM ET/PT and also Wednesdays at 9:00PM. However, a few Thursdays, it will be preempted for the Thursday movie. When it isn't, the Thursday movie will air 9-11PM. All of the additional Boston Legal airings will replace ER airings, except Thursdays. ER will still remain in its Mon-Wed at 10:00PM ET/PT timeslot. Boston Legal and especially NCIS are off to great starts for the network. Thursday night (Total Theatre Thursday) movie titles weren't available at press time, but when the movie starts at 8PM this month, Drew Carey Show will be on at 10:30PM!
As for RHI programming, Flash Gordon continues to air Fridays at 7:00PM. The 10th Kingdom wraps up its 10 episode run on October 10. Today ION announced the U.S. television premiere of Archangel, debuting Friday, October 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET. The three-hour mystery-thriller stars Daniel Craig, best known for his title role as the fictional secret agent James Bond in Casino Royale and in the soon-to-be-released 22nd Bond movie Quantum of Solace. Archangel also stars Gabriel Macht and Harry Ditson. The project, which was filmed on location in Russia and Latvia, also features an all-star Russian cast. Other RHI titles include Virtual Obsession and Legend Of Sleepy Hollow on Halloween night. Speaking of Halloween, during Halloween week, you'll see Halloween themed episodes of Boston Legal, NCIS, and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper!
Check out the complete ION Television October 2008 schedule and highlights.

Moving on to WE tv October, as we mentioned previously, WE tv has gotten the rights to air the last three seasons of Girlfriends. The show will start Monday, October 6 airing weekdays at 12 noon and 12:30pm, shifting Hope & Faith back to its old 10am & 10:30am timeslot, which means Kate & Allie will be removed from the schedule at this time. Dharma & Greg will remain in its 11am & 11:30am timeslot.
Girlfriends will also air Mondays on an eight episode block from 6pm-10pm and on Sundays from 3-6pm with a six episode block. On Halloween, catch Halloween episodes of Hope & Faith and Dharma & Greg in their regular timeslots.

Mel Brooks talks about his TV career in a one-hour interview on the Internet radio show TV Time Machine (http://www.tvtimemachine.com), hosted by TV historian Jim Benson.
On TV Time Machine, Mel Brooks gives his most comprehensive interview ever about his fifty-year contribution to television. Among other topics, Mr. Brooks talks about working with comedy legends Sid Caesar, Neil Simon and Woody Allen on the classic 1950's TV series, Your Show of Shows, and how he created the classic TV spy spoof Get Smart with Buck Henry, the basis for the 2008 film starring Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway.
Mel Brooks also discusses his personal life and experiences on TV Time Machine, including his service in World War II as a Combat Engineer (where his job consisted of de-activating German land mines). Brooks reminisces about growing up in Brooklyn, New York, and watching musicals on Broadway as a young boy, which ultimately inspired him to bring The Producers and Young Frankenstein to the stage, nearly seventy-years later.
TV Time Machine is a unique Internet radio show that explores classic TV and its influence over the past five decades. TV Time Machine is more than a nostalgia trip. It also spotlights TV's impact on our culture and society, and explores how present day television and its movers and shakers are still influenced by the stories, programs, and characters of television's past.
So, head on over to http://www.tvtimemachine.com for the Mel Brooks interview!

WGN America WKRP Marathon on Sunday; IMDb Adds Classic and Recent TV Shows and Movies for Free Viewing

WGN America has scheduled a marathon of the classic '70s sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati this Sunday (Sept. 21). After its regular Sunday 7-8pm ET airings, you'll see special two-part episodes from 8-10pm ET (preempting Newhart and Honeymooners this week only). So, WKRP will air from 7-10pm ET this Sunday. The 7-8pm airing will be the regular rotation episodes but the special episodes will be the two-part episodes "Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide" and and "An Explosive Affair."
We will have more on WGN America soon because they have special holiday marathons planned for many sitcoms, starting with Halloween. So stay tuned!

The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) has announced that users can now watch over 6,000 full-length feature films and TV episodes for free on IMDb.com.
With IMDb's new free video viewing service, viewers can watch hit shows like 24, Survivor, The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, The Office, Family Guy, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Additionally, fans can relive their pasts and check out TV classics, such as I Dream of Jeannie, One Day at a Time, Bewitched, The Facts of Life, Barney Miller, The Love Boat, Dynasty, The A-Team, The Partridge Family, WKRP and more. The only thing is that the episodes from these classic Sony, 20th Century, Paramount, and Universal series are already on DVD.
Since the site is called the Internet Movie Database, you can also watch recent and classic films.
So head on over to their video section to watch classic and recent TV shows and movies.

Coming this week: Tomorrow catch the WE tv Fall 2008 schedule that starts Oct. 6 with the addition of Girlfriends and on Friday look for our pilot review of the new CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried and our annual Emmy picks!

TV's Greatest Sets Recreated at Emmys; New Features at Retroality.TV Include Perfect Strangers Feature

To help celebrate the Emmy Awards' 60th Anniversary, some of the most iconic sets from television's greatest shows will be recreated on stage at the NOKIA Theatre as part of The 60th Primetime Emmy® Awards, airing live on Sunday, September 21 21 from 8:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT on ABC. At certain parts of the ceremony when returning from commercials, viewers will discover some of the most beloved show sets incorporated into the overall Emmy set design. Featured shows will include Desperate Housewives, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, The West Wing and M*A*S*H, among others.

Author/writer/friend Chris Mann has some very cool new features on his website Retroality.TV, including a nice Q&A RetroZine feature on my other friend -- Linda Kay of PerfectStrangers.TV! Chris asks about a dozen or so questions with very detailed and interesting responses from Linda. Linda of course is a fan of the series since its original run and during the series she ran the fan newsletter P.S. I Love You, so she certainly knows everything about Perfect Strangers and all the behind the scenes stuff. I have some of those newsletters and I must say it is very impressive and well done and as she says in the interview, the cast and crew appreciated it. We've mentioned her website many times before, and the interview talks about her website as well. The website is probably the most interesting TV series website ever because she is loaded with information and multimedia that only she has. Every Tuesday her website is updated, and yes today is Tuesday, so you should check it out today! She has mentioned the interview today. You won't want to miss this new interview feature!
In other Retroality.TV news, if you haven't seen yet, the new cover story (RetroHot) is an interview with Jaqueline Bisset, where she talks about that wet t-shirt photo! Chris is also excited to get his Quit Yer Kitschin' blog off the ground and among his blog entries include a very fun write-up on TV mushroom heads! Also, coming this week he'll have some Q&A "extras" to share from his Olivia Newton-John cover story interview for Great Health's September issue. He also recently completed interviews with Jacyln Smith and Joyce DeWitt for Great Health magazine, so you'll see something in the near future on those two classic TV stars as well! Chris is also planning to add video and "other fun stuff," as he hints, to the site later this year. Chris was recently on WGN Radio's The Nick Digilio Show for his second appearance talking about his website, you can listen to it online if you missed it. Retroality.TV is the place to be for all classic icons and newsmakers that meet today's reality!

WB Shows on Fancast, TheWB.com, and on Comcast onDemand; Mama's Family Back on CMT; Saved by the Bell Removed from The N

Late last month, Warner Bros. launched TheWB.com. It features hit shows from the old The WB (Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and some shows that fit that genre from the Warner Bros. library (The Loop, Firefly). The shows are also coming to Comcast's Fancast this week as well. Among the series coming to Fancast are The Ben Stiller Show, Everwood, Friends, Gilmore Girls, Jack & Bobby, Mad TV, The OC, Martin, One Tree Hill, Smallville, and Veronica Mars.
TheWB.com's inaugural distribution partner will be Comcast, which will offer programming on multiple advertiser-supported platforms, including its online entertainment destination, Fancast.com, and its video-on-demand (VOD) service. Selected series available on the cable VOD (onDemand) platform include The OC, One Tree Hill and Veronica Mars, among others, all at no additional cost.
Comcast will also have access to classic TV content from Warner Bros. on Fancast.com and VOD (Comcast onDemand), which includes more than 700 episodes of series like CHiPs, Falcon Crest, Alice, The Jetsons, Gilligan's Island, Spenser: For Hire, The Fugitive, Wonder Woman and dozens more. The Comcast onDemand series and classic series is coming in the 4th quarter (between Oct-Dec), and we will let you know exactly when and the full list of series at launch time soon...so stay tuned! Additionally, Warner Bros. announced that Comcast and Fancast.com will also serve as an inaugural distribution partner for programming from the newly announced KidsWB.com, a premium, ad-supported destination built around youth-oriented, immersive entertainment.

Mama's Family is back on CMT this Saturday! The sitcom has been airing on and off since the end of December 2006 with a brief weekday run in June of last year. Check our labels below for Mama and CMT so you can see how it was airing in the past.
You can join Mama this Saturday night from 10pm-2am ET following a marathon of reality series Trading Spouses. Episodes 3-10 will air of Mama's Family this Saturday night.
Will Mama's Family see another marathon or in different blocks like it did before? We will let you know, but as of now, this is the only sighting for it. Fans should be happy as this is the first time the series is airing since ION took it off three months ago.

Starting tomorrow (Tuesday, September 16), The N will remove Saved by the Bell from its everyday timeslot of 7:00pm & 7:30pm ET/PT. An extra episode of Ned's Declassified and Zoey 101 will air instead now. So, Ned's Declassified will air 6-7:30 and Zoey 101 from 7:30-9. No reason was given for the change, but maybe it has to do with ratings, we're guessing. We'll let you know when and if Saved by the Bell returns. The rest of the schedule will remain the same as we posted previously, so only the 7pm hour is changing. I'm surprised Growing Pains is still airing weekdays at 11am-12pm, but I'm not complaining!

Summer Week 16 Sitcom Ratings; Coming Week Preview

Summer is almost near the end before the regular season starts (8 days away!)! Can't wait! The CW and Fox have started to roll out new and returning series, though...with many summer series coming to an end very soon on NBC, CBS and ABC. We are just looking at the sitcom ratings, but we will be back in the fall (two weeks from today!) with our normal weekly reports. Here is week 16 for the summer for sitcoms:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of September 1-7)

• The Simpsons (Fox) - Special encore at 8:30pm following the preview airing of Hole in the Wall did 5.37 million, not bad.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - preempted.
• Family Guy (Fox) 2 episodes - 5.2 and 5.78 million for two repeats from 9-10pm is not too shabby.
• American Dad! (Fox) - preempted

Summer Week 16 (September 8-14)

Monday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 5.31 million for a repeat...up week-to-week.
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 5.6 million for a repeat airing and it built from the lead-in.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.18 million for a repeat, up from previous week.
• Old Christine (CBS) - 7.22 million for a repeat, not bad at all. Remember this season the series will move to Wednesdays at 8.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None...watch the 90-minute season finale of Wipeout on ABC this coming week!

Wednesday Sitcoms

• 'Til Death (Fox) - The season premiere did 6.06 million, at normal numbers, but is this really that good? It had a nice lead-in from Bones, or else it would have done worse.
• Do Not Disturb (Fox) - Series premiere of this new sitcom did just 4.65 million, as the clock is ticking if it doesn't build.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - A repeat at a special time of 8:30pm following a special America's Got Talent did 5.19 million, but lost nearly 1/2 of its lead-in's numbers.
• The Office (NBC) 3 episodes - Very off scheduling of repeats from 9-10pm and 10:30pm made no sense...why not have just four straight episodes or just two? Anyway it did 4.4, 4.43 and dropped to 3.11 million. The 9pm hour was much better and actually built on from lead-in in 18-49.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - A 10pm repeat did 3.39 million...not good.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.
  

Tonight you can catch encores Fox's animated comedies from 7-9 tonight only.

Coming Week Preview (Summer Week 17) for Broadcast (With Some Cable Notes):
So what is new or notable this week that you might want to catch? Tonight CBS will have Big Brother at 8pm out of a new 60 Minutes at 7pm. NBC will air the Sunday Night Football game. Cable wise, go with Lifetime's Army Wives at 10pm following the premiere if their new movie Coco Chanel at 8, and Mad Men on AMC at 10pm with VH1 airing I Love Money.
On Monday, ABC has the network television premiere of the movie Batman Begins from 8-11pm. NBC has an all-new night as well with Deal or No Deal, America's Toughest Jobs, and Dateline. Fox and The CW have their regular season line-ups started with Fox having Sarah Connor Chronicles and an all-new Prison Break. The CW has all-new episodes of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. Cable wise it will be The Closer and Raising the Bar on TNT from 9-11pm. VH1 has more new reality series such as I Want to Work for Diddy, while MTV has The Hills & Exiled. Nickelodeon launches the new game show My Family's Got GUTS weeknights at 8pm for the next two weeks. And Monday Night Football on ESPN!
On Tuesday ABC's Wipeout is all-new with with the 90-minute season finale from 8-9:30pm followed by the new special Primetime: UFO's...Seeing Is Believing. NBC has the season premiere of the two-hour Biggest Loser: Families from 8-10. And the Tuesday edition of Big Brother airs at 9pm on CBS. Fox launches a new season of House at 8pm followed by new drama Fringe which disappointed a bit last week in the ratings for its premiere. And The CW has an all-new 90210 followed by a new Privileged. MNT is even new with Street Patrol and Jail. Cable wise ABC Family has its season premiere of Lincoln Heights at 8pm followed by a new Greek at 9pm, Sci Fi has Eureka at 9, FX has a new The Shield at 10, and BET launches a new original comedy at 10pm called Somebodies.
On Wednesday NBC has a two-hour America's Got Talent from 8-10pm. And Fox has an all-new Bones at 8pm followed by all-new episodes of sitcoms 'Til Death at 9 and Do Not Disturb at 9:30. The CW has an all-new America's Next Top Model at 8. Cable wise Bravo has Project Runway and Top Design starting at 9pm and FX's Sons of Anarchy at 10.
On Thursday Fox has Hole in the Wall followed by an all-new Kitchen Nightmares. CBS has the finale of summer scripted series Flashpoint at 10pm. The CW launches new seasons of Smallville and Supernatural. And NBC has yet another America's Got Talent episode, this time the half-hour results at 8pm. Pretty quiet night. On cable, USA Network has Burn Notice at 10pm, VH1 has more reality shows and FX has comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at 10.
On Friday, NBC will move America's Toughest Jobs to 8pm and will have a two-hour Dateline from 9-11. ABC will have 20/20. WWE Smackdown is on The CW. Fox has all-new episodes of 5th Grader and Don't Forget the Lyrics! Cable wise, My Family's Got GUTS continues on Nick at 8pm and Stargate Atlantis on Sci Fi at 10pm.
Saturday will have Cops and AMW on Fox and College Football on ABC.
Emmys on ABC next Sunday! And that will conclude summer!